The Department of Political Science at ECU Congratulates Graduate Alexa Braithwaite!

Through ECU, Alexa was able to study abroad in Berlin, see her cousin in the U.K. and have great experiences. She plans to go to law school to become an immigration attorney, so she can give her friends a voice. She thanks her community at the El Rancho Drive-in who helped her figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She thanks her husband James and parents, who have always told she can do whatever she sets her mind to. Lastly, she thanks some of her favorite professors: Dr. Francia for always making class exciting and and for letting her be your intern for the center of survey research, Dr. Kane for being a wonderful professor and always answering her emails, and Dr. Jones for helping her get to Berlin.

Congratulations and Good Luck, Alexa!

The Department of Political Science at ECU Congratulates Graduate Cheynne Franks!
Cheynne thanks her family, the Criminal Justice Department, Political Science Department, and East Carolina University for providing her with the foundation to become successful.

Congratulations and Good Luck, Cheynne!

The Dept. of Political Science’s MPA program is proud to announce that some students plan to continue their education even further.

For example, Kim Mack (graduated MPA in 2018) is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Community College Leadership at NC State College of Education, and she will be participating in Belk’s Center 2020 Fellows Program to represent her program at national conferences (https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2020/02/04/doctoral-students-represent-nc-state-college-of-education-at-national-conferences-through-belk-centers-2020-fellows-program/).

Sapna Varkey (graduated MPA in 2015) is currently a doctorate candidate at the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) NCSU. She plans to graduate in May 2020 and will be going on the job market (https://grad.ncsu.edu/people/sapna-varkey/).

Very exciting news about our graduates who take an unconventional route to doctorate degrees! Congratulations to both.

The Center for Survey Research (CSR) has begun polling for the 2020 presidential election. With the South Carolina Democratic primary approaching (Feb. 29), the CSR conducted two polls in the Palmetto state, one before the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary (Jan. 31-Feb. 2) and one after the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary (Feb. 12-13). The results of the polls, which showed Joe Biden’s initial lead shrink significantly after the Iowa and New Hampshire contests, received national press attention in outlets that included The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Atlantic, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Vox, The Hill, The Washington Times, and The News & Observer.

Join Dr. Baumgartner and others in the Main Campus Student Center, Room 252, on Tuesday, March 3, from 8-10:30, to follow and discuss the results from Super Tuesday voting.

Pizza, snacks & drinks will be provided.

Mosier, Samantha L. and Susan M. Opp. 2019. Pracademics in Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration Accredited Programs: Insights from a Survey of Program Faculty Members. Teaching Public Administration.

Abstract: This article examines current and previous practitioner experiences of faculty in Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration accredited programs. Using original survey data, this study demonstrates that a majority of Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration program faculty members have prior or current practitioner experiences. However, prior practitioner experiences among younger faculty is significantly lower when compared to older faculty. Faculty report far less current engagement and, of those who do have active engagement roles, most are participating in short-term activities and in non-profit roles. Evaluation credit may be one dynamic to understanding a lack of engaged service activity. A majority of respondents engaging in outside service are from research-focused, doctoral-granting institutions, where it is more likely positive credit is received. Collectively, the results demonstrate that, for the most part, faculty members do have practical experience that can influence their teaching and research functions; however, current incentive and promotion structures may not actively support service engagement activities for modern faculty.

SEE: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0144739419894039?journalCode=tpaa

Dr. Jonathan Morris, with Dr. David Morris , presented “Partisan Media Exposure, Polarization, and Candidate Evaluations in the 2016 General Election” at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 11, 2020.

From the abstract: This paper examines the influence of Republican and Democratic partisan television news on attitudes toward the candidates for president immediately following the 2016 general election. Using two waves of the 2016 American National Election Study, we examine feelings toward Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton before and after the election. Our findings indicate that exposure to Republican partisan media did have a significant negative effect on feelings toward Hillary Clinton, even when controlling for party identification, ideology, and feelings toward Clinton before the election. Consumption of Democratic partisan television, however, had no influence on feelings toward Donald Trump. We discuss the implications.

South Carolina Poll: Biden Leads Presidential Primary Among Likely Democratic Voters, But Many Open to Changing Their Mind Before Election Day. Trump and Graham Lead Comfortably in General Election Matchups.

Former Vice President Joe Biden leads all candidates in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, with support from 37% of likely voters, followed by Tom Steyer (19%), Bernie Sanders (14%), Elizabeth Warren (8%), Pete Buttigieg (4%), Andrew Yang (3%), Amy Klobuchar (2%), Tulsi Gabbard (2%), and Michael Bloomberg (1%).

Read more…

Dr. Hannah Kassab spoke with WITN about how the impeachment of Pre. Trump might affect Democrats’ chances of winning the White House in 2020.

See: https://www.witn.com/content/news/ECU-Professor-expects-impeachment-acquittal-bad-for-Democrats-567640481.html