Lori Poloni-Staudinger

Dr. Lori Poloni-Staudinger currently serves as Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) at the University of Arizona. She also has a faculty appointment as professor in the School of Government and Public Policy. Previously, she was Interim Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, associate dean for research, personnel, and graduate programs and chair of the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. Poloni-Staudinger has actively promoted student success, faculty governance, community engagement, international education, and diversity in the academy.

The author of five books and over thirty articles, chapters and reports, Poloni-Staudinger’s research and publications focus mainly on social movements and extra institutional political participation in Europe and the United States. Over time, her work has moved from focusing on environmental movements to a focus on women’s movements. Her recent work examines questions around women and political violence as well as women and politics more generally. Her expertise has led to publications in the Washington Post and other popular media outlets.

Poloni-Staudinger has worked to increase citizen participation in politics, facilitating dozens of community forums throughout the state of Arizona. Her civic engagement work led to the development of Arizona Deliberates, a cooperative, grant-funded project between Maricopa Community College District, NAU, and nonprofits. She has also served as the Women’s Caucus president for the Midwest Political Science Association.

Poloni-Staudinger has been a Distinguished Fulbright Fellow at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, Austria, a Kettering Foundation Fellow, and a consultant for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. She attended Harvard’s Management Development Program, which provided training and insight into higher education leadership and operations.

Poloni-Staudinger received her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology with a minor in French from Colorado State University. She also received an MA in political science with a concentration in environmental politics from Colorado State. Her Ph.D. was earned at Indiana University in political science and her dissertation focused on environmental non-governmental organizations in Europe.