By Doran Hunter
This has been a very busy year for the political science side of the department (see the article for Law Enforcement Program news). Students and faculty have been favored with visiting dignitaries, student organizations have been very active, some of our graduating students are continuing their education at major graduate and professional schools, and there has been significant program development in the department. In September 2000, we hosted his Excellency Damodar Gautum, the distinguished Ambassador to the United States from the Kingdom of Napal. Ambassador Gautam visited classes, conducted a special faculty seminar, and gave a public lecture. He addressed on subjects ranging from the economic conditions of South Asian Countries and the politics of negotiation treaties of to the politics of constitutional government in an area of the world beset by ethnic conflict and religious factionalism. Everyone was impressed with the Ambassador's professional competence and gentle, religiously motivated demeanor. In April 2001, the department was given the opportunity to enjoy the wisdom and political insights of His Excellency Andre Erdos, the distinguished Ambassador to the United Nations from the Republic of Hungary. The Ambassador led a spirited discussion with selected faculty members on the subject of the break up of the Soviet Union and attendant consequences for Eastern European countries. The International Student Organization sponsored and Dean Susan Coultrap-McQuin treated the faculty and the Ambassador to a scrumptious luncheon that was accompanied with delightful conversation and bonhomie. In the afternoon the Ambassador gave a public lecture on the importance of the United Nations to securing peace and economic justice in the 21st Century world. Faculty and students were impressed with the depth and breadth of the Ambassador's knowledge and political acumen. (For additional information on the visit of Ambassador Erdos, please see the article by Tom Inglot.) We have six student clubs and societies sponsored by out department. Space permits me to write only about one of these excellent student groups. The Prelaw Society had superb student leadership this year and many events were conducted. Some of these events centered on campus visits by professionals important to the pre-law student; we hosted admissions officers from the three schools of law in Minnesota and a lecture by and discussion with Justice James Gilbert of the Minnesota State Supreme Court. One of the important events this year was a field trip to the School of Law of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Many other trips and on-campus events were conducted by these student leaders. Our students were again successful in being admitted to law schools - California Western University, University of Minnesota, University of Colorado, Washington University, etc.etc. We are very pleased that some of out graduate students have been admitted into major Ph.D. programs in political science, with substantial financial awards - (James Anderson, University of Nebraska, University of Kansas, etc., and Andy Thangasamy, University of Kansas, University of Colorado, etc. ) Our MAPA students continue to receive impressive internships and job offers in the public sector. This year our criminal justice honor society and the political science honor society sent students to national conventions and other professional events. Programmatically, our curriculum continues to evolve with new courses being added and old courses being dropped. Our community outreach has expanded with faculty engaged in important community service - especially the Public Achievement program ably led by Joe Kunkel. Our undergraduate majors continue to hold key offices in student government and our faculty members engage in scholarship by presenting papers at academic conventions and publishing in professional journals. We look forward to hearing from you and wish our students and alumni the very best.
By Abdalla M. Battah
Greetings! I hope this issue finds you and your loved ones blessed with good health and happiness. This is my fifth year as editor of the Transitions. It has been a pleasure for me to bring you news and information that in some ways help you keep in touch with your alma mater. The "Alums Update" has been an important vehicle in many respects, not least of which for making new friendships or renewing old ones. It has also helped us learn of the great success our alums are achieving in the real world. So we sincerely thank all of you who wrote to us. We'd like to hear from many more of you. A simple electronic message addressed to me would do. For next year's issue, I would like to try a new column that features a distinguished alum. This will be more extensive than could be allowed under the "Alums Update" format. I therefore ask for your suggestions and nominations (of self or others) for this feature. I can be reached at abattah@mnsu.edu . If you prefer the telephone, my number is 507 - 389 - 2721.
Have an enjoyable summer and see you all next year.
By William Lewinski
The Law Enforcement Program has had another year of successes and challenges. We are continuing out almost 30 year tradition of having a very successful pass rate on the POST exam. We also have performed an internal assessment. The analysis showed that ninety-eight percent of those surveyed expressed very satisfactory approval of the content of our program. This is very gratifying considering the new courses we are offering and the expanded laboratory component in some of out classes. Thanks to Hibbing's cooperation, we are continuing to offer the Skills portion of the curriculum on our campus and we expect to continue to do this. On the European Front - Tami Wilkins and John Parham led a study group of undergraduate and graduate students on a comparative study of the criminal justice systems in England and Iceland. The study experience went well and hopes are high to repeat the trip in two years. One of the participants noted: "Iceland in January is for the Penguins." Perhaps their next January study trip will include Bermuda and Jamaica. Opportunity also abounds for us on the web. Dr. Parham has just applied for a $200,000 grant to allow current officers with a two-year degree to complete a four year degree, primarily by working on the web, with personal contact with faculty and fellow learners scheduled individually and at various locations around the state for each course. It will also permit those with a four-year degree to take specific courses and complete a certificate in Law Enforcement Management. We are saddened to announce the resignation of Dr. Richard Seklecki from our staff. He was on here for two years, but definitely made a significant contribution to our program and our students in that brief time span. What is most embarrassing about this announcement is that he is leaving us to go to Minot State in North Dakota where he has a lighter teaching load and a higher salary. Seriously, he left so that he could teach in a program that has more of a Criminal Justice orientation. We wish him well. On a positive side, the applicants for his position are just as excellent and though none of them will be a "Dr. Rick" we are excited about the talent and experiences the applicants bring to this position.
