POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
FAIRMOUNT COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
FALL 2024
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
I am delighted to share some exciting updates from our department. This past year we celebrated a record number of graduating seniors, increased course enrollments, and expanded student engagement with the department. We hosted: career panels that focused on state and local government, international careers, and the legal field; presidential primary watch parties; faculty research talks; and several social gatherings. Our alumni engagement has also reached new heights, with former students actively participating in department initiatives as panelists, lecturers, and mentors. Alumni involvement is instrumental in shaping the future of our department and providing invaluable support and guidance to current and future generations of Shockers.
Dr. Alex Middlewood
Dr. Dinorah Azpuru
Congratulations to Dr. Azpuru on the publication of her new book, Explaining Support for Populism in Contemporary Latin America, with Routledge Press! This is a remarkable achievement that reflects her dedication, expertise, and passion for Latin American politics. Relying on public opinion surveys, this book explores why many citizens consistently supported populist presidents who were elected in contemporary Latin America. We are proud to have such a distinguished scholar among our faculty, and this accomplishment is a testament to her commitment to advancing knowledge and education. Political Science is wishing her the most heartfelt congratulations on this hard-earned milestone!
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS
Dr. Neal Allen
Dr. Brian Amos DC/Topeka Internship Coordinator
Dr. Dinorah Azpuru
Prof. Allen had a busy year contributing to the Fall 2023 local elections in Wichita, serving as a panelist for the KAKE TV (ABC News) mayoral debate, and co-moderating WSU Student Government’s on-campus mayor candidate forum (along with 2024 departmental graduate Sophie Martins). Allen provided electionnight analysis for KAKE, along with interviews about politics for local, state and national outlets including CNBC International. He was particularly excited to visit student interns in Topeka and Washington, D.C., whose placements included the U.S. State Department. He looks forward to his year of sabbatical research in the United Kingdom on citizen correspondence to members of parliament. Neal.Allen@wichita.edu
Prof. Amos does research in the subfield of election science with a focus on Kansas politics. He is one of the co-directors of IKE Lab, which collects and analyzes data on Kansas elections. He recently published a paper with Prof. Middlewood on voting behavior for Kansas’s 2022 abortion amendment and is working on projects relating to turnout in local elections. Professor Amos is serving as the 2024-2025 DC/Topeka internship Coordinator while Professor Allen is on sabbatical.
Brian.Amos@wichita.edu
Professor Azpuru had a successful academic year. She received Promotion and Incentive Review from WSU for her strong performance in teaching and research. Her book Explaining Support for Populism in Contemporary Latin America, was published by Routledge. She taught courses in the areas of comparative politics, Latin American politics and international relations.
Dinorah.Azpuru@wichita.edu
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTORS
Rachel Finnell
DJ Gering
Molly Gordon
Grant Hansen
Jessica Lucas
Katherine Paige
Walter Schmidt
Eric Splavec
FACULTY PROMOTIONS
Dinorah Azpuru Promotion and Incentive Review
Doris Chang
Professor
Brian Amos
Associate Professor
Alexandra Middlewood
Associate Professor
STUDENT ASSISTANTS
Andrew Bobbitt
Anne Wasinger
Ayleen Escobedo
David Hernandez
Devin Howell
Jaida Sims
Kian Williams
Travis Babcock
Tyler Dorsch
Vishnu Avva
Prof. Chang taught several courses in the department this past year, including Asian Politics, Global Gender Politics, Global Challenges, Introduction to International Relations, and a new first-year seminar for incoming freshmen that examines contemporary Asian-American politics. Prof. Chang continues to conduct research on the various interpretations of Taiwan’s national identities and political status in the international community. In July 2024, the Program for Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado at Boulder invited her to give a lecture to high-school teachers from different parts of the country on the approaches to teaching East Asia in the public-school system. This year, she published an essay on Feminist/Women’s Movement in Taiwan Studies Encyclopedia. Currently, she serves as the faculty advisor of the WSU International Studies Field Major, as associate editor of the International Journal of Taiwan Studies, and as a board member of the American Association for
