Former Visiting Fellow Amy Erica Smith has been honored by Iowa State University with a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professorship, a multi-year award that is one of the college’s newest and most prestigious opportunities to recognize faculty excellence.
Smith, an associate professor of political science at Iowa State, was a 2016-17 Kellogg Visiting Fellow. She has been recognized for her accomplishments in several subfields – women and politics, religion and politics, public opinion, and Latin America. Her research explores how citizens around the world interact with and shape their democratic and authoritarian regimes, mobilized by civic and religious groups and ideas. Regionally, her primary expertise is in Latin America, and particularly Brazil.
“I’m both deeply honored and excited to receive this professorship,” said Smith. “The funding will go to great use in my new project, which relates to how religious groups in different places in the world interpret and respond to climate change. Among other things, the money will help fund research conducted in Brazil, Kenya, and other countries. The professorship is a vote of confidence in this work, which is gratifying.”