Washington University faculty available for interviews
Faculty described below have agreed to consider media interviews on political issues relevant to their individual areas of expertise. Faculty sources may be contacted directly at the phone numbers or e-mail addresses listed. For assistance contact Public Affairs at (314) 935-5230.
American Politics
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James W. Davis, Ph.D. Presidency/Campaigns |
Davis, an expert on defense and public policy, health care policy, presidential campaigns and party platforms, is a close follower of current issues in politics. Davis teaches courses focusing on the presidency, military history and political literacy and is a frequent commentator on news events. His essays have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. He has a special interest in the ongoing budget battle.
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Wayne Fields, Ph.D. Political Rhetoric |
Fields, an expert on political rhetoric, can discuss presidential speeches, campaign rhetoric and debates. His 1996 book, 'Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence' (The Free Press, Simon & Schuster, New York), provides an anecdote-rich history of presidential speech from the nation's founding to the Clinton campaign, and includes chapters on various forms of presidential speech: State of the Union, candidacy announcement, nomination acceptance, call for war or peace and farewell addresses.
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Ronald M. Levin, J.D. Campaign Finance Reform |
Levin, an expert on administrative law and the law of the legislative process, has done extensive research on congressional ethics. He closely follows political reform developments in areas such as campaign finance and lobbying regulation. He has published widely on administrative law, particularly about regulatory reform, the rulemaking process and the courts' role in overseeing executive decisions. Chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, he also has chaired the Association of American Law Schools' sections on administrative law and legislation. Read more
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Robert Salisbury, Ph.D. American Politics/Interest Groups/Religion and
Politics |
Salisbury, the author of many books on urban government, is an expert on how lobbyists and interest groups work inside The Beltway. He studies how the Washington community of lawyers, congressional staffs and interest groups interact to make national policy. He has written on how the electoral process and campaigning have been influenced by (and are contributing to) the decline in civic responsibility and sense of community in America. He notes that politics have become increasingly partisan, as opposing factions square off along party lines and refuse to make trade-offs. He has served as consultant to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the U.S. Office of Education and the National Institutes of Health.
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Scott McClurg, Ph.D. American Electoral Process |
McClurg, who earned a doctorate in political science from Washington University in 2000, is currently teaching a course on the 2000 elections. Designed to help students better understand the electoral process, the course raises the question of whether elections really matter much in contemporary American society. McClurg's teaching interests include Introduction to American Politics, Elections, Political Behavior, Public Opinion, Political Parties and Interest Groups. He has conducted research on a range of political topics, including Political Participation, Public Opinion, Electoral Behavior, Political Geography and Campaign Dynamics. His dissertation explores how social factors, such as political conversations, influence individual decisions to participate in the political process. In the 2000 campaign, he has been following trends in polling data, as well as how voters have reacted to changes in candidate strategies during various stages of the campaign. A native St. Louisan, McClurg also follows some issues of interest at local and state levels. Read more
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Gary J. Miller, Ph.D. Presidential Relations with Congress |
Miller's research and teaching interests focus on bargaining, negotiations and special interest politics in the U.S. Congress. Among his wide-ranging intellectual interests is a keen interest in American political history. He has been the principal investigator for three National Science Foundation grants for experimental research on coalition-formation and decision-making. He has written extensively on the historical origins of bureaucratic and regulatory forms that have shaped business-government relations since the Progressive Reform movement at the beginning of the 20th century. His longtime study of Congress, along with his expertise in bargaining and negotiation, leaves him highly qualified to comment on the potential relations between a President Bush or President Gore and the Congress. If elected, Bush and Gore would, he argues, have much different ways of relating to Congress. He also suggests that the 2000 presidential election is the first in many years where odds are good that both leading candidates might claim a partial win -- Bush on popular votes and Gore on electoral votes. Read more
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Jeff Smith Campaign Strategies |
Jeff Smith, a specialist in election issues and campaign strategies, is currently teaching a short course on American Election Issues at Washington University. A St. Louis native, Smith recently returned from a leave of absence, during which he worked as a staff member on the Bill Bradley 2000 presidential campaign, including roles as deputy political director in Iowa and communication director in New Jersey. Smith also conducts research and teaches courses on racial and ethnic issues in American politics. He is familiar with a number of congressional races across the nation and has been following state and local races in Missouri.
