Jesuit College and University Experts Available to Provide Commentary on Presidential Inauguration

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President-elect Barack Obama will be inaugurated next week (January 20, 2009), and faculty and administrators from Jesuit colleges and universities across the country will be on hand to provide commentary on this historic event. The following list provides the names of experts, their areas of expertise, and their contact information.

BOSTON COLLEGE

Prof. Alan Wolfe - Director, Boisi Center for Religion & American Public Life
Direct contact: 617-552-1862; alan.wolfe.1@bc.edu
Alan Wolfe is widely recognized for his studies and observations on American politics and religion; the intersection of religion, morality and public policy; and cultural issues. He is author of Return to Greatness: How America Lost Its Sense of Purpose and What it Needs to Do to Recover It.

Prof. Marc Landy - Political Science Department
Direct Contact: 617-552-4172; marc.landy.1@bc.edu
Marc Landy is an expert on the American presidency, American politics and elections. He is co-author of the book Presidential Greatness.

Prof. Kay Schlozman - Political Science Department
Direct contact: 617-552-4174; kay.schlozman@bc.edu
Kay Schlozman, BC’s J. Joseph Moakley Professor of Political Science, has done extensive research on various aspects of American national politics including citizen political participation, voting behavior, parties and elections, interest groups, public opinion, and gender and politics.

Prof. Patrick J. Maney - History Department
Direct Contact: 617-552-2393; maneyp@bc.edu
Patrick Maney is a Professor of History with expertise in presidential, congressional and political history. He has recently written a book on Franklin Delano Roosevelt and currently has contracted to write a book on the Clinton Presidency.

Adj. Assoc. Prof. Michael Keith - Communications Department
Direct contact: 617-552-8837; michael.keith.1@bc.edu
Michael Keith is a former broadcaster and author of the books Waves of Rancor and Tuning in the Radical Right. He is an expert on talk radio and the influence of electronic media on elections.

CANISIUS COLLEGE

Michael V. Haselswerdt, PhD - Professor of Political Science
Expert on Public Opinion
Contact: Eileen Herbert, Canisius College Office of Public Relations
716-888-2791

COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS

David Schaefer - Professor, Political Science
508-793-2252 (office), dschaefe@holycross.edu
Schaefer, whose scholarly research focuses on political philosophy and American political thought, can provide expertise on a multitude of issues related to the inauguration, including Obama’s inaugural address and the sociological implications of his presidency. He has published essays on such issues as race relations, economic inequality, judicial activism, church-state relations, and labor policy in The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, and The American Enterprise.

Donald Brand - Associate Professor, Political Science
508-793-3402 (office) dbrand@holycross.edu
Brand specializes in the study of the presidency and American politics. He can provide insight into the challenges Obama will face in his first 100 days in office and how this inauguration compares with others. Brand provided expert commentary to the media on a host of issues throughout the 2008 election. He is the author of Corporatism and the Rule of Law: A Study of the National Recovery Administration (Cornell University Press, 1988), and numerous articles in journals such as Political Science Quarterly and Political Science Reviewer.

Caren Dubnoff - Associate Professor, Political Science
cdubnoff@holycross.edu
Dubnoff specializes in American government, the presidency, constitutional law, and politics. She is available to comment on a wide range of issues related to the inauguration, including the inaugural address and her former student, Jon Favreau, College of the Holy Cross Class of 2003 and chief speechwriter for Obama.

Daniel Klinghard - Assistant Professor, Political Science
508-793-2361 (office) dklingha@holycross.edu
Klinghard can comment on historical inaugural addresses, the kinds of broad challenges Obama faces, the inauguration in the context of racial politics, and the state of the political parties.

Rev. Thomas Worcester, S.J. - Associate Professor, History
508-793-2784 (office) tworcest@holycross.edu
Fr. Worcester can comment on the role that religion will play at the inauguration, including the invocation by Rev. Rick Warren, benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowry, and controversy surrounding them.

Jerry Lembcke - Associate Professor, Sociology
508-793-3050 (office) jlembcke@holycross.edu
Lembcke can provide insight on Obama’s “New Deal.” Since the 1980s, he has written about Roosevelt’s New Deal and the need for a new New Deal. A nationally recognized expert on the Vietnam War and veterans, Lembcke can also comment on the comparisons between the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan. Lembcke has wide-ranging media experience. He has been interviewed by USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek.com, and many other newspapers, radio and television stations.

