News and Accomplishments

News and Accomplishments
News, Events, and Notes in the Association and in the Discipline

Click on the headline to learn more about any of the news items below.

Status Committee Accepting Nominations for Mentoring Award
The APSA Committee on the Status of Latinos y Latinas in the Profession recognizes exceptional mentoring of Latino/a students and junior faculty each year with three awards honoring Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell, the first Latina to earn a doctorate in political science and a life-long mentor of Latinos/as. They are currently accepting nominations for the awards for exemlary mentoring of:

Undergraduate Latino/a Students in Political Science
Graduate Latino/a Students in Political Science
Latino/a Junior Faculty in Political Science

Please submit nominations by August 1st using the online nominations form.

NCAPSA on The Hill 2008
The National Capital Area Political Science Association (NCAPSA) will meet on Capitol Hill on July 9, 2008. Before the panel, please join us for a reception and the presentation of the Walter Beach Pi Sigma Alpha Award. This year’s panel will discuss “Did the 2008 Presidential Nomination Process Work?” and will be moderated by Michael Goldstein, UC Berkeley-Washington Center. The Business Meeting will be held after the panel.

Council Meets on Site Selection Policy
During May, the Council solicited feedback from the membership on meeting siting issues. On June 26 the Council met to discuss the siting policy and the 2012 Annual Meeting location. At that meeting, the Council voted to revise its site selection policy for meetings but not to move the association’s Annual Meeting from New Orleans in 2012. The new policy is aimed at speaking out against state legal restrictions on same-sex unions, reflecting a preference for engaging with the state of Louisiana on these issues rather than to boycott New Orleans. The vote by the Council was based on concerns that Article 4, paragraph 15 of the Louisiana state constitution, adopted in 2004, discriminates against the rights of same-sex couples and their families.

Nominations Sought for New Perspectives Editors
Applications and nominations for the editor or editorial team of Perspectives on Politics are being sought for a term beginning in June 2009. Rogers Smith, University of Pennsylvania, will serve as chair of the search committee. Perspectives draws on rigorous, broad-based research and integrative thinking to provide insight on politics and the editorial process is open to innovative and novel approaches.

2009 IPSA World Congress
The 21st International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress will be held July 12-16, 2009 in Santiago, Chile. The Congress will focus on the theme, "Global Discontent: Dilemmas of Change," and endeavors to connect the globalization process and challenges with critical topics of study for all political scientists.

Professor Van Vechten Named to Receive 2008 Roman & Littlefield Award
Professor Renée Van Vechten, of the University of Redlands, Department of Government, will be awarded the 2008 Rowman & Littlefield Award for Innovative Teaching in Political Science. She will be presented the award at the Reception Honoring Teaching at the 2008 Annual Meeting.

New Organized Section on Health Politics and Policy
The organized section on Health Politics and Policy provides an infrastructure in which members can more thoroughly, efficiently arm themselves with the additional expertise we need to explore health politics and policy questions.

Video: The Congressional Fellowship Experience
Founded in 1953, the APSA Congressional Fellowship Program is the nation's oldest and most prestigious congressional fellowship. More than fifty years later, the program remains devoted to its original objective of expanding knowledge and awareness of Congress.

2008 Bunche Summer Institute Class Named
APSA is pleased to announce the APSA Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) Class of 2008. Twenty students from colleges and universities around the country were selected to attend the Institute from June 1, 2008—July 3, 2008. Since 2000, the Bunche Institute has been hosted and co-sponsored by Duke University, under the direction of Dr. Paula D. McClain. It is also supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, with operational cooperation and assistance from the American Political Science Association. Congratulations, Class of 2008!

Taagepera Awarded the Skytte Prize
The Skytte Foundation has awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for 2008 to Rein Taagepera, University of California at Irvine and Tartu University, Estonia, for "his profound analysis of the function of electoral systems in representative democracy." Professor Taagepera is best known for his quantitative modelling studies of electoral systems. He also served as a member of the Estonian Constitutional Assembly, and in 1992, he ran as a presidential candidate.

Fulbright Scholar Program Accepting Applications for 2009-2010
The Fulbright Scholar Program for U.S. Faculty and Professionals is offering 176 lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in political science during the 2009-2010 academic year. U.S. Fulbright Scholars in over 130 countries around the world enjoy an experience of a lifetime, gaining a broad cultural perspective on their academic disciplines and connecting with colleagues at institutions around the globe.

Women's Caucus Introduces New Website
The Women’s Caucus for Political Science has introduced a new website at http://www.aspanet.org/~wcps. The Women's Caucus for Political Science is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the status of women in the profession of political science by promoting equal opportunity for women political scientists in employment, promotion & tenure decisions, as well as graduate school admissions & financial aid decisions.

Hamilton Project Economic Policy Innovation Prize 2008
The Hamilton Project, an initiative of the Brookings Institution, announces its second annual Economic Policy Innovation Prize competition. $25,000 in prizes will be awarded for the best innovative policy proposals written by undergraduate and graduate students. The top undergraduate student proposal will be awarded $10,000 and the top graduate student proposal will be awarded $15,000. The application deadline is August 1, 2008. For details on this opportunity, see the Hamilton Project Website.

IPSA Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Political Science
The IPSA Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Political Science is offered to a scholar of high international reputation in recognition of his/her contribution to the advancement of political science. The prize is awarded by the Mattei Dogan Foundation every three years at the World Congresses of the International Political Science Association (IPSA).

Ever Have Trouble Flying or Entering the United States?
At the August 2007 annual meeting, the APSA Council designated a Council Group on Transportation Security and Civil Liberties (Tony Affigne, Melissa Williams and Timothy Kaufman-Osborn) to look into issues that might arise in border crossings with those attending the 2009 APSA meeting in Toronto, Canada, and more broadly with scholarly travel in and outside the U.S. Among the issues of concern are airport “no fly” and “selectee” lists which can hinder and even prevent air travel, any special concerns of resident alien scholars, the effectiveness of the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (TRIP) as a remedy for anyone who feels their name was mistakenly added to a “no fly” list, or whether there are particular groups or parts of the country where these Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration measures are more rigorously enforced.

APSA Headquarters and Centennial Center building Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs Research Space Available
Members planning research visits to Washington, D.C. should consider making use of the Centennial Center for Political Science & Public Affairs. The Center can host scholars for short or extended stays, providing office space, computers, and other necessary resources. Applications are accepted at any time.