Victoria A. Farrar-Myers is a Senior Fellow in the Tower Center at Southern Methodist University. The former U.S. Congressional Fellow has published extensively in the areas of presidential-congressional relations and separation of powers, political leadership, and the democratic process. In 2015, her co-edited volume, Controlling the Message, pulled together a series of cutting-edge studies examining the use and impact of social and new media usage during the 2012 elections.
Dr. Farrar-Myers is praised for her discussions of politics by media, leadership and volunteer organizations. She has frequently appeared in print/online (The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram), on radio (NPR affiliate) and television (CBS, FOX, NBC affiliates) as a political analyst.
In 2014, Dr. Farrar-Myers was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in American Politics at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Interested in executive leadership in foreign policy making, her current research emanating from her Fulbright experience examines U.S. foreign policy from a global perspective, particularly the growing importance of the Asian-Pacific region in “inter-mestic issues,” that is matters of economic statecraft that have a direct impact on U.S. National security such as trade, energy, and capital markets.
Prior to joining SMU, Farrar-Myers was a Full Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor, and University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teacher of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Farrar-Myers is a highly respected educator and has garnered multiple statewide and campus-wide teaching awards, including the highest honor granted in the UT System in recognition of teaching excellence.
During 1997-1998, Dr. Farrar-Myers earned a prestigious American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship, and worked in the U.S. House of Representatives for the lead House sponsor of legislation that would eventually become the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Based on this experience, she published two books, Legislative Labyrinth (CQ Press, 2001) and Limits and Loopholes (CQ Press, 2007), which are often touted for their highly accessible analysis of the legislative and public policy processes. Dr. Farrar-Myers earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University at Albany, SUNY. She also holds a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois, and a B.S. in Political Science and Public Administration from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York.