Karen O'Connor

Karen O'Connor is the Jonathan N. Helfat Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Founder and Director Emerita of the Women & Politics Institute at American University. Before coming to American University, Karen taught political science for seventeen years at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, where she was the first woman to receive the university's highest teaching award. She has been recognized by several associations as the most outstanding woman in political science and public administration as well as by the Southern Political Science Association for her contributions to the discipline. From 2010-2012, she has been selected by "The Irish Times" as one of the top 100 Irish American lawyers in the United States. Dubbed "the most quoted college professor in the land" by the "Wall Street Journal," Larry J. Sabato bridges the gap between the ivory tower and the real world of politics. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Sabato has taught more than 15,000 students in his career at Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the University of Virginia. He has received every major teaching award at the University of Virginia, and in 2001, he was named the Thomas Jefferson Award winner. Dr. Sabato is the University Professor of Politics and director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, founded in 1998 to improve civic education and the political process. Follow Larry's Crystal Ball at www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball. Alixandra B. Yanus is Assistant Professor of Political Science at High Point University, where she teaches courses in Enduring Questions in Political Science, American Government, and Research Methods. She holds a B.A. in Political Science (summa cum laude) from American University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her scholarly research has appeared in peer-reviewed venues including "Justice System Journal "and "Politics and Gender "and in book chapters published by Oxford University Press, CQ Press, and Sage.