PLS Faculty Earn Promotions

June 20, 2023

MSU Department of Political Science is pleased to share that two PSL professors earned promotions that were approved by the MSU Board of Trustees at their June meeting.

Drs. Shahryar Minhas and Michael Wahman were promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.

“Our department is pleased that our faculty’s accomplishments have been acknowledged with these career milestones. Prof. Minhas is an emergent expert in data analytics, particularly in his advancements in the studies of networks and international relations, and we look forward to him continuing to grow our reputation as a leader in computational social science," said Department Chair Dr. Jeff Conroy-Krutz.  "Prof. Wahman’s work on elections in Africa—and, in particular, his innovations in the study of subnational political competition—further extends MSU’s long history of a leading center for research on the continent. Both of these faculty members are also known for the excellent mentorship they provide to our graduate students, and for their teaching at the undergraduate level.”

 

Shahryar Minhas is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University in the Department of Political Science and the Social Science Data Analytics Program (SSDA).  He earned his PhD in Political Science and M.A. in Computational Economics at Duke University. His main research and teaching interests focus on the areas of political methodology, conflict studies, and international institutions.
 

Michael Wahman joined the Political Science department at Michigan State University in 2018. He was previously on faculty at University of Missouri and held postdoctoral research positions at the London School of Economic (LSE), University of Texas, and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg.  He earned his PhD from Lund University (Sweden). Dr. Wahman’s research broadly focuses on democratization and he has a specific interest in elections and parties in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently involved in a research project on the sub-national dynamics of African elections. His research has been supported by grants from funders such as the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the Swedish Research Council.