Candis Watts Smith

Faculty Director, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship

Professor Smith's expertise highlights race and ethnicity's role in shaping the American political landscape. Her research agenda illuminates the ways in which demographic dynamics influence citizens' and denizens' of the U.S. understanding of their own identity, their political attitudes, and their policy preferences.

Smith applies the knowledge gained from research to speak to issues that influence real people, including the effects racial attitudes on American politics, diversity issues, and access to resources that ought to be distributed equitably.