Virginia Sapiro

Virginia Sapiro is Professor of Political Science and Dean Emerita of Arts & Sciences at Boston University. She previously was at the University of Wisconsin – Madison for 31 years, where she was the Sophonisba P. Breckinridge Professor of Political Science and served as Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning and Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Sapiro is an excellent source of information in 3 areas: (1) Political psychology/ public opinion/ political behavior, including electoral politics. She directed the American National Election Studies, the premier scholarly study of the American electorate. (2) Gender and politics. She is one of the founders and leaders of this field. (3) History of American higher education. She is currently working on a book investigating the history of American higher education and its relation to the history of the American state and society, an excellent framework for understanding contemporary higher ed issues, along with her leadership experience in two major research universities — a flagship land grant public and an urban private.

Sapiro was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2002. She is a well-respected public speaker.