AddRan College of Liberal Arts is pleased to welcome Laura R. Olson this fall as the new Herman Brown Chair of Political Science. This endowed chair was established in 1968 by The Brown Foundation.
“I am deeply honored to be the new Herman Brown Chair here at TCU, an institution I’ve admired for many years,” Olson said. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to contribute to a strong and thriving department by supporting my colleagues’ research and my students’ development as students and citizens of the world. I am also looking forward to working on a variety of my own research projects, which focus on religion’s intersection with politics in the U.S. and Europe.”
Olson’s research explores the intersections of contemporary religion and politics, with an emphasis on public opinion and civic engagement. Her work has appeared in leading scholarly journals, including Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. She is the author/coauthor/coeditor of nine books, most recently Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices (2018).
A two-time U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Italy, Olson has also served as president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and is currently editor-in-chief of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Her research has been supported by the Louisville Institute, the Global Religion Research Initiative at the University of Notre Dame and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
A native of Racine, Wisconsin, Olson earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University and a master’s degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has held a research fellowship at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University and has served on the executive boards of the Southern Political Science Association, the Public Religion Research Institute and several other professional organizations.
“In the classroom, I am especially looking forward to having the opportunity to work with small groups of incredibly bright students,” Olson said. “I like to create safe, supportive spaces for my students, and I think that approach fits well with the overall approach and ethos of our great university.”
In addition to her academic contributions, Olson is a frequent source for national and international media, with appearances on CNN, NPR and BBC Radio, and interviews in The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. She is also an award-winning teacher, recognized with Clemson University’s campuswide Fluor Daniel Student Government Excellence in Teaching Award in 2003.
Olson’s appointment as the Herman Brown Chair of Political Science strengthens AddRan’s commitment to impactful research, engaged teaching and leadership in the liberal arts.