2022 annual alumni newsletter for the University of Iowa Department of Political Science.
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Fall 2022
1 Message from the Chair 1-3 Return of International Travel
4 Faculty Research 5 Department News 6 Alumni News
Welcome to the 2022 edition of the Poligram ! This year, we highlight the return of international travel, research, and study, in addition to department news. 2022 saw international travel for our students and faculty return to pre-pandemic levels. Students were able to study abroad again, enriching their educational experience. Graduates who received prestigious awards like a Fulbright grant were able to travel to their requested country. Faculty and graduate students were able to travel abroad to conduct research, attend conferences, and engage in other professional activities. International engagement is an important part of our research, teaching, and student experiences.
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Brian Lai, Department Chair
RETURN OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL The return to international travel was a theme this year. After the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, faculty and students enjoyed being able to travel to places all across the globe. We’re pleased to share their journeys with you.
William Jones
GERMANY
As of September 2022, I’ve been living in Freiburg, Germany studying German along with Political Science through the Academic Year in Freiburg Program. So far, I have been able to see some parts of Germany and visited Basel, Switzerland and Colmar, France. Closely associated with my program is the organization in charge of the Madison, WI—Freiburg, Germany relationship. This has opened the doors for us to meet people throughout the community. Through the people at the Carl-Schurz-Haus, Freiburg’s German-American cultural institute, I was part of a student roundtable with the U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann and Consul General Thatcher Scharpf from the Consulate in Frankfurt. As my year in Freiburg continues, I am excited to see how I will change and grow as a person. I look forward to the future opportunities and new experiences as the year continues. Before leaving, I had never been to another country. Now, I live in one an ocean away and I have been to two others. The most exciting part is it feels like I am only scratching the surface.
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Reese Bobitt
TANZANIA
I spent my Spring 2022 semester studying abroad in Tanzania. The program I participated in was focused on Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology. Much of my time in Tanzania was primarily hands-on learning – field studies, conducting focus groups, and independent research projects. Not only visiting another country but becoming immersed in another culture was an invaluable experience. One of my favorite experiences in Tanzania was spending ten days camping on the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater – two national parks that are home to some of the most biodiverse landscapes in the world. Elephants, giraffes, and zebras would often visit our campsite during the night, and most mornings we woke up to lions roaring in the distance. My study abroad experience was impacted by COVID-19 and the way that different countries have responded to the pandemic. Originally, I was supposed to study abroad in Australia in a program similar to what I studied in Tanzania. But, due to stricter COVID policies in Australia, I was redirected to other programs in countries that would allow me to come study. All of the people involved with planning and coordinating my study abroad experience were incredibly helpful, and I would not have been able to have such a great study abroad experience without them. It really took a village. This change in plans taught me so much about embracing change and saying “yes” to opportunities I would not have normally thought to look for. Tanzania was where I was meant to study abroad, and the once in a lifetime experience I had there will stay with me for years to come.
Jackson Guilford
SERBIA
For my Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, I was placed in Subotica, Serbia, about ten miles from the Serbian border with Hungary. I had never lived abroad before, so I had no idea what to expect. I was able to have a host of new experiences, such as traveling across Eastern and Central Europe by train, hailing taxis in Bosnia and Montenegro and surviving 10 hour bus rides through the mountains. I am now at Michigan Law School, and my Fulbright experience has served me in many ways. I am always able to keep things in perspective and appreciate a new challenge. I keep in touch with a close friend and fellow Serbia ETA who is also now in law school. And most importantly, I keep my cravings for ajvar and kajmak (traditional Serbian foods) at bay by occasionally making them at home!
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Sara Mitchell
Willow Kreutzer and Nathan Timbs Before traveling to Prague, Czech Republic for the 2022 European Political Science Association, we presented our work on “Rebel Commitments to Human Rights” at the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) in Norway. The workshop’s theme was Justice During Armed Conflict: Accountability or Weapon of War? We were two of seven graduate students invited from around the world to present their research and the only students from the United States. NORWAY CZECH REPUBLIC
NETHERLANDS
CZECH REPUBLIC
I was invited to present my work on the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in May. In June, I traveled to Prague, Czech Republic for the European Political Science Association conference. I presented my work on identity conflicts between countries, connecting my research team’s findings to Russia’s ethnic motives for invading Ukraine. While in Prague, my PhD students, Willow Kreutzer and Nathan Timbs, and I had a chance to visit the Prague Castle and the Prague Astronomical Clock.
