We begin the academic year with considerable attention to universities in the mass media.  The appalling march, complete with torches and racist and anti-Semitic chanting, through the Lawn of the University of Virginia, is evidence of serious challenges to higher education.  Our colleagues at UVA and elsewhere have been instrumental in discussing these events with their students. Today, Friday, September 1, CWRU will hold six coordinated events focusing on community discussion, related to local, state, and national issues of diversity, inclusion, and social justice.  Our CWRU President Barbara Snyder confirmed “our university’s core values of diversity and inclusion,” and she encouraged us to “consider ways to give them even greater meaning across our community.” You can find more information about the events today here, and in the link, below, under “Events: Day of Dialogue.”
 
Many of our POSC faculty are currently attending the American Political Science Association meetings in San Francisco, and will not be able to participate in these discussions; I will be, for part of the time, at a Chairs Council meeting on campus.  Nonetheless, I will attend at least one of these Dialogue events, and I encourage our POSC students to do so as well.  Our students, with their strong interest in politics writ large and their excellent education in our courses, will surely have much to contribute to these dialogues.
 
Senior Capstones.  Seniors planning to complete POSC396 and their capstone paper this fall semester should review the requirements on the Department’s webpage.  Please note that Senior Capstone Prospectuses are due no later than Friday, September 9.  For questions about the prospectus and the capstone process, please consult with your academic advisor.
 
For those POSC majors who intend to complete their capstone projects in the next term (Spring 2018), this is also a good time to review the capstone requirements and discuss the prospects for working with specific faculty members, in preparing for next semester.  Please remember that Professors Laura Tartakoff and Joe White will be on sabbatical next semester, and hence will not be teaching in the spring.  Students who hope to work on their senior capstone project with either Professor Tartakoff or Professor White in the 2017-18 academic year will have to do so this fall semester. 
 
Internships and Volunteering.  The Department regularly publicizes various internships and part-time employment opportunities through this Newsletter(and we also post them on our Internships page).  I hope that you will be able to take advantage of some of these opportunities – without being taken advantage of yourselves.  Some positions are completely unpaid; others offer an hourly wage of $10/hour, compensation that strikes me as relatively low.  I urge you to consider the value of your education, the skills you have learned at the premier university in northeast Ohio (and ranked #1 in Ohio by US News & World Report), and the value of your time, when deliberating whether or not to seek an internship – both in terms of which internships, if any, to accept, and of compensation.
 
At the same time, there are some virtues to taking on unpaid internships, especially those associated with the political and election campaigns this fall. The internships associated with the 2018 statewide election campaigns in Ohio are, after all, only available every four years.  Many of you will have political commitments to candidates in Ohio (not to mention the 2018 midterm Congressional election campaigns), and these are worth pursuing, in principle, even unpaid, and can be considered part of one’s citizenship responsibilities.  Political campaign internships also often lead to paid employment, post-graduation. 
 
Please note that even as the Department of Political Science alerts our students to a range of opportunities, including internships, fellowships, and jobs, we do not endorse or sponsor these.  We leave it to the judgment of our students to determine what is most useful and appropriate to them, and we urge them to do their due diligence in considering whether or not to pursue any of these opportunities.
 
With all best wishes,
Karen
 
Karen Beckwith
Flora Stone Mather Professor
Chair, Department of Political Science
 
Black people are the magical faces at the bottom of society’s well.  Even the poorest whites, those who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us.  Surely they must know that their deliverance depends on letting down their ropes.  Only by working together is escape possible.  Over time, many reach out, but most simply watch, mesmerized into maintaining their unspoken commitment to keeping us where we are, at whatever cost to them or to us.

General Announcements

• Call for Applicants: The Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan invites applications from advanced undergraduate students and their faculty sponsors to attend the Emerging Scholars Conference of 2017.
• 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 Supreme Court: Looking Back & Looking Ahead
September 1, 12:30-1:30, KSL Dampeer Room
The Supreme Court’s new term begins on the first Monday in October. Before it begins, Professors of Law Jonathan Adler and Jonathan Entil, two of our distinguished scholars of constitutional law, will look back and forward.

Day of Dialogue
September 1, 12:30-2:00p.m., Various Locations on Campus
Participate in this Campus-Wide Dialogue Event for CWRU students, faculty and staff. Share ideas, hear diverse perspectives on critical local, national and societal issues.

