Rate My Professor Sarah Perez

Sarah Perez is a political science professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), serving in the School of Political Science, Public Affairs, Legal and Security Studies. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from Western Michigan University in 2017 and has contributed to the department's teaching and research efforts, particularly on the Brownsville campus. Dr. Perez holds the role of library liaison for Political Science, aiding in collection development and resource support for students and faculty. Her pedagogical approach at this Hispanic-Serving Institution emphasizes engaging students with contemporary political dynamics and intersectional perspectives.

Dr. Perez's research specializations include racial and ethnic politics, intersectionality, coalition building, and the influence of partisanship on attitudes toward political violence. In collaboration with Natasha Altema McNeely, she published 'Parties, Race, and Political Violence: Evaluating Whether Attitudes toward the January 6 Insurrection Vary Across Racial Groups' in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics (2025). Utilizing data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, the article examines how partisanship, ideology, and perceptions of former President Trump's responsibility shape views among non-Hispanic white, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American/Pacific Islander respondents, concluding that evaluations align across groups when political affiliations match. Additionally, her solo-authored piece, 'Teaching Asian Pacific American Politics at an HSI: Reflections on Lessons Learned and Unexpected Conclusions,' appeared in the Journal of Political Science Education (2022). This reflective essay details her Fall 2019 course on race and gender intersectionality in Asian Pacific American communities, highlighting student insights into ethnicity's interplay with sexuality, education, occupation, and family, and their comparisons to personal experiences. Dr. Perez has also conducted oral history interviews for UTRGV's Voces of a Pandemic collection, preserving community narratives during the COVID-19 era. Her scholarship bridges rigorous empirical analysis with innovative teaching practices tailored to diverse student populations.