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Spotlights

Seven New Social Scientists Join College Faculty

August 24, 2022

1
Darin Self, Political Science

Darin Self is a new assistant professor of the Political Science Department. Self earned a masters in public policy (MPP) from BYU in 2013 and then a doctoral degree in Government at Cornell University in May 2022. Self is a comparativist studying Latin America and Southeast Asia. He is particularly interested in authoritarianism, comparative democracy, parties and elections, and civilian-military relations.

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2
Alejandra Aldridge, Political Science

Alejandra Aldridge is also a new assistant professor in the Political Science Department. Aldridge studied political science at Stanford University, earning a PhD in June 2022. She researches the intersection of democracy, partisanship, and the presidency, and gender and politics.

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3
Stefania Ashby, Psychology

Stefania Ashby is a new assistant professor in the Psychology Department. She studied psychology at the University of Oregon with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience. Ashby completed her PhD in 2021 and studies memory and misinformation processing.

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4
Chelsea Romney, Psychology

Chelsea Romney joins the Psychology Department as an assistant teaching professor. She completed a PhD in health psychology from UCLA in 2021 and focuses on intervention programs for underrepresented students and research mentoring.

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5
Nathan Leonhardt, School of Family Life

Nathan Leonhardt is a new assistant professor in the School of Family Life. Leonhardt studied at the University of Toronto to earn a PhD in psychology in July 2022. His research interests include social psychology and how relationships are influenced by sexual quality, virtues, prosociality, and religion.

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6
Dana Hunter, School of Family Life

Dana Hunter is a new associate teacher professor in the School of Family Life. She received a BS in Home Economics Education in 1988 and an MS in Family Science in 1992. Her focus is on emphasizing feelings of belonging constructed by food and family.

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7
Courtney Evans Stout, School of Family Life

Cortney Evans Stout is a professional-track associate professor at the School of Family Life. Having studied at BYU during her entire tertiary education career, Evans Stout earned an MS in marriage, family, and human development in 2004 and went on to graduate in 2008 with a PhD in the same field. She brings expertise in child and human development and a background of public scholarship.

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8

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