Dr. Kimberly S. Adams is an associate professor of political science and the owner of Adams Political Research & Consulting. A longtime political activist and youth leader, Dr. Adams worked as an intern on Capitol Hill in two Congressional offices in the mid-1990’s. She has participated in intensive campaign training seminars on women and politics and grassroots mobilization. She has served as a part-time, senior research and issues consultant for the Mississippi Policy Forum and is a veteran of numerous federal, state and local candidate and issue campaigns. In January 2010, she was named as an MLK Ambassador of Service by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Dr. Adams' areas of teaching include American National Government, Women and Politics, Race and Ethnicity in American Politics, Political Parties, Political Communication, the American Presidency, the Legislative Process, Senior Seminar, and Campaigns and Elections. Dr. Adams taught American Government at Georgetown University and Yale University, through the Junior Statesman Program, in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
During the summer of 2011, Dr. Adams served as a Breakfast Keynote speaker for the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative (NOBEL) Women Annual Legislative Conference in Baton Rouge, La. In January 2011, Dr. Adams served as the Keynote Speaker for the DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center’s MLK program. In July 2008, Dr. Adams appeared as a political commentator/analyst on Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes program. She was selected to serve as a faculty leader for the Washington Center’s “Campaign 2008: The Republican National Convention” Program and served as a faculty leader for their Presidential Inauguration Seminar in January, 2009. Dr. Adams served as a faculty leader for the Democratic National Convention Program in 2004.
Dr. Adams received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Political Science at the University of Southern Mississippi and her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Mississippi. She is a member of the American Political Science Association, the National Organization for Women, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, and the American Association of University Women. She sits on the Alumni Advisory Board for the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington, DC, the Ambassador Board for the Pocono Health Foundation in East Stroudsburg, PA, and the Administrative Board for Community Services Block Grants in Monroe County, PA, the Columbia Political Union’s Advisory Board at Columbia University, and was recently nominated to serve on the National Social Science Association’s National Governing Board.
Dr. Adams' research explores the agenda setting behavior of non-traditional legislators (i.e. - women and African-Americans). She has presented academic papers on women and politics at the state, national and international levels. She studied British Law and Politics at King's College in London, England, has participated in the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria, and at the Oxford Round Table in Oxford, England.
In July 2011, Dr. Adams made a presentation on media bias and female candidates in Madrid, Spain, at the eighth biennial meeting of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society Conference. In August 2009, Dr. Adams gave a presentation at the National Social Science Association’s Summer Seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii. In June 2008, she presented her research at the Sixth International Conference on Politics and International Affairs in Athens, Greece. During the summer of 2007, Dr. Adams gave research presentations at the University of Rijeka, in Rijeka, Croatia and Vrije Universiteit (Free University) in Amsterdam, Holland. In December 2005, she gave a presentation at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.
Her most recent publications include: “The Naked Truth: The Media’s Role in Undermining Female Political Candidates”; “Moving Toward Gender Parity: Female Representation in National Legislatures, 2001 and 2011”; and “Rounding the Tables of Legislative Decision Making: Explanations for the Increased Presence of Women in Sub-Saharan Politics”. Dr. Adams’ most recent co-authored articles include: “Landmark Reform: An Examination of Support for the Healthcare Reform Bill among Minority Groups in the 111th Congress”; “Strengthening the Spine of Democracy: How Women are Changing the Face of sub-Saharan African Politics,” and “Mississippi: An Emerging Democracy Creating a Culture of Civic Participation among Formerly Oppressed Peoples.”
Dr. Adams is currently conducting research on the utility and evolving role of the Congressional Black Caucus.
