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Announcements & UpdatesAltay Cengizer - Harvard
Fellow / Turkish Ambassador delivers talk On Tuesday, March 18th the Political Science
Department hosted a talk by Professor Evan McKenzie
Studies In June 2007, USC’s Civic Engagement Initiative utilized funding from the USC U.S.-China Institute to co-sponsor an international conference in Beijing looking at the legal, political, social, and economic implications of China’s burgeoning homeowner association (HOA) movement and comparing it to similar trends in other national contexts. UIC's Evan McKenzie, a nationally known authority on Homeowners' Associations in the U.S. attended this conference. Emeritus Faculty member, Dr. Twiley Barker returns to campus 10/30/07 Dr. Twiley Barker, renowned Professor of Civil
Liberties and Constitutional Law, UIC Hosts IPSA / ISA Conference
The Illinois Political Science
Association and the Illinois Sociological Associations held
their annual conference together at UIC on October 26th and
27th. Benjamin Page, a political scientist from
Northwestern, gave a keynote address on "The Foreign Policy
Disconnect" on Friday. Mario Small, a sociologist from the
University of Chicago's Sociology Department spoke on "Is
Chicago Still an Ideal Urban Laboratory: Outliers and
Representative Cities," on Saturday. Twenty four Illinois
colleges and universities (and six from out of state) were
represented on sixteen conference panels. Professor Barry
Rundquist was the political science coordinator for the
conference and was elected President of the Illinois
Political Science Association for the coming year. To
see the full agenda click here.
APSA & Political Communication Pre-Conference Eleven Pols faculty and graduate students delivered papers at the APSA in Chicago, August 30 - September 2, 2007. Professors Steve Engelmann and Brandon Valeriano served as panel discussants. Our Political Communication Communication Pre-Conference opening remarks where delivered by Professor Doris Graber and Gadi Wolfsfeld from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and closing remarks by Professor Kevin Barnhurst. Twelve presentations, tours of UIC's Electronic Visualization Lab and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) labs made for a fast paced afternoon. The following UIC Political Scientists gave papers at the ASPA Conference:
Seung-Whan Choi, Veto Players,
Democracy, and Militarized Interstate Disputes Ching-Jyuhn Luor, Ph.D Class of 1995 Visits UIC Ching-Jyuhn Luor a.k.a. "Andy Luor" made a summer trip to visit his alma mater and catch up with his former professors. Luor, now an Associate Professor at National Taipei University in Taiwan was accompanied by his wife Shu-Fen and son Austin. Shu-Fen also has a UIC Ph.D. in Sociology. They are pictured with UIC's Professor Barry Rundquist.
Graber Wins Nevitt Sanford Award Professor Doris Graber has received the Nevitt Sanford Award for professional contributions to professional psychology. This award is given yearly to someone deemed by the Lasswell/Sanford Committee to be 1. engaged in the practical application of political psychological principles, or 2. creating knowledge that is accessible and used by practitioners to make a positive difference in the way politics is carried out. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology on July 4-7, 2007 in Portland, Oregon. Shannon Nelson Accepted to Summer Internship Program at NORC
"Urban and Suburban Landscapes in a Changing
Global Society."
This year's annual meetings of the state
sociological and political science associations will be together at
UIC in Chicago. The theme of the joint conference is "Urban and
Suburban Landscapes in a Changing Global Society." In recent years
it has become apparent that the urban/suburban dichotomy that once
described metropolitan areas is becoming less appropriate.
Demographic data now confirm that descriptions previously employed
to define and distinguish urban and suburban communities are
inaccurate. Past characterizations emphasized differences in social
composition, political identity and economic function of cities and
suburbs. Greater interdependence and similarities now exists between
these previously isolated settings. Social problems which used to be
exclusively attributed to urban communities have become key
challenges facing suburban municipalities just as an increasing
number of higher income people residing in central cities are
challenging their governments. Housing, job retention,
transportation, crime, pollution and other environmental concerns,
education, and community and economic development have taken center
stage in civic efforts across metropolitan areas. Flurry of Spring Conferences UIC Politics 2007 Forum, March 10, 2007 UIC Urban Scholars Symposium, April 10-11, 2007 Midwest Political Science Association, April 12-15, 2007 UIC Richard J. Daley Urban Forum, May 2, 2007 Graber Receives NCA Distinguished Scholar Award Professor Doris Graber has received the National Communication Association Award for lifetime of scholarly achievement. Supported by the Mark L. Knapp Distinguished Scholar Fund, the award was established in 1991 and honors those who have made at least 20 years of showcase scholarly contributions to the profession. Awardees design the Distinguished Scholars Program for the upcoming NCA Convention that will be held in November 15-18, 2007 in Chicago. Graber Keynote Panelist At Portuguese Media Conference Professor Doris Graber joined Professors Kees Brants of the University of Amsterdam and João Pissarra Esteves of the New University of Lisbson to open the Second International Seminar on Media, Journal, and Democracy in Lisbon, Portugal on November 13th and 14th. The conference explored the media's role in elections, party congresses, the final years of a governing coalition, and on public opinion. Graber kicked off the discussion with an overview of the challenges facing political communication scholars who are just beginning to explore new thematic areas, like blog messages and the unexpected payoffs of soft news and entertainment for learning about politics. She also surveyed the newest research tools for content analysis, interview production, and psycho-physiological scanning. Kees Brants followed with a critical look at the charge that political journalists are prophets of gloom and doom who make politics seem like a cesspool from which citizens recoil. He concluded that the charges are vastly overdrawn, especially as concerns European journalism. The English language portion of the session ended with João Pissarra Esteves' very favorable comments in Portuguese about the thrust of the opening papers. Karklins Presents Book In Kazakhstan
Professor Rasma Karklins participated in two
panel discussions of her latest book, The Systems Made Me Do It:
Corruption in Post-Soviet Societies and the issues surround
corruption. The first session was held at the Ankara Hotel in
the capitol city of Almaty on August 22nd. The second session
was held on August 24th at the Hotel Intercontinental in Astana.
