Jean Harris

Education

B.A., M.A., Ph.D.  State University of New York at Binghamton

Expertise

Dr. Jean Wahl Harris joined the University faculty in the Fall of 1987. She earned a B.A. in Law and Society, a M.A. in Political Science and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton. She has served the University as the director of the Women’s Studies program (serving as the first director after spearheading the development of the Women’s Studies program) and as chairperson of the Political Science Department. She also coordinates the University’s Ready to Run program, which is a campaign training program targeting women in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Teaching interests: Dr. Harris teaches courses on U.S. national, state and local politics, policies, and political institutions, which count in the Political Science major, the Public Administration and Public Policy track, the Peace and Justice concentration, and the Women’s Studies major and concentration. In addition to serving as an advisor to Political Science majors she has served as a mentor to new University faculty members through the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.

Research interests: Dr. Harris is a co-author for one of the top selling undergraduate American Government textbooks, American Democracy Now (McGraw-Hill) and has published chapters in the American Political Science Association’s Teaching Civic Engagement: From Student to Active Citizen (2013) and We Get What We Vote For … Or Do We?: The Impact of Elections on Governing  (Praeger, 1999). She has also published articles in a variety of journals including Women & Politics. Her current research focuses on women as political actors—from voters to first ladies to elected officials.

Additional information: An active member of the Lackawanna County League of Women Voters, Dr. Harris regularly moderates candidate debates for local and state elective offices. She is also a frequent political consultant for local and regional media.