University of North Dakota PSPANews Fall 2015 1

PSPANews

OUR MISSION is to serve the global, national, state, and local community

by providing teaching, research, and service.

OUR GOAL is to be recognized as one of the finest small

political science and public administration departments in the United States.

A NEWSLETTER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FALL 2015

PSPA majors create legacy in UND Student Government

Students of government regularly become leaders in UND’s Student Government, from secretary to senator to president and vice president. This academic year is no exception. The Student Body President Matt Kopp, Jamestown, ND, is majoring

in Political Science and Economics, and Vice President Taylor Nelson, Stillwater, MN, is majoring in Political Science and Norwegian.

Although they shared a ticket to victory, Kopp and Nelson came to student gov-ernment from different paths - hers was short, and his was long. “I became involved in student council early on in high school, and I knew that I wanted to continue that by getting involved in student government at UND,” Kopp said.

Nelson was hired to work in the Student Government Office her sophomore year. The job inspired her. “After observing Student Senate, I realized how much I wanted to voice my ideas and opinions,” Nelson said. “So, I decided to run for the On-Campus

FROM THE CHAIR:

Warm greetings - and for once I write that without a hint of sarcasm - the North Dakota fall has been spectacular this year!

The department

College of Business & Public Administration business.UND.edu/undergraduate/political-science-public-administration

PAUL SUM

Continued on Page 2

has had another great year. Our efforts to increase high impact learning expe-riences are paying off.

Students participated in a Model Arab League conference this past spring. The same PSPA-sponsored student organization will host partici-pants from universities throughout the region at our own Model Arab League conference this fall.

Isaiah Frohling and Amy Rassi-er were our Becraft Scholars last year who traveled to West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy for conferences. Bobbie Lentz is the fall 2015 Becraft Scholar (see her profile on Page 2).

Mary Slack will present her paper, “Children’s Utopia, Adult’s Dystopia: Youthful Optimism in Uto-pian Writing for Children and Young Adults,” at the Utopian Studies confer-ence this fall.

We also administer dozens of in-ternships for undergraduate and grad-uate students. As alumni and friends of the department, you can play a vital role in helping to generate more internship opportunities or assisting in the financial support of student expe-riences. We sincerely appreciate your support.

Contact Sum at paul.sum@UND.edu.

University of North Dakota2 Fall 2015 PSPANews

Bobbie Lentz STUDENT PROFILE

FACULTY PROFILE: BENJAMIN KASSOW

Benjamin Kassow is a new Assis-tant Professor in the Department of Political Science & Public Ad-

ministration. Prior to starting at UND in 2014, he taught at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and Georgia State University in Atlanta.

He received his PhD in Political Sci-ence from the University of South Caro-lina in 2013, where he focused on ques-tions of how courts discuss and utilize various precedents, as well as on issues of law and the effects of legal changes on policy outcomes. He has secondary research interests in American political institutions and in quantitative research methodologies.

Professor Kassow has several de-veloped research projects, including an examination of how the Supreme Court uses summary decisions (abbreviated, one-sentence to one-paragraph decisions without oral argument) to encourage low-er court usage of, and compliance with, Supreme Court decisions.

A second project involves the selec-tion of appropriate count models for modeling the behavior of political actors in the social sciences.

Finally, he is interested in under-standing the behavior of state high court judges in terms of decision making and opinion writing, across a variety of insti-tutional (and professional) contexts.

Dr. Kassow’s teaching interests lie in the realm of Public Law (both Ameri-can and Comparative), as well as Ameri-can Political Institutions. He is currently slated to teach POLS 115, American Government; POLS 305, American Constitution: Government Powers, and POLS 306, American Constitution: Civil Liberties and has also taught courses on Intergovernmental Relations/Federalism, Law and Society, and Judicial Process in the recent past.

Outside of work, Dr. Kassow’s in-terests include skiing, hiking, and kayak-ing, as well as listening to (and playing) music.

Kopp and Nelson, continued from Page 1

My name is Bobbie Lentz, and I am a senior in UND’s Political Science program. I was initially drawn to Politi-cal Science as a course of study due to my early interest in government and a desire to pursue a career in public service.