Education
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Garrett
Duncan, Ph.D. Asst. professor of education and African and Afro-American Studies Arts & Sciences (314) 935-8740 gaduncan@artsci.wustl.edu |
A close look at education reform proposals touted by presidential candidates Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore reveals that neither does much to address the problems of poor, inner-city public schools, according to Garrett Duncan, Ph.D., assistant professor of education and African and Afro-American Studies in Arts & Sciences. Read more
Politics of Regulatory Reform
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Melinda Warren Costs of Regulation |
Warren's research focuses on regulatory issues, primarily regulatory reform. Results from her annual analysis of trends in federal regulatory budgets and staffing are widely quoted in the national media. She also has written on Superfund and the Clean Air Act. Her recent report titled 'Federal Regulatory Spending Reaches a New Height: An Analysis of the Budget of the U.S. Government for the Year 2001' is available online at: http://csab.wustl.edu/research/default.htm
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Richard Belzer, Ph.D. Regulatory Policy/Regulatory Oversight |
Belzer heads CSAB's satellite office in Washington, D.C. He is principal investigator on a major CSAB program on regulatory oversight and reform. He conducts original research on environmental policy, health and safety risk and methods of benefit-cost and risk analysis. Before joining CSAB in 1998, he served nearly 10 years as an economist in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). His analysis of a recent OMB report to Congress on costs/benefits of regulation is online: http://csab.wustl.edu/research/default.htm
Politics of Business/Economics
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Russell Roberts, Ph.D. Campaign Finance Reform |
Roberts, a frequent commentator on National Public Radio's 'Morning Edition,' specializes in making complex economic ideas understandable. A longtime student of the interaction between economics and public policy, his provocative commentaries address issues ranging from union 'Buy American' campaigns to public-school reform. His novel on international trade, 'The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism,' was named one of the top 10 books of 1994 by Business Week magazine. Read more
Supreme Court
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Lee Joan Epstein, Ph.D. Election's Impact on Supreme Court |
Epstein, the recipient of four National Science Foundation grants, has written extensively on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has taught courses on the American legal system, American government, civil liberties, constitutional law, constitutional interpretation, current controversies on the Supreme Court, interest group politics, politics of litigation, American political institutions, and law and social change. She can discuss the election's potential impact on future Supreme Court appointments. Read more
Environmental Policy
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Kenneth W. Chilton, Ph.D. Environmental Policy and Regulation/Regulatory
Burdens/Costs |
Chilton manages environmental research programs at the Center
for the Study of American Business (CSAB), an independent 'think tank'
based at Washington University in St. Louis. He has published a wide range
of research on the economic impact of environmental regulations dealing
with areas such as water pollution, smog reduction and reducing solid
wastes through recycling. His recent report on economic growth vs. sustainable
environment is online: http://csab.wustl.edu/research/default.htm
Read more
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William Lowry, Ph.D. Environmental Records of Political Parties |
Lowry has written extensively on politics of the National Park System and other environmental policy issues. He co-authored a forthcoming paper detailing stark differences in the environmental records of the mainstream American political parties. The author of a recent book that compares political influences on national park systems of Canada, the United States and other nations, he can discuss how federal budget cuts and other politically motivated proposals impact national parks. Lowry also can discuss proposals to reduce environmental regulations and open up public lands for resource development. Read more
Social Policy
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Mark Robert Rank, Ph.D. Social Policy/Poverty/Welfare Reform |
Rank, an expert on poverty, welfare and social policy, is the author of a widely acclaimed book based on his 10-year study of Americans living in poverty: 'Living on the Edge: The Realities of Welfare in America.' Rank's book and subsequent research shatter many common myths about welfare. Recent research shows that a majority of Americans will experience poverty at some point in their life.
