Berkley Center

Melissa Deckman is the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs and chair of the Political Science Department at Washington College. Her research focuses on religion and politics, women and politics, and state and local politics. Deckman is also an affiliated scholar and chair of the board of the Public Religion Research Institute. She is the author of Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right (2016), Women and Politics: Paths to Power and Political Influence, Third Edition (2015, with Julie Dolan and Michele L. Swers), and School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (2004), among others. Deckman holds a B.A. from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and M.A. and Ph.D. from American University.