Division of politics & economics
Special Edition
It’s been an exciting year in the School of Social Science, Policy & Evaluation’s
Division of Politics and Economics. There have been many positive
developments, such as welcoming our newest faculty member Monica Capra,
to Dean Stewart Donaldson being elected to the Presidency of the American
Evaluation Association, to DPE hosting the annual conference for the
International Political Economy Society, to CGU community members having
a strong showing at the Western Political Science Association. The Division’s
website has been refurbished (www.cgu.edu/dpe), students and alumni are
landing exciting work opportunities, and exciting community events are
happening weekly. We invite you to peruse this newsletter to learn more about
what’s been going on, and to send in your stories for the next edition!
Inside This Issue
Faculty News: Find out what
your DPE faculty have been up
to recently!
Alumni News: Where are DPE DPE Social Corner: Snapshot
alumni now?
of DPE social events.
Page 10-16
Page 19-20
Page 2-5
Conferences & Symposiums:
Read about where students are
sharing their research.
In Memoriam: Page 21
Current Student Highlights:
What have your colleagues been
up to?
2013 Graduates: Page 22-24
Page 17-18
Page 6-9
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Faculty news
Meet dpe’s newest faculty member: C. monica Capra
Dr. Monica Capra joined the Department of Economics in
Fall 2013. She specializes in experimental and behavioral economics, and is interested in choice under risk, decision processes, and behavioral game theory and its applications. She
has authored many papers, some in the most prestigious economic journals, such as the American Economic Review, and
has presented her work around the world. Shortly after joining
Emory in 2003, Professor Capra began her collaboration with
neuroscientists and has published several research papers in
the new and promising field of Neuroeconomics.
Some of Dr. Capra’s most recent publications include:

“You Can’t Gamble on Others: Dissociable Systems for Strategic Uncertainty and Risk in the Brain” (with W. Ekins,
R. Caceda, and G. Berns) forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

“Can Personality Type Explain Heterogeneity in Probability Distortions?” (with B. Jiang+, J. Engelmann, and G.
Berns) Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics, September 2013, 6(3), pp: 151 – 166.

“Differential Neurobiological Effects of Expert Advice on Risky Choice in Adolescents and Adults" (with J. Engelmann, S. Moore and G. Berns) Scan, May 2012, doi: 10.1093 / scan / nss050, pp.557-567
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Stewart Donaldson
SSSPE received exciting news this fall with the announcement that Dean Stewart
Donaldson was elected President of the American Evaluation Association (AEA).
He will be President-Elect in 2014, and President in 2015, which has been designated the International Year of Evaluation. This comes on the heels of receiving the
2013 Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award for a lifetime of significant written contributions to the profession of evaluation. The AEA is the largest evaluation association in the world, with over 7,700 members across more than 60 countries. Thanks to Dean Donaldson’s leadership, CGU has the largest evaluation program in the world, and is a recognized leader in the field through its prolific faculty,
rigorous curriculum, and internationally-known Professional Development in Evaluation and Applied Research Methods workshop series.
Hal Nelson’s Prestigious Award
Congratulations to Research Assistant Professor Hal Nelson on his $125K Haynes
Grant to support his groundbreaking research on sustainable energy solutions. According to Dr. Nelson, his project aims “to better understand energy facility siting
in the Los Angeles region, and to provide information and tools to enable less conflictual, more socially-sustainable energy solutions for the region.” The project uses
social science research to “help the region build the energy infrastructure it requires
for the region’s continuing prosperity, and beyond that, helps inform local policies
to ensure infrastructure will be located and designed in a way that is acceptable to
impacted communities.”
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Tom Willett, Horton Professor of Economics, was guest editor of a special issue of
the Global Economic Review on Global Imbalances and Financial Stability. The issue
included a paper Professor Willett co-authored with Dr. Eric Chiu (Ph.D., Political
Science & Economics, 2006).
Professor Willett also recently joined the editorial board of the Global Journal of Economics and the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economics Association. He remains on the
editorial boards of three other economics journals and one in International Relations.
Professor Willett is currently working with several dissertation students on a research
project for the central Bank of Korea that is attempting to identify potentially unstable
international capital flows.
DPE Professor Jean Schroedel recently published an article and a book review.
