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The Lugar Program

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:

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 every other year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republician. 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 reguirements:

Most congressional internships take place during the sophomore or junior year. Most Lugar students in Track One opt for three-week internships beginning in mid-May. However, several students have elected to enroll in American University's Washington Semester Program (American Politics) and intern in a congressional office for an entire fall or spring term.

Track Two

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

The Washington Semester Program has a number of programs suitable for students in Track Two including:

 

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

As of July 2007, about 110 students in the program will have interned in congressional offices since the program began in 1995. 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 three-week internships beginning in mid-May and carrying over into early June. Several, however, have elected to enroll in American University's Washington Semester program and intern in a congressional office for an entire fall or spring term. Students choosing this option must obtain prior approval from the Off-Campus Studies Office, must have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and must be accepted by Washington Semester. Professor Buell places all May interns and those enrolling in the Washington Semester wanting to work in Senator Lugar's office. Cisco Gomes '02 has written about his internship experience with Senator Lugar. Buell is also the campus representative for American University's Washington Semester Program.

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 three-week internship in May carrying over to June.

Most but not all of our interns work in Senator Lugar's office. Other House and Senate offices where Lugar students have interned include:

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 2007, the number of graduates who completed all Lugar Program requiresments was 91. Click here for the list of Lugar Program graduates.

Latest Lugar Program Newsletter

Click here for the most recent Lugar Program Newsletter online.

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.

Faculty Teaching Lugar Program Courses

Full Professors

Emmett Buell, Jr., Ph.D.

Email:EHBuell@gmail.com Phone: 740.587.6502 Office: 304 Knapp Hall
Professor Buell joined the faculty in 1969-70. He received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1972 and he has directed the Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service since 1995. In April 2006 he became the first holder of the Richard Lugar Chair in Public Policy. He has authored and co-edited three books, with a fourth in the works, and he is the author or co-author of articles and research notes in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, the American Politics Quarterly, Urban Affairs Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, and the Journal of Law & Politics. He has also contributed chapters on the New Hampshire primary, invisible primary, national conventions, and the 1996 Republican nomination to books edited by other political scientists. He teaches courses on American government, the American presidency, presidential selection and Congress.
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.

Assistant Professors

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.
Eric Boehme, Ph.D.

Email: boehmee@denison.edu Phone: 740.587.6648 Office: 305-E Knapp Hall
Professor Boehme joined the faculty in 2005, holding a doctorate from Rutgers University. Boehme courses include Introduction to American Political Thought, Introduction of Concepts in Political Philosophy, and The Development of Political Thought (Ancient, Machiavelli to Mill, Marx to Present). Dr. Boehme's research interests focus on the political development of citizenship in the Untied States, race and ethnicity, continental philosophy, social theory, tort law, and duty to rescue law.

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.

How to Apply

Contact Professor Emmett H. Buell, Jr., program director at 740.587.6502 or by email at EHBuell@gmail.com. You can also pick up a form from the bulletin board next to Dr. Buell's office, 304 Knapp Hall.