Dr. Shannon Blanton
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs

DR. SHANNON L. BLANTON is the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs at The University of Memphis, where she is also a Professor of Political Science. She oversees all undergraduate programs and provides leadership in curriculum planning, general education, the Center for International Programs and Services, the Honors Program and the Fresh Connections Learning Communities.

Since joining The University of Memphis in 1999, she has been a department chair and undergraduate coordinator, and has served nationally as a facilitator for leadership development in higher education. Dr. Blanton specializes in the areas of international relations and foreign policy, with an emphasis on human rights, democracy, international political economy and the arms trade. Dr. Blanton teaches courses on foreign policy, international conflict, international relations theory and statistics. She has published articles on the determinants of U.S. arms transfers, the impact of arms imports on human security (human rights, democracy, and human development) in developing countries, human rights as a determinant of U.S. foreign aid, and the role of images in U.S. foreign policy decision-making. Her current research examines the role that human rights concerns play in shaping foreign direct investment and trade in the global community. Dr. Blanton has won several research awards as a faculty member at The University of Memphis, and was named in 2007 as the recipient of The University of Memphis' esteemed Alumni Association Distinguished Research in the Social Sciences and Business Award .

She has published numerous articles that have appeared in leading academic journals within her discipline, such as the American Journal of Political Science , Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peace Research, International Interactions, and elsewhere , and has served on a number of editorial boards, including those for International Studies Quarterly and International Studies Perspectives . She is also a co-author with Charles W. Kegley of a leading textbook, World Politics: Trend and Transformation (12th edition update, 2009).