MPSA ANNOUNCES THE PAULA D. MCCLAIN AWARD FOR THE MPSA BEST PAPER
The Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) is honored to announce the renaming of the MPSA Best Paper Award to the Paula D. McClain Award for the MPSA Best Paper in honor of Paula D. McClain, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, and Director of the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute. The award recognizes the best paper overall presented at the MPSA conference each year.
Dr. McClain’s primary research interests are in racial minority group politics, particularly inter-minority political and social competition, and urban politics. Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including Journal of Politics, American Political Science Review, Urban Affairs Review, The Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race and Politics, Groups and Identities, among others. Her 1990 book, Race, Place and Risk: Black Homicide in Urban America, co-authored with Harold W. Rose, won the National Conference of Black Political Scientists’ 1995 Best Book Award for a previously published book that has made a substantial and continuing contribution. American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy, co-authored with Steven Tauber, won the American Political Science Association’s Race, Ethnicity and Politics Organized Section Best Book Award for a book published in 2010. She is a former president of the Midwest Political Science Association, the American Political Science Association, the Southern Political Science Association and the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Dr. McClain is widely recognized for her mentorship of students and service to the profession receiving both the Frank Goodnow Award (APSA) and the Manning Dauer Award (SPSA). In 2017, the Midwest Women’s Caucus for Political Science gave her the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award and held a panel in her honor.
Renamed in 2024, the $500 Paula D. McClain Award for the MPSA Best Paper joins multiple conference awards that recognize outstanding research presented at the annual MPSA conference. Your support of the discipline and political science scholars makes a difference! Consider making a tax-deductible donation to help fund this award or other MPSA sponsored research awards.
Nominations to create or rename an award can be made by MPSA members. The Committee on Awards reviews all nominations and is responsible for making a recommendation to the Council for final approval. To propose a new award or scholarship refer to the MPSA Policy on Naming Awards and complete this form.
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About the MPSA
Home of the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS), one of the top-ranked academic journals in the discipline, the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) was founded in 1939 and is dedicated to the advancement of scholarship in all areas of political science.
The purposes of the MPSA are to promote the professional study and teaching of political science, to facilitate communications between those engaged in such study, and to develop standards for and encourage research in theoretical and practical political problems. As such, MPSA is a nonpartisan association. It does not support political parties or candidates.