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Dr Meryl Kenny has received the prestigious Joni Lovenduski Prize from the Political Studies Association (PSA) for outstanding professional achievement.
The PSA is the UK’s leading professional association dedicated to supporting and promoting the study and public understanding of politics. It awards the Joni Lovenduski Prize each year to a mid-career scholar who has made outstanding professional contributions to political studies, through advancing public knowledge of politics, service to professional associations, and other major contributions.
The prize is named in honour of one of the most influential figures in UK political science; Professor Lovenduski is Professor Emerita of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London and Visiting Professor at King’s College London, and a leading figurehead and internationally acclaimed scholar of gender, politics and political institutions.
Dr. Kenny received the prize at the 2023 PSA Annual Conference in Liverpool, following judging by a panel of expert peers. The commendation from the panel highlighted her agenda-setting body of work, notably in relation to the development of feminist institutionalism; her significant contribution to the teaching of politics; and her commitment to service and to the discipline, including to the PSA.
Dr Kenny, a Senior Lecturer in Gender and Politics, works within Politics and International Relations at the School of Social and Political Science (SPS), with research interests bridging the intersection of gender politics, party politics, territorial politics and institutional approaches to the study of politics. She currently serves as SPS Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching, as well as Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change and the Feminism and Institutionalism International Network.
Dr Kenny said: “I’m honoured to receive a prize that is both named after Joni Lovenduski – who has paved the way and supported so many of us in the discipline – and that recognises academic careers and achievement in the round."
Professor Ben Rosamond, Head of Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This is a magnificent achievement and a richly deserved tribute, not only to Meryl’s pathbreaking scholarship as one of the pioneers of feminist institutionalism in political science, but also to her warm and selfless collegiality. Colleagues at Edinburgh are well aware of Meryl’s day-to-day contributions to the improvement of our subject area and the wider School. This award is a vivid acknowledgement that she has been, and continues to be, a force for good in the discipline as a whole.“