“Charismatic Rhetoric in the 2008 Presidential Campaign: Commonalities and Differences.” (With Michelle Bligh, Jennifer Merolla and Randall Gonzalez). 2013. Presidential Studies Quarterly 43(1): 101-128
Review of Marc Stein’s Sexual Injustice: Supreme Court Decisions from Griswold to
Roe. Women, Politics & Policy 34(1): 101-103
Professor Schroedel has also presented at four academic conferences:
She presented at the Western Political Science Association Conference in Hollywood,
California on March 29th 2013. The title of her paper was, “Hillary Clinton: A Case
Study in the Rhetoric of Female Political Figures.” (With Moana Vercoe and Randall
Gonzalez).
She presented a paper entitled, “Fetal Personhood: A Moral and Legal Quagmire’, at the Forty Years After Roe v. Wade
on Reproductive Rights and Justice Today Conference (Sponsored by the Huntington Library and the Feminist Majority Foundation) in Beverly Hills, California on March 9th, 2013.
She presented at the Southern California Law and Social Science Forum on Law at the Fault Lines, Pomona College,
March 1, 2013 a paper entitled, “Vote Dilution and Suppression in Indian Country” (With Ryan Hart).
She also presented a paper entitled, “Building Community Roots and Transforming Lives: Organic Gardening at an Alternative high School” (With Nancy Neiman Auerbach, Artour Aslanian, and Stewart Wood), at the Southern Political
Science Association meetings in Oralando, Florida on January 4th, 2013.
Professor Schroedel indicated that most of her research is usually undertaken with her students. In fact Randall Gonzalez, Ryan Hart, Artour Aslanian and Stewart Wood are all students in the Department of Politics and Policy (DPP) and
Moana Vercoe is an alum of the department.
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Dr. Robert J. Bunker, DPE Adjunct Professor and Distinguished Visiting Professor and Minerva Chair at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College,
had a prolific year!
Books and Special Issues

Studies in Gangs and Cartels. London: Routledge. 1st author with John Sullivan. October 2013, 208 pp.

Body Cavity Bombers: The New Martyrs. A Terrorism Research Center Book. Bloomington: iUniverse.

Mexican Cartel Essays and Notes: Strategic, Operational, and Tactical. Small Wars Journal—El Centro Anthology. Bloomington: iUniverse. For Small Wars Foundation. Primary Author. 2013, 583 pp.

Cartel Car Bombings in Mexico. Letort Paper. Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War Col-

Cyborgs and Robots (Armed). Subject Bibliography. Quantico, VA: US Department of Justice, Federal Bu-

“Santa Muerte: Inspired and Ritualistic Killings.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. February 2013 (Part I, II
& III). Author. http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/2013/february/
santa-muerte-inspired-and-ritualistic-killings-part-1-of-3.

“Book Review: Intersections of Crime and Terror.” James. J.F. Forest, ed. E-International Relations.26 March
2013, http://www.e-ir.info/2013/03/25/review-intersections-of-crime-and-terror/.
2014
Awaiting Publication.
1st primary author with Chris Flaherty. August 2013, 200+ pp.
lege. 1st author with John P. Sullivan. June 2013. Awaiting Publication.
reau of Investigation, FBI Academy Library. January 2013. http://fbilibrary.libguides.com/content.php?
pid=412651&sid=3371322. 1st author with Daniel Musa.
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Current Student highlights
What can it look like to collaborate with faculty and alumni?
Zining Yang (Ph.D. candidate) describes the collaboration process on a recent publication. The publication is an extension of the research by Mark Abdollahian on human
development theory.
“Professor Abdollahian brought us together. Travis Coan (Ph. D., Political Science,
2012) and Professor Birol Yesilada (Portland State University) coauthored in a similar
publication in 2012, and I joined the team as a research assistant. We were all involved
in the conceptualization of human development dynamics; Professor Abdollahian and I designed the agent-based model;
and I instantiated and coded the software implementation in NetLogo. Our communication with Travis and Professor
Yesilada was mainly through emails, so the distance and time zone difference never did negatively impact the project.
This experience of working with people face-to-face as well as virtually has been invaluable. I learned a lot from all three
coauthors and improved my own understanding of theory and programming as well as the communication process involved with doing research.”
This collaboration resulted in: Abdollahian, Mark, Zining Yang, Travis Coan and Birol Yesilada. 2013. “Human Development Dynamics: An Agent Based Simulation of Macro Social Systems and Individual Heterogeneous Evolutionary
Games.” Complex Adaptive Systems Modeling, 1:18.
