Professor Sebold Appointed Sylvia G. Swartz Endowed Chair for 2026 - 2027 Term

Karen D. Sebold, a professor of political science, has been appointed to the Sylvia G. Swartz Endowed Chair in Political Science.

Sebold's term as the Swartz Chair began this July, following the 2025-26 endowment of fellow professor Najja Baptist. Endowed chairs use their appointments to fund ongoing research and to implement recruitment strategies for their programs. Sebold's current research agenda focuses on campaign finance oversight and anti-corruption measures within the campaign finance system. The appointment supports her work as she completes her second solo book under contract with Bloomsbury Press and organizes an anti-corruption workshop at the U of Arkansa Rome Center.

"I am honored to be appointed the Sylvia G. Swartz Endowed Chair of Political Science," Sebold said. "It will allow me to complete my research agenda focused on democracy and anti-corruption in the U.S. campaign finance system and to host a workshop for my colleagues at the U of A Rome Center, which I hope will draw attention to our university among potential international students attending the International Political Science Association annual conference in the days before the workshop."

You can learn more about Swartz and the generous gift that funded the endowed chair at the link below:

https://news.uark.edu/articles/10004/gift-from-volunteer-reflects-lifetime-of-community-service

About Professor Sebold

Sebold is an associate professor of political science at the U of A. She earned her doctorate in public policy at the U of A. Her research focuses on election administration, the campaign finance system and presidential elections. Her work has appeared in journals including The Review of International Organizations, P.S.: Political Science and Politics, Party Politics and Election Law. She has two co-authored books, published by Palgrave Macmillan, that examine donor networks in presidential primaries and the political geography of presidential donors. In 2024, Lexington Books published her solo-authored book on partisan asymmetry and campaign finance oversight at the Federal Election Commission. Her work primarily focuses on American politics, money and politics, campaign finance enforcement and administration, and presidential elections. Additionally, Sebold is the author of the forthcoming Republican Domination of the Federal Election Commission: Are We Letting the Foxes Guard the Henhouse?