ISA-MW Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award to Leah Windsor
Recognized for outstanding contributions to International Studies, ISA service and innovative research on academic inequalities
Dr. Leah Windsor, associate professor in the Institute for Intelligent Systems, has been awarded the 2024 Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award by the International Studies Association (ISA) Midwest region for her exceptional contributions to International Studies and service within the ISA. She is recognized for her innovative research on text analysis, multimodal communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and inequalities in academia. Her impactful work includes the co-authored book The PhD Parenthood Trap and the development of mentorship programs for underrepresented groups. Dr. Windsor's leadership, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, has strengthened the academic community. She will be honored at the ISA Midwest conference in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2024, where she will give an address.
The Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award was created in 2000 and is given annually to a scholar who has significantly influenced the ISA-Midwest region. The Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar will have an exceptional record of scholarship in international studies, a distinguished record of service to the International Studies Association and other international affairs organizations, and, normally, a record of service within the region.
The Quincy Wright Award Committee had this to say about Dr. Windsor's scholarship:
Your research has been prolific, innovative, and diverse. In addition to being one of the field's premier scholars in the use of text analysis and the study of political language, you have conducted trailblazing work on how patriarchal structures within political science and the broader academy perpetuate ongoing gender, class, and racial inequalities. Regarding the first area, your publication record and success in prestigious grant awards demonstrate the impact and relevance of your work to the field. ISA-Midwest named you the recipient of the Hermann Textual Analysis Award four times, so we as an ISA region are well aware of the quality of your work! You also have an impressive number of published works on gender bias and mentorship in the post-Covid era, navigating the hidden curriculum in academia, and the leaky pipeline for women and minority scholars. Your co-authored book, The PhD Parenthood Trap, presents the very real barriers faced by working parents in the profession and offers tangible strategies to overcome and break down these barriers. Even more impressive, you are not a scholar who studies and does not act - you have used your research to develop mentoring programs and other institutional changes to try to break down some of these barriers. Such activities include developing a Women+’s Mentorship Network (WMN+) at your home institution, your ongoing leadership in ISA Midwest’s Pay It Forward program, and your involvement in the PolMeth Expansions Initiative. The team of women who nominated you for this award speak very highly of your impact on their personal career development. Your service expands opportunities for women and underrepresented groups in international relations, political methodology, and in academia more broadly, and is something you should be commended for.
For more information on this award, contact Windsor at lcwells@memphis.edu.