Jennie Sweet-Cushman

CQ Press Award for Teaching Innovation

Jennie Sweet-Cushman is an assistant professor of political science at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she teaches courses in public policy, American politics, women and politics, and research methods. She was the 2018-2019 “Teacher of the Year” in Chatham’s School of Arts Science and Business. From 2013 to 2019, she also served as the Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics. A former (successful) congressional  campaign manager herself, Jennie earned her Ph.D. in political science from Wayne State University in Detroit in 2014. Her research focuses on women’s political ambition and  representation in the U.S., as well as gender equity in academia. Her recent work has appeared in PS: Political Science & Politics; Politics, Groups and Identities; and Politics and the Life Sciences. She currently serves as a commissioner on the City of Pittsburgh’s Equal Opportunity Review Commission, appointed by Mayor Bill Peduto in 2017.

The CQ Press Award for Teaching Innovation honors a wide range of new directions in teaching by recognizing a political scientist who has developed an effective new approach to teaching in the discipline.

John Twichell

Michael Brintnall Teaching & Learning Award

John Twichell is a Ph.D. (University of Miami, 2015) and Lecturer of International Studies at the University of Miami, Florida, where he instructs undergraduate courses in international relations, in research methodology, and in civic engagement and internships. In addition, in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Twichell is Coordinator of the Arts and Sciences Program for Internship-Related Experiences (ASPIRE), which assists undergraduates in identifying opportunities to develop their practical skills. launched in 2016 under Dr. Twichell’s leadership, ASPIRE is developing into a network that, in cooperation with Toppel Career Center, links undergraduate students to internship opportunities in Miami, nationally, and worldwide. Dr. Twichell’s research interests are focused on development in the nations of Latin America and the Middle East, and the influence national development patterns have on regional relations. Dr. Twichell conducted his dissertation fieldwork in Latin America through research grants awarded to him by the Center for Latin American Studies and by Fulbright. Dr. Twichell also previously served as a writer and editor for the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami (2008-2013), where he contributed to numerous publications on issues of domestic and foreign policy that confront countries in the Western hemisphere.

The Michael Brintnall Teaching and Learning Award supports faculty attendance at the Teaching and Learning Conference and is named in honor of former APSA Executive Director Michael Brintnall, who was deeply committed to advancing the scholarship of teaching and learning in the discipline.