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State Politics and Policy Section Newsletter Editor’s Note This is my last State Politics and Policy Newsletter and the first one I've done in this email format. The section will be considering the future of the newsletter at this year’s business meeting. For a variety of reasons I hope the next editor will consider moving the newsletter to email or the web. The newsletter in its old form was not inexpensive. About a third of the Section’s expenditures from 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 financial reports were from for the newsletter. While postage is fairly minimal printing costs are high. As we get more involved in giving awards and co-sponsoring conferences the Section may want to reconsider that particular expenditure. One of the most popular features of the newsletter, from what I have heard, are the lists of books and articles on state politics. But this feature in particular is better suited to the Web or an email newsletter than it is to hard copy: article citations can include links while the graduate student labor costs can be spread out over the year to have the lists updated more frequently than every other year. (Unfortunately, I was not able to assemble that list for this issue). Finally, there is the problem of content. That is, I have been having a very difficult time finding any and this makes it more difficult to justify the time and cost commitment of the printed newsletter. With some important exceptions I have just not been able to get many people to write for the newsletter. This could change under the new editor, but it may also mean that the interest is just not there as it is for some of the other sections’ more substantive publications. Thanks for the positive feedback and if you are interested in this rewarding position let Sandy Schneider of the nominating committee know. My three year term expires at this year’s meeting. Michael Berkman From the Section President First, I am delighted to report that the Section's Best Paper Awards Committees have selected the winners of the awards. The award for the Best Paper given on a Section panel at the 2001 APSA meeting goes to Keith Hamm of Rice University and Peverill Squire of the University of Iowa for a paper titled "A 'Tools of the Trade' Look at Comparing Congress with State Legislatures." The award for the Best Graduate Student Paper given on a Section panel at the 2001 APSA meeting goes to Robert R. Preuhs of the University of Denver for his paper titled "Representation is Not Enough: Institutional Position and Minority Influence in the American States." Two graduate student travel awards will also be presented to Seth Masket of UCLA and Andrea McAtee of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Second, the first annual award for the Best Paper given on the topic of State Politics and Policy given at any professional meeting in 2001 has been won by Jerry Wright of Indiana University and Brian Schaffner of Western Michigan University for their paper titled "The Influence of Party in State Legislatures: The Quasi Experimental Case of Nebraska." This paper was presented at the 2001 Midwest meeting. We will present the awards to all winners during the Section business meeting at the upcoming APSA Meetings to be held on Saturday, August 31, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Please try to attend the section business meeting and honor the award winners. As Michael Berkman indicated above, we will decide at the Section Business meeting whether to change the format of the newsletter from a printed version to an electronic version. Also we will decide how to formalize the process of site selection for the annual State Politics and Policy Conferences. Tom Carsey will report on the activities of a special committee which took on this task. We will also consider a proposal to expand the number of travel grants for graduate students and I will report on the Association's attempts to provide more services to the organized sections. Finally, the section will elect a new set of officers for next year. Thus, I hope you can find the time to attend the section business meeting. Finally, I urge your attendance at the fine panel sessions organized by Barb Norrander for the upcoming APSA meeting. We need to keep our attendance up at the panels as the allocation formula for next year's meeting is partly met through robust attendance at the previous year's panels. Also please rejoin the organized section as membership is another criterion used to determine number of panels at future meetings. As of March 30, the Section has about 418 members. I look forward to seeing you at the APSA meeting and to your attendance at the Section panels and the Section Business meeting. Ron Weber 2002 APSA The theme of this year’s conference is Political Science and Public Life: Knowledge, Politics, and Policy. The State Politics and Policy Section has five panels and 2 Poster sessions. Please attend if you can: the number of panels we get next year depends in part on our attendance this year. The section’s business meeting is Saturday, Aug 31, 5:30 PM. 29-1 Policy Innovations in the U.S. Federal System 29-2 American Politics