Events

Event Description

Join us for a lunch conversation with David McCune, Professor of Mathematics at William Jewell College, Missouri.

Dr. David McCune is a mathematics professor, consultant, and public intellectual whose scholarly work emphasizes the ways mathematical structures appear in real-world election and policy settings. Because of his mathematical training in automata theory and his consulting/editorial background, he is uniquely able to connect abstract mathematical theory to concrete decision-making. He is recognized as a leader in mathematical political science, where as a principal investigator and organizer, he leads research and convenes activities focused on central themes like structural democracy, voting methods, and representation. 

Dr. McCune’s published work examines voting systems and the mathematical paradoxes that can arise under election mechanisms such as ranked-choice methods and apportionment procedures. This policy-oriented research is paired with media engagement: he appears on podcasts and in outlets like The Conversation where he communicates the implications of mathematical findings for real-world electoral reform. Recently, he appeared on Undark’s podcast series discussing whether the U.S. should move to ranked-choice voting; he explains both the strengths of such a reform and the practical humility needed to transform what can be learned from models and simulations into real-world implementation. 

McCune's broader public-policy research agenda aligns with grant-supported efforts that bring mathematical and statistical analysis to civic questions, particularly those surrounding electoral fairness, voting-method performance, and how voters and institutions experience these systems in practice. 

 Visit Dr. McCune's website.