Political Science

Political Science Faculty

The faculty political scientists of Elmhurst College are top-notch professionals with wide-ranging areas of expertise, representing an excellent cross-section of diverse fields of study. Approachable and energetic, our faculty love to teach—in a friendly environment where they can work with their students as individuals.

Want to know more? See our faculty profiles, below. Or, contact a professor directly.

Full-time Faculty

Jennifer R. Boyle
Associate Professor of Political Science and Department Chair
Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Boyle teaches courses on international relations, comparative politics, European Union, politics of developing nations, international organizations, international political economy and American foreign policy. Her book, Conditional Leadership: The European Commission and European Regional Policy (Lexington Books, 2006) has just been published.

Constance A. Mixon
Instructor
M.P.A., University of Illinois at Chicago
Ms. Mixon teaches courses in American government, state and local government, urban politics, public administration and public policy. Prior to joing Elmhurst College in the spring of 2010, she taught at the City Colleges of Chicago for eleven years where she served as dean of instruction and was also the director of the Honors and Illinois Scholars Programs. In 2001, Ms. Mixon was named the Illinois Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

S. Alan Ray
President and Professor of Religion and Society
Ph.D., Harvard University
S. Alan Ray is the thirteenth president of Elmhurst College. A student of theology and a scholar of federal Indian law, Dr. Ray has written and taught on religion, on philosophy, and on Native American issues and the courts. He is a former Roman Catholic seminarian and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and came to Elmhurst after spending twelve years working in academic administration, first at Harvard Law School and most recently at the University of New Hampshire. More about President Ray... 

Teri J. Walker
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Ph.D., Northern Illinois University
Dr. Walker teaches courses in American government and politics, constitutional law, public law, the Presidency and Congress, and public policy with an emphasis on environmental policy.

Mary B. Walsh
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Walsh teaches courses on ancient, modern and post-modern political philosophy, early American political theory, feminist political philosophy, and political justice.