News and Events
$10 million Rooney Foundation gift to support Center for American Democracy (March 2008)
The current Program in American Democracy will be replaced by the new Rooney Center for American Democracy, made possible by a generous gift from the Francis and Kathleen Rooney Foundation. New hires, faculty and graduate student research, and programs for undergraduates will be funded by this exciting new Center. >Press Release
Political Women and American Democracy, edited by Christina Wolbrecht, Karen E. Beckwith, and Lisa Baldez, published by Cambridge University Press (March 2008)
Political Women and American Democracy contains a series of essays that originated at the May 2006 Program in American Democacy conference of the same name. Edited by conference organizers Wolbrecht, Beckwith, and Baldez, the volume provides a critical synthesis of scholarly research by leading experts in the field. >Link
Research of Notre Dame faculty and students featured in recent and forthcoming top political science journals (August 2007)
Recent and forthcoming articles by Program in American Democracy faculty include:
John D. Griffin and Patrick Flavin. 2007. "Racial Differences in Information, Expectations, and Accountability." Journal of Politics 69(February):220-36.
David W. Nickerson. 2007. "Quality is Job One: Professional and Volunteer Voter Mobilization Calls." American Journal of Political Science 51(April):269-82.
Rodney E. Hero and Robert R. Preuhs. 2007. "Immigration and the Evolving American Welfare State: Examining Policies in the U.S. States." American Journal of Political Science 51(July):498-517.
Christina Wolbrecht and David E. Campbell. 2007. "Leading by Example: Female Members of Parliament as Political Role Models." American Journal of Political Science 51(October):921-39.
Rodney Hero's book, Racial Diversity and Social Capital: Equality and Community in America, published by Cambridge University Press (Spring 2007)
In his newest book, Hero considers the impact of social capital and racial diversity on political outcomes in American politics, and shows that the impact of racial diversity consistently outweighs that of social capital. > Link
A Matter of Faith, edited by David E. Campbell, published by Brookings (Spring 2007)
A Matter of Faith: Religion in the 2004 Presidential Election contains a series of essays that originated at the December 2005 Program in American Democacy conference of the same name. Edited by conference organizer David E. Campbell, the collection of 14 essays addressing topics ranging from the voting behavior of various groups (including evangelicals, Catholics, African Americans, and Latinos) to the impact of issues such as gay marriage and stem cell research. >Link
Dianne Pinderhughes elected President of the American Political Science Association (2007-2008) (September 2006)
Dianne Pinderhughes was elected President of the American Political Science Association at the August 2006 meeting. She holds the position of President-Elect during 2006-2007 and works with the current President of the Association, Robert Axelrod of the University of Michigan. Pinderhughes is working at selecting the 2008 Program Co-Chairs, and identifying the leadership for the Association’s policymaking and award committees for the 2007-2008 year when she will be President. She will be focusing on themes associated with the study of race, gender and class in the 2008 Meeting Theme, and in policy development for the American Political Science Association in the coming decades of the 21st century.
Conference to Examine Study of Happiness (September 2006)
Benjamin Radcliff (Political Science) and Amitava Dutt (Economics and Policy Studies) are bringing together leading scholars from the disciplines of political science, economics, psychology, and philosophy to examine the causes and consequences of happiness at a conference on the Notre Dame campus October 22-24. >Link
Nickerson receives award for Best Dissertation in Political Psychology (August 2006)
David Nickerson has received the award for Best Dissertation in Political Psychology (2005) for his dissertation, Measuring Interpersonal Influence.
Hero elected President-Elect of the Midwest Political Science Association (April 2006)
Rodney Hero was elected President-Elect of the Midwest Political Science Association at the 2006 MPSA national conference in Chicago in April. He will serve as President-Elect during 2006-07 and as President during 2007-08. The MPSA is the largest regional political science association with more than 3,000 members. > Link
Kommers contributes to Annenberg series (September 2005)
Donald Kommers' essay "American Courts and Democracy: A Comparative Perspective" will be published in The Judicial Branch, edited by Kermit Hall and Kevin McGuire, and published by Oxford University Press as part of the Institutions of American Democracy series supported by the Annenberg Foundation.
David Nickerson awarded the Miller Prize (August 2005)
David Nickerson received the 2005 Miller Prize from the Society for Political Methodology for the best article appearing in Political Analysis this year. >Link
David Campbell's paper selected as "best paper" (August 2005)
David Campbell's paper, "Community Heterogeneity and Participation" was selected by the APSA's Organized Section on Elections, Public Opinion, and Voting Behavior as the "best paper" presented at the 2004 annual meeting.