A rising senior political science major, Isaiah C. Johnson, has been named a 2018 APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) Scholar. The 2018 RBSI program will take place from May 27 to June 28 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Participants in the RBSI are drawn from a competitive national applicant pool, and Johnson is one of only 16 students accepted this year.

“This is the second year in a row that the student we nominated has been accepted into this nationally-competitive program. We’re proud of him!  I’m also appreciative of Dr. Jennifer Clark for her efforts in incorporating undergraduates into her research projects.” Dr. Susan E. Scarrow, professor and chair, Political Science.

A member of the Honors College and a Dean’s List recipient, his research interests focus on understanding the evolution of parties on issues like immigration, social policy and foreign policy, and exploring the conditions under which bipartisanship and compromise occur.

Isaiah is also interested in examining the influence that the executive has on the legislative and judicial branches of government. During the 2017-2018 academic year, Johnson has had the privilege of working with Dr. Jennifer Clark, associate professor of political science, on research exploring the interaction between the president and congress on immigration measures.

He has a good deal of experience within the field of political science, having worked as an intern at a congressional district office; holding the financial chair position for Pi Sigma Alpha; as well as holding the communications chair position for the University of Houston College Democrats.

In the future, he hopes to earn a doctoral degree in political science and teach students at the collegiate level.

Named in honor of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner, former American Political Science Association president, and the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in political science, Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, the RBSI is “designed to introduce to the world of doctoral study in political science those undergraduate students from under-represented racial and ethnic groups or those interested in broadening participation in political science and pursuing scholarship on issues affecting under-represented groups.”