By Susan Coultrap-McQuin, Dean College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Greetings from the Dean! How quickly another year has passed. The 2000-2001 academic year was highly successful one for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and for the Department of Political Science/ Law Enforcement. I will mention just a couple of ways in which we have worked this year to enhance learning opportunities for out students. With the help of several faculty members from this department, the college established a Center for Applied Social Science, whose mission is to promote applied learning and research in service to external communities. Doran Hunter, Tami Wilkins, Tom Inglot, Fred Slocum, Jacki Vieceli, Carl Ekstrom, and Mark Robbins all contributed their ideas to the center development. Already a number of faculty and student research teams have completed projects for local communities and the university, including a survey by Fred Slocum and his undergraduate students of our advising efforts in the college. We expect to see many "learn by doing" projects in the years ahead. We have also been expanding opportunities in the college to prepare students for their global futures. John Parham and Tami Wilkins, for example, took 28 Law Enforcement and Political Science students to England and Iceland between semesters this year to learn about criminal justice and political systems in those countries. Abdalla Battah continues to sponsor and active U.N. club. Various department members campus this year: one from Nepal in the fall and one from Hungary in the spring. Those visitors gave students some personal exposure to the world beyond southern Minnesota. It was a pleasure to recognize the achievements of faculty and students from this department this year. John Parham received a college Advisor Recognition Award, based on good teaching on our college Highlights of Teaching bulletin board and website. And Sara Sunde, Courtney Powell,, and Sandy Hultgren were nominated for Who's Who Among College and University Students. These are just a few of the many accomplishments of the department that could be mentioned this year. Our continued success would not be possible without the loyalty, support, and inspiration of alumni like you. Thank you for your contributions to us and your efforts on our behalf. Best wishes for a wonderful summer.
Jackie Vieceli
This year, I have served on the PS/LE Personnel Committee and on the CSBS Teaching and learning Committee. I participated actively in organizing the Kessel Institute's Pathways to Peace Annual Conference on April 11, 2001, and served as facilitator for the discussion of international conflicts. I am also serving as the chairperson of the International Student Office Academic Advisory Committee. I am a member of the Honors Advisory Council, and have also been involved as time permits with the group that is working to design and interdisciplinary course in "big history". My collaboration continues with Hamed Sallam, and I have expanded my part of the investigation to Confucian thought. On April 22, I presented a paper entitled "Challenging the 'Clash of Civilizations': Convergence Points of Christian, Islamic and Confucian Teachings on War and Peace" at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association at the Palmer House in Chicago.
