Outstanding Interdisciplinary Educator

Chryl Laird, PhD is an Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland College Park. Her work in American Politics focuses on Race and Ethnic Politics and Political Psychology. Laird’s research examines the importance of black political discourse in black opinion formation and racial group norms. Her critically acclaimed and award-winning book, Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior (co-author Ismail White) examines how black partisanship to the Democratic party is maintained through black social networks and political norms. Her next research project engages the interwoven nature of racial and gender identities for Black women and how it results in a political engagement (and partisanship) where the work of their gender politics is conducted through their racial politics. Her scholarship can be found in numerous journals in political science including American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, Politics, Groups, and Identities, and American Politics Research.

Dr. Laird is the recipient of numerous academic honors including the 2021 Distinguished Junior Scholar Award from the American Political Science Association Political Psychology Section, the 2021 Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association, and the 2021 Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section.

Dr. Laird is a strong advocate for academic scholarship that is accessible in the public domain and that speaks to the perspectives of marginalized populations. Her research commentary has been featured in various media outlets including The New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, The Atlantic, USA Today, The Washington Post, NPR’s All Things Considered, NPR’s CodeSwitch, FiveThirtyEight, Harper’s Baazar, Vox’s Mischiefs of Faction, Vox, Newsweek, Bloomberg and The Conversation. She is represented by PUP Speaks from Princeton University Press.

Dr. Laird is an outstanding interdisciplinary educator and the recipient of several teaching awards: The 2021 Sydney B. Karofsky Prize for Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence at Bowdoin College, 2018 Karofsky Encore Lecture at Bowdoin College, and the Ernest A. Calloway Jr. Teaching Award in African American Studies at Saint Louis University. She teaches several courses including Black Politics, Hidden Figures: Women of Color in Politics, Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Urban Politics, and Public Opinion and Voting.

She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University in 2014 and her Master’s Degree in 2008. She earned Bachelor’s Degrees in African American Studies and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park in 2005.