The PoliSci Department in action…
This clip reminds us how some university committee meetings turn out… Heh. 
Parliament Hill in Ottawa…
Happy Canada Day to you all! it’s Canada’s 141st birthday today.
We particularly wish a happy Canada Day to our friend and colleague, Dr. Patrick Malcolmson at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, NB as he begins his duties as STU’s new VP Academic!
Food Court Lunch Blog offers some helpful facts about Canada. Heh.
Party on, eh?
With less than a week to go until the Summer II Term starts — Summer I Finals start today — here are the latest PoliSci course enrollment updates for the Summer II Term. It looks like it’s going to be an all-Taylor Summer II:
As always, go to MyStThom for the latest course updates.
Kevin Carey and Frederick Hess, writing in The American, pose the following question: What if students could have investors pay their college bills in return for a set percentage of their future income?
What if, instead of borrowing, students could arrange for investors to pay their college bills in exchange for a fixed percentage of their future income, as Ron Steen suggested two years ago? Students would shift the financial risk to lenders who could pool that risk and then package their students bonds into bundled securities that could be sold on the open market. Regulators and investors would set bond parameters—the period of repayment and percentage of earnings—based on certain key criteria. For example: a student with a 2300 SAT score, straight A’s, and an aptitude for computer programming could expect favorable terms, just as he or she would be more likely to receive a scholarship or merit aid today.
Of course, lenders would also be interested in which particular college the student attends. Almost immediately, investors seeking to maximize their return would uncouple the college component from the student portion, separating the value added by a given institution from the attributes of its entering students.
Hmmm…
Since we teach at a place that has a rather steep tuition bill each semester, we’d like to hear from our students. What do you think of this proposal? Is it a novel approach or a form of indentured servitude? Would this proposal kill the liberal arts, ramp-up professional degree programs, and accelerate credentialism? Cuss and discuss.
With less than two weeks until the Summer II Term starts (and one week until Summer I Finals), here are the latest PoliSci course enrollment updates for the Summer II Term:
As always, go to MyStThom for the latest course updates.
Tom McGregor at Dallasblog.com has a story that will likely rankle many of our fellow Catholics — that some Catholic hospitals in Texas are providing abortions:
Whistle-blowing Catholic medical researchers revealed in a study of hospital discharge data for the state of Texas that Catholic hospitals reported at least 9,684 cases of sterilizations and 39 legally induced abortions from 2002-2003. While sterilizations and abortions are legal in the United States, they are considered immoral by the Catholic Church and many Catholics.
According to Wikileaks,“the identified hospitals and their respective healthcare systems are operated by religious orders of the Catholic Church who according to Church’s Canon Law are subject to the authority of the Church. In their activities, they must faithfully observe the mission of their founders and cooperate with the local bishops. In the United States, they are expected by the local bishops to operate according to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare.”
The study claims that all six U.S. Catholic hospital systems operating in Texas do not follow these directives. For instance, United Regional Healthcare System in Fort Worth, run by Holy Family, performed 668 sterilizations and three abortions.
To read the entire article from Wikileaks, link here: and to see the discharge data, link here:
David Schaper of NPR reports on a story of great significance to us: e-mail. He profiles U.S. Cellular’s move to absolve its workers from having to look at, or respond to, e-mails on Fridays. Nothing was mentioned about having to respond to that exiled Nigerian oil minister who needs your bank account information in order to split $20 million dollars…
We’d love for our Dean and Academic VP to emulate U.S. Cellular’s initiative by proposing that UST faculty get an e-mail vacation 7 days a week…
Heh.
According to an analysis by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland at College Park, the 2008 Presidential election cycle is the third in a row in which the number of citizens under the age of 30 who participated in primaries and caucuses rose substantially.
In the 17 states where exit polls were conducted in both the 2000 and 2008 primary seasons, the share of youth voters turning out for primaries and caucuses almost doubled, rising from 9% in 2000 to 17% in 2008. In some states, three or four times as many young people participated in 2008 as had done so eight years before. The Center found that nationally a record 6.5 million voters under the age of 30 participated in the primaries and caucuses this year.
Not surprisingly, Obama was heavily favored by Democrats under the age of 30, winning 60% of all votes in this age demographic, as well as the support of a majority under-30 voters in 32 of the 40 states for which exit-poll data are available. For Republicans under-30, it was a little more divided: 34% for McCain, 31% for Huckabee, 25% for Romney, and 10% for Paul.
The Texas numbers? Check ‘em out here.
Here’s a story from the Chronicle of Higher Education by Political Science Professor Stan Katz from Princeton for all of our readers who engage in self-sabotage, thinking that you somehow can’t start down a new career path or degree program simply because of age. Think again.
We have posted Katz’ entire story here, because we think it’s that important (and because it may now be gated):
My friend Michael Ebner of Lake Forest College recently sent me an article from The Chicago Tribune that relates the story of Mark Horowitz, who last week received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Chicago at the age of 58. It seems that he has set something of a record for length of time as an ABD, since he began his graduate work in 1974 and passed his orals in 1976.
