Collection documents Staten Island politics.

Linda Lopez joins NSF.

Ralph Bunche Summer Institute names 2006 class.

Putnam awarded Johan Skytte prize.

PS Political Science & Politics October 2006 preview.

Washington Insider.

APSA names 2006 Small Research Grant recipients.

Center PAGE.

Israel and United States have been closely allied since Israel's founding. President Harry S Truman officially recognized Israel almost immediately after it declared independence, and popular support for this new state grew among Americans Jews and Christians alike. Support for Israel has remained high even as the strategic value of the alliance has apparently diminished. Indeed, in supporting Israel the United States has at times pursued a sub-optimal foreign policy. This presents an interesting political puzzle: in a country where public policy is made by majoritarian institutions (Congress and the president) designed to represent local interests and opinion, how has the cause of this small country maintained consistently high levels of support from policymakers and the public alike? That is the question we, together with our colleagues Kenneth Wald and Beth Rosenson, investigate in this research project.

I have no interest in setting a precedent with this short valedictory, and trust none of my colleagues who chair other standing committees will think this presumptuous. There is, however, something about chairing the Association's Committee on Professional Ethics, Rights, and Freedoms which makes the experience somewhat unique, and I am hopeful this short message will help sensitize my colleagues into keeping the question of ethics in their minds as they ply the academic vineyards.

Given our national obsession with efficiency, time management, and resource allocation, it is astounding that political scientists have not recently examined the organizational structure of congressional offices. Between the House of Representatives and Senate, there are 535 individual fiefdoms that employ those who toil away on Capitol Hill. What becomes abundantly clear from working on the Hill is that each of these offices marches to the beat of a different drummer. Every morning, after the ritualistic quest for coffee and the obligatory trot through security scanners, over 17,000 staffers find their way and open the doors to their respective offices. It is assumed that what works for one office is not a panacea for all.

The redirection of the Steiger Fund several years ago to provide Centennial Center research support for former APSA Congressional Fellows (CFP) has been a classic case of hiding your light beneath a bushel. Hopefully this brief article can begin to reverse the trend. Who was William Steiger, and why should he be remembered?

For the past 18 months, APSA has been working with the Academic Fellowship Program (AFP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) (www.soros.org/initiatives/hesp/focus/afp) to support their programs in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and establish new linkages with political scientists and departments in the region. OSI recently held a conference bringing together 90 scholars from over 25 university departments from across the region. APSA members Benjamin Read (University of Iowa) and Susan L. Woodward (The Graduate Center, CUNY) were invited participants. Woodward has served as an AFP Non-Resident International Scholar, working with the faculty of political science at Belgrade University. Read was invited by AFP to discuss field research methods.

This article provides information about the Academic Fellowship Program, as well as an overview of the conference proceedings.

For more information about this conference and the APSA-OSI/AFP relationship, contact Bahram Rajaee at the APSA National Office (brajaee@apsanet.org).