Politics 2026

Expert on partisan conflict in American politics

Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Political Science
Faculty Fellow and Associate Director, Institute for Policy Research

• (847) 467-1147
• l-harbridge@northwestern.edu

• Primary elections
• Threats and violence against elected officials
• American politics
• U.S. Congress and Congressional elections
• Political parties and partisan conflict
• Public opinion
• Political communication

Political media expert

Professor of Communication Studies

• heather.hendershot@northwestern.edu

• Right-wing media analysis
• Mainstream media political coverage

Political communications expert

Owen L. Coon Professor of Policy Analysis & Communication
Director, Center for Communication & Public Policy
Faculty fellow, USC Center on Public Diplomacy
Faculty Affiliate, Paul M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy
Faculty Affiliate, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

• (607) 280-7030
• erik.nisbet@northwestern.edu

• Freedom of expression
• Democratic backsliding
• Media and public opinion

Misinformation expert

Associate Professor of Communication Studies

• nathan.walter@northwestern.edu

• Correction of misinformation

Politics, institutions and public policy expert

Associate Professor, Political Science and Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research

• tabitha.bonilla@northwestern.edu

• Political messaging 
• Political representation 
• Accountability
• Voting behavior 

Expert on partisan conflict in American politics

Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Political Science
Faculty Fellow and Associate Director, Institute for Policy Research

• (847) 467-1147
• l-harbridge@northwestern.edu

• Primary elections
• Threats and violence against elected officials
• American politics
• U.S. Congress and Congressional elections
• Political parties and partisan conflict
• Public opinion
• Political communication

Presidential and party politics expert

Associate Professor of History

• m-allen1@northwestern.edu

• U.S. party politics since the 1930s
• U.S. war-making and military history
• 20th century U.S. political and diplomatic history 
• Presidential politics 

Expert on American history since 1900

William Smith Mason Professor of American History

• kevin.boyle@northwestern.edu

• American political history
• Economic and labor history 
• The Civil Rights Movement 
• Political extremism in the early 20th century 

His most recent book, "The Shattering: America in the 1960s," is a narrative history of the decade whose conflicts shattered America’s postwar order and divide us still. 

Expert on political and policy history

Associate Professor of History

• brett.gadsden@northwestern.edu

• American history
• Black political and social history
• Segregation, inequality and racial discrimination
• African Americans in White House cabinet positions

Climate change expert

William Deering Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences

• (847) 467-2268
• axford@northwestern.edu

• Polar climate change and glacier retreat
• Greenland ice sheet
• Arctic ice melt
• Earth’s ancient climate history

Climate change expert

Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Principal Investigator, Climate Change Research Group

• (847) 467-6185
• daniel.horton@northwestern.edu

• Severe weather
• Modeling future climate
• Air pollution
• Natural disasters, such as heatwaves, wild fires and landslides
• Electric vehicles

Carbon capture expert

Professor of Earth and planetary science
Director of Graduate Studies
Faculty Affiliate, Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy

• (847) 491-3132
• adj@northwestern.edu

• Earth’s ancient climate
• Ocean acidification
• Enhanced rock weather for carbon capture

Water expert

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director of Northwestern Center for Water Research

• (847) 491-9902
• a-packman@northwestern.edu

• Water scarcity and drought
• Urban water management and flooding
• Water pollution
• Waterborne disease
• Desalination

Ancient climate expert

Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences

• (847) 467-2257
• brad@earth.northwestern.edu

• Earth’s climate history
• Ocean acidification
• Decarbonization
• Fracking

Immigration and economics expert

Gordon and Llura Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Strategy

• (847) 491-3177
• bjones@kellogg.northwestern.edu

• Immigration, particularly its effects on a nation’s economy
• Economic growth and global economic development
• Entrepreneurship
• Explaining the wealth and poverty of nations

Tariffs and international relations expert

Professor of Political Science

• (847) 491-4847
• ianhurd@northwestern.edu

• International trade and international trade
• The World Trade Organization
• World politics
• Olympics and global sports

Education and social policy expert

Abraham Harris Professor Professor of Education and Social Policy, Human Development and Social Policy
Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research

• kirabo-jackson@northwestern.edu

• Education
• Childcare
• Economic issues

Jackson is a former economic advisor to President Joe Biden.

