IPR Names Associate Director

Winter 2004, Volume 26, Number 1

Jeff Manza, associate professor of sociology and IPR faculty fellow, became associate director at the Institute for Policy Research in August. He is also chair of the Institute’s Politics, Institutions, and Public Policy program.

“I’m delighted that Jeff agreed to be associate director of IPR,” said Fay Lomax Cook, IPR’s director and professor of human development and social policy. “Not only is Jeff a superb scholar, but also he is a person with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. Plus, he has a passion for understanding and implementing the vision of IPR as a place where excellent social science scholarship is conducted and disseminated with the goal of connecting with and speaking to important social policy issues.”

Manza’s research examines how social inequalities come to be manifested in political behavior and public policy in the U.S. and cross-nationally. In particular he is studying how denying the vote to ex-felons affects American politics, examining trends in Americans’ attitudes toward social issues—especially how increasing social liberalism impacts policy preferences and voting. He is beginning a large-scale project that considers how national differences in public opinion are related to welfare-state effort.

Manza co-authored Social Cleavages and Political Change: Voter Alignments and U.S. Party Coalitions published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 1999 with Clem Brooks. He co-edited Navigating Public Opinion: Polls, Policy, and the Future of American Democracy (OUP, 2002) with IPR colleagues Fay Lomax Cook and Benjamin Page. He is completing a book with Christopher Uggen titled Locking Up the Vote: Felon Disfranchisement and American Democracy (OUP, forthcoming).

“IPR is a unique and special place, and it has been a very important part of my life at Northwestern,” Manza said. “So I’m very glad to be part of helping to continue and build upon the traditions it has established over the past 30 years.” He is working on several key IPR projects this year, including the annual Distinguished Public Policy Lecture, a series of public policy briefings, and a major conference.