Sara McLaughlin Mitchell

Sara McLaughlin Mitchell is a Professor of Political Science and Collegiate Fellow at the University of Iowa, with a courtesy appointment in the College of Law. She holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University (1997) and a B.S. from Iowa State University (1991). Her research focuses on international conflict, political methodology, gender in academia, and disaster policy responses. She co-founded the Journeys in World Politics workshop and served as President of the Peace Science Society.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Political Science, Michigan State University, 1997
• B.S. in Economics and Political Science, Iowa State University, 1991

Research Interests:

• Disaster governance and its impact on political violence
• Gender equity in academia and mentorship
• Terrorism, civil conflict, and international relations

Awards:

• Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar Award (2015)
• Conflict Processes Lifetime Achievement Award (2023)
• NSF and DoD grants for disaster policy research

Advising & Grants:

• Directs the Disasters, Migration, and Violence (DMV) Lab with over 30 student researchers
• Recipient of NSF award #2148845 for disaster-conflict research

Labs/Teams: Principal Investigator of the DMV Lab, studying government disaster responses and their link to migration and conflict.