Past News

	University of California, Irvine Department of Political Science
		Past News

		UCI's Mock Trial teams are on to nationals for second year running National tournament will be hosted by UCI March 21-22 UCI's two senior Mock Trial teams closed out their regular season arguments Saturday amidst a flurry of awards for individual courtroom performances and overall team efforts at the Rancho Cucamonga California Regional Tournament. Their success follows last weekend's equally victorious junior team performances at Fresno's Regional Tournament. With a combined record of 26-6, each of the four legal teams that make up UCI's relatively new Mock Trial program received a bid for nationals - an accomplishment, notes coach Justin Bernstein, that puts UCI on par with Harvard and Georgetown as being the only schools in the country to hold four bids to nationals. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=2099 ****************************************** Human rights best practices Political scientist Alison Brysk examines international human rights success stories in her new book, Global Good Samaritans. President Obama's signing of executive orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and limit interrogation techniques in U.S. facilities worldwide is a big step forward for what has been a lagging overall national policy on international human rights, says Alison Brysk. Professor Brysk specializes in human rights research, she is the author of Global Good Samaritans, a new book in which she provides a comparative look at human rights foreign policy best practices abroad. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=2086 Related links: Global Good Samaritans (Oxford Press) **************************************** President Obama pushes the stimulus bill The U.S. Senate has passed President Obama's $838 billion economic recovery plan, but Democrats and Republicans will negotiate further before voting on the final bill. Matthew Beckmann, UC Irvine political science assistant professor, studies how presidents push their policy proposals in Congress and the consequences of partisan polarization in Washington. Beckmann weighs in on how Obama is handling the first major challenge of his presidency: garnering bipartisan support for a bill to help the country bounce back from economic crisis. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=2084 or http://today.uci.edu/Features/profile_detail.asp?key=428 **************************************** Illegal migration worldwide poses security risks - Political scientist Kamal Sadiq investigates how paperwork - often falsely obtained - grants citizenship to illegal immigrants. An era of mass migrations, porous borders and easily obtained fraudulent documents is blurring the definition of citizenship and putting national security at risk around the globe, says UC Irvine political science professor Kamal Sadiq in his new book, “Paper Citizens: How Illegal Immigrants Acquire Citizenship in Developing Countries.” For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=2026 http://www.uci.edu/uci/features/feature_papercitizens_081201.php Related links: Paper Citizens at Oxford University Press **************************************** Professors battle out where '08 candidates stand on major election issues in informative - and entertaining - debate It was standing room only in Donald Bren Hall on October 22 as students, faculty, staff and community members packed the house for the Social Sciences Dean's Ambassadors Council hot topics debate on the presidential election. Putting aside their own personal opinions and preferences, political scientists Mark Petracca and William Schonfeld were tasked with the challenge of presenting to the audience the best possible arguments for supporting either Senator Obama or McCain, respectively. The two went toe-to-toe on issues ranging from the state of the economy to foreign policy and everything in between. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=2003 **************************************** For political science and international studies double major Cristian Martinez, research opens doors to a promising career - and new life UC Irvine undergraduate Cristian Martinez has made the most of every opportunity that's come her way. In a few short years, she's gone from foster care to the halls of power in Washington, D.C. Because of her in-depth study of the U.S.-Mexico border, she was tapped for a foreign policy internship in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Research has changed her life. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1997 **************************************** Los Angeles' immigrants & children of immigrants topic of three new UCI studies Offices: Anthropology, Chicano-Latino Studies, Political Science, Sociology Researchers: Jennifer Lee, UCI sociology professor, and Min Zhou, UCLA sociology professor, Leo Chavez, UCI anthropology professor, and Louis DeSipio, UCI Chicano/Latino studies and political science professor, Frank D. Bean and Susan K. Brown, sociology professors Details: UC Irvine researchers have received three awards from the Russell Sage Foundation totaling $245,000 to take an in-depth look at how immigrants and children of immigrants - the 1.5 and second generations - in Los Angeles assimilate and incorporate into American society. The studies will utilize data from the 2004 UCI-led Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles (IMMLA) project. Led by sociologists Frank Bean and Ruben Rumbaut, the comprehensive project collected more than 4,600 interviews with 1.5 and second generation Mexicans, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans living in Los Angeles. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1971 **************************************** Are polls overstating Obama's support? Christopher Stout and Reuben Kline, political science graduate students, are featured in Miller-McCune online on October 1, 2008 - California. 