Political Science-Year in Review

The Department of Political Science and Leadership Studies and the International Studies program are proud to highlight several events associated with the Folwell Center. Many of these activities would not be possible without the support of the Folwell Chair.

Summer Camps for High School Students
During the summer of 2017, the Department participated in a new University initiative to host Summer camps for high school students. We held two one to two day camps, one for Mock Trial and one for Model UN. Both camps were a great success and among the top attended of the various camps held during the Summer months.

In its first offering, the mock trial camp attracted 12 high school and junior high students, and the Model UN camp had six students. The camps also provided an opportunity for our college Mock Trial and Model UN team members to assist in running the camps and in the process promote the high quality of our own teams and academic programs. Based on the success of the first camps we are looking forward to offering both camps again in the summer of 2018 with the goal of continuing and increasing the interest in both opportunities.

Joe Dillon '16 Presentation
In November 2017, Joe Dillon presented his master's thesis to a packed house in the Rand Wonio Conference Room in the Folwell Center.

Joe was finishing up his graduate degree from Kings College in London, England, where his studies focused on anti-terrorism. Now back in the states, we were honored that Joe was willing to share his research and his experiences as an American graduate student at the prestigious Kings College with current students, faculty, friends, and family. The presentation highlights the potential of the Folwell Center going forward. We seek to provide similar opportunities in the future for our alumni to share their post-St. Ambrose educational and career opportunities.

SAU Hosts World Cultures Festival
During the spring semester (2018), the Quad Cities World Cultures Festival was held on the campus of St. Ambrose University in the Rogalski Center.

Organized by the World Affairs Council of the Quad Cities (WACQC), the festival featured performances by individuals and groups of various cultures from the Quad Cities area. Over 300 attendees had the opportunity to experience dance, song, and even a fashion show of various cultures and nationalities. To give you an idea of the diversity of culture and heritage in the Quad Cities area, performances included a Chinese Lion Dance, Russian Song and Dance, and an African Drum Circle to name a few. A cultural food tasting buffet and silent auction of cultural items rounded out the event. Dr. Duk Kim, Political Science and International Studies, and President of the WACQC served as host. The Folwell Endowed Chair was pleased to serve as a co-sponsor of the event.

Peace Corps Prep Program
Also in the spring of 2018, St. Ambrose University established an official partnership with the Peace Corps and a Peace Corps Prep (PC Prep) program, which is housed in the International Studies program, is available for our students immediately.

The PC Prep is a "streamlined certificate program that prepares undergraduates for intercultural service abroad." Being partnered with the Peace Corps, we hope to prepare our students for a life of service so they may go forward to live in a manner that shows their dedication to service for others and for the world. In addition, the PC Prep seeks to prepare our students for international development fieldwork and potential Peace Corps service. Dr. Kim serves as the PC Prep program coordinator.

Folwell Lecture
The 15th Folwell Lecture in Political Science and Pre-Law was delivered by Dr. J Martin Rochester. Dr. Rochester received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1972 and is Curators' Teaching Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where he teaches courses on international politics, organization, and law. Among his ten books are Waiting for the Millennium: The United Nations and The Future of World Order; Between Peril and Promise: The Politics of International Law; and Gulliver's Travails: US Foreign Policy in the 21st Century. His latest book is The New Warfare: Rethinking Rules for An Unruly World. In addition, he has published in such scholarly journals as the American Political Science Review, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Peace Research.

Dr. Rochester has served on the Governing Council of the International Studies Association. In addition to his international relations research, he has had a longstanding interest in education. His international relations textbook (co-authored with Frederic Pearson), The Global Condition, has been used in many countries (including Spanish and Chinese language editions) and at hundreds of American universities (including Stanford, Duke, the US Naval Academy, Northwestern, and half the Big Ten schools). He has authored Class Warfare, a book about K-12 education, and has published in such periodicals as Phi Delta Kappa and Education Week. He is a recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching at UM-St. Louis, and in 2001 was named a Distinguished Teaching Professor by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri. In 1995, he was named by the local chapter of the United Nations Association as "one of 50 St. Louisans who had devoted their lives to global peace and justice."

The title of his talk was "Gulliver's Travails: U.S. Foreign Policy in An Age of Globalization and Global Disorder." Professor Rochester examined American foreign policy at a time when the United States on paper is more powerful than ever, yet seems to be failing in exercising influence over events virtually everywhere, all the while trying to cope with an unraveling of world order in a more globalized world. What will come of the liberal international order (Pax Americana) that the United States helped create after World War II? What are the main choices open to the United States, and what road might we follow under the Trump Administration?