DPE student Elizabeth Olson, has started teaching this past spring semester at Central Texas College at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. She taught two courses on
American Government during Spring and Summer sessions.
Elizabeth recently presented papers at two academic conferences. The first was at the
Southern Political Science Association Conference in Orlando, Florida in January 2013
on “The Use of Slavery Rhetoric in the Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln”.
The paper examined whether President Lincoln’s policies were in line with public opinion at the time or whether he was
leading and molding public opinion.
Elizabeth’s second paper was presented at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana in March 2013. The title of the paper was, “The Relationship Between Spending on Education and Performance Indicators”. The paper examined the relationship between state spending on education with graduation rates
and SAT performance in those states.
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DPE would like to congratulate the following students who have just accepted tenuretrack positions:
Ivy Cargile—St. Norbert College in Green Bay, WI
Travis Coan—University of Exeter in the UK.
Guy Burnett—Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Hillcrest Transdisciplinary
awards recipients for 2013-2014
The Transdisciplinary Studies Program awards Hillcrest Research Awards to support and encourage student transdisciplinary research and collaboration. Awards range from $500 to $1500 per group and is supported by a private gift to
Claremont Graduate University.
The Geography of Homeless. A GIS Research project
Hafsa Aasi, Information Systems and Technology
Sara Kapadia, Educational Studies
Rena Salayeva, Political Science
Steve O'Sullivan, Executive Business Administration
Piotr Zagorowski, Business Administration
The Science of Building a Team to Build a Transdisciplinary Community
Krystal Miguel, Educational Studies
Joshua Penman, Behavioral and Organizational Sciences
John Shideler, Political Science
Victoria Taylor, Evaluation
Understanding Social Well-Being in a Pluralistic Context: A reading group
Kyu-Been Chun, Political Science
Heejin Kimberly Kim, Behavioral and Organizational Sciences
Ju Hee Koh, Philosophy of Religion and Theology
Joungchul Lee, Theology
Kyungah Lee, English
SangWon Lee, Political Science
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The bride that missed her own
Wedding Reception!
Andrea Perkins Ozuagiemhe (Ph.D. candidate) spent
spring break 2012 in Cotonou, Benin. Why? To get married to her fiancé Benedict. We asked Andrea, why Benin? She explained that due to security risks, she had
apprehensions about going to Benedict’s home of Nigeria. The U.S. State Department classifies Benin as the
safest of Nigeria’s neighboring countries, and so the decision was made for the bride and groom to meet in Benin.
Thus is the irony of fate.
On the day of her arrival, Andrea and Benedict went to
a local African market to shop for rings, and in the afternoon, the couple went to the Town Hall for the wedding
ceremony. The ceremony was attended by the groom’s
siblings and best friends, but local laws required a local
Beninois to act as a witness, so they asked their driver, a
young man they had known for only a few hours to act
as best man! As it turned out, that was not the only thing
that made this wedding remarkable.
On their way to the wedding reception, the newlyweds
noticed that they were being followed by two gunmen on
a motorcycle. The motorcycle followed the party as both
vehicles zigzagged the streets of Cotonou. It seems likely
that these men were on a quest to kidnap the bride for
ransom money (an American woman in the povertystricken areas of the world can be seen as an easy target).
In order to escape their predators, the bride and groom
parked their car in front of a bank and sought the assistance of the members of the national police who were
guarding the premises. After the gunmen disappeared,
Andrea decided it would be best to retire to the safety of
the hotel.
And that is the story of how Andrea missed her own
wedding reception. While everyone ate and partied with
the groom, the bride quarantined herself for her own
safety. At that point in time, however, she was too jetlagged to care!
We would like to wish Andrea and Benedict a blissful
married life; full of adventure, but free of danger!
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Carlo Chalhoub Travelling the World
Carlo Chalhoub, a Ph.D. candidate in Economics, has started his
own consultancy firm. Chalhoub Consultancy opened its doors in
2011, and he is very happy that he chose to go this route. Once he
had reached ABD status in the Economics Department, everyone
asked him the same question: will you get into academia or look for 9
to 5 employment? To him the answer was clear; neither. He always
wanted to start his own business as a financial consultant.
“Starting up your own business is another option to consider. Not
everyone needs to get into academia or enter the job market.”