I may have known him, in fact, since I was teaching in the Law School and History Department at Chicago during those years, but I cannot remember him. Thirty-two years is a long time to work on a dissertation, even one on law and statecraft under Henry VII, the great Tudor king of England. Good for you, Dr. Horowitz.
But I doubt that Horowitz is the all-time record holder for longest (successful) ABD experience. When I was a graduate student in history in the late 1950s, I engaged a dissertation typist — and it occurs to me that only my oldest readers will have submitted mechanically typed dissertations! — an expert, confined to a wheelchair, who made his living typing Harvard dissertations. I can still remember one on the shelf over his machine — many inches of paper, entirely yellow at one end, and bleaching to white at the other. This was the dissertation in progress on Rufus King that I believe was begun in the 1930s by a man who was his lineal descendant. I received my degree in 1961, and my memory is that Mr. King actually finished his dissertation shortly thereafter. But the story has an ending less happy than that of Dr. Horowitz. King had apparently not kept up with modern historical scholarship and failed his dissertation defense. The Harvard history department was apparently not long on empathy in those days.
But a close friend (from Harvard College days), Charles Booth, has had a much happier experience. Charlie decided to take early retirement from a banking job (at which he had been brilliantly successful) in his late 50s, and asked me if I could arrange for him to audit history classes at Columbia, since he had realized that his deepest interest was in studying history. I encouraged him to be more ambitious, and to apply for a Ph.D. He was skeptical that any department would accept a graduate student his age, but in fact he was admitted to the New York University doctoral program in American history, specializing in diplomatic history. Along the way he had to learn how to use a computer, and to remind himself how to sit in lectures. But he perservered, and, under the direction of Marilyn Young, wrote a brilliant dissertation on the United States’ response to the Greek War of Independence (disclosure: I served on his dissertation committee). Charlie received his Ph.D. at the age of 71, I think he was at the time, a few years ago, the oldest person to receive a Ph.D. at NYU. Horowitz is, comparatively, a spring chicken.
These men give new meaning to the idea of “lifelong learning,” and I say bravo to all three of them!
A recent survey of college students finds that students are dissatisfied with America’s leadership and are paying a lot of attention to the Presidential election. The poll was conducted by the Panetta Institute, the public policy think tank founded by former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and his wife Sylvia.
A comparison of this year’s results with previous survey results shows that college students’ attitudes have changed significantly. In 2001 (the survey’s first year), 68 % of students said they were either very or fairly satisfied with their country’s leadership. This year, that number dropped to 38 %.
The number that really stood out to us is the interest that college students are taking in this year’s presidential election, particularly when compared to 2004. During that election cycle, only 22 % of college students reported that they paid a lot of attention to the election. Contrast that to this year’s cycle, where a whopping 82 percent are paying a lot of attention. At the field level, we can confirm this assessment in our PoliSci classes this year.
The survey also asked students which candidate they favor in the general election. Not surprisingly, Obama leads McCain 59 - 27%. The reason why it’s not a surprise is that the Obama-McCain numbers are quite similar to the numbers for Kerry and Bush in 2004…
In honor of our absent friend and colleague, Professor Caroline Calvillo. 
Picture courtesy of marcelcampos at Flickr.
Taylor’s class on the “Politics of Alcohol” avoiding any discussions whatsoever on politics or Political Science…
Taylor’s POSC 4393/MLPOS 6393 “Politics of Alcohol” course took a field trip to the St. Arnold’s Brewery on Saturday in order to learn about the nuances of Texas beer distribution rules, alcohol control laws, and globalization’s impact on microbrewing… That, and the chance to sample some of St. Arnold’s wonderful beer…
A good time was had by all and we got a chance to chat for a bit with Brock Wagner, the founder of St. Arnold’s Brewing Company. Brock was invited to class to appear as a guest speaker. Rumor has it that he might bring beer… we hope!
Below are some pictures from the class “field trip.” Taylor’s grad-level class in Summer II entitled “Houston: The Course” will also be making a pilgrimage visit to the St. Arnold Brewery in July…
The one. The only. The Surfing Scholar Extraordinaire: Our own Professor Rick Young!
From YOUniversityTV.com:
Rock star, baby!
Heh.
Find Professor Michelle Carnahan in the pic… she is undoubtedly contemplating the latest Electoral College numbers…
Our apologies for taking so long to post on the Blondes vs. Brunette’s Powder Puff Football game held last Saturday at St. John’s School. The game was for a great cause — benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association of Houston and Southeast Texas.
Channel 13 has the skinny — with both video and still pics of the event. Look for #14 — that was Michelle’s number. She doing double-duty as a member of the Brunette’s O-line and as Kicker. She made UST proud and PoliSci by wearing Fightin’ Celts temporary tattoos on both of her arms.
For the record, the Blondes won 19-13. Michelle assures us it was because they had a brunette quarterback… Heh.
