Department of
Political Science
Kansas State University
101D Calvin Hall
802 Mid-Campus Drive South
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6842
785-532-2339 (fax)
polsci@k-state.edu
Dr. Laurie Johnson has won the College of Arts and Sciences’ most prestigious award for undergraduate advising, the William L. Stamey Advising Award. Dr. Johnson received the honor in recognition of the outstanding job she has done mentoring and advising not only political science students, but also students from all majors participating in KSU’s Primary Text Program.
Continue reading “Johnson Wins Stamey Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising”
We are pleased that Dr. Michael Flynn joined the department in fall 2014. Flynn was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alabama in 2013-2014, and received his PhD from Binghamton University in 2013. He is already a highly accomplished scholar on US foreign policy issues, and thus a nice complement to our department and our Security Studies graduate programs.
Four internationally prominent political scientists traveled to Manhattan to meet with political science students and faculty last year. Each also presented well-attended talks on campus.
Ann Bowman, Professor and Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Chair at Texas A&M University, gave a presentation entitled “The State-Local Government Power Differential” on May 13. Bowman is the author of multiple books and has published in leading journals in both political science and public administration such as Public Administration Review, Publius, and Political Research Quarterly. She was previously the James and Maude Professor of Government at the University of South Carolina.
Continue reading “Prominent Scholars Give Talks in the Department”
One reason visiting scholars enjoy coming to KSU is the opportunity it provides for interaction and collaboration with our own well-known faculty. Unfortunately, an important professor in the department has departed for career advancement. Joe Aistrup, who served as Head of the department from 2002 to 2009 and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences from 2009 to 2013, became the new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University in Alabama in August. Aistrup had an extremely positive impact on the department during his tenure as Head, and his influence will be felt for years to come.
We are pleased to announce that Zhiwei Zhang, who recently earned his PhD in Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky, has joined the department. Zhang is an expert in public budgeting, public finance and non-profit finance, and will teach courses on these subjects and others in the MPA program and the department. He recently published an article on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Public Performance and Management Review and has presented research at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management meetings.
Dr. Zhang’s arrival is just one of the exciting developments within our MPA program we plan to highlight in future newsletters!
When K-State’s Division of Student Life honored 15 graduating seniors for contributions to KSU over the course of their collegiate careers this past April, five of the honorees were political science majors! The Student Life Awards have been given annually since 1999 and competition for this distinction is fierce. “It’s always a difficult decision,” Pat Bosco, KSU Vice-President and Dean of Student Life said. “K-State has so many remarkable seniors who go out of their way to improve the campus experience for other students, but this group’s accomplishments really stand out.”
Continue reading “Political Science Seniors Honored for Leadership and Improving Campus Life”
The department held its annual scholarship reception on Thursday, April 18th, at the Bluemont Room in the K-State Student Union. Family, guests, donors, and faculty members joined our scholarship winners and majors for an enjoyable afternoon. Please consider joining the fun at next year’s reception. Information on the 2014 reception will be available on the department’s website www.ksu.edu/polsci when the event draws near.
Continue reading “Annual Scholarship Reception and Scholarship Winners”