News & Announcements
Get the latest information on student opportunities, student and faculty accomplishments and general department news and announcements.
2009 Graduate School Workshop
Record Year for HSU Model United Nations
In its largest year yet, the HSU Department of Politics’ Model United Nations program sent 31 students to San Francisco to participate in a five-day intercollegiate simulation of the United Nations. Students participating in the program as part of Professor Noah Zerbe’s Model United Nations course collected five Meritorious Delegation Awards, which recognize outstanding academic preparation for and participation in the conference. The awards placed HSU among the top three performers at the conference for the third year running.
Humboldt State University’s Model UN program has grown to represent seven countries in just its third year of existence, making it one of the largest and most successful programs participating in the conference. During the simulation, students play the role of diplomats representing their respective countries in international negotiations. While participating in the simulation, HSU students debated a wide scope of contemporary international issues and United Nations policy with almost 600 students from schools across Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Russia, and the western United States. Topics on this year’s agenda included UN Cooperation in Humanitarian Disaster Relief, Reforming the Bretton Woods Institutions, Dismantling the Refuse of the Cold War, Preventing Genocide, and Protection of the Climate for Present and Future Generations.
Students participating in the Model UN program were: David Bording, Stephanie Dowdle, Rina Ferrario, and Virginia Otey (representing the Democratic Republic of the Congo); Dominic Efferson, Carly Hanssler, Morrissa Hudson, Terra Kopf, Dominic Lether, Rebecca Singleton, and Patrick Sullivan (representing Italy); Christopher Bennett, Andrew Bond, Ryan Hawley-Jones, and Ryan Sousa (representing Qatar); Jasmin Cookman, Lizz Fehr, and Dina Haigounian (representing Rwanda); Set Bradley, Jesse Donnelly, Vy Ortiz, and Lauren Perez (representing Sri Lanka); Sarah Daniels, Michael Lockary, Jon Mabee, and Annalise von Borstel (representing Sweden); Jeff Guiterrez, Rory Kalin, Claire Price, and Desiree Woods (representing Venezuela). The course will be offered again in the Spring 2010 semester.
For more information, contact Noah Zerbe at 707-826-3911 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Congratulations Graduates!
In your honor, the departments of Politics and History will be hosting a reception immediately after commencement on Saturday, May 16, 2009.
Your friends and family are invited to join faculty and staff in the courtyard of Founders Hall for conversation and refreshments.
Hope to see you there!
California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships
The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is pleased to
announce the California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships based in
Sacramento with applications being accepted beginning March 25th through May
29th, 2009.
The S&T Policy Fellowships, a unique one-year professional development
opportunity, provides the selected fellows with hands-on experience working
with the California legislative process to incorporate science and
technology into public policy. Eligible applicants will be PhD-level (or
equivalent) scientists, engineers, doctors, economists and others with
comparable level of training who have a strong interest in California
current events and the state legislative and political processes.
Please pass this announcement to any individuals or group list-serves that
may be interested in this new and exciting opportunity. Deadline for
submission of applications is May 29, 2009.
More information is available at http://www.fellows.ccst.us .
British Diplomat to speak on Pakistan, Friday, March 27th, 10-10:50, FH 125
Alexander Evans, a British diplomat based in Islamabad, Pakistan and Fellow at Oxford University, will be speaking on the current political situation in Pakistan, with emphasis on Pakistan’s Tribal Areas and Kashmir, this Friday, March 27th, 10-10:50, in FH 125.
Evans has also been a regular commentator for BBC World TV, CNN and Reuters, and has worked for the U.N. in Afghanistan. He has worked in Macedonia as a political advisor and for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He also spent two years as director of studies of a financial think-tank, the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, and began his career as a policy adviser at the Adam Smith Institute. He divides his time between Pakistan and Oxford.
