GV PS

Michigan Political Science Association meeting - UNDERGRADS WELCOME!

The 2007 Michigan Conference of Political Scientists will hold its annual meeting in Kalamazoo on October 11-12, 2007. In order to encourage more nominations for the undergraduate paper award, THE NOMINATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO JULY 31. The award comes with a cash prize of $100.

If you have a polished paper from a course, independent study, or other research project, consider a proposal to the conference. The university has some funds available to reimburse costs for research presentation.

For more information about the conference, contact Professor den Dulk at dendulkk@gvsu.edu.

Alumnus Update: Kristi Dougan '01

Passing this along from Kristi Dougan, '01:

This is a cool blog! I do check it every once in awhile for the alumni updates. It is interesting to see the diverse paths that GVSU PoliSci grads have taken. Considering that I thought my class of PoliSci majors was the coolest, it is really cool to see what students have done after we left our mark.

As for a personal update after a few years of trying to find a job as an educator, I landed a post as an assistant to Michigan's Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. I served as her assistant for 2 and 1/2 years before taking on my current task of coordinating Michigan's various voter registration programs with an emphasis on mobilizing the 18-25 year olds to get registered and vote. Anytime you see the Secretary of State Mobile Branch Office on campus, I had a hand in it at some point. It is good to look out for your school! Since the SOS has been sending the mobile branch office to Grand Valley (2004-present), GV has been the most successful in registering students to vote surpassing by far MSU and U of M. On a more local level in November, I was elected to a second 4 year term on the Sparta Village Council. This experience has allowed me to put to practice many of the policy lessons I learned at GV. Besides as the top vote getter, I confirmed the one truth in politics--"name ID is all that counts" (or maybe it was all the hard work)!

Thanks for maintaining excellence in Grand Valley's Political Science Department!

Kristi Dougan

GVSU 2001

PLS 380 - 02 Public Opinion

Do you want to enhance your expertise in the area of Public Opinion? Public opinion polls are key tools in modern campaigns and governance. Our newest tenure track faculty member, Dr. Whitt Kilburn, who has a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina and comes to us with two years of excellent teaching experience, is offering a special topics course in the fall on public opinion. Don't miss out on this great opportunity.

PLS 380 - 02 PUBLIC OPINION
Monday/Wednesday, 3-4:15 p.m.
154 Lake Superior Hall
Prerequisite: PLS 102 or junior standing
Course counts for American category requirement for PLS degree

PLS 382 Politics of Post-Communist Europe

NEW FALL COURSE!
PLS 382 The Politics of
Post-Communist Europe
With Dr. Heather Tafel

This course can be used for the comparative politics category requirement of the PLS major and minor.

Take this course and discover the following about the Baltic countries, Central Europe, and the Balkans:

What was communism, and why did it collapse?
How has democracy developed in Central & Eastern Europe?
How has “people power” influenced politics in the region?
Why war in Yugoslavia but not in all countries in the region?
What has been the process of building market economies in the region?
What about the European Union & the United States in the region?

The course meets MWF 2-2:50 in MAK 1113.

Dr. Tafel can be reached at tafelh@gvsu.edu.