Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, professor in the Department of Political Science, has received the Louise Pound-George Howard Distinguished Career Award from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Faculty Senate.
Established in 1990, the award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the university.
Her nominator wrote:
"Dr. Theiss-Morse’s career at UNL has been marked by scholarly excellence, impactful teaching, and genuine service. Dr. Theiss-Morse joined the faculty at UNL in 1988 and has since been a stalwart of the Department of Political Science and a key figure in the discipline. She also has led the College of Arts and Sciences and contributed countless hours of service to this institution.
"The quality of Dr. Theiss-Morse’s research is evident. She has received five National Science Foundation Grants, won four research awards from two different research sections of the American Political Science Association, and has been an invited speaker at some of the most prestigious universities and research symposia around the globe. The discipline has benefited tremendously from her scholarship, and although she will retire in May 2026, she has two additional projects in the works. I am confident she will continue to shape political science research for many years.
"In addition to leading the discipline in its study of democracy, Dr. Theiss-Morse has been a mentor and transformative teacher for generations of students. Students at all levels, from our first-year undergraduate students to our advanced Ph.D. students, appreciate the opportunity to learn from Dr. Theiss-Morse. She challenges them to think critically about core concepts in democracy, to apply rigorous methods to understand political phenomena, and to communicate their scholarly findings broadly. It is no surprise, then, that she won a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award, or that her textbook, Political Behavior of the American Electorate, co-authored with Michael W. Wagner, continues to be well received and adopted in political science departments throughout the country.
"Dr. Theiss-Morse’s approach to teaching and mentoring, particularly her commitment to her students and advisees, is also apparent in her service to the Department of Political Science, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the University of Nebraska. Dr. Theiss-Morse has served in key leadership roles, including, but not limited to, Chair of the Department of Political Science, Associate Dean of Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Chair of the University’s Institutional Review Board, and a member of both the Academic Planning Committee and the Faculty Senate, among many other roles. When I asked her recently why she pursued these leadership and service roles, her answer was both simple and genuine: to help."
