Melody Valdini

About Dr. Valdini
Melody Ellis Valdini (Ph.D. 2006, University of California, San Diego) is a professor and chair of the political science department at Portland State University as well as the associate editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. Her research focuses on the consequences of institutional design, with a particular focus on electoral systems, political parties, and women's descriptive representation. She has published in the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Studies, and Politics & Gender, and won the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for a project on gender stereotypes and political corruption. In addition, Dr. Valdini is the author of two books: The Character of Democracy: How Institutions Shape Politics (with Richard Clucas) and, most recently, The Inclusion Calculation: Why Men Appropriate Women's Representation (both published by Oxford University Press). She is the recipient of PSU's 2021 College of Urban & Public Affairs Researcher of the Year. She teaches courses on comparative politics, with a focus on representation, institutions, and the regions of Latin America and Europe.

Educational Background:
Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
M.A., University of California, San Diego
B.A., University of California, Riverside