The 2011 Teaching Political Theory and Theories track drew scholars from Europe and the United States and featured work from political scientists representing the four major subfields. While analyzing the nine papers presented, participants articulated a range of perspectives on questions of pedagogy and the relationship between political theory and political science; indeed, the variety of perspectives confirmed the ongoing contestability of many central concepts in both the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTAL) and the discipline of political science. Whether discussing ways to develop assignments for undergraduate research projects on the Tea Party or how to employ insights from deliberative democratic theory to assess the role of education in addressing racial violence in the United States, participants confronted important questions regarding the role of theory in the discipline, the broadening of undergraduate and graduate teaching strategies, and assessment of the effectiveness of alternative teaching strategies.

The Teaching Research Methods track at the 2011 APSA Teaching and Learning Conference built upon many of the themes from past years and brought to fruition some of the recommendations made at previous meetings. The group touched on numerous topics, but there were a few main themes that informed each conversation. First, the papers and commentary focused on determining the best way to give our students, especially our majors, a solid research methods background. Because faculty from many types of colleges and universities were present and offered varying accounts of the particular needs and career goals of their school's students, the group did not reach a consensus as to a uniform course of study that would be appropriate for every institution. Although participants had different ideas about how to implement a methods course of study, many presentations highlighted the necessity to forefront methods training and further integrate it into the political science curriculum.

Richard Pierre Claude epitomized the scholar/activist. As a student at Florida State in 1960, he sat down with friends at a lunch counter in Tallahassee in violation of municipal law. He had a distinguished career at the University of Maryland. One of his proudest achievements was the founding of the Human Rights Quarterly, which he edited for four years. The impetus for founding HRQ was that the human rights field was dominated by lawyers, and while a number of social scientists were interested in doing scholarly work on human rights, the traditional journals were not receptive to this subject matter. Claude's vision for HRQ may be evidenced by the results from Project Muse, an electronic website administered by Johns Hopkins University Press. Of the 436 journals on Project Muse, Human Rights Quarterly ranked third in terms of downloads of articles in 2010, with 207,440.

Professor Emeritus Robert Lynn Savage, 71, of Fayetteville passed away January 26, 2011. He was born February 26, 1939, in Fort Worth, Texas. He served in the United States Air Force from 1956 to 1959. Savage received his BA degree from Tarleton State College in 1963 and his MA degree from the University of Houston, where he served as a graduate and teaching assistant from 1964 to 1966. He graduated in 1966 with a thesis entitled “Absurdity and the Political System: The Political Thought of Albert Camus” under the direction of Professor John Green. Upon graduation, he served as an instructor before he continued his pursuit of a doctorate in political science from the University of Missouri–Columbia. He completed his academic work in 1971 with a dissertation entitled “Sociocultural Change and Policy Values in the American States.” His dissertation chair was Professor Dan Nimmo, with whom Bob maintained a lifelong friendship. Nimmo's influence shaped Savage's interest in political communication and behavior and state politics. His first appointment as assistant professor brought him to Auburn University at Montgomery, where he worked from 1971 to 1974, when he started his career at the University of Arkansas in the fall of 1974. He was promoted to associate professor just three years later in 1977 and to professor in 1982. He served as interim chair during that year and eventually as chair of the department from 1989 to 1998. Bob retired in 2001.

Robert Swansbrough was born on May 3, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, and died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 1, 2011.

The APSA Annual Meeting, held September 1–4 in Seattle, Washingon, is an opportunity to connect: with colleagues, with the political science community, with a timely topic. Panels and roundtables allow attendees to explore the theme “The Politics of Rights,” while special events encourage interaction and networking. Whether you are in search of scholarly research, an introduction to new contacts, fresh career opportunities, or an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, the Annual Meeting has it all.

After careful consideration of suggestions from the APSA membership and organized groups, the Nominating Committee has agreed on the following slate of political scientists as its nominees for elective office in the association. In developing the final slate of proposed candidates, the committee was guided by the APSA's bylaws that require “due regard to diversity, geographical distribution, fields of professional interest, type of institution, and academic/nonacademic employment status,” as well as by mandates from the APSA Council, the charge from APSA President Carole Pateman, and a commitment to selecting candidates with distinguished records of achievement in advancing the multiple goals of the APSA.

In addition to the ardent call for political scientists to broaden their theories about legislative representation and behavior to include a broader analysis of the everyday operations of Congress, the call for a more nuanced approach to the study of race and ethnic politics resonates just as deeply. With the emergence of black ethnic caucuses such as the Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Congressional Caucus (EEAC) and the subsequent election of President Barack Obama, African immigrants and their progeny have been made visible to the American polity in ways they have never been before. As an Ethiopian American whose personal and professional interest aims to highlight the significance of black ethnic political participation and representation in U.S. politics, I found working for Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) as an APSA Congressional Fellow to be an extraordinary opportunity to explore how and why African American members of Congress in particular, and other nonblack legislators more broadly, represent their constituents beyond race.

The Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs is an invaluable resource to political and social scientists. Since its opening in September 2003, the Center has housed more than 100 scholars. The center, located in the APSA headquarters near Dupont Circle, provides a great base of operations for scholars researching in the DC metro area. The Center offers visiting scholars furnished work space, telephone, fax, computers, Internet access, conference space, a reference library, and access to George Washington University's Gelman Library. Visiting scholar stays range from a few days to 12 months. Space is limited to APSA members and is available for faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students from the United States and abroad. Scholars are expected to cover their own expenses and a modest facilities fee for the use of the center. Prospective visiting scholars may apply at any time. Positions are awarded on a space-available basis. Full details on the center and the Visiting Scholars Program are online at http://www.apsanet.org/centennialcenter. You may also contact Veronica Jones at APSA: (202) 483-2512; vjones@apsanet.org.

The American Political Science Association's 2011 Africa Workshop will be led by Todd Eisenstadt and Carl LeVan, both of American University in Washington, DC, along with Josephine Ahikire from Makerere University in Uganda and Karuti Kanyinga from the University of Nairobi. The Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi will be hosting the workshop in July. The workshop will be the fourth in a multi-year effort supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to encourage collaboration between political scientists in United States and Africa.

The APSA discovered just before going to press that the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, has been cancelled for FY 2011. From the inception of the awards in 1965 through 1994, 13% of all Fulbright-Hays fellowships supported students of political science or economics. In FY 2010, at least ten doctoral political science students received DDRA funding for work in locations ranging from Brazil to Burma. The following article provides further background and highlights some specific research projects DDRA funding has enabled in Africa.

When this article was written, it was hoped that in a worst-case scenario, the FY 2011 budget passed by Congress would result in a smaller overall number of awards. Unfortunately, the funding constraints discussed here have been fully realized, causing this year's program to be cancelled entirely. The piece remains in its original form, in the hope that it poignantly illustrates the value of DDRA funding and helps make the case for its restoration in the FY 2012 congressional budget. The APSA continues to work with several partners, including the National Humanities Alliance and the Coalition for International Education, to reinstate this valuable resource for the social science scholarship of our nation's emerging academics.

APSA has received three petitions to amend the APSA Constitution. One proposal has been submitted by a petition of at least 50 APSA members. The other two proposals have been submitted by the APSA Council.

This Association shall be known as The American Political Science Association.