Department of Political Science
April 15th, 2007
Milton Stark
Managing Editor
Brenda Stevens
Editorial Assistant
David Helps
Technical Assistant
*******************
Dan Sabia
Department Chair
Christopher Zorn
Vice-Chair
Donald Puchala
Graduate Director
Charlie Tyer
MPA Director
Roger Coate
Undergraduate Director
John Hsieh
Placement Director
Janis Leaphart
Undergraduate Coordinator
Lori Joye
Administrative Assistant
•
Thank you for your support!
Newsletter
Volume I, No. 1
Welcome to this newly designed Newsletter of the Department of Political
Science. The Newsletter (along with our departmental website at www.cas.sc.edu/
poli/) is our modest attempt to keep alumni and other friends of the Department
informed of some of the events, activities, accomplishments, changes, and other
happenings experienced by our faculty and students. We plan to publish in this new
format four times a year, and we urge you to contact us with news you might like to
share, either with us, or with the readers of the Newsletter, or both (you can do so
by emailing [email protected], or by writing us here at the Department, USC, Columbia,
29208).
The Department has had a very eventful year. Professor Lee Walker, who
is profiled in this issue of the Newsletter, became the newest member to join the
Department this past Fall, and we have hired three more faculty who will be joining
us this coming Fall. We also welcomed an outstanding group of first year graduate
students in the MPA Program, the Masters of International Studies Program, and
the doctoral Program. Our graduate students continue to be productive and
successful, as a few sample items in this Newsletter will attest. The same can be
said of our 850 or so undergraduate majors, all of whom continue to challenge and
teach us inside and outside the classroom, and many of whom find unique ways to
expand their education, a few examples of which are also described in this
Newsletter. Of course, the Department has, as always, introduced new courses
and revised old ones, and it has sponsored a number of public interest and
educational events within the Department, College and University. And our
faculty continue to be productive, and sometimes award-winning, researchers
and publishers, and to serve in many ways our students, the wider University,
and local, state, national and international communities.
Departmental administration also changed this year. Professor Harvey
Starr, after many years of dedicated service as Department Chair, stepped
down, and personnel changes were made in nearly all the other positions
of administrative leadership as well: Chris Zorn took over as Vice-Chair, Don
Puchala became the new Graduate Director, Roger Coate the new Undergraduate
Director, and Charlie Tyer remained as the MPA Director. I have survived my
first year as the new Department Chair only because of their hard work, and the
support and hard work of all my other colleagues and a very competent and
conscientious staff. I thank them all. And, again, I welcome you to this
Newsletter, and look forward to hearing from you.
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USC - Department of Political Science Newsletter
Volume I, No. 1
Volume I, No. 1
logical skills to good use as an
instructor in the Inter-university
Consortium for Political and
Social
Research Summer
Program held annually at the
University of Michigan. He
has published articles in the
Journal of Politics and Party
Politics, and is currently
working on a book manuscript
entitled Blinding Justice in
Latin America, which focuses
on public opinion toward the
criminal justice system in
democratizing Latin American
countries. Lee offers to our
students a variety of courses
including a comparative judicial
politics class, and both quantitative and qualitative methods
courses for graduate students.
The West Forum on Politics and Policy, together with the Department, will sponsor on April 16 a panel on “The Barnwell
Nuclear Facility: Debating Its Future.” Open to the public as
well as interested faculty and students, the panel will consist
of state legislators, an official representative from the State’s
Department of Health and Environmental Control, and a citizen advocate and citizen opponent. The event will take place
in Gambrell Hall Room 152 at 7pm.
the Department. The most recent outside presentations were
made by Professor Steve Shellman of the University of Georgia on February 2, on “How Have You Killed Lately? A Substitution Model of Domestic Terrorism in India, 1980-2005,”
and, on March 23, Prof. Michael Crespin of the University of
Georgia discussed his research on “Dimensions, Issues, and
Bills: Appropriations Voting on the House Floor.” Thanks
are due, as always, to Professors Zaryab Iqbal and Neal
Woods, the Workshop’s Coordinators.