Across Institutional Boundaries 29-3 Interest Group Politics in the 50 States 29-4 Changing Representation, Changing Politics in the U.S. States 29-5 Gender Politics and State Legislatures 29-6 Poster Colloquium: Electoral Politics in the U.S. States 29-7 Poster Colloquium: Analyzing Policy Change in the U.S. States Nominations The Section will be choosing several council members at this years annual meeting including Secretary-Treasurer-Newsletter Editor (three year term), three at-large council members (two-year terms), and one at-large council member (one-year term). The nominating committee includes Sandy Schneider (University of South Carolina), John McIver (University of Colorado), and Tom Holbrook (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Please send all nominations for Secretary-Treasurer and Council Membership to Sandy Schneider (saundra-schneider@sc.edu), the Chair of the Nominations Committee, right away. Third Annual State Politics Conference to be Held in Arizona Laura Langer of the University of Arizona is hosting the next state politics conference. Her announcement follows: On March 14-15, 2003, the Department of Political Science at the University of Arizona and State Politics and Policy Quarterly will co-sponsor the 3rd Annual Conference on State Politics and Policy. The conference, to be held at the Westward Look Resort near the University of Arizona in Tucson, welcomes participation by all social scientists interested in studying American state institutions or sub-national politics. Members of the organized section on State Politics and Policy of the American Political Science Association are especially welcome. A stipend will be awarded to paper-givers to cover a portion of their expenses for the conference. The focus of this conference will be on the causes and consequences of American state institutions. Thus, any research question relating to the impact of institutional rules or norms on political behavior or public policy would be appropriate for a paper proposal. Research inquiries on adoption or creation of institutional rules governing state politics also would be appropriate. Topics on inter-branch and intra-branch relations also would be welcome. Political scientists studying American state institutions can best
address such questions as: Do institutional rules shape access to governmental
branches by the public, organized groups, or other government actors?
Does access to governmental branches translate into influence? How are
political actors influenced by and able to shape institutional rules
and structures? How do institutional structures and powers shape intergovernmental
relations between branches of government? The answers to these questions
can advance our understanding of American state institutions and the
important roles played by sub-national units of government. Moreover,
such inquiries can make important theoretical contributions to the field
of political science. Comparative studies of American state institutions
offer tremendous opportunity to develop and test more general theories
about government and political phenomenon. Future Conferences Tom Carsey is announcing a Call for Proposals to host the 4th Annual
State Politics and Policy Conference. The call can be found on the web
at: Information about all of the state politics conferences can be found
at: Wright and Schaffner Win the First SPPQ Best Paper Award State Politics and Policy Quarterly and the State Politics and Policy organized section of the American Political Science Association are proud to announce that a paper by Gerald Wright (Indiana University) and Brian Schaffner (Western Michigan University) entitled “The Influence of Party in State Legislatures: The Quasi Experimental Case of Nebraska” has won the 2001 SPPQ Best Paper Award. The paper was presented at the 2001 annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association. The award selection committee consisted of Cherie Maestas (chair),
Texas Tech University; Donald Haider-Markel, University of Kansas; and
Virginia Gray, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the selecting
the Wright and Schaffner paper for this award, the selection committee
stated that: The SPPQ Best Paper Award is presented to the best paper on the U.S. states presented at any political science conference during the calendar year. The goal of the award is to recognize and encourage high quality scholarship on U.S. state politics and policy. Nominations for the 2002 SPPQ Best Paper Award may be made to the editor of State Politics and Policy Quarterly or to the award selection committee. Nominations should include the name of the author(s), the title of the paper, and the name of the conference at which the paper was presented. If possible, nominations should include a copy of the original paper (preferably in electronic form), as presented at the conference. The 2002 SPPQ Best Paper Award selection committee members are Paul Brace (chair), Rice University; Caroline Tolbert, Kent State University; and Beth Reingold, Emory University. Nominations (including a copy of the paper as presented at the conference) must be received by FEBRUARY 1, 2003. |
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