Graduate students in the Master of Arts in Public Administration Program engage in a variety of experiences leading to learning about practice in the field. Many engage in internships or conduct individual field research as part of their Alternative Paper Project. During this academic year, students have had several additional unique experiential learning exposures. During the Fall 2000 semester, graduate students in the "Budgeting and Financial Management" course spent part of their time as the mayor, budget director, city council member, or departmental commissioner and staff for the hypothetical City of Metroburg. Led by Mayor Sylvia Oelberg and Budget Director Janice Koppenhaver the students professionally prepared and politically debated a municipal budget. The product of their effort can be seen on the Metoburg website ( http://members.aol.com/metroburg/ ) In the Spring 2001 course on " Collective Bargaining", graduate students in the class at St. Louis Park High School were able to earn directly from five important people in labor relations and community dispute resolution in Minnesota. The series of separate nights of interaction with key persons began with lance Teachworth, Commission of the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services. Commissioner Teachworth shared with students not only a description of the activities of his agency but also his more than thirty years of experience in labor relations and public personnel. Donald Wodek, Deputy Commission of the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations was the second guest. Mr. Wodek serves as the Chief Negotiator for the State of Minnesota in negotiating the 18 contracts covering state government employees. Mr. Wodek was able to share some insights from the beginning of the current round of negotiations with special attention to the pressures and politics involved. Gary Reed, Business manager for Local 132, construction and General Laborers, was the third guest. Mr. Reed's union represents more than 3,000 workers in Minnesota, many in the public sector. he was able to provide students with a clear perspective of the union position. Barbara Blackstone, Director of Minnesota Alternative Dispute Resolution and a national leader in alternative dispute resolution was the fourth guest. She provided important insights to the mediation process and its growing use in the public sector. The series concluded with Scott Beckenbaugh, Regional Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. His region covers parts of nine states in the upper mid-west and provides a range of mediation and training services to public and private sector organizational units. Mr. Beckenbaugh is also a nationally recognized mediator, having been instrumental in mediations in a number of broadly known disputes including the Boundary Waters Dispute in northern Minnesota. In the "Public Policy Analysis" course during the Spring 2001 session, graduate students worked in teams to analyze and report findings in a number of community issues throughout southern Minnesota. A local governmental official suggested each of the problems and the students assigned gave presentations of findings and issued a final written report. The first study, Water Resource Planning in the Minnesota River Basin, involved the development of background to a study of overlapping jurisdictions in the are of water resource planning and implementing in the selected parts of the Minnesota River Basin. Three graduate students in Environmental Science (Jerry Hermann - team leader, Carl Berg, and Kevin Mott) provided final reports to Robert Finley (MAPA graduate), Executive Director, Water Resources Center. The second project was the City of Springfield Community Center. This project was an analysis of the current utilization of the community center and the development of options for future use and MAPA graduate students (Trish Reedstrom - team leader. Sylvia Oelberg, Erin Wilson, and Tami Jackson) reported their findings to Garrison Hale, Springfield City manager. The third project, Brown County Fairgrounds - was an analysis of the current utilization and needs of the Brown County Fairgrounds in New Ulm. MAPA graduate students (Hans Holland - team leader, Matthew Osmundson, Leslie Peterson, and Teresa Christenson) reported their to Chuck Enter, Brown County Administrator. Finally, John Mulcahy, Administrative Analyst for Scott County and MAPA graduate provided the Scott County Impact Analysis. This project was a multi-faceted background study to determine the possible impact on Scott County operations by the existence of the Mystic Lake Casino in the county. The student team of MAPA graduate students consisted of Paul Kiltinen - team leader, Joyner, and James Kuhlmann. The PA/URSI Graduate Student Association held its final meeting of the academic year on April 12 and focused discussion of E - Government. Graduate student Chandler Benn provided a short overview presentation of the concepts of E-Government. This was followed with a lively discussion of E-Government developments by the City of Mankato, an award winning web site (www.ci.mankato.mn.us), led by Shelly Schulz, Public Information Officer for the City of Mankato.
Editor's Note: Dr. Ekstrom completed a fixed-term appointment at MSU and will be leaving MSU for a position in Public Administration at eh University of Nebraska at Omaha. "I am looking forward to focusing more consistently on Budgeting and Financial Management as well as Political Economy in the fall," he noted. Dr. Ekstrom will be in Mankato through the end of July, as he is teaching "Introduction to Public Administration" and "Performance Measurement" during the second summer session. We wish him the best of luck.
I have experienced a busy and productive year. In addition to the usual teaching and advising responsibilities, I continue to work towards completion of my dissertation. I have also been serving as a member or the Interdisciplinary Violence Education Program, the Women's Studies Program Committee, the Ethnic Studies Program Committee, and as faculty advisor for Alpha Phi Sigma, the National Criminal Justice Honor Society. In that organization, we currently have a roster of approximately 25 students, including three from Corrections. We added numerous new members this year and seem to have a group of hard working, dedicated students. One of our members traveled to Washington, DC in early April to represent the organization at the national meeting. In February, I accompanied eleven members to Rush City to tour the newest Minnesota State Prison. It was an enlightening and fun trip for all. Alpha Phi Sigma members also participated in civic events such as the Multiple Sclerosis Walk for Life and the Salvation Army clothing drive this past spring. Last fall, the organization performed community service by raking leaves for VINE (an organization that helps elderly and low-income people) and several members worked at Civic Center events as a way to raise funds for the organization. Fortunately, this group wants to have an active and vital organization that contributes to the community It is my pleasure to serve as their advisor and I appreciate my colleagues for placing me in this fulfilling position. I love my job!!!
Tom Inglot has had an interesting and rewarding year of teaching an scholarly pursuits. he has taught two new courses this year: Europe: Politics and Policy and Capitalism, Nationalism, Democracy. These new courses gave Tom an opportunity to introduce the most recent theoretical debates in comparative politics into his undergraduate and graduate instruction. He has recently completed a chapter to a joint book project on Leninist Legacies and Postcommunist Transitions, edited bye Grzegorz Ekiert (Harvard University) and Stephen Hansen ( University of Washington). This volume will present a new theoretical perspective on the comparative study of democratic transitions in the post-Soviet world. Tom's next book project involves a comparative study of welfare state development in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. He plans another research trip to Europe this summer to find new material for the book. This year he was also awarded the Douglas R. Moore Faculty Research Lectureship for 2002. In April of next year, he will present a university lecture on the Political and Socioeconomic Challenges of European Enlargement to the East. In early May, Tom expects the final decision from the President on the recommendation for tenure and promotion to Associate professor. he is also looking forward to entertaining visiting relatives from Poland and will try to convince them that we have a summer here after all.
This, my third year, has been full of exciting opportunities and challenges, personally and professionally. On the professional side, I attended three academic conferences in 2000-2001: the International Society for Political Psychology in Seattle (July 2000), the Southern Political Science Association in Atlanta (November 2000) and the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago (April 2001). At each of them, I connected and reconnected with colleagues, explored textbook and course options and savored the niceties of urban life. In all, I presented two papers, served as a discussant on two panels and chaired one panel. I have submitted an article on response times and experimental surveys on race and politics to the journal Politics and Policy (formerly the Southeastern Political Review). In addition, I have a chapter, "Divided We Vote: Understanding Racial Differences in Turnout and Voting, " which will be published in American Politics in Action (2001, forthcoming, McGraw-Hill). On campus, I participated in the Campus-Community Dialogue on race relations in October, served on the Kessel Lecture Committee, and the Ethnic Studies program committee. I continue to develop new courses for permanent placement in our curriculum, including Public Opinion and Polling Methods, Political Psychology, and Racial and Ethnic Politics (now cross-listed as an Ethnic Studies course). In the fall, I directed the Advising U. Survey for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (CSBS), and my public opinion class and I conducted sampling and interviews for this project. Another survey for CSBS is planned next fall. I attended two workshops on assessment, and continue to learn more about curricular and program assessment in my role as assessment "guru" for the Political Science program. On the personal front, our first child, Andrew Frederick Slocum, was born on June 1, 2000. He recovered quickly from surgery to correct malformed bones in his skull, and is now an exceptionally good-natured child, having mastered crawling and standing up with assistance. I continue my involvement with Musicorum, and Mankato-based chamber choir that specializes in Renaissance and Baroque a cappella music. Rachel and I hope this newsletter finds you well, and wish you a happy yeah ahead.
Coming back after a sabbatical semester was eased by a good new group of graduate students and lively undergraduate majors. I had hoped to accomplish far more than time allowed. I presented a paper entitled "Information Technology and Rural Elderly: Policy Issues for American States" at the American Political Science Association meeting in Washington, DC last August. A version of that topic emphasizing the devolution aspects has been tentatively accepted by Social Policy and Aging. This summer I intend to revise the project web site (http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~cbury/web/Research/index.html ) and hopefully stimulate more dialog on the issue. I am always on the lookout for innovative projects in other states and welcome your insights and experiences. I continue to be involved in other professional activities writing book reviews, refereeing articles for journals, reviewing manuscripts for publishers, serving as an outside reviewer at another institution, and , of course, the ever-present committee work at MSU. I experienced this year with putting more of my courses on-line. I'm getting a better idea of what works and what doesn't. For some students, courses entirely on-line are a real benefit; for many, however, the physical classroom still has a place. On the personal front, I've been reminded how hard it really is to fight city hall, at least in Mankato. Scott and I have enjoyed becoming more acquainted with Minneapolis. And, at least as I write this, both the Twins and the Cubs provide an enjoyable diversion.
