Opportunities and Announcements

     for the Week of January 24, 2020

Reminder to Seniors re: Capstone Work:  Today is the deadline for submission of signed prospectuses for POSC 396 and for adding POSC 396 to your spring course schedule. Students should remember that registration for POSC 396 requires permission of the instructor and submission of the prospectus to Ms. Brook Sabin in Mather House 111.

Note that the office closes today at 2:30pm. Signed capstones prospectuses submitted after that time can be left in my mailbox in Mather House 110.

Teaching and Mentoring Excellence.  Nominations are now open for the Wittke and Jackson Awards. The J. Bruce Jackson, MD, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring “is given to faculty or staff members who have fostered professional development, facilitated goals and life choices, and made a significant impact on a student’s life.” The Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching “is given to outstanding classroom teachers who are engaging, invested and stimulate enthusiasm for their area of study.” 

Students interested in nominating any of our faculty for either (or both) of these awards can find more information about the nomination process here.

The faculty of the Department of Political Science are dedicated to attentive advising and excellence in teaching. Our faculty are also highly productive scholars, publishing with the most prestigious university presses on the planet. Professor Kathryn Lavelle’s book, The Challenges of Multilateralism, published by Yale University Press, will be available in March. Professor Lavelle’s excellent book is the latest in a string of books published by our faculty in the past three years. In 2018, Oxford University Press published Professor Buchler’s Incremental Polarization, and Professor Posner’s Voluntary Disruptions, as well as my book, Cabinets, Ministers, and Gender, in 2019. See details of the scholarly productivity of our faculty here.

Impeachment.  As I write, the US Senate is trying impeachment charges against President Trump, an event of national importance and of high interest to political scientists. CNN is providing live coverage of the impeachment trial and the Washington Post is providing live updates. For a historical perspective from a writer of popular history, see Harvard Professor Jill Lepore’s analysis here. For a perspective from a political scientist, see Professor Thomas Pepinsky (Cornell University, Brookings Institution) here. See also the key developments in the impeachment process, as reported in the Financial Times, here.

Sad News with a Happy Ending.  I share, with regret, the resignation of Ms. Brook Sabin, our DA1 for the past two years. The entire department is grateful to Brook for all the work that she has done for us, for the Department, for our students, and for the residents of Mather House. Her resignation is sad for all of us but, happily for Brook, will permit her more time to devote to her graduate studies toward her MPA degree. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors. 

Brook’s final day of work is next Friday, January 31, and we will celebrate her tenure with us during lunch. The office will be closed next Friday from 12:30 to 2:00pm, and will open, as possible, beginning Monday, February 3. The Chairs of the Departments of Classics and of Political Science, and the Director of International Studies are in the process of hiring new department assistants. We ask for everyone’s patience during the period of transition.

Cheers,
Karen

Karen Beckwith
Flora Stone Mather Professor and Chair
Department of Political Science

General Announcements

• Applications for the Wellman Hill Summer Internship Grants are due February 7th. Contact Professor Elliot Posner with any questions!

Upcoming Events

Rethinking Diabetes
January 23, 4:30-6pm, TVUC Senior Classroom
Dr. Emily Mendenhall from Georgetown University will discuss her work on the intersection of social trauma, poverty, and diabetes in Chicago, Delhi, Johannesburg, and Nairobi.

Ohio’s Transportation Future
January 24, 12-1:30pm, City Club of Cleveland
Join us as Dr. Marchbanks, Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, addresses the challenges and opportunities facing the future of mobility in Ohio and the impact the gas tax and increases in public transportation will have on Ohio’s transportation future.

Friday Lunch: Public Health Approaches to Gun Violence
January 24, 12:30-1:30pm, KSL Dampeer Room
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has called gun violence, “a public health epidemic.” Why does it make sense to frame this as a public health issue, rather than law enforcement? Join Dr. Jane Timmons Mitchell for a discussion that considers both research and policy.

American Red Cross Volunteer Information Session
January 25, 10-11am, 3747 Euclid Ave.
There is a critical need for local disaster response, blood drive and transportation specialist volunteers. Learn why volunteers are so passionate, find out the many ways to make a difference, hear from and ask questions of current volunteers, & get the opportunity to complete a volunteer application to get started. To RSVP for one of the information sessions, contact Gail Wernick at 216-431-3328 or gail.wernick@redcross.org.