Ward Thomas - Associate Professor, Political Science
508-793-3445 (office) wthomas@holycross.edu
Thomas can provide insight on U.S. foreign policy, especially involving military or security issues; international law as it pertains to war; international ethics, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and terrorism. He is the author of The Ethics of Destruction: Norms and Force in International Relations (Cornell University Press, 2001), and his articles have appeared in International Security, Security Studies, Armed Forces & Society, Sciences Humaines (Paris), The Boston Globe, and other publications. He is currently working on a book about normative change and the use of force by nonstate actors, particularly Private Military Companies (PMCs).

Nicolas Sanchez - Professor, Economics
508-793-2687 (office) nsanchez@holycross.edu
Sanchez can talk about Obama’s economic plan, including his proposed economic stimulus package and the likelihood of its success. He has published in numerous economics journals in the U.S. and abroad, including The Review of Economics and Statistics and Economic Development and Cultural Change.

Victor Matheson - Associate Professor, Economics
508-793-2649 (office), vmatheso@holycross.edu

Robert Baumann - Assistant Professor, Economics
508-793-3879 (office) rbaumann@holycross.edu

Bryan Engelhardt - Assistant Professor, Economics
508-793-3669 (office) bengelha@holycross.edu

While presidential inaugurations routinely attract hundreds of thousands or more visitors to Washington, D.C., recent research by Baumann, Engelhardt and Matheson suggests that the economic benefits generated by related tourism does not translate into increased economic activity. Instead, they argue, it may end up costing the city significantly. They are available to talk about their recently released paper titled “Hail to the Chief: Assessing the Economic Impact of Presidential Inaugurations on the Washington, D.C. Local Economy,” available at http://www.holycross.edu/departments/economics/RePEc/Matheson-Baumann-Engelhardt_Inauguration.pdf.

For more information, or for assistance scheduling an interview, please call Cristal Perriello at 508-793-2419. Experts listed below may also be contacted directly for comment.

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY

Dr. Graham Ramsden - Chair, Political Science and International Relations Department
Office: 402-280-4711, Email: GrahamRamsden@creighton.edu
Expertise: politics, elections, historical perspective on political process

John Deskins, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Economics
Office: 402-280-2422, Email: JohnDeskins@creighton.edu
Expertise: A forecast of tax policies under Obama administration; please see http://www2.creighton.edu/business/newsevents/latestnews/index.php.

Heather Fryer, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of History
Office: 402-280-2656, E-mail: heatherfryer@creighton.edu
Expertise: 20th century U. S. social and cultural history; what it means to be an “American"

For additional information on scheduling interviews, please contact the Creighton University Division of University Relations (402-280-1786).

FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY

John M. Orman, Ph.D. - Chair of Department of Politics
Dr. Orman specializes in the U.S. Presidency and Congress. He is the author of five books, including the well-received Celebrity Politics, (Prentice Hall, 2003) which he co-authored with Darrell West, Brown University. His other books include Presidential Accountability, Comparing Presidential Behavior, Presidential Secrecy and Deception. He teaches courses on the American Presidency; Politics and Mass Popular Culture; the United States Congress; The Intelligence Community and Policy Making; and Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Opinion. Experience being interviewed by most major media outlets.
Contact: jorman@mail.fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000, ext. 2864.

Yohuru Williams, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Politics; Co-director of the Black Studies Program at Fairfield University
Williams is a prolific writer who specializes in the African-American experience. Selected by Diverse Issues in Higher Education as a 2009 “Emerging Scholar,” and called “one of the most exciting scholars of his generation” by Dr. Peniel E. Joseph, Assoc. Professor of Africana Studies at Brandeis University. He is the author of several books, including A Constant Struggle: African-American History from 1865 to the Present. Experience being interviewed by NPR, television and print media.
Contact: ywilliams@mail.fairfield.edu

Renée T. White, Ph.D. - Professor of Sociology; Co-editor of the Journal of HIV AIDS Prevention in Children and Youth; Co-director of the Black Studies Program at Fairfield University
Dr. White specializes in Race & Ethnic Studies, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Urban Poverty. Dr. White was interviewed recently by Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the impact the Obama family will have on the image of black families in America.
Contact: rtwhite@mail.fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000, ext. 2813

