Five new professors have joined the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and one existing faculty member has received a promotion. The School also honors the memory of two faculty members who passed away in the 2017-18 academic year, and salutes one faculty member transferring to emeritus status. One professor departed the School after joining its faculty in 2002.

All changes are effective July 1, 2018, unless otherwise noted.

New Faculty

Professors

Sanyu Mojola is professor of sociology and public affairs. Before joining the Woodrow Wilson School, she was associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Mojola’s research examines how societies produce health and illness, primarily focusing on the HIV/AIDS pandemic as it unfolds in various settings such as Kenya, the United States and South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago in 2008.

James Raymond Vreeland is professor of politics and international affairs. Before joining the Woodrow Wilson School, Vreeland was professor of international relations at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He conducts research in the field of international political economy, specializing in such international institutions as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the United Nations. Vreeland received his Ph.D. in political science from New York University in 1999.

Assistant Professors

Arun Hendi is assistant professor of sociology and public affairs. Before joining the Woodrow Wilson School, he was assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California. Hendi’s research focuses on inequalities in health and mortality, the sociology of marriage and family, and formal demography. He received his Ph.D. in demography and sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015.

Patricia Kirkland is assistant professor of politics and public affairs. Before joining the Woodrow Wilson School, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University’s Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Kirkland studies American politics with a focus on subnational politics and public policy, exploring representation, public finance, and fiscal health in American cities. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University in 2017.

Owen Zidar is assistant professor of economics and public affairs; he served as a visiting assistant professor at the Woodrow Wilson School during the 2017-18 academic year. Zidar previously was assistant professor of economics at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. A public finance economist, he studies the taxation of firms and top earners, local fiscal policy, and the creation and distribution of economic profits. Zidar earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2014.

Promotions

Keren Yarhi-Milo was promoted to associate professor with tenure. She joined the Woodrow Wilson School in July 2009 as instructor of politics and international affairs. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a predoctoral fellow at the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, also at Harvard University. Yarhi-Milo’s research and teaching focus on international relations and foreign policy, with a particular specialization in international security, including foreign policy decision-making, interstate communication and crisis bargaining, intelligence, and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. She received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2010.

Maria Micaela (Mica) Sviatschi was promoted to assistant professor of economics and public affairs. She joined the Woodrow Wilson School in July 2017 as instructor of economics and public affairs. Her interests lie in labor and development economics with a focus on crime, gender and political economy. Sviatschi received her Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in May 2017.

Emeritus Status

Martin I. Gilens, professor of politics and public affairs, transferred to emeritus status. He is now professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before coming to Princeton, he taught at Yale University. His research examines representation, public opinion, and mass media, especially in relation to inequality and public policy. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Thomas Romer, professor of politics and public affairs and director of the Research Program in Political Economy, will transfer to emeritus status effective Sept. 1, 2018. He taught at the University of Western Ontario and Carnegie Mellon University before joining the Woodrow Wilson School faculty in 1991. Romer’s work explores the interaction of market and nonmarket forces that influence the allocation of economic resources. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1974.

Departures

Christina L. Davis, professor of politics and international affairs, left Princeton University for a new position at Harvard University. Davis joined the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School in July 2002 as an assistant professor. She received her Ph.D. in political science in 2001 from Harvard University, and her research interests include the politics and foreign policy of Japan, East Asia, and the European Union and the study of international organizations. 

In Memoriam

During the 2018-19 academic year, the Woodrow Wilson School honored the lives and significant influence of two of its professors: Uwe Reinhardt (1937-2017), the James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor of economics and public affairs, and Adel Mahmoud (1941-2018), lecturer with the rank of professor in molecular biology and public policy.