The Pi Sigma Alpha national political science honor society recognized Annie Morris ’11 as a winner in its national writing competition. Her winning Persuasion and the Bully Pulpit: Expanded Evidence on Strategies of Presidential Leadership presented the results of Morris’ undergraduate research on the influence of televised speeches. She showed that, contrary to popular belief, such speeches have the power to influence the votes of a small percentage of members of Congress.
The ninth winner from UMW since 1997, the political science and sociology major developed the idea for the paper when she was taking the American Presidency class with UMW Assistant Professor of Political Science Chad Murphy.
“I am honored, but more than that,” she said, the award “is a testament to the kind of professors and students the University attracts. Not many schools have departments that support their students as much as UMW.”