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Department of Political Science
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Department of Political Science

Home > Alumni : Undergraduate Program Alumni

Undergraduate Program Alumni

Accomplishments

  • Kwang Myoung Cha (BA 2000) earned a master's degree in 2007 in political science (diplomacy) at the Universite de Clermont-Ferrand in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Kwang is currently the Director-General of the Korean Parliamentary League on Children, Population and Environment of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.
  • Clarence "Jasen" Peterson (B.A. 2003) was awarded a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship to pursue a career in the Foreign Service.
  • Rachel Paulose (B.A. 1994) is the first woman and first Asian American to be appointed interim U.S. Attorney for Minnesota.
  • Dean Mathiowetz (B.A. 1995) completed his PhD in Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley in 2003 and is now Assistant Professor of Politics at the University of California—Santa Cruz.
  • Scott Allard (B.A. 1992) earned his PhD in 1999 from the University of Michigan and joined the faculty at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy.
  • Chad Baruch (B.A. 1988) was recognized as one of the outstanding teachers in Texas by the Texas Association of Accredited Private Schools.
  • Karen M. Kedrowski (B.A. 1986) received her M.A. (1991) and PhD (1992) in Political Science from the Carl Albert Center and the University of Oklahoma and is Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
  • Jonathan Smaby (B.A. 1985) and his wife, Michelle Roberts, created an undergraduate scholarship for U of M political science majors.
  • Myron Orfield (B.A. 1983) has a graduate school from Princeton, a law degree from the University of Chicago and a DFL house member who was also elected to the Minnesota State Senate.
  • Tim Pawlenty (B.A. 1983) was elected Governor of Minnesota.
  • Gene Sperling (B.A. 1982) received his law degree from Yale University in 1985 and served as the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Director of President Clinton's National Economic Council.
  • Ken Abdo (B.A. 1979) was elected 2004 Chair of the American Bar Association's Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Ken was recently selected by Minnesota Lawyer as a 2009 Attorney of the Year.
  • Brad Eggen (B.A. 1970) was selected as a "Super Lawyer" by Minneapolis St. Paul and Law & Politics magazines from a poll of 18,000 Minnesota attorneys.
  • Burnham J. ("Bud") Philbrook (B.A. 1969) and his wife, Michele Gran, founded Global Volunteers, a St. Paul nonprofit that offers ordinary individuals the opportunity to work with and learn from local people in struggling communities around the world. Bud also served for a time as the USDA's deputy undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

Awards

National Scholarship Recipients

Rhodes Scholarship
  • Diana Fu (B.A. 2006)
  • David Simon (B.A. 2003)
Harry S. Truman Scholarship
  • Joseph Walla (B.A. 2006)
  • David Simon (B.A. 2003)
  • Jessica Kimpell (B.A. 2001)
  • Kjersten Nelson (B.A. 2001)
  • Rachel Paulose (B.A. 1993)
  • Judy Grew (B.A. 1986)
  • David Linder (B.A. 1984)
  • Steve Ansolebehere (B.A. 1982)
  • James St. George (B.A. 1979)
David L. Boren Scholarship
  • Matthew Connell (B.A. 2002)
Fulbright Grant
  • Laura Hammond (B.A. 2004)
Glamour Magazine, Top Ten College Women
  • Jennifer Carrier (B.A. 2001)
Luce Scholarship
  • Joseph Walla (B.A. 2006)
George Mitchell Scholarship
  • Zachery Coelius (B.A. 2004)
USA Today All-USA Academic Team
  • Zachery Coelius (B.A. 2004)

Other Awards

  • Dean Harvey (B.A. 2002), University of California—Berkeley Law School's William E. Swope Antitrust Prize
  • Sheldon W. Simon (B.A. 1958), National Bureau of Asian Research's Directors Award for Outstanding Contributions in Research

Publications

  • Kjersten Nelson (B.A. 2001) and political science professor James Druckman co-authored an article titled, "Framing and Deliberation: How Citizens' Conversations Limit Elite Influence" which was published in the AmericanJournal of Political Science,
  • Tony Hill (B.A. 1994) has articles published in Encyclopedia of Politics and Encyclopedia of American Parties and Elections and a book Canadian Politics: Riding by Riding.
  • John D. Bessler (B.A. 1988) is the author of two books, Kiss of Death: America's Love Affair with the Death Penalty and Legacy of Violence:Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota.
  • Rev. Dale S. Kuehne (B.A. 1981) published a short tribute to Emeritus Political Science Professor Mulford Q. Sibley in David Shribman's I Remember My Teacher.
  • William Kaszynski (B.A. 1975) amassed a large collection of what he calls "Roadside Americana" and wrote a book titled The American Highway—The History and Culture of Roads in the United States.