Abstract
Western Political Science Association (WPSA)
Betty Moulds Lifetime Service Award Created
It is difficult to identify an individual who has made a greater contribution to the success of the WPSA than Betty Moulds, who was the association’s top administrator for twenty-five years before stepping down in 2009. She served as WPSA Secretary-Treasurer from 1985 to 1998 and as Executive Director from 1998 to 2009. Among her many accomplishments, Moulds helped oversee the expansion of the association’s membership, the reorganization of the association’s administrative structure, the establishment of the WPSA as a formal not-for-profit organization, and the strengthening of the association’s ties with Political Research Quarterly. In addition to these structural changes, she played a central role in helping to foster the ideals that have become the hallmark of the WPSA, especially its emphasis on inclusiveness. Moulds has also remained a good friend and mentor to those involved in the association.
The WPSA Executive Council approved the creation of a Betty Moulds Lifetime Service Award at its August meeting in Washington, D.C., to honor Moulds’s work for the association. The award will be given to individuals who have made a long history of service and an extraordinary contribution to the WPSA. The funding for the award will come entirely from donations to an award endowment (the Betty Moulds Award Fund) created by the council.
The Betty Moulds Award Fund is the association’s third endowment. A second endowment was created in April to support the Joel Olson Award, which is a new award that will be given to activist-scholars whose work is at the creative intersection of radical political theory and practice. The third endowment—the WPSA Endowment Fund—was created to help protect the long-term financial security of the Association and to provide funding for major projects. Your contributions to all three funds are essential to their success. Contributions are tax deductible, as permitted by law. To find out more about these funds and to make a donation, visit the WPSA website at wpsanet.org.
Call for Editors
WPSA President Victoria Farrar-Myers has announced the search for a new Editor or Editors for The Western, the WPSA’s official newsletter. The term of the current editors, Stephen Stambough and Valerie O’Regan, will expire after the publication of the April 2015 edition. The association is seeking nominations of qualified individuals who would edit the newsletter from April 1, 2015, through March 30, 2019. This four-year term is renewable for two-year optional extensions. Nominations and self-nominations are both welcome. The WPSA encourages nominations of women and members of ethnic minorities. The editor(s) is selected by the WPSA president. Information about the newsletter and the open position is available on the WPSA’s website.
2015 WPSA Meeting
The 2015 meeting of the WPSA will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, from April 2 to 4. Louis DeSipio, University of California, Irvine, is serving as Program Chair for this meeting. Mark Lutz and Tiffiany Howard, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, are serving as the Local Arrangements Chairs. The participation form and information regarding the conference, its theme, and the list of section chairs are available on the WPSA website: www.wpsanet.org. In addition to the main program, several workshops are being organized for Wednesday, April 1. There will also be several mini-conferences held during the course of the meeting. Information on these workshops and mini-conferences can also be found on the website.
Any committees, caucuses, subject-matter sections, or other groups wishing to schedule sessions or workshops during the WPSA meetings and who have not already done so should contact WPSA Associate Director, Elsa Favila, as soon as possible at
Pre-registration and hotel information is available now on the WPSA website. It is possible to pre-register and pay by credit card at this site: http://wps-anet.org.