ASSOCIATION NEWS

Hochschild Selected as Perspectives Editor

The APSA Council has unanimously approved the selection of Jennifer Hochschild as the inaugural editor of APSA's new journal, Perspectives on Politics. A member of the faculty in both the Government and Afro American Studies departments at Harvard University, Hochschild's term will begin September 1, 2002, with the first issue published in early 2003. Perspectives on Politics is a new scholarly journal which will feature integrative and review essays, including those that cut across subfield boundaries and/or are policy oriented. For more information on the appointment, and Hochschild's vision for the journal, see: www.apsanet.org/new/hochschild.cfm

APSA Governance

The Council invites APSA members to join in an open and frank discussion of the process by which APSA nominates and selects its officers. A web site has been established for this discussion (http://www.apsanet.org), and a plenary discussion about it has been scheduled at the Annual Meeting.

The Election Review Committee, which had been named by then-President Jervis to consider these issues, presented its report at the Council meeting. This report is now available on the web site. Council discussion covered a wide range of issues relating to the merits of existing and alternative nomination and/or election procedures, including themes of transparency, democratic practice, suitability to the organization's purposes, and inclusion in the leadership of potentially underrepresented groups, including women and minorities. It was recognized that these themes in some instances pose legitimate but conflicting approaches to leadership selection. In the interest of stimulating discussion among the membership about these issues, the Council adopted the following statement:

"The APSA Council has received the report of the Election Review Committee, has taken no action upon it, and wishes to encourage a wide-ranging discussion among the membership about the issues and proposals raised in this report, as well as in additional presentations submitted by colleagues in the Association. The Association will post various proposals and arguments on a clearly demarcated area of the APSA web site. At the Annual Meeting in August 2002, the Association will sponsor a forum including colleagues with divergent views on governance reform issues, and encourage full discussion in sections, caucuses, regional and specialty associations, and departments. After learning from these discussions, the Council will give further consideration to specific reforms."


To allow time for discussion to occur at the Annual Conference, the Council framed the opportunities for comment and debate on this issue with the understanding that it would take no action on the issue of governance at its August 2002 meeting. The online forum for posting proposals and discussion on this issue is
http://www.apsanet.org

Additional Council Meeting Topics

Other topics of this Council meeting included an initiative advanced by President Robert Putnam to enhance the public presence of political science, ways to improve departmental policies on work/family issues, and proposals to inaugurate a mentoring program for women scholars early in their careers. President-elect Theda Skocpol also introduced plans to form an APSA Task Force on Graduate Education in Political Science. The Council applauded the Annual Conference co-chairs, W. Phillip Shively and Kathryn Sikkink, and the new editor of the American Political Science Review, Lee Sigelman, for their contributions to the Association.

Michael Brintnall, newly installed as APSA's Executive Director, will be glad to provide more detail about any of these Council activities. You can contact him at brintnall@apsanet.org.

Countdown to the Centennial

With the arrival of the Association's centennial less than a year away, the Centennial Campaign is moving forward towards its goal of three millions dollars. Generosity from the membership has been strong, but as Michael Brintnall writes, "We have an opportunity to build a foundation for our discipline ... and a pledge to this effort need not be large to be effective." For more details see: www.apsanet.org/future/campaign.cfm

Officer/Council Nominees Selected for 2002-03

The Association's 2002 Nominating Committee convened at the national office in February and agreed upon a slate of Officers and Council members to guide APSA for 2002-2003. Susanne Rudolph of the University of Chicago has been nominated as President-Elect. For the full state and biographical statements on each candidate see: www.apsanet.org/new/slate.cfm

MyAPSA Provides Members New Online Resource

Have you tried MyAPSA? APSA now brings you this new online members-only system to help manage your membership: renew, change an address, update your personal information; access online editons of APSR, PS, and PSN; and locate colleagues through a searchable membership directory. You'll find more to come soon. Simply log in with your last name and APSA member number at www.apsanet.org/myAPSA

New State of the Discipline Coming this Fall

As part of programs and publications planned for APSA's centennial celebration in 2003, the Association will release a centennial edition of Political Science: The State of the Discipline later this fall. The volume is edited by Ira Katznelson and Helen Milner, both of Columbia University. Built around 28 articles by leading scholars, this volume is an important resource for all scholars interested in reading across fields. For more details, and full table of contents, see www.apsanet.org/pubs/sod3.cfm

New Directory of Political Science Faculty

For the first time, APSA has released a combined Directory of Political Science Faculty, featuring listings from departments at graduate and undergraduate schools all offering a major in political science. For more see: www.apsanet.org/pubs/diroffaculty.cfm>

