Brewer named 2025 Distinguished Maine Professor

A world-renowned political scientist, transformative educator and tireless servant to his institution and community has been named the 2025 Distinguished Maine Professor, the University of Maine’s most prestigious faculty accolade.

Mark Brewer, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, will be honored at the Alumni Achievement Awards Dinner and Celebration, alongside other alumni award honorees, on Friday, May 2 at Wells Conference Center. 

The annual Distinguished Maine Professor Award honors a UMaine professor who exemplifies the highest qualities of teaching, research and public service. It is sponsored by the UMaine classes of 1942 and 2002, and administered by the University of Maine Alumni Association.

“I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” Brewer said. “I am humbled to join such a distinguished group of colleagues.”   

Since joining UMaine’s faculty in 2004, Brewer has earned a reputation as a go-to political expert who delivers timely, accessible, knowledgeable and non-partisan insight on issues in Maine and the U.S. 

Across more than 1,500 interviews with reporters from local, national and international news organizations, Brewer has offered analyses on congressional races, ranked-choice voting, policy issues, partisanship, polarization and other topics. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, USA Today and NPR are among the many outlets that have featured him, and he has served as a campaign analyst for PolitiFact. 

As a scholar of political behavior, Brewer has also shared his expertise through two textbooks, six other books and dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters and reviews. One textbook, “Parties and Elections in America,” which Brewer co-authored with L. Sandy Maisel, is now in its 10th edition and is the best-selling textbook on this topic in the political science field. 

Beyond his own writing, Brewer has elevated and guided academic discourse in his field as the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Political Science, an Academic Advisory Board member for Civic Pulse and a manuscript reviewer for more than two dozen other journals. He has also served as a member of the American Political Science Association and four regional affiliates. 

“Dr. Brewer is one of the most accomplished scholars in the world in the field of American political parties and elections,” said Richard Powell, John Mitchell Nickerson Professor of Political Science and director of the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership & Public Service. 

As an educator, Brewer has taught 16 different undergraduate courses ranging from “Introduction to American Government” to “Senior Seminar in Political Science.” Each academic year, he advises 40-60 students. He has also served as a core faculty member of the Honors College — having taught its first-year seminar throughout the majority of his career and advised or co-advised 17 thesis students —  as well as the Leadership Studies Program, through which he teaches 200- or 300-level courses each year. 

“Professor Brewer’s students describe him as ‘electric,’ ‘one of the best academic instructors I have met.’ They praise his ability to foster an environment of respect and to engage the entire class in discussing difficult topics,” said Emily Haddad, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “The student letters in the nomination packet speak to Dr. Brewer’s impressive pedagogical skills and his lasting influence on students’ lives.”

Outside of the classroom, Brewer has molded students’ experiences through various leadership and supportive roles, including as chair and interim chair of the Department of Political Science, lead faculty member for the political science online major and minor, co-pre-law advisor, Legal Studies minor advisor, faculty representative for the 3+3 program between UMaine and the University of Maine School of Law, advisor for the Madison Fellowship and Truman scholarships and advisor of the political science honor society: Pi Sigma Alpha. 

Brewer has also committed himself to elevating the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and university at large as a member of the college’s First Year Student Success and Retention Committee and Promotion and Tenure Advisory, the Honors College Faculty Advisory Council, the University Research Council, the New England Commission of Higher Education Self-Study Writing Team, the Strategic Re-Envisioning Working Group on Enhancing Academic Programs and in numerous search committees. He has also co-directed the Judaic Studies Program and served as a member of its advisory council.

Additionally, Brewer has dedicated himself to civic service as a member of the Regional School Unit (RSU) 26 Board of Directors in Orono and the Town of Orono Board of Elections.

For his altruism, scholarship and talents as an educator, Brewer received several other awards over the years, including the Faculty Excellence Award from the UMaine Alumni Association and two Outstanding Faculty Awards from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2014 and 2019. 

“Dr. Mark Brewer is exactly the sort of faculty member the Distinguished Maine Professor Award was created to honor. It is incredibly rare for a faculty member to be truly elite in all three areas of teaching, scholarship and service,” said Powell, 2020 Distinguished Maine Professor.

Contact: Marucs Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu