SPOTLIGHTS Farnsworth Receives Educator Award
Stephen Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington professor of political science and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, has received the 2017 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award by SCHEV. Farnsworth is one of 12 faculty members in Virginia to receive this year’s highest state honor for professors, and the third professor from University of Mary Washington (UMW) to earn the award.
“Stephen Farnsworth demonstrates excellence in everything he does—here at UMW, throughout Virginia and the US, and in his significant global outreach efforts,” said UMW President Troy Paino in a press release.
“I am thrilled beyond words to have been selected by SCHEV,” said Farnsworth. “Only a handful of Mary Washington’s most impressive faculty have been selected for this lifetime achievement award, and I am deeply humbled to be listed among such exemplary friends and colleagues.”
A political scientist who focuses on Virginia politics, Farnsworth’s research findings are reported by hundreds of media contacts each year on local, state, and international matters. He has written five books and has moderated Virginia political debates and organized visits of prominent state officials to UMW. Still, he remains dedicated to being accessible to students and getting them involved in his work.
Farnsworth has also won UMW’s Alumni Association Outstanding Young Faculty Award, its Richard Palmieri Outstanding Professor Award, and its Mary W. Pinschmidt Teaching Award. Last fall, the national political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha recognized Farnsworth for his dedication and service.
Greenhill Receives NEH Fellowship
Kelly M. Greenhill, a political science professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship to further her research on how rumors, conspiracy theories, myths, propaganda, and entertainment media influence the beliefs and decision-making of individuals and governments. The NEH, which announced the fellowship in December, is one of the largest independent funders of humanities programs in the United States.
Greenhill’s research will focus on the often significant impact of what she calls “extra-factual information” on the how individuals and governments perceive and respond to security-related threats.
“There’s never been a more crucial time to explore the effects of ’fake news’ and fact-bending on decision-making at all levels of our society,” said Deborah Schildkraut, chair of the political science department at Tufts. “Professor Greenhill’s research will help us understand a fascinating topic that impacts so many.”
Greenhill’s forthcoming book, Whispers of War, Mongers of Fear: Extra-factual Sources of Threat Conception and Proliferation, explores how individuals learn what to fear and how to respond to the threats they have identified, particularly during periods of significant ambiguity and heightened danger. Such episodes include the aftermath of terrorist attacks, and during wars, economic crises, and other periods of domestic or international unrest. The book examines the influence of extra-factual information from the late 19th century through today, and includes cases from the United States, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Her research illustrates how extra-factual information sources often have had exercised profound influence on national security decision-making at the highest levels of government.
“I’m enormously honored to have received this prestigious fellowship as well as the inestimably valuable endorsement and support of the NEH in order to advance my research,” said Greenhill. “While I have been working on this book for quite some time, the discussion of the impact of ’fake news’ in the recent presidential election makes this topic even more timely and the consequences of ignoring this critical policy issue all the more apparent.”
Greenhill specializes in the study of military force and what are frequently called “new security challenges,” including civil wars, insurgencies, and military intervention; the use of forced migration as a weapon; US foreign policy; and international crime as a challenge to domestic governance.
She is the author of several books, including the award-winning Weapons of Mass Migration: Forced Displacement, Coercion and Foreign Policy, and coauthor and coeditor of Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts: The Politics of Numbers in Global Crime and Conflict, The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics, and the forthcoming The Power to Hurt: Coercion in Theory and Practice.
In addition to her role at Tufts, Greenhill serves as Research Fellow and chair of the Conflict, Security, and Public Policy Working Group at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and as associate editor of the journal International Security.
Menifield New Dean
Rutgers University has announced the appointment of Charles E. Menifield as dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark effective September 1, 2017. Menifield follows Gregg G. Van Ryzin, who has been serving as interim dean of SPAA since July 2016. Marc Holzer led as Founding Dean of the school from its establishment in 2006 to June 2016.
Menifield has a strong record of national leadership roles in public affairs and administration and is widely respected for his scholarship on budgeting and financial management, public health, welfare, and the participation of underrepresented groups in politics, noted a statement from Rutgers University–Newark chancellor Nancy Cantor and Rutgers University–Newark Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Jerome Williams. “Charles’ scholarship and teaching are informed by substantial experience in the public sector and extensive research on the effectiveness of public policy on a range of issues affecting underserved communities,” their statement continued.
Menifield will come to Rutgers SPAA from the University of Missouri–Columbia, where he has been associate dean for academic programs at the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs since 2013 and professor since 2012. Prior to that, he was at the University of Memphis for nine years where he was a professor and associate professor and served as director of the public and nonprofit administration program.
He has twice been a visiting scholar at the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, DC, where he did extensive research on state implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Prior to working in Washington, he was an associate professor of political science and public administration at Mississippi State University and an assistant professor at Murray State University.
“I look forward to joining SPAA next fall to continue the legacy of dean [Marc] Holzer and to work together to embrace the school’s mission to promote academic scholarship as well expand public engagement activities,” said Menifield. “We will continue to work diligently to assist Newark and other local communities in their efforts to solve problems and address issues that benefit our community while we continue to encourage and advance academic scholarship in the discipline.”
Menifield’s research interests lie primarily in the areas of budgeting and financial management, public health and welfare, and minority politics. Other areas include public management information systems, education finance, and public administration education. He has two books on minority politics and two books on public budgeting and financial management. His most recent articles have appeared in the Journal of Education Finance and Public Administration Quarterly. His current research examines the prevalence of obesity, infant mortality, and other health care factors on children.
