Jody Baumgartner

Dr. Kassab has just published a new article titled “What Is the Indo-Pacific? Genealogy, Securitization, and the Multipolar System.”

Abstract: Language is a clear indicator of political change. As China continues to rise and expand its influence in the South China Seas, threatened neighboring states will balance against it. One step in this process is the formulation of persuading language and concepts to accept the threat posed by China. This is demonstrated by the invention and use of the term Indo-Pacific, an area from the eastern part of Africa in the west to the United States in the east. This article traces the genealogy of the term Indo-Pacific as it relates to the securitization of this region given the rise of China. The article will first trace the genealogy of the term Indo-Pacific to then highlight the processes of securitization given changes in the structure of international relations.

See: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41111-023-00233-z

“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist on January 30, 1948.”

See more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist on January 30, 1948.”

See more: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Sat., Jan. 28, at 7:00 pm, 28 West (Dr. Baumgartner’s band) will be playing at CoCo’s Sports Bar & Restaurant in Greenville. No cover charge. Good food. Pop/rock songs from the 60s thru the 90s that you know the words to. All this = FUN TIME! Please join us!

Dr. Casey Fleming has a forthcoming article in “Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, & Governance” that examines the capacity of nonprofit sector elites, such as leadership coalitions and other nonprofit infrastructure organizations, to use strategic messaging to influence donor intentions and decisions to support human service nonprofits engaging in varying mixes of direct service and policy advocacy activities.

A couple of key punchlines from this experimental study are (1) that strategic messaging emphasizing the importance of root causes of societal issues and missions of social change can increase donations to particular nonprofits engaging in policy advocacy work; and (2) that strategic messaging focused on calls for direct service activities fail to influence donor intentions.

2023 is the year of the rabbit, for those of you who didn’t already know.

You can support the works of the Department of Political Science and its faculty and students. Whether it’s $10, $100, $1,000 or more…every dollar helps!

*Department of Political Science-Priority Fund: https://bit.ly/3GVcljF

*Department of Political Science-General Scholarship Fund: https://bit.ly/3Xo5K8o

*Drs. Paul & Rebecca Nagy Endowment in Public Administration: https://bit.ly/3CZZ5ZC

*Center for Survey Research-Priority Fund: https://bit.ly/3Hjdcfj

Since summer 2020, the 15 faculty members in the Department of Political Science have published:

• 4 books
• 26 professional journal articles
• 12 book chapters
• 37 research reports

They have also given 20 presentations at conferences at the state, regional, national, and international levels.

Nice Job!

Starting in fall 2022 the department offers accelerated degree options, which allow students to transition from their bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree. There programs have 3 goals: streamline the transition of high-performing undergraduate students into their graduate degree; expedite completion of their master’s degrees; and increase enrollments.

Qualified students will be allowed to take up to 12 hours of graduate class work while they are completing their undergraduate degrees. The credits will count toward both degrees. Options include (1) accelerated BA or BS in Political Science-to-Master of Public Administration OR (2) accelerated BA or BS in Multidisciplinary Studies: Security Studies-to-Master of Science in Security Studies.

The Master of Public Administration program was reaccredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) in summer 2022. The lengthy process included an alumni survey, 3 focus groups, a 900+-page self-study, a 90-page response to the review of the self-study, a 3-day site visit by NASPAA representatives (who met with administrators, faculty, students, alumni, staff, and the MPA Advisory Board), a 20-page response to the site visit team’s (SVT) final report, 6 faculty retreats, and over 40 faculty meetings.

We were all devastated this year at the passing of Dr. Nancy Spalding (PhD, SUNY-Binghamton). She started working at ECU in 1987. She studied as a Fulbright Scholar in Africa and taught about and researched political theory, international relations, African politics, and genocide. During her time here, she served as an Associate Dean of Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and as the Political Science Undergraduate Program Director. She is survived by her daughter Stephanie, son-in-law Grayson, and grandchildren Annabelle, Isaac, and Abbigail – in addition to the faculty, staff, and students of the Department, who miss her dearly.