Elise Pizzi
Ron McMullen
REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
KOSOVO
NORTH MACEDONIA
I explored the Transcaucasian Trail, along the border of Georgia and Russia. The area is home to the community of Ushguli, Svaneti, one of Europe’s highest permanently inhabited settlements. While in the Republic of Georgia, I visited with old friends from my days as a Peace Corps Volunteer, then spent a few days hiking in some of the most stunning mountains around.
I spent two weeks in the Western Balkans this summer, strengthening Iowa’s partnerships and ties with Kosovo by providing lectures, workshops, and simulations to a program run by the Kosovo Center for Diplomacy. I also traveled a bit in North Macedonia (country #116 for me) to prep for my fall semester class titlled “Outliers: Comparing Odd Countries.”
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FACULTY RESEARCH
Caroline Tolbert awarded Goldsmith Book Prize
The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School awarded Caroline Tolbert with the 2022 Goldsmith Book Prize in Academics for her book, Choosing the Future: Technology and Opportunity in Communities . The prize awards one trade and one academic book each year for contributions towards improving democratic governance through examinations of the intersections between media, politics and public policy. Choosing the Future , whose coauthors include graduate program alum Scott LaCombe (PhD 2020), highlights disparities in internet access and the impacts of that lack of access on those communities’ participation in politics, the economy, and society.
Publications
Lee, Bomi K., Sara McLaughlin Mitchell , Cody J. Schmidt , and Yufan Yang. 2022. “Disasters and the Dynamics of Interstate Rivalry.” Journal of Peace Research 59(1): 12-27. Powell, Emilia Justyna and Sara McLaughlin Mitchell. 2022. “Forum Shopping for the Best Adjudicator: Dispute Settlement in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” Journal of Territorial and Maritime Studies 9(1): 7-33. Mossberger, Karen and Caroline Tolbert. 2020. “Digital Citizenship and Digital Communities: How Technology Matters for Individuals and Communities.” S pecial 10th anniversary issue of the International Journal of E-Planning Research 10 (3). DOI: 10.4018/IJEPR.20210701.oa2. https:// www.igi-global.com/article/digital-citizenship-and-digital- communities/269465 LaCombe, Scott J., Caroline Tolbert , and Karen Mossberger. “Information and Policy Innovation in U.S. States.” Political Research Quarterly . SAGE Publications, April 21, 2021. https:// doi.org/10.1177/10659129211006783.
Kim, Taegyoon; Nitheesha Nakka; Ishita Gopal; Bruce Desmarias; Abigail Mancinelli; Jeffrey Harden; Hyein Ko ; Frederick J. Boehmke . N.d. “Attention to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Twitter: Partisan Differences among U.S. State Legislators.” Legislative Studies Quarterly (accepted for publication). https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12367 Elizabeth Menninga and Lindsey A. Goldberg book chapter in the Handbook of Research Methods in International Relations. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-of-research- methods-in-international-relations-9781839101007.html. Jamie Scalera Elliott, Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Michelle L Dion, et.al. “Forum: Gendered Dynamics of Academic Networks,” International Studies Perspectives, 2022;, ekac009, https://doi.org/10.1093/isp/ekac009 Dion, Michelle L., Sara McLaughlin Mitchell , and Thomas R. Vargas. “Closing the Gender Gap? How Altmetrics Influence Citation Counts for Political Science Journal Articles.” Forthcoming, International Studies Perspectives , part of a forum on “Gendered Dynamics of Academic Networks.” Windsor, Leah, Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Tracy Osborn , Bryce Dietrich , and Andrew Hampton. “Gender, Language, and Representation in the United States Senate.” Forthcoming, Journal of Language and Politics.
