Kerry L. Haynie

Kerry L. Haynie is Dean of the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science and African and African American Studies, and a former Chair of Duke’s Academic Council (Faculty Senate), 2019-21. He earned B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. Before coming to Duke in 2003, Haynie was a member of the faculty at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and the University of Pennsylvania.    

Haynie’s research examines how the underlying theory, structures, and practices of American political institutions affect African Americans’ and women’s efforts to organize and exert influence on the political system. In 2012, he and his co-author Beth Reingold were the co-winners of the American Political Science Association’s Women and Politics Research Section’s Best Paper Award. In addition to articles in various academic journals, his publications include, Race, Gender, and Legislative Representation: Toward a More Intersectional Approach (with Beth Reingold and Kirsten Widner, Oxford University Press) winner of the 2021 Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize from the American Political Science Association for the best book in legislative studies. 

Haynie received the 2025 Mac Jewell Enduring Contribution Award of the American Political Science Association’s State Politics and Policy Section for the article he co-authored with Kathleen Bratton, “Agenda Setting and Legislative Success in State Legislatures: the Effects of Gender and Race,” published in the Journal of Politics (1999). The award is given to the author(s) of a book or article published at least ten years prior that stands as an enduring contribution to the literature.