Five Political Science PhD students awarded for their work, writing and service
April 14, 2026 - Karessa Weir
A record number of Political Science PhD students were awarded departmental prizes for their writing, teaching and service this year.
These awards are given to the top graduate students each spring by the MSU Department of Political Science, based on nominations from Political Science faculty and determined by the department awards committee.
The Best Graduate Paper Award was won by Fariha Tabassum for “Intraparty Violence: A Refined Conceptualization and Evidence from Africa and South Asia.”
“This is a truly outstanding paper and richly deserving of the Best Paper Award. It showcases Ms. Tabassum’s exceptional capacity for conceptual innovation. In my experience, I have never advised a student who approaches political concepts with the same level of rigor and seriousness,” wrote MSU PLS Assistant Professor Dr. Michael Wahman in his nomination letter.
Also winning Best Paper is Tosin Salau for “Citizens’ Unrest: Understanding Civilian Cooperation with Militant Groups Amid Subsidy Reductions.”
“Salau introduces a nuanced theoretical framework that not only shifts the spotlight onto civilians as strategic actors but does so across a broad spectrum, encompassing cross-country analysis and delving deep into a specific case study of Nigeria. This dual approach enables a comprehensive exploration of civilian agency, revealing how civilians negotiate their involvement with rebel groups in response to government policies,” wrote PLS faculty Drs. Shahryar Minhas and Andrew Kerner in their recommendation of Salau.
With three nominations, the sole winner of the Best Teaching Award was Li-Hong Weng for the Methods workshop and their work as a teaching assistant for PLS 322 and PLS 202. Weng was nominated by PLS faculty Dr. Minhas, Dr. Sivaram Cheruvu and Dr. Andrew Halterman.
“Having watched Li-Hong teach for a couple years now, I’ve noticed a few traits about him that make him an excellent teacher. First, as anyone who’s worked with him knows, he’s hardworking, organized, and diligent. But more specifically as an instructor, I’ve noticed the thoughtfulness with which he engages with students. Good teaching always involves a great deal of empathy and kindness: as a teacher, you have to put yourself in the mind of someone who does not yet know the material you’re teaching. Li-Hong clearly does this, in his accessible and detailed materials, but especially in the way he talks with students, draws them out, and helps develop their understanding,” wrote Dr. Halterman.
Service Awards this year go to Paige Haight for her support during the Political Science Alumni Conference and Alexandra Stinson-Swartout for going “above and beyond” as the president of the Graduate Student Association.
“This award was created in order to recognize those students who make a significant impact on the PLS community above and beyond normal, reasonable, and perhaps healthy expectations. Paige met this criterion helping me to prep, implement, and plan the 2025 PLS PhD Alumni Conference,” wrote MSU PLS graduate program director Dr. Ian Ostrander. “If the 2025 Alumni Conference was a success, a lot of that success is due to the diligence and hard work of Paige Haight. Standing up and doing such thankless, boring, and often unnoticed jobs is exactly the kind of behavior that this award was created to honor.”
Dr. Ostrander also nominated Stinson-Swartout, stating that she was the inspiration for the creation of the new award category with all the work she did to create a graduate student lounge, start a grad library and was integral in the department winning the 2025 MSU Graduate School’s Outstanding Program Community Award.
“We need people like Alex to keep a community together, which takes more than just having an absurd level of extroversion (though it helps). But the work maintaining a community is often thankless and underappreciated. Alex’s efforts on behalf of PLS were a big reason we won the Program award,” Dr. Ostrander wrote.