Carlo admits that it was hard for him at the beginning to learn the ropes of running his own business, but after a while it
got easier, and he is now very successful. He started with a small portfolio based on his professional network and tells
us that he found LinkedIn to be a very useful networking tool. He reminds us: “As you advance in your professional life,
so does the rest of the world, your undergrad friends are now in key positions and have the ability to help you put your
foot in the door.” As a financial consultant, Carlo gets to travel the world to give seminars on the financial industry, and
on issues of fraud and compliance as they apply to financial institutions. He has recently conducted seminars in Kuwait,
Dubai, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ghana.
Before joining CGU, Carlo amassed over nine years of work experience in the banking sector and he put it alongside the
knowledge he had amassed in graduate school to build the foundations of his business endeavor. He tells us that the results are very rewarding, “there is a fulfilling feeling of achievement when you believe in yourself and in what you can deliver.” However
he also cautions that it is important be realistic and to understand your strengths as well as your limitations.
“The
Reality is that with a Ph.D.level of discipline you can have
whatever you put your mind into.”
On the left, Carlo gets introduced to a tarantula in
South Africa; on the right, Carlo handing out a certificate of completion to a seminar participant in Ghana.
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Alumni News
Paul J. Maurer, (Ph.D., Political Science, 2007), was recently
named Senior Vice President
for External Relations at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Prior to this position, Maurer served as President for Sterling College from 2009-2012 and then as
Interim Vice President and Dean of Tabor College’s
School of Adult and Graduate Studies.
Soomi Lee, (Ph.D., Political Science & Economics, 2011), has
been working at the University of
La Verne since September 2011
as an Assistant Professor in Public
Administration. She teaches the
following courses: Quantitative
Analysis, Political Economy, and Public Finance. She
recently published an article in the Journal of Socioeconomics and is currently working on projects that explore:
attitude toward tax increases, U.S. social policy toward
immigrant children and families, and the effect of social
heterogeneity on local public finance.
Jack W. Meek (Ph.D., International Relations, 1980) is currently Director of the Master of
Public Administration (MPA) program at the University of La Verne. Dr. Meek has two recent
publications:
Jack W. Meek and Kurt Thurmaier, Eds. (2012) Networked Governance: The Future of Intergovernmental Management. CQ Press
Christopher Koliba, Jack W. Meek, Asim Zia (2011) Governance Networks in Public Policy.
New York:CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group
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James D. Calder, (Ph.D.,
Government, 1978) is currently Program Advisor for
the Political Science Master’s
Degree at the University of
Texas at San Antonio. He
taught for 26 years in the
Criminal Justice Department,
then returned to the political science field. He has been
researching domestic and national security and crime
control policy. He also served on the Underwriters Laboratories Security Council for over 25 years, and serves
as an expert witness in security premises liability and
dram shop act cases. He has two recent publications:
“Between Brain and State: Herbert C. Hoover, George W.
Wickersham, and the Commission that Grounded Social Scientific Investigations of American Crime and Justice, 19291931 and Beyond,” Marquette Law Review 96/4, 1035-1108.
“Healthy Distrust, Watchful Eyes: Influences of Public Investigations and Scholarly Study on Transformations in American
Private Policing,” Handbook of Security (2nd ed.) by Martin
Gill, Ph.D. (ed.), Perpetuity Group, UK., 2014.
Sunil Thapa (MA, Government, 1983) now holds a major
political position in his home
country of Nepal. He is the son
of former Prime Minister Surya
Bahadur Thapa.
In 2012, Sunil Thapa began his
political career by working as a
Central Working Committee (CWC) member of the
Rastriya Janashakti Party (RJP). The RJP party during this
time was led by his father and would soon merge with
the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP).
Sunil Thapa won the Constituent Assembly (CA) election
from the Dhankuta-2 region with 10,093 votes on a RPP
ticket. He defeated his closest rival Rajendra Kumar Rai
of the CPN-UML by a margin of 726 votes.
Thapa has stated that one of his longtime desires was to
serve his home nation, and that is why he ventured into
politics. Before being elected as the CA member, Thapa
overviewed the constitution-drafting processes in newborn countries like Kosovo, South Sudan and East Timor through of his association with the United Nations
Refugee Agency. “I found that the political parties there
always kept national agendas above party interests while
writing a constitution. I will play a similar role in the
CA,” he says.
A confident Thapa says that Nepal will get its longawaited constitution this time.
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Caryn Peiffer, (Ph.D., Political Science, 2012), is currently a post-doctoral research
fellow at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland. She is also a freelance consultant and has worked with various prestigious development agencies since graduating from CGU.
