THIS MONTH'S HEADLINES:
- POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND SPRING BREAK TRIP DECEMBER 5 DEADLINE
- APPLICATION FORM OPEN FOR TRAVEL GRANT FUNDS FROM STUDENT ENGAGEMENT NETWORK
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- STUDENT GROUP NEWS
- FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES
1. POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND SPRING BREAK TRIP
PLSC 177N during Spring 2025 will include a Spring Break trip to Washington, D.C., where students will meet members of Congress, international diplomats, executive branch agency officials, political party consultants, and interest group leaders and will tour government buildings, potentially including the White House, Pentagon, State Department, U.S. Capitol, and Library of Congress. Students also meet many of our Penn State Behrend alumni who now live and work in Washington. Students cannot register for the course via LionPATH and will need to fill out a form to commit financially to pay for their hotel rooms before being enrolled in the course. The deadline to submit the completed and signed form is December 5.
Thank you to POLSC major Justin Lopez-Beltran for creating the slides on our social media about what former students have to say about the Washington, D.C., course and trip.
The course meets several different general education requirements and can count toward aPolitical Science major or minor.
More details and photos from past trips can be found on the website.
Brochures and forms are available outside the office for Dr. Speel (156 Kochel) and in the HSS School office (170 Kochel).
2. TRAVEL GRANT FUNDS FROM STUDENT ENGAGEMENT NETWORK
The Penn State Student Engagement Network offers grant funding assistance for travel costs related to Penn State courses. In past years, students in the Washington, D.C., course or study abroad programs have received enough funding to cover all or much of their travel costs.
Applications have opened on November 20, with awards announced in mid-January.
3. FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Dr. Zachary Irwin, associate professor emeritus of Political Science, this month published a co-edited book titled Liberals, Conservatives, and Mavericks: On Christian Churches of Eastern Europe since 1980, Central European University Press.
Dr. Maggie Shum, assistant professor of Political Science, published a short piece “Trump con via libre” in La Tercera, a newspaper based in Chile, on Trump’s cabinet picks. She was also interviewed by Radio Taiwan International (RTI) about the U.S. election and its impact toward the Hong Kong diaspora in the U.S. Lastly, Dr. Shum was part of the panel discussion “Reimagine, Restructure, and Reconnect: the Hong Kong Diaspora and its Transnational Engagement” organized by the Global Research Association of Politics in Hong Kong (GRAPH) in November.
Dr. Robert Speel, associate professor of Political Science, was interviewed for news articles with election previews or about election results in late October and November for Newsweek, USA Today, Dnevnik (Slovenia), The Philadelphia Inquirer, Le Nouvel Obs (France), SRF (German Swiss Public Radio), Corriere del Ticino (Switzerland Italian), The Korea Times, The Sacramento Bee, The Miami Herald, and the Associated Press for an article that appeared in The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, and dozens of other newspapers.
4. STUDENT GROUP NEWS
College Republicans meets every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in 112 Reed. For more information, contact Vice President Noah Esper at [email protected].
College Democrats will next meet on Tuesday, December 3, at 4:30 p.m. in 113 Reed. For more information, contact Vice President Ethan Sonney at [email protected].
The Behrend Political Society is seeking new officers. To express interest, contact faculty adviser Robert Speel at [email protected].
The Model United Nations is seeking new officers. To express interest, contact faculty adviser Lena Surzhko-Harned at [email protected].
5. FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PAGES
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.
Photos and posters for upcoming events get posted on the Penn State Behrend Political Science Instagram page.