Kyle Hull is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fitchburg State University. His research studies how physical disability shapes political attitudes, candidate evaluation, and policy support — and how that plays out differently from state to state.
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About Me
About Me
I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Economics, History, and Political Science at Fitchburg State University, where I study how physical disability shapes political attitudes, candidate evaluation, and policy support.
My work sits at the intersection of political psychology and state politics, examining how disability, as a stigmatized identity, shapes voter behavior and political judgment — research supported by an APSA Advancing Research Grant for Early Career Scholars, and published in Political Behavior and Political Psychology. I'm also currently building a seven-year legislative panel dataset tracking how disability policy has spread and varied across U.S. states.
I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2023, where my dissertation, Democratic Dehumanization, examined how physical disability affects perceptions of political candidates, chaired by Elizabeth Theiss-Morse.
Before joining Fitchburg State in 2025, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Nebraska, where I received the Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Teaching Award — the highest teaching recognition bestowed by UNL's Department of Political Science. I teach courses on U.S. government, state and urban government, campaigns and elections, environmental policy, identity politics, and political science research methods, and I also give public talks for civic and community audiences on topics in American history and politics.
Before joining Fitchburg State in 2025, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Nebraska, where I received the Carroll R. McKibbin Distinguished Teaching Award — the highest teaching recognition bestowed by UNL's Department of Political Science. I teach courses on U.S. government, state and urban government, campaigns and elections, environmental policy, identity politics, and political science research methods, and I also give public talks for civic and community audiences on topics in American history and politics.
I now live in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, with my wife, daughter, and two dogs. I am originally from the Thumb of Michigan before spending nearly a decade in Nebraska between Lincoln and Omaha. Outside of work, you can find me exploring New England or cheering on any of the teams I - sometimes painfully - support, including the Detroit Red Wings and Lions, Cleveland Guardians, and Manchester United.
Updates
Updates
Latest Publication
Latest Publication
In Political Behavior, "Disability Benefits? The Impact of Physical Disability in Electoral Decisions"
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-026-10151-w
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