“My experiences at Claremont were essential to land both of these positions. The
time I spent as a research assistant under Jennifer Merolla and the quantitative
methods courses that I took helped me land the research position. The International development-focused Ph.D. continues to make me competitive as a development
consultant, as most consultants have Masters degrees.”
Caryn’s post–doc research fellowship focuses on the determinants of bribery (cross
-nationally). She started by working on a project that explored who is most vulnerable to requests for bribes in Africa, and is now examining bribery in Latin America.
Both studies use quantitative analysis of cross-national survey data. Caryn tells us
that one interesting finding emerging from these studies is that socio-economic
groups differ in their vulnerability to bribery requests, based on the type of service
that is sought. For example, for services where the state is the only provider (e.g.
the police, permits), those with more socio-economic resources are more vulnerable
to requests for bribes. By contrast, for those services where there are both state and
non-state providers (education and health care, for example), those with fewer socio
-economic resources are more vulnerable to bribery.
Caryn started work as a free lance consultant while finishing up her dissertation at
CGU. Her first consultancy was with Transparency International in Berlin for a
project that analyzed their bribery survey data, the Global Corruption Barometer.
Caryn has also consulted for The Development Leadership Program, which is
mainly funded by he Australian Foreign Aid Agency. Caryn currently resides in
Wells, in the South West of England, between Bristol and Bath. She has taken on a
number of consultancies for a number of local development firms.
“We hope that by highlighting the differences across
types of services, we have gained more insight into
the mechanisms of bribery and can better help to
inform anti—corruption interventions.”
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Jim McNabb on teaching in Iraq
Jim McNabb (Ph.D., Political Science, 2002), has recently become Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences Department at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS). The University is located in the city of Sulaimani (Sulaimaniya), an important economic center and the cultural capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Jim joined CGU in the fall of 1996 and tells us that DPE has been an invaluable
partner to him every step of the way. “First by combining an economic dimension to the study
of politics, CGU has increased my analytical capabilities and widened my strategic horizon in terms
of understanding the dynamics of world politics.” Jim also feels that the fact that the program allowed him to specialize in two fields, World and Comparative Politics, has
increased his marketability in the highly competitive field of university teaching.
“Finally, I would say that the informal environment coupled with small class-size, allowed for the
development of conversations and the exchange of knowledge and insight that is difficult to achieve at
larger schools and programs.”
Before moving to the Middle East, Jim worked on teaching assignments in Central
and East Asia, the Middle East as well as in the United States. He mentions that his
DPE professors have been instrumental in his career since leaving CGU, particularly Jacek Kugler and Yi Feng.
Adapting to life in completely new surroundings, however, presented a number of
challenges. Instruction at AUIS is in English, which has made interacting with students and colleagues easier. However, outside the university it is another story, and
he tells us, “there remains a ‘stress’ from not being able to communicate as you go about your life
within the city in which you are teaching.” In addition, Jim informs us that many of the
universities springing up across the developing world experience problems due to
inadequate communications and procedures that oftentimes puts foreign instructors
in challenging situations.
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Jim McNabb Cont.
“There are several methods to help alleviate the stressors of living and teaching internationally. It is extremely helpful to believe you are serving
a higher cause than yourself. If you do not , it is difficult to justify the experiences in terms of a strict cost-benefit analysis. When you believe
you are contributing to making the lives of your students better, and that, by extension, their new found perspectives and skills will help build
their respective communities into more stable and prosperous societies, your sense of accomplishment and the contentment which is generated at
‘working hard at work worth doing’, provides the necessary energy and drive.”
Fortunately, Jim informs us that the Kurdish northern region is significantly more peaceful than in other parts of Iraq.
“But , even in Iraqi Kurdistan, Peshmerga soldiers armed with AK-47s patrol the perimeter of the apartment building where I live. Having
said that, the Kurdish region and the city of Sulaimani is overwhelmingly “pro-American” as a significant portion of this good will was generated when the US stood with them against Saddam Hussein.”
Jim concludes the email he sent us by saying, “The stress level is mitigated by smiling faces that
often convey a simple message: “Americans, we’re glad you are here.” Those smiles and the knowledge that
my life is being spent doing things we hoped as children that we would do -- to boldly move out into the
world and contribute to the well-being of a people (at home and abroad) provides me the requisite sense of
purpose as well as the necessary energy to speak about freedom and the possibility of a better tomorrow.”
