Announcements

WPSA Heads to San Diego for 2016 Meeting

The 2016 meeting of the WPSA will be held at the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego, California, from March 24 to 26. Julie Novkov, University of Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), is serving as Program Chair for this meeting. Vidya Nadkarni, University of San Diego, is serving as the Local Arrangements Chair.

Proposals for the 2016 meeting are encouraged. The DEADLINE for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms is September 14, 2015. The theme for the 2016 meeting is, “The Politics of Peril and Opportunity.” Details about the conference, its theme, the Call for Papers, and proposal instructions appear on the WPSA website: www.wpsanet.org.

The WPSA annual meeting offers not only the opportunity for traditional research presentations and roundtable discussions but also a place for interested groups to schedule special events and workshops. In addition, if you are part of a research community that is interested in holding a meeting in the spring, we may be able to accommodate your group by coordinating a conference within the WPSA annual meeting. For information about these opportunities, please contact Richard Clucas, WPSA Executive Director, at hprc@pdx.edu.

Recipients of 2015 WPSA Awards

The following WPSA awards were presented by the Association at the 2015 Annual Meeting held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The award for the best paper on Asian Pacific Americans and Politics was awarded to Loan K. Le, Institute for Good Government and Inclusion, and Paul M. Ong, University of California, Los Angeles, for their paper, “Trajectories of Asian American Partisanship.”

The Betty Nesvold Award for the best paper on Women and Politics was given to Marcela García-Castañon, San Francisco State University, for her paper, “Community Makers, Citizen Shapers: The Role of Women in Mexican Immigrant Political Socialization.”

The Charles Redd award for the best paper on the politics of the American West was given to Juliet E. Carlisle, University of Idaho; Stephanie L. Kane, Washington State University; David Solan, Boise State University; and Jeffrey C. Joe, Idaho National Laboratory, for their paper, “Place Attachment and Public Support for Solar Development in Southern California.”

The Dissertation Award was given to Chris Parsons, University of Toronto, for his dissertation completed at the University of Victoria, BC, Canada: “The Politics of Deep Packet Inspection: What Drives Contemporary Western Internet Service Provider Surveillance Practices.”

The award for the best paper on Environmental Political Theory was awarded to Justin Williams, University of Michigan, for his paper, “The Space of Social Justice.”

The award for the best paper on Latina/Latino Politics was given to Katsuo Nishikawa, Trinity University, and Kiku Huckle, University of Washington, for their paper, “Can Places of Worship Help Politically Socialize Immigrants?”

The Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the best paper presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the WPSA was awarded to David Glick, Boston University, and Dino P. Christenson, Boston University, for their paper, “Legitimacy, Ideology, and the Court’s Roller Coaster Week of Salient Decisions.”

The award for the best article published in the Political Research Quarterly during the previous calendar year was given to Dino P. Christenson, Boston University; Corwin D. Smidt, Calvin College; and Costas Panagopoulos, Fordham University, for their article, “Deus ex Machina: Candidate Web Presence and the Presidential Nomination Campaign.” An Honorable Mention in this category was given to Sarah Shair-Rosenfield, Arizona State University, and Magda Hinojosa, Arizona State University, for their paper, “Does Female Incumbency Reduce Gender Bias in Elections? Evidence from Chile.”

Submissions for 2016 WPSA Awards

Instructions and deadlines for paper submissions and nominations for 2016 WPSA awards may be found on the WPSA website. The deadlines for most awards are set for June 15, 2015.

WPSA Nominations

The WPSA Committee on Nominations requests that nominations be submitted for the following WPSA officer positions:

Nominations of women and members of ethnic minorities are encouraged. The committee also encourages nominations that will help achieve a balance of large and small schools, areas of specialization, and regions in WPSA governance.

Nominations and self-nominations should be accompanied by (1) a written indication from the individual that she or he is willing to serve, (2) a statement in support of the nominee including details of previous WPSA activities, and (3) a copy of the nominee’s vita. To ensure consideration, all nominations should be submitted by June 15, 2015 (and earlier if possible) to WPSA President Louis DeSipio at ldesipio@uci.edu.

A Generous Gift to the WPSA

The Western Political Science Association is pleased to announce that it has received a generous gift from Ron and Rosemary Schmidt as part of the Association’s fundraising efforts. Both Ron and Rosemary have been very active and visible in the Association for many years. Ron served as Program Chair in 2004–2005, and then as WPSA President in 2005–2006. In November, they donated $2,000 to the Association. The Association would like to thank Ron and Rosemary for their contribution and for their continuing support of the Association. The Association would also like to thank others who have made donations to the WPSA.

In April 2014, the WPSA Executive Council approved its first endowments. This last fall, we began to accept donations directed toward these endowments. The WPSA currently has three endowed funds. The first of these endowments is for an award honoring Betty Moulds, who served for twenty-five years at the chief administrator for the WPSA. The Betty Moulds Lifetime Service Award will be given to individuals who have made a long history of service and an extraordinary contribution to the WPSA. A second endowment is to honor Joel Olson, an associate professor of political theory at Northern Arizona University and a long-time WPSA member who passed away unexpectedly in March 2012. The Joel Olson Award will be given to activist-scholars whose work is at the creative intersection of radical political theory and practice. The awards honoring Betty Moulds and Joel Olson will be funded entirely by their endowments, so your support is essential for them to get off the ground. The final endowment created by the Association is the WPSA Endowment Fund. The purpose of this fund is to help protect the long-term financial security of the Association and to provide funding for special projects.

Please consider making a donation to any of these endowments. The WPSA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization; as such, your contributions are fully tax-deductible, as permitted by law. To make a donation, please visit the WPSA website at http://wpsa.research.pdx.edu/about/donate.php. Later this year, we will begin recognizing all our donors on our website.