Professor Allison Prasch is one of eleven University-wide faculty members honored with a 2025-2026 H.I Romnes Fellowship award. This award recognizes UW faculty who have made exceptional research contributions within six years of earing tenure. As a research award that provides a significant amount of support over the next five years, the Romnes Fellowship is an investment in the next stage of the careers of numerous outstanding professors at UW–Madison. Communication Arts is thrilled to celebrate this prestigious honor for Professor Prasch.
Prasch’s research focuses on democracy and the U.S. presidency. She teaches numerous courses in Communication Arts relating to U.S. presidential discourse, political communication, and rhetorical theory, history, and criticism. Her expert commentary and analysis on these topics has been featured in media outlets such as National Public Radio, ABC News, the BBC, C-SPAN, Washington Post, Boston Globe, U.S. News & World Report, The Hill and Wisconsin Public Radio.
To be nominated for the Romnes Fellowship, several letters of recommendation must be collected from scholars around the world who can affirm the impacts a professor’s research is making on the field. As Professor Shawn Parry-Giles of University of Maryland, College Park noted in her letter, both the quality and quantity of Dr. Prasch’s scholarship “puts her among a select few of newly promoted associate professors from not only her own generation but from many past ones.”
When asked about what this award means to her career, Prasch highlighted how meaningful it is to have support from not only the University, but also from disciplinary colleagues around the world.
Prasch is looking forward to utilizing the funding from this award to find new ways to engage students and the broader public around issues of democracy, healthy communication, and civic discourse.
“Over the last year, I’ve become more involved in various campus initiatives focused on fostering thoughtful dialogue and debate. I’m excited to use these research funds to continue exploring how to help students, faculty, and staff move democracy forward in the classroom, across UW-Madison, and around the country,” she said.
Professor Prasch is honored to have received this career recognition. “One of the many things that I value about UW–Madison is how it supports its faculty as they engage big questions and pursue bold ideas,” Prasch said. “A huge part of what makes UW-Madison an exceptional place to work is the university’s commitment to a ‘continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.’ The H.I. Romnes award is just one of the mechanisms that makes that sifting and winnowing possible.”
Communication Arts is proud to have Professor Prasch, and her exceptional research, make an impact on our department and our students.