Bomani Jones (2003, MA Politics, Economics & Business) is the co-host of the daily sports
talk show Highly Questionable with Dan Le Batard on ESPN2. Jones was a former contributor to
SBNation, as well as the host of “The Morning Jones” on Sirius Satellite Radio. Jones is also a
regular panelist on Outside the Lines and Around the Horn on ESPN and ESPN First Take on
ESPN2. Finally, Jones has also contributed weekly videos to Canadian TV channel Score Television Network.
Bomani has been featured on a variety of television programs, including a Michael Jackson documentary, the HBO Sports documentary “The Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. Carolina,” as
well as “Runnin’ Rebels” a documentary about the UNLV Basketball team.
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Mack Gilkeson
1977 Government alumnus and Professor of Engineering Emeritus at
Harvey Mudd College,
Mack Gilkeson has been
awarded, along with two
other Harvey Mudd professors, the prestigious
2012 Bernard M. Gordon
Prize By the National
Academy of Engineering
“for creating and disseminating innovations in undergraduate engineering design education to develop engineering leaders” (National Academy of Engineering).
Mack Gilkeson obtained a Doctorate in Government
from the Claremont Graduate School in 1977. When he
joined CGS, he was already teaching at Harvey Mudd
College and had already amassed several degrees in engineering: a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering
from USC (1944); Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University (1947); Master’s Degree
in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of
Michigan (1951); Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Michigan (1977).
The following are some interesting excerpts from
Dr. Gilkeson’s electronic scrapbook: *used with Dr.
Gilkeson’s permission.
of industry development work in Brazil, I continued my
reflection on the purposes and challenges of service as an
‘industrial missionary’ in the Third World. It was clear to
me that scholars and development experts must be writing on this topic, so maybe I should sit in on some of the
graduate courses offered at the Claremont Colleges graduate school [subsequently Claremont Graduate University]. I certainly was aware that many of the important decisions of which I had been a part were political rather
than technological.
“Once a Professor, always a Student”
CGU tuition was free for Claremont Colleges faculty
members, and I knew a number of the Graduate School
faculty. So I consulted Fred Neal, our early landlord and
a prominent international relations expert. He was enthusiastic about the idea, and even offered to walk through
the registration for me. So I signed up for two courses. I
realized that auditing would lead to my not following
through, so I committed to working for course credit.
The courses were interesting and the professors and students accepting of a middle aged person who was, like
them, on a quest for knowledge. The students, a generation younger than I, were friendly and cooperative.
Moreover, I soon realized that college courses are designed by people who are really constructing something
best understood by people their own age.
“Our family had pretty much settled into Claremont and
I myself into Harvey Mudd College when an opportunity
for foreign travel offered itself - over two years of work
with the USAID RITA Project [industrial development]
during the middle 1960s in Northeast Brazil.”
“Upon returning , during 1964-68, from several periods
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Mack Gilkeson Cont...
“I do follow the evolution of the School of politics and Economics and recall with great delight my experiences,
in a new field, learning along with the younger, sometimes more militant classmates during the late 60’s.”
What I mean can be illustrated by an incident in class in mid-December. Students asked the professor if there would be a
test when we came back in early January. The Prof assured them that there would not be. During Christmas vacation I
was looking over my notes, and it was clear that we had reached a natural end point for the topic. What logically should
be taking place at the next class meeting would be a test. Sure enough, the first Monday of the New Year, the prof gave
an exam. Of course I had prepared for it, though I’m sure most of the students took him at his word.
I found that my reaction to a professor’s style and quality of teaching differed from that of many students. One prof was
rumored to be quite dry and uninteresting. I found him to be thoughtful and thorough, giving me just the guidance I
needed. And to close: I note that my neighbor and mentor, Merrill Goodall, was a major influence in getting me involved
in CGS. He provided exactly the sage advice and counseling, given his helpful nature and wide experience gained in California, India, Nepal and elsewhere.”
Who Was the Blair
Reading Room named
after?
The Blair Reading room was named after the late CGU
Professor George S. Blair (1924-1991). He was Professor
of American politics in the Center for Politics and Policy
until he retired and was given Emeritus status in 1990. Professor Blair is remembered by his former students as a
great mentor and motivator who deeply impacted their
lives. He wrote 8 books and many articles on all aspects of
state and local government in the United States. Among his
books are the following publications:
Cumulative Voting: An Effective Electoral Device in
Illinois politics (1960)
American Local Government (1964)
Government at the Grass-Roots (1986)
The Blair Reading Room has recently undergone a facelift
project. During this project, a corner was introduced to
honor the work and legacy of Professor George S. Blair.
