Getting Established in the Semester. As the semester gets under way, Senior Capstone arrangements are being confirmed by our faculty and by the students who have requested their advice as capstone directors. Senior POSC majors who have not yet completed POSC396 and who intend to graduate this spring will already have confirmed those arrangements. For those seniors who have not yet identified a faculty advisor for POSC396 for this semester, please note that today is the final day to add POSC396 to your spring schedule and that to do so requires permission from the instructor through SIS.
This is the final semester for our POSC majors who intend to graduate in the spring. Our students hoping to attend law school are receiving responses to their applications and are continuing to apply to a range of law schools. (Our majors have an excellent record of law school admission, as well an excellent record of post-law school employment.) Our students who plan to go straight to employment are also having success already, and still others are applying for post-BA fellowships and other opportunities, many of which have been listed in our Newsletter. This is the final semester for graduating seniors to take advantage of the accessible, face-to-face advising and support that our faculty offer, and I encourage seniors to discuss their plans and prospects with their advisors across the course of the semester, as they complete their undergraduate degree.
To remind all of our students, today is the last opportunity to add a course. There are still spaces in many of our courses, including our upper-division political science courses. None of these courses have prerequisites and all are open to all students, including non-majors. If ever there were a time in one’s undergraduate years for the need to understand political change, this is the year, and POSC courses offer an excellent opportunity to deepen one’s understanding about politics and government, domestic and international, and to discuss issues of political importance and concern with others, including those outside one’s immediate personal network.
Political Participation and Citizen Action. Now that the US is in the beginning days of a new presidential administration, political interest and activism have increased considerably. The most notable and immediate political involvement was the Women’s March on Washington, which mobilized people around the US (and abroad). For a dataset about the extent of this mobilization, see here, constructed by Professor Jeremy Pressman (Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut) and Professor Erica Chenoweth (Department of Political Science, University of Denver). For maps of the extent of these demonstrations, see http://www.vox.com/2017/1/22/14350808/womens-marches-largest-demonstration-us-history-map. The estimate for the Women’s March in Cleveland was 15,000 participants, organized by two graduate students here at CWRU.
Now is an excellent time to become politically active. For those who are interested, I have provided a list of the Ohio Congressional delegation for Northeast Ohio, including Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, and their contact information. If you use this information to contact Ohio Members of Congress and our Senators, I encourage you to remember that you are contacting real people and that professional norms of the discipline of political science include respect and collegiality.
With all best wishes,
Karen
Karen Beckwith, Flora Stone Mather Professor
Chair, Department of Political Science, Case Western Reserve University
General Announcements
- If you participated in any Inauguration Day events, please send photos to Ms. Jessica Jurcak and we’ll share them on our Facebook page!
- Stay up to date with the department by following our Twitter feed! Check it for day to day opportunities and information!
- Like us on Facebook! Our department will be regularly posting events, opportunities, and general information to our page!
Events
Friday Lunch: The Generalist Function in the Emerging Health Care System
January 27, 12:30-1:30p.m., Guilford House Lounge and Dining Room
Within the health policy community, it has long been conventional wisdom that health care in the U.S. relies far too much on specialist and sub-specialist care, in which treatment focuses more on parts of patients than on whole persons. Will the generalist function come into better balance with specialty care? And, if so, will that be through relying on or downgrading generalist physicians? Join Dr. Kurt Strange for this discussion.
Social Justice Minor Information Lunch
January 27, 12:45-2:00p.m., Mather House 100
Learn about how a Social Justice Minor can help prepare you to address local, national and global inequities.
Lunar New Year Festival
January 27, 8:00p.m., TVUC
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with fireworks and traditional Asian food.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Events
January 27-February 24
The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday celebrates the history, spirit and life of the man who brought hope to a nation and empowered that nation to start healing. Join the CWRU community for a series of events, including lectures, discussions, and more.
Election Coverage and The Plain Dealer’s Future
January 29, 9:30a.m., First Unitarian Church, Shaker Heights
The Plain Dealer Editor George Rodrigue will weigh in on how journalism is changing after the 2016 presidential election, and what changes are in store for The Plain Dealer.
The Proposed Merger of Cleveland and East Cleveland
January 31, 7:00-8:30p.m., TVUC Ballroom
This lecture examines the proposed merger of Cleveland and East Cleveland. How could this happen? Should a merger of the two cities happen? What are the implications?
Money Laundering, Terrorism Finance, & Corruption, Oh My!