Ralph Bunche Summer Institute

Named in honor of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) is a five-week, academically-intensive summer program designed to stimulate the graduate school experience, provide mentoring, and expand academic opportunities for African American, Latino/a and Native American students. For over a decade, the RBSI has helped talented minority students between their junior and senior year of college excel and go on to graduate school, many with full fellowships and teaching assistantships. Headed into its sixteenth year, the RBSI is an annual opportunity for promising undergraduates to develop their analytical, writing, and quantitative skills. The academic environment is challenging, yet supportive. Students learn what is necessary to be successful in a graduate program and a successful scholar. This year’s selectees will head to the campus of Duke University for the month-long institute held June 2 to July 4, 2002. They are:

Marvin Addison, Rhodes College
Michelle Cade, Alma College
Danielle Carter, Goucher College
Gisela DeSantiago, Winthrop University
Naomi Dunson, Princeton University
Mya Florence, Wheaton College (IL)
Deidra Godfrey, Southern University
Maria Elana Guadamuz, Santa Clara University
Indira Henard, Wheaton College (MA)
Patrice Howard, North Carolina Central University
Katrina Hubbard, North Carolina Central University
Rashauna Johnson, Howard University
Christopher La Cour, Southern University
Tiffany Little, University of Virginia
Annette Orozco, University of Arizona Tucson
Thomas Powers III, North Carolina A&T University
Bettie Ray, North Carolina A&T University
Scott Roberts, Morehouse College
Laura Martin Scales, Rosemont College
Keith Stevens II, St. Augustine's College

Small Research Grants

The APSA Small Research Grant Program supports research in all fields of political science. The intent of these grants is to support the research of political scientists who are not employed at PhD granting institutions and to help further the careers of these scholars. This year’s recipients are:

Keith Boeckelman
Western Illinois University
"The Impact of Suburbanization on State Policy Choices"

Valeria Brusco
University of Cordoba
"Do Poor Argentines Still Vote Peronist? An Analysis of Ecological Data"

Ross E. Burkhart/Glenn Richardson Boise State University/Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
"Career Development, Candidate Quality and Campaign Spending in U.S. Senate Elections: Experience Money Can't Buy American Politics"

Kathleen M. Dowley
SUNY New Paltz
"Decentralization and Democratization in Post-Communist Europe"

Diana Dwyre
California State University, Chico
"The Changing Nature of the Campaign Dialogue in US House and Senate Races"

Carlos A. Forment
Universidad Argentina de la Empresa
"Democracy in Argentina: Civic Selfhood and Public Life"

Anke Grosskopf
Long Island University- C.W.Post Campus
"Judging National and Supranational Constitutional Courts- Public Evaluations in East and West Germany"

Melissa Haussman
Suffolk University
"Contested Terrain: US Abortion Debates to the North and South"

Janine P. Holc
Loyola College
"Uncovering Poland's Jewish Self: Local Political Activism and Religious Reconciliation"

Tatiana P. Kostadinoava
University of Minnesota Duluth
"Electoral Reform during Democratic Transition in the Balkans: The Cases of Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Yugoslavia"

Paul J. Kubicek
Oakland University
"Organized Labor, Economic Reform, and Globalization in Poland"

Steven D. Roper
Eastern Illinois University
"The Influence of Campaign and Party Finance Laws on Party Development in Post-Communist Countries"

Daniel A. Smith
University of Denver
"Ballot Initiatives During the Progressive Era: Evidence From California, 1912-1920"

Charles C. Turner
California State University, Chico
"American Indian Policy in Congress: The Dynamics of Political Minority"

William B. Vogele
Pine Manor College
"Transforming Conflict and Building Democracy in El Salvador"

Michael M. Welsh
Albright College
"Agency Reform as Cultural Evolution: The Case (in Progress) of National Environmental Policy Act and the Bureau of Land Management"

Japanese Political Science Association (JPSA)

Three individuals have been selected by the Japanese Political Science Association to participate in panels at the Annual Meeting in Boston this summer. The APSA agrees to host three JPSA members at the APSA Annual Meeting, and they agree to host two APSA members. This program is under the oversight of the Committee on International Programs. This years JPSA scholars are:

Kentaro Fukumoto
"Bicameralism in Japan Are Two Houses Really Different, Useful or Necessary"
Masaru Kohno
"Politics of the Meiji Restoration: A Post Rational Choice Analysis"
Naoko Onizuku
"Re-examining Issue Voting in Japan: Direction vs Proximity"