Rate My Professor Julia Hellwege

Julia Marin Hellwege serves as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Allene R. Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, where she is also Associate Professor of Political Science, Program and Internship Coordinator for undergraduate programs, and affiliated faculty in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. She joined the University of South Dakota as an assistant professor in 2016, advancing to associate professor in 2022. Hellwege earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of New Mexico in 2016, M.A. in Political Science from the same institution in 2011, and B.A. in Political Science from Colorado Mesa University in 2009. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on the legislative process, politics of inequality, women and politics, applied government research, and introductory political science, employing active learning and experiential pedagogies to foster student engagement.

Hellwege's research examines institutional behavior and representation, with a focus on gender, race, and ethnicity in American politics, alongside political science pedagogy and professional development. Notable publications include co-editing The Palgrave Handbook of Political Research Pedagogy (2021, Palgrave Macmillan) and Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond (2022, American Political Science Association); articles such as 'Strategic Behavior in State Multimember Districts' in Legislative Studies Quarterly (2022, with Ed Gerrish), 'Working Mothers Represent: How Children Affect the Legislative Agenda of Women in Congress' in American Politics Research (2019, with Lisa A. Bryant, recipient of the Hahn-Sigelman Prize), and 'Gendered Perceptions of Procedural (In)Justice in Police Encounters' in Police Practice & Research (2021, with Thomas Mrozla and Keenan Knutelski). Forthcoming books under contract with NYU Press address working parents in Congress and surrogate representation in state legislatures. Her scholarship appears in journals including American Politics Research, Social Science Quarterly, and Journal of Public Affairs Education. Hellwege has earned awards such as the Belbas-Larson Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021), APSA Latino Caucus Emerging Scholar (2021), Professor of the Year by Student Government Association (2024), Richard and Sharon Cutler Awards in Liberal Arts (2024), and Blair and Linda Tremere Public Service Award (2025). She mentors student research teams, advises the Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Society chapter, and serves on the Vermillion City Council.