Alisson Rowland, political science graduate student, is the recipient of the 2025 Social Sciences Kathy Alberti Prize. The honor recognizes a graduate student who holds truly outstanding promise as a future professor or academic. Rowland, who earned their bachelor’s from UCI, pursues research on how people advocate for the rights and safety of criminalized communities. Below, Rowland expands on their work, time as an Anteater and coming move to Fort Hays State University where they've been hired as an assistant professor of political science.

What made you decide to pursue political science as a field of study, and specifically at UCI?

I transferred to UCI as an undergraduate student and was excited by the opportunities to be involved in research, and in the campus community more broadly. Out of the graduate schools I applied to I chose UCI because of the academic rigor and opportunities for professional development

Tell us about your research. What problem will your findings help solve?

My research focuses on how people advocate for the rights and safety of criminalized communities. I assess how people organize, what strategies they use, and with what effect on promoting social change. I utilize an intersectional feminist approach to studying social issues with the goal of creating an abolitionist future where social problems are addressed through repair rather than punishment.

Where can your work be found if someone wanted to learn more about your research?

My work has been published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy and Diálogo com a Economia Criativa. I have a recently published book chapter in Routledge’s International Handbook of Critical Policing Studies. Stay tuned because I have some forthcoming work end of this year/early next as well!

How about funding? Which organizations, foundations, etc. have funded your research while you’ve been at UCI? 

I am grateful to the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies and Center for Organizational Research here at UCI for funding my dissertation research. I have also been fortunate to receive dissertation funding from the Haynes Foundation and the Institute for Humane Studies.

Give us a quick rundown on other accomplishments, awards and activities you’ve been a part of at UCI.

At UCI, I have been fortunate to receive awards recognizing my research, teaching and service contributions. Recently, I received the Kathy Alberti Graduate Order of Merit Award. In previous years, I received DECADE’s Outstanding Service Award and the Outstanding Service Graduate Order of Merit Award. I have also received the Political Science Department’s David Easton Award for Best Graduate Research Paper.

Who have been your faculty mentors while here, and what impact have they had on your graduate career?

My advisor Erin Lockwood has been an incredible pillar of guidance and support during my graduate career. Thanks to her efforts, I have successfully defended my dissertation and will walk in commencement this Spring. Cecelia Lynch has also provided much appreciated guidance on my dissertation project. I appreciate all of the faculty who have given me informal guidance throughout my time at UCI or who provided kind words and feedback on my research, including Annie McClanahan, Heidi Hardt, Kamal Sadiq, Danny Mann and Alex Bower at DTEI, and Tiffany Willoughby-Herard.

When do you plan to complete your Ph.D.? What are your plans thereafter? How has UCI prepared you well for this role?

I recently completed my Ph.D. and will walk in commencement this June. I will be joining Fort Hays State University as an Assistant Professor of Political Science. Thanks to the opportunities I have taken advantage of during my time at UCI, I feel well prepared for the research, teaching and service.