Donald W. Greenberg, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Politics
Dr. Greenberg specializes in the Supreme Court. Interviewed by major media outlets. Experience being interviewed by major print outlets, radio and television.
Contact: 203-254-4000, ext. 2860

Rev. Richard Ryscavage, S.J. - Director of the Center for Faith and Public Life at Fairfield University
Fr. Ryscavage specializes in immigration and was the former national director of the Jesuit Refugee Service USA. Experience being interviewed by major media outlets.
Contact: 203-254-4000, ext. 3393

David Gudelunas, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Communication, Fairfield University
Dr. Gudelunas specializes in culture and politics and can comment on President Obama’s inaugural address and media coverage of the event. Interviewed by several media outlets.
Contact: dgudelunas@mail.fairfield.edu

For additional information, please contact the Fairfield University Media Office: 203-451-1725.

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY

Richard Fleisher - Professor of Political Science
Contact: 212-636-6534 or steinhardt@fordham.edu
Area of Expertise: Presidential-congressional relations

Robert F. Himmelberg - Professor of History and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Contact: 212-636-6534 or steinhardt@fordham.edu
Area of Expertise: Past inaugural addresses and their impact

Beth Knobel - Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies
Contact: 212-636-6534 or steinhardt@fordham.edu
Area of Expertise: Media coverage of the Inauguration and the first days of the Obama presidency

Costas Panagopoulos - Assistant Professor of Political Science, Director of the Master’s Program in Elections and Campaign Management, and Director of the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy
Contact: campaigns@fordham.edu
Area of Expertise: What Obama’s inaugural address may portend for the first 100 days of his administration

Paul Levinson - Professor of Communication and Media Studies
Contact: levinson.paul@gmail.com
Area of Expertise: New and social media coverage of the events, and how the “New New Deal” meets the “New New Media”

Bruce F. Berg - Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department
Contact: steinhardt@fordham.edu
Area of Expertise: U.S. health and social policy, and federal-state-local relations

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY

Prof. Blaine Garvin - Political Science
Contact: 509-313-6745 or garvin@calvin.gonzaga.edu

JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY

Larry Schwab - Professor, Political Science
Contact: 216-397-4329 or schwab@jcu.edu

Sarah Schiavoni - Lecturer, Political Science
Contact: 216-397-4306 or sschiavoni@jcu.edu

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY

Michael Genovese - Professor of Political Science
Michael is the chairman of the Center for Leadership studies at LMU who has devoted much of his career to the study of the presidency. He serves as the associate editor of the journal, White House Studies, and the editor of The Evolving American Presidency book series. Professor Genovese frequently appears as a political commentator on local and national television.

Joseph Jewell - Associate Professor of Sociology
Joseph is the chair of the African American Studies Department at LMU who has published extensively on race relations, social change and the black middle class in American history. He can address what Barack Obama means to the African American community and future race relations.

Please contact Celeste Durant, LMU Director, Communications and Media, (310-338-7708 or Celeste.Durant@lmu.edu) to reach either professor. Thank you!

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO

Alan Gitelson - Professor, Political Science
Areas of Expertise: American Politics and Political Psychology

Joan Phillips - Professor, School of Business Administration
Area of Expertise: Barack Obama’s Effect on Political Marketing/ Branding

Fred Bryant - Professor, Psychology
Areas of Expertise: New Lifestyle and Psychological Factors for Obama Family

Jacqueline Firkins - Professor, Fine Arts and Costume Design
Area of Expertise: Barack and Michelle Obama’s Evolution in Fashion

John Frendreis - Professor, Political Science
Areas of Expertise: American Politics, Presidential Legislative Performance in the First 100 Days of the Administration, Economic Policy, State and Local Politics, American Political Parties and Elections. He and another professor published an article that modeled presidential success in the first hundred days of all presidential terms in the last 120 years.

John Pelissero - Professor, Political Science and Vice Provost
Areas of Expertise: Federal Government Policies that Respond to Economic Problems in States and Cities, Urban and State Politics, Public Policy, Public Administration

Richard Matland - Helen Houlahan Rigali Chair in Political Science
Areas of Expertise: American Politics, Elections, Women and Politics (Nationally and Internationally), European Politics

Please contact Loyola University Chicago’s University Marketing and Communications Department (312-915-6158) to arrange interviews for both print and broadcast opportunities.