Tariffs expert

Professor of Instruction and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Economics

• mwitte@northwestern.edu

• Public finance
• Macroeconomics
• Environmental economics

China policy expert

Professor of Economics

• nancy.qian@kellogg.northwestern.edu

• Immigration
• Trade with China
• Tariffs

Tariffs expert

Clinical Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management

• Phillip-braun@kellogg.northwestern.edu

• Macroeconomy and financial markets
• Inflation
• Investments
• Impact of the Ukraine war on global economies

Expert in gender identity politics

Associate Professor of Communication studies

• billard@northwestern.edu

• Role media plays in the social and political equality of transgender people
• Political communication
• Social activism and impact

Gender and sexuality expert

Professor of Instruction
Gender & Sexuality Studies
Asian American Studies

• (323) 401-6950
• j-enteen@northwestern.edu

• Gender/queer/trans studies
• Gender and sexuality
• Trans-related surgeries

Expert in the intersections of sex, gender and science

Fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• jessica.steinberg@nm.org

• Lack of sex inclusion in research

Expert in reproductive medicine and health, fertility and embryology

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• (312) 926-8244
• eve.feinberg@nm.org

• Involved on a national level in the field of reproductive medicine
• Embryology
• Conception as fertilization
• Reproductive and ovarian aging
• Infertility
• Access to care
• In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing
• LGBTQ+ family building

Immigration and economics expert

Gordon and Llura Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor of Strategy

• (847) 491-3177
• bjones@kellogg.northwestern.edu

• Immigration, particularly its effects on a nation’s economy
• Economic growth and global economic development
• Entrepreneurship
• Explaining the wealth and poverty of nations

Expert in immigration, labor economics, public finance

Assistant Professor of Economics

• ejacome@northwestern.edu

• Immigration and criminal activity
• Immigration policy and individual willingness to report crime
• Economic mobility of immigrants
• Domestic policies related to immigration, healthcare and the criminal justice system

Urban politics, race, ethnic (ethnicity) and Latino and Chicago politics expert

Associate Professor of Instruction, Political Science

• (847) 467-0706
• j-dominguez@northwestern.edu

• Race and ethnicity 
• Immigration 
• Civic engagement

• Political participation
• Coalition politics

Constitutional law expert

Professor of Law

• paul.gowder@law.northwestern.edu

• Birthright citizenship
• Affirmative action
• Race discrimination
• Abortion access

Expert on birthright citizenship

Professor of History

• (847) 491-2849
• kmasur@northwestern.edu
• Download Headshot

• 14th amendment history
• Reconstruction Era
• Birthright citizenship
• History of abortion and contraception

Expert on migrant rights

Director, Center for International Human Rights
Clinical Professor of Law

• (312) 503-8576
• priyanka.motaparthy@law.northwestern.edu

• Threats to international law
• Human rights
• Migrant rights
• LGBTQI+ rights
• Reproductive rights

China policy expert

Professor of Economics

• nancy.qian@kellogg.northwestern.edu

• Immigration
• Trade with China
• Tariffs

Deportation expert

Founding Director, Deportation Research Clinic, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs
Professor, Political Science Department
Legal Studies, Faculty Advisory Committee

• (847) 457-2093
• jacqueline-stevens@northwestern.edu

• Deportation and immigration law
• Citizenship law and history
• Sovereignty and the rule of law

Constitutional law expert

Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy

• m-redish@law.northwestern.edu

• Birthright citizenship

Expert on hostage negotiations

Assistant Professor of Political Science

• (561) 350-7320
• danielle.gilbert@northwestern.edu

• Political violence
• International security
• Hostage taking
• Hostage recovery policy
• Civil war and terrorism
• Negotiation tactics