David Kalb Award 2009
- David Kalb Award 2009 (pdf)
Project Vote Smart Internship Opportunity
Dear Political Science Department:
Project Vote Smart is a national, non-partisan, non-profit political research library located in the Montana Rockies. The Project was founded by former US Presidents Carter and Ford, as well as 40 other prominent national leaders of both major political parties and funded by the Carnegie and Ford Foundations. The New York Times said that “Project Vote Smart is so good that even the Federal Government recommends it.”
We are currently accepting applications for our National Internship Program. This year we are excited to announce our new online application system where students can now submit their applications completely electronically, expediting the review and acceptance process! To apply online or to get more information about Project Vote Smart, please visit http://www.votesmart.org. I hope you will look over our website and forward our information to any interested students. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks to the generous support of our members across the country, we are once again able to offer the Barry Goldwater scholarship to all accepted students. This scholarship provides room and board for the duration of the student’s 10 week internship at our headquarters, the Great Divide Ranch in Montana.
Through our internships, your students will have a unique opportunity to be involved with the political process, while enjoying one of the most spectacular places on earth. Our internship will give your students the chance to provide millions of people with factual, unbiased information, as well as the opportunity to stroll around pristine lakes and rivers, hike throughout the Rocky Mountains, or ski some of the best slopes in the country. During an internship with Project Vote Smart, students will work hard and learn a great deal, all in an environment defined by its beautiful scenery and the commitment of its staff and interns.
Our internships, as with all the other areas of the organization, focus on the end product: providing voters with pertinent, factual information on presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative candidates and elected officials. For students, this means a hands-on internship with significant opportunities for learning and growth. In fact, more than 90 percent of the information that Project Vote Smart provides is researched, entered, and checked by interns and volunteers. This system has been developed and cultivated specifically to ensure that interns are primarily responsible for the research; the few staff members are here simply to train and guide interns in what needs to be accomplished.
Please ask your students to consider this opportunity and contact me with any questions at 1-888-VOTESMART (1-888-868-3762) or via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I look forward to working together to provide your students with an unforgettable learning experience.
Sincerely,
Tallie Spiller
Project Vote Smart
Internship Coordinator
How Would You Like to Work in Washington, D.C.?
2009 Panetta Congressional Internship Program
Greenpeace Organizing Term Accepting Applications Now!
Students,
I am writing to let you know about an exciting opportunity: the Greenpeace Organizing Term ( http://www.greenpeace.org/got ). The GOT is an action-packed semester of travel and training.
Its a hands-on training program designed to give you the skills to be an environmental leader.
Youll learn about current environmental issues and solutions while being trained by experts in grassroots organizing, leadership, media, and campaign strategy.
Youll have the opportunity to travel during the Greenpeace Expedition, learn how to engage in peaceful direct action, and plan on work on real Greenpeace campaigns.
On top of all of that, many students are able to receive class credit for the semester.
TRAINING * ACTION * TRAVEL
Spend a Semester with Greenpeace
http://www.greenpeace.org/got
Apply today! Spaces in the summer and fall classes are filling up quickly, and early applications are due February 2nd.
Apply at http://www.greenpeace.org/got .
The semester is offered in the Washington D.C. and San Francisco Greenpeace offices.
If you have any questions about the program, contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (877)450-3517 ×320.
For a green and peaceful future,
Linda Capato
Greenpeace USA
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.greenpeace.org/got .
Arcata Junior Wins HSU Essay Award
Arcata – Arcata High School junior Lilian Medford has won the inaugural Humboldt County High School Constitution Day Essay Competition, initiated by Humboldt State University’s Department of Politics and providing Medford with $221 from the Humboldt Loyalty Fund to commemorate the 221st anniversary of the signing of the nation’s most fundamental law on Constitution Day last September 17.
HSU Professor John Meyer, chair of the Department of Politics, presents the essay award to Lilian Medford in her Arcata High classroom.
