2014 graduate Chelsea Hagar

2014 PP&E graduate Chelsea Hager recently landed a full time job working for Congressman Derek Kilmer in his Tacoma office.  Hager welcomes the opportunity to expand her professional development, enhance her interpersonal skills, and have some fun before pursuing her post-graduate education.

Chelsea tChelsea Hagerransferred to UWT from the University of Hawaii, Manoa. With her family and friends in Washington state—she is one of six daughters—she missed the Pacific Northwest, and was happy to come back home. Upon arriving she quickly choose to major in Politics, Philosophy & Economics as the major “encompasses all of my academic interests.”

In her senior year, Chelsea began to work in Rep. Kilmer’s Tacoma office as a way to gain experience and meet her capstone requirement.  In March 2014, Hager was hired as the Staff Assistant and has taken on the coordination for the Tacoma District Office internship program. While the position is very challenging, it aligns with her interests in public service and her passion for politics.  Earlier this year, Chelsea gained admission to seven law schools. However, but she has since decided to delay law school for one year. She will reapply next fall, and plans to practice public service law one day. For now, she enjoys running and has recently completed a 15k, with her sights set on finishing a half-marathon. Perhaps–someday–she’ll even run for office!

Summer course on Elections and Campaigns engages students

This summer wVoting is Patriotice’re providing a unique opportunity for students to gain credit while also working on election-related activities such as working on a campaign, working on campaign coverage in the news, or investigating particular issues that arise during the campaign season. In the course TPOLS 405 Advanced Elections and Campaigns taught by Prof. Ben Gonzalez, you’ll learn about the rules and organization of political campaigns, and examine the role of media and campaign finance in the outcome of elections. PPE and Law and Policy students can also use this class to meet capstone requirements! For more information, email Ben Gonzalez at bfg@uw.edu.

Professor Hashemi keynote speaker in Middle East and Africa seminar

PPPA’s seminar series focusing on the Middle East and Africa continues this Spring with a keynoteNader Hashemi photo address by Professor Nader Hashemi (right) of the University of Denver (UD).  Prof. Hashemi is an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies at UD’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is also Director of UD’s Center for Middle East Studies, and the author of several books on politics and the Middle East.  As a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, and with opinion pieces in places such as the New York Times, Prof. Hashemi has quickly become one of the most sought after experts on the Middle East.  His address is titled “Is Hassan an Iranian Gorbachev? An Assessment of the Islamic Republic after the Geneva Nuclear Deal.” This talk will take place May 7th at 4 pm in the Tacoma Room.

Also on tap spring quarter:  The distinguished Mr. Faisal Roble of the Institute for Roblethe Horn of Africa Studies will be visiting the UW Tacoma campus.  Mr. Roble (left) is a well-respected intellectual, political analyst, and essayist with extensive experience in Africa’s Horn region.  He will be delivering a lecture entitled “Post Civil War Somalia:  Challenges and Opportunities,”  on April 10th at 4 pm  in the Carwein Auditorium.  UW Seattle’s James Long (below), Assistant Professor of Political Science and an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, will follow this up with a talk on Long“Electoral Fraud and Political Violence in Africa.”  Prof. Long’s research focuses on elections in fragile and developing countries, the dynamics of electoral fraud, the causes of electoral violence, and the effects of civil war and insurgency on state-building and development.  Long studies these issues in both sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, and will be speaking on campus April 23rd, 12:30 pm in CP 103. Rounding out the spring schedule will be our own Michael Wotherspoon, a senior in Law and Policy, who will discuss “The Press, Ethnicity and Free Speech in Kyrgyzstan”.  His talk will be based on his experiences in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where he’s been working for Spektator Magazine.  May 29th, 12:30 pm in the Tacoma Room.  Thanks to both IAS and UW Tacoma’s Arts and Lecturer Committee for making these events possible.     Continue reading

From Tacoma to Bishkek: PPPA students experience internships

Lester-Burkes

Lester Burkes, intern for Sen. Sheldon

This winter was a busy time for student internships.  Eleven of our students won spots in the prestigious Washington State Legislative Internship program in Olympia – which meant once again UW Tacoma sent more students to participate in this program than did any other school in the state. Students interned with senators and representatives during the past legislative session. In addition to their office work, interns participated in weekly academic seminars and workshops, met with state officials, took part in a budget exercises, and participated in mock hearings and mock floor debates. Many also had opportunities to shadow an elected official or administrator of a state agency, and take a trip to Victoria, B.C. to compare law making in Canada with law making in the US. Seven other PPPA students interned for members of the US Congress here in Tacoma (Rep. Derek Kilmer) and Seattle (Sen. Patty Murray), while three went to Washington, DC  to work for Rep. Kilmer, Rep. Adam Smith, and Sen. Maria Cantwell.  One other intern worked at Joint Base Ft. Lewis-McChord, and a final was the ASUWT representative in Olympia.

