Election experts
September 30, 2004
Below is a list of Purdue University experts who can discuss a variety of topics related to the upcoming 2004 election.
Electoral polling, public opinion
James McCann
Associate professor, political science
(765) 494-0738, mcannj@purdue.edu
• McCann specializes in electoral polling, U.S. public opinion, candidate nominations and campaigning, and relations between the United States and Mexico. He also can talk about the American third-party system and third-party politics. In 2002-03, he was a guest scholar in governance studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Computer voting and computer errors
Eugene Spafford
Professor, computer science and executive director of Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security
(765) 494-7825, spaf@cerias.purdue.edu, (Personal Web page)
• Spafford is a computer security expert who specializes in security policy, intrusion detection and response, security architecture, computer forensics, vulnerability analysis, and counterintelligence/counterespionage. He is one of 25 members of the U.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee. He can talk about computer errors, the potential for computer fraud, and the risks of computer voting.
Politics of race and gender
Rosalee Clawson
Associate professor, political science
(765) 494-7599. clawsonr@purdue.edu
• Clawson's research interests are in public opinion, political psychology, the mass media, and the politics of race and gender. She can talk about the gender, race and class gaps in the 2004 presidential election. Clawson can be reached after Oct. 12.
Presidential rhetoric
B. Wayne Howell
Instructor of communication, department of communication
(765) 494-7781, bhowell@sla.purdue.edu
• Howell specializes in presidential rhetoric and teaches classes on presidential addresses on various topics throughout American history. Specifically, he can talk about presidential nomination acceptance addresses, election victory and concession speeches, the role of the president as the "diplomat-in-chief," and presidential rhetoric related to national security and war.
Congressional issues
Glenn Parker
Distinguished professor, political science
(765) 496-3342, parker5@purdue.edu
• Parker is one of the nation's top scholars employing an economic mode of analysis to study Congress, and he has brought together microeconomic theory and rational choice approaches to understand the behavior of legislators. He served on the National Elections Study Committee that designed the groundbreaking 1978 congressional elections study. Parker's latest book, "Self-Policing in Politics: The Political Economy of Reputational Controls on Politicians" was published this year by Princeton University Press. He can talk about issues of corruption and ethics in politics.
Political parties and behavior
William R. Shaffer
Professor, political science and department head
(765) 494-4162, Shaffer@polsci.purdue.edu
• Shaffer specializes in political parties and behavior. He works with students in the areas of electoral behavior, legislative behavior, political parties and public opinion. His books include "Computer Simulation of Voting Behavior," "Party and Ideology in the United States Congress" and "Politics, Parties and Parliament." He can comment on the presidential election, including surveys, electoral college and predicting the outcome, voter turnout compared to other countries and the consequences, and campaign topics such as presidential candidate themes, campaign ads and presidential debates.
Media and politics
Judson L. Jeffries
Associate professor, political science and American studies
(765) 494-7604, Jeffries@polsci.purdue.edu
• Jeffries' research interests focus on U.S. politics, media and politics, African-American politics, and public policy. His books include "Virginia's Native Son" on the first African-American to be elected governor (L. Douglas Wilder, governor of Virginia 1989-1994) and "Huey P. Newton, The Radical Theorist."
Civil rights and constitutional law
William McLauchlan
Associate professor, political science
(765) 494-4171, mclauchl@polsci.purdue.edu
• McLauchlan can talk about the role of civil rights and liberties in the first presidential election since 9/11. He also can discuss the role of the Patriot Act. McLauchlan is a constitutional law expert and he can talk about why it's important to think about whom the future president may appoint to the Supreme Court.
Environmental policy and endangered species
Leigh Raymond
Professor, political science
(765) 494-4182, Raymond@polsci.purdue.edu
• Raymond conducts research on environmental policy, property rights and the role of ideas in political behavior, with a focus on U.S. issues. He can talk about the role environmental issues – such as natural resources management, endangered species policy as it relates to the state of Indiana, climate change, fuel conservation and energy policy – will play in the 2004 election.
Educational Issues
Phillip VanFossen
Director, James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship
Associate professor, curriculum and instruction
(765) 494-2367, vanfoss@purdue.edu
• VanFossen studies the importance and methods of teaching citizenship and civics to children. He can talk about the role of presidential elections in schools' citizenship education. He also can talk about the importance of teaching citizenship to young people so that they are prepared to be voters in the future.
To the News Service home page