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, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, the Center for Mind and Brain, the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research and the Global Migration Center.

Since 2012, Russell has communicated UC Davis 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 B.A. Literature from UC Santa Cruz and a M.A. in English from the UC Davis Graduate Creative Writing Program. He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW).

Full Portfolio

cargo containers stacked

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.
fish lures on a board

If a Social Media Post Has Any of These Ten Features, It’s Probably Clickbait

  • by Alex Russell
New research identified 10 key features of clickbait journalism on social media and compared its use between digital-native news media and legacy news media outlets. The study confirmed that digital-native media outlets are much more likely to use clickbait, and that it really does drive engagement in the form of likes and reposts, but may accelerate a decline in media trust.
Marianne Page, economist

From Research to Action on Poverty and Inequality

  • by Alex Russell
Marianne Page, a professor of economics, co-founded the UC Davis Center for Poverty and Inequality Research in 2010. Today, the center creates a wealth of research and outreach opportunities for its network of faculty affiliates and graduate students across the social sciences at UC Davis and beyond.