Prof. Hall teaches many of the international relations courses for the department, in addition to Introduction to American Politics. Over 2023-2024, Prof. Hall taught Introduction to International Relations, U.S. Foreign Policy, International Political Economy, and Senior Thesis. In the spring of 2023, he visited Chicago to present a paper on arms races. In the summer of 2024, he traveled to New York City to attend a conference on “Reacting to the Past” simulations, in which student take the roles of historical figures. He continues to work with Prof. Azpuru on research concerning the determinants of democracy around the world and is pursuing research on defense spending. Michael.Hall@wichita.edu
Prof. Middlewood continues to teach courses on public opinion, gender, and civic engagement and lead the Model UN program. Her research focuses on gun politics and policy, though she and Prof. Amos have begun co-authoring several pieces on Kansas politics and recently launched IKE Lab for research on Kansas elections. She remains the Associate Executive Director of American Model UN, a columnist for the Insight Kansas collaborative, and a policy fellow at the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hayes State. She is regularly invited to share her expertise on gun politics, public opinion, and Kansas politics with the public through media interviews, podcasts, panels, and community presentations. Alexandra.Middlewood@wichita.edu
Prof. Shaw has been busy this year taking on her new responsibilities as Undergraduate Coordinator in the department. She has enjoyed working with the Pi Sigma Alpha honors students to host three career panels featuring department alumni. She continues to develop new role-playing exercises for her classes, and even attended a four day gaming conference in New York over the summer to play several new games with professors from across the country. She has begun collaborating with several colleagues and a research assistant to write an extensive simulation on the Colombian peace talks. Her favorite trip in the past year was to Switzerland in the winter where she got to experience ‘extreme sledding’! Carolyn.Shaw@wichita.edu
Dr. Doris Chang International Studies Advisor
Dr. Michael Hall
Dr. Carolyn Shaw
Coordinator
Dr. Alexandra Middlewood Department Chair
D.C.
D.C. & TOPEKA
Dr. Neal Allen continues to serve as the internship coordinator in the department. All student interns receive housing and transportation support from the WSU Foundation, including funds from Mark and Stacy Parkinson, the Cohen Honors College, the Lois H. and Harry L. Hobson fund, the Paul H. Gerling fund, and the Ruth Luzzati fund. The internship program provides opportunities for students to explore employment and graduate study options. Recent alums, Jaiden Soupene and Darren Beckham, are now working in Topeka in state government positions.
This year two WSU interns joined five students from KU in Washington, D.C.
Kian Williams interned with the State Department in the Latin American Section. Carson Cruzeiro interned with Rep. Ron Estes during the spring program and also completed a summer internship with the State Department.
We had the second largest group ever interning in Topeka: Geoffery Geier, Jaime Berkgren, and Jaida Sims interned with Watkins Public Strategies, a lobbying and public relations firm. Gracie Lamb interned with Kansas Coalition for Common Sense. Dalton Dicks interned with Kansas Rep. Tory Blew. Logan Patrick interned with Speaker of the Kansas House Rep. Dan Hawkins.
LOCAL
Ayleen Escobedo, was an investigative intern at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Wichita throughout the summer of 2024. Her time at the Federal Public Defenders office was spent working closely with investigators and Assistant Federal Public Defenders to prepare cases for litigation - from pretrialrelease plans to trial; and participating in a court watching program, focused on collecting data for best practices to keep our presumptively innocent clients out of pretrial detention.
Kian Williams, Washington,
Gov. Laura Kelly & Jaime Berkgren, Topeka, KS
Carson Cruzeiro, Washington,D.C.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
NEW YORK
20 students represented Kazakhstan at the National Model United Nations in April 2024, where they were recognized with a Distinguished Delegation award. Sydnie VanArsdale and Andrew Hatch also received Position Paper awards in the Human Rights Council. While in New York, delegates went to the Kazakhstan Permanent Mission and were briefed on Kazakh foreign policy by five Representatives to the United Nations from Kazakhstan.
CHICAGO
23 Students represented Venezuela and Costa Rica at the American Model United Nations Conference in November 2023, Hanna Mannani and Anna Hoy received an Outstanding Delegation award. Additionally both delegations received Position Paper awards.
Great Plains Model United Nations
WSU’s Model UN program hosted the inaugural Great Plains Model United Nations conference in October 2023. Students from WSU, Oklahoma State University, and Butler Community College participated in the two-day conference. We are looking forward to growing this conference in the years to come!
Wichita Area Model United Nations
The Model UN team hosts the Wichita Area Model United Nations conference for high school students every January. In 2024 we drew over 150 students from across Kansas and Missouri. Students discussed the topics of Protecting Migrants and Preventing an Arms Race in Outer Space.