For a professor interested in Elections this was a most extraordinary year. Our fall Campaigns and Elections class was most interesting. We only offer this course during the election years and we always follow the current election closely. There is a problem every other year in that the election itself happens in early November but the course continues through December. Often the last few weeks seem somewhat anticlimactic. Not this year! We thoroughly enjoyed "the election that would not end." All those lectures I've given on the problems of our electoral system now need to be updated. no longer is 1888 the only clear case where the popular vote winner lost in the electoral college! I used to predict that if this were ever to happen again, a direct popular vote constitutional amendment would likely be passed. This obviously is not going to happen, not only because it is so difficult to amend the constitution, but also because the electoral college/popular vote issue was overshadowed by the Florida fiasco. As usual I spoke on elections to a variety of community groups, including the MSU For Seniors and the Catholic Newman Center. I was interviewed several times by local and statewide media. Once again I provided election night commentary on KTOE radio with David Cowan. Before I left the house to go to the radio station I told my son, "whoever wins Florida will win." (Honest!) We left the radio station thinking that Bush had won, and of course it took a few weeks before that actually happened. I have my own opinions about the outcome, which many of you might easily guess. In early January, I was invited to testify before the Minnesota House Committee on Redistricting. I spoke on the redistricting process and its legal and political complexity. After staging so many mock committee hearings in Legislative Process, to be part of the real thing was exciting. Speaking of Legislative Process, in our simulation this year we focused on President Bush's tax cut proposals. For the first time the real House of Representatives completed its work before we did in the simulation. I completed two writing projects this year. I revised Minnesota: The State and Its Government. This eighty-seven-page booklet gives basic information on local and state governments Legion distributes it every year to the 500 high school juniors who participate in Minnesota Boys State. It is also used in some Minnesota high schools. I still speak to Boys State every June on the topic of "Political Involvement." The second writing project was a chapter for a book, Teaching Together: School/University Collaboration to Improve Social Studies Education, to be published soon by the National Council for Social Studies. Our chapter is entitled "Public Achievement: Collaboration, Action, and Civic Education." My co-authors were Clark Johnson, our social studies coordinator and two middle school teachers, Jason Miller and Heather Bakke. The subject of that chapter, Public Achievement, is still running strong at Dakota Meadows Middle School. This year we had twenty-eight MSU students in my Citizenship class, working as Public Achievement coaches with 150 seventh and eighth graders. MSU students served as coaches for small civic action teams of middle school students. The teams had some notable accomplishments addressing issues such as teen suicide and depression, teen pregnancy, and pet protection. Among other things, the groups started a school store and school newspaper, worked with the YMCA to start a girls football program, raised funds for Head Start, visited nursing homes, held a food drive for the ECHO food shelf, dealt with the issue of movie prices, improved the Mankato Skate Park, presented a proposal to the North Mankato City staff for a mini-skate park, and tried to get fireworks legalized in Minnesota. Finally, I am organizing a study tour to northern Italy in March of 2002. Students will register for my spring semester course on the City Republics of Italy. Over spring break we will tour Florence and Venice. Professor Suzanne Bunkers of the English Department and Honors Program is also leading the trip. We will have one class studying political thought and history and the other literature and art. For the trip we will become one learning community. This is a very exciting trip and many students are already planning to join us. You can learn more about both Public Achievement and the Italy trip by checking out my website at http://krypton.mnsu.edu/~jak3.
What a fast-paced year it has been! All in all, it has also been productive and enjoyable. On the teaching front, one of the most time-consuming projects I have undertaken was to begin the process of converting my World Politics from a conventional into a web-based format. In spite of the good progress attained, much remains to be done yet. In some respects, three will be no end product as such, as this will be continuing effort in the coming semesters. the rewards are in the process, but they are not confined to the obvious benefits to the students. In fact, I am gaining just as much from doing this, particularly in efficiency of communication and organization of material. I have also gained appreciation of some of the technologies available. In the fall, I used both Academic.com and Blackboard.com, respectively for Active Content and course management. Academic.com is based on the wonderful idea of Active Content, but we discovered that it is still greatly underdeveloped for the Social Science, so I abandoned it in the spring semester. Experimenting with such tools is part of the process, as many of such tools are not fully tested and many of us are charting virgin waters, so to speak, in terms of our skills. Sure it takes much time and energy, but the effort is worth it. My page and course links are at http://www.intech.mnsu.edu/battah/ . I have continued my work with students planning to take the Foreign Service Exam. I have also continued as advisor for the IR/UN Club, and, as I have done since 1994, coached students for the Arrowhead Model United Nations. In all, four of our students participated (see separate piece on this below)- thanks to the moral and financial support of both our department and college. Over the years, this has consistently been a highly valued experience for the students. I continued my service on the Personnel Committee of the department, and finished a 2-year term as Chair of the university Faculty Development Committee. In terms of scholarship, I have continued my research on Arab-Israel conflict/peacemaking. In February, I presented at the annual convention of the International Studies Association a paper entitled "Drawbacks of an effective mediation strategy: The case of American mediation in the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1973-present." I have received good comments from peers that will be taken into account in my summer revisions of the paper. The summer ahead of us promises to be full of activity, professional and personal. It will also be a time of much needed relaxation and renewal. I look forward to enjoying it with my wife and daughters.
