GV PS

Senator Sikkema to teach State Politics

Current Michigan Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema will teach State Politics for the GVSU Political Science Department in the winter 2007 semester. The class will meet Mondays from 6-8:50 in 1112 AuSable. Senator Sikkema has a B.A. from Harvard and received his M.B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan.

Course description:
PLS 203 State Politics. An examination of state political systems, with an emphasis on Michigan. Topics include governmental organization, gubernatorial leadership, legislative interaction, state court systems, interest groups, and political party activity. Prerequisite: PLS 102. Three credits.

Dr. Kieh to Deliver Keynote Address

George Kieh, Professor of Political Science, GVSU, will present a paper on "United States Foreign Policy and Democratization in Africa;" serve as a discussant on the panel on "Contours of Power in Africa;" and deliver a Keynote Address on "Elections and Democratization in Africa: The Case of Liberia's 2005 Elections" at the 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Third World Studies on November 3, 2006, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

GVSU Law Forum Tomorrow

Don't Forget the Law Forum this Wednesday from 6-9pm in the Eberhard Center
Banquet Hall. You must dress professionally. There will be eight speakers
from different fields in law as well as professional guests, Calvin pre-law
organization, two top LSAT examination as well as KAPLAN GRE, and three
Michigan Law Schools (Wayne, Cooley, and MSU), so be sure to be there.
Refreshments and snacks will be served.

See ya!

-- 
Best,
Isra El-beshir
President of Law Society
V.P of Programming for SAM-International

Election Roundtable

Election Roundtable

The members of the Grand Valley State community are invited to attend and participate in a roundtable discussion of the upcoming general elections. Experts from the GVSU Political Science faculty will provide their observations about the gubernatorial elections, the midterm congressional elections, the elections and the impact of the war in Iraq, political advertising and the media, and state ballot initiatives.

When: Monday, October 30th from 4:30-5:45
Where: Pere Marquette Room (Kirkhof Center 204)

Participants:

Professor Erika King
Professor Kevin denDulk
Professor Paul Cornish
Professor Robert Stewart-Ingersoll
Professor Donald Zinman

Sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Pi Sigma Alpha

Election year debates

The GVSU Public Policy Institute is sponsoring several candidate and ballot Forums in October 2006 at the Loosemore Auditorium, GVSU DeVos Campus.

Monday, October 23

7:00-8:00pm: 75th State House District
Rev. Robert Dean, Democratic Candidate
Mr. Tim Doyle, Republican Candidate

The 75th State House District includes that part of NE City of Grand Rapids which lies East of Fuller Ave, and SE City of Grand Rapids which lies East of Eastern Ave.

8:10- 9:10pm: 29th State Senate District
Mr. David LaGrand, Democratic Candidate
State Sen. Bill Hardiman, Republican Candidate

The 29th State Senate District includes the Cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Lowell and Cascade, Lowell, and Vergennes and Grattan Townships

Wednesday, October 25

7:00-8:00 pm: 3rd U.S. Congressional District,
Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers, Republican Candidate
Mr. James Rinck, Democratic Candidate

The 3rd Congesssional District includes Kent, Barry and Ionia Counties

8:10-9:10pm: 28th State Senate District
Mr. Albert Abbasse, Democratic Candidate
Mr. Mark Jansen, Republican Candidate

The 28th State Senate District includes the Cities of Wyoming, Grandville, East Grand Rapids, Walker, Rockford and Cedar Springs and the Townships of Northern, Western and Southern Kent County.

Monday, October 30: A Forum on Ballot Proposals 1, 3 4 and 5

7:00-7:10pm: Explanation of Prop 1: Protection of Conservation & Recreation Funds
7:10-7:20pm: Explanation of Proposal 4: Restriction of Govt. Eminent Domain Powers
7:20-8:00pm: Proposal 3: A referendum to allow hunting of Mourning Doves
8:00-9:15pm: Proposal 5: Require Mandatory funding levels: K-12 & College Education

Religion and Power

GVSU is co-sponsoring a conference on Religion and Power on October 24. The subtitle of the conference is "The Power to Create, the Power to Destroy," and it features James Carroll, Martin Marty, and several other prominent observers of religion and public life. Sessions begin at 10 am in the Eberhard Center. For more information, visit www.jewishchristiandialogue.org.

Photos from Sen. Salazar lecture

We have a small photo album from Senator Salazar's Baum fund lecture on October 12. Special thanks go to Courtney Newbauer of GVSU News and Information Services for the photography.

PLS Professors Appear on To The Point

Dr. Erika King and Roger Moiles of the GVSU Political Science Department made a lengthy appearance on the WOOD TV8 show To The Point on Sunday, October 15. Our very own "political gurus," as described by host Rick Albin, discussed the Michigan gubernatorial race between incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm and challenger Dick DeVos. King and Moiles analyzed the gubernatorial debates as well as recent campaign advertisements.

GVSU Hosts U.S. Senate Debate

GVSU's WGVU public television station hosted the U.S. Senate debate between U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow and Sheriff Mike Bouchard on Sunday, October 15. 25 GVSU political science and international relations students comprised the studio audience. The debate was broadcast statewide on Sunday night. Check out the story in Detroit News, featuring comments by our very own Roger Moiles.

Prof. Heather L. Tafel

Assistant Professor
1128 Au Sable Hall
Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401
616-331-8511
tafelh@gvsu.edu

Education
Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005
B.A. in International Studies and Modern Languages (German & Spanish), Eckerd College, 1993

Courses
PLS 103 Issues in World Politics
PLS 211 International Relations
PLS 282 Government & Politics of Russia & Eastern Europe
(to be replaced 2007-08 by PLS 382 Politics of Post-Communist Europe & PLS 385 Russian & Post-Soviet Politics)
PLS 339 Comparative Democratization

Publications

“‘Old Carrots and New Sticks: Labor Strategies Toward Economic Reform in Eastern Europe and Latin America.” (with Dexter S. Boniface) Comparative Politics 25 (April 2003)

Conference Presentations

“The Federal Gamble in Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and Spain,” Midwest American Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, 20-23 April 2006

“Democracy Demotion in Russia: The European Union’s Conflicting Priorities,” International Studies Association Conference, San Diego, 23-25 March 2006

“The Federal Gamble: The Russian Federation in Comparative Perspective,” Midwest American Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, 15-18 April 2004

Biography

I joined the GVSU political science faculty first as a visiting instructor in 2003 and then as a member of the tenure-track faculty in 2004. Before moving to Michigan, I lived in Urbana-Champaign, where I did my graduate work at the University of Illinois, and in St. Petersburg, Florida, where I did my undergraduate work at a liberal arts college called Eckerd College. I've also lived and studied in Germany, Russia, Austria, and Lesotho (southern Africa).

My research interests are comparative democratization, Russian and East European politics, and democracy promotion. I wrote my dissertation on Russian regime change and federalism, and I am currently working on three different articles for publication from my dissertation work. In addition, I am beginning a new project that investigates the EU's democracy promotion policies toward Russia. I hope to expand that into a larger comparative study that compares the EU and US democracy promotion policies.