Dr. Sparacino Receives Top PSC-CUNY Research Award

Dr. Anthony Sparacino, a political science professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences, recently received the 2026 Feliks Gross Endowment Henry Wasser Award for Outstanding Research for Assistant Professors.The prestigious award is presented annually to exceptional junior faculty across the CUNY system.

A favorite among students, Sparacino spoke humbly about the recognition. “I’ll just say that it means a lot that Michelle Gregory, chair of Behavioral Sciences, was willing to nominate me, and that Andrew Polsky, who was a dean at Hunter College and mentored me while I was an MA student at the Graduate Center, was willing to write a letter on my behalf,” he said.

Dr. Gregory, for her part, praised Sparacino’s scholarship. “There was not one minute of hesitation in nominating Dr. Sparacino for the Henry Wasser Award for Outstanding Research for Assistant Professors,” said Gregory. “The quantity and quality of his scholarship, along with the timeliness of his book Governors Go National: The Democratic and Republican Governors Associations and the Nationalization of American Party Politics, made him an outstanding candidate. Having a junior faculty member receive such a prestigious award — only 10 were awarded across CUNY this year — reinforces the role and importance of scholarship in the department.”

The professor is currently working on a new book titled “From Progressive to Partisan,” a follow-up to his first book, “Governors Go National.” Earlier this year, he participated in York’s Faculty Publication Workshop, where he presented a draft chapter examining mayoral and lieutenant governors associations.

“I was also given a book contract with University of Virginia Press,” said Sparacino, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. “My research has been supported through grants from the Institute for Humane Studies and PSC-CUNY, as well as a Book Completion Award from the CUNY Office of Research.”

The Feliks Gross Endowment Awards are named after two founding members of the CUNY Academy: Feliks Gross and Henry Wasser. In a letter notifying Sparacino of the award, Sreenjaya Ria Banerjee, acting executive director of the CUNY Academy, wrote: “Every year we select among highly qualified, academically impressive assistant professors from all CUNY campuses, and this year was no different. Your award is richly deserved, and the selection committee was honored to read about your accomplishments.”

As part of the honor, each awardee will present their research during the Feliks Gross and Henry Wasser Lecture Series in the upcoming academic year, when the award will also be formally conferred. The award includes a modest stipend and a commemorative plaque.