The contest invited students from schools across the county to write an original, three-to-five page composition on how the Constitution confers and limits presidential power, and what the implications are for the presidency in the 21st century. Judges recognized Medford’s essay for “substantial breadth and depth, effective organization and clear writing. She successfully tied her historical understanding of the Constitution to contemporary political realities and concerns,” the judges held.
Medford is a student in Jennifer Rosebrook’s AP U.S. History class at Arcata High.
The competition was co-sponsored by HSU’s Department of History, with support from University Advancement through the Humboldt Loyalty Fund and the cooperation of the Humboldt County Office of Education, which provided $500 in materials to Rosebrook. Four students in her class competed. The contest was organized by HSU Professor Emeritus JeDon Emenhiser.
Capital Fellows Programs
The application postmark deadline for ALL 2009-2010 Fellowships is February 25, 2009.
Applications and brochures for the 2009-2010 Fellowships are now available.
The Center administers the following fellowships:
Jesse M. Unruh Assembly Fellowship
Executive Fellowship
Judicial Administration Fellowship
California Senate Fellows
These programs, known collectively as the Capital Fellows Programs, are nationally recognized. The 18 Assembly Fellows, 18 Senate Fellows, 18 Executive Fellows and 10 Judicial Administration Fellows receive an outstanding opportunity to engage in public service and prepare for future careers, while actively contributing to the development and implementation of public policy in California. The ranks of former fellows and associates include a Justice of the California Supreme Court, members of the United States Congress and the State Legislature, a deputy director of the Peace Corps, corporate executives, and local government and community leaders.
http://www.csus.edu/calst/Programs/about_programs.html
PPIC’s Richard J. Riordan Summer Intern Program
The Richard J. Riordan Summer Intern Program provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students interested in a public policy career to work in a policy research environment. Intern projects are proposed by PPIC researchers and designed around a specific set of tasks and deliverables that can be accomplished within the term of the internship.
We have several summer internship opportunities available, as detailed in the descriptions on our website at http://www.ppic.org/main/position.asp?i=1201. The application deadline for summer internships is March 13, 2009.
Baker On Research Team For Conservation Grant
Arcata – A team of Humboldt State University faculty and graduate students has won a $620,000 federal grant to develop water management solutions in the face of soaring population growth and rapid changes in water and land use in the rural West.
Professor Rob Van Kirk and graduate student Kimberly Peterson. Photo: Yoon Kim, HSU Department of Mathematics
Field work for the three-year project, which starts in January, will be situated in the upper Snake River basin in Idaho and Wyoming at the Henry’s Fork (North Fork) watershed, considered by fly fishermen to be one of the premier trout fishing streams worldwide. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Humboldt State Sponsored Programs Foundation.
The Humboldt State team will be led by alum Rob Van Kirk, (‘84), Associate Professor of Mathematics and a specialist in applying math and statistics to natural resource problems, including hydrologic modeling and data analysis. His past research of water flows centered on the lower Klamath basin, along the Scott River tributary in Siskiyou County.
“I anticipate that this Snake River work will provide thesis projects and experience for many HSU students far into the future,” Van Kirk said.
The faculty team comprises Brad Finney, Professor of Environmental Resources Engineering and an expert in surface and ground water hydrology and water resource management; Yvonne Everett, Associate Professor of Natural Resources Planning, who specializes in community-based management; Steve Steinberg, Associate Professor of GIS/Remote Sensing, who conducts spatial analysis and GIS applications in the social sciences; and J. Mark Baker, Assistant Professor of Politics, an expert in socioeconomics and community-based natural resource management.
HSU graduate students Brian Apple, Lora Liegel and Kimberly Peterson will work on hydrologic models and sociological methods to bolster water conservation and management.
The project team also includes three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Henry’s Fork watershed: the Fremont-Madison Irrigation District, the Henry’s Fork Foundation and Friends of the Teton River.
