Message From the Chair

Though I have had the pleasure of editing The Pulse