Betsy Sinclair, who studies how politics influence social relationships, was installed April 17 as the Thomas F. Eagleton University Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences and the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor, presided over the ceremony, which also included remarks from Margit Tavits, the Dr. William Taussig Professor in Arts & Sciences; and a medallion presentation by Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.
In her installation address, “The Social Citizen,” Sinclair — who also serves as chair of political science and assistant vice provost for digital transformation at WashU — emphasized the impact of familiarity on people’s willingness to help one another, both personally and politically. Get-out-the-vote efforts, for example, are far more effective when handled by neighbors rather than strangers, she said.
The professorship, established in 1985, honors the late U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who represented Missouri from 1968-1987. His wife, Barbara Eagleton, attended the ceremony.
Read more about Sinclair, Eagleton and the ceremony on the Arts & Sciences website.