“The inclusion of the NGOs is crucial to the success of this project because the research and extension objectives are built around meeting the needs of the watershed stakeholders,” Van Kirk underscored.
Scientists and students will develop quantitative models of ground and surface water flows and identify physical, economic and regulatory mechanisms to foster conservation and efficient water management on developed land. Based on this research, they will provide planners, decision makers and stakeholders with findings about the watershed’s hydrologic system and alternative conservation strategies.
In 2011, the HSU and NGO team will help the Henry’s Fork Watershed Council to develop a water conservation and management strategy aimed at two main objectives: making more water available for agriculture while enhancing ecological health in the watershed’s key stream reaches.
Van Kirk’s family moved to Arcata in 1969 and his father Bob had a 21-year career as a professor in fisheries and natural resources at HSU. The son returned to the Redwood Coast in 2006 under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant to investigate the relative effects of climate and water use patterns on base flows in the lower Klamath basin.
“What I discovered in that work is that although the effects of climate change are more apparent in northern California than in the interior West, the same types of changes in irrigation practices are resulting in the same types of hydrologic responses in the Klamath basin,” said Van Kirk, who was a math lecturer at Humboldt State in 1990-1991 and again in 1998. He returned to the Arcata campus in the spring of 2008 to teach statistics and biometry in the Mathematics Department. He also supervises master’s students in the Environmental Systems graduate program.
Van Kirk’s long experience with collaborative research and management in the Henry’s Fork watershed “made it the ideal location for the Department of Agriculture project,” he said. “My Klamath research convinced me that it would be of great interest to water managers and watershed stakeholders throughout the West to investigate the relationships among water use, land use, sociological factors and hydrologic response.”
Van Kirk previously collaborated with the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute under a sabbatical funded by the National Science Foundation and was named the 2008 R.L. Wallace Native Fish Conservationist of the Year by the Idaho chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
Kick-off meetings to acquaint the public with the Snake River project are scheduled Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. at the Cotton Tree Conference Room in Rexburg, Idaho, and on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 at 5:30 p.m., at the Driggs Community Center in Driggs, Idaho. Details for the Jan. 13 meeting are available at (208) 624-3381 and for Jan. 14 at (208) 354-3871.
Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs
Dear Friend,
As you may know, the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is an intensive nine-month, full-time post-graduate fellowship that introduces diverse young individuals to all aspects of the public affairs community. The program provides Fellows the opportunity to work closely with individuals and institutions that influence public life from a variety of sectors in the public domain. The main components of the Fellows Program are field assignments, seminars, group and individual projects, and focus weeks as described in our brochure.
Coro is looking for outstanding leaders to apply for the 2009-10 Fellows Program class. We seek motivated candidates from all disciplines and careers. Our most qualified candidates are confident, energetic and open-minded. 68 Fellows are chosen annually to participate in one of our five center locations: Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco or St. Louis. The deadline for applications is January 23, 2009.
In our effort to connect with qualified and diverse candidates, we kindly request your partnership in reaching out to accomplished individuals who have demonstrated a distinct aptitude for leadership and commitment to public affairs. Feel free to circulate the summary below to students and other prospective applicants. We would also encourage you to pass it on to departmental listservs and class lists, as well as any active student or alumni organizations with related interests.
Thank you in advance for making this opportunity available to others. In addition, if you know any particularly qualified candidates, please send us their contact information or send them directly to our online pre-application form. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at the information listed below.
Thank you,
Katie Koski
Outreach and Communication Manager
Coro Center for Civic Leadership
601 Montgomery Street, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 415.986.0521 ×103
fax: 415.986.5522
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.coro.org/sf
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is a nine-month, full-time graduate-level program that introduces participants to all aspects of public affairs. The Program combines experiential learning, close interaction with key decision-makers in the civic community, and development in analytical, group governance, and communication skills. Coro’s methodology is based on the idea that experiential learning is immediate and lasting.
