Ismail K. White and Corrine McConnaughy, both scholars in American politics, will join the Princeton University Department of Politics in 2020-2021.

“I am delighted that these two distinguished scholars will be joining us this summer,” said Alan Patten, Chair of the Politics Department and Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Politics. “They will bring new strength and leadership to an already strong group of faculty in the Department who are interested in race, ethnicity, and gender. They also reinforce our existing strengths in political psychology and experiments.”

White is currently an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Political Science at Duke University. He specializes in the study of race and political behavior in American politics. His book, Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior (Princeton University Press, 2020), coauthored with Chryl Laird, explores the social norms that predict African Americans' support for the Democratic Party.

“Steadfast Democrats is a pathbreaking book,” says Tali Mendelberg, John Work Garret Professor of Politics. “It is essential reading for anyone interested in identity, race, and politics. It innovatively addresses longstanding questions in social science while carrying resonance for current political debates. And it is only the latest entry in an established record of excellence.”

White's appointment as professor of politics and public affairs, with continuing tenure, will begin July 1, 2020. His appointment is joint with the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs.

McConnaughy is currently an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Political Science at The George Washington University. McConnaughy specializes in identity politics, with a focus on race and gender in American politics. McConnaughy is the author of The Woman Suffrage Movement in America: A Reassessment (Cambridge, 2013) as well as articles in American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Studies in American Political Development and American Politics Research.

According to Mendelberg, “McConnaughy brings a rare breadth of research interests and methods ranging from statistical innovation to archival work. Her book, The Woman Suffrage Movement in America, is a tour de force of historical analysis in political science. She is a talented instructor and researcher. Our scholarship and teaching will gain immeasurably from her presence.” 

McConnaughy will join the Department of Politics on July 1, 2020 as a research scholar with continuing appointment, and she will teach in both Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School.