The Electoral College: Fun Facts, Pt. VI

Part VI in our series on the Electoral College: Did You Know? “A similar electoral college was previously used by the Holy Roman Empire. From the Middle Ages until 1792, leaders of the Holy Roman Empire were elected by a college of prince-electors from various German states.” (History.com).

But, with very few exceptions, the system has not been emulated by other countries. It is, in other words, pretty unique to the American republic.

See: https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-electoral-college.

The Electoral College: Fun Facts, Pt. V

Did You Know? Every state except Maine and Nebraska has a winner-take-all electoral vote system. In this system, where the winner of the popular vote in the state receives all of the state’s electoral votes.

Maine and Nebraska award 2 votes to the winner of the popular vote in the state. The additional votes (in Maine 2 more, in Nebraska 3 more) are awarded according to the candidate who wins in each congressional district.

In practice, the candidate who wins the statewide vote usually wins in each of the congressional districts. However in 2016 Maine split its votes, and in 2020, both states did so.

Nagy ‘Did Everything Wrong,’ Becomes Noted Alumnus

Paul Nagy admits that when he arrived at East Carolina University as a transfer student in 1980, he didn’t have the best game plan.
He got a job working the graveyard shift at the A&P, causing him to fall asleep in his classes during the day. He rented a room in a house 20 miles away with shoddy electricity and desultory roommates, isolating him from the connectivity of campus. He ended up failing five courses, something he attributes partially to “transfer shock,” or the tendency of students transferring from one institution of higher education to another to experience a temporary dip in grade point average.
“Even though I had a lot of troubles, I saw the value of the institution,” Nagy said. “I never wanted to stop with a bachelor’s; I always had aspirations for a master’s degree.”
Nagy’s mother, Mary Forrest, was an archetype of a non-traditional student. She was a single mom with two kids, teaching piano and struggling to makes ends meet when she decided to change her lot in life. The answer was enrolling at the local community college in Carteret County. She transferred to ECU to complete her bachelor’s degree and then a master’s, allowing her to become a director of information technology in the Carteret school district.
“My sister and I followed suit and did the same thing. We also went to Carteret Community College – the closest and most accessible, which allowed us to afford ECU,” Nagy said. At ECU, he sorted himself out and graduated with a degree in library science in 1983. With that momentum, he rolled right into the Master of Public Administration program in the department of political science, graduating in 1984. He and his sister now both have PhDs, starting from that transfer-portal foundation.
It was ECU’s Master of Public Administration program that shaped him the most, Nagy said.
“The broad latitude of options and career choices as well as the concepts of public service and giving back were very compelling to me,” he added.
ECU’s MPA program is geared for people interested in starting or advancing a professional career in government or nonprofit management and policy. Graduates have gone on to work as town managers, public affairs officers and policy analysts for NASA, the Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, among others.
“To me, the MPA program at ECU prepares confident public administrators with the toolkits they need to manage these organizations that we rely on every day. It trains problem solvers for our current challenges and gives them opportunities to improve our society,” Nagy said.
Today, Nagy is the vice president of strategic planning & analysis at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. He helps students avoid the dreaded transfer shock when transitioning to the neighboring University of South Florida.
“The approach I learned at ECU really inculcated the approach I take to the work I do today. I’m very grateful for that,” he said.
That gratitude manifested in a $25,000 donation to the Drs. Paul & Rebecca Nagy Endowment for the Master of Public Administration Program. Made on Pirate Nation Gives last year, his support will help current and future MPA students.
“MPAs already have the mindset of service. We’re all about public service, giving back. This is an extension of that mindset,” Nagy said.
In recognition of Nagy’s commitment to the MPA program and his own success in the field, the department of political science named him a recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award this year. The department created the award in 2014 as a way of recognizing graduates who have excelled in their careers and communities. The awardees are nominated by a faculty member and the recipient is selected by a vote of the full faculty. Normally, recipients are given a trophy at the department’s spring graduation ceremony. Because of the ongoing pandemic, Nagy got his in the mail. It was still an honor, he said.
“I was humbled. I was practically speechless. It motivates me even more.”

