Christopher A. Cooper

Biography

Christopher A. Cooper is Robert Lee Madison Distinguished Professor and Director of the Haire Institute for Public policy Institute at Western Carolina University. He has received Western Carolina University’s highest awards for research (University Scholar, 2011) and teaching (Board of Governors Teaching Award, 2013) and was named the 2013 North Carolina Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.<br><br>Cooper’s published academic research features over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on American politics, southern politics, state politics, NC politics, and elections. He is also co-author of <i>The Resilience of Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of its People</i>, co-editor of <i>The New Politics of North Carolina</i>, and author of the forthcoming Anatomy of a Purple State: A North Carolina Politics Primer (all three published by the University of North Carolina Press). <br><br>Cooper is a frequent source for news stories about North Carolina and national politics and he has been quoted hundreds of times in a variety of media including the <i>New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, Christian Science Monitor</i>, <i>Boston Herald</i>, <i>Al Jazeera, Charlotte Observer, Asheville-Citizen Times, The Hill, National Journal, Raleigh News and Observer, </i>North Carolina Insider National Public Radio (All Things Considered and Morning Edition),<i> USA Today, </i>CNN, FOX News, WUNC, Blue Ridge Public Radio, WFAE (Charlotte) ABC News, and<i> ESPN.com. </i>

Education

• Ph D, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• MA, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• BA, Winthrop University

Teaching Interests

American politics; parties, campaigns and elections; election administration; state and local government; southern politics; research methods; public administration.

Research Interests

American politics, state and local politics, southern politics, elections, North Carolina politics.