Dr. Nancy Burns

Biography

Nancy Burns is the Warren E. Miller Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. She has served as Chair of the Department of Political Science from 2014 to 2024 and was the Director of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research from 2005 to 2014. Burns was a co-Principal Investigator for the American National Election Studies (ANES) from 1999 to 2006. Her research contributions are significant in the field of political science, particularly in the areas of federalism and gender politics, for which she has received several prestigious awards including the APSA’s Derthick Award and the Victoria Schuck Award. She has chaired 12 dissertation committees and currently supervises senior theses. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, her ongoing projects include studying the changing nature of gender and racial gaps in public opinion. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas.

Research Interests