Taneisha Means, Assistant Professor of Political Science on the Class of 1951 Chair, received a research grant from the New Perspectives in Studies of American Governance program, a partnership between American University, Purdue University and the Hewlett Foundation’s US Democracy program in support of her project, “Race, Gender and The Politics of Difference in Federal Judicial Appointment Politics, 1965-2017.”  Using an intersectional approach and analyzing diverse materials, including archival and interview data, her mixed-method study explores the identity politics involved in the judicial appointment process and will have broad implications for understanding Presidents’ decisions regarding their selection of nominees and how their rhetoric and posturing influence nominees’ success, Senators’ decision-making, the experiences of judicial nominees, and diversity on the federal bench.