Political Science

Graduate Student Bea-Sim Ooi Awarded Prestigious APSA Summer Centennial Research Grant

dzara016 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:21:46 +0000

Graduate Student Bea-Sim Ooi Awarded Prestigious APSA Summer Centennial Research Grant dzara016 Tue, 10/14/2025 - 10:21 More News Donald Zárate October 14, 2025

We are proud to announce that UCR Political Science graduate student Bea-Sim Ooi has been awarded a Second Century Fund grant through the American Political Science Association’s Summer Centennial Center Research Grants program. This highly competitive award supports graduate students conducting original research that advances the field of political science, and Bea-Sim’s project is a perfect example of the rigorous, innovative work coming out of our department.

Bea-Sim’s research focuses on the formation of redistributive policy attitudes and how empathy for those experiencing financial distress shapes support for redistribution. The grant will fund the third chapter of her dissertation, For Them, Not Me: Empathy for Poor Friends and Family, Dimensions of Financial Distress, and Support for Redistribution, which uses a novel perspective-taking survey experiment to test whether inducing empathy for friends or family members in poverty increases support for redistributive policies.

Her dissertation explores contact at multiple levels—from brief interactions with strangers to close relationships with loved ones—and examines how the source of financial distress (e.g., unemployment, health, or housing shocks) affects policy attitudes. Bea-Sim anticipates that emotional bonds with close friends and relatives in need may foster broad support for both targeted and general redistributive measures, illuminating how personal relationships influence political behavior.

This grant will provide crucial resources for conducting her experiments, helping Bea-Sim collect and analyze data that will deepen our understanding of empathy, policy preferences, and social attitudes toward redistribution. We are thrilled to see her work recognized and supported at this level, and we look forward to the insights it will bring to political science research.

UCR to Host 20th Anniversary Meeting of PRIEC

dzara016 — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 23:32:29 +0000

UCR to Host 20th Anniversary Meeting of PRIEC dzara016 Fri, 09/05/2025 - 16:32 More News Donald Zárate September 05, 2025

The Department of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside will host the Fall 2025 meeting of the Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium (PRIEC) on Friday, October 3, 2025. This year marks the 20th anniversary of PRIEC, and UCR is proud to welcome scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates for a day of collaboration and community.

Founded in 2005, PRIEC is an innovative academic forum that fosters networking and mentorship among scholars of race and ethnicity politics (REP). The consortium is especially known for its supportive, workshop-style environment, where participants present works-in-progress, receive constructive feedback, and build lasting connections. With rotating hosts across institutions, PRIEC charges no membership or registration fees, ensuring that accessibility and inclusivity remain at its core.

Event Details

The meeting will take place on Friday, October 3, 2025. The agenda, time, and on-campus location will be shared directly with registered participants. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP using the link below.

👉 RSVP here: https://bit.ly/priec20ucr

About PRIEC

PRIEC has spent two decades building a diverse scholarly community committed to advancing research and supporting scholars of color. Its attributes include:

A welcoming forum for works-in-progress and mentorship.
Rotating host institutions that share costs and responsibilities.
Free participation with no registration or membership fees.
Online resources and networking opportunities.
Themed events and methodology workshops.

By breaking down barriers in academia and creating space for inclusive scholarship, PRIEC continues to nurture future generations of political scientists while advancing the study of race, immigration, and ethnicity in politics.

For questions about the Fall 2025 PRIEC meeting at UC Riverside, please contact the organizers: Shaun Bowler (shaun.bowler@ucr.edu) or Kim Yi Dionne (kdionne@ucr.edu).