Rate My Professor Jeronimo Cortina

Jeronimo Cortina is the Senator Don Henderson Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, a position he has held since 2025, following promotions from Assistant Professor (2008–2015) to Associate Professor (2015–2025). He serves as Executive Director of the Population Health Collaborative since 2023 and previously as Director for Faculty Research Initiatives at UH Population Health since 2022, Associate Director of the Center for Mexican American Studies (2018–2022), and President of the Faculty Senate (2020–2021). Earlier roles include Resident Scholar at the Center for Mexican American Studies (2007–2008) and project work with UNICEF on international migration (2006–2014). Cortina earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 2007 (dissertation: “Three Papers on Migration, Public Opinion and Methodology”), M.Phil. in Political Science in 2006, M.A. in Public Administration in 2003, and B.A. in Business Administration from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in 1997, graduating with honors. His research focuses on political geography, quantitative methods, population health, American and Texas politics, Latino politics, immigration, comparative politics, and public opinion.

Cortina is a prolific scholar with major publications including the book Proximity Politics: How Distance Shapes Public Opinion and Political Behaviors (Columbia University Press, 2024); co-editor of New Perspectives on International Migration and Development (Columbia University Press, 2013), contributing chapters such as “Women, Children and Migration: Developmental Considerations”; co-editor of A Quantitative Tour of the Social Sciences (Cambridge University Press, 2009); and co-author of Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do (Princeton University Press, 2010, 2nd ed.). Key peer-reviewed articles encompass “Descriptive Representation and Reproductive Health Outcomes: The Role of Women Candidates in Reducing Teen Birth Rates” (Healthcare, 2024, with Shana Hardin); “The Quiet Revolution: Convenience Voting, Vote Centers, and Turnout in Texas Elections” (Politics, Groups and Identities, 2021, with Brandon Rottinghaus); “Vote Centers and Turnout by Election Type in Texas” (Research & Politics, 2019, with Brandon Rottinghaus); and “Subsidizing Migration? Mexican Agricultural Policies and Migration to the United States” (Policy Studies Journal, 2014), which won the Theodore J. Lowi Policy Studies Journal Best Article Award from the APSA Public Policy Section. Recent works include studies on mental health and immigrant inclusion (Psychology International and Social Science Quarterly, 2025, with Samantha Chapa). Awards include Best Poster at the AIM-AHEAD Annual Conference (2025), Phi Kappa Phi membership, and the University of Houston President’s Leadership Award. He serves on the National Advisory Committee for Health Policy Research Scholars (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2019–present), acted as an expert witness on redistricting (U.S. District Court, 2022), and co-hosts Houston Public Media’s Party Politics program as a media commentator.