Spring Drop-In Hours 

• Thursday, 9:30 - 11 a.m.

Caroline Tolbert is a Distinguished University Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa, where she regularly teaches American government, campaigns and elections, public policy, and social media and politics. She was named a 2021 Andrew Carnegie Fellow for her research on voting and elections. She is a coauthor of The Problem with Primary Voters: Participation, Representation, and Consistency (2026, UPenn). She is also a coauthor of Accessible Elections: How the States Can Help Americans Vote and Choosing the Future: Technology and Opportunity in Communities, both with Oxford University Press. Other books on technology and politics include Digital Cities, Digital Citizenship, and Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide, ranked one of 20 best-selling titles in the social sciences by the American Library Association. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and many nonprofits. She recently served as Vice President for the American Political Science Association. Her work is driven by an interest in strengthening American democracy, increasing political participation, and improving representation.

Tolbert was named a Collegiate Scholar at the University of Iowa for outstanding research and teaching in 2009. The award is given annually to the top professor standing for promotion to full professor throughout the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  She is the recipient of a 2024 Career Achievement Award from the State Politics section of APSA. She received her PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Caroline Tolbert CV