News, Events, and Awards

Loretto Volunteers Summer Program at the United Nations
 

Farah Mohsen, (Political Science major) is spending the summer at the United Nations working for the Loretto Volunteers. She is working on girls' education issues.

Check out this link to learn more about Farah's experience  http://www.lorettovolunteers.org/farah.html

Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program

Ms. Caitlin Vejby has been selected to participate in the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Congressional Internship Program. She will be in Washington, D.C. for the fall 2010 semester. Caitlin has already interned for Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district office in San Francisco. Caitlin will be greatly missed on campus next fall. We are extremely proud of her and thrilled that she will be representing the department and Dominican University in Washington,D.C..

Recent Graduate to Volunteer with Vincentian Service Corps

The department is proud to announce that Adrienne Formentos, recent graduate (2010), has been selected to serve as a member of the Vincentian Service Corps for the coming year. She will be leaving this August for an orientation in Southern California and will spend the rest of the year (until July 2011) working at the Cardinal Manning Center in downtown Los Angeles. This opportunity will allow Adrienne to work with homeless on case management, employment opportunities and advocacy.

Fatima Rios interns with U.S Representative district office in Napa

Fatima Rios, a junior Political Science major has secured an internship with U.S. Representative Mike Thompson's district office in Napa this summer.

Brandon Ernst Selected as Institute for International Public Policy Fellow

The department is proud to announce Brandon Ernst, sophomore political science and business double major, as a 2010 Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellow. The 2010 selection committee at UNCF Special Programs Corporation’s (UNCFSP) noted Brandon’s “commitment to international affairs and capacity for progressive professional achievement.” The IIPP aims to increase the number of minority professionals working in international service careers. Out of the 140 applicants who competed for this fellowship across the country this year, Brandon is among the 25 IIPP fellows for 2010. This multi-year fellowship will enable Brandon to pursue an internationally-focused career. Brandon is expected to complete the IIPP program within six years of entry. This commitment includes participation in summer institutes in Washington DC, a study abroad program, an internship, language study and graduate school.

Political Science Alumna Presents at WPSA 2010

Tina Ruggeiro, who graduated in May 2009 with a major in political science, was invited to present her senior thesis research for a panel on Groups, Context, and Voting, at this year's Western Political Science Association annual meeting held in San Francisco, April 1-3. Tina's research deals with the gender gap and its effect on presidential campaign and political ads. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in education here at Dominican. Her future plans include publishing the findings from her original research as an article in a peer-reviewed academic journal and teaching high school U.S. Government in the North Bay.

Students presenting at NCUR

The Department is pleased to announce that Janelle Harris (Junior), Sydney Lewis (Freshman), and Nora Nicholl-Lewandowski (Freshman) will present their papers at the annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Montana April 15-17, 2010.
 
If you are interested in learning more about their interesting and unique topics visit the NCUR website http://www.umt.edu/ncur2010/Abstracts/call_for_abstracts.aspx and search for their abstracts:
Janelle Harris, "Battle of the Sexes: Power and Gender Roles According to Saadawi and Adnan"
Sydney Lewis, "The Flood Story: Pure Myth or Semi-Factual"
Nora Nicholl-Lewandowski, "The Fight Against the War on Terror Consequences in a Post- 9/11 America"

Brandon Ernst Awarded 2010 World Affairs Council Schools Program Scholarship 

The Department is proud to announce that Brandon Ernst, a sophomore honors student majoring in political science and international business, has been awarded for a second year in a row the World Affairs Council Schools Program Scholarship. Brandon has been awarded this scholarship to attend the World Affairs 64th Annual conference on Innovative Leadership In The Face of Crisis to take place in San Francisco, California, March 11-12. Students who attend this conference are given the opportunity to gather with political leaders, policymakers, public intellectuals and diplomats to examine, engage and debate crucial global issues and participate in a student policy simulation. This year’s conference participants will explore the intersection of governments, NGOs, the private sector and citizenry on four key global issues:  environment, economy, development and security. Some of this year’s conference topics will include Post Copenhagen—Establishing a Global Climate Regime, Great Ideas: Local Solutions to Global Problems and Attacking Corruption in the Developing World. Brandon, who is also the president of the Leadership Fellows Program on campus, will be serving as a student discussion leader at this year’s World Affairs conference.

Senior Political Science Major to Present a Paper on Human Trafficking at the 2010 WPSA Conference

We are pleased to announce that senior political science and English double major, Adrienne Formentos will be presenting a paper entitled “The Insecurities of Sex Trafficking: Security Governance and Cooperation Among Multiple Actors” at the Western Political Science Association annual conference in April 2010. Adrienne first embarked on this topic in the department's research methods course offered during her junior year. In the summer of 2009 she spent a few weeks in Copenhagen, Denmark studying human trafficking through DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad). Her coursework included a study tour to Sweden to meet with social workers and police authorities and also a tour of the local red light district in Copenhagen. She writes about her experience in the student blog section at our department’s website (found under the menu to the left). Adrienne’s future career goals include graduate work in political science with a focus in international relations.

Internship in Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco Office

We are pleased to announce that Caitlin Vejby (Class of 2011) has secured internship with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco Office. She will spend 2 days a week for the fall semester working in the district office doing a variety of different tasks.

Pi Sigma Alpha  Best Paper Competition

We are pleased to announce that Audrey Curtis (Class of 2009) entered the  Pi Sigma Alpha  Best Paper Competition in the category of Best Undergraduate Honors Thesis and her thesis "Manly Women:  A Look at the Effects of Masculine Qualities on Women's Political Success," was awarded "Runner-Up." There was a record number of submissions this year and we are very proud of Audrey's accomplishment.

