Political Science and International Relations students were recognized at the recent GVSU Awards Banquet. Edward Kastelz received the International Relations Outstanding Student Award. Andrea Dickson received the Political Science Outstanding Student Award.
Historical Perspectives on Human Rights and International Justice
Lecture by Elizabeth Borgwardt (Associate professor of history at Washington University in St. Louis; co-winner of the OAH Merle Curti Award for the best book in the history of ideas and the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize for the best first book on the history of U.S. foreign relations, awarded by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations; Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in Germany during spring 2008).
Wednesday, January 30, 4:30 pm in Cook-DeWitt. Reception and book signing to follow in Niemeyer Hall.
Co-sponsored by Honors College, History and Political Science.
GVSU Professor Emeritus of Political Science William "Bill" Baum passed away on December 25, 2007. Bill taught at GVSU for over 40 years and was known for his expertise on the Holocaust and U.S. Constitutional Law.
Recently, an endowment to fund the William Baum Lecture Series was established. The fund has been used to bring speakers to GVSU including U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. Just this month, in conjunction with Amnesty International at GVSU, the fund was used to bring Bukeni T. Waruzi Beck to speak on Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Beck is the founder of a grassroots organization, AJEDI-Ka, who has been working on the front lines of this humanitarian crisis.
The Grand Haven Tribune published an obituary on Dr. Baum. For the full article, click on the link above. Here are a few excerpts:
He obtained a Ph.D. in political theory from the University of Iowa. He taught for 50 years, starting at Creighton University and South East Missouri State College, and 40 years at Grand Valley State University.
His recognition for academic excellence and awards span his 50 years of teaching, including Teacher of the Year, and being honored by the Jewish community because he "researched, initiated and taught with sensitivity and compassion the depth and drama of the Holocaust." . . . He also published many scholarly articles in his fields of expertise and was frequently sought after for TV appearances.
Bill was a pre-law student advisor, and many partners in law firms locally and in other states credit him for their success as attorneys.
There are many ways that Bill will be remembered. One will be as a true humanitarian. When he was head of the political science department at a southern university, at the beginning of his career, he was told he couldn't hire a black teacher; he submitted his resignation. This began his life-long passion for doing what he believed was right and for fighting the battles that needed to be fought for human rights and dignity. His strength, determination and tenacity inspired those who knew him.
Bill never complained about his personal struggles or pain. He took enormous pride in his independence and he never made excuses. He silently faced and overcame daily challenges; he was humble and valiant in his courage throughout his life.
A memorial service will be held at Christ Community Church in Spring Lake on Saturday, January 5, 2007, at 1 p.m. Please consider Planned Parenthood and the Nature Conservancy for contributions.
Arrangements are being handled by the family.
Professor Diven has created a very helpful Study Abroad guide for Political Science and International Relations. Please follow the link to download in Word format.
Download study_abroad.doc
On Tuesday, November 6th, Professor Diven hosted John Matuszak in her U.S. foreign policy classes. Mr. Matuszak works in the Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science in the U.S. State Department. He works to represent U.S. environmental policy overseas and helps negotiate U.S. participation in bilateral and multilateral environmental agreements. In class, Mr. Matuszak talked about the importance of global environmental issues and careers in the State Department.
Mr. Matuszak was raised in Grand Rapids, attended Aquinas College, and completed his graduate work at Michigan State University. In 1978, he studied abroad with the GVSU program in Cracow, Poland. He had some interesting insights about how to pursue jobs in the State Department. Students who would like to contact Mr. Matuszak can do so through Professor Diven.
At the annual meeting of the Midwest International Studies Association in St. Louis last weekend, Professor Diven was elected to a two-year term on the governing council of the organization. As a member of the council, Professor Diven will be asked to help plan the annual conference, including choosing conference themes, locations, and invited speakers. She will also be involved in choosing the papers which received awards at the conference.
During the conference Professor Diven also presented her current research on "The Foundations of Anti-Americanism in Europe."
LAS 380 01: MOAS*
Model Organization of American States
General Assembly
Winter, 2008
T/Th 11:30 AM-12:45 PM
ASH 1204
Prof. Dennis Malaret
Sociology
2152 AuSable Hall, 616-331-3113
malaretd@gvsu.edu
When: Winter, 2008
Where: Washington, D.C., April 8-12, 2008.
