Associate Professor Hanna Brant (SUNY Geneseo/Keith Walters '11)
SUNY Geneseo’s Associate Professor Hanna Brant, political science and international relations, has been awarded a SUNY Chancellor’s Horizon Award for Faculty Research and Scholarship. Brant is one of ten inaugural researchers recognized.
The Chancellor’s Horizon Award for Faculty Research and Scholarship honors early career tenured and tenure track faculty whose scholarly or creative activities have already achieved significant recognition and, crucially, hold promise for field-defining impact in the future. Candidates’ portfolios were reviewed by Distinguished Academy faculty who made recommendations to the SUNY Provost.
Brant’s research examines the contours of political careers of members of Congress, state legislators, and legislative staff. An overarching theme connecting the components of her research is a focus on gender and the experiences and impact of women in legislatures.
Brant has published 16 peer-reviewed manuscripts to date. Her research has been published or is forthcoming in leading journals such as Politics & Gender, the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, Congress & the Presidency, and Presidential Studies Quarterly. Her research has been supported by several grants, including the Dirksen Congressional Center, the Center for Effective Lawmaking, and the Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Leave. However, among her proudest accomplishments so far is embodying the spirit of the teacher-scholar model by coupling her research and teaching through serving as a McNair faculty mentor and co-authoring with an undergraduate student.
Brant earned her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and a PhD in political science from the University of Missouri in 2020. She is currently developing a book manuscript on queer women’s representation in US state legislatures.
“Dr. Brant’s selection as a SUNY Horizon awardee demonstrates her impactful and meaningful research to the benefit of the discipline, the college, and our students. Dr. Brant’s future is bright, and we are proud of her selection for the inaugural class of award winners, ” said Provost Mary C. Toale.
Karleen West, professor and chair of political science and international relations, says, “Professor Brant is a productive scholar who has published high-quality research that has already made an impact, particularly in the areas of gender and politics and LGBTQ+ representation, where she is viewed as an expert among the broader political science community. Dr. Brant’s research on women and queer representatives promises to define scholarship on legislative representation in the future. The students she teaches, mentors, and advises in our department benefit greatly from her expertise in these areas.”
“SUNY is known for its exceptional research and scholarship, and the faculty members who earned this recognition are at the forefront of their fields,” SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said. “Our inaugural Horizon awardees have already made a profound impact in their fields of study early in their careers, and by highlighting them, we hope to inspire even more achievements in the years to come.”