Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Lucas Morel
Provost Faculty Fellow and John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics, Department Head
- Huntley Hall 121A
- Email: morell@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8161
Morel has taught at W&L since 1999. His teaching and research interests include American government, political theory, Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Ellison, and race and equality. He is a pre-law advisor and an accomplished writer.
Brian Alexander
Associate Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 320
- Email: alexanderb@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8054
Alexander teaches courses primarily in U.S. government and international relations. He has more than 20 years of professional experience and is the director or the W&L Washington Term, held in Washington, DC, each Spring.
Joey Barretta
Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
- Holekamp Hall 005
- Email: jbarretta@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8604
Seth Cantey
Lewis G. John Term Professor of Politics; MESA Program Head
- Huntley Hall 302
- Email: canteys@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8019
Cantey teaches courses on global politics, Middle Eastern politics, intelligence, terrorism and foreign policy. His commentary on current events has been picked up by various media outlets, such as USA Today and the Huffington Post.
Sofia Elverdin
Assistant Professor of Politics
- Williams School Building 132
- Email: selverdin@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8626
Stuart Gray
Associate Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 315
- Email: grays@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-5879
Gray teaches numerous courses on political philosophy, Gandhi and Greek/Indian political theory. His research focuses on the history of political thought, global comparative political theory and South Asian political thought.
Rebecca C. Harris
Professor of Politics
- Holekamp Hall 204
- Email: harrisr@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8199
Harris teaches applied American Politics courses in government, public policy and environmental policy. Her interdisciplinary work focuses on genetic science and partisanship in food politics.
Robin LeBlanc
William Lyne Wilson Professor of Political Economy
- Holekamp Hall 107
- Email: leblancr@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8305
LeBlanc is a political anthropologist focused on the civic engagement of non-elites in rich democracies. She teaches classes on global politics, urban politics, gender and politics, and political theory.
Mark Rush
Director of International Education and Professor of Politics
- Ruscio Center for Global Learning 141
- Email: rushm@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8904
Rush writes on U.S. politics, constitutional law, elections and democracy around the world, global affairs, and higher education. His current scholarly work includes presidential power, international politics, judicial activism, elections and democratic reform, civic education, higher education, and law and technology.
Sheahan Virgin
Assistant Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 205A
- Email: svirgin@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8376
Virgin teaches courses on American national institutions and elections. His approach to teaching U.S. politics encourages 91传媒 to utilize the broadly applicable methodologies of comparative institutionalism, basic causal inference, and normative democratic theory. His research focuses on electoral rules and reform.
Clyde Wang
Assistant Professor of Politics
- Huntley Hall 213
- Email: cwang2@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-8313
Emeritus Faculty
William F. Connelly Jr.
Emeritus Professor of Politics
Connelly teaches courses on political parties, congress and the presidency. His research focuses on the complexities of congressional politics. Previously, he worked for the Connecticut General Assembly and was a legislative assistant for Congressman Dick Cheney and Senator Richard Lugar.
Craig McCaughrin
Emeritus Professor of Politics
Robert Strong
William Lyne Wilson Professor in Political Economy
Staff
Joy Swartz
Administrative Assistant II in Accounting and Politics
- Holekamp 105D
- Email: jwswartz@wlu.edu
- Phone: 540-458-5808