WELCOME TO OUR 2023-2024 INITIATES
Lyndon Le
Paige Harrington
Andrew Suriano
Jordan Cline
Emma Roniger
Sean Wentling
Andrew Hatch
Vishnu Avva
Yesennia Vielmas
Anna Hoy- Secretary
Ayleen Escobedo- Vice President
Devin Howell
Bayle Sandy
Juliet Banuelos
Luke Allen
Victoria Rodriguez
Hanna Mannani -President
Trinity Soderstrom
Anne Wasinger
Sophie Martins
This year the Alpha Delta chapter has been busy planning events to engage with students and help them in their educational and career goals. These include bringing in guest speakers to talk about careers locally and internationally and hosting watch parties where students could socialize with their peers and analyze both the election and the results. Additionally they put on three panels:
• Public Service Career Panel: with Ben Nelson ‘04, Breea Clark ‘05, and DJ Gering ‘17
• International Careers Panel with Aaron Turner ‘05, Jenna Dolechek ‘13, Matt Goad ‘09, Tatiana Sibaai ‘10
• Legal Careers panel with Erin Nisly ‘16, Genesis Mercado ’13, Matt Agnew ‘10, Zach Wiggins ‘06, Molly Gordon
Matt Agnew, Genesis Mercado, Erin Nisly
STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
Undergraduate Research Day
Bayle Sandy (far right), Political Science and Economics alum (2024), was one of five WSU students to present at the Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in March 2024. She presented her senior thesis “Heat Waves in the Heartland” which explored the impact of extreme heat on labor productivity in Kansas and outlined policy recommendations to address heat-related challenges. Bayle also presented her project at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference in February 2024 and at WSU’s McNair Scholars Symposium in July 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Middlewood.
Millet-Young Scholar
Congratulations to Jaida Sims on receiving the Millett-Young MentorScholar award in 2023-24 for her paper titled “Possibilities of Power-Sharing: Exploring the Impact of Power-Sharing Agreements on Democratization and State Capacity” written under the supervision of Dr. Dinorah Azpuru.
Model UN Scholarship
In October 2023, students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The 2023-2024 W. John and Connie O. McGuire Model United Nations Scholarship was awarded to Tyler Dorsch, a political science major from Overland Park, KS. Tyler served as the Model UN student organization’s Under-SecretaryGeneral for Finance in 2023-2024, Head Delegate for the 2024 NMUN Conference, and serves as the organization’s Deputy Secretary-General for the 2024-2025 academic year. Tyler is also a percussionist in the Shocker Sound Machine.
Mentoring Initiative
The department has launched a mentoring program to connect alumni as mentors to our current students. Participants commit to engage once a month for a semester. Mentoring areas can include: personal and professional development, career guidance, academic advice, tips on building confidence and overcoming challenges, and networking skills.
Learn more at: www.wichita.edu/mentoring
Students at the NMUN Conference in New York
Dr. Shaw and Dr. Middlewood volunteer at Clash of the Colleges
LAS Students at Clash of the Colleges
Amira Barham, Palestinian Social Worker, visits campus
Dr.Shaw,Dr.Chang,and Dr.Middlewoodatgraduation
Victoria and Adriana Owens at the NMUN Conference
Dr. Azpuru, Dr. Hall, Dr. Middlewood and Dr. Shaw at the LAS Research Showcase
Anna Hoy receives the Outstanding Delegation Award, representing Costa Rica at AMUN
Sophie Martins recognized for her outstanding work to advance democratic engagement
Dr.’s Azpuru, Chang, Allen, and Middlewood at the “Why Taiwan Matters” talk.
Naquela Pack ‘16 (middle) receives Drum Major award at the annual MLK Day Celebration
StudentsattheAMUNConference
Dr. Middlewood and MUN students at Great Plains MUN
Additional Scholarship Recipients
Sara Hyde Corbin Scholarship: Devin Howell
John E. Stanga Scholarship:
Andrew Hatch
Kenneth N. Ciboski Scholarship: Matthew Folkerts
Joan Hargrove Scholarship: Ayleen Escobedo
R. Wesley McCarty Scholarship: Taliyah Winn
Robert N. Priscilla Partridge Scholarship: Andrew Hatch
Kathlien R. Edmiston Scholarship:
Brooklyn Freund
DJ & Terry Scanlon Scholarship: Grace McManus
The Political Science Department is grateful to those who contribute to the Annual Fund. Be sure to specify that your contribution should go to the:
“Political Science Department”
Scholarship Spotlight
Lee and Helen Kamen Scholarship in Political Science
Mr. Kamen graduated from Wichita State University with a B.A. degree in business in 1969, followed by a master’s degree in history and political science. After serving in the Army, Mr. Kamen became an involved civic leader in Wichita. During his 14-years on the city council, he also served as Wichita’s Vice-Mayor and Mayor. In 1979, Mr. Kamen established a scholarship for political science students in honor of his late parents, Lee and Helen Kamen. Mr. Kamen died in 2012 but through Mr. Kamen’s thoughtful generosity, many students have received much needed financial support. This year’s recipient is Ryan Nuckles.
