Greetings to alums of the department of Political Science! 

We're very happy to have you checking in on us.  There has been an awful lot of recent activity in the department.  We recently hired two new faculty members: Dr. Glen Biglaiser, an expert in Latin American politics, and the political economy of development; and Dr. Jae-Jae Spoon, an expert in European politics and political parties.  In addition, Dr. James Meernik is rejoining the department full-time, having completed his service as Interim Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School.  

Our Human Security, Democracy, and Global Development Research cluster is in the process of forming.  It will be devoted to analyzing and reducing political violence, improving governance, and addressing global poverty.  Using state-of-the-art statistical and computational techniques, we conduct cutting edge research on topics such as conflict over water resources, social unrest in Africa, improving publicv health in developing countries, small business development, and conflict management.  

We continue to pride ourselves on providing one of the best undergraduate educations possible. One exciting aspect of this has been the department’s 3^rd annual summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (funded by the National Science Foundation), run by Drs. John Ishiyama and Michael Greig. In it, a dozen top undergraduates from UNT and across the country, assisted by faculty and graduate student mentors, design and execute research projects. This summer’s projects included powerful analyses of the U.S. drug war in Mexico, the effects of foreign direct investment in developing countries, and the influence of victims of political violence on post-conflict reconciliation. 

We hope you will be able to join us for two upcoming events: 

• PSCI & Legal Eagles Constitution Day & Scholarship Fundraiser at the Abbey Inn, Denton
  Thursday, September 20, 5-7 PM
• UNT Homecoming Tailgate Party: UNT v. Arkansas State
  Saturday, November 3, 3-6 PM

As always, we are very grateful for all your past interest and support.  And we hoep to see you soon at these events--or please feel free just to stop by the department and chat.