Photos and details about both events can be seen on the
U.S. Embassy's
website.
Graber Explores TV & Civic I.Q.s, Emotions and
Political Behavior,
Professor Doris Graber was granted a sabbatical
leave for the Spring 2006 semester to test various new approaches for
doing experimental research in the field, rather than the laboratory.
The initial results were presented at the 2006 Midwest Political Science
Association meeting in a paper -- "Experiencing Politics through
Entertainment: Evidence from Experiments" -- produced with graduate
students Kevin Navratil and Gregory Holyk. Another report about the
findings -- "How Television Dramas Raise Citizens' Civic IQ" -- will be
presented at the 2006 meeting of the American Political Science
Association.
Professor Ike Balbus has received the 2006 UIC
Award of Teaching Excellence. This is one of the highest awards for
teaching on campus. Recently Professor Balbus has taught The Scope of
Political Science, Possible Political Systems, Introduction to
Marxism, the undergraduate seminar in Political Theory, and the
graduate Theoretical Approaches to Political Theory.
Middle East Scholars to Honor Tachau A conference entitled “Between Shifting and Resilient Forces: The Middle East in Comparative Perspective” will be held in Sile, Turkey on August 6-8, 2006 to recognize and honor Professor Frank Tachau’s important contributions to Middle Eastern Studies. Professor Tachau of University of Illinois at Chicago dedicated his career to promoting a more nuanced understanding of the Middle East. As Tachau approaches his 75th birthday, his productivity and enthusiasm are more vibrant than ever. The conference will be hosted by Isik University and convene many distinguished scholars including a large group of friends, colleagues and students of Frank Tachau. The participants represent different academic disciplines, while they all explore important conventional issues such as the role of the state, political parties, the military, political elites and secularism as well as a wide range of issues ignored by institution-centered paradigms (e.g. urban poverty, migration, child labor). A more detailed description of the program can be obtained from Professor Sultan Tepe. Simpson On All Things Considered UIC Political Science professor, Dick Simpson was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered on June 16, 2006 regarding the status of Cook County Board Executive John Stroger. Click here to listen to the story. UIC at the Midwest Political Science Association UIC faculty & graduate students were again well represented during April's Midwest Political Science Association meeting at Chicago's Palmer House Hilton. Click here to see a full list of UIC participants. Sarajane Avidon Will Be Missed Local actress and author Sarajane Avidon, wife of Professor Dick Simpson, passed away on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at age 64. A full obituary appears in the Friday, March 31 issue of the Chicago Sun-Times. Neptali Clavijo Awarded APSA's Ralph Bunche UIC Junior Neptali Clavijo has won a scholarship to attend the American Political Science Association's Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Program at Duke University. The Institute prepares aspiring students for graduate studies in Political Science. Chirag Patel Wins Business Plan Competition Office of Social Science computer technician Chirag Patel often amazes faculty and staff with the depth of his IT prowess. Thus it was not surprising when we read in the New York Times (login required) that his two person team had won first prize in the 2006 International Business Plan Competition at the University of San Francisco. His team SanoGene draws on a discovery by University of Illinois researcher Jasti Rao regarding a new technology called ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) which targets multiple cell origins of brain tumors by blocking the invasion of cells into other tissue. Evan McKenzie on NPR's All Things Considered Professor Evan McKenzie was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered on February 25th, 2006. He discussed the Twin Rivers decision by a New Jersey's appeals court and it's implications for the rights of members of homeowners associations. You can hear this story on the NPR website. You can also read more about Professor McKenzie's involvement in the Twin Rivers case in the February 15, 2006 issue of UIC News. It is also covered in the March 12, 2006 issue of the The New York Times. Dick Simpson on WBEZ Professor Dick Simpson was a guest on WBEZ's morning radio magazine 848 on February 28th, 2006. Simpson discussed the history of the reform agenda on the Chicago City Council. You can listen to this discussion via real audio in the WBEZ archives. Mock Trial Team Earns Bid To Silver National Tournament The UIC Mock Trial Team recently competed at the 2006 Regional Tournament on February 18th and 19th