Current Staff
Rhonda L. Evans
Director and Senior Lecturer
revans@austin.utexas.edu
Rhonda Evans has directed the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies and served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government since 2012. She was previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at East Carolina University. Dr. Evans holds a Ph.D. in Government from UT-Austin, a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a B.A. in Political Science from Kent State University’s Honors College, graduating phi beta kappa. As a lawyer licensed to practice in her home state of Ohio, she served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Tuscarawas County and as a Staff Attorney with Southeastern Ohio Legal Services. Dr. Evans is a principal investigator for the Australian and New Zealand Policy Agendas Projects. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature and reflects her training in law and political science. Current projects examine the Australian Human Rights Commission, the apex courts of Australia and New Zealand, and partisanship in the Australian Senate. Dr. Evans is especially interested in how apex courts set their agendas as well as the roles that they play in policymaking processes. In addition to contributing to a number of edited volumes, Dr. Evans has published in the Australian Journal of Political Science, Congress and the Presidency, Osgoode Hall Law Review, and Journal of Common Market Studies. She is co-author of Legislating Equality: The Politics of Antidiscrimination Policy in Europe with Oxford University Press (2014). She teaches undergraduate courses on Australian politics and human rights.
Christine Bird
Graduate Research Assistant | Webmaster
ccbird@utexas.edu
Christine Bird is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Due to her legal training and background, Christine’s research interests lie at the intersection of law and politics. She specializes in constitutional law, civil rights, and judicial politics. She also holds a graduate research fellowship with the Policy Agendas Project. Christine holds a J.D. and a license to practice law in her home state, Oklahoma. During law school, Christine held a position on the Law Review and internships with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Equal Opportunity Commission, and in private litigation. She earned a M.A. in Government at the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma.
Outside of academia, Christine enjoys live music, yoga, and Texas barbecue. She is also an avid sports fan, following NCAA Football and NBA Basketball. You can follow her on twitter, @ChristineCBird or on her professional website, www.christinecbird.com.
Andrew Gibbons
Postdoctoral Fellow
agibbons@austin.utexas.edu