Brandon Bannister-150x150

Brandon Bannister debating on the Senate fl

Michael-Wotherspoon-150x150

Michael in Bishkek

 

 

 

 

Kristie Weisert
Global Studies major Kristie Weisert interned for Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles. While sitting at the Senator’s desk, she remarked that “my Senator makes me feel like I could actually be a Senator one day!”
My-Le Tang

My-Le Tang with Gov. Inslee

 

 

 

 

 

This quar­ter also saw one of our stu­dents, Michael Wother­spoon (a senior, major­ing in Law and Pol­icy)  intern in Bishkek, Kyr­gyzs­tan.  He is still there study­ing Russ­ian and writ­ing for Spek­ta­tor Mag­a­zine, a pub­li­ca­tion that reports on Cen­tral Asian affairs.  Our man in Bishkek is writ­ing arti­cles about demo­c­ra­tic reform and free­dom of reli­gion in the Kyr­gyz Repub­lic  — a topic he’ll share with us during a May 29th seminar.

                                                   

 

Two faculty members to join PPPA

Sarah HampsonIAS recently hired two new faculty members who will join PPPA faculty next year. Sarah Hampson will be joining us to teach courses in public law.  She is currently finishing up her PhD. in Political Science at the University of Connecticut, and her specialty is in Law and Society, with a special interest in policies around a work/life balance. She is interested in connecting big questions in law and society with practical public policies. She is also interested in politics, women in the military, and race and ethnicity in American Politics. “I am very excited to be joining UW Tacoma this fall, and I look forward to teaching courses in public law, including Law in Society, Constitutional Law, and  Law and Public Policy.”

Elizabeth Bruch is our new expert in human rights.  She earned a law degree from the UniversityElizabeth Bruch of Wisconsin, has a PhD in sociology from the University of British Columbia, and will be teaching courses primarily in the area of human rights.  Her research focuses on international law and policy, human rights, and humanitarian intervention.  Having worked as a human rights lawyer before she began teaching, Elizabeth brings this perspective to her classes and scholarship.  “I am looking forward to joining the PPPA Division of IAS this coming fall. My family and I will be moving to the Tacoma area from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and we are excited to explore another part of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.”   Next year she will be teaching International Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Law and International Organizations.

Annual internship and PPPA paper prize event

Arianna-Shorey1-150x150Scheduled for April 30 during the lunch hour, our annual internship event offers a chance for faculty and students to hear about our students’ internship experiences over the year. This event is also coupled with the announcement of our annual paper prize competition winner.  This award goes to the student chosen by faculty for having written the best capstone paper. Last year, the award went to Arianna Shorey (right) who last month presented her paper to faculty and students during a lunch hour seminar.  Previous winners and their papers can be found in UW Tacoma’s Digital Commons collection.  

Relaunching of student club

PPE-club-officers-150x150This winter, the Politics Philosophy & Economics club voted in a new set of officers (left).  The club’s mission is to provide a venue for students to explore their interests in anything related to politics, philosophy or economics, and to provide students with experiences and resources that aren’t available in the classroom setting. For more information, contact the new club president, Nicholas Eutsler (eutslern@uw.edu) 

Spring class: run Washington, DC

This spring, PPPA is offering a new course on the United States Congress (TPOLS 353).   It providesintern 5 a unique learning opportunity by engaging students in an actual simulation of a legislative session through the use of specialized computer software. Students will be assigned to committees, will debate issues, and will hold votes. Some days will be designated for committee work, while others will be used to elect “legislators” to positions, vote on bills, allow for floor speeches, debate legislation,  and so on. Through this hands-on experience, students will gain an appreciation for how the U.S. Congress functions.   The course is offered Monday & Wednesday 10:20-12:25.  Contact Prof. Ben Gonzalez for more information (bfg@uw.edu).

Study abroad in China this summer

DragonThis summer, UW Tacoma students will be joining Professor Mary Hanneman (PPPA) and Professor Yi Li (Tacoma Community College) on a four-week study abroad program to Lanzhou, China.  Students will study Mandarin Chinese along with Chinese history and culture for three weeks at Lanzhou University.  The study abroad program will conclude with a one-week trip to the ancient Silk Road city of Dunhuang, site of some of early Chinese Buddhism’s most important grotto murals, followed by a two-day stay in the vibrant Chinese capital of Beijing.  If  you are interested in signing up, contact Mary Hanneman (hanneman@uw.edu).

UW Tacoma’s Pre-Law Society gets in gear

For those students considering law school–no matter the interest level–UW Tacoma’s Pre-Law Society (PLS) can be a valuable resource. This year the PLS is led by PPPA students Chelsea Hager and Brian Holden, and has been active in sponsoring law-related events. Last fall, Ann Kitchel, Assistant Professor at Willamette University College of Law, visited with PLS members, engaged them in a mock law school class and answered questions about the law school admissions process. Speaking about her visit, Brian Holden noted “I didn’t realize how much work applying to law school would be.”

Want more information? Check out the PLS on DawgDen, or contact Chelsea Hager (hagerc2@uw.edu) or Brian Holden (bch9@uw.edu).