Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Distinguished University Professor and Vernal Riffe Professor of Political Science, received a 2025 Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters in a Nov. 12 ceremony at the historic Decatur House in Washington, D.C. 

Box-Steffensmeier’s prize citation for the 2025 Barry Prize reads: "Through the development of innovative empirical methods for studying political activity, Janet Box-Steffensmeier has advanced not only our understanding of democratic processes such as campaigns and voting, but the methodology of social science itself. Her contributions in such areas as time-series and event-history analysis techniques have helped us understand one another better in an era of growing political division, and given social scientists better tools for examining human social behavior. The academy honors Dr. Box-Steffensmeier’s distinguished contributions to humanity’s understanding of democratic political life, and to its methods of social analysis."

The Barry Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement is the academy’s premier initiative to promote excellence in scholarship across diverse fields and disciplines, honoring scholars of extraordinary achievement and dedication to excellence in the arts, sciences and learned professions. Among the ten winners this year are representatives from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and others.