Recently, the room was also used for election night 2012.
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Conferences and symposiums
L.A. Policy Symposium
The Division of Politics and Economics joined the Los Angeles Policy Symposium as a member
school in 2013. This annual conference showcases policy-related work by graduate students, and
gives them the opportunity to present in front of peers, policy researchers and leading experts. The
event was keynoted by Borja Leon, the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles for Transportation and subsequent expert panel discussions were held related to Human Trafficking, Environment and Transportation, and Local Transportation.
CGU participation was headed by Dr. Heather Campbell, Nikhil Mathur and Sabine Freij, and formally launched the first year of CGU's membership. Students from DPE, as well and the School of
Community and Global Health, and the Division of Organizational and Behavioral Studies attended. Nick Cain delivered a presentation on "Unlocking the Potential of Renewable Energy," which
used quantitative techniques to approach energy-related policy questions in the Southern California
region.
CGU will continue its membership with the Los Angeles Policy Symposium in 2014. The event
offers the opportunity for students across disciplines to engage and present policy-related research
at the RAND Corporation with students and experts from UCLA, USC and Pepperdine. More
information can be found at: http://www.prgs.edu/beyond-the-classroom/policy-symposium.html
Dpe hosts the political economy IPES Conference
The 2013 International Political Economy Society (IPES) Conference was held at CGU, in collaboration with Princeton
University. It provided IPE scholars the opportunity to present their new work-in-progress to a scholarly audience to gain
constructive feedback. The turnout was successful as over 150 participants from over 65 colleges presented their work over
a two day span.
“This was the first conference I ever attended, and it was a
great experience. I had the opportunity to be a guest, but also
helped host the event. To be able to see all of the organization
that goes behind the scenes, and watch it come to life was a
wonderful experience” (Sarah Rubiaco).
Individuals that want to get involved with hosting major
events should email John.LaVelle@cgu.edu
2014
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DPE had more lead authors than any other
university at the WPSA Conference in Hollywood!
The Western Political Science Association (WPSA) held its annual meeting in Hollywood in March of 2013. Founded in 1948, the WPSA is headquartered at Portland
State University and boasts membership of more than 1350 political scientists. The
association encompasses scholars and institutions throughout the western states of
the U.S. and the western provinces of Canada. This year the annual meeting of the
association was made even more prominent as the go-to political science conference because Hurricane Isaac caused cancellation of APSA. Many scholars chose the WPSA as an alternative venue to present their academic research and, as a
result, the participation rate was very high!
While at the conference, DPE Research Assistant Professor Hal Nelson, noticed that CGU had a disproportionate number of papers and that our students and faculty exhibited outstanding representation throughout the panels. Professor
Nelson, Julia Wendt, and Carlin Crisanti researched the conference program and compiled the following table of authors
by institution.
1st Author 2nd Author 3rd Author 4th Author
Grand
Total
Total
1382
Presenters
CGU
30
7
5
1
43
1st Authors
1062
University of Washington
22
5
0
0
27
2nd Authors
220
UCLA
19
0
0
0
19
3rd Authors
90
UC Berkeley
16
2
0
0
18
4th Authors
10
Cornell
15
2
0
0
17
UC San Diego
10
4
1
0
15
USC
9
5
0
0
14
Arizona State University
6
5
1
1
13
The analysis revealed the fact that CGU had more than twice as many authors as UCLA and three times as many as USC.
According to Professor Nelson, “We are clearly the strongest research institution in the L.A. region, and can make legitimate claims about the strength of our research at the national level.”
2014
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DPE Social Corner
Congratulations to current student Saranjam Baig
and his wife Salma on their recent wedding!
Saranjam is a Ph.D. candidate in economics and Salma recently obtained a Masters in Urban Design
from Georgia Institute of Technology. Both bride
and groom are Fulbright scholars. The wedding was
held in Hunza, Pakistan on June 30th, 2012. Thank
you to the couple for sharing these photos of their
special day. The pictures on the left are from the
wedding dinner and the wedding ceremony below.
2014
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2013 SSSpe winter party
Held at the Edmunds Ballroom on the Pomona College Campus, this years Winter Party was an overwhelming success! It
was the second time the event was opened to all SSSPE. There
was a large crowd from both DPE and DBOS. Along with the
banquet dinner, there was dancing and a talent show. This year,
DPE student Aye Aye Khlaine and her friends performed a
cultural dance from Myanmar.