1982. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, a Democrat, is running to be the first black governor in his state's history. Days before the election, he is up by almost 10 points in the polls. But when the returns come in, Republican George Deukmejian is declared the winner. For complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1963 For the full story, please visit http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/732# **************************************** Palin's family: Do they matter? Mark Petracca, political science department chair and associate professor, is featured in the OC Register on September 4, 2008 - Washington, Adams, Jefferson...Pinckney? Were James Madison to run for president today, it's not hard to imagine his opponent, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, benefiting from Madison's volatile family situation. After he married Dolley Payne Todd, Madison was father to John Payne Todd, a teenager with little regard for authority and a gambling problem that would ultimately cost Dolley her plantation. For complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1917 For the full story, please visit http://www.ocregister.com/articles/candidates-children-families-2146519-family-says?slideshow=1 **************************************** Promoting civic engagement in the MySpace age Russell Dalton, political science professor, is featured in PBS Teachers on September 4, 2008- Election time is an exciting time for Social Studies teachers. Rock The Vote, whose stated mission is to "build the political clout and engagement of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country," comes to the forefront. It is a time when history is experienced in the making. For complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1916 For the full story, please visit http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mediainfusion/2008/09/promoting_civic_engagement_in_1.html **************************************** Congratulations to political science doctoral student Kathy H. Rim whose paper, "Political Participation and Group Consciousness: Asian Americans as a Case Study," co-authored with UCI alumnus Natalie Masuoka, Ph.D. 2007, received the 2008 "Best Paper Award" from the Asian Pacific American Caucus at the recent meetings of the American Political Science Association in Boston, MA. Kathy has also received dissertation funding for the 2008-2009 academic year from the Korean American Scholarship Foundation. **************************************** Congratulations to political science doctoral student Amy C. Alexander on receiving the 2008 Alice Paul Award from the Women's Caucus of the American Political Science Association for excellence in a dissertation proposal. **************************************** Obama and the youth vote Q&A with Russell Dalton, political science professor and author of “The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping Politics” Barack Obama's campaign has mobilized voters under 30, a group often disregarded by political candidates due to traditionally low turnout at the polls. What is it about Obama that appeals so much to young voters? Is there anything John McCain can do to gain more appeal among young people? Dalton provides his thoughts on these issues and others. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1912 To view video of Russell Dalton discussing Obama's appeal to young voters, visit www.uci.edu/experts/video_news.php?src=dalton&format=wmv&res=high. Link to campus story: http://today.uci.edu/Features/profile_detail.asp?key=379 **************************************** Social scientists study path to citizenship as immigration solution What to do about the growing number of undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States is a top issue in the national immigration debate and in this year's Presidential election. While the candidates may disagree on the specifics, both Senators McCain and Obama - as well as a number of experts on the topic - share the consensus that a formal pathway to legal status and eventual naturalization is a giant step in the right direction. With a newly awarded $70,000 grant, anthropologist Leo Chavez and political scientist Louis DeSipio will study how similarly approved legislation back in 1986 - the last time such a pathway was approved - has shaped opportunities for immigrant assimilation into U.S. society, both for the immigrants who were able to legalize and for their children. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1909 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Louis DeSipio and Professor Leo Chavez on their Russell Sage Foundation Award entitled "Center for Research on Latinos in a Global Society". The total funding for this award is $70,610.00 with the project period from 7/1/08 until 6/30/09. **************************************** Congratulations to Associate Professor Mark Petracca, political science department chair, who has received a Chapter Advisor Recognition award from the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha. The annual award recognizes his "extraordinary dedication, commitment, and leadership" in his role as the UCI chapter advisor for the past 21 years. He is one of only five advisors out of the nation's 683 participating chapters to receive this year's honor which carries a $1,000 prize. **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Etel Solingen, whose book, "Nuclear Logics: Contrasting Paths in East Asia and the Middle East" (Princeton University Press) has been named the recipient of the American Political Science Association's (APSA) 2008 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book on government, politics, or international affairs. Additionally, "Nuclear Logics" will receive the 2008 Robert Jervis and Paul Schroeder Award for the Best Book on International History and