Cecelia Lynch, political science professor and Institute for International, Global and Regional Studies director, is one of two recipients of the 2014 J. Ann Tickner Award. Given by the International Studies Association, a 6,500+ member organization, the honor recognizes scholars who push the boundaries of international studies scholarship, teaching and mentorship. Joining her as a co-recipient of the award is Audie Klotz, political science professor at Syracuse University.

According to the award committee, Lynch “has perhaps done more than any other scholar to bring religion into the mainstream of [international relations] theory.” At the same time, she considers broader conceptual, analytic and theoretical issues that expand the traditional focus of international relations research. She is the author of the award-winning Beyond Appeasement: Interpreting Interwar Peace Movements in World Politics which received the Edgar Furniss book prize for the best first book on international security, and the Myrna Bernath book prize of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Policy. Her most recent book, Interpreting International Politics, expands the traditional focus of international relations research to include issues of gender, race, religion and secularism, topics she pursues in her own research.

Together with Klotz, Lynch co-authored Strategies for Research in Constructivist International Relations which the award committee called “pioneering” and “path-breaking.”

Lynch’s work has been supported by the Social Science Research Council/MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, AAUW and Huntington Library. The American Political Science Association’s Women’s Caucus and the Society for Women in International Political Economy both have recognized Lynch for mentoring junior faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates. Lynch is the founder of Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa, a blog that brings together a network of international scholars and religious actors to explore different perspectives on the way humanitarian aid in Africa is sought, delivered and perceived.

Lynch and Klotz received their award at the ISA annual meeting on March 27, 2014, in Toronto.