Political Science Department
2008-2009 Newsletter
June 2009
From the Chair:
This was another busy and exciting year! Our faculty provided high quality teaching for our students and
produced successful research as well.
We welcomed a number of exceptional faculty from other institutions of higher education to speak to the
department, students, and the campus faculty and staff. These noted scholars included professors Shep
Melneck of Boston College, Ronald Mitchell from the University of Oregon, Octavius Pinkard of Christopher
Newport University, Schuck Fellow for the Study of State Craft James Humes, President Anthony Kinkle of
Pikes Peak Community College, as well as UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak. Other guest speakers
included John Stossel of ABC, Gary McDougal from the Heartland Institute, David Osborne, author of Reinventing Government and of The Price of Government, Jerry Kotkin, author of Management of Cities, and
Delmore Zimmerman, expert on economic development for urban communities.
We raised funding to send six students to Washington D. C. for a field course taught by former Colorado
senator and current CU professor Hank Brown. The course included an in-depth tour of the White House and
Capital. We placed eight students in internships serving in the State Legislature, US Senator Michael Bennet’s
office, US Congressman Doug Lamborn's office, and in the local district attorney's office. We awarded
Robert S. and Barbara R. Lorch Scholarships of $750 to Kyla Walstad (3.81 GPA) for Fall 2008 and $1600 to
Sarah Strickland (4.0 GPA) for 2009-2010, as well as the Marion Sondermann Scholarship of $1500 to Tim
Cannon (3.9 GPA) for 2009-2010.
Our faculty had a very good year in terms of their scholarship. Because of his fine scholastic work and
teaching, we were able to put Assistant Professor Joshua Dunn up for early promotion and tenure which has
now been approved! Dr. Paul Sondrol completed two chapters for a monograph eventually become a
book. Dr. Patricia Keilbach published a book chapter. We were able to fully fund attendance at the annual
American Political Science Association conference in New York for several faculty in order to present their
scholarship, and Dr. Sondrol’s attendance at the Latin America Politics Association conference in Puerto
Rico. Our instructor Elsa Dias attended the Western Political Science Association’s conference in Vancouver
to present her research; we funded $500 of her expense. Dr. Dias’s book, A Historical Transatlantic Political
Tradition: The Case of Portugal and the United States, is now in print. Her article “Revolution, Liberalism and
Women’s Right to Vote: Portugal, a Case Study” was published in the Portuguese Studies Review, Vol. 16,
No. 2. The students of Dr. Keilbach's Model United Nations course continue to enjoy great success in their annual competitive UN conference (this year in San Francisco).
In addition to these accomplishments, our student organizations were supported by faculty members. Dr.
Keilbach advised the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society, Dr. Dunn supervised the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity and pre-law internships, Jim Colvin was advisor to the Student Government's Supreme Court, and I supervised the other internship programs.
From the Chair, cont...
Finally, we are proud that in one year's time we were able to establish a number of important policies and
procedures in the development a policies and procedures manual. The following is a list of those items:
1. Crafted and approved a new Policy and Procedures manual that includes the rules of governance for
the department.
2. Established a 3-year teaching plan for the department that included development of a number of new
courses.
3. Developed and implemented our first student assessment program.
4. Developed a new written description of our internship and the relevant requirements.
5. Developed a new suggested reading list for our majors.
6. Crafted and approved a new Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Rules and Procedures document.
7. Developed new requirement policies relating to the internship and honors programs.
8. Finally, we have established a new long term strategic plan.
The manual is close to completion, but will still require us to develop a few final goals.
Dr. James a. Null, Chairperson
From our faculty...
Joshua Dunn, Associate Professor
Professionally this past year has been the busiest but in many ways my most satisfying since I came to UCCS
in 2004. My book Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins was published by the University of North
Carolina Press. In October, I co-directed a major conference on the courts and education for the Fordham
Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. Marty West and I are editing the conference papers for a
volume, From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary's Role in American Education, that will be published
by the Brookings Institution Press this August. I also wrote a short biography of Homer Cummings for the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States. Cummings was FDR's first attorney general and was
most famous for creating Roosevelt's "court packing" plan. I continue to co-author, with Martha Derthick, a
quarterly article on law and education for the journal Education Next. This past year we wrote on everything
from No Child Left Behind to the use of "timeouts" to punish students. Last year's campaign season also kept
me quite busy with interviews for news outlets but fortunately we had an election and my life returned to
normal. I was also honored to go up for and receive early promotion and tenure.