Politics, awarded by the section on International History and Politics of the APSA. Both awards will be given at the upcoming APSA meetings in Boston, Massachusetts ~ August 28-31, 2008. Congratulations again to Professor Solingen on this significant national recognition for her work! For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1941 Read more about Solingen's award winning book at http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8554.html. **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Helen Ingram, who has been named one of the 2008 recipients of the Aaron Wildavsky Award for enduring contributions to the study of public policy from the Policy Studies section of the American Political Science Association. Professor Ingram will be receiving her award at the upcoming APSA meetings in Boston, Massachusetts ~ August 28-31, 2008. **************************************** National voting trends on affirmative action bans topic of UC study As the November 2008 election draws near, several states may soon find themselves voting on legislation with arguably longer lasting effects than a four year Presidential term, says UC Irvine political science associate professor Louis DeSipio. With a recently awarded $50,000 grant, DeSipio, along with researchers from UC Berkeley, will be examining trends in voter supported state bans on affirmative action programs. For Californians, it was Proposition 209 back in 1996. With its passage, state-level affirmative action programs in higher education and public employment ceased to exist. Washington State's 1998 Initiative 200 and Michigan's Proposition 2 in 2006 yielded identical results. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1869 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Etel Solingen, on her Carnegie Award for her "International Sanctions and Nuclear Proliferation: What Next?" project, which will examine the effects of positive and negative inducements on preventing nuclear proliferation. The total funding for this project is $50,000.00 For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1880 **************************************** Study says employers who worry that instant messaging causes disruptions at work may want to reconsider. A new study co-authored by UC Irvine political science professor James Danziger shows instant messaging has the opposite effect and actually lowers workplace interruptions. The study found workers who used instant messaging on the job avoided more disruptive forms of communication such as the telephone, e-mail and unexpected office "drop-ins." For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1849 In a related study, Professor Danziger offers some surprising findings about which employees spend the most time surfing the Web on company time. This study was featured by the Associated Press on June 18, 2008. The article appears in 49 news outlets. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1850 For the full story, please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/18/AR2008061801570.html. **************************************** A new study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine reveals a troubling picture of gender discrimination in academia. Kristen Monroe, UC Irvine political science and philosophy professor, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, and author of the study. Co-authors include UC Irvine political science graduate students Saba Ozyurt, Ted Wrigley and Amy Alexander. Professor Monroe and the study, the largest qualitative study of its kind, were featured in Inside Higher Ed on June 12, 2008. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1840 http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1848 For the complete article in Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/12/women Professor Monroe was also featured in the Orange County Register on June 19, 2008. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1854 For the full story in the Orange County Register, please visit http://www.ocregister.com/articles/women-study-faculty-2072892-uci-bryant. **************************************** Congratulations to the following undergraduate Political Science majors, who will be honored as inaugural Student Scholars of Distinction in the School of Social Sciences at a ceremony on Friday, June 13th at 3pm, in the Social Science Lecture Hall: Kent C. Boydston, Chetan Chowdhry, Kapil V.P. Dandamudi, Valerie D. Dao, Jennifer A. Evans, Nick M. Masellis Jr., Shahrzad T. Radbod, Michelle B. Reaves, Brett M. Reid, Sevana Sammis, Xenia Tashlitsky, Stefanie C. Vidarte, and Jan-Mitchell A. Zerrudo. **************************************** Congratulations to the following undergraduate Political Science majors: Shahrzad T. Radbod, Elizabeth T. Hoyt, and John K.H. Wie - winners of the Social Sciences Alumni Academic Excellence Scholarship; Rosa Noyola - winner of the David Rosen International Education and Service Scholarship; Montrischa M. Williams - winner of the Outstanding Transfer Student Scholarship; Melanie I.L. Lim - winner of the Elena B. and William R. Schonfeld Scholarship. **************************************** Congratulations to Shahrzad T. Radbod, graduating senior in political science, who has been named the 2008 recipient of UCI's Phi Beta Kappa Graduate Scholarship. Ms. Radbod, who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, will be graduating magna cum laude and with honors in political science. She will be attending the Boalt Hall School of Law at Berkeley in the Fall. **************************************** Congratulations to our 2007-08 end of the year Political Science award winners, political science doctoral students Kathy H. Rim on receiving the Easton Award for Outstanding Qualifying Paper; Amy C. Alexander on receiving the Eckstein Scholar Award for Outstanding Student Advanced to Candidacy, and to undergraduate student Phillip S. McGill on receiving