Chapter News

Spring 2010

 

During the spring 2010 semester, Delta Psi Chapter (Eastern Illinois University) launched a monthly series of student-led panels focusing on current political issues. In February, the "Cameras in the Courtroom" panel debated the U.S Supreme Court decision banning TV cameras from the federal case challenging California's Proposition 8 law. The March event "Chicago vs. Downstate: The Political Divide" gave students from all over the state of Illinois a chance to air their regional political differences, while at the same time develop solutions to unite the state during these critical economic times. For April, the final student panel will feature a debate between the College Democrats and Republicans, as well as a special presentation on the future of women's rights in the U.S.

Delta Psi is also planning a trip to Springfield, Illinois this Spring to tour state government landmarks and meet with elected officials. In a similar trip to Chicago last fall, Delta Psi members toured foreign embassies.

Delta Psi President Jonathan M. Williams says that Pi Sigma Alpha is a "rewarding experience for any student excelling in the field of political science, as it has provided us with opportunities to prepare for our own careers in public service as well as promote the field of political science to new and prospective students."

 

Photo (left): Delta Psi Chapter members with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. Credit: Professor Lillian Barria and members of Delta Psi Chapter.

 

Wilkes University's Sigma Pi Chapter, through Faculty Advisor Tom Baldino, reports that it had two major events in Fall 2009 semester; in September, the Hon. Robert Caputo, U.S. District Court judge, presented an address on "judicial activism and restraint" to chapter members, as well as to other undergraduates interested in careers in the law. In November, departmental faculty offered a presentation on the results of recent primary elections and their impacts on both the 2010 election cycle and the Obama administration generally. In Spring 2010 semester, Sigma Pi will host two planned events in April, including a panel on ethnic conflict with Professors Donna Bahry (Penn State), Jessica Stanton (Penn) and Holley Hansen (Wilkes). Professor Robin Kolodny of Temple University, also serving the first year of her term as President of Pi Sigma Alpha, will also visit campus to deliver a presentation on the political impact of the "Wall Street Crash" of 2007-08.

 

Iota Mu Chapter members from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will attend IMPACT: Student Conference on Service, Advocacy, and Social Action March 19-21 in Little Rock.  "The IMPACT Conference is historically the largest gathering in the country of socially-engaged college students who come together across issue, perspective, and approach to social change," according to the conference website at http://www.impactconference.org/. Iota Mu members will connect with students, faculty, and nonprofit professionals from all corners of the U.S. to learn about social justice, leadership skills, fundraising, service learning opportunities, networking/developing social capital, organizing campus and community groups, volunteering, and developing careers to create sustainable social change in our world. 

Iota Mu has also scheduled a candidate forum for 2nd congressional district candidates to take place April 5th. This race is an exceedingly hot one with five Democratic candidates and two Republicans attempting to win the seat being vacated by retiring seven term incumbent Vic Snyder. Members are also working hard on their activities grant which is aimed at helping stimulate interest in elections and voting among middle school and high school students. Members assisted by Professors English and Clemmer from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Professor Michael Rogers from Arkansas Tech University will be speaking to classes in central Arkansas and larger groups in the public schools. Professor Clemmer is also a member of the House of Representatives of the Arkansas General Assembly. A member of the ASU chapter as a student she has had a deep interest in civic education over the years and has done many programs with “We the People.” Professor Rogers put together a panel on civic engagement at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Political Science Association at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro Arkansas this past February. A special issue of the MidSouth Journal of Political Science is being planned as an outgrowth of this panel in the hopes of stimulating greater interest by lawmakers and educators in civic education.

Theta Alpha Chapter at Creighton University (Nebraska) reports a busy Spring 2010 term, with the chapter and Political Science department offering a Brown Bag Lunch on finding and applying for internship opportunities that included representatives from the Office of the Mayor of Omaha, NE, the group Voices For Children and Senator Ben Nelson's office. Another Brown Bag event earlier in February featured Edward J. Wehrli, Diplomat in Residence at The University of Oklahoma, speaking about the many career possibilities for Political Science students within the U.S. Department of State. Each year, the State Department assigns senior Foreign Service Officers to the position of Diplomat In Residence (DIR) at colleges and universities throughout the United States. The DIR program is central to the effort to recruit the best and brightest college students "to represent America's rich diversity to the world," according to Wehrli.