Lunar New Year Celebration
January 24, 7-8:30pm, TVUC
This event will include a traditional dance performance, popular Asian snacks, and a fireworks display. Event is free and open to the public.

From Siberia Speaks the World: Ethnographic Insights in Times of Change
January 27, 4:30-6:00pm, Mather Memorial Building Room 201
Dr. Susan A Crate from George Mason University will discuss her research on local experiences of climate change in Viliui Sakha communities in Siberia.

Talking Foreign Policy
January 30, 9am & 9pm, Broadcast
The upcoming broadcast of “Talking Foreign Policy,” hosted by CWRU School of Law’s Dean Michael Scharf, will take on the Iran crisis. The program will be broadcast in Cleveland on WCPN 90.3 FM.  The program will also be available online.

Staging Transformation: Art as Social Activism
January 31, 12-1:30pm, City Club of Cleveland
Local, national, and international artists will take stage to discuss art as a vehicle for activism and social change. From a play about the City of Cleveland’s consent decree, to a community-driven architectural project at Riverview Welcome Center, to the Arabic language being spoken on stage, these artists discuss art, equity, and access, and how their specific works serve as acts of social justice. Tickets to attend are $38. Livestream is free.

Friday Lunch: The Internet of Things
January 31, 12:30-1:30pm, KSL Dampeer Room
Is the “Internet of Things” (IoT) the shape of things to come – and is that good? By one account, 20 billion devices will be connected in 2020. Another says 30 billion. Join Kenneth A. Loparo to hear his observations on what the IoT really is and can be.

Current Opportunities

Social Justice Scholars Study Group
Freshman, sophomores, and juniors are invited to apply to the SJS study group, which will focus on immigration reform.  Accepted applicants will receive a $500 stipend for their full participation. Applications are due February 3, 2020.

Summer Opportunities

American Enterprise Institute Summer Honors Program
The AEI Summer Honors Program is an intensive, fully-funded educational and professional development opportunity in Washington, DC, for undergraduate students. Participants in the program have the chance to connect with the ideas, research, and network of AEI, one of America’s preeminent policy think tanks. The regular application deadline is February 24, 2020.

Public Policy Fellowship Program
The Office of the Cuyahoga County Executive offers summer opportunities for students to gain a broad overview of county government though practical experience in a variety of policy areas. 2020 applications are due January 31, 2020.

National Museum of American History: Special Events Internship
This internship offers opportunity for students interested in event planning and coordinating to delve into the museum environment and gain hands-on skills from a highly esteemed workplace. Summer 2020 application is due February 3.

Center for American Progress Action Internship
American Progress offers paid full- and part-time internships each summer to undergraduate, master’s, JD and PhD students. Interns will directly engage with the organization’s policy experts and participate in a variety of activities. Summer 2020 Applications are due February 14, 2020.

International Economic Development Council
IEDC offers an extensive internship program for graduate and undergraduate students organized into four different categories: economic development technical, public policy, member services, and communications/marketing. Summer 2020 applications close February 15, 2020.

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Summer Internship
This program offers undergraduate and graduate students a ten-week professional, academic, and career opportunity internship in the nation’s capital. The application deadline is February 21, 2020.

Brookings Institution
The Brookings Internship program provides students and recent graduates with a pre-professional, meaningful, and practical work experience related to the student’s field of study or career interest. Interns may work with Brookings’s staff in research areas – Economic Studies, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, Governance Studies, and Metropolitan Policy. Summer 2020 applications are due February 28, 2020.

Contest Opportunities

Japanese Language Speech Contest
Showcase your Japanese language skills while competing for a scholarship and other prizes. Applications are due February 7, 2020; the competition will take place in Dublin, OH March 14, 2020.

Graduating Senior Opportunities

Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellowship
This paid fellowship provides recent graduates with the opportunity to develop a network within the public service sector in Cleveland. Applications are due January 27, 2020.

Teach for America
As a corps member, you’ll be challenged to think creatively and lead boldly. You’ll leverage your unique talents to dismantle inequities from the classroom and beyond. The next application deadline is January 31, 2020.

Career Opportunities

The Center for Community Solutions Public Policy and External Affairs Associate
The Center for Community Solutions is looking for someone who is passionate about Medicaid policy and who wants to concentrate on big public health issues – especially systemic racism as a public health crisis. Apply online here. Applications are due February 21, 2020.

Please note that 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, and leave it to the judgment of our students what is most useful and appropriate to them.