After such a hectic year, summer has never been more welcome. I'm looking forward spending time with my
wife Kelly and our three children, Joshua, Benjamin, and Elizabeth, who make all the hard work worthwhile.
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Political Science 2009-10
Patricia Keilbach, Assistant Professor
I’ve been busy in the classroom, library and community focusing on teaching, writing and lecturing on global, environmental and European Politics, political economy and the United Nations system. It’s an exciting time to research and teach on the issues!
I continue to take students to Model United Nations conferences. Last year the UCCS MUN team awards included the Best Delegate
Award on the Security Council for student Sarah Strickland. This year our MUN students also did very well. I developed and taught a new
course, European Politics. International Political Economy and International Environmental Politics have been quite popular courses.
Global Politics and International Politics are among my favorite courses to teach. I teach Film and Politics in the Winterim and rotate
into the Senior Research Seminar. I have a lot of fun in the classroom!
My research and reviews have been published in the journals International Organization, Global Environmental Politics, Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy and by Ashgate and Cambridge University presses. I’m the commissioned author of the Instructor’s
Manual for the 9th edition of the textbook, World Politics: The Menu for Choice. My chapter “Transatlantic Food Fights in an Era of Globalization: When Menus, Rules and Choices Collide” was published in March 2009 in the edited book, Transatlantic Environment and
Energy Politics: Comparative and International Perspectives. I have a review forthcoming in the journal Global Environmental Politics in
August 2009. Several articles are in various stages of review and revision, and my book project is coming along well.
My service work is extensive. I’m the program director for the UCCS Model United Nations and the founding faculty member and current Faculty Advisor the Pi Sigma Alpha UCCS chapter. I’m the current Chair of the Social Science Symposium Series. We have brought
many exceptional speakers to campus. I gave a Guest Lecture to the Pikes Peak United Nations Association on Earth Day 2009 focused
on the challenges of the United Nations Environment Programme for resolving transboundary environmental problems. I delivered a
Guest Lecture focused on the workings of the European Union to the group Curiosity Unlimited in spring 2008. I was elected to represent
the College of Language, Arts and Sciences in the UCCS Faculty Assembly in the upcoming academic year. I have served as an
elected officer of the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association for the past 4 years. I’m also developing a
new website at: www.patriciakeilbach.net which is now under construction.
I continue to enjoy the package deal here in Colorado! I also have a new companion, Mozart, a mix-breed puppy and outdoor enthusiast, with whom I trail run and mountain bike as we improve our cardio and technical skills.
Paul Sondrol, Associate Professor
The past year has been a great one, one of the best ever. I have a new research stream to culminate in a
book, Political Themes in Inter-American Relations. Themes include Drug Trafficking, Globalization, Immigration, Intervention, etc. I’ve also agreed to write another chapter on Paraguay for the 7 th edition of Wiarda
and Kline’s Latin American Politics and Development. Of course, I continue to enjoy teaching our great students here at UCCS!
As a single dad of an eighteen-year-old, I have been kept pretty busy keeping track of Chase’s school work,
part-time job, girlfriend, and worrying about him driving my truck. He graduated from Air Force Academy
High School in May. Of course, he can’t attend UCCS for college. That would make too much sense, plus his
dad works here. I hike a lot in the mountains now and feel in better shape than ten years ago. I’ve really
never been happier in my life! If you haven't been to campus for a while, stop by and say hi when you are
around.
Political Science 2009-10
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Jim Colvin, Instructor
Born in New York City, 1941, raised in Pleasantville, NY. Graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, 1964,
majored in economics and minored in history. Active duty in the US Navy from 1964 to 1968, stayed in the
Reserves until retirement as a Captain in 1989. University of Denver Law School from 1968 to 1971. Joined the
Colorado Springs City Attorney’s Office in October 1971 as an assistant city attorney, and was appointed
City Attorney on January 1, 1981. Taught a few classes in Administrative Law and Personnel Law at UCCS
while City Attorney. Retired in January of 1998, had a small part-time practice and began part-time teaching at UCCS in 2003.
Currently teach Administrative Law and Defendants’ Rights in the fall semesters and Land Use Law and Public School Law in the spring semesters. I previously taught Introduction to Constitutional Law, Constitutional
Law and Individual Rights, and The Judicial System.