 

Photos: Theta Alpha Chapter Brown Bag Events, with members of the chapter, guests and faculty in attendance. Credit: Theta Alpha Chapter members.

 

 
 
 

The Pi Gamma Chapter co-sponsored a gubernatorial candidate forum at Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) in November 2009.  The forum drew twelve of the 26 candidates running for governor at the time.  Chapter members were instrumental in helping to organize and run the event.  PSA co-advisors, Kate Knutson and Alisa Rosenthal, helped to moderate the event.  The link to campus news coverage of the event is http://weekly.blog.gustavus.edu/2009/11/13/gubernatorial-candidates-gather-at-gustavus/.

 

Alpha Pi Chapter at The University of Georgia hosted two successful, memorable events this year. First, the chapter hosted a debate among the candidates for Governor in the Peach State; because the debate pre-dated Georgia's primaries, the chapter had Democratic and Republican candidates take the stage at different times. Three of the five Democratic candidates and four of the seven Republican candidates attended their respective debates. Roughly 140 people attended each debate. Charles S. Bullock III, the university's prestigious Richard B. Russell Professor of Political Science, acted as moderator for the debates. Bullock tried to keep the debate question-oriented instead of allowing it to become a series of "stump speeches," keeping candidates on their questions and rewarding them with follow-up questions if the answers were germane. Audience questioning of the candidates included a range of topics, including Georgia's HOPE Scholarship program, an important topic in state education policy, gay rights in the state and others of interest to the primarily student audience. 

The chapter also co-sponsored a lecture by Elinor Ostrom, the Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science at Indiana University and the 2010 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. The primary sponsor of the event was the Parthemos Memorial Lecture Series, honoring the late professor and senior administrator George S. Parthemos. Ostrom spoke about global warming as a common pool resource problem. Although she argued that national and international agreements on climate change were the only means of attaining a sustainable solution, the brunt of her talk focused on what individuals could do to address global warming. Her suggestions included turning down the heat on family water heaters, driving more fuel-efficient cars, and using alternative energy sources when they are available. The lecture filled University Chapel, which seats 433, and left many guests standing. After the lecture, faculty, staff and students were invited to a nearby reception where they could meet Professor Ostrom personally and ask her questions. 

Photo, right: Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidates Carl Camon, Duboise Porter and David Poythress at the Alpha Pi-sponsored debate. Credit: Professor Keith Dougherty, Alpha Pi Faculty Advisor

 

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. William C. Green, Theta Iota Chapter member and Associate Professor of Political Science at California State University, passed away January 26, 2010 after a sudden illness while serving as a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Dr. Green (Ph.D., Southern California) had been on leave from the university while serving in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR) on one-year mobilization orders. Dr. Green was the 2007-08 winner of the university's Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching. He taught undergraduate courses in the Political Science program and graduate courses in the National Security Studies M.A. program. He joined Cal State San Bernardino in September 1995, after having taught at Boston University and his alma mater, USC, where he obtained his bachelor's degree (Russian language and literature), master's degree (international relations) and doctorate (international relations).

  Dr. Green is survived by his wife, Ann, and two children, Clark and Julia. He will be sorely missed. He was a great mentor to his students and a great friend to Pi Sigma Alpha.

 

 

Dr. Jeffrey M. Elliot, Tau Epsilon Chapter member, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at North Carolina Central University passed away December 12, 2009 at the age of 62. A prolific scholar-author, champion of civil rights, noted interviewer (including subjects such as Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou), mentor and father figure to many an undergraduate student and skilled orator, Elliot (Ph.D., Southern California) served as Chair of the Department at NCCU for the past six years. A specialist in American politics and civil rights, he wrote and edited more than 150 books and 550 articles, reviews and interviews. His work appears in more than 250 publications worldwide, and he was nominated for more than 125 scholarly and journalistic awards. He was a fixture at the APSA Teaching & Learning Conference and the North Carolina Political Science Association Annual Meeting, both of which he loved for their collegiality and engagement. Dr. Elliot was also a great friend to Pi Sigma Alpha and the Tau Epsilon Chapter. He will be missed.