Meet our Graduate Administrators!
Dr. Andy Baker, Professor, Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Head
Dr. Baker joined Purdue in 2023. Prior to arriving, he was most recently Professor and Chair of Political Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and held positions of Graduate Director and Director of the Program on International Development at the Institute for Behavioral Sciences.
Professor Baker’s research focuses on how economic interests and interpersonal communication shape citizens’ attitudes about political issues and their voting decisions, and he is particularly interested in these questions in the Latin American context. He is the author of three books: (1) Persuasive Peers: Social Communication and Voting in Latin America (with Barry Ames and Lucio Renno, 2020, Princeton University Press), which won the 2021 APSA Political Networks Section Best Book Award; (2) The Market and the Masses in Latin America: Policy Reform and Consumption in Liberalizing Economies (2009, Cambridge University Press); and (3) Shaping the Developing World: The West, the South, and the Natural World: Second Edition (2022, Congressional Quarterly Press). Dr. Baker was raised in Northwest Indiana and is a lifelong fanatic of Purdue basketball! Learn more about him here: https://www.andybaker.org/
Contact Information: bakerab@purdue.edu
Dr. Mollie Cohen, Associate Professor, Associate Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Admissions and Placement.
Mollie Cohen is an associate professor of Political Science and faculty member in the Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program. Previously, she was an assistant professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia and a research fellow at the LAPOP Lab. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Cohen studies public opinion and voting behavior, especially in Latin America. Her book, None of the Above: Protest Voting in Latin American Democracies (University of Michigan Press, 2024), examines how democratic backsliding fuels the emergence and success of campaigns promoting blank or spoiled votes. In 2025, it was selected for the David O. Sears Best Book on Mass Politics Award by the International Society of Political Psychology. Her research has been published at the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, Political Behavior, and Public Opinion Quarterly, among other outlets.
Learn more about her here: Mollie Cohen
Contact: mjcohen@purdue.edu
Ms. Stacy Bogan, Graduate Coordinator and Senior Administrative Assistant.
Ms. Bogan joined Purdue Political Science in 2023. In her role, she supports all aspects of graduate education in the department, from admissions through graduation. She works closely with students to help them navigate the various forms and requirements at Purdue, and takes great pride in helping students succeed. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Purdue’s Rueff School of Art and Design. Recently, she was commissioned by the College of Liberal Arts to create a portrait of Helen Bass Williams, for the Helen Bass Williams Learning Center on campus. Her art has won multiple awards, and she regularly participates in juried art shows. We enjoy the art she brings to the department walls!
Contact information: polgradcoordinator@purdue.edu