Rice University’s School of Social Sciences marks another year of substantial growth, with the addition of nine tenure-track faculty members to six of its departments. These faculty provide expertise in unique and innovative areas that support the School’s strategic plan and mission to shape the future and connect teaching and research with policy for the betterment of society.
Anthropology
Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo, professor, is co-director of the Institute of Evolution in Africa in Madrid, Spain and has spent 35 years working as an archaeologist and paleoanthropologist studying human evolution in Africa. He centers his research on Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, where the best-preserved records of early human evolution are found. His research combines archaeological excavation and study of fossil human and animal remains with computational approaches, including the application of artificial intelligence, to better understand taphonomy, or the formation of the fossil record. Dominguez-Rodrigo previously taught at University of Alcala and Complutense University in Spain, having received his Ph.D. at the latter in 1993.
Economics
Guillaume Pouliot, associate professor, focuses his research on developing statistical methods for nonstandard problems in economics, business, and public policy, as well as the extension of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods for applications in economics and problems at the interface of econometrics and optimization. Pouliot received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Previously, he received his B.A. (Honors) in economics as well as his M.S. (concurrent) in statistics from the University of Chicago.
Linguistics
Bryce McCleary, assistant professor, is a sociolinguist who focuses on language variation and language regard. Recent research centers on dialects of English in Oklahoma, including the spread of linguistic innovations from one community to another, focusing on language, group belonging, identity, and popular culture — including the roles social media and entertainment play in the spread of language change. Prior to stepping into this position, Bryce served as a lecturer in the department. McCleary received a B.A. from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.
Political Science
Taylor J. Damann, assistant professor, specializes in international relations with an emphasis on conflict and gender. Her research investigates how citizens’ attitudes and behaviors in conflict are shaped by exposure to violence, societal narratives about outgroups, and gender dynamics. Her research investigates several interrelated topics in these areas, including the impact of conflict-related sexual violence on community resistance, the effects of historical trauma on wartime mobilization, and the role intergenerational learning plays in allowing gender and group biases to endure. She received her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 2025.
Jae-Hee Jung, assistant professor, centers her research on comparative party politics, political behavior, and political psychology in Western democratic contexts. Her work examines the types and effects of information that mass publics are exposed to, as well as the psychological mechanisms underlying public opinion and voter behavior. She received her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and was previously an assistant professor at the University of Houston and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford.
Guillermo Rosas, Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science and department chair, specializes in the economic outcomes of political regimes and the effects of political institutions on political elite behavior, particularly in Latin America. Before joining Rice, he was a professor at Washington University in St. Louis and the executive editor of Legislative Studies Quarterly. Rosas received his Ph.D. from Duke University in 2002.
Psychological Sciences
Erin Standen, assistant professor, studies health behavior interventions. After earning her Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Minnesota, she worked as a research associate at Mayo Clinic's Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, where she developed interventions to reduce weight bias among healthcare professionals. Standen's research focuses on developing and testing strategies to promote healthy behaviors in ways that are effective, inclusive, and non-stigmatizing.
Sociology
Michelle Smirnova, associate professor and the inaugural Director of the Center of Neighborhoods and Housing at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, focuses her research on housing, social movements, medical sociology, intersectionality, and power. Prior to Rice, Smirnova was an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has also worked at the Frameworks Institute and the U.S. Census Bureau. Smirnova received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.A./Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
Kevin J.A. Thomas, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Houston Population Research Center – Demography at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, a Visiting Academic at Oxford University, and a former Carnegie Fellow. Thomas’ research focuses on international migration, children and families, and racial and ethnic inequality.
“The School of Social Sciences enthusiastically welcomes these new faculty, who include emerging and leading experts in their respective fields,” said Rachel Kimbro, dean of the School of Social Sciences. “These hires represent additional university and School investments in increasing the research and teaching impact of the social sciences at Rice.”
Rice University's School of Social Sciences is a vibrant, inclusive community of scholars, students, and educators committed to connecting our teaching and research with policy for the betterment of society. We are seven departments with one mission: to tackle society's greatest challenges with an unconventional vision toward shaping a future that we can all thrive in, both individually and collectively.