The Electoral College: Fun Facts, Pt. IV

Continuing Our Series about the Electoral College: Where Do the Electors Meet? “The meetings are held at the state capitols and in the District of Columbia. They start around 9 a.m. and end around 3 p.m. in various states. The electors cast their votes and sign a form confirming they voted. That all goes into the Certificate of Vote. Once those documents go to the federal government, the Office of the Federal Register confirms the votes and then they are read out in Congress in early January. There is a process for House and Senate members to object to votes, but that is rarely used and hasn’t affected an election.”

From https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-electoral-college/.

The Electoral College: Fun Facts, Pt. III

Did You Know? Members of Congress and federal employees are precluded from serving as electors in the Electoral College. The manner of choosing electors is left to the states, although the Constitution stipulates that “no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

From https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-electoral-college.

The Electoral College: Fun Facts, Pt. II

Did You know? More Constitutional amendments have been proposed to reform or eliminate the Electoral College than on any other subject? 
“There have been over 700 proposals introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. In 1969, an amendment that passed overwhelmingly in the House (338 to 70) and had the endorsement of President Richard Nixon was filibustered and killed in the Senate. As an end-around to a Constitutional amendment, the National Popular Vote interstate compact is working to have states pledge to award their electors to the winner of the national popular vote. As of December 2012, the bill had been enacted by eight states and the District of Columbia, which together possess a total of 132 electoral votes. The measure would not be enacted until states possessing 270 votes approve it.”

From: https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-electoral-college.

The Electoral College: Fun Facts Pt. I

On Monday, Dec. 14, Electors met in each state to cast their official votes for the presidency. This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to bring you little known facts about this unique America institution.

Fun Fact #1: The words ‘Electoral College’ do not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment solely refer to “electors.” The phrase “Electoral College” did not appear in federal law until 1845 (from history.com).

Another Grant Secured by Dr. Sharon Paynter

Dr. Paynter is leading a project with Duke University and Research Triangle Institute, engaging in a study to identify optimum location of hubs for renewable natural gas production, optimum process configuration, and resulting costs of production. Specifically, ECU will develop a comprehensive understanding of the issues, opportunities, challenges, and dynamics regarding implementation of biogas projects in areas with high biogas production potential to ascertain how policies can be developed so that they maximize socioeconomic benefits while supporting development of biogas and biogas infrastructure in North Carolina.

The project runs from January 2021 through March 2023, and is funded for $125,000.

Dr. Fleming’s Current Research

Dr. Casey Fleming’s current research project investigates the emotional labor and coping mechanisms of public servants working in the helping or caring professions. Specifically, Dr. Fleming, with MPA student and graduate assistant Jahzmine Ranglin, are exploring the prevalence of burnout, dissent, and prosocial rule breaking (i.e. breaking rules to benefit the organization, client, or other stakeholder) potentially triggered or shaped by stringent, inflexible performance management systems and highly emotive work among public school teachers and welfare social workers.

This project draws from survey and interview data, and looks to provide practical takeaways for effectively and responsibly managing for performance and results in these difficult settings, and for understanding the potentially heavy costs of failing to provide appropriate workplace supports and acknowledgement of emotional labor. This project builds on Fleming’s previous work recently published in Public Management Review. Preliminary findings will be presented at the 2021 joint conference of the North Carolina Public Administration Alliance and North Carolina Political Science Association.

Academic Calendars for Winter Intersession 2020/2021 and Spring 2021 Academic Calendars

The fall 2020 semester(s) are finally over! As we all get ready for the holiday, we thought we might provide some information about what the spring calendars might look like, as well as the one for the newly created “Winter Intersession.”

See: https://facultysenate.ecu.edu/spring-2021-academic-calendars-2/

Winter Intersession Schedule: https://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/customcf/calendar/WINTER2020-21.pdf

Spring Schedules: https://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/customcf/calendar/SPRING2021_15wk.pdf

Pin It on Pinterest