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Jay DeSart

Faculty Member

Dr. Jay DeSart

Biography

Dr. DeSart is the Chair of the Department of History and Political Science. He joined UVU in 2004 to help create the Political Science program. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1994.

He teaches:
POLS 1100 - American National Government,
POLS 3000 - Political Analysis,
POLS 3010 - Political Analysis II,
POLS 3040 - Survey Research and Design Methods
POLS 3120 - Political Parties,
POLS 3150 - U.S. Presidency,
POLS 3180 - Public Opinion and Political Behavior, and
POLS 3200 - US Congress

He has published research on the role of political parties in how voters think about politics, as well as forecasting the outcomes of elections at both the national and state levels. His current research focuses on the impact of anti-intellectualism on citizen attitudes and behavior.

Dr. DeSart is also one of the founding Directors of the Utah Debate Commission and sits on its Board as UVU's Representative, The UDC produces televised debates between the candidates for each of Utah's congressional and statewide offices each election year. As a Director he sits on the Commission's Venue Committee, and Chairs its Polling Committee.

Education

Ph D, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1994

Major: Political Science

MA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1990

Major: Political Science

BA, Concordia College, 1986

Major: Political Science and International Relations

Teaching

POLS 3000

Political Analysis, Spring 2023

POLS 3010

Political Analysis II, Spring 2023

Presentations

DeSart, Jay , Annual Meeting, "Gerrymander Potential and Forecasting U.S. House Elections", American Political Science Association, Montréal, Québéc. (September 16, 2022)
DeSart, Jay , Annual Meeting, "The Long-Range State-Level Forecast of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election", American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA. (September 11, 2020)
DeSart, Jay , WPSA Annual Meeting, "Anti-Intellectualism in the 2016 Presidential Election", Western Political Science Association, Vancouver, BC. (April 14, 2017)

Scholarly/Creative Works

DeSart, Jay A., (2021) "A Long-Range State-Level Forecast of the 2020 Presidential Election" (Issue: 1, vol. 54). PS: Political Science and Politics.
DeSart, Jay , Holbrook, Thomas M., (2010) "A Tale of Two Models_ The DeSart and Holbrook State-Level Forecast Model in 2008." (vol. Methods of Forecasting American Election Outcomes_ Studies in Strategies for Prediction). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

Awards

Exceptional Faculty Award

Florida Atlantic University - May, 2004