Maryland Carey Law Professor Liza Vertinsky Named 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellow
BALTIMORE, MD — University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Professor Liza Vertinsky has been named a 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. She is one of 24 scholars selected from a record 381 nominees nationwide, each awarded a $200,000 research stipend to study the causes and consequences of political polarization in the United States.
Vertinsky is a lawyer and economist who researches and teaches at the intersection of law, economics, and technology. Her areas of expertise include the regulation of emerging technologies and healthcare markets, AI and the law, intellectual property and innovation, contract law and theory, and law and economics.
Vertinsky’s project, “Reimagining Local News Ecosystems for a Digital World,” will convene leading experts across communications, journalism, business, law, economics, data science, sociology, and technology, alongside pioneers developing new local news models. Together, they will identify the defining features of an independent, self-sustaining digital local news ecosystem, as well as the structural reforms and infrastructure required to support it. The project will culminate in a comprehensive report outlining a practical blueprint for rebuilding the kind of thriving, independent, sustainable local news ecosystem essential to addressing polarization.
“I am so very honored and grateful to be included in the 2026 cohort of Carnegie fellows working to understand and respond to the harms arising from political polarization,” said Vertinsky. “My project is motivated by a belief that in order to confront and address the current challenges to our democratic functioning we need to reimagine local news ecosystems that are resilient to a rapidly shifting media and technology landscape. I am excited to have the chance to build on the amazing work of past and present fellows in pursuit of this goal.”
The Carnegie Fellows Class of 2026 includes 12 scholars from public universities, 11 from private universities, and one from a public university in Canada. The final selections were made by a distinguished panel of 11 jurors comprised of presidents, deans, and senior academics from some of the nation’s premier universities, research institutions, and think tanks.
Vertinsky, who joined the Maryland Carey Law faculty in 2022, earned her JD, Magna Cum Laude, from Harvard Law School and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. Last year, she was elected to the prominent American Law Institute (ALI).
About University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
The University of Maryland School of Law was authorized by the Maryland legislature in 1813 and began regular instruction in 1824. It is one of the oldest law schools in the nation, but its innovative programs make it one of the liveliest and most dynamic today. Maryland Law stands among five other professional schools on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus. It has taken advantage of this location to become an integral part of the Baltimore-Washington legal and business community.
About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace. @CarnegieCorp
MEDIA CONTACT:
Laura Lee
laura.lee@umaryland.edu
410-382-9214
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