THIS MONTH'S HEADLINES:

  1. SPRING BREAK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
  2. INTERNSHIPS WITH PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
  3. PRE-LAW NEWS
  4. MODEL UNITED NATIONS REVIVAL
  5. HSS ALUMNI EVENT IN ERIE
  6. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
  7. FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES

1. SPRING BREAK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

A group of 17 Penn State Behrend students are headed to Washington, D.C., during Spring Break as part of the course PLSC 177N taught by Dr. Robert Speel. While there, the Behrend students will meet with U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, U.S. Representative Guy Reschenthaler (a Penn State Behrend alumnus), new U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, and staff members for U.S. Senator John Fetterman. They will also meet with officials from the Embassy of South Korea, the World Bank, the Organization of American States, the AFL-CIO, the American Council on Education, the United States Institute of Peace, and with former Erie Congressman Phil English, Journalist Steve Scully who grew up in Erie, and a Bank of America Vice President for Public Policy. The students will be touring the White House, Ford’s Theatre, the National Archives, the National Building Museum, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, NASA Headquarters, and also the most famous monuments and memorials.

At an evening reception, students will meet with many Penn State Behrend alumni, some of whom took the same course as students, and will probably hear stories from Behrend alumni about what it is like to work at a federal government agency during current political conditions in Washington. Several other meetings and events have not yet been scheduled at the time this newsletter was sent.

2. INTERNSHIPS WITH PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

The Pennsylvania Governor’s office has posted summer intern positions of interest to POLSC majors. The deadline to apply is March 5.

3. PRE-LAW NEWS

Pre-Law Adviser Melissa Shirey will hold the following office hours in March in 155 Kochel:

  • Monday, March 3, 2025: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
  • No office hours the week of March 10 (Spring Break)
  • Monday, March 17, 2025: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
  • On Monday, March 24, there will be an exploratory meeting for a Mock Trial team at 6:00 p.m. in 42 Kochel. All interested students are welcome to attend.

4. MODEL UNITED NATIONS REVIVAL

Penn State Behrend’s Model United Nations chapter has revived. If you would like to get involved, contact faculty adviser Lena Surzhko-Harned at [email protected].

5. HSS ALUMNI EVENT IN ERIE

For alumni of all HSS majors, including POLSC, and for soon to be alumni who are age 21 and over.

6. FACULTY IN THE NEWS

Dr. Maggie Shum, assistant professor of Political Science, published the Hong Kong report for Freedom in the World, the flagship publication of the Freedom House that tracks global trends in political rights and civil liberties. She was also interviewed by the Voice of America (VOA) about the disbanding of Hong Kong’s largest and oldest opposition party. Lastly, Dr. Shum was awarded the Mentored Faculty Fellowship by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) at Penn State.

Dr. Lena Surzhko-Harned, associate teaching professor of Political Science, published an article with The Conversation titled "In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy” that appeared on many news sites around the country, including the Erie Times-News. She was interviewed by KUOW, the NPR station in Seattle, on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And she appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to fact-check President Trump’s claim that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is a dictator.

7. FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES

All students and alumni are invited to like the Penn State Behrend Political Science Facebook page, get updated news, and find out about events.

Photos and posters for upcoming events get posted on the Penn State Behrend Political Science Instagram page.