Dr. C. Danielle Vinson, a professor of politics and international affairs, is the 2019 Excellence In Teaching award recipient for Furman University. Dr. Vinson joined the Furman faculty in 1995 after earning a Ph.D. and M.A. in political science, both from Duke University. A native South Carolinian, Dr. Vinson is a 1989 graduate of Furman University (B.A. political science and English).
Dr. Vinson’s teaching interests are focused on American political institutions and political communication. Her courses include American government, the U.S. Congress, the American presidency, and media and politics. She also teaches her department’s research methods course and a first-year writing seminar on humor and politics. In all of her classes, Dr. Vinson makes an effort to incorporate original research, and in recent years, her American government classes have helped her compile and analyze data on congressional members’ use of social media.
She is the author of the books “Congress and the Media: Beyond Institutional Power and “Local Media Coverage of Congress and Its Members”, and has authored or co-authored articles on media and the courts and campaign finance and communication in political campaigns. She enjoys involving her students in her research.
As director of Furman’s Washington Internship program, Dr. Vinson’s dedication to students is clear.
Outside the classroom, Dr. Vinson frequently does interviews with local and national media on congressional and presidential campaigns and South Carolina politics and speaks to community groups on these issues.