Jean Yarbrough: Research Summary
Overview
Ms. Yarbrough is Professor of Government and Gary M. Pendy, Sr. Professor of Social Sciences, with teaching responsibilities in political philosophy and American Political Thought. She was a Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellow and has twice received research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her first award as a Bicentennial Fellow resulted in the publication of American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People (Kansas, 1998). Following up on this research, she has edited The Essential Jefferson (Hackett, 2006). Her second N.E.H. grant was part of a "We the People" initiative that supported research on Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition (University Press of Kansas, 2012), which won the Richard E. Neustadt Award for 2013 (awarded annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) for the best book on the Presidency). Ms. Yarbrough is the author of numerous articles and essays in American political thought and public policy, as well as other topics in political philosophy.
Her current research involves a study of the political thought of Alexis de Tocqueville in relation to major American political figures. She has served on the editorial boards of The Review of Politics and Polity and currently serves on the editorial board of American Political Thought. She was President of the New England Political Science Association in 2005, and recently completed a Senate-confirmed appointment to the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2021, Ms. Yarbrough was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for her scholarly work and public service in upholding the principles of the American Founding.
Current Work
Her current research project involves a study of Tocqueville and the various American thinkers from Thomas Jefferson to Donald Trump.
Student Opportunities
She encourages students interested in becoming involved with her research and projects to talk to her about their ideas and undertaking research projects connected with their coursework.