I serve as the faculty representative on The Scribe advisory board. As a former City Attorney I bring to my
classes experience with public law at the municipal, state, and federal levels. From 1971 until today I have
been part of the growth of Colorado Springs and Colorado. I view “public law” from the perspective of an
attorney aiding and defending the legislative and executive branches of government, and not as a litigator
seeking damages or other remedies through the courts as against the government.
Elsa Dias, Instructor
I continue to enjoy teaching at UCCS international relations courses such as foreign policy and political
economy. This year I introduced four new courses (African Politics, Middle Eastern Politics, Political Conflict
and Globalization) to give students broader learning opportunities. I enjoyed giving a talk to South Korean
journalists, State Department representatives and community members on U.S. - Korean Economic Relations.
I presented my research at the Western Political Science Conference in Vancouver, Canada, and participated as chair and discussant at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago. I published a book titled: A Historical Transatlantic Political Tradition: The Case of Portugal and the United States
and an article in a peer review journal titled "Revolution, Liberalism and Women’s Right to Vote: Portugal, a
Case Study."
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Political Science 2009-10
Student accomplishments …
Todd Hollenbeck
Outstanding Student in Political Science 2008-2009
Internships: I interned last semester (Fall 2008) with the Leadership Institute in Washington, DC and I was a
Field Representative for them the two semesters before that. I worked for them as a Field Rep in Spokane,
WA in Fall 2007 and Colorado in Spring 2008. I also interned with the Independence Institute In Golden, CO
last summer. This Summer I will be interning at Americans for Tax Reform in Washington, DC.
Publication: While at the Independence Institute I wrote an Issue Paper called "TABOR: What was said vs.
What really happened." I am currently working on an Issue Paper on Referendum C to be published by the
Independence Institute soon.
Next Fall: I hope to find a full-time job, preferably in Colorado at the Independence Institute or with Local
Liberty Online. I am also going to be looking at think tanks in Washington, DC or at think tanks in other states
like the Evergreen Freedom Foundation in Olympia, WA or The Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, CA.
Sarah Strickland
$1600 Robert S. and Barbara R. Lorch Scholarship award winner
I transferred to UCCS in 2007 to pursue a degree in Global Politics. My emphasis is on the role of international
organizations and international law in the prevention of genocide and promotion of human rights. This passion was fostered by my participation in the 2008 Canadian International Model United Nations conference
where I won the Best Delegate award for my performance on the Security Council. I am the Chair of Pi
Sigma Alpha, the Political Science Honor Society, and STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition. Additionally, I served on the Student Government as both a Senator-at-Large and a House Representative for the
2008-2009 academic year. I will graduate in December, after which I plan to attend law school with international law and African studies as my focus. I am extremely grateful to the patrons of the Robert S. and Barbara R. Lorch Political Science Scholarship for making it possible for me to achieve my goals.
Note: The Robert S. and Barbara R. Lorch Political Science Scholarship funds merit-based scholarships for undergraduate students majoring in political science at UCCS. One merit-based scholarship is awarded every
academic year to encourage students to demonstrate excellence and understanding of the discipline of
political science. The late Drs. Robert and Barbara Lorch taught political science and sociology, respectively, for over 30 years.
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Timothy Canon
$1200 Marion Sondermann Scholarship award winner
I started off at UCCS in Fall 2006 as a History major, but after taking Macroeconomics with Dr. Ballantyne I
quickly switched to Economics and added a Political Science major. My favorite courses so far have been
Constitution and Economy with Dr. Larry Eubanks, Great Books of Economics with Dr. Dale Deboer, and Political Ideas with Dr. Joshua Dunn. I am not sure at this point whether I will do an honors thesis in Political Science, but if I do it will likely discuss the possibility of an electronic market for votes, a topic of great interest to
me. Last year, I did a great deal of work for the campaigns with the College Republicans on campus, and I
write political columns for the Scribe. This fall, I will assume the Scribe’s Managing Editor duties. After UCCS, I
plan on attending law school, hopefully at George Mason University. A career in law is likely, and I would
consider the possibility of teaching law at some point as well.
Note: The Marion Sondermann Scholarship exists to encourage students to combine the study of economics
and political science and to encourage student excellence. To be eligible for this merit-based scholarship,
each applicant must have a declared major in either political science or economics. Marion Sondermann
has been a valued instructor for the Political Science department for over a decade.
Political Science Department
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy.
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
(719) 255-3016
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