Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Laura Bucci (Chair)	St. Joseph’s University	Laura.C.Bucci@gmail.com
Seth Warner	University of Connecticut	seth.warner@uconn.edu
Nick Howard	Concordia College	nhoward1@cord.edu

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Career Achievement Award

This annual award is given to a political scientist who has made a significant lifetime contribution to the study of politics and policy in the American states. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Chris Witko (Chair)	University of California Center Sacramento	cwitko@ucdavis.edu
Justin Phillips	Columbia University	jhp2121@columbia.edu
Caroline Tolbert	University of Iowa	caroline-tolbert@uiowa.edu

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Christopher Z. Mooney Best Dissertation Prize

This annual award is given to the author of the best PhD dissertation in American state politics and policy completed during the previous calendar year. The winner receives a plaque and $1000. Support for this prize comes from the annual return of the endowed Mooney Fund. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Jenny Wolak (Chair)	Michigan State University	wolakjen@msu.edu
Beth Reingold	Emory University	beth.reingold@emory.edu
Michael Auslen	University of Texas at Austin	mauslen@austin.utexas.edu

 

State Politics and Policy Quarterly (SPPQ) Best Paper Award

This annual award is given to the author(s) of the best paper on state politics and policy, either written by faculty or by both faculty and graduate student authors, presented at any professional meeting in the previous calendar year. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Daniel Bowen (Chair)	The College of New Jersey	bowend@tcnj.edu
Justin Crofoot	Penn State University	jkc6561@psu.edu
Meghan Leonard	Illinois State University	mleonar@ilstu.edu

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Best Graduate Student Paper Award 

This annual award is given to the author(s) of the best paper on state politics and policy written solely by graduate student authors and presented at any professional meeting in the previous calendar year. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Daniel Bowen (Chair)	The College of New Jersey	bowend@tcnj.edu
Justin Crofoot	Penn State University	jkc6561@psu.edu
Meghan Leonard	Illinois State University	mleonar@ilstu.edu

Mac Jewell Enduring Contribution Award

This award is given to the author(s) of a political science book or article on the subject of U.S. state politics or policy published at least 10 years prior to the award being bestowed that stands as an enduring contribution to the literature. This is now an annual award open to book or article nominations Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Rebecca Gill (Chair)	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	rebecca.gill@unlv.edu
Jack Santucci	George Washington University	jack.santucci@gmail.com
Jennie Sweet-Cushman	Chatham University	jsweetcushman@chatham.edu

 

Virginia Gray Book Award

This annual award is given to the author(s) of the best political science book published on the subject of U.S. state politics or policy. At the business meeting in June 2024, the Section voted to transition this award from a three-year eligibility window to a one-year eligibility window. As that process is implemented, the 2026 award will be given to books with copyright dates of 2023, 2024, and 2025. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email/Mailing Address for Print Books
John Cluverius	University of Massachusetts Lowell	John Cluverius Department of Political Science Dugan Hall 883 Broadway Street Suite 201 Lowell MA 01854 John_Cluverius@uml.edu
Cassidy Reller	University of Florida	Cassidy Reller 811 NW 3rd Ave.  Gainesville, FL, 32601 reller.cassidy@ufl.edu
Adam Myers	Providence College	Adam Myers Department of Political Science Providence College 1 Cunningham Square Providence, RI 02918 amyers2@providence.edu

Emerging Scholar Award

This annual award is given to the top scholar in the field of state politics and policy who is within 10 years of earning a PhD. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Chris Witko (Chair)	University of California Center Sacramento	cwitko@ucdavis.edu
Justin Phillips	Columbia University	jhp2121@columbia.edu
Caroline Tolbert	University of Iowa	caroline-tolbert@uiowa.edu

Service Award

The Service Award recognizes service to the section in the literal sense, as in service on committees and in leadership positions, as well as service within the Section, as in service to the profession within the field of state politics and policy in the form of archiving data, promoting infrastructure, representing the profession in the media, etc. Deadline for nominations: February 16, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Jon Winburn (Chair)	University of Mississippi	jwinburn@olemiss.edu
Jennifer Gaudette	University of California, Riverside	jgaudett@ucr.edu
Joshua Basseches	Tulane University	jbasseches@tulane.edu