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Biography:

Scholarly/Professional Highlights
Dr. Wright-Smith became interested in human rights and Latin American politics during her undergraduate work at Westminster and continued to pursue research in these fields during her graduate work. Her dissertation, "The Decision to Comply: Patterns of Compliance with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights," analyzes human rights compliance in Latin America and was named the 2012 Best Dissertation in the field of human rights by the American Political Science Association.

Dr. Wright-Smith's research also examines international law and organizations, human rights activism, democracy and civil society, and teaching pedagogy. She has presented her work at a number of national conferences in Political Science and International Studies. She regularly teaches classes in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Security Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Westminster Seminar, the Westminster Honors Program, and she has led study abroad trips to Argentina.

Dr. Wright-Smith has received the Patricia Klein Liebling Faculty of the Year Award, the Alpha Chi Professor of the Year Award, the Remley Award, the Skulls of Seven Loyalty Award, the Buschman Dean’s Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and the Buschman Award for Inspiring Service.

Other Administrative Positions
Faculty Advisor, Alpha Chi National Honor Society

Education
Ph.D. from Purdue University (2011)
M.A. from Loyola University Chicago (2006)
B.A. from Â鶹´«Ã½ (2004)

Background
Dr. Wright-Smith joined the Westminster faculty in 2013. Before arriving at Westminster, she was an Assistant Professor at Georgetown College in Kentucky and an instructor at Purdue University. Dr. Wright-Smith is a native of Festus, MO. She is one of five Westminster graduates in her family and is delighted to be at a school that has played such a meaningful part in her life.

Dr. Wright-Smith lives in Columbia with her husband Ryan (a 2006 Westminster graduate), their daughter Edie, and their dog Winston. She is an avid runner and loves reading, women's soccer, and watching St. Louis Blues hockey.