Doctoral Students on the Forefront of Research Into Women in Politics Continue Ruth B. Mandel’s Legacy

The family of the founder of the Center for American Women and Politics created research grants to honor her mission

Rutgers doctoral candidate Michelle Irving is studying mothers running for office.

Yazmin Gomez, another Rutgers doctoral student, is studying the history of political activism of Latinas over nearly 40 years in Milwaukee. Meanwhile, doctoral candidate Samantha Koprowski is studying the difficulties women face raising campaign funds, especially at the beginning of the race.

The students studying in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick are among the first recipients of the Ruth B. Mandel Dissertation Research Awards from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers. The award was launched in 2023 to honor Mandel, the center’s founding director who died in 2020, and support dissertation research on women, gender and U.S. politics. Eight students have been awarded $2,000 each over two rounds of funding. The 2025 application, which also is open to students outside of Rutgers, starts in the spring.

For Asha Venugopalan of Stony Brook University, the support she received via her Mandel Award went beyond funding. “The award was the morale boost I needed as I work through my dissertation,” she said. “I think to be recognized and to be worthy of an award from an institution as prestigious and notable as CAWP is wonderful, and I am very grateful for it.”

Rutgers remains the only institution in the United States that offers a Ph.D. program with a focus on women and politics.

Over the decades she led CAWP, Mandel established the center as the most important source of data and research about women’s political representation in the United States. Today, with a woman running for the highest office in the United States, journalists, activists, and scholars around the world rely on the work of the center to inform people about the past and present of women’s representation and inspire them to build a more equitable future. The dissertation awards were created through the generosity of Mandel’s family.

The 2024 presidential race could lead to the first woman president of the United States, but this election has also seen a reduction in the number of women running for Congress and becoming congressional nominees, according to CAWP data collections. With women still holding less than a third of all seats at every level of political office, there are many unanswered questions about women’s political representation.

“Understanding how women interact with politics, whether that’s through running for office, engaging in activism, or as donors, is key to creating a political system that lifts up their contributions,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh. “Expanding the horizons of research into women and politics and supporting young scholars bringing new insights and perspectives will enrich this field and build on the promise of the 2024 election.”

Venugopalan, whose research focuses on partisan disparities in women’s representation, hopes her work will shed light on open questions in American politics. “Why are there more Democratic congresswomen than Republican congresswomen? What is the consequence of it? One of the consequences – as we are seeing it now – is that the protection of women’s rights is seen as a partisan problem instead of a social problem.”

Koprowski, the Rutgers student working at the intersection of gender and campaign finance, believes her work can be helpful to women running for office: “I hope my research will be useful for practitioners to help candidates make informed decisions regarding their financial campaign strategy.”

Like CAWP, whose research informs current events, these young scholars see their work as having the potential to shape public discourse and attitudes.

Gomez sees her work in a symbiotic relationship with the community she studies. “Public engagement is really important to me and my research,” she said. “I also wish for my research to serve as a guide for activists. In the stories I tell, we see women who demonstrated a deep love and care for their city and families, and I think there is still a lot to learn from their organizing, success, and mistakes.”

These grants are already making a difference. Irving used Mandel Award funding to hire research assistants.

For Kaleigh Ruiz, a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University researching gender differences in judicial decision-making, a Mandel Award makes the foundation of the research possible. “I truly wouldn't be able to complete my research without this grant,” Ruiz said. “I'm currently working on a project that requires transcribing hundreds of audio files that can't be transcribed using automated services… I genuinely would not be able to analyze these files without funding to hire a transcription firm.”

“We here at the center are deeply grateful for this opportunity to carry forward the mission of our founding director,” Walsh said. “But Ruth was more than a colleague. She was a mentor and a dear friend to me throughout my Rutgers career. I am filled with joy to know that, through this generous gift, Ruth’s legacy will continue to support and inspire future generations of scholars.”

Maud Mandel, Ruth Mandel’s daughter and the president of Williams College, discussed how meaningful these awards are for her mother’s life and legacy. “My mother cared very deeply about the field of women and politics, expanding political access, and educating the next generation of student leaders and scholars. She would be moved and humbled by CAWP's unwavering commitment to these goals through this research award in her name.”