Alex Russell

Alex Russell - Department Editor, Self & Society

Alex Russell covers the College's departments, centers and programs in many of the social sciences, including: Cognitive Science, Communication, Economics, History, International Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, the Center for Mind and Brain, the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research and the Global Migration Center.

Russell has spent more than 10 years at UC Davis communicating social sciences research for uptake and impact through news and feature stories, policy briefs, reports, social media campaigns and other forms. He has served as a writer at the Graduate School of Management and led communications for the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research and the Institute for Social Sciences. Immediately prior to joining the College of Letters and Science, he served as communications lead for a $30 million federally funded research program in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences focused on international food security.

He received a bachelor's degree in literature from UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in English from the UC Davis Graduate Creative Writing Program. He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW).

students walking on campus

Undergrad Cheat Codes to Build a Future in Research

  • by Alex Russell
When Bayleigh Baldwin, a linguistics major and Letters and Science student ambassador, first arrived at UC Davis, she didn’t really know what it meant to be at a research university. Now a senior, she is interviewing with graduate programs across the country where she might launch her research career.
cargo containers stacked

They Don’t Pay, We Do: How Trump Tariffs Might Reshape the U.S. Economy

  • by Alex Russell
New research in economics looks back at the history of U.S. tariffs and finds that from 1870 to 1909, tariffs made U.S. businesses weaker, not stronger. Tariffs reduced the average size of businesses while increasing the price of what they produced. Because tariffs work the same way they did 100 years ago, these findings have relevance today.
Steven Luck, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UC Davis, teaches a class in 2024

It’s What We Focus on and Remember that Lasts

  • by Alex Russell
Across his career, Distinguished Professor of Psychology Steven Luck has shifted his own focus multiple times, from mainly research to an intense focus on teaching and mentoring students who make the most out of every opportunity. For this work, Luck has just received the 2025 UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.
students walking on a college campus

How Togetherness Makes the Undergrad Grind Worthwhile

  • by Alex Russell
For Katie Cohen, part of undergrad life is made up of “the grind.” Now in her second year on campus, Cohen, a sociology major and L&S Ambassador, has also learned that friendships are what make for more than just the basic college experience.