We need an additional 8 students to make up the GVSU delegation.
LAS 380 is an interdisciplinary course offered to students interested in Anthropology, Business, Criminal Justice, International Relations, Communication, Spanish language and culture, History, Political Science, and Sociology. Furthermore, this course will study important issues such as Human Rights, Immigration, and issues of health, education, and poverty across the Americas.
In this course, you travel together with the class as a delegation for one week to Washington, DC. Our delegation will represent the country of Ecuador this year. You also develop career skills of leadership that can only be acquired outside the classroom. Additionally, you will meet students and diplomats from all across the Americas.
Requirements: interest in any of the fields listed above
Cost: The student is required to register for a 3 credits and the College of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Latin American Studies program will pay all travel and lodging costs for all members of the delegation while in Washington, D.C.! If this is a course of interest you, hurry up and sign up now. Only 8 seats remain to be filled!
The Model Organization of American States (MOAS) General Assembly is a simulation of the General Assembly of the OAS, the 55- year- old regional multilateral organization of the United Nations. In 2007, the Latin American Studies Program organized a group of 12 highly motivated students under the direction of Dr. Dennis Malaret, representing the country of Costa Rica at the simulations.
Political Science major Charlie Terrell has been awarded the John T. Batchelder scholarship. The John T. Batchelder Political Science Scholarship honors John Thayer Batchelder who served as a Grand Valley State University professor until his retirement in 1997.
Upon receiving the award, Charlie stated, "I would like to thank the Batchelder family for their generosity in supporting this scholarship, I feel very honored to be recognized for my achievements. This scholarship gives me the opportunity to continue with my passion for public policy."
The scholarship provides $1,000 for the 2007-08 academic year, and is renewable for a second year.
About Dr. Batchelder
Dr. Batchelder’s tenure with GVSU spanned nearly three decades, from 1969 to 1997. During this time he brought his student-focused teaching methods to courses in American Government, American Foreign Policy, Politics of Western Europe, Politics of the Soviet Union and Politics of Eastern Europe. He also occasionally taught freshman English classes. A course of his design, Great Decisions, combined a lecture series of the same name presented in Grand Rapids with lively classroom discussion and preparation of thoughtful student journals.
Dr. Batchelder’s interest in international cultures and political affairs, delight in adventure and belief that direct experience adds greatly to student learning led him to organize and lead several overseas study programs within the Political Science Department. He developed curriculum and facilitated the travel of more than 80 students to Russia and Poland from 1976-1990. The programs were coordinated with universities in the host countries and provided GVSU students an opportunity to interact with overseas peers and political and business leaders. Dr. Batchelder especially enjoyed these programs and the lasting friendships he developed with the students who participated.
In fact, Dr. Batchelder often pointed to his interactions with students within and outside of the classroom as the most satisfying part of his career. He served on the Newspaper Advisory Board to The Lanthorn, GVSU’s student-run newspaper from 1984-1994. Good writing, a life-long interest of Dr. Batchelder’s, spilled over into his classroom expectations of student term papers and extracurricular endeavors such as The Lanthorn. He also encouraged and assisted exceptional students in applying for prestigious awards, such as the Rhodes Scholar Awards and other post-graduate distinctions.
Until his death in April 2006, Dr. Batchelder continued to sing the praises of a GVSU education and regularly corresponded with former students who, through meaningful shared experiences, became his friends.
Dr. Batchelder’s family is proud of his accomplishments at GVSU and the devotion to political science education that they represent, and is pleased to have instituted this political science scholarship in his name. We believe Dr. Batchelder would be happy, as well, to help pave the way for more students’ adventures in learning.
Some of you may have noticed a new face around AuSable Hall in recent months - Dr. Whitt Kilburn. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. To learn more about him, check out his profile. We are thrilled to welcome him to GVSU. He is offering a special topics course on Political Psychology in winter.
Dr. Kojo Quartey will be speaking to the International Relations Organization on October 31st. Dr. Quartey is the Dean of the Business School at Davenport University and will be speaking on the economic problems in Africa and potential solutions to these problems. The meeting will be at 7:00 in Kirkhof Rm. 142 on Wednesday, October 31st.
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