THIS MONTH'S HEADLINES:
1. ANNUAL POLITICAL SCIENCE DINNER AT OLIVE GARDEN
2. PLANS OF GRADUATING SENIORS
3. NEW STUDENT GROUP LEADERS
4. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
5. POLSC MAJOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY IN GERMANY
6. POLITICS PA INTERNSHIP
7. REMEMBER TO VOTE
8. FACEBOOK PAGE
9. FINAL NEWSLETTER OF YEAR
1. ANNUAL POLITICAL SCIENCE DINNER AT OLIVE GARDEN
The annual political science dinner will be held at The Olive Garden on Peach Street on Thursday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. Graduating political science majors are the guests of honor, but all are invited to attend, and most political science faculty members will be there as well. Friends and significant others are also welcome. We use the regular menu, and people pay for their own meals. Dressing up is not necessary. To attend, RSVP to Dr. Speel no later than Tuesday, April 26.
2. PLANS OF GRADUATING SENIORS
If they complete all degree requirements, nine Penn State Behrend political science majors are scheduled to graduate next month:
- Breanna Black (double major in History)
- Lillie Gabreski
- Kayla-Jo Hewitt
- Matthew Lesnett (double major in History)
- Nicole Malinowski (double major in History)
- Juan Niño
- Aaron Reusche
- Ashley Solo
- Vedad Tabich
In addition, three Behrend students are scheduled to graduate, if they complete all degree requirements, with a politics and government minor next month:
- Thomas Grenke (History major)
- Anneliese Hamernick (History major)
- Mary Meckley (History major)
Some graduating students are still making plans for what to do after graduation, but some of the graduating majors have the following plans:
- Lillie Gabreski will be studying for a master of public administration degree at Cornell University, where she received a scholarship. Lillie also received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in South Africa, but was only able to accept one of the scholarships.
- Kayla-Jo Hewitt will be studying at Edinboro University to obtain teacher certification to teach social studies secondary education.
- Matt Lesnett will be attending the U.S. Army's Infantry Basic Officer Leaders Course and then plans to enroll in the the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.
- Nicole Malinowski will be moving to South Carolina and seeking employment at a Charleston museum with plans to attend graduate school in history.
- Juan Niño is seeking political employment in Washington D.C., possibly for a political consulting firm.
- Ashley Solo will be attending law school at Michigan State University.
- Vedad Tabich plans to attend law school at the University of California at Berkeley.
Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors, and best wishes with your plans for the future!
College Republicans and the Political Science Society have chosen new leadership for next academic year, while College Democrats continues with most of its elected leadership for this calendar year. All three groups have begun to discuss events for the fall that will relate to this year's election campaigns. Interested students can contact the club presidents to get involved.
Earlier this month, College Democrats sponsored a visit to campus by former President Bill Clinton, who was campaigning on behalf of Hillary Clinton for President. Bill Clinton spoke at Erie Hall before over 1,000 people. Also this month, the Political Science Society sponsored a campus forum with State Senator Sean Wiley (D-Erie) and State Senator Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pittsburgh), a Penn State Behrend political science alumnus.
Political Science Society
- President - Colleen Lorei ([email protected])
- Vice President - Gretchen Berry Haislip
- Treasurer - Justin Gallagher
- Secretary - open
College Democrats
- President - Domonic Mathews ([email protected])
- Vice President - Jillian Dunn
- Treasurer - Kim Price
- Secretary - open
College Republicans
- President - Justin Gallagher ([email protected])
Justin is currently looking for other officers for next year. If you are interested, please contact him.
Dr. Kilic Kanat, Assistant Professor of Political Science, participated in a panel discussion April 15 at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, Japan, about "Syrian Conflicts and Turkish Response: Foreign Policy, Security, and Refugees." At this month's Midwest Political Science Association conference in Chicago, Dr. Kanat presented a paper titled "Turkey and Syrian Conflict: The Evolution of a Middle Power Foreign Policy." And on March 30, he moderated a panel on "Confronting the Syrian Refugee Challenge" at a Syrian Refugee Crisis Conference sponsored by the SETA Foundation in Washington DC. Dr. Kanat also continues to publish columns for Daily Sabah, an English-language newspaper in Turkey. The most recent is titled "Obama's Legacy in the Middle East."
Dr. Naaborle Sackeyfio, Lecturer in Comparative Politics, presented a paper titled "Resource Capitalism and Runaway Development in West Africa: The Case of Ghana and Nigeria" on April 2 at the New York African Studies Association (NYASA) conference in New York City.
Dr. Robert Speel was interviewed for several articles in the Erie Times-News about Bill Clinton's visit to the Behrend campus and about this month's Pennsylvania primary. He was also interviewed twice by WJET-TV and WFXP-TV local news about the Clinton visit. He also written a Penn State blog post on how the Pennsylvania presidential primary works.
5. POLSC MAJOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY IN GERMANY
Brandon Petras, a Behrend Political Science major, was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the IES Berlin Summer Program to study abroad in Germany in June and July this year. This follows news from last month that Political Science major Megan McConnell was awarded a Cultural Vistas Fellowship for a summer internship in Berlin, Germany. Congratulations to both Brandon and Megan!
Politics PA, a Pennsylvania political news website, is seeking Summer 2016 interns. The position can be performed from anywhere with an internet connection. The position is intended for students interested in political science and/or journalism and is an opportunity to build a portfolio of published writing.
More details can be found at this website.
The Pennsylvania primary will take place on Tuesday, April 26. Not only will presidential candidates and convention delegate candidates be on the ballot, but so will candidates for US Senator, US House of Representatives, Pennsylvania State Senate, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. Pennsylvania voters, including registered independents, will also have the chance to vote on two amendments to the Pennsylvania State Constitution - one to abolish Philadelphia Traffic Court in the state constitution, and one to raise the mandatory retirement age for Pennsylvania judges from 70 to 75.
All students and alumni are invited to like the Penn State Behrend political science Facebook page and get updated news and find out about events.
This will be the final newsletter of the 2015-2016 academic year. Good luck with final papers and final exams, and enjoy your summer. We look forward to seeing everyone who will return to campus in the fall.