After spending my undergraduate years taking a variety of intellectu-ally stimulating courses and getting to know the department’s engaged faculty, I am certain that UND’s Political Sci-ence program is well-suited to my in-terests and professional goals.

Last winter I took a particularly interesting political communications course that motivated me to apply for an internship in Senator Heidi Heit-kamp’s Washington D.C. office. I was able to spend my summer working as a press intern in the Senator’s communi-cations office.

My duties as an intern varied daily and included writing press releases, compiling news clips, and drafting social media posts. I also had the op-portunity to attend various press con-ferences and meetings with members of Congress, constituents, and repre-sentatives from popular social media platforms.

My experiences in Washington, along with my experiences as a UND Political Science student, have helped build a solid foundation for a future career in public service, and I feel very fortunate to be part of such an excep-tional program.

Bobbie Lentz’s hometown is Rolla, ND. She attended ND Flickertail Girls State in 2011.

Apartments Senator position, where I then decided to expand my involvement even further by running with Matt.”

Kopp and Nelson recognize the theories and lessons of the PSPA class-room in their student government work. The fast pace and synthesis of multiple is-sues keep them challenged. The best mo-ments, they say, are when they can help a student to be more successful - making a difference on an individual level.

Even though being student body president and vice president are a major experience of their college years, Kopp and Nelson’s plans for future office hold-ing diverge.

“While I enjoy politics, I don’t think I’ll be interested in holding office in the future,” Nelson said. “It has been a great experience in this capacity but not some-thing I would like to make a career out of.”

Did you servein student government during your years at UND? Let’s put together an

honor roll. Post to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/UND.PSPA or e-mail the editor, cgreen@business.

UND.edu with your name, office(s) held, year(s) of service, and graduation year.

Kopp, on the other hand, said, “I’ve always been interested in politics, so if an opportunity comes up where I think I can make a positive difference, I would want to give it a try. I think that’s a long way down the road for me, though.”

What’s nearer on the road for both Kopp and Nelson is law school. Both are taking the LSAT this fall with an eye to enrolling next academic year.

University of North Dakota PSPANews Fall 2015 3

Join UsAt our ninth annual Awards and

Recognition ReceptionThursday, May 5, 2016

Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center 4200 James Ray Drive

3:30 p.m. social, 4 p.m. program

EMERITUS PROFILE: RON PYNN

Honored at the department’s Eighth Annual Awards and Recognition Reception on May 7 were Outstanding Graduates: • Ruikun Sun, Outstanding Graduate in Political Science• Sarah Vogel, Outstanding Graduate in Public Administration • Amy Rassier, Outstanding Civic Engagement at the University • Joseph Schaefbauer, Outstanding Civic Engagement in the Community

Scholarships for the 2016 academic year and the Omdahl Award were announced for these exceptional students:• Dr. Ronald Pynn Scholarship: Matthew Kopp• Milton R. Young Scholarship: Roberta “Bobbie” Lentz• J. Raymond and Frankie MacMaster Olson Scholarship: Isaiah Frohling• Adrian Dunn Scholarship: Jed Hanson • Lloyd Omdahl Undergraduate Writing Award: Mitchell Rufer

2015 Outstanding Student honorees (l to r): Ruikun Sun, Joseph Schaefbauer, Amy Rassier, and Sarah Vogel

2015 SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS

For the second year in a row, a PSPA faculty member received one of the Uni-versity’s highest Founders Day awards.

Associate Professor and MPA Direc-tor Dana Michael Harsell was recognized at the 2015 UND Founders Day with The UND Foundation/Thomas J. Clifford Faculty Award for Graduate or Profes-sional Teaching Excellence.

Harsell has been MPA Director since 2011. Additionally, he has served as the chair of the University’s Graduate Pro-grams Committee and is Vice Chair/Chair Elect of the University Senate for 2015-16.

The faculty of the Department of Political Science and Public Administra-tion also was honored at Founders Day 2015 with the UND Award for Depart-mental Excellence in Service.