In addition, Dr. Rochester's brown bag discussion on "Free Speech on American College/University Campuses" was held in the Rand Wonio conference room in the Folwell Center on March 27 and attracted more than 20 students, faculty, and staff members.

The Folwell lecture has featured a wide variety of topics presented by scholars and government officials from around the country and the world. We are pleased to provide this educational experience for our students and friends of the Department throughout the past decade. Thank you to all who have participated in the Folwell Lecture series.

• 2003, Justice Linda Neuman, LLM, JD, Iowa Supreme Court, "Can We Talk? Easing the Uneasy Dialogue between Court and Legislature"
• 2004, Tung Yin, University of Iowa, "The War on Terrorism: Constitutional Perspectives on the Guantanamo Detainee Cases"
• 2005, Berthold Rittberger, DPhil, Technische Universitat Kaiserlautern, Germany, "The EU Constitution is Dead: Long Live the Constitution?"
• 2006, Jean Bethke Elshtain, PhD, University of Chicago Divinity School, "We Hold These Truths: John Courtney Murray and the American Experiment"
• 2007, Michael Palmer, PhD, University of Maine, "Teaching Political Animals: How the Great Books and Great Teachers of Political Thought Contribute to a Liberal Education"
• 2008, James W. Caesar, PhD, University of Virginia, "The 2008 Presidential Election"
• 2009, Susan Martin, PhD, Georgetown University, "Forced Migration: Challenges for the International Community"
• 2011, Rev. James Schall, SJ, Georgetown University, "On the ‘Uselessness' of Philosophers: Or, ‘Why Should I Listen to Lectures When I Can Read?'"
• 2012, Joel Glassman, PhD, University of Missouri-St. Louis, "The United States and China: Rivals or Partners in Global Problem Solving?"
• 2013, Thomas Waterman, JD, Iowa Supreme Court, "The Impact of Retention Elections on State Courts of Last Resort and Judicial Independence"; and Roundtable panel discussion with Thomas Kilbride, Chief Justice of the Illinois State Supreme Court, Brenna Findley, Legal Counsel to Iowa Governor Branstad, Cindy Winkler State Representative District 86 in Iowa, and Ryan Koopmans, JD.
• 2013, Carson Holloway, PhD, University of Nebraska, Omaha, "Sustaining Religious Liberty: The Health and Human Services Mandate and the First Amendment"
• 2015, Amaney Jamal, PhD, Princeton University, "The Arab Spring: Did All Go Wrong?"
• 2016, Thomas G. Weiss, PhD, The Graduate Center of CUNY, "Seven Decades and Counting: 1945's Lessons for Today's UN"
• 2017, Joseph Alulis, PhD, North Park University, "Richard, Henry, Hamilton: Shakespeare and the Public Use of History"

Mock Trial Team Report
For 2017-2018, SAU Mock Trial welcomed a number of new members under the mentorship and guidance of a strong core group of upperclassmen including two-year team captain, William Cooper.

Team members were also lucky to receive guidance and assistance in practice from various Ambrose alums and local attorneys. The team traveled to invitational tournaments in Champaign-Urbana, Dubuque, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, where students had the opportunity to dine and shop at the Mall of America during a tournament break.

Finally, team members participated in a regional tournament held in Joliet, IL. Freshman competitor Damon Wolter finished out the season securing an award for SAU for his witness roles at regionals.

For 2018-2019, the team will be led by a new captain and experienced competitor, Shannon McEachern, and will prepare a civil case.

Model UN Report
SAU Model UN Society (MUN) had another remarkable year. Thirteen students strongly represented Colombia and participated in the 2017 American Model United Nations conference (AMUN, 11/18/17-11/21/17), Chicago, Il.

Each year more than 1,500 students from more than 100 colleges/universities attend the AMUN and simulate the key activities of the United Nations bodies. 

Our team received a Certificate of Accomplishment for representation of Colombia and a Certificate of Accomplishment for our position paper on Colombia at the AMUN. Our students made numerous speeches, sponsored various resolutions, and demonstrated leadership roles during the caucuses. At the 2018 AMUN conference, our team will represent Egypt.

The MUN successfully participated in the 58th Midwest Model UN conference (MMUN, 2/21/18-2/24/18), St. Louis, Missouri, and demonstrated a strong leadership by representing Germany. Twelve students were assigned in various General Assembly committees to build consensus on topics including non-proliferation, disarmament, human settlement program, the situation in the Middle East, and so on. The MUN will represent Japan in the 59th MMUN in 2019.

During the 2018-19 year, the MUN is under a new leadership team: Keegan Steele (biology)/president, Sara Killackey (political science & history)/permanent representative, and Patrick Redmond (international studies and political science)/vice president. Dr. Duk Kim continues to serve as the faculty advisor.