Announcements

Not Too Late to Participate in the 2024 Meeting in Vancouver

The 2024 meeting of the Western Political Science Association will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver, BC, Canada, from March 28 to March 30. Lorrie Frasure, University of California-Los Angeles, is serving as program chair for this meeting. The conference hotel is located in downtown Vancouver within walking distance to Stanley Park, the Seawall, and other world-renowned destinations. This is the first time we have been in Vancouver since 2017, and we are looking forward to returning to this beautiful city for our upcoming meeting.

The deadline for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms is September 23, 2023. Even after that deadline has passed, there are still ways to participate actively in the annual meeting. 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 Julio Castilleja, the WPSA Conference and Membership Coordinator, at info@wpsanet.org.

In addition, if you are part of a research community that is interested in holding a meeting or a group of related-panels in the spring, we can still accommodate your research community by coordinating a mini-conference within our conference. The association does not charge for providing the space and support for these mini-conferences, though the attendees are required to register for the WPSA meeting. There is also the opportunity to host receptions, business meetings, and special events at the annual conference. Just contact Julio for details.

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, March 27. There will also be several mini-conferences held during the meeting. Information on these workshops and mini-conferences can also be found on the website.

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://wpsanet.org. Conference attendees can also receive discounted travel with Alaska Airlines. If you are planning to join us, make sure your passport is up-to-date soon. According to the U.S. State Department, it is currently taking between 10 and 13 weeks to get a passport. It is a bit shorter if you pay to have the process expedited, but it still may take 9 weeks.

Support the WPSA Favila Travel Award Program

The Western Political Science Association has long prided itself in providing an inclusive home for political scientists, one that is open to a broad range of cutting-edge research and scholars from diverse backgrounds. Many political scientists feel a special bond with the WPSA because of its openness to others and to different perspectives.

Yet there is one area in which the WPSA has been poor in promoting inclusiveness. Unlike many other political science associations, the WPSA has not had a fund to help underwrite the cost for graduate students and less well-off faculty to attend the annual meeting. Every year, the association receives requests for financial assistants from participants, which we have been unable to provide. As a consequence, some individuals who would like to participate in the annual meeting have been unable to afford it.

As part of the WPSA’s 75th Anniversary in 2022, the association launched a fund-raising campaign to create a travel endowment to provide support to help graduate students and faculty so they can attend the annual meeting. The association is continuing to raise money for the fund in order to serve more members in need. In 2023, the association changed the name of the fund to the Elsa Favila Travel Fund to honor Elsa for her 38 years of service to the association, including working for many years as associate director.

Please consider contributing to the Favila Travel Fund. It will provide much-needed support to others so they can join us at the annual meeting, make us more inclusive, and honor a woman who was central to the organization’s success for years. The WPSA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization; as such, your contributions are fully tax-deductible, as permitted by law. Donations can be made at: https://www.wpsanet.org/forms/donation.php.