at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Illinois. The teams overall performance was just short of outstanding however due to some tough breaks on the ballot, finished with a 4-4 record. The team did earn a bid to the Silver National Tournament which will be held in St. Paul, Minnesota near the end of March. A top placing at this tournament will ultimately earn them a bid to the National Championship Tournament, which will be held in April. The team began by splitting ballots (tie), with top ranked Lewis University. The team also faced Depaul University, The University of Illinois - Champaign, as well as Lewis University for a second time in the final round. Of the 4 lost ballots, one was by a mere 2 points and another by 3. One individual, Karim Rajabali, received an outstanding attorney award as both a prosecution and defense attorney. The team will continue to practice and improve in preparation for the National Tournament. New York Times Quotes POLS Faculty In the December 23rd edition Professor Evan McKenzie commented on neighbors' efforts to curtail the construction of a 72,000 square foot house in Alamo, California saying, "When you buy into a homeowners association, it's a different form of government. It's not a liberal democracy." Professor Dick Simpson commented on the corruption charges plaguing the administration of Mayor Richard M. Daley in the January 6th edition saying, "His fatal flaw is that he hasn't been willing to destroy the old machine and to build a new Chicago." Mock Trail Gets Early Second Place Finish The Mock Trail Team had its first invitational tournament on November 19th, 2005 at Lewis University. It was a informal season opening tournament that provided a good chance to let new team members get their feet wet. UIC's team placed 2nd at the tournament and had one individual receive an outstanding attorney award (Ryan Nolte) and one individual receive an outstanding witness award (Jessica Stein). The team was 3-1 and the ballot lost was only by 1 point to host Lewis University. UIC also beat Lewis on one ballot and beat Loyola on both ballots. Check back here for more Mock Trial news in the spring. Team captains Karim Rajabali and Alana Zusis will keep us updated on their season. For Mock Trail history click here. Professor Dennis Judd Serves on Daley Panel Forum On Wednesday, April 20th UIC hosted a daylong symposium on the legacy of former Mayor Richard J. Daley. Scholars, journalists, and politicians and members of the Daley family came together and exchanged recollections of the former mayor and reflect on his legacy marking 50 years since his first inauguration. Current mayor Richard M. Daley headlined a panel titled Learning from Chicago: A Dialogue About the Urban Future. Also included in the discussion were former New York Mayor Ed Koch, UIC Political Science Professor Dennis Judd, and the University of Chicago’s Saskia Sassen. Professor Judd discussed how
Chicago was able to weather the era of deindustrialization and large
losses in population affecting other major cities. Judd credited
Daley’s detailed administrative knowledge of the city as essential to
moving forward downtown development at a critical period. For full coverage of the Daley Forum please visit UIC News 4/27/05. Click the photo to the right to enlarge it. ---------->
Amalia Pallares, UIC associate professor of Latin American and Latino studies and political science, was a guest on WBEZ-FM's "Worldview" on April 21st. Pallares discussed the removal of Ecuador's President Lucio Gutierrez. WBEZ-FM programming is available through the audio archives at www.wbez.org |
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Ambassador Altay Cengizer titled "A Region in Flux: Changing
Dynamics in Central Asia and Turkey's Role as a Regional Power".
Ambassador Cengizer was the Director General for Policy Planning, at
the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before coming to
Harvard as a Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for Forgeign Affairs.
Throughout 2006 he was the Special Advisor to then Foreign Minister,
now President Abdullah Gul. Mr. Cengizer is a graduate of the
Bosphorus University and has a M.A. degree in International History
from LSE and a Preventive Diplomacy and Crisis Management
certificate from Columbia University.
returned to the UIC campus for a luncheon and visit in the
Department of Political Science. Dr. Barker began his teaching
career at Southern University in Louisiana then came to Chicago and
became one of the founding faculty members of the Department of
Political Science at the University of Illinois at (then) Chicago
Circle campus. His teaching career spanned from 1955-1994, when he
retired from UIC. The luncheon was joined by Former Senator and UIC
alumnus, Carol Moseley Braun who was also one of Dr. Barker’s
students. Dr. Barker will be returning to campus in February 2008
for a special lecture on the history of the U.S. Court System. 
