Ashley Leeds, professor and chair of the department of political science at Rice University in Houston, Texas, is the new president-elect of the International Studies Association. She will become president of the association in March 2017. Founded in 1959, the International Studies Association has about 6,500 members in more than 100 countries around the world.
Professor Leeds has been on the faculty at Rice University since 2001 and was promoted to full professor in 2013. Earlier, she taught at Florida State University. Her research focuses on the politics of military alliances.
Professor Leeds is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in political sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Emory University in Atlanta.