Colson Whitehead – William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage
September 6, 7:30-9:00p.m., Maltz Performing Arts Center
Colson Whitehead is the author of six novels, including the number one New York Times best-seller The Underground Railroad, for which he received the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. His reviews, essays and fiction have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Harper’s and Granta.

Study Abroad Fair
September 8, 10a.m.-2p.m., Case Quad
Meet returned study abroad students and representatives from many of CWRU’s international partners about what experiences are available. There will be free popcorn and ice cream.

Friday Lunch: Beyond Today’s Corporate Sustainability Practices
September 8, 12:30-1:30p.m., KSL Room L-06 (lower level opposite elevators)
Join Professor Chris Lazlo, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, in discussing how businesses should and can “do well by doing good.”

“The State of America’s Children“
September 14, 6:00p.m., Maltz Performing Arts Center
Case Western Reserve will present the 2017 Inamori Ethics Prize to Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Children’s Defense Fund at this ceremony and recipient lecture.

“Ethical Leadership for Our Children and Our Communities”
September 15, 12:45p.m., TVUC
Join this academic symposium, featuring Ianmori Ethics Prize recipient Marian Wright Edelman, Gabriella Celeste, policy director of the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve, and Mark Chupp, assistant professor and director of the Community Innovation Network at MSASS.

The City Club Constitution Day Forum
September 15, 12:00p.m., The City Club
Join this conversation with Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York, to discuss and celebrate Constitution Day and the power of citizenship.

CWRU Constitution Day Program – Freedom of Expression on College Campuses
September 18, 4:00-5:30p.m., Moot Courtroom, School of Law
Join a CWRU student panel for a discussion with Susan Kruth, J.D., Senior Program Officer, legal and public advocacy, for FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), and Cleveland-Marshall School of Law Professor Reginald Oh, J.D. as they discuss the issue of free speech on university campuses. More information is available here.

Wellman Hill 10th Anniversary Celebration
October 14, 5:00-7:00p.m., home of Professors Elliot Posner and Gillian Weiss
Please join us for drinks and hors d’oeuvres to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program. RSVP to Anna Conboy by October 1.
 

Career Opportunities

The City Club – Content Coordinator
The Content Coordinator works as part of the Programming and Content Management Team, which is responsible for City Club content: planning and execution of forums, marketing collateral, audio and video content, digital content for the web and social medial channels, and the City Club website.

Internship and Fellowship Opportunities

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Analyst
This unique, two-year rotational fellowship sits at the intersection of the federal government and the financial services industry. Director’s Financial Analysts are given the opportunity to hone analytical and problem solving skills while helping to make markets for consumer financial products work for Americans. 

Cleveland U.S. Export Assistance Center Internship
Interns will assist international trade specialists and gain experience in market research and matching local companies with international opportunities.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Interns have the opportunity to assist in a variety of tasks that range from answering phones and opening mail to assisting staff with constituent casework, scheduling, grant research, outreach events and special projects. Interns learn firsthand the
office functions and its importance in the overall effectiveness of a member of the U.S. Senate. Hours and duration of the internships are negotiable. The internship is unpaid, but college credit are available for participating schools. For additional information, please call Brad Deane at Senator Brown’s office at (216) 522– 3020. Or email resume to Bradley_Deane@brown.senate.gov.

U.S. Senator Rob Portman
Senator Rob Portman is seeking college interns for the fall of 2017 to serve in his Cleveland office.  Interns in Senator Portman’s office are given a number of responsibilities. These include, answering the phones and speaking with constituents, opening mail, assisting staff in research and event preparation, scheduling and other special projects. Interns will experience the role and importance of a senate office while working to increase the overall effectiveness of the Senator’s office. For additional questions, please contact Ray Paoletta.

Betty Sutton for Governor
Interns will assist campaign staff in the daily operations of Former U.S. Representative Betty Sutton’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign. The 2017 Betty Sutton Works for Ohio Internships are available now for the Fall 2017 semester and again for Spring 2018 and Summer 2018 through to the November 2018 election. If interested in earning course credit, students should work with advisors and campaign staff to determine how the internship might fit into curricular requirements. If interested in applying, send a resume, cover letter, and your hours of availability to Dory MacMillan.

Mike DeWine for Governor
Mike DeWine for Ohio is searching for motivated and interested interns in their Columbus office for the Fall of 2017.

A Little Extra…

• Professors Kathryn Lavelle and Juscelino Colares discussed NAFTA negotiations on a recent episode of The Sound of Ideas.