Kenneth Sherrill Prize

The Kenneth Sherrill Prize recognizes the best doctoral dissertation proposal for an empirical study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) topics in political science. The purpose of this prize is to encourage and enable empirical work on LGBT topics by graduate students, and to broaden the recognition of this work within political science.

Nominations for the 2020 award are now closed. 

About the 2019 Winner

Facundo E. Salles Kobilanski, Vanderbilt University

“Out for Office, Out in Office: Public Opinion Towards Openly Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Politicians in Brazil.”

Facundo E. Salles Kobilanski is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Vanderbilt University, where he is affiliated with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP).  He studies comparative politics, public opinion, and political behavior, with a regional focus on the Latin American region.Facundo has published a co-authored article in the Journal of Politics, and has extensive experience in survey fieldwork research in Africa and Latin America.  Before starting his Ph.D., he graduated with a B.A. from the University of Buenos Aires and an M.A. from Torcuato di Tella University.

By unanimous agreement, the committee for the 2019 Kenneth Sherrill Prize for the best dissertation proposal in the empirical study of LGBT Politics is delighted to award the prize to Facundo E. Salles Kobilanski for his proposal entitled Out for Office, Out in Office: Public Opinion Towards Openly Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Politicians in Brazil. Facundo’s dissertation will use a sophisticated, mixed method approach to examine how public opinion towards openly lesbian, gay and bisexual politicians in Latin America has developed over time and how such views shape these candidates’ electability. Facundo begins by utilizing data from the AmericasBarometer to trace the change in public opinion towards LGB candidates in the region over time and explores the extent to which party affiliation as well as the religious identity of candidates mitigates negative attitudes towards such candidates.  Facundo next turns his attention to LGB candidates in Brazil where rich electoral data from Brazil’s state elections allow him to explore how and under what circumstance public opinion hinders the election of LGB candidates.  He further uses an original survey experiment to test the effect that these candidates’ religious affiliation has in mitigating negative attitudes towards LGB politicians.  Finally, Facundo uses a qualitative case study of LGB incumbents in Brazil to explore how LGB stereotyping is applied to incumbent politicians.  Through this rich research design Facundo’s dissertation will help to move the focus of contemporary research on LGBT politics in Latin America from the substantive representation of policy outcomes to the descriptive representation of LGB politicians and the barriers they face towards gaining public office.

See more Kenneth Sherrill Prize recipients. 

Prize Requirements

Applicants must have successfully defended the prospectus for their dissertation, or intend to defend their prospectus by July 31, 2019. To qualify, an applicant’s dissertation prospectus must be an empirical study of LBGT topics; a prospectus in political theory is not eligible for the Kenneth Sherrill Prize.

Each year after receiving the Prize, the Prize committee must receive a report from prior recipients stating if the dissertation has been completed and if so, receive an abstract of the completed dissertation, and if not, a timetable detailing expected trajectory to completion.

Applications for the program should include:

• A curriculum vitae.
• An abstract of the dissertation proposal.
• A copy of the applicant’s dissertation proposal.
• A letter of recommendation from the chair of the applicant’s dissertation committee. The letter must attest that the prospectus will be defended by July 31, 2019.

2019 Kenneth Sherrill Prize Committee