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Richard Scher and Ken Wald Retire

Two pillars of the Department, Professors Kenneth Wald and Richard Scher, are retiring this month. Ken and Richard have been members of the department for 33 and 44 years respectively, and they have touched the lives of thousands of students. Pasted below are the remarks made in their honor at the Department’s recent spring banquet. […]

Pat’s Retirement

Friday, April 1, 2016 was Pat Root’s last day in the Department’s office. Since joining the department in January 2010, Pat has worked—most reliably, efficiently, and capably—under three chairs, four associate chairs, and three undergraduate coordinators. We have all come to depend on Pat in so many ways, from entering and changing grades, through scheduling […]

Congrats, graduates!

Congratulations to our newly-minted PhDs!!! From left: Prof. Dan O’Neill, Dr. Jonathon Whooley, Dr. Lorna Bracewell, Dr. Amy Stringer, Prof. Laura Sjoberg, Prof. Michael Martinez, Dr. Roger Austin, Prof. Dan Smith, Dr. Diana Forster. Missing from the picture: Dr. Nic Knowlton.

Holiday Luncheon

The Department held its annual holiday potluck luncheon on December 14. Attendance was high and everyone was in a festive mood. A big thank you to Sue Lawless-Yanchisin for organizing the event. Happy holidays to all!

Information Cafe

Twenty political science majors and prospective majors attended the third Political Science Information Cafe, held November 9 in Emerson Alumni Hall. Participating faculty and other resource persons chatted with students in an informal setting about topics such as finding work in Washington, certificate programs, graduate studies, internships, and the Mock Trial program.

2015 Best Honors Thesis Award Winner

Congratulations to Jacquelyn Johnson, winner of the 2015 Best Honors Thesis Award! Jacquelyn’s thesis, “The Politics of National Accounts: Debt and Deficit in the European Union,” was supervised by Prof. Aida Hozic. The thesis explored the under-reporting of national debt and deficit data by members of the EU. The analysis showed that the reporting requirements […]

Congrats, Class of 2015!

Congratulations to the 216 political science majors who graduated in Spring 2015! Four political science professors participated in the commencement ceremony on May 3, 2015. From left: Ido Oren, Suzanne Robbins, Sharon Austin, and Stephen Craig.

Lunch with the Chair!

On April 28, 2015, six graduating seniors majoring in political science had an informal lunch with the Department Chair, Ido Oren, the Associate Chair, Bryon Moraski, and the Internship Coordinator, Dan Smith. The students shared with us reflections about their experience in the political science undergraduate program as well as their future plans. From Left: […]

Annual Spring Banquet

The Department held its annual Spring Banquet on March 24, 2015, at the Sweetwater Branch Inn. Some 70 people attended, including faculty members, spouses, associate deans, and supporters. Our distinguished guest speaker was Dr. Steven Heydemann, Vice President for Applied Research on Conflict at the US Institute of Peace. The following awards were presented: Best […]

Congrats, Dr. Huder!

Joshua C. Huder, Ph.D., has represented the department in Washington, D.C. for the last two years and we are proud to announce his recent graduation. Josh left Gainesville after accepting a prestigious American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship where he worked on legislative procedure, financial services, voting rights, campaign finance, trade, small business, and other issues. […]

Thank you, Dietmar!

In the past four years, we were truly fortunate to have Dietmar Schirmer as our DAAD (German Government) Visiting Associate Professor. Dietmar became an integral part of the department, took an active part in the department’s life, and contributed to our mission in many ways, in and out of the classroom.  

Spring Banquet at Sweetwater Branch Inn

The Department held it annual Spring Banquet on April 8, 2014, at the Sweetwater Branch Inn. More than 70 people attended, including faculty members, spouses, the dean, and supporters. Our distinguished guest speaker was Professor Samuel Popkin from the University of California, San Diego. The following awards were presented: Best undergraduate student paper award: James […]

Congrats, Dr. Hicks!

Will Hicks successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation, Representation in the American States: Partisan Competition and its Conflicting Effects on Representative Government, on March 14, 2014. Will’s doctoral committee is comprised of Larry Dodd and Dan Smith (co-chairs), Michael Martinez, Beth Rosenson, and Larry Kenny (Economics). His dissertation, “Representation in the American States: Partisan Competition and Its Conflicting […]

Inequality and Democratization: an Elite Competition Approach

The Department of Political Science is excited to announce that David Samuels, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, will present material from his co-authored book with Ben Ansells on Tuesday, April 1, 4-5:30pm in Anderson 216. David Samuels specializes in democratization, Brazilian politics, Latin American politics, political parties and elections, and US-Latin American […]

US Air Force Academy Assembly

Two of our undergraduate majors, Shannon Crawford and Nishant Srivastava, have recently attended the United States Air Force Academy Assembly, a prestigious annual undergraduate student conference held in Colorado Springs. The theme of this year’s conference was “U.S.-India Relations: Partners in Democracy.” Shannon Crawford reports that it was “a stimulating, thought-provoking experience. The 3-day conference included […]

PoliSci Information Cafe

The Department held its first Political Science Information Cafe yesterday. Close to 40 undergraduate students attended the event (held in Emerson Alumni Hall), mingling in an informal setting with faculty and staff members. Participating faculty/staff members answered questions and dispensed information on internships, honors theses, graduate programs, certificate programs, library resources, and more.

Visit from Congress

Pedro Pierluisi, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Professor Hedge’s legislative process course. Congressman Pierluisi, now serving his second term in Congress, discussed and answered student questions about current efforts to win statehood for the U.S. territory.

Welcome Back!

The department held its annual “welcome back” reception today for faculty and grad students. A good time was had by all. Thanks to grad secretary Sue Lawless-Yanchisin for organizing the event!