His 2005 book, Politics in the New South: Representation of African Americans in Southern State Legislatures, edited with Stephen D. Shaffer, won the V.O. Key Award from the Southern Political Science Association for best book written on southern politics that year.
Menifield has served on the Executive Council of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, as president of the International Conference on Local Government, and on editorial boards including Public Administration Review; Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management; Journal of Health and Human Services Administration; and the Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs. An award-winning teacher, he is a former Ronald E. McNair Scholar and in spring 2016 won the Missouri University Faculty Achievement Award in Diversity.
He earned his PhD in political science (in the fields of American politics and public administration) at the University of Missouri–Columbia, and both his master’s in public policy and administration and his bachelor’s degree at Mississippi State University.
Moen to Lead Foundation
Matthew C. Moen, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Lohre Distinguished Professor and professor of political science, left the University of South Dakota (USD) after 15 years to begin his new position as president of Gettysburg Foundation in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in March 2017.
As dean of the largest college at USD, Moen led 16 academic departments, oversaw a multi-million dollar budget and helped raise more than $21 million in the current university capital campaign.
“We are very grateful to Dean Moen for the many contributions he has made to the University of South Dakota during his time here,” said Jim Moran, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “His commitment to the liberal arts has helped to make USD a stronger institution.”
“Matt has been a tremendous dean of the College of Arts & Sciences,” said USD president James W. Abbott. “He is nationally recognized with his leadership positions in the New England Political Science Association (NEPSA) and Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences (CCAS). His new position is a wonderful opportunity that combines both his leadership talents and his passion for a liberal arts education.”
Before joining USD as dean in 2002, Moen spent 16 years at the University of Maine. Past leadership positions include chair of the Professional Ethics Committee of the American Political Science Association, president of the NEPSA, and president of the CCAS. In 2011, governor Dennis Daugaard appointed Moen to the board of directors of the South Dakota Humanities Council, where he served for five years, including chair of the board.
Moen received his BA from Augustana University and doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. He is author/coauthor of six books and dozens of articles on American politics.
Gettysburg Foundation’s preservation mission includes the funding and operation of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center; land, monument and artifact preservation; battlefield rehabilitation; with a major focus on leadership and civic education.
Former APSA President Honored
The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) announced its election of political scientist Margaret Levi, the Sara Miller McCune Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford, as its 2017 Robert A. Dahl Fellow. The award recognizes the contributions Levi has made to social science and her efforts to bring the results of her research to public attention.
Levi has made foundational contributions in comparative politics, the ways in which the quality of government can be improved, and political economies that can sustain workers. She and the other elected fellows will be inducted at a ceremony to be held in Washington, DC, on May 18, 2017.
“I am thrilled to be selected as a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,” said Levi. “For more than a century the AAPSS has dedicated itself to a mission I share: using social science to address major societal problems. I am particularly proud to hold the Robert Dahl Fellowship; the fact that [Nobel Prize winner] Elinor Ostrom held the same designation makes me prouder still. These were two of the real intellectual giants of their period, and I hope I can contribute even a fraction of what they have to the advancement of social science and society.”
Levi also is professor of political science at Stanford as well as the Jere L. Bacharach Professor Emerita of International Studies in the department of political science at the University of Washington. She became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow in 2002, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2015. She served as president of the American Political Science Association in 2004–2005. In 2014 she received the William H. Riker Prize in Political Science.
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New President of Duke
Vincent Price, provost of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) since 2009, has been elected Duke University’s tenth president, announced David Rubenstein, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. Price will succeed Richard H. Brodhead on July 1, 2017. Brodhead announced in April that he planned to step down after 13 years as president.
In addition to being the chief academic officer at Penn, Price is the Steven H. Chaffee Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication and professor of political science in the School of Arts and Sciences.
“I could not be more pleased with this decision,” said David Rubenstein. “Vince Price has demonstrated throughout his distinguished academic career the type of strong, effective and enlightened leadership which will ensure that Duke has a worthy successor to Dick Brodhead.”
Price called Duke “a very special place where innovation is fueled by creativity, and continually informed by rigorous and groundbreaking scholarship. Most important, it’s a place deeply dedicated to improving our world through research, service, and education.”
As the chief academic officer at Penn, Price oversees the university’s 12 schools and colleges, centers and institutes, student affairs, athletics, and the arts. He has advanced initiatives to diversify the faculty, develop new forms of teaching and learning, enhance arts and culture on campus, and facilitate interdisciplinary research and teaching.
He led Penn’s role as one of the first partners in Coursera, the online open learning platform, and served as founding chair of Coursera’s University Advisory Board. He also serves as a trustee of the Wistar Institute, a nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to saving lives through science, and on the executive planning group for University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Price has been the catalyst for Penn’s global strategy, hiring the university’s first vice provost for global initiatives and spearheading the creation of the Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing, which opened in 2015. Before being appointed provost, Price served at Penn as interim provost, associate provost for faculty affairs, chair of the Faculty Senate, and associate dean of the Annenberg School.
Price is former editor-in-chief of Public Opinion Quarterly, the leading journal of public opinion research; former guest editor of both “Communication Research” and “Political Communication”; and an active board member of several academic journals. He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and the University of Amsterdam, and has delivered more than 100 presentations at universities and colloquia around the world.
His awards for teaching and research include the Robert M. Worcester Award from the World Association for Public Opinion Research, the K. Kyoon Hur Award from the International Communication Association, the Nafziger-White Award from the American Association in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Award of Recognition from the American Association of Public Opinion Research.
Price earned a PhD (1987) and master’s degree (1985) in communication from Stanford University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University Honors Program at Santa Clara University in 1979. Before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998, he was chair and associate professor of communication studies and a faculty associate of the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan.