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Martha Ozawa, Ph.D. Social Security Reform/Earned Income Tax Credit/ Poverty of Women and Children |
Ozawa is a prolific researcher who has studied many of the nation's social welfare programs, including Social Security, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credit, children's allowances, Supplemental Security Income, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Her studies of Social Security show that African-American workers tend to receive lower benefits than do white workers because of shorter life spans and that higher-income couples tend to benefit more from the provision of benefits for spouses than do low-income couples. Another study shows that an improved Earned Income Tax Credit and a new child-allowance program, together, can reduce child poverty by 36 percent. Read more
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Michael Sherraden, Ph.D. Social Policy and the Working Poor/Asset Building
for the Poor |
Sherraden observes that 'few people have ever spent their way out of poverty' and suggests that social policy should focus not only on income support but also on asset building. His book 'Assets and the Poor' sets forth a new theory about how to tackle poverty in America: the creation of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) that allow poor families to save and invest in life goals such as homes, college education and business ventures. His proposals for IDAs have been enacted into legislation at the federal and state level. Both Bush and Gore have proposed expanded programs of IDAs. Lieberman has sponsored an IDA bill in the Senate. Research on IDAs at Washington University in St. Louis has influenced Clinton's proposals for Universal Savings Accounts (USAs). Gore's proposal for Retirement Savings Plus is a version of the USA proposal. For more information, visit http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/users/csd
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Nancy Vosler, Ph.D. Social Policy and the Working Poor |
Vosler's book on families, work and poverty explores problems poor parents face in attempting to stay in the workforce, including the lack of transportation, daycare and flex-time. Vosler is critical of welfare reforms that cut off benefits to recipients who do not find work within a specific period. She contends that many single-parent families cannot purchase even basic necessities on current benefit levels and that these families would have less financial resources if the parent is forced to take a minimum-wage job. Read more
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Merton C. Bernstein, LL.B. Social Security |
A widely consulted expert on Social Security, Merton Bernstein has taught, written and testified extensively in the area of social legislation. Co-author of the book, 'Social Security: The System that Works,' Bernstein served as the principal consultant to the National Commission on Social Security Reform; was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging; and served as a consultant to NBC for its Peabody award-winning program, 'Private Pensions: The Broken Promise.' He also is listed in 'Who's Who in America,' 'Who's Who in the World' and 'Who's Who in American Law.' Read more
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Howard Brick, Ph.D. History of social theory |
Brick, an expert on 20th century U.S. intellectual, cultural, social and political history, teaches a course on "Modern America since 1929," which explores key turns in the development of American society, including various waves of social reform and disruptive protest since the 1970s. Other interests include the history of social theory and the history of labor, socialist and radical movements. Read more
The "Gender Gap"
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Lisa
Baldez, Ph.D. Professor of political science Arts & Sciences (314) 935-4724 labaldez@artsci.wustl.edu http://artsci.wustl.edu/~polisci/baldez/ |
Lisa Baldez, Ph.D., a professor of political science in Arts & Sciences and an expert on women's issues, has a distinctive take on the American political phenomenon dubbed the "gender gap." Read more
Unions/Labor
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Neil N. Bernstein, LL.B. Unions and National Politics/Labor Law and Policy/Employment Discrimination |
Bernstein has followed labor law issues for nearly a quarter century. He has conducted research and is widely published on legal issues related to labor disputes and arbitration, including employment discrimination. A member of the law faculty since 1960, he teaches insurance, labor and employment law. A member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, he was a general counsel for the Missouri Division of Insurance and was a senior antitrust attorney in the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
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Raymond L. Hilgert, D.B.A. Union Endorsements/Labor and Campaign Strategies/ Labor Legislation |
Hilgert, an expert on labor relations management, has been a certified arbitrator for more than 30 years. He teaches graduate courses in human resources and industrial relations and arbitrates about 15-20 labor disputes each year. He can discuss union leadership and strategy.
