Xiaobo Lü, Professor of Political Science, joined the Barnard faculty in 1994. In addition to his teaching duties for the Department of Political Science, he is affiliated with the Human Rights Studies Program at Barnard. He served as Director of the Weatherhead East Asia Institute, Columbia University. From fall 2008 through summer 2010 he was in Bejing as the founding Director of Columbia Global Centers | East Asia.

Professor Lü teaches such courses as "Asian Politics," "Politics of Development in East Asia," "Introduction to Comparative Politics," and "Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Politics." He is a recipient of the Emily Gregory Award for Excellence in Teaching at Barnard College.

Professor Lü's research interests include Chinese politics and society, political corruption and governance, and the political economy of transition from state socialism. His research and scholarship have been supported by the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), the Pacific Cultural Foundation, the Asia Foundation, and the International Political Science Association.

Professor Lü serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Chinese Political Science and on the senior editorial board of Crime, Law, and Social Change.