Directory

Biography

Dr. Michelle Barnello, Associate Professor and former Chair (2014-2020) of the Department of Political Science, joined the faculty of Christopher Newport University in 2001. Prior to becoming a faculty member at Christopher Newport, Dr. Barnello was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Old Dominion University. She is originally from upstate New York, and received her B.A. in political science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, and M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Binghamton University. Her research interests include women and politics and state politics. More specifically, she studies the impact of women legislators on state politics, including roll call voting behavior and bill sponsorship, as well as issues of particular relevance to women, such as abortion policy. Her work has appeared in journals including Women & Politics, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics. In addition to being a faculty member in the Political Science Department, she is a member of the Honors Faculty, and is the founding member of Alpha Alpha Epsilon–Christopher Newport’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha–the National Political Science Honor Society, for which she served as advisor for fifteen years.