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DEPARTMENT NEWS
PhD & Placements
JOSEPH COLL PhD 2022 THESIS: “A Group Resource Model of How State Election Reforms Affect Voter Turnout for Black, Hispanic, and Young Americans” PLACEMENT: Assistant Professor of Politics at Sewanee: The University of the South LINDSEY GOLDBERG PhD 2022 THESIS: “More than child bearers or sex machines’ - How Gendered Ideologies Affect Reproductive Violence Against Rebel Women” PLACEMENT: Assistant Professor of International Relations specializing in Feminist IR at the University of Florida SI-AE KIM PhD 2021 THESIS: “The Impact of Pension Coverage on Senior Citizens’ Political Attitudes and Behavior in Non-Western Countries” CASSANDRA TAI PhD 2022 THESIS: “Public Trust and Governance Challenges” PLACEMENT: Post-Doc at the Center for Social Data Analytics (C-SoDA) at Penn State
Fred Boehmke was named Marvin and Rose Lee Pomerantz Chair in Political Science by CLAS. He also received an NSF for “Collaborative Research: State Policy Responses to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus: Patterns, Context, and Secondary Impacts on Health.” The funding will be used to collect data on state governments’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently model the adoption and diffusion of those pandemic-related policies across the states. David Greenwood-Sanchez joined the department as a Post-Doc Scholar. Kelly Kadera was named the Quincy Wright Distinguished Scholar by the Interntional Studies Association, ISA Midwest. Elizabeth Menninga received an NSF grant that will help fund a research project examining the evolution of cooperation within and across government-rebel group dyads in multi-dyadic civil conflicts. Sara Mitchell has a courtesy appointment in the University College of Law (March 2022) and was the recipient of the 2023 FPA Distinguished Scholar Award by the ISA FPA’s Executive Committee, as well as a recipient of the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and the 2021-22 CLAS Collegiate Teaching Award. Sara Mitchell and Elise Pizzi received an NSF grant for “How Government Policies Reduce Security Threats from Environmental Shocks” Bill Reisinger received the International Engagement Teaching Award from CLAS. Caroline Tolbert , Julianna Pacheco , Cassidy Branch, and Frederick Boehmke , received an NSF grant as part of Cornell University’s Collaborative Midterm Survey to study political attitudes during the 2022 midterm election. Caroline Tolbert , Scott LaCombe, and Karen Mossberger received the Goldsmith Prize: Best Academic Book for Choosing the Future: Technology and Opportunity, awarded by the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
AHMAD QABAZARD PhD 2022 THESIS: “Trusting Partisans: How Political
Parties Influence Political Support” PLACEMENT: Assistant Professor at Kuwait University
BYUNG-DEUK WOO PhD 2022 THESIS: “Re-Examining the Origins of Policy Related to Violence Against Women: The Role of Women’s Descriptive Representation in Achieving Substantive Representation” PLACEMENT: Research Professor, Comparative, Pohang University of Science and Technology YUFAN YANG PhD 2022 THESIS: “Information Manipulation and Rebellion in Autocracies” PLACEMENT: Assistant Professor at Augusta University
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ALUMNI NEWS
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
David Conn (‘75) David Conn taught a one-week undergraduate course this fall titled “View From the Inside: 40 Years of Litigation, Lobbying, and Public Policy.” His students explored the issues that shaped energy, communications, and internet policy from 1980 to 2020.
Joe Gaylord (‘67) Joe Gaylord received the 2022 UI Distinguished Alumni Award and was featured in the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade on October 28. Gaylord ranks among the nation’s most seasoned political consultants and has shared his knowledge with thousands of Hawkeyes for 50+ years.
Rachel Zuckerman (‘17) Rachel Zuckerman is Special Advisor for Implementation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. She joined the Administrator’s Office that is responsible for the recent implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
Connect with us on LinkedIn or email polisci@uiowa.edu. Have an update to share?
Alumni Advisory Board News
Political science alumni attended a reception held on October 12, 2022, at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center in Des Moines. The event was hosted by the Department of Political Science and featured guest speaker David Yepsen (‘72), who spoke on “The 2022 Election and Beyond: A Perspective.” Des Moines Alumni Reception
Kaitlyn Haggerty (‘13) joined as a member of the board. She currently lives in New York, NY and is an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP. Learn more about our Alumni Advisory Board at clas.uiowa.edu/ polisci/alumni/advisory-board.
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Fall 2022
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Department of Political Science 341 Schaeffer Hall Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1409
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