Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz

Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz is a professor in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland College Park. She joined the School in 2021 after spending 12 years at the University of Rhode Island, where she was a professor of political science and director of the Social Science Institute for Research, Education and Policy.

Pearson-Merkowitz’s research and teaching interests focus on political polarization, voting, land use and housing policy, public opinion, and state and local government. She greatly enjoys involving students in the research process and has developed programs in which students help public officials understand the policy environment of social issues and the drawbacks and benefits of different policy choices. She also has run several election exit polls, as well as polling projects in which hundreds of students engage the community to gauge community preferences.

Her research has been funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Rhode Island State Government.

Pearson-Merkowitz's co-authored a new book, "The Power of Partisanship," which uncovers the negative consequences of partisanship on various aspects of American life and how political polarization seeps into personal decisions, social interactions and attitudes toward public policies.