Dr. Beth Vonnahme is an associate dean in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor in the political science department at UMKC, where she has been on faculty since 2006. In the Dean’s Office, Dr. Vonnahme is responsible for research, finance and staff affairs.
At UMKC, Dr. Vonnahme teaches courses related to voting behavior and political psychology. Dr. Vonnahme’s research focuses on the ways in which psychological processes affect the formation and persistence of political choices. Specifically, her published work and ongoing projects explore how voters process and use certain types of campaign information (e.g., scandal involvement, physical characteristics like weight) to evaluate political candidates and the ways in which psychological processes bias political decision making. Dr. Vonnahme is an active member of various academic associations including the American Political Science Association and the International Society of Political Psychology. She currently serves as the vice president of the Southwestern Political Science Association.
Academic Credentials
Research and Teaching Interests