This was a busy year given department responsibilities and the usual faculty obligations. It was my privilege to conduct strategic planning sessions for the City of Osceola, Wisconsin and also for the Library Board in the City of Mankato. In both cases it was fun to see elected officials and professional staff work together to establish clear mission statements, practical goals, and workable action initiatives with time tables and responsibility charts. I am always excited to see how the processes and techniques we teach in public administration classes can be put to practice in the real world. One of the most rewarding opportunities I experienced this year was advising the South East Asian Action Coalition of St. Paul, Minnesota. In working with a little advise and encouragement, members of the South East Asian communities could create a mission statement, goals and action initiatives, and then carry out the strategic plan with efficiency and enthusiasm. Another fun appointment has been to the Board of the Minnesota Public Policy Forum, a private think tank that creates public policy forums and authorizes studies in the arenas of politics and political philosophy. I enjoy the intellectual camaraderie of professionals with different points-of-view on public policy matters. There are two groups of people who I would like to single out for the Hunter Award for being a joy to know and assist in this interesting work of higher education. One group is the faculty of the Department of Political Science and Law Enforcement. Even though our department has the usual problems of any academic unit in a university, our faculty is hard working and committed to student learning and professional development. I know of no other group of professionals in academic life with whom I would rather be associated. The second group is the students our department serves, both on-campus and off-campus. For over thirty years it has been my privilege to teach and advise hundreds of students from all parts of the world but especially from southern Minnesota. Our students are bright and hard working and carry within themselves the values of good citizenship and a desire to achieve in this complicated American society. I always look forward to serving the academic and professional interests of our students.
I have had another good year. There isn't anything that I have done as work that is more creative and fulfilling than teaching. I have had some great classes this year, including the best PERP class I have ever had. The Tactics class that went through this Spring was the hardest working and fittest class in Tactic's history. I really enjoy having the extra teaching time with these classes. The 90 hour lecture/lab format also allows me the opportunity to be much more creative and intensive with out classroom experiences. This semester I also taught a class entitled " Street Management of the Emotionally Disturbed and Violent Individual." I had some great students in there and we had some very interesting learning experience and field trips. I have also been working most of the academic year with consumer groups in the mental health community and various professional groups in law enforcement. Thanks to the efforts of the state legislature we have been awarded a $300,000 grant to use for the development of pilot/model programs to develop new ways for mental health services and law enforcement to work with the mentally ill. The request for proposals should be out later this summer if any of our graduates are interested in working on this project. I will start very shortly on an extension of my study of subject movement in deadly force encounters. I hope to have a biomechanics lab in place within the next couple of weeks with digital cameras directly interfacing with computers to allow a more complete three-dimensional view of the motions I am studying. I have also done a lot of consultation and expert witness work on the use of force, particularly deadly force and have had some very interesting cases this year in Kansas, Des Moines, Las Vegas and Phoenix. I have also provided in-service training this year for a variety of entities, from "Advanced Hostage Negotiations" for the State hospital System to "Management of Critical Incidents" for the FBI, LEEDS seminar. This year, I have also been honored by a promotion to full professor, appointment to the National Advisory Board fore the Police Marksman magazine and appointment to Neal Trautman's national Commission on Law Enforcement Integrity. As you can tell, life has been busy and fulfilling, but I am looking forward to the summer, particularly running in the desert in Tucson and training karate in San Francisco. I hope our graduated remember to keep in touch. Good luck and stay safe.
It has been a most interesting year. In the spring semester, I interrupted retirement for the second time to once again teach "Foundations of Oppression" for Ethnic Studies. The experience has been a worthwhile activity. I have become familiar with a whole new set of academic literature and have been given important insights into the dynamics of oppression. I have been able to experiment with new teaching strategies, based not on lectures and exam, but on discussion, student presentations and reading/reaction journals. I suspect that i learned more from "Foundations of Oppression" than anyone else in the class. This, in no small part, is due to articulate, insightful and thoughtful students who were in the course. During the year I attended two Political Science Conferences: the Midwest meeting in Washington, D.C. The conferences were interesting and enjoyable, particularly since both Chicago and D.C. are two of my favorite cities. In my retirement mode, I became better acquainted with another favorite city, Minneapolis. I particularly enjoyed numerous walks with Carolyn around Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun and along the Mississippi River; frequent visits to the Walker Sculpture Garden the the Minneapolis Institute of Art; watching movies at the Uptown and lagoon Theaters; sampling the many restaurants in the Uptown, Lyn-Lake, and Downtown areas; exploring various neighborhoods; and frequenting many record and used book stores. I have also enjoyed spending many hours in the MSU library researching for the various writing projects I have contemplated from the very first day of my retirement. Someday I may actually get some words on paper.