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS

Dr. Peter Burns - Professor, Political Science
Contact: 504-865-2299 (office) or pburns@loyno.edu

Dr. Phillip Dynia - Professor, Political Science
Contact: 504-865-2561 (office) or Dynia@loyno.edu

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

Jason Rae - Marquette senior and youngest Democratic super delegate
Jason Rae will be in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration and will be chairing a few DNC meetings.

Nikotris “Niki” Perkins - Associate Director, Educational Opportunity Program
Office: (414) 288-5231; nikotris.perkins@marquette.edu
A group of 30 first-generation college and low-income high school students are headed to our nation’s capitol to experience the inauguration firsthand. How do they view this historic event?

Andy Brodzeller - Media Relations Specialist
andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu
One of 240,000 to have received a ticket to the swearing in, Andy will witness the inauguration firsthand.

Sumana Chattopadhyay - Assistant Professor, Communication
Office: (414) 288-3488; sumana.chattopadhyay@marquette.edu
This recent election engaged individuals and constituencies who hadn’t been involved in the past. What got them connected and will they stay involved now that the election is over?

Gee Ekachai - Associate Professor, Advertising and Public Relations
Office: (414) 288-3450; daradirek.ekachai@marquette.edu
Social media was a key fixture of President Obama’s campaign. How did he use social media to his advantage and does it have a role once he takes office?

Laura Kestner - Director, Career Services and Etiquette Guru
Office: (414) 288-7424; laura.kestner@marquette.edu
With her robust collection of historical etiquette books, Kestner can share how presidential etiquette has changed throughout the centuries and how someone should properly greet the president today.

Rick Esenberg - Assistant Professor of Law
Office: (414) 288-6908; richard.esenberg@marquette.edu
An avid blogger, Esenberg can provide meaningful insight on state and national topics, from how a stimulus package could affect the state budget to the difficulty of adopting comprehensive health care reform.

McGee Young - Assistant Professor, Political Science
Office: (414) 288-3296; mcgee.young@marquette.edu
As an active follower of politics, Young can help frame a range of topics including the importance of the first 100 days in office, the selection of the cabinet and other policy priorities.

Janet Boles - Professor, Political Science
Office: (414) 288-3419; janet.boles@marquette.edu
President Obama is the first African-American president and Hillary Clinton will be only the third woman to serve as secretary of state. How have the roles of race, ethnicity and gender changed in the U.S.?

James McGibany - Associate Professor, Economics
Office: (414) 288-7187; james.mcgibany@marquette.edu
It’s clear one of the most pressing issues for President Obama is the economy. Hear what he faces from the College of Business Administration’s executive associate dean.

SPRING HILL COLLEGE

Dr. Tom Hoffman - Assistant Professor of History and Political Science
Contact: 251-380-4184 or thoffman@shc.edu
Dr. Hoffman can comment on the following topics: Most issues related to Congress, the presidency or the Supreme Court and the politics surrounding each of the three branches; Issues of American public opinion, America's political culture; Partisanship and ideologies.

UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

Dr. Corey Cook - Professor of Politics
Dr. Cook will be in Washington, DC for the inauguration, and will be available for media interviews via phone (or from an affiliate studio in DC) during the inauguration. He attended both political conventions and can provide a comprehensive analysis of Obama's journey to the White House. Dr. Cook earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His doctoral dissertation considers the impact of race and gender on political representation and explores the contemporary significance of identity politics. Professor Cook teaches courses in American Politics specializing in political institutions, urban and state politics, and the dynamics of political representation in the department of politics at the University of San Francisco. He can provide expert opinion and commentary on the transition of power and the start of Obama’s administration.

Dr. James Taylor - Professor of Politics
Professor Taylor teaches in the areas of American Politics, Black Politics, National Political Leadership, and Race & Ethnic Politics at the University of San Francisco. Taylor received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. His dissertation was on contemporary black politics and political involvement as reflected in the Million Man March, in which he personally participated, and about which he has published articles. Taylor recently completed a book entitled, Sons of Thunder: Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan and the Haunting of America. It will be out next year (published by Lynne Reinner Publishing). He can provide expert opinion and commentary on the transition of power and the start of Obama’s administration.

Please feel free to contact Anne-Marie Devine, USF Director of Media relations, (415-422-2697 or abdevine@usfca.edu) if you have any problems reaching either professor. Thank you!