Visionary Voices Lecture Series: Lynn Vavreck, UCLA

The Visionary Voices Lecture Series highlights scholars whose work demonstrates the essential role of social and behavioral science in addressing complex societal challenges. Each year, we invite a speaker who conducts pioneering research that expands how we understand and respond to the issues of our time. The series provides an opportunity for colleagues from across disciplines to connect around inspiring social and behavioral science.

Why does American politics feel so bad—and why does it seem so difficult to change? Drawing on survey evidence from 1986 to 2026, we will explore what has shifted, what has stayed the same, and whether Americans still believe the American Dream is within reach as they approach another consequential election and wrap up the first quarter of the 21st Century.

Lynn Vavreck is the Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a contributor to The New York Times.  She is a recipient of the Andrew F. Carnegie Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences and the author or co-author of six books, including The Bitter End: The 2020 Presidential Election & the Challenge to American Democracy.  Her 2016 book, Identity Crisis, was named the “most ominous” book of 2018 by the Washington Post Book Review, and Nate Silver dubbed her 2012 election book the “definitive account” of that election.

She has served on both the American and British National Election Studies advisory boards and is the recipient of multiple grants for her work on survey methodology. From 2019-2021, she helped develop and manage Nationscape, a 500,000-interview election survey, as well as the UCLA Covid-19 Health and Politics Project, a collaboration between medical doctors and social scientists at UCLA, the CDC, and Harvard.  At UCLA she teaches courses on campaigns, elections, public opinion, and the 1960s.

Professor Vavreck holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Rochester and held previous appointments at Princeton University, Dartmouth College, and The White House.  A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she remains a loyal Browns fan and is a “known equestrian” – to draw on a phrase from the 2012 presidential campaign.