The Fellows Program is founded on Coro’s unique curriculum of core leadership skills, paired with real-world experiences that rely on the city as the classroom. Unconventional by traditional academic standards, the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs is rigorous and demanding. Fellows learn to:
• recognize the competing agendas at play in decision-making and learn to build consensus among multiple interests
• listen to and communicate with members of diverse ethnic and racial communities and economic sectors
• analyze individuals, organizations and communities in terms of their resources, constituencies and goals
• understand the subtleties of group process and how to maximize results in group decision-making
Cited by Princeton Review as one of the top ten fellowships in the country, the Fellows Program familiarizes diverse young individuals to all facets of the public affairs arena through field assignments, weekly seminars, group and individual projects, and focus weeks:
FIELD PLACEMENTS
Each Fellow works in a series of individually tailored assignments with a government agency, labor organization, political campaign, business, nonprofit organization, and an independent placement. Fellows learn how organizations are structured, how they function and how they fit into the political, social and economic fabric of a community.
SEMINARS
Skill-based seminars may delve into negotiation, facilitation, consensus building, public speaking or project management. Fellows are also introduced to a variety of tools that will help them think more clearly and effectively, free of assumption and pre-judgment.
INTERVIEWS
Fellows have the opportunity to conduct interviews with prominent leaders in the various public affairs sectors. These interviews take place behind closed doors with the intention of gaining a better understanding of the public affairs arena. This confidence allows the interviewee to speak more freely and give the Fellows a more accurate portrayal of what is really going on.
FOCUS WEEKS
Focus weeks allow Fellows to explore a variety of civic issues and their role in our democratic system through interviews with individuals of different–and often conflicting–viewpoints, site visits, assignments and interaction with practitioners in the field. Fellows may explore such topics as state and federal government, agriculture, public finance, media, international affairs and education.
APPLYING TO THE FELLOWS PROGRAM
Coro seeks bright, self-motivated individuals with a demonstrated commitment to ethical, effective leadership and civic engagement. A bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required and post-graduate academic study or work experience may be helpful. Fellows come from all academic disciplines, careers, and racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. Click HERE to learn more about the program in San Francisco and HERE to read our brochure.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE JANUARY 23rd, 2009
Candidates must apply through one of the five Coro Centers closest to the state in which they are residing at the time of application. On the Fellows application, candidates will be asked to indicate which center placement(s) they would accept.
Based on a review of applications, written essays, and letters of recommendation, Coro will invite finalists to attend Selection Day, a daylong assessment in March. Candidates will be notified of their selection in the spring and 68 Fellows will be placed in one of five Coro Centers in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, or St. Louis.
For more program information, the full application, and financial aid information, please visit ww.coro.org/sf.
Katie D. Koski
Outreach and Communications Manager
Coro Center for Civic Leadership
601 Montgomery Street/Suite 800/San Francisco, CA 94111
phone: 415.986.0521 ×103/fax:415.986.5522
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / http://www.coro.org/sf
Developing the leaders we need to meet the challenges we face
PSCI 340: Ethnicity and Nationalism Course
Why was it so important for Barack Obama to wear a flag lapel pin? Why are Muslim school girls banned from wearing scarves in France? What does it mean to be American, or French, or Iraqi or Indian? How do we—and others—imagine ourselves as a national community? How is globalization changing our sense of both national and ethnic identity? Thrash out the history and emotions, the logic and the illogic, of nationalism and ethnicity through discussion and debate in this seminar-type course.
Read the National Ethnicity flyer (pdf)
PSCI 340-CRN 23691
TR 1400-1520
FH 177
Dr. Emenhiser To Retire
Professor JeDon (“Jae”) Emenhiser will retire at the end of this fall semester, following a distinguished 50 year career in higher education. He came to Humboldt in 1977 to serve as dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and later returned to teaching and scholarship in political science. Emenhiser’s expertise is in the U.S. political system, focusing on democratic theory, public opinion, elections, legislative behavior, constitutional law, and quantitative analysis.
