Dr. Erin McAdams

Dr. McAdams – Curriculum Vitae »

Education Background

M.A., Ph.D., Ohio State University
B.A., Allegheny College

Courses taught

• American Constitutional Law I and II
• American Political Parties & Behavior
• American Public Opinion & Polling
• Elections and Campaign Management
• Gender & American Politics
• Introduction to American Government
• Introduction to Legal Studies
• Introduction to Political Analysis
• Religion & American Politics

Professional Interests

• American campaigns & elections
• American legal studies & constitutional law
• Gender & American politics
• Media & American politics
• Public opinion & polling
• Quantitative research methods
• Religion & American politics
• Voting behavior

About Dr. McAdams

Joined PC in 2012

Dr. McAdams also serves as the Pre-Law Advisor at PC and as the faculty advisor to the College Republicans, College Democrats & the Political Science Club.

A graduate of Allegheny College (P.A.), Dr. McAdams earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University in 2009.  Before joining the faculty at PC, she taught at Ohio State, Dickinson College (P.A.) and the College of Charleston (S.C.). Her courses focus on the processes of American government and political behavior in the U.S., reflecting an analytical, social scientific approach to understanding and thinking critically about politics. In 2017, she was named Presbyterian College’s “Professor of the Year” and earned an “Excellence in Teaching” Award from the South Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (SCICU) association.

Published in Electoral Studies (2009, with Dr. Herb Weisberg), Politics and Religion (2013, with Dr. Justin Earl Lance) and the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education (2015, with Dr. Brian Fisher), her research focuses on the group-based dynamics of partisan identity and the sources of Americans’ political attitudes and voting behaviors. Her forthcoming book examines the changes in the Republican Party since the rise of the Tea Party movement in 2010 and offers recommendations for the party’s short- and long-term success.

Dr. McAdams is also deeply committed to service to the PC and broader Laurens County community.