The University Honors Program is excited to announce that Professor Kathryn Pearson has accepted the position of associate dean and director of UHP.
Dr. Pearson has been with the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota since 2004. She holds a BA from Claremont McKenna College and an MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in political science.
Dr. Pearson has has been actively engaged with the Honors program during her time at the University of Minnesota. She has expanded the Honors offering in the Department of Political Science, developing and teaching new courses. She received the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education in 2012 and is the recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2022.
In addition to her work in political science, Dr. Pearson has been actively engaged in academic leadership beyond her own department. She was a member of the Council on Liberal Education since 2014 and has been serving as chair since 2020. She led the effort to enact the new “Race, Power, and Justice” theme for all undergraduate students. She has been a member of the Core 2025 committee since 2022 and began co-chairing the committee in 2024. Dr. Pearson has been speaking within the university community and beyond on topics such as the United States Congress, partisan politics, elections, women in politics, and the federal political landscape. She has also made regular appearances on TPT Almanac, Minnesota Public Radio, Fox9, KARE 11, WCCO, and KSTP to discuss national and state politics.