Truman Wood has a Friday weekly political commentary which goes out to e-mail only readers and also to those who have internet access. At the present time there are at least 74 readers. The web site is: http://woodchips.cjb.net
I am originally from Madras, India. After completing high school in India, I moved to the United States and spent the next few years out of school. Later I enrolled at Southwest State University in Marshall, MN and completed my B.A. degree in Political Science. Right after graduation in December, I enrolled at Minnesota State in January in the M.A. program. Although there were no graduate assistantships available in the Department of Political Science at that time, I was able to get a graduate assistantship with the Kessel Institute for Peace and Change with the help of Dr. Jackie Vieceli. The next year, I worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Speech Communication here at MSU. I worked under the guidance of Dr. Warren Sandmann. During this period, I took courses in International Relations, Comparative Politics and American Judicial politics. I found good support and encouragement among the faculty here. Dr. Jackie Vieceli, Dr. Tom Inglot, Dr. Abdalla Battah and Dr. John Parham from the Department of Political Science and Dr. Warred Sandmann from the Department of speech Communication played an important role in my success in earning the M.A. degree. During this past year, I have also been teaching part-time in the Political Science department at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, MN. Again I am thankful to my mentors here who coached me and prepared me to teach at the college level. This Fall (2001), I will continue my graduate studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO I will be working toward a Doctorate degree in political science and I hope to teach regularly at the college level in the future. I can be reached at this email address: athangasamy@hotmail.com for comment, suggestions, or queries.
On April 2-3, 2001 we had the pleasure and honor of hosting on our campus his excellency Ambassador Andre Erdos, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Hungary to the United Nations. Mr. Erdos has had a long and distinguished career in the Hungarian diplomatic service for over 30 years. He was born in Algiers during World War II; he participated in many historic international events, including the famous Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki, Finland in 1975. He served on the United Nations Security Council. Also, as his country's Deputy Foreign Minister, he was responsible for NATO expansion and ethnic minority relations in East-Central Europe. Mr. Erdos spoke to our faculty gathering on the subject of "Democratization in East-Central Europe" and also gave a public presentation to a large student audience on the topic of "The United Nations at the Threshold of the 21st Century." He also attended a luncheon with the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Susan Coultrap-McQuinn, and had a private conversation on international issues and global education with President Richard Rush. During his visit the ambassador made an urgent appeal for greater public engagement in the world affairs and for American support of the United Nations-which he views as the organization that is the most prepared to handle complex international problems of out times. It was a truly memorable and intellectually stimulating experience that we will remember for some time to come. What we will also remember is how the ambassador got here in the first place. He decided to arrive by car and do some sightseeing along the way. On Monday evening on April 2, just minutes before the scheduled dinner time, our chairperson, Dr. Doran Hunter, received a phone call from Mr. Erdos, who conveyed his apologies and said he was in Rochester trying to find his way to MSU. For several hours we tried to keep in touch with our distinguished guest via cellular phone as he was traveling across the vast expanses of Southern Minnesota toward his final destination at "The Butler House," our elegant bed & breakfast guesthouse on Broad Street in downtown Mankato. When he finally arrived, however, his excellency found himself lost again, this time at the remote K-Mart parking on Mankato's West side. This is where Drs. Doran Hunter and Tom Inglot found the "missing ambassador," along with his driver and a diplomatic limousine, and escorted him safely to the warmth and hospitality of the Butler House. Thus, all ended well with an evening of laughs and fun conversation. This event was the third one in a series of foreign ambassador visits sponsored by our department (in previous years we hosted ambassador visit was organized by Drs. Inglot and Hunter. The public lecture was co-sponsored by the United Nations Club. Our special thanks go to our office manager Ms. Patricia Davis whose assistance was indispensable to making this visit a real success. We look forward to continuing this as the annual tradition in the department. Let's hope tat future guests never leave home without a mobile phone!
Pi Sigma Alpha had had a busy and rewarding year. In the fall, our chapter (Upsilon Alpha) applied for a Chapter Activity Grant from the Pi Sigma Alpha national office. In December we received the good news: an $825 grant for us to plan and carry out a career day for political science majors. We held the career day on Wednesday, March 28, and all who participated learned about career options for political science students from panelists representing law firms, law schools, local governments and private businesses. In addition, our chapter initiated seven students into Pi Sigma Alpha in formal ceremonies: one in November and the second in April. We have selected officers for next year and look forward to strengthening the honor society in the years ahead.