The Department’s Political Science Research Workshop
holds weekly meetings at which faculty, and sometimes
graduate students, present their ongoing research. At times,
faculty from other institutions are invited, with support from
Poli Sci Undergraduates and South Carolina Student Legislature
The South Carolina Student
Legislature is a statewide and
University recognized student
run mock legislature. Delegations of students from fourteen
colleges and universities across
the Palmetto state meet twice
each year to debate bills and
further their knowledge about
parliamentary procedures, state
government, and public policies. The Fall sessions are
held in the Chambers of the
State
House in Columbia,
while Spring
sessions are
held in
Myrtle Beach. The
largest delegation is from
USC–Columbia, and most of
its members, and nearly all of
its officers, are Departmental
Political Science or International Studies majors who
who meet weekly in Gambrell Hall. For this Spring’s
session, the Department provided financial support to
the entire sixteen member
delegation, led by Departmental majors and SCLC
officials James “Jim” Sproat,
Russell Fry,
Robert “RB”
Cooper, and
Christopher
“Blake”
Funderburk. Other
members of the Spring delegation are: Thomas “Tom” Ruff,
Lauren Champaign, Jennifer
Steve Hays’ chapter, “Making the
Transition to Strategic Human Resource Management:
Precursors,
Strategies, and Techniques,” has been
published in Strategic Public Personnel Administration: Building and
Managing Human Capital for the 21st
Century. Ali Farazmand (Editor),
Westport, CT Praeger: pp. 85-100.
Chuck Kegley published American
Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process,
(Thomson/ Wadworth); co7th ed.
authored with the late Eugene R.
Wittkopf and Christopher Jones.
The book is dedicated to Gene’s
memory.
Recent Events
Clinkscales,
Zach Pippin,
Callie Baker Chappell, Jessica
L. Silvaggio, Andrew Johnson, Nikesh Amin, Matthew
Nichols,
Travis Hyman,
Antwon McDonald,
Kaye
White, Crosby
Matthews,
Jeremy Clare, Cody Harper,
and Courtney Edwards.
Page 5
Recent Faculty Publications and Activities
The Department welcomes Professor Lee Walker
Professor Lee Walker is our
newest faculty member, having
joined the Department this past
Fall. Formerly an Assistant
Professor at the University of
Kentucky, Lee also served in
2006 as a Visiting Scholar at
the Institute of Quantitative
Social Science at Harvard University. His areas of expertise
and research interests include
political methodology
and
survey research, comparative
politics, judicial politics, Latin
American politics and democratization. Lee puts his methodo-
USC - Department of Political Science Newsletter
Christopher Zorn’s article “In Defense of Comparative
Statistics:
Specifying Empirical Tests of Models
of Strategic Interaction” (with Cliff
Carrubba and Amy
Yuen ) has
been accepted for publication in
Political Analysis.
Katherine Barbieri
and her co-author
Refael
Reuveny
(Indiana University)
presented a paper
entitled “How the
Fittest Survive: Resource Scarcity, Adaptation, and Military Conflict” at the
annual meeting of the International
Studies Association in March.
Ann Bowman and graduate student
Bryan Parsons presented their paper
entitled “Local Governments and the
Preparedness Divide” at the Southern
Political Science Association meeting
Gambrell Hall Rm. 349
Columbia, SC 29208
in January
Betty Glad gave a presentation at the
Jimmy Carter conference at the University of Georgia, January 18-20 at
the plenary opening session on
“Lesson Learned: Jimmy Carter and
the Salt Negotiations.” The plenary
session, taped by C -Span, was followed with a break out session for
interchange with discussants Jody
Powell and Stansfield Turner. A book
arising out of this conference will be
published by the University of Georgia Press.
Congratulations
to Steve Hays
and
Jessica
Sowa,
who
received the
ROPPA best
article award for 2006 for their article “A Broader Look at the Accountability Movement: Some Grim
Realities in State Civil Service Systems.” Review of Public Personnel
Administration 26 (June, 2006): 102117. The award was presented at the
recent APSA meeting.
