The Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service

The Lugar Program at Denison

The Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service is named after Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, class of 1954, Rhodes scholar and Denison trustee. (For Senator Lugar's homepage go to http://www.senate.gov/~lugar)

The program is open to students of all academic majors and partisan perspectives who are interested in government and public policy.

The program has two tracks:

• Track One focuses on the workings of American national government and offers a congressional internship as well as coursework.

   

• Track Two focuses on United States foreign policy and international affairs and offers coursework in foreign policy, comparative politics and international politics, as well as internships with the Washington Semester Program.

Students must earn at least a C in every Lugar Program course, including those meeting the foreign language requirement for Track Two.

The Lugar Program welcomes former members of Congress to Denison almost every other year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republican. While here, they appear in classes and meet with students, faculty and others in the Denison and Granville communities. A theme common to these visits is the importance of public service.

 

 

The Lugar Program Concentration

Track One

Students in track one of the Lugar program must fulfill the following requirements:

• One of the following courses:
  • Foreign Policy Formulation (F'11 new course number POSC 215, was POSC 358);
  • The Conduct of American Foreign Policy (F'11 new course number POSC 341, was POSC 359);
• The Politics of Congress (F'11 new course number POSC 307, was POSC 319);
• Any two courses selected from among the Political Science Department course offerings in the American politics subfield;
• A congressional internship (all coursework must be completed prior to the internship)

Most congressional internships take place during the sophomore or junior year. Most Lugar students in Track One opt for four-week internships beginning in mid-May. 

Track Two

Students in Track Two of the Lugar Program must fulfill the following requirements:

• Four courses selected from the Political Science Department offerings in the comparative politics or international relations subfields; (Note: Foreign Policy Formulation (American politics subfield) may be counted toward the track Two requirements.)
  • or other approved International Relations/Comparative courses
• Four semesters of a foreign language;
• Completion of an approved off-campus internship or program with an experiential component.

Students enrolled in track two may fulfill part of their language requirement during the summer at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies in the Monterrey Institute in California or a similar program.

 

Congressional Internship

Since the program in 1995, almost 150 Lugar Program students have interned in congressional offices. Most intern during their sophomore or junior year, although seniors could satisfy this requirement by working in a House or Senate office during the fall or spring semester. To date, most Lugar students have opted for four-week internships beginning in mid-May and carrying over into early June.

May interns must find housing on their own in Washington, D.C. A few live with friends or relatives in the area, while most rent apartments or take dormitory rooms at American University. To learn more about housing at American, go to http://www.american.edu. We provide each intern with a modest housing subsidy and, in cases of proven need, offer additional aid to cover housing costs for the four-week internship in May carrying over to June.

House and Senate offices where Lugar students have interned include:

• Senator RIchard Lugar (R-IN)
• Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI)
• Former Rep. and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
• Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
• Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH)
• Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH)
• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
• Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
• Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
• Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
• Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
• Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
• Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
• Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
• Former Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH)
• Senator George Voinovich (R-OH)
• Senator John Warner (R-VA)

At least seven Lugar students - Chad Babin ('96), Dan Emerine ('96), Cori Barto ('98), Chris Geeslin ('98), and Cholly Smith ('00), Julie Black ('05) and Beth Kelly ('05)- have found employment as congressional staffers upon graduating from Denison.

 

Visiting Former Members of Congress

In cooperation with the Congress to Campus program, co-sponsored by the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service (http://www.stennis.gov/) and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress (www.usafmc.org/), the Lugar Program is pleased to welcome former members of Congress to Denison every other year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republican. While here, former members appear in classes and meet with students, faculty, and others in the Denison and Granville communities. A theme common to every such visit is the importance of public service. We honor our guests at a dinner attended by Lugar Program students and faculty, as well as representatives of the teaching faculty and administration. Beginning with former Congressman Romano Mazzoli in 1996, sixteen former members of the U.S. House have visited campus:

Former member	Party and state	Semester and year
Romano Mazzoli	D-KY	Spring 1996
Austin Murphy	D-PA	Fall 1996
John Rhodes III	R-AZ	Fall 1996
Glen Browder	D-AL	Spring 1998
Lou Frey	R-FL	Spring 1998
John Erlenborn	R-IL	Fall 1998
Larry LaRocco	D-ID	Fall 1998
William Clinger	R-PA	Spring 2000
William Roy	D-KS	Spring 2000
Beverly Byron	D-MD	Spring 2002
Robert Daniel	R-VA	Spring 2002
Arlen Erdahl	R-MN	Spring 2004
Robert Underwood	D-Guam	Spring 2004
Andy Jacobs	D-IN	Fall 2005
Denny Smith	R-OR	Fall 2005
Jim Bates	D-CA	Fall 2007
Nick Smith	R-MI	Fall 2007

Students Completing the Lugar Program

As of May 2010, the number of graduates who completed all Lugar Program requirements was 123.