IR/UN began the year by holding several informational meeting and elections of new officers. Our agenda included participation in the Arrowhead Model United Nations as well sponsoring our co-sponsoring globalization related activities. We participated in Arrowhead model United Nations, which had become an important part of our yearly activities. But we had hoped, in addition to AMUN, to sponsor or co-sponsor several globalization related activities on goal; illness of the elected president was in part to blame. We only managed to co-sponsoring the visit by Ambassador Andre Erdos of Hungary. Participation at AMUN (this year at Winona State University) represents a culmination of several months of preparation. We met (Wednesday, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.) on a bi-weekly basis during the spring semester to prepare for the model. As in previous demanding and extensive. Consequently , the "survival" rat was low; we began with a dozen or so but ended with only four who actually completed the whole process. We stress quality over quantity, as we view model participants not only as ambassadors of countries but also as ambassadors of their college or university. As for the students' perspective, the piece (quoted in full ) below by Mohannad Ghawanmeh, IR/UN Club Vice President, provides some insights. Mohannad represented China on the Security Council. He wrote: Four IR/UN Club members took off to Winona to participate in the annual Arrowhead Model United Nations. The group represented delegations from two countries, China and Argentina, and participated in the sessions of two General Assembly committees and the Security Council. Although we had not sure of what was in store, and felt fairly trepid as we listened to various delegations' opening statements. We soon mustered our enthusiasm and turned to representing our countries in earnest. As Beth Pollack remarked, "Making a speech up on the spot was something that you got to be good at very quickly, there was no other way to prepare for it. you have to be willing to get up and say something rather than sit there." To say that the experience was eye-opening would not be an overstatement. not only were we exposed to a plethora of information, but also to multifarious outlooks. Indeed, we as delegates had to adopt the positions of our represented nations, and contrive defenses of such positions-easier said than done! This is a very good skill for understanding different perspectives of issues. This is also very good for school and work... . " According to Bayarmaa Tserendavaa, the Economic and the proposed resolutions. Edgar Perez reported that his Political and Security Committee passed nine resolutions. In the Security Council, however, only one resolution passed: that sponsored by China on "non-weaponizing of outer space" -- not exactly privilege to brag, but an achievement for our group nonetheless! In closing, on behalf of the IR/UN Club, I wish to heartily thank the Political Science Department and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as the Student Allocation Committee, for their generous contributions to our endeavor. Even if we could have done it without you, we would have been a good deal more anxious! Please permit the Club to benefit its members and bolster the university name with you assistance of its participation in future AMUN conferences.
Another year passed. Again, it has been a good and busy year. We are all settled with our new furniture and everyone comments that we have mad a great change in the way we look. I have great news. My husband and I became grandparents of a beautiful granddaughter for the first time in March, and I cannot tell you the pleasure it is and how I know it will be in the future. We look forward to the first time we will be babysitting. Again, I extend the invitation to anyone passing through to please stop in to say hello and update all of us.
By Truman Wood
The winners of the Truman and Reta Wood Scholarships for 2001-2002 were announced Friday, April 13, 2001. There were ten applicants for the two $2,750 Scholarships. A committee of MSU political scientists, plus Emeritus Professor Truman Wood, selected the winners. The two major criteria are a high grade point average and a record of community service. Pamela Allen of Pocahontas, IA, a Political Science major and an English minor, was one winner. She has a lifetime record of community service that includes high school involvement in Catholic youth Formation volunteer work in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and clothing stores for the needy. In addition she did visitation at the nursing home, roadside clean up for the Adopt-a-Highway program, and cross-age mentoring. At St. Ambrose College Pamela volunteered for the Mississippi River Clean-up day. She was also involved in homeless shelter volunteer efforts. Her volunteerism continued at MSU. Pamela volunteered to judge at the regional and state levels of the Iowa High School Mock Trial Competitions. Pamela volunteered a week of her time to serve as a camp counselor. She is Secretary of the Pre-Law Society and was actively engaged in the get-out-the vote campaign in the recent election and assisted college students in the voter registration process. She plans to attend law school. Marissa Wackel, North Mankato, MN, is a Political Science major and has a second major in Law Enforcement. The combination of her overall GPA and Political Science major GPA is the highest in the history of the Wood Scholarship. Her family made it a practice to help the poor at Christmas time They regularly donated food to the shelters. Marissa joined the Rapid City Police Cadet program that focused on community service. This included going to public schools to talk to youngsters about drug use. In the Cadet program Marissa was involved in highway clean up and feeding the homeless at the Mission. At MSU Marissa became involved in Circle K. She was volunteered for "Rake the Town," which focused on raking the lawns of the elderly. In addition, she worked with "Stuff a Truck" for the Minnesota food shelf, bingo at local nursing homes, tutoring young children with reading problems, and ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. The two winners will receive their Scholarship plaques at the Wood Scholarship dinner fundraiser 6:30p.m., Saturday, October 13th at Old Main Village in Mankato. Contact Jill Hurd 507 - 345 - 3425 for tickets.