Ryan Nuckles is a Sophomore Political Science major. He serves as the Honors Senator for the Student Government Association and is on the Shocker’s Vote Coalition board. He is in the LEAD program and plans to go to KU Law School.
Thomas P. & Ella N. Wolf Scholarship in Political Science
Dr. Thomas Phillip Wolf, a Kansas native, graduated from Wichita East High School in 1950. After high school, Dr. Wolf joined the Marines and served in the Korean War. When he returned home in 1953, he married the former Ella Nora Weigand, also a Kansas native and a graduate of Wichita East High School, with whom he has three children and 10 grandchildren. Dr. Wolf found his passion for political science at the University of Wichita, where he received his bachelor’s in 1959. Appreciative of the time he spent as an undergraduate at WU, Dr. Wolf created the Thomas P. and Ella N. Wolf Scholarship in Political Science. This year’s recipient is Morgan Stinnett.
Morgan Stinnett, is a Political Science major on the Honors Law and Public Policy Track. She is currently an Honors Ambassador, LAS Senator for the Student Government Association, the President of the Pre-Law Student Association, and works at the Shocker Support Locker. Outside of school, she enjoys playing golf and watching baseball and football as well as visiting her family back in Texas. After graduation, she plans on attending law school and becoming a criminal attorney.
Alumni Updates
Bayle Sandy ’24 – Working at Partner Development Representative with Amazon Web Services in Austin, Texas.
Tayton Majors ‘24 - Completed Lead for America’s Hometown Fellowship in Fort Scott, KS working on data collection, grant writing, economic development and tourism projects.
Nikky Bloomquist ’23 – Accepted into the Peace Corps in Costa Rica for the coming year. Drew Taylor ’22 – Received a Masters in International Science and Technology Policy specializing in Space Policy from George Washington University (Spring 2024).
Hayden Ribordy ’22 – Working in Kansas City at a school district as a Paraprofessional advocating for children with special needs.
DJ Gering ’17 - Received the Esri Special Achievement in GIS Award for his work linking social determinants of health to overdose prevention action plans. This is a global award in the GIS field.
Sean Gates ’16 - Recently started his own mentoring program called the Gates Institutes. Creighton Coleman ’12 – Just completed post doc at University of Virginia and is starting in the role of Advising Fellow this fall.
Eric Robinson ’12 – Recently received a promotion with his employer where he works with residents, business stakeholders, and elected officials to promote resiliency and mitigation efforts for natural disasters and flooding in TX, CO, LA and other states.
Matthew Agnew 10’ - opened Agnew Law in 2024 to serve healthcare and business clients in Kansas and Texas.
Amanda Nguyen ’10 – Serving as President & CEO of the American Distilled Spirits Alliance (Washington, DC)
Vitaly El Dani ’08 – Regional Program Manager at ILO for Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and UAE.
Political Science
1845 Fairmount Street
Wichita, KS 67260-0017
CELEBRATING OUR RECENT GRADUATES
Fall 2023
Luke Allen *
Neily Hassan ***
Naseem Khan *
Summer 2024
Andrew Bobbitt **
Spring 2024
Vishnu Avva *
Thomas Babcock *
Travis Babcock
Jaime Berkgren ***
Sarah Berit Bertry **
Caleb Gregg *
Paige Harrington **
Andruw Hoopes **
Anna Hoy ***
Christopher Justice
Jude Kilongson
Nathaniel King *
Tayton Majors
Sophie Martins ***
Kracinda Mitchell
Baylee Munsson
Victoria Rodriguez ***
Bayle Sandy ***
William Shanahan
Jaida Sims ***
Luke Wagle **
Addison Willett
Alexandra Meyer