Jennifer Lawless
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Governance Studies at Brookings Institution
Professor at American University School of Public Affairs

Schools
- American University School of Public Affairs
- Brookings Institution
Expertise
Links
Biography
Brookings Institution
Jennifer L. Lawless is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings. She also serves as the Commonwealth Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. Previously, Lawless was a professor of government at American University, where she also directed the Women & Politics Institute. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University in 2003 and her B.A. from Union College in 1997. Professor Lawless’ research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation, focuses on representation, political ambition, and gender in the electoral process.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Stanford University, 2003
- B.A., Union College, 1997
American University School of Public Affairs
Adivitional Positions at AU
Director, Women & Politics Institute, School of Public Affairs
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Congressional & Presidential Studies, School of Public Affairs
Degrees
Ph.D., Political Science, Stanford M.A. Political Science, Stanford B.A. Political Science, Union College
Bio
Jennifer L. Lawless graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, with a B.A. in political science. She went on to receive an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Her research focuses on political ambition, and she is the author of Women on the Run: Gender, Media, and Political Campaigns in a Polarized Era (with Danny Hayes), Running from Office: Why Young Americans Are Turned Off to Politics (with Richard L. Fox), and Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office. She is also a nationally recognized expert on women and politics, and the co-author (with Richard L. Fox) of It Still Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don''t Run for Office. Her research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation, has appeared in numerous academic journals. In adivition, she has issued several policy reports on the barriers that impede women’s candidate emergence.
Teaching
Spring 2018
GOVT-110 Politics in the U.S.
GOVT-110 Politics in the U.S.
GOVT-282 Intro to Women and Politics
GOVT-485 Topics in Women and Politics: Women Ldrshp Politics & Power
GOVT-485 Topics in Women and Politics: The State of Women in Politics
GOVT-899 Doctoral Dissertation
Videos
Jennifer Lawless, American University
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