Foreign Relations/Immigration
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Stephen H. Legomsky, J.D., D.Phil. Immigration Law/Immigration Policy |
Legomsky's expertise is frequently sought on immigration, refugee and citizenship issues. He has testified before Congress and advised President Clinton's transition team, President Bush's Commissioner of Immigration, the Administrative Conference of the United States, the immigration ministers of Russia and Ukraine, and the governments of Belarus, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. He currently chairs the Refugee Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association and has chaired the immigration law section of the Association of American Law Schools and the Law Professors Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is the author of 'Immigration and Refugee Law and Policy,' which has been adopted as the required text for immigration courses at 121 American law schools. His other books include 'Immigration and the Judiciary: Law and Politics in Britain and America' and 'Specialised Justice.' He is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Legomsky has taught or researched immigration and refugee related issues in the United States, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Australia.
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Victor T. Le Vine, Ph.D. Terrorism/Hostages |
Le Vine is an expert on hostages, terrorism, guerrilla warfare and political problems of the Middle East and Africa. He has consulted for the U.S. Peace Corps and the Defense and State departments and is an associate of the University's Center for the Study of Islamic Societies and Civilizations. Le Vine can discuss presidential campaign issues related to U.S. foreign policy, including what he considers to be a rather 'conspicuous absence' of foreign policy discussion in the current presidential campaign. He expects Gore and Bush will continue to avoid foreign policy discussions unless world events make some issue too hot to avoid between now and the election. He considers Gore more prepared to do battle on foreign policy issues and notes that Bush has thus far failed to show any consistent vision regarding the presidency's role in foreign policy. He doubts Lieberman's selection as Gore's vice presidential nominee will have any impact the ongoing Middle East peace process, noting that Arab negotiators generally have not had a problem negotiating with Jewish-Americans. 'Jewish voters were likely to vote for Gore before the Lieberman selection, and the issues most affecting the Middle East peace talks are generally independent of the American political campaign,' he said. Although neither Gore nor Bush have addressed African problems, Le Vine suggests that both candidates 'are likely to continue the thrust of Clinton's Africa policy, which has been mainly to support democratic regimes in Nigeria, South Africa, and elsewhere, and offer technical and logistical aid for African initiatives at trouble spots on the continent.'
Religion and Politics
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Hillel Kieval, Ph.D. Lieberman's Candidacy |
A student of the Jewish experience at home and abroad, Kieval joined the Washington University in St. Louis faculty in 1998. His research interests range widely: from Jewish acculturation and integration in Central and Eastern Europe to the impact of national and ethnic conflict on the formation of modern Jewish identities, and from the discursive practices of modern anti-Semitism to Jewish collective responses to Nazi genocide. In observing the 2000 political campaigns, Kieval is dismayed by the frequency with which this year's presidential candidates have advertised their piety. Although the selection of Senator Joseph Lieberman as a vice-presidential candidate has increased the campaign's focus on the issues of personal faith and separation of church and state, Kieval doubts it will have much impact on the eventual outcome of the presidential race. Read more
Debate Strategies and Techniques
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Jennifer Rigdon Debate Tactics, Strategies |
Rigdon is coach of the award-winning Washington University
undergraduate debate team, which competes with other universities and
has a strong reputation. Rigdon and the debate team plan to hold their
own DebateWatch event on campus during the Oct. 17 presidential debate
at Washington University. She and team members will be available for interviews
on debate tactics and strategies. Asked about the importance of political
debates, Rigdon said recently: 'I think Americans tend to take for granted
the right to free speech and peaceful transition of power that takes place
in the United States. In other parts of the world, discussion and debate
regarding the issues is unheard of. Here, we are able to disagree, protest,
debate and finally vote forÑor againstÑissues and candidates. I think
everyone should take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the
democratic process in action.' Rigdon, a native of St. Charles, Mo., has
been director of the speech and debate programs at Washington University
in St. Louis since August 1999. She received a master's degree in 1993
from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and will receive a Ph.D.
there in 2000. A member of the undergraduate debate team at SIU-Carbondale,
she began coaching debate there as as an assistant. In 1995, she became
a full-time debate coach and director of the debate program at Southwest
Missouri State University. Information on the Washington University in
St. Louis debate team and its members is available online at http://www.rescomp.wustl.edu/~debate.
