Position
Academic Background  
Sample Courses  
Teaching Philosophy   
Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards  
Publication Highlights  
Selected Scholarly Presentations

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Position            

• Professor of Political Science
  

Academic Background         

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute
  • Post-doc: "Mathematical Models in Political Science, Summer 1973
• Michigan State University     
  • Ph.D., 1972
  • MA, 1969
• Williams College
  • BA, 1967

Sample Courses Taught at Providence College  

• Comparative State Politics
• Empirical Political Analysis
• Political Science Internship
• Political Parties and Interest Groups
• Public Program Evaluation

Teaching Philosophy            

I agree with the old saying that “Education is what’s left after a student has forgotten everything he or she memorized for the exam.”  Students have access to lots of information sources. They need not memorize information that is readily available in easily accessible sources.  What they need from me is an explanation of why the material is worthwhile knowing, the methods they can employ to learn on their own, and help in thinking analytically about the substantive course material.

Research & Interests               

The substantive area of my research is generally American state politics. Virtually all of my research is empirically based; that is, I test hypotheses about political behavior and attitudes by using statistical software to analyze data. My current research focuses on lobbyists who work at the state level. With another political scientist, I have completed two large surveys of lobbyists in all fifty states, and we are now analyzing that data and reporting our results.

Notable Academic Appointments and Awards

• Best Paper Award, Southwestern Political Science Association, Annual Meeting, 1985
• Director, Political Science Research and Data Center, Providence College, 1982-1992
• Department Chair, Political Science, Providence College, 1978-1982
• Director, National Science Foundation Programs in Urban Research Methods, Providence  College, summers 1971, 1972
• Cash prize, excellence on Ph.D. exams, Michigan State University, 1969

Publication Highlights

Book

• (with James M. Carlson) Doing Empirical Political Research, Houghton Mifflin, 2003

Book Chapters

• "Rhode Island: The Politics of Intimacy," in Ronald Hrebenar and Clive Thomas (eds.), Interest Groups in the Northeastern States (Pennsylvania State University Press), 1993

Articles in Refereed Journals

• (with Junean Krajewski and Mary O'Keeffe) "Teen Attitudes Toward Individuals with Mental Retardation from 1987 to 1998: Impact of Respondent Gender and School Variables" Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, V. 37, No. 1, March 2002
• (with John Carroll) "Characteristics of State Lobbyists: Baseline Data from a National Sample," Comparative State Politics, V.19, No. 6, December, 1998
• (with William E. Hudson and John Carroll) "Business and State Economic Development," Western Political Quarterly, March, 1988
• (with William E. Hudson and John Carroll) "Corporatist Policy-making and State Economic Development," Polity, Vol. 19, No. 3, Spring, 1987
• (with James M. Carlson) "The Candidate Oriented Party Activist," The Social Science Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4, October, 1982
• (with Martin D. Levine) "Incumbency and the Theory of Political Ambition: A Rational Choice Model," Journal of Politics, Vol. 39, No. 3, November, 1977

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• (with Rebecca Hatch) "Presidential Coattails and State Legislative Elections", Annual Meeting of the New England Political Science Association, Newton, MA, April 2007
• Panel Chair, "Innovative Approaches in Experiential Education", Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., September, 1993
• "Interest Groups in Rhode Island," Annual Meeting of the Northeast Political Science Association, Boston, MA, November, 1986
• (with James M. Carlson) "Situations and Party Activist Role Orientations: A Q Study," Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Milwaukee, WI, May 1982
• (with James M. Carlson) "The Party Activist as Office Seeker," Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August, 1979
• (with Stephen Misovich) "Appearance, Setting, And Attribution of Political Candidate Credibility," Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York City, April, 1976

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