“The Nature of Contiguous Borders
and Recurring Violent Conflict,” the
other on “Interdependence of Transaction Flows: Law, Ethics, and Ease
of Interaction Across
Borders.”
Laura R. Woliver participated in the
“Diversity and Inequality” Track at
the American Political Science Association Conference on Teaching and
Learning held in Charlotte, NC in
February. She also spoke there at a
roundtable panel entitled “Teaching,
Learning, and Experiencing Gay and
Lesbian Lives in Political Science.”
Christopher Zorn presented a paper
entitled “Measuring Supreme Court
Ideology” (coauthored with Gregory
Caldeira) at the American Society
and Politics Workshop in The Department of Political Science at Columbia University, and in the Department of Government at Harvard University.
Gordon Smith was
interviewed
by CNN on January 23 regarding
Western views of the Putin Administration and possible successors.
Gordon also chaired a panel entitled
“Russian Legal Reform:
East or
West?” at the Barnes Symposium,
USC Law School on February 3.
Harvey Starr presented two papers at
the annual International Studies Association meeting in March, the first on
Also available on the web page at
http://www.cas.sc.edu/poli
Phone: 803-777-3109
Fax: 803-777-8255
E-mail: [email protected]
Page 4
USC - Department of Political Science Newsletter
Volume I, No. 1
Recent Graduate Student Publications and Activities
Bryan Parsons’ article with Phillip
Ardoin (of Appalachian State University), "Partisan Bias in the Electoral
College: Cheap States and Wasted
Votes" was accepted for publication
in a forthcoming issue of Politics and
Policy.
Elisha Savchak and
A. J.
Barghothi’s
article
“Retention
Constituency Influence on Judicial Decisions in the States”
was accepted for
publication in a
forthcoming issue
of State Politics and Policy Quarterly.
Christine Sixta’s article “The Illusive
Third Wave: Are Female Terrorists
the New “New Women” in Developing Societies?” was accepted for publication in a forthcoming issue of the
Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy. This research was previously
presented at the South Carolina Political Association’s annual conference
in February and will be presented
again at the Midwest Political Science
Association’s conference in April.
Aleksandra
Chauhan
presented
“Collective Action Dilemma: State,
NGOs and Foreign Agitators in Russia” at the International Studies Association’s annual meeting in March,
and will present the paper again at the
annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Aleksandra
will present “Where does the world
order come from? The Review of
Law, Policy and Practice on Children’s Rights” at CEEISA in May.
Heather Hawn will present "A Clientelist Model of Developing Country
Policy Choice” with Professor Mona
Lyne at the annual conference for the
Midwest Political Science Association
in April
Charlie Hinderliter will present “Why
do African-Americans Have Mixed
Support for the Death Penalty?” at the
Midwest Political Science Association’s annual conference in April.
Jihyun Kim presented “The New Regionalism: A Road to Peace or Prelude to Conflict?” at the Southern Political Science Association’s annual
conference in January and “The New
Regionalism: Panacea for a More
Peaceful World Order?” at the South
Carolina Political Science Association’s annual meeting in February.
Jihyun will also present “Assessing
the New Regionalism Through the
Kantian Triangle” at the Old Dominion University Graduate Research
Conference in April.
Lucas McMillan
p r e s e nted
“Changing Statecraft: The Need
for Reassessing
Gubernatorial
Power” at the
annual meeting of the South Carolina
Political Science Association in February and “Governors as Foreign Policy Gurus? Governors’ Roles in Challenging and Supporting American
Foreign Policy” at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association in March.
Jon Minor presented “Turkish civil
society: A spoke in the wheel of cooperation against international terrorism?” at the annual meeting of the
International Studies Association in
March.
Bryan
Parsons
presented "Local
Governments and
the Preparedness
Divide” with Professor Ann Bowman at the Southern Political Science
Association’s annual conference in
January and will present “Partisan
Attachment and Voter Representativeness in Presidential Primaries"
with Professor Phillip Ardoin at the
Midwest Political Science Association’s annual meeting in April.