Before coming to Humboldt, he taught at Utah State University, the University of Redlands, and Colgate University. As a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Saigon (Vietnam), University of Ireland, and L’Université de Mons-Hainaut (Belgium). He has also been a visiting scholar at the Congressional Research Office. A reception is planned for December 12.
Baker, Zerbe Speak at International Symposiums
Assistant Professors Mark Baker and Noah Zerbe, both recognized experts in their fields, were each sought out to present their research at international academic symposiums over the past month.
In November, Baker headed to Japan to the Afrasian Centre for Peace and Development Studies at Ryukoku University, Kyoto, for a symposium on “The Question of Poverty and Development in Conflict and Conflict Resolution.” Scholars from three continents explored the linkages between development, poverty, conflict and its resolution in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. Baker’s paper was titled “Conflict or Collaboration? Understanding State-Community Relationships in Community-Based Resource Management: Lessons from Local Irrigation and Forest Management in the Western Himalaya.”
In early December, Zerbe was invited by the Center for International Governance Innovation at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada to participate in a two-day workshop exploring “International Governance Responses to the Food Crisis.” His paper addresses the intersection of agricultural biotechnology, global food governance, and the food crisis.
Political Science Majors Meeting
Monday, October 27 the Department of Politics will host a political science majors meeting in Founders Hall room 125 at 5 PM. Find out about the Spring 2009 schedule and hear about internships and other opportunities.
Download Flyer for Details (pdf)
Sacramento Semester Program Deadline: November 7th
The Sacramento Semester program is currently accepting applications for Spring 2009. Gain invaluable hands-on experience while earning course credit. $4000 scholarships are available. Application deadline is Friday, November 7th in the Department of Politics office (FH 180). Application form and more information available here: http://www.csus.edu/govt/pages/sacsemester.htm
Fifth Annual Victor T. Schaub Memorial Lecture on Local Politics
The Department of Politics presents the Fifth Annual Victor T. Schaub Memorial Lecture on Local Politics. Watch Peter Lavallee and Harmony Groves debate local politics November 6, 2008 from 7-9 PM in the BSS Forum (BSS 162).
Download Flier (pdf) for more details
HSU Model United Nations Recognized Again!
The HSU Department of Government and Politics’ Model United Nations program was recognized for its outstanding performance at the Model United Nations of the Far West Conference, held April 18-22, 2008, in San Francisco. Students participating in the program as part of Professor Noah Zerbe’s Model United Nations course collected four Meritorious Delegation Awards, which recognize outstanding academic preparation for and participation in the conference. HSU International Studies major Jonathan Linton was also selected as Rappateur, or best delegate, in the economic and financial committee. The awards placed HSU among the top three performers at the conference for the second year running.
Humboldt State’s Model UN program has grown to represent five countries in just its second year of existence, making it one of the largest programs participating in the conference. In the five day conference this year, Humboldt State students represented Canada, Jordan, Italy, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. At the conference, students debated contemporary international issues and United Nations policy with more than 40 schools and 500 delegates from the Western United Sates, Canada, the Philippines, and Russia.
Students participating in the Model UN program were: Ryan Walsh, Jonathan Linton, Sarah Daniels, and Nicole Quinn (representing Canada); Andrew Bond, Norma Clements, Jesus Solis,
Michael Lockary, and Desiree Woods (representing Italy); Willie Shubert, Kienan Parr, Carly Hanssler, and Jack States (representing Jordan); David Bording, Andrew Bevington, Alan Chesbro, Richard Caccamo, and Jessica Martella (representing Nicaragua); and Cara Brannon, Jessica Ponsano, Carol Hurley, Adam Wolter, and Kaitlin Borstelmann (representing Tanzania). The course will be offered again in the Spring 2009 semester.
For more information, please contact Noah Zerbe at 707-826-3911 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).