International Studies Association West Conference: The Human Consequences of State Political Action

Mr. Daniel Tapia-Jimenez will present his paper entitled "Typical approaches to an atypical problem: an evaluation of US economic aid to Pakistan." The conference will be held in San Francisco September 25-26, 2009.

Panetta Institute Congressional Internship Program

Ms. Juleah Cordi has been selected to participate in the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Congressional Internship Program. She will be in Washington, D.C. for the fall 2009 semester. Juleah has been very active during her time at Dominican. This past year she has served as Vice President for the Dominican Political Science Association, has been a Resident Advisor, and a Student Ambassador. Academically she is very accomplished as well. She is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science Honors Society) and Gamma Sigma and has recently presented a paper at the Southwestern Political Science Association's annual meeting in April 2009. Last year she participated in Dominican's campus-wide event the Vote-Smart Challenge 2008 as a member of the Foreign Policy team and has served as a judge for the Marin YMCA Youth and Government's bill sponsor program for the past 3 years. Juleah plans on attending graduate school in Public Policy after graduation (in May 2010) to pursue her dual interests in Agriculture policy and Health Care policy. Juleah is an intelligent, genuine, and kind young woman who will be greatly missed on campus next fall. We are extremely proud of her and thrilled that she will be representing the department and Dominican University in Washington,D.C..

Audrey Curtis Publishes with the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal

The department is proud to announce, Audrey Curtis’ paper, Manly Women: A Look at the Effects of Masculine Qualities on Women's Political Success has been accepted for publication in the spring 2009 issue of the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics. Audrey's paper aims to find a correlation between the number of masculine traits possessed by female politicians and the level of power they achieve. The Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics publishes manuscripts of the highest quality in all areas of political science from undergraduates of any class or major. In general, papers selected for publication have been well-written with a well-developed thesis, compelling argument, and original analysis. The Journal is a student-run enterprise with editors and an Editorial Board who are undergraduate Pi Sigma Alpha members at Union College. Audrey is a senior honors student majoring in political science and English here at Dominican University of California. She has been a member of Pi Sigma Alpha (the National Political Science Honor Society) since fall 2007.

Model United Nations 2009

In April 2009, ten students from the Department of Political Science and International Studies will participate in the 59th Annual Model United Nations Far West Conference in San Francisco. The theme for the conference is “Looking Backwards, Moving Forwards: Reconciling History with Humanity.” The Dominican contingent is representing France and Syria. The Model United Nations Far West Conference enables colleges to participate in model sessions of the United Nations in an effort to advance the students understanding of the principles and means by which international relations may be maintained.

Southwestern Political Science Association Annual Conference 2009

One area in which we are very proud of our students is research and conference participation. Each year students from the department and their faculty adviser work closely to develop paper topics to submit to various conferences within the discipline as well as for general undergraduate research. This year four students have been invited to present their research at the 2009 Southwestern Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado April 7-11. We congratulate our four students as they prepare to present the following papers:

• Alexandra Cimatu “Poverty, Tradition, and Women: An Economic and Cultural Argument for High Birthrates in the Developing World”
• Juleah Cordi “Choking the Small American Farm: Changes in Modern Agricultural Policy”
• Audrey Curtis “(Wo)Manly Politicians: Studying Voter Preference for Masculine versus Feminine Female Politicians
• Walter Wrigglesworth “Less Communism, More Community: An Analysis of China's Movement towards Capitalism and away from Totalitarianism”

Department of Political Science and International Studies Fall 2008 Open House

In early October the department along with DPSA (Dominican Political Science Association) hosted its annual fall open house. The event included several student speakers who shared their experiences in the department as well as initiation ceremonies for Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Alpha Delta. We congratulate Juleah Cordi, Adrienne Formentos, and Jenna Joyner as the newest initiates to Pi Sigma Alpha. We also congratulate the following students who were initiated as members or sworn in as officers to Phi Alpha Delta: Abigail Infante, Alejandra Mendoza, Kristina Montano, Tony Rubalcava.

Ying Yang’s summer study abroad experience in Thailand

Senior student Ying Yang spent three months studying and working in Thailand this past summer. Ying shares with us a little bit about her experience as well as some incredible photos she took while she was overseas.

Study abroad is such a fun and positive learning experience. What is better than having your university make it one of its biggest recommendations???!! I studied abroad in Bangkok, Thailand and the experience opened my eyes to new things. I was able to have conversations in Thai within the three months that I was there. I built new bridges and crossed new frontiers. I still keep in touch with the friends that I met. I taught English to Thai students and enjoyed the night life. Not only did I earn units for courses, I was able to bring back my experience and share it with the school. Dominican allowed me to go and learn and it welcomed me back with proud arms. I have always wanted to study abroad and having Dominican behind me made things easier. The staff here understood my call and helped me pave my way to Thailand. I went to Thailand and Dominican helped me get there.

Southwestern Political Science Association 2008

Walter Wrigglesworth and Audrey Curtis presented papers at the 2008 Southwestern Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 12-15. Walter's paper was entitled, "From Red to Blue: A Look at the Ramifications of China's Transition from Communism to Capitalism and Democracy" (he also presented this paper at the 2008 National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Salisbury University in Maryland on April 10-12). Audrey's paper was entitled, "Manly Women: A Look at the Effects of Masculine Qualities on Women's Political Success"