February 2, 7:00p.m., The Happy Dog at Euclid Tavern
An informal lecture series featuring the world’s top AML experts. An AML “Who’s Who” from the Case Western Reserve University Financial Integrity lnstitute’s Executive Masters of Arts in Financial Integrity faculty discussing “top of the mind” topics and events of the day, in the casual setting of the Happy Dog Tavern in University Circle.
Social Justice Teach-In
February 4, 11:00-3:30p.m., TVUC Ballroom
The Social Justice Teach-In is designed to inspire students and community members to be active and engaged citizens, to increase their understanding of social justice issues, and to enhance their leadership skills in areas such as service, advocacy, and philanthropy. Admission is free, but registration is required by January 30.
Get Experienced! Career Fair Prep Workshop
February 7, 6:00-7:00p.m., Nord 400
Ensure that you are prepared for the upcoming career fair with tips from the Career Center staff.
Get Experienced! Career Fair
Feburary 13, 10a.m.-2:00p.m., Veale Convocation, Recreation, and Activity Center
Get a head start on your future at the upcoming Career Fair.
Career Opportunities
Director of Development, Facing History and Ourselves
This position will play an integral role in strategically building the Cleveland development effort to meet and exceed our ambitious fundraising goals. This position will work with development leadership, the Cleveland Office Director, Advisory Board members, and other staff to initiate, plan, and manage fundraising efforts, including donor research and cultivation, gift solicitation, stewardship, Advisory Board activities, fundraising events including our signature spring benefit, and partnership management with the Corporate and Foundations team.
Graduate Programs
CSU College of Urban Affairs Open House
February 11, 12:00-5:00p.m., CSU
The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University is hosting an open house for all prospective graduate students. This is an opportunity for students to see our campus and meet program directors, faculty, our graduate advisor, students, and alumni.
Kent State University MA and PhD Programs
If you are considering a graduate program in Political Science, check out the Political Science Department at Kent State University. When you visit our website you will learn about our great tenure-track placements, nationally recognized faculty, and funding opportunities, including tuition, fees, and a generous paid assistantship.
Columbia University Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences MA program
QMSS is an innovative, flexible, interdisciplinary social science Master of Arts degree program at Columbia University that focuses on quantitative research techniques and strategies. The program integrates the perspectives and research methods of six social science disciplines: Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics.
Internship and Fellowship Opportunities
Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellowship
The Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellowship program offers emerging young leaders
from across the country the skills and networks needed to create the community they envision and
jumpstart a career in public service.
A select group of Fellows will be embedded in public sector agencies in Cleveland working on
the frontlines of civic innovation. If you are a recent college graduate considering a public service
career, choose the Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellowship and continue the reinvention
of a rustbelt city on the rise. The online application will be available January 23-February 22.
Cleveland Hillel Foundation Summer Internship Program
This is a paid summer internship program open to Jewish students who will be going into their junior or senior year in the fall. Interns work for ten weeks and participate in innovative programming including exclusive excursions around Cleveland, professional development seminars and opportunities to interact with civic and community leaders. Application deadline is January 30.
James H. Dunn Jr. Memorial Fellowship
This Fellowship Program provides bright, highly motivated recent college graduates a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the operations of state government for one year. Applicants must have a bachelor’s or higher graduate degree. Application deadline is January 31.
Previously posted opportunities can be found on the department webpage. Please make sure to check regularly as to not miss approaching deadlines!
Scholarship Opportunities
American Public Works Association Scholarship
The Ohio Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) is issuing two $1,000 scholarships to Graduate Students majoring in Civil Engineering, Public Administration, or a closely related field. The application deadline is February 24. See here for the further details.
Summer Opportunities
Public Policy Boot Camp
The Summer Policy Boot Camp offers top college students and recent graduates an opportunity to engage with Hoover Institution scholars and policy practitioners on the campus of Stanford University. The program will take place August 20-26 and is free of charge. The early application deadline is February 1, and the regular application deadline is March 1.
A Little Extra…
- Professor Joseph White weighed in on how the administration of President Donald Trump could have a local impact.
- Professor Karen Beckwith participated in a panel discussion, “Gender, Race and Partisan Politics in the 45th Presidential Administration,” at the University of Minnesota.
- Ohio Governor John Kasich shared his recommendations on how Congress should proceed with the Affordable Care Act.
- Museums are collecting signs from the recent Women’s March as historical artifacts. Read more about museums in Ohio collecting the signs here.