 

 

What do our Students do after Denison?

At least five Lugar students who followed Track One have found employment as congressional staffers upon graduating from Denison.

Many of our students have gone on to law school, and some have completed graduate studies in political science and other disciplines.

Track Two represents a new response to the challenges and opportunities of the post 9/11 world. Track Two helps prepare students interested in obtaining a master's certificate at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) of the Monterrey Institute in California or at a similar institution. Students in the Monterrey program undertake further language study, complete an internship and develop a specialization in such areas as security, weapons of mass destruction, international trade and the international environment. This combination of foreign-language expertise and specialized coursework leads to employment in government agencies, international organizations and in the private sector.

Track Two is designed to facilitate graduate study for students who are interested in careers in homeland security, international business, global environment, and other international sectors but who presently do not want to earn a Ph.D., law degree, MBA or MPA.

Associate Professors

James R. Pletcher, Ph.D.

Email: pletcher@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6501 Office: 305-C Knapp Hall

Professor Pletcher joined the faculty 1983, holding a doctrate from University of Wisconsin.Dr. Pletcher is co-Director for the PPE program, co-Director for New Faculty Orientation and also coordinates the Preparing Future Faculty program to mentor doctoral candidates. Pletcher courses include Comparative Politics of Developing Nations, Politics of the Third World, Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa, Politics of The Global Environment (cross list with Environmental Studies), International Political Economy and Introduction to International Politics. Dr. Pletcher recently interviewed coffee farmers in Uganda and is preparing journal articles about African politics and agriculture.

Andrew Z. Katz, Ph.D.

 

Email: katz@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6405 Office: 305-A Knapp Hall

Professor Katz joined the faculty in 1993, holding a doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University. Katz courses include Introduction to International Politics, The Middle East in World Affairs, The Conduct of American Foreign Policy (appropriate for Lugar Program), American in Vietnam (crosslist with Honors Program), and Foreign Policy Formulation (appropriate for Lugar Program and crosslist with International Studies). Dr. Katz's research examines the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy.

 

Paul A. Djupe, Ph.D.

Email: djupe@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6310 Office: 305-B Knapp Hall

Professor Djupe joined the faculty in 1999, holding a doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis. Djupe courses include American Political Behavior and Institutions (appropriate for Lugar Program), Analyzing Politics, Political Organizations in the U.S., Religion and Politics in the U.S., American Political Behavior and American Public Policy (appropriate for Lugar Program). Dr. Djupe has published various works in religion and politics.

Sue Davis, Ph.D. 

            Email: davissf@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6500 Office: 305-D Knapp Hall

Professor Davis joined the faculty in 2002, holding a doctorate from Emory University. Dr. Davis serves as faculty advisor for Denison's chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha (the political science honorary society). Davis courses include Introduction to Comparative Politics of Developed States, Politics of Russia (appropriate for Lugar Program), Politics in Eastern Europe, Ethnic Conflict/Ethnic Peace and Analyzing Politics. Dr. Davis has published a number of articles and two books on topics in Russia and the Caucasus. Her current research interests include security issues in the Republic of Georgia (Sakartvelo) and media monitoring of elections in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

 

Assistant Professors

 

Katy Crossley-Frolick Ph.D.

            Email: crossleyfrolickk@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.5684 Office: 305-F Knapp Hall

Professor Crossley-Frolick joins the faculty in 2007, holding a doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago. Crossley-Frolick courses include Introduction to International Politics, Transitions to Democracy and International Organizations. Dr. Crossley-Frolick's research interests focus on democratic transitions, US foreign policy and national security, human rights, and security studies.

Brady, Mike Ph.D. 

            Email: bradym@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6502 Office: 305-D Knapp Hall

Professor Brady joins the faculty in 2009, holding a doctorate from Duke University. Brady courses include American Political Behavior and Institutions, Campaigns and Elections and The Politics of Congress. Dr. Brady's  dissertation focus on the role of parties and partisanship in conference committee negotiations between the House and Seneate. More broadly, his research and teaching centers around the study of political institutions, campaigns and elections, and political parties in the United States.

 

 

How to Apply

Contact Andrew Katz, Program Director at 740.587.6405 or by email at katz@denison.edu. You can also pick up a form from the bulletin board in the Political Science office suite, Knapp 305.