Nancy Burns

Nancy Burns is the Warren E. Miller Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. She has served as Chair of the Department of Political Science (2014-2024) and Director of the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research (2005-2014). Her work focuses on American Politics, Political Methodology, and Gender and Politics. Notably, she co-directed the American National Election Studies (ANES) from 1999 to 2006, a foundational survey in political science. Burns has received numerous awards, including the APSA Derthick Award and Victoria Schuck Award, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Her research explores gender disparities in political participation, public opinion, and policy outcomes. Current projects include a book on gender and political participation with Sara Morell and others, and a long-term study on gender, race, and public opinion with Donald Kinder. She has advised 62 doctoral students, chairing 12 of their committees, and typically supervises two senior theses annually.

Burns holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard University (1990) and has been a Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. Her contributions to academia include over 30 years of teaching and research at the University of Michigan, where she also mentors emerging scholars in political science.