Russia/Ukraine expert

Associate Professor of Instruction, School of Communication

• (847) 467-1569
• olga.kamenchuk@northwestern.edu

• U.S. relations with Russia/Ukraine

NATO and international relations expert

Ambassador (ret.) in Residence at Northwestern University

• ian.kelly@northwestern.edu

• Global diplomatic strategy for solving the decades-long conflict

Prior to joining Northwestern's faculty as ambassador in residence, Ian Kelly was U.S. ambassador to Georgia, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, State Department spokesperson, and director of the Office of Russian Affairs in Washington, D.C. In these roles, Amb. Kelly often dealt with the diplomacy of the conflict, meeting frequently with President Barack Obama's Middle East envoys.

International relations expert

Associate Professor of Political Science

• daniel.krcmaric@northwestern.edu

• International relations
• Foreign policy
• Billionaire politicians
• International Criminal Court

Transportation and infrastructure expert, Panama expert

Professor Emeritus of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Associate Dean, McCormick School of Engineering

• (847) 491-5001
• j-schofer@northwestern.edu

• History and policy related to the Panama Canal
• International trade routes and logistics
• Infrastructure maintenance and policy

Public health expert

Founder's Board Professor of Medical Ethics, Director of Research Ethics and Policy Program at Lurie Children's Hospital
Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

• (312) 227-1104
• Seema.Shah@northwestern.edu

• Medical ethics
• Research ethics and regulation
• Pandemic policies

Trans rights expert

Associate Professor of Communication Studies

• billard@northwestern.edu

• Anti-trans misinformation
• Public opinion on trans rights

Urban politics, race, ethnic (ethnicity) and Latino and Chicago politics expert

Associate Professor of Instruction, Political Science

• (847) 467-0706
• j-dominguez@northwestern.edu

• Race and ethnicity 
• Immigration 
• Civic engagement

• Political participation
• Coalition politics

Expert in reproductive medicine and health, fertility and embryology

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• (312) 926-8244
• eve.feinberg@nm.org

• Involved on a national level in the field of reproductive medicine
• Reproductive and ovarian aging
• Infertility
• Access to care
• In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing
• LGBTQ+ family building

Constitutional law expert

Professor of Law

• paul.gowder@law.northwestern.edu

• Birthright citizenship
• Affirmative action
• Race discrimination
• Abortion access

LGBTQI+ rights expert

Professor of Law, Director of Northwestern Law’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic

• kara.ingelhart@law.northwestern.edu

• LGBTQI+ rights
• HIV-related matters

Expert on abortion history

Professor of History

• (847) 491-2849
• kmasur@northwestern.edu
• Download Headshot

• 14th amendment history
• Reconstruction Era
• Birthright citizenship
• History of abortion and contraception

Expert on minority rights

Director, Center for International Human Rights
Clinical Professor of Law

• (312) 503-8576
• priyanka.motaparthy@law.northwestern.edu

• Threats to international law
• Human rights
• Migrant rights
• LGBTQI+ rights
• Reproductive rights

Diversity expert

Professor of political science and African American studies
Director, Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy

• (847) 467-4697
• alvin.tillery@northwestern.edu

• Diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) policies
• Diversity in political representation

Women's rights expert

Class of 1967 James B. Haddad Professor of Law

• (312) 503-4864
• deborah.tuerkheimer@law.northwestern.edu

• Abortion access
• Reproductive justice
• Feminist legal theory

Expert on women's health rights and policy

Professor of Medical Education, Medical Social Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology

• k-watson@northwestern.edu

• Medical ethicist
• Reproductive health expert
• Constitutional scholar

Watson's research articles on abortion have been published in JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and The New Yorker. The author of Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law and Politics of Ordinary Abortion, Watson also recently published an article in the American Journal of Bioethics about reframing the need for abortion care as a health disparity.