Letter from the Director

March 7, 2010

Another year has passed at CAPPP, with many things accomplished and many things still on the burner. CAPPP sponsored or co-sponsored three research conferences and workshops last year, and will be co-sponsoring workshops on The Future of Computational Social Science this spring and during the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, which are being held in Seattle for the first time this August. We have a terrific new faculty member, and the CAPPP Fellows program continues to thrive. Although there is considerable uncertainty on the budget front looking ahead, we will continue to promote CAPPP's goals of integrating innovative research with innovative approaches to teaching.

We welcome Assistant Professor Rebecca Thorpe to CAPPP. Becca received her P.h.D. from the University of Maryland where her dissertation advisor was Frances Lee. She was a Brookings Institutions Fellow and an APSA Congressional Fellow. Her current research examines the political support for defense spending and the impact of district level benefits on federal policymaking more generally. Becca is also making important teaching contributions by offering new undergraduate and graduate courses examining the causes of congressional failure. More information about her research interests can be found on the CAPPP Affiliated Faculty link.

We have an exceptionally diverse set of CAPPP Undergraduate Fellows projects this year. CAPPP Fellows spend the year assisting with CAPPP-related research while designing and implementing their own quantitative research projects. This year, Fellows are asking questions related to legislative policy change; the impact of district racial heterogeneity on minority representation; and the impact of political and cultural similarities on the likelihood of bilateral agreements among nations – to name just a few. Shauna Fisher (Ph.C) and Emma Tessier (CAPPP Fellows 2009-10) are doing a terrific job of mentoring. As usual, Fellows will present their findings at the Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium in May.

Finally, Professor Peter May has succumbed to longstanding ‘encouragement' that he serve as department chair. Peter has been investing much time and energy into finding ways to cut costs and increase revenues while minimizing impacts on educational quality. It's a challenging time for the University and department, but we couldn't have a better advocate in the post!

John Wilkerson
Director, Center for American Politics and Public Policy

Picture of CAPP Director, John Wilkerson