Harsell, PSPA faculty honored on Founders Day

Retiring in 1999, I left UND with many, many fond memories. The department was blessed with great

faculty and a generation of excellent stu-dents. I’m proud of that legacy but even prouder that the present faculty have built on that tradition to make the department even better.

My sojourn took me to St. Peters-burg, FL, in 1999 for two part-time jobs in retirement - as executive director of the Text and Academic Authors Associa-tion and as academic dean for a medical school in Belize (founded by two UND Political Science graduates).

Circumstances in 2004 led to signifi-cant change. My wife of 43 years passed

away from brain cancer, and the Belize medical school relocated to Grand Cay-man. I chose not to relocate there.

As fate would have it, I reconnected with an old friend from graduate school

days. She was recently divorced, and in 2005 I moved to Burlington, VT, to be with her near the shores of Lake Cham-plain.

Time here in Vermont is spent be-tween volunteering at a local charity, the Joint Urban Ministry Project, that pro-vides food and household necessities to low income families, and travel through-out the U.S. and foreign lands.

I hope by maintaining my scholar-ship fund I can continue to contribute in some small way to the department’s aca-demic excellence and growth.

Dr. Ron Pynn was a PSPA faculty mem-ber from 1971 to 1999 specializing in political theory. He now holds the title Professor Emeri-tus. The Dr. Ronald Pynn Scholarship Endow-ment continues to support high-achieving PSPA undergraduates. Friends and former students may contact him at rpynn@comcast.net.

University of North Dakota4 Fall 2015 PSPANews

Nonprofit Org. US Postage

PAIDGrand Forks, ND

Permit No. 10Political Science & Public AdministrationUniversity of North DakotaGamble Hall, Suite 265293 Centennial Drive Stop 8379Grand Forks, ND 58202-8379

The department is honored to benefit from several endowed funds to sup-port specific scholarships and initia-tives, as well as priority needs. Alumni and friends might wish to contribute to these funds or start one of their own.

• Carolyn and Michael Becraft World Affairs Endowment

• Byron L. Dorgan Endowment• Adrian R. Dunn Memorial

Political Science Scholarship • Mary K. Fischer Endowment• Vincent and Leona Gilloley

Political Science Endowment• Lloyd Omdahl Undergraduate

Writing Award (unendowed)• Dr. Ronald Pynn Endowment• Frank and Esther Wenstrom

Endowment• Milton R. Young Scholarship

SCHOLARSHIPS AND SUPPORT

If you’re interested in learning more about how to support the Department of Political Science & Public Administration or other priorities at UND, please contact Kim Woods, Direc-tor of Development for the College of Business & Public Administration at the UND Foundation, 701.777.4106, kimw@undfoundation.org.

SUPPORT PSPA

Recent Faculty Research . . . Research raises the profile of the department and benefits students by keeping the faculty up to date on the latest trends and methods in the discipline. Here is a selection of recent work:• Laura Hand’s “Review of Diversity

and Public Administration: Theory, Issues, and Perspectives, 2nd ed., by Mitchell F. Rice,” published in the Fall 2010 issue, was cited as one of the ten most read articles in the Journal of Public Affairs Education in 2014.

• Dana Michael Harsell and Neil Howe, eds. Governing North Dakota: 2015-2017. Order at ndstudies.gov.

• Andy Hultquist, Robert S. Wood, and Rebecca J. Romsdahl “The Re-lationship Between Climate Change Policy and Socioeconomic Changes in the U.S. Great Plains,” forthcoming in Urban Affairs Review.

• Mark Jendrysik, with Geoffrey Pe-terson Instructor’s Resource Manual and Test Bank for American Government: Myths and Realities, 2014 Election Edi-tion, Oxford University Press, 2015.

Brian R. Urlacher’s first book, International Relations as Negotiation, has been released by Paradigm Press (Routledge).

• Gabriel Badescu and Paul E. Sum “Generalized trust and diversity in the classroom: a longitudinal study of Ro-manian adolescents” in Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 47(1): 33-41.