Milton Stark presented “Competing
Models of Legislative Subgroup Behavior: The CBC and the Women's
Caucus” at the Southern Political
Science Association’s annual conference in January and “Governors Turn
Pro: The Institutionalization of the
Executive Branch” with Professors
Ann Bowman and Neal Woods at the
annual conference on State Politics
and Policy in February.
Congratulations are due
Joseph
Chen, who was recently elected to
serve a one year term as President of
the University’s Graduate Student
Association.
USC - Department of Political Science Newsletter
Volume I, No. 1
Page 3
Graduate Student Job Market Success: Recent Placements
The Department congratulates Greg Plagens, Jonathan Minor,
and Elisha Savchak, each of whom recently earned positions
on the academic job market.
Greg Plagens, who graduated in August of 2006 with a PhD in
Political Science, joined the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies at the University of Akron as an Assistant Professor in the Fall. Greg’s dissertation examined the
relationship between social capital and student performance in
public schools, a reflection of his primary interests in public
administration and public policy. Greg reports that he is very
satisfied with his new position and colleagues, although he
misses the warm weather of South Carolina and Gamecock
baseball. He also emphasizes how well prepared he was by our
doctoral program and his advisors and other faculty.
After graduating in May, Jonathan Minor will be looking forward to serving as an Assistant Professor at North Georgia
College and State University in Dahlonega, Georgia. He will
be teaching international relations, comparative politics, international law and the politics of the Middle East within the new
International Affairs program in the Department of Criminal
Justice and Political Science. Jonathan’s dissertation examines
responses of various societies to global terrorist attacks and
terrorism. Like Greg Plagens, Jonathon makes a point of commending both his professors and his doctoral program–in his
case, in International Studies--for his success.
Elisha Savchak is in her fifth year of the doctoral program in
Political Science, working primarily in the areas of judicial
politics and constitutional law, and completing a dissertation
that examines the institutionalization of state courts in the
United States. She has accepted a position as an Assistant
Professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North
Carolina where, she is pleased to report, she will be teaching in
her primary areas of study. Elisha also thanks the several professors who helped develop her research agenda and skills over
the past five years.
Graduate Student Awards Day
Four Department graduate students were honored for their outstanding achievements on Graduate Student Day, April 4. Simona
Kragh and Jon Miner were recognized for Outstanding Performance as a Classroom Teacher. A. J. Bargothi and Charlie Hinderliter were recognized for Academic Accomplishment and Professional Leadership. All four will receive at the final Departmental
faculty meeting recognition plaques and checks for $100 for their hard work. Congratulations!
London Trip: Poli Sci Undergraduates at the Conference for Informed Democracy
In November 2006 Osama
Nashaat Habib Wahba and
Solvin Mathew traveled to
London in order to attend an
Americans for Informed Democracy Conference sponsored
by the Saban Center for Middle
East Policy, an affiliate of the
Brookings Institute and the
Elliot School of International
Affairs. Osama, a Political
Science major, and Solvin, who
majors in International Studies,
met with students, policymak-
ers, journalists and scholars
from around the world for skillbuilding workshops and lectures and discussions on world
hunger, the war on terror,
global warming, and the role of
future leaders in world affairs.
The two students presented a
report on “Organ Harvesting in
China,” and Osama presented
another paper on the “Iranian
Nuclear Crisis and Egypt’s Regional
Role in the Middle
East.” The Department was
pleased to provide financial
support for this educational trip
and experience; the College of
Arts and Sciences also provided
welcomed support.
A Special Thanks
The Department wants to thank the many alumni, Partnership Board members, and other friends who have provided financial support in years past and present. Some recent donors include:
Ms. Melissa Ann Drumheller, Mr. John M. Lawson, Mr. Moses Boyd, Mr. Neil Baumgardner, Mrs. Joella S. Lyons, Mr.
Allan J. Harden, Mr. Roger Ezell, Dr. Steven K. Smith, Dr. Dianne C. Luce, Mr. John L. Merrick, Jr.