2014
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In Memoriam
We are saddened to share that four members of the DPE community have passed away recently.
Thomas Borcherding (d. Feb.
2014) received is Ph.D in economics from Duke University in
1966. Tom (as he liked to be
called), was a professor in the Division of Politics and Economics
since coming to Claremont Graduate University in 1983. Tom was
involved with the journal Economic Inquiry, where he was
senior editor from 1993 to 1997. He was an Avery Fellow at the Claremont Colleges as well as the chair or cochair of the Department of Economics many times
throughout his time here at CGU.
Tom also organized informal lunches for students and
colleagues to discuss a wide range of topics.
Bill Eadington (1946-2013),
obtained his Ph.D. in economics
from
Claremont graduate
School in 1973. He was a Professor of Economics, Chair of
the Philip J. Satre Chair of Gaming Studies and Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno
(UNR). He pioneered the academic study of gambling
and was a noted consultant and advisor to gaming operators, regulatory bodies and governments.
2014
Lewis W. Snider (d. Jan. 2014)
obtained his Ph.D. in Political
Science from the University of
Michigan in 1975. Throughout
his life, he lived in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He
served as a professor of Political
Science at CGU for 35 years,
retiring in April 2010.
Dr. Lewis’ was a frequent Middle East political consultant and commentator on Fox News and NPR.
His research was focused on the Middle East, in particular the negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis,
and on the political causes of financial crises in third
world countries.
Jose Lopez (1940-2012), obtained his Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Claremont Graduate School in 1982. He was Professor Emeritus of Chicano Latino Studies at California State
University in Long Beach, California.
Dr. Lopez was known not only as a political scientist
but also as a criminologist and a recognized expert in in
the field of juvenile gangs especially in Chicano communities.
Dr. Lopez was very active working with youth in antigang prevention programs in Orange County and in getting people to understand why youth joined gangs.
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Glimpses from 2013
DPE Graduation Reception
We are pleased to report that we had a great year in DPE as 24 PhD and 41 MA students graduated in
Spring, 9 PhD and 4 MA students in the Summer, and 5 PhD and 1 MA students in the Fall. Congratulations to all our graduates!
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Glimpses from 2013
DPE Graduation Reception
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The 2013 DPE Graduates
Ph.D.
Spring
Mohammed Aljahwari
Amir Bagherpour
Kerstin Fisk
Robert Garrow
Eunju Kang
Maduhu Kazi
Quinn Keefer
Arsine Khayoyan
Sang-Hyun Lee
Yiyu Lin
James Machembo
Amos Nadler
Kafui Nukunya
Ahmed Oweis
Adri Poesoro
Jamuna Reppert
David Samayoa Gordillo
Craig Schamel
Lane Scott
Abbylin Sellers
Ginger Silvera
Sovathana Sokhom
Summer
Puspa Amri
Guy Burnett
Sarah Burns
Christopher Chrappa
Derek Fowler
Sungsoo Kim
Yoon Min Kim
2014
Wahyu Nugroho
Matthew Peterson
Fall
Mohammad Almakrami
Farnaz Amini
Kathleen Arnn
Michael Jian
Quang Nguyen
MA
Spring
John Achramowicz
Ahmed Aljarba
Kathleen Arnn
Nichole Bravo
Dennis Bullock
Sarah Chughtai
Elizabeth Craigg
Masyita Crystallin
Brandon Dabling
Suzanne De Pol
Zhidong Feng
Fahrettin Fisunoglu
Sabine Freij
Mark Frenzel
Jeffrey Garcia
Randall Gonzalez
Hidero Katayama
Doruk Yarin Kiroglu
Adam Koslin
Eric Koykendall
Amanda Krzyzanowski
Kenneth Leonardo
Zhiyu Liang
Amanda Limongi
Pamela Mader
Melissa Mahoney
Elyce Martinez
Matthew McMahon
Michael Mermerlstein
Christopher MunshawRedriguez
Matthew Nii
Phillip Panaitescu-Neata
Rebecca Pooler-Lunse
Daniel Quinones
Sasha Safarzadeh
German Solorzano
Santiago Stocker
Kosuke Taranishi
Ian Vanderburg
Hao Wang
Summer
Ozan Gulhan
Derek Reeve
Bunyamin Susar
Piotr Zagorowski
Fall
Yang Lu
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