Michael Strawbridge, assistant professor of political science, is among 24 scholars named 2026 Andrew Carnegie fellows by the Carnegie Corporation of New York Program.

Often referred to as the “Brainy Award,” the prestigious fellowship includes a $200,000 research stipend to explore the causes of political polarization and to identify possible solutions. The 2026 nomination cycle drew a record 381 submissions. 

As the first WashU recipient of the Andrew Carnegie fellowship, Strawbridge plans to study what unites Black Americans politically, and how this cohesion has been sustained across generations even as American politics has become increasingly polarized. 

“My research reframes Black political solidarity not simply as partisan loyalty, but as a survival strategy rooted in the culture and environment that African Americans have developed in the United States since slavery,” Strawbridge said. 

Strawbridge believes that Black political cohesion is a result of cultural and social institutions that make up Black America, including Black churches, Black barbershops, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), indigenous Black media outlets, and Black interest organizations. 

“These spaces have long provided refuge from systemic exclusion while simultaneously cultivating shared political norms and reinforcing collective identities. This cultural immersion explains how political unity is maintained across diverse Black populations, even as broader American society becomes increasingly fragmented,” he said.

Strawbridge will conduct focus groups and surveys to test this theory. He’ll also leverage text analysis of archival African American newspapers and sermons, as well as survey data covering more than 50 years. Together, these sources will reveal how “Black Immersion” has changed over time and how it continues to influence Black political unity today, he said. Ultimately, Strawbridge hopes this case study will provide broader lessons for how to build cohesion in a divided democracy. 

Strawbridge joined the Department of Political Science at WashU in 2024. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and media studies from Beloit College and a doctorate in political science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. 

About the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship

When it was founded in 2015, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program funded a range of research in the humanities and social sciences. Starting with the 2024 Class, Carnegie changed the focus as part of a three- year commitment to understanding political polarization. In total, the fellows program has funded over 320 fellows, representing more than $60 million in grants.

Support for scholarly research is a continuation of the mission of Carnegie Corporation of New York, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today, the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that our founder considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.