Research Award
The Arts & Letters Research Award, established by Dean Sarah Mustillo in 2022–23, is bestowed on one member of the tenured faculty in the College who has demonstrated outstanding and significant scholarly achievement.
The awardee has a strong and sustained record of scholarly accomplishment, distinguished by an exceptional publication record and corresponding evidence of disciplinary impact. The faculty member demonstrates extraordinary innovation or creativity, leadership in their field, and engagement with Notre Dame’s research and educational mission. To be eligible for nomination, individuals must have been on the faculty at Notre Dame for at least five consecutive years.
2026 Winner: Jeff Harden
Jeff Harden is the Andrew J. McKenna Family College Professor of Political Science.
The core of Harden’s research on American politics involves applying statistical methodology to examine how state legislative institutions affect representation. His approach is also deeply collaborative.
“Collaborating with Jeff was a valuable experience. Our discussions about how to clearly frame our question, build our argument, and do careful empirical work have shaped how I approach my own projects. Beyond our collaboration, he’s very generous with his time — always willing to offer feedback and advice at any stage in the research process, and my work is stronger because of it.”
During his decade at Notre Dame, Harden has worked with colleagues, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students on award-winning papers, presentations, and books to answer simple yet broad questions with intricate nuances, such as examining voter ID laws’ effects on legislators, politicians’ accountability post-January 6, and even the effects of Taylor Swift ticket sales on democracy.
Harden’s dedication to methodological rigor and scholarly collaboration is a hallmark of his work, and it has not gone unnoticed.
In 2019, he was a part of a multidisciplinary research team that won a $1 million National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator (C-Accel) grant. He’s also received multiple honors from the American Political Science Association, including the State Politics and Policy Section’s Emerging Scholar Award in 2022, the Best Published Paper Award in 2021, and the Best Conference Paper Award in 2017. His first book, Multidimensional Democracy: A Supply and Demand Theory of Representation in American Legislatures (Cambridge University Press, 2016), won the APSA’s Virginia Gray Book Award in 2017.
Harden also formed the Representation and Politics in Legislatures (RPL) Lab with congressional legislative scholar Rachel Porter, the Notre Dame du Lac Assistant Professor of Political Science. Part of the Rooney Democracy Institute, the research group — comprised of Harden, Porter, professor James Curry, and several postdoctoral and graduate scholars — explores how legislative institutions shape the health of American democracy, fosters a sense of identity among researchers, and offers an opportunity for organic collaboration.
“I don’t really see myself as a solo researcher, so this award feels like it’s recognizing a lot of people. The work I’ve been doing, especially the last five years, has been exclusively collaborative, and the large majority of that with people at Notre Dame."
The Research Award will be presented to Harden at the College’s fall faculty meeting in September.
Previous Award Recipients
| Year | Recipient | Media | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jeff Harden | News Story |
Political Science |
| 2025 | Sophie White | News Story |
American Studies |
| 2024 |
Robert Norton |
News story |
German, Slavic, and Eurasian Studies |
| 2023 | E. Mark Cummings | News story, Video |
Psychology |