Renée Van Vechten Ph.D.

Renée Van Vechten has built her teacher-scholar profile through writing, vigorous participation in campus life and professional associations, research, and a dedication to teaching rigorous courses that incorporate active learning and experiential elements. Her intellectual and teaching interests center on U.S. institutions (Congress and the presidency) and California politics.

Her expertise in state-level politics is evident in her textbook, California Politics: A Primer, now in its seventh edition (SAGE/CQ Press, 2024), and in her contributions to state and local news coverage. She also teaches courses on environmental politics, immigration, and food politics and policy.

Her research focuses on political reforms enacted through direct democracy, such as term limits, and she is deeply committed to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her work on instructional practices has examined internships, curricula, online discussion forums, simulations, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. This research appears in conference proceedings of the American Political Science Association (APSA), regional professional associations, and edited volumes, including Political Science Internships: Toward Best Practices (APSA, 2021), for which she served as lead editor.

Her service and leadership include association governance as a former council member and executive board member of APSA, as well as service to Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, where she serves on the executive board and as a chapter advisor.

• Postdoctoral fellow, University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)
• Postdoctoral teaching fellow, University of San Diego
• Ph.D., political ccience, University of California, Irvine
• M.A., political science, University of California, Irvine
• B.A., political science, University of San Diego

• Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in American Politics and Policy (2021–present); Professor of Political Science, University of Redlands (tenured 2011)
• Program director, public policy program (2022–present), University of Redlands
• Lecturer in political science, University of California, Irvine, 2004–05
• Visiting assistant professor, Department of Political Science, University of San Diego, 2003–04
• Director and instructor, Public Affairs Internship Program, University of California, Irvine, 1996–2000

• California Politics: A Primer. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2024. 
• Internships in Political Science: Best Practices in the Discipline. Principal editor. American Political Science Association, August 2021.
  https://apsanet.org/internshipbook
• “California’s 2021 Gubernatorial Recall: Field Notes.” State and Local Government Review 55, no. 2 (2023): 153–169.
• “Whither the Political Science Major? Curricular Design and Program Learning Outcomes at 110 Colleges and Universities.” Co-authored with Maureen Feeley. PS: Political Science and Politics 54, no. 2 (2021): 363–367.

• Distinguished Service Award, Political Science Education Section, American Political Science Association, 2022
• Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in American Politics and Policy, University of Redlands, assumed September 2021
• Best Paper Award, Political Science Education Section, American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, 2020 (with Maureen Feeley, University of California, San Diego)
• Career Faculty Fellow, inaugural class, University of Redlands, 2019–20
• Nominee, Most Innovative Teaching Award, University of Redlands, 2016
• Nominee, Mortar Board Professor of the Year, University of Redlands, 2009
• Rowman & Littlefield Award for Innovative Teaching in Political Science, American Political Science Association, Summer 2008
• Most Innovative Teaching Award, University of Redlands, May 2008