Dr. Kyle C. Kopko earned his Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University in 2010, with a concentration in judicial politics and American politics. He currently serves as Assistant Dean for Academic Achievement and Engagement, Associate Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Honors and Pre-Law Programs at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Kopko's research has earned him international recognition as an expert on vice presidential candidates, partisanship, and the federal judiciary. His research has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed outlets, including Election Law Journal, Judicature, Justice System Journal, Political Behavior, and Presidential Studies Quarterly. He is co-author of the book “The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections,” (Manchester University Press) with Dr. Christopher Devine. Dr. Kopko’s research has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News & World Report, FiveThirtyEight, The Huffington Post, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and Fox News Channel.
Experience
2020–present
Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown College
2016–2020
Associate Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown College
2018–2020
Associate Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning, Elizabethtown College
2015–2018
Honors Program Director, Elizabethtown College
2016–2018
Assistant Dean for Academic Achievement and Engagement, Elizabethtown College
2010–2018
Pre-Law Director, Elizabethtown College
2010–2016
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Elizabethtown College
Education
2010
The Ohio State University, Ph.D., Political Science
2007
The Ohio State University, M.A., Political Science
2005
Elizabethtown College, B.A., Political Science
Publications
2016
Feminist Pedagogy and the Socratic Method: Partners in the Classroom or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?, Higher Education Studies
2016
Assessing Outcomes of National Science Foundation Grants in the Social Sciences, CUR Quarterly
2016
The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections, Manchester University Press
2015
Shooting from the Hip: Concealed Cameras in the United States Supreme Court, Judicature
2015
Litigant Partisan Identification and Challenges to Campaign Finance Policies: An Examination of U.S. District Court Decisions, 1971-2007, Justice System Journal
2015
The Politics of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: A Fifty-Year Analysis, 1963-2013, New England Journal of Political Science
2013
Presidential Versus Vice Presidential Home State Advantage: A Comparative Analysis of Electoral Significance, Causes, and Processes, 1884-2008, Presidential Studies Quarterly
2012
Religious Identity and Political Participation in the Mennonite Church USA, Politics and Religion
2011
The Vice Presidential Home State Advantage Reconsidered: Analyzing the Interactive Effect of Home State Population and Political Experience, 1884-2008, Presidential Studies Quarterly
2011
In the Eye of the Beholder? Motivated Reasoning in Disputed Elections, Political Behavior
2009
Evolution of Judicial Careers in the Federal Courts, Judicature
2008
Partisanship Suppressed: Judicial Decision-Making in Ralph Nader’s 2004 Ballot Access Litigation, Election Law Journal
2007
Bush Fever: Amish and Old Order Mennonites in the 2004 Presidential Election, Mennonite Quarterly Review