Dr. Marcus Johnson (Ph.D., Princeton University 2017) joins us as an Assistant Professor of political science.  Marcus Johnson previously served as an assistant professor at CUNY, Baruch College. He specializes in ethnicity, race, and electoral politics in the Americas.
 
His work seeks to explain the conspicuous absence of racial appeals to voters in Latin. America, despite the increasing visibility and social salience of black identity in the region. In his current research, Dr. Johnson examines land grabbing against Afro-Latin Americans in conflict environments. 
 
Professor Johnson’s approach to teaching seeks to move course content closer to the interests and perspectives of a diverse student population by incorporating underrepresented voices in the mainstream debates in political science. He has a diverse set of teaching experiences that span from an associate degree program in a youth correctional facility in Trenton, NJ to more traditional university classroom settings. During the 2017-2018 academic year, Professor Johnson held the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Maryland. He joined the faculty at Baruch in the fall of 2018. Dr. Chryl Laird (Ph.D. Ohio State University, 2014) joins us as an Assistant Professor of political science.  She previously held the position of Assistant Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College. She studies American Politics with a specialization in race and ethnic politics and political psychology.
 
Her book (with Ismail White), Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Political Behavior with Princeton University Press, examines how Black partisanship to the Democratic party is maintained through social networks and political norms. Her research and commentary has been featured on a number of media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Atlantic, and FiveThirtyEight. Dr. Laird is an award-winning lecturer who has taught the following courses: Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Urban Politics, Women of Color in Politics, and Public Opinion and Voting.

His research has been published in a number of academic journals, including The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Research and Politics, The Journal of International Economic Law, and Global Policy. Dr. Lugg has also co-authored reports for the World Bank, USAID, and the European Parliament, and my work has appeared in the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage. I have presented my research at academic conferences in the US and abroad.

Kirsten Langlois is the new Program Coordinator and Executive Assistant for the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development in June 2021. In addition to this position, she also serves as the Coordinator for the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll with Nielsen Scarborough and Project Manager of the Middle East Scholar Barometer. She earned her Bachelors of Arts in International Studies with a focus in Global Security, Conflict Resolution, and Human Rights. Kirsten has previously held internships at the German Marshall Fund of the United States as well as worked as Project Manager for the American University Office of Orientation, Transition, and Retention. She studied French and has both lived and traveled overseas.

The Applied Political Analytics Program (APAN) is thrilled to welcome its inaugural cohort in Fall 2021!

This exciting new program offers promising students an opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree in the high-demand, and still growing, modern data science industry. It is delivered as either a standalone degree or a combined 4+1 BA/MS. All admitted students will complete 36 credit hours at the graduate level, with classes from both the Government & Politics (GVPT) and Survey Methodology (SURV) departments. Graduates of the APAN program will be well-suited and prepared well above average for data-oriented political careers in the private sector, research organizations, NGO’s, and government agencies of all levels.

Employers across the government, private, and non-profit sectors are increasingly relying on data to help them reach their organization’s goals. In a 2017 report from LinkedIn (http://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/LinkedIns-2017-US-Emerging_Jobs_Report), data related jobs were prominent among the top 10 fastest growing jobs. The report also indicates that data scientist positions have shown a 650% rate of growth alongside a large shortage of qualified applicants. In the campaign world alone, the last several elections cycles have seen a proliferation of new companies specializing in data analytics as well as existing firms adding capacity in this emerging area.

Whether it is understanding which message to use to encourage a citizen to register to vote, or what services are needed to support programs to reduce radicalization among at-risk youth, data driven strategies are a key to success. In order to be most effective, the workforce needs more than just technical skills. That is, with a firm foundation in theoretical and empirical research, the most successful researchers will be able to communicate more effectively with clients and adapt to new questions and issues as they arise. The MS in Political Analytics program is designed to provide students with this foundation.

Candace Turitto, PhD
Program Director, Applied Political Analytics (APAN)

University of Maryland, College Park

Professor and Icelander Jóhanna Birnir taught a virtual study abroad class this summer – the first of its kind in UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. In addition to conventional lectures, Prof. Birnir took her students on live virtual tours around Iceland and hosted guest lectures and live conversations with faculty at the University of Iceland. Her class, Constructinga Gender Inclusive Society, delved deep to the sub-national case level to ask how a gender inclusive society was built in Iceland, which is currently ranked first in gender equality in the World Economic Forum’s World Gender Gap Index and, according to the Global Acceptance Index, ranks among the five most LGBTQ rights-accepting countries in the world.

CDCE and GVPT are hosting a "scholarship in practice" event on October 20th at 9:00am. The tentative title of the event is: "Scholarship in Practice: How Public Opinion Surveys Inform Legislator Policy Decisions." We have confirmed the participation of Delegate and Majority Leader, Eric Leudtke and are working to secure one additional legislator. Location TBD (as of now it will be in-person, but will move online if necessary).

On September 10, 2021 there was a Sadat Forum entitled “9/11 and its Aftermath: Squandering Global Goodwill.” The event, featuring Ryan Crocker, Amaney Jamal, Bruce Riedel, and Shibley Telhami, was live-streamed and the recording is available on the Sadat Chair’s YouTube page: https://youtu.be/JCtfBmuDzzQ

The Sadat Chair has also resumed its speaker series, the Sadat Book Chats, this semester and will be hosting two chats in September (Professor Chryl Laird on September 15th and Professor Shay Hazkani on September 29th). To RSVP for these chats, please visit: https://forms.gle/hQTpLPTYtwZDmyzG9

In case you missed it, the University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll, which is directed by Dr. Telhami, released the findings of a recent poll in July on U.S. public opinion of the Gaza Crisis and other Middle East foreign policy decisions. To view the report, please visit: https://criticalissues.umd.edu/research/2021-public-opinion-polls