the Eckstein Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis. We would also like to congratulate the following political science doctoral students who came in as "Finalists" for the Eckstein Scholar Award - Madeline J. Baer, Thomas E. Doyle, and Kathy H. Rim. **************************************** Congratulations to Assistant Professor Diana Kapiszewski, whose dissertation, "Challenging Decisions: High Courts and Economics Governance in Argentina and Brazil" has been selected as the winner of the 2008 Edward S. Corwin prize for the best dissertation in the field of public law. The Corwin prize is given annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA). Professor Kapiszewski will receive her award at the Annual Meetings of the APSA in Boston this summer. **************************************** Congratulations to Matthew N. Beckmann, political science assistant professor, and Cristian N. Martinez, political science and international studies major, are the School of Social Sciences' recipients of the 2008 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Presented at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program's (UROP) 12th annual symposium, the awards recognize Beckmann's efforts to foster research among undergraduates, and Martinez's excellence in academic research. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1832 **************************************** Congratulations to Michele Budz, seventh year political science graduate student, who was awarded a prestigious IGCC Dissertation Fellowship for 2008-09 for her project, "Sinking Ships, Smugglers, and Sovereign States." For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1826 **************************************** Congratulations to Assistant Professor Matthew N. Beckmann, who has been selected by the School of Social Sciences to be honored at the Celebration of Teaching awards ceremony for his excellence in undergraduate teaching by the Division of Undergraduate Education, the Senate Council on Student Experience, and the Teaching, Learning & Technology Center. The names of all of the recipients of the campuswide (competitive) Celebration of Teaching awards, as well as the School Honorees for Excellence in Undergraduate Education are posted at http://www.tltc.uci.edu. All members of the campus community are invited to attend the Celebration of Teaching to help acknowledge UCI's fabulous undergraduate instructors. The event takes place on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 4:30-6:00 in the University Club dining room (reception to follow). To R.S.V.P., please contact Ms. Barbara Valencia Fernandez at bvalenci@uci.edu or call (949) 824-6060. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1802 **************************************** Congratulations to political science majors Curt Brown, the 2007 Nicholas Aeberhard Memorial Award winner (for the outstanding freshman at UCI) and Benjamin Bohr the 2008 Dan and Jean Aldrich, Jr. Scholarship winner (for UCI's outstanding junior). For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1801 **************************************** Professor Wayne Sandholtz publishes book on changing international laws of war. In Prohibiting Plunder: How Norms Change, political science professor, Wayne Sandholtz tells the colorful history of wartime looting, which was once the accepted right of victors but today is prohibited by international treaties. Through first hand accounts and official documents from wars dating back to Napoleon, Sandholtz eloquently demonstrates how international norms change over time, with episodes as recent as the 2003 looting of the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1794 **************************************** Professor Etel Solingen publishes "Nuclear Logics." Etel Solingen, political science professor, examines why some states seek nuclear weapons while others renounce them in her new book Nuclear Logics: Contrasting Paths in East Asia & the Middle East, "a valuable and timely contribution" to the discussion of nuclear proliferation according to UN weapon's inspector Hans Blix. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1792 **************************************** Congratulations to graduating political science major, Yvette Shirinian, who has been awarded a 2008-2009 Coro Foundation Fellowship. Ms. Shirinian will hold her Coro Fellowship in the Los Angeles area. An honors student in political science (with a minor in conflict resolution), Ms. Shirinian has studied abroad, interned abroad for the Fairtrade Foundation in London, interned for Senator Feinstein in Los Angeles, and interned as well in both Washington, D.C. and New York City. On campus, she has been involved in Global Connect, is a member of the Dean's Ambassadors Council as well as the Mock Trial Team, and she is founder and president of the Darfur Action Committee at UCI. **************************************** Congratulations to Madeline Baer, fourth year political science graduate student, who has received the Don Owen Water Science and Policy Fellowship for Spring 2008. The award is given by the School of Social Ecology and the Urban Water Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. The endowment provides fellowship support for outstanding graduate students in pursuit of their doctorate. For more information on the Don Owen Water Science and Policy Fellowship: http://www.uwrc.uci.edu/students-UWRC/UCI-Don-Owen-Fellowship.php **************************************** UCI's Mock Trial team finishes strong in national competition Coming off their second place finish in February's regional championships, UC Irvine's senior Mock Trial team headed to St. Paul, Minnesota on April 4 to take part in the association's National Championship Tournament. One of only 64 qualifying teams, the trip marked the first ever national appearance by the UCI team which was started just three short years ago. Facing fierce competition from rival teams across the nation, the team from UCI didn't disappoint. When the weekend tournament's war of words came to a close, UCI walked away with a 12th place finish, beating out teams from Stanford, Duke and other prestigious universities. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1770 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Kristen Monroe on receiving the Academic Senate's 2008-2009 "Distinguished Faculty Award for Research." This award has been given by the Academic Senate since 1976. Two other members of the department are previous recipients of this award—David Easton (1997) and Bernard Grofman (2005-2006). For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1815 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Rein Taagepera who has been named the 2008 recipient of the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. The Skytte Foundation is located at Uppsala University in Sweden. The Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science, of 500,000 Swedish crowns (approximately $75,000 US Dollars) is given annually to the scholar who in the view of the Foundation has made the most valuable contribution to political science. Additional information about the prize and a list of past winners, who include Theda Skocpol, Robert Putnam, Sidney Verba, Jean Blondel, Brian Barry, Hanna Pitkin, Arend Lijphart, Robert Dahl and others, can be found at http://athena.statsvet.uu.se/prize/ For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1762 **************************************** Conflict resolution Cecelia Lynch, associate professor of political science, Director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and fall 2007 recipient of the first faculty Living Our Values Award, often goes the extra mile in pursuit of knowledge. To write a book on the role of religious ethics in international relations, she spent a year studying at The University of Chicago Divinity School. To deepen her understanding of Islamic texts, she took classes in Arabic at UCLA. To research religion and social movements, she traveled to Kenya, Cameroon and the Middle East to interview members of humanitarian organizations. "What better way is there to look at the roots of activism than to talk to the people who believe they’re trying to make the world a better place?” For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1756 http://today.uci.edu/Features/profile_detail.asp?key=343 **************************************** Congratulations to Titus Chen, sixth year political science graduate student, who was awarded a $35,000 Hayward R. Alker Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the University of Southern California's Center for International Studies. Awarded to only two students nationwide the fellowship will support Chen's research on relations between the U.S. and China with a focus on the recent spike in the number of U.S. based NGOs working within China to train lawyers and judges. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1742 **************************************** Are we entering a new period of democratic dominance? New research by UC Irvine political science professor Bernard Grofman suggests shifts in political party control over the U.S. House, Senate and Presidency occur roughly every 14 years. The study, published in the February issue of the American Political Science Review, found that cycles of support for the Republican or Democratic parties, and the shifts in party control that accompany them, occur more frequently than previously thought. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1731 Further information is also available at http://www.apsanet.org/content_50847.cfm. **************************************** Congratulations to Saba Ozyurt, sixth year political science graduate student, who has received a $10,000 UC Irvine Frances Benton Fellowship and a $24,000 UC San Diego Center for Comparative Immigration Studies Visiting Research Fellowship that will take her to the San Diego campus for the 2008-2009 academic year. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1738 **************************************** A team of UC Irvine researchers has received an $828,000 grant from the California Postsecondary Education Commission for a project aimed at improving English and arts education in kindergarten through second grade classrooms. Spanning a four year period, the project will involve 180 teachers and impact more than 7,000 students in the San Diego Unified School District. Lead researchers Liane Brouillette, educational leadership associate professor, and Kristen Monroe, political science professor and director of the Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, will develop curriculum and, beginning fall 2008, provide professional development training for K-2 educators on how to incorporate art into classroom lessons as a way to strengthen students' English language skills. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1693 **************************************** Congratulations to Assistant Professor Daniel Brunstetter on receiving an Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation "Scholar in Residency" fellowship to spend the Winter Quarter 2009 researching and writing at the Chateau de Bretesche in the French countryside. Brunstetter in one of just two scholars selected annually for this research opportunity which aims to give faculty a home base for completing research and writing for scholarly publications. Brunstetter's project, entitled "The Enlightenment Strikes Back! Clarifying France’s Policy of Integration" explores the Enlightenment roots of France's new social policy aimed at integrating immigrants to gauge the prospects of its success and the potential threats it may pose to the values of the Fifth Republic. The project compliments his overall research agenda on perceptions of Otherness from the origins of Modernity in the sixteenth century, through the French Enlightenment, to contemporary times. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1687 **************************************** Congratulations to Bernard Grofman, professor and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, will be the inaugural Jack W. Peltason Endowed Chair. Established in November 2007 with a $1 million anonymous donation, the Endowed Chair honors former UC President and UC Irvine Chancellor, Jack W. Peltason. The news comes on the heels of Grofman's recent appointment as the new director of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a UCI center with more than 40 participating faculty members. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1675 **************************************** Congratulations to Cecelia M. Lynch, associate professor and director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and Chetan Chowdhry, political science and environmental analysis and design undergraduate, are among the recently announced recipients of the Chancellor's Fall 2007 Living Our Values award. The biannual award recognizes individuals and teams who exemplify the core values of UC Irvine - respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun. With newly expanded guidelines this fall to include faculty and students among its recipients, Lynch and Chowdhry have become the first faculty member and student to receive the award. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1637 **************************************** Study finds personal contact key to bringing out low-income and minority voters. On Election Day in California, face-to-face canvassing of low-income and minority communities dramatically increases voter turnout within these historically low voter participant populations, according to a new study released by The James Irvine Foundation. Researchers including Lisa Garcia Bedolla, Chicano/Latino studies and political science associate professor, found other personal contact outreach methods - including live phone calls - to be much more effective at turning out the vote than direct mail, recorded phone messages, and other commonly used voter mobilization tactics. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1612 **************************************** Sharing their story For the past two summers, Daniel Wehrenfennig, a fourth year political science Ph.D. candidate and fellow of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, has embarked on a mission - a mission that has repeatedly led him and a small film crew deep into the heart of the African country of Malawi. For the full story, please visit http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1607. For more information on Wehrenfennig's film project, please visit http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~cpb/Malawi.html. **************************************** Women in Politics Education funding and healthcare reform are two of the hot-button issues currently sparking debate between presidential candidates gearing up for the 2008 elections. These often-termed "women friendly" issues are a driving force behind the research of political science graduate student Becki Scola who examines the under-representation of women in state legislatures and the causes of its variance across the United States, a topic which combines her undergraduate interest in women's studies with her passion for political science. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1571. **************************************** Congratulations to Associate Professor Cecelia M. Lynch and Professor Etel Solingen, whose research was honored at annual the American Political Science Association's (APSA) annual meeting. The work of Cecelia Lynch was discussed via a panel on her book, Strategies for Research in Constructivist International Relations (M.E. Sharpe). A separately held panel highlighted the work of Etel Solingen. The panel focused on Solingen's contribution to furthering our understanding of issues of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and East Asia. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1565 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Russell Dalton, who has been elected president of the American Political Science Association's (APSA) Section on Political Organizations and Parties (POP). For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1558 **************************************** Deborah Avant, the new face of International Studies at UC Irvine For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1552 **************************************** Congratulations to UC Irvine political science alumni Vasudhsiri Torch Sathienmars, class of '06, Scott Dominic Seekatz, class of '07, and Aida Macedo De Partida, class of '07, who have each been selected for 11 month appointments to the California Capital Fellows Program. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1545 **************************************** A recently released study ranks UC Irvine's Department of Political Science 17th in the nation - a ranking which differs greatly from their 35th placement by the popular U.S. News and World Report. The disparity, researchers say, rests with the objectivity of measurement methods employed by each. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1520 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Kristen Monroe, who has been elected President of the International Society of Political Psychology, the world's largest international society devoted to the study of political psychology. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1470 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Russell Dalton who has been selected to receive a UCI Emeriti Association Faculty Mentorship Award for 2007. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1461 **************************************** Congratulations to our 2006-07 end of the year Political Science award winners, political science doctoral students Amy C. Alexander on receiving the Easton Award for Outstanding Qualifying Paper; Saba Ozyurt and Daniel Wehrenfennig on receiving the Eckstein Scholar Award for Outstanding Student Advanced to Candidacy, and to undergraduate students Garric Nahapetian on receiving the Eckstein Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis and Renee Manorat on receiving the Pi Omnicron Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha Founders Award. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1435 **************************************** Congratulations to our 2006-07 end of the year Social Sciences' Order of Merit award winners, political science doctoral students Amy C. Alexander on receiving the Outstanding Graduate Student Service award and Kathy H. Rim on receiving the A. Kimball Romney Award Outstanding Graduate Student Paper in the School of Social Sciences. Congratulations also to the following undergraduate Political Science majors: Garric Nahapetian (Sr.) on receiving the Social Sciences Outstanding Honors Thesis, to Xenia Tashlitsky (Jr.) and Shahrooz Shahandehpour (Jr.) on receiving the David and Kristin Rosten Dean's Scholarship; to Rosa Noyola (Sr.) on receiving the Frank Lynch Transfer Scholarship; and to Valerie Dao (Jr.) on receiving the Alumni Excellence Scholarship. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1442 **************************************** Congratulations to political science doctoral student Amy Alexander who received a University of California, Berkeley Institute of European Studies Predissertation Fellowship to fund her travel to Europe in support of her research, "Gender Differences in Legislative Attitudes and Behaviors: Testing Theory and Evidence Across Several Western Democracies." For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1428 **************************************** Congratulations to political science doctoral student Becki Scola named the co-recipient of the 2007 Most Promising Future Faculty Member Award from the Division of Undergraduate Education. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1405 **************************************** Congratulations to Shahrzad Radbod, third-year political science major and biological sciences and philosophy minor, who was selected as the 2007 recipient of the Elena B. and William R. Schonfeld Scholarship. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1411 **************************************** Congratulations to Kapil Dandamudi, political science major, who has received the UCI Excellent Upper-Division Academic Writing Award for his paper titled "Public Opinion on the Environment," evaluated by political science professor Katherine Tate. Honoring both the student writer and the instructor, this award carries a $100 prize for its recipients. **************************************** Congratulations to political science majors Matthew Seamon, the 2007 Nicholas Aeberhard Memorial Award winner (for the outstanding freshman at UCI) and Valerie Dao the 2007 Dan and Jean Aldrich, Jr. Scholarship winner (for UCI's outstanding junior). For the complete news item: Seamon - http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1387 Dao - http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1396 **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Alison Brysk who was has been named the recipient of the 2007-2008 "Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research" by the UC Academic Senate. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1357 **************************************** Recently released study ranks eight UCI political science professors in top 400: Using citation counts over the course of a scholar's lifetime of research as a measure of impact and contribution to political science, a recently released study ranks eight UCI political science professors in the top 400 in their field. Long-time UCI professors Russell Dalton, David Easton, Bernard Grofman, Helen Ingram, Dorothy Solinger, Rein Taagepera, and Martin Wattenberg are joined by UCI newcomer, Martha Feldman who was at the University of Michigan at the time this study was conducted, to round out this group of highly ranked political science faculty. Professors Easton, Grofman, and Dalton were further ranked among the top 100 most cited political science faculty currently teaching in Ph.D. programs in the U.S., while Professors Feldman and Taagepera were among the top 200. For the complete news item: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1327 For further information, please visit www.apsanet.org. **************************************** Congratulations to Professor Alison Brysk who was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant during the 2006-07 academic year. For the complete news item: http://today.uci.edu/news/release_detail.asp?key=1551 http://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news_item.php?nid=1259 **************************************** Congratulations to Dr. DeSipio's political science doctoral student, Stephen Nuno, on his UC Mexus Fellowship Award for the "California Statewide Election Exit Poll 2006" project. The total funding for this project is $12,000 with the project period from 7/1/06 until 6/30/08. **************************************** Congratulations to political science doctoral student Becki Scola on receiving the American Political Science Association’s 2006 Women's Caucus Alice Paul Award for the Best Dissertation Prospectus on women and politics. The title of her dissertation prospectus is: "Double Disadvantage or Intersecting Advantage? Representation, Institutional Structures, and Women of Color State Legislators." Becki's award will be presented at the meeting of the Women's Caucus in Philadelphia during the upcoming Annual Meetings of the APSA. ****************************************** [ back to top ]