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It was election night, the polls had closed, and Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo was live on the air at the local NBC affiliate in Hampton Roads. As she had done many times before, Bromley-Trujillo was offering viewers nonpartisan analysis and voter insight based on surveys she helped conduct through the Wason Center for Civic Leadership.
Once her segment ended, Bromley-Trujillo slipped off the set to a quiet corner of the station and fired up her laptop. Moments later, she popped up as an analyst for a different TV station - this one in Washington, D.C. - and continued her calm, informed analysis of election returns, moving seamlessly between these two roles for the rest of the night. At first glance, all this looks like an impressive feat of multitasking – and it is. But it’s Bromley-Trujillo’s keen ability to translate complicated data into meaningful voter insights that truly stands out and embodies the public-facing scholarship the prestigious Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) was created to recognize. The award is Virginia’s highest honor for faculty at public and private colleges and universities, given for excellence in teaching, research, and public service.
The associate professor of political science says she is deeply honored and humbled to be selected.
“One of the most heartwarming things about receiving this award is how many students, past and present, have reached out to me through texts, calls, emails, and LinkedIn,” said Bromley-Trujillo. “I love our students, and my goal is always to have them come away from my classes with an understanding and respect for those with opposing views. The expectation is that they are always respectful and that they bring evidence to our discussions and debates. It’s inspiring to see them develop into empathetic and thoughtful leaders.”
As part of her role as research director at the Wason Center, Bromley-Trujillo works with her students and Wason Scholars to conduct surveys and provide the public with data-driven insights on the policy issues shaping Virginia. The Wason Center, founded by Judy and Harry Wason, is dedicated to educating and inspiring the next generation of civic-minded leaders.
“Provost Quentin Kidd and Judy and Harry Wason created this amazing foundation, and I feel honored to carry on their work by continuing to get out into the community and share our survey information. I think a lot of people are reasonably skeptical of surveys, and so one of my goals is to explain our process, which is always based in science and math, and to remind folks that not all surveys are created equally,” she said. “Our methods are nonpartisan. We have no hidden agendas. We are here to serve and inform and hopefully remind our citizens that our surveys typically show, even on controversial issues, that people have so many common goals and shared values.”
Professor Bromley-Trujillo teaches American Political Behavior, Campaigns and Elections, U.S. Environmental Policy, Public Policy and Governance, Power and Politics, and State and Local Politics. She joins a distinguished cohort of Christopher Newport faculty that has been selected for this prestigious award over the last few years, including:
- ‘23 Dr. Kelly Cartwright and Dr. Margarita Marinova
- ‘24 Dr. Tarek Abdel-Fattah and Dr. John Finn
- ‘26 Dr. Rebecca Bromley-Trujillo
Bromley-Trujillo also serves as the editor of the “Annual Review for Publius: The Journal of Federalism.” The Wason Center surveys she has conducted have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and countless other media outlets. Her research interests include American political behavior, environmental policy, and state politics. Dr. Bromley-Trujillo and the 11 other recipients selected by SCHEV will receive the award, along with a $7,500 prize, at an in-person ceremony in Richmond.