Department of Political Science
Welcome to our website! Political Science at KSU offers many opportunities for students to expand their horizons, from city councils to the UN Security Council. This is an exciting time to learn about all that politics is about: the fight for democratic freedoms, human rights, the global environment, racial equality, social welfare, and other vital causes. Our faculty brings politics to life, preparing students to be more informed citizens who are highly competitive for a wide variety of careers.
Graduates of our BA, MA, and PhD programs have three distinct “tracks” in which to focus their studies: American Politics, Transnational-Comparative Politics, and Public Policy and Administration. In addition, the department offers a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) and an undergraduate degree in Applied Conflict Management.
Our full-time faculty is committed to meeting the needs of students while expanding the frontiers of political knowledge through their research in all areas of political science. I hope you will take the opportunity to learn about their work on the “People” link to this page, and to learn about the many other programs they manage on a daily basis. Our staff in 302 Bowman Hall is always on hand to provide more information – or to steer you in the right direction of the professor down the hall!
I hope to see you soon in one of our classrooms. Feel free to contact me personally (shook@kent.edu) if you’d like more information about Poli Sci at KSU.
Happenings around Political Science
- Russell Mills, graduate student, wins IBM GrantRussell Mills, a third year Ph.D. student, is the recipient of the IBM Business of Government research stipend for 2010. Russ is due to defend his dissertation prospectus this week. Russ’ research examines new regulatory partnerships between airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. The IBM research stipend is highly competitive and comes with a $20,000 check. More importantly, the grant will open doors for Russ in Washington D.C. and around the country as he does is research. IBM will also promote his research when it is complete. It’s a huge honor for Russ and for the department.
- Glen Duerr, graduate student, publishes journal articleGlen M.E. Duerr, a graduate student currently writing his dissertation on separatist movements, published "Peaceful and Mutual Parliamentary Dissolution: Dissolved Unions in Sweden-Norway (1905) and Czechoslovakia (1993) and the their lessons" in Sprawy Narodowosciowe-Seria Nowa (Issues of Nationality-New Series) Vol 35: 29-47.
- Dr. Patrick Coy appears on Progressive RadioDr. Patrick G. Coy, Director and Associate Professor of the Center for Applied Conflict Management at Kent State University, was a guest on the Progressive Radio Show with Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive Magazine on January 22, 2010, for a discussion of his research on the US peace movement and his new co-authored book, “Contesting Patriotism: Culture, Power and Strategy in the Peace Movement.” The 30-minute interview was recorded unedited and aired on about 50 radio stations in the US (mostly public radio stations) and globally. It is also available for listening online, or as an MP3 Download here: http://www.progressive.org/radiocoy10.html
- The Ohio Employee Ownership Center Launches Evergreen CooperativeThe Ohio Employee Ownership Center helped create the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry in Cleveland. The Coop has attracted serious world press in the last few weeks (see Time and Economist links below). The laundry serves as a prototype for other co-ops in the area which are being supported by the Cleveland Foundation with technical assistance and training provided by OEOC.
- Center for Public Administration and Policy to manage $3 million grantThe Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAPP), which will play a central role in managing a $3 million grant from the Knight Foundation designed to improve local government efficiency. The grant is part of a larger project, the Fund for our Economic Future, designed to facilitate economic growth in NE Ohio.
- A Tribute to a Great Ohioan: Dr. John LogueGreat people are attracted to great challenges. Dr. John Logue of Kent State University is a shining example of this kind of greatness. Arriving in Kent in the mid-seventies from Texas - by way of Princeton and Europe - Dr. Logue's credentials, charm, optimism and moxie could have taken him anywhere to teach and work. He chose northeastern Ohio. His life's work has addressed our challenges.
Recent Graduates . . .
Phil Eckenrode, 2005. After completing his last semester at Kent on the WPNI Program in Washington, DC, Phil graduated and went on to law school at the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, graduating in 2008. Phil currently works as an associate attorney in the Columbus office of the Cleveland-based Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP. Phil's practice focuses primarily on corporate litigation, representing a wide variety of large and closely-held companies in both state and federal courts.
Heidi Swindell, 2004. Inspired by an assignment from Dr. John Logue to volunteer for a campaign, Heidi graduated from Kent and pursued her MA in Applied Politics. MA in hand, Heidi went on to work for several campaigns, and managed the campaign for Summit County Executive candidate Russ Pry. She currently works as the Government Relations Liaison for the Summit County Engineer.