We are pleased to welcome Byron D’Andra Orey (D’Andra) of Jackson State University as the new President of the Southern Political Science Association. Dr. Orey takes over the role from Dr. Elizabeth Oldmixon of James Madison University, who led the Association for the previous year.

Dr. Orey’s academic path spans from Mississippi Valley State University, where he earned his B.S. in Business Administration, through advanced degrees from the University of Mississippi (MPA), SUNY Stony Brook (M.A. in Political Science), and the University of New Orleans (Ph.D.). His career has taken him from teaching at the University of Mississippi to earning tenure at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, before returning to Mississippi as Professor and former Chair of Political Science at Jackson State University, where he is a former W.K. Kellogg fellow.

Dr. Orey’s research examines the intersection of race, politics, and social justice, with particular focus on Black trauma, implicit bias, voting rights, police reform, and systemic racism. He has served as Principal Investigator or Senior Personnel for grants amassing over $2 million, and his work has earned him speaking engagements at institutions including Oxford, Yale, Michigan, and Princeton. His research appears in journals such as American Politics Research, Twin Research and Human Genetics, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, Race and Policy, and the Journal of Black Studies, and he has co-authored Mississippi Conflict and Change. Major media outlets including Al Jazeera, MSNBC, CNN, and PBS frequently seek his expert commentary.

As director of the Jackson Political Science Research Laboratory, Orey has helped to build a pipeline including 21 students of color entering doctoral programs. Students from the lab have gone on to attend universities such as Harvard’s Kennedy School and Law School, Syracuse’s Maxwell School, and the University of Michigan, with one student being named a Rhodes Scholar finalist.

Dr. Orey will lead the SPSA as we prepare for the June 2025 Virtual Conference and the Annual Conference in New Orleans in January 2026.