USD Honors Julia Hellwege With New Political Science Department Professorship
The professorship was established with a gift from USD alumni Diane Jones Meier, J.D., and Ken Meier, Ph.D. The position is designed to support a faculty member in teaching, conducting research and performing public service, with an emphasis on gender and public policy.
Hellwege is recognized as a leader in this field, with her research analyzing women with a focus on legislative behavior and the public policy process.
Eric Jepsen, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Political Science, shared that Hellwege’s expertise positions her well to drive meaningful research and support students through this role.
“Professor Hellwege’s demonstrated excellence in researching and mentoring in the areas of public policy and gender have already made contributions to the discipline and university,” said Jepsen. “I am thankful for the Meiers’ extraordinary generosity that allows for Professor Hellwege to continue to make such a consequential impact on the field and on her students.”
“Being named the inaugural Diane Jones Meier Distinguished Professor in Gender and Public Policy is truly an honor,” said Hellwege. “Any distinguished professorship is significant. I am so grateful to represent our department in a role focused on a field I am so passionate about.”
Alumni Giving Back
A gift to the university of this magnitude is a testament to the strength and generosity of USD’s alumni network. Diane Jones Meier and Ken Meier created the endowment funding this position, inspired by their experiences at the university and their hopes for future students. Both 1972 graduates of the Political Science Department at USD, the couple met as students. Ken Meier reflected, “I am incredibly happy to have gone to the University of South Dakota, where I met the love of my life.”
This is not the first gift they have made to USD; they also fund a scholarship for political science students and a research grant for faculty members who excel in their field of research.
“We believe that the value to the students is good professors who are interested in students, but also current in the discipline,” Diane Jones Meier said.
Diane Jones Meier remembers attending USD as a student at a time when women did not receive the same support and mentorship as their male peers. Because of this, it was important for the couple to include a focus on gender in the professorship. Diane Jones Meier said, “That was intended to be a nudge to a department that I hope doesn't need it anymore. But it clearly did when we were there.”
For Hellwege, that underlying mission behind the professorship is important. She sees this as an opportunity to help right that history and ensure all students have access to strong mentorship.
“Diane has made it her mission to ensure that women in the department felt more welcome and more included,” Hellwege observed. “It puts motivating pressure on me to make Diane proud.”
Diane Jones Meier and Ken Meier have already witnessed Hellwege’s impact on students.
“Julia Hellwege is a first-rate scholar,” said Ken Meier. “She is a spectacular mentor and teacher. I’ve talked to some of her students going on to graduate school, and she really does devote time to this. She’s the sort of professor that I would have loved to have had as a student.”
A Mission of Mentoring Students
The professorship includes a stipend for student researchers, meaning Hellwege will be able to hire students as research assistants. Hellwege said, “Research assistants mean a built-in mentoring relationship. I’m really excited to have that be very specifically about gender and public policy.”
Having a mentor like Hellwege can change a student’s trajectory. “I see my job as a political science professor as introducing students to the wealth of opportunities that they could find themselves in,” Hellwege said. “One of my greatest, proud moments as a professor is not seeing students achieve their goals but seeing them achieve beyond what they ever thought was possible.”
Another proud moment for a professor is when students they mentor decide to follow in their footsteps to become scholars and educators themselves. Hellwege observed the way Diane Jones Meier and Ken Meier’s generosity rippled through one student’s experience at USD.
“One of my students, Morgan Damman, is a Diane Jones Meier Award winner who has been a research assistant and is now co-authoring a research project with me and Dr. Tom Mrozla. She is one of the two first students I’ve mentored to go to a Ph.D. program this fall, and she’s going to research gender and media perceptions,” Hellwege said. “In a few years, she'll be one of my colleagues.”
This professorship recognizes and encourages professors like Hellwege who produce quality scholarly research, build student relationships and commit to bringing their expertise to the classroom. It also raises USD’s relevance and esteem in the field of political science research, attracting top talent to the university.
“I’m just really happy that this is happening. I’m happy for the university. I’m happy for Diane to be able to see this come to fruition,” Hellwege said. “The Political Science Department has so many students who end up in amazing places. When they are willing to give back to us and to future generations of faculty, it means we’re doing something right. It’s exactly why I came to USD, and why I stay at USD.”
You May Also Like
USD School of Education’s Graduate Programs Rank Among Region’s Best in 2026 U.S. News & World Report
The University of South Dakota’s School of Education has received national recognition for its graduate programs, with U.S. News & World Report including USD among the 2026 Best Education Schools.
USD Sanford School of Medicine and Mayo Pediatric Residents Engage in Trauma-Informed Care Training
Pediatric residents from the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education gathered this spring for a collaborative, simulation-based training focused on trauma‑informed care and communication in pediatric clinical settings.
USD School of Health Sciences Names 2026 Award Winners
The University of South Dakota’s School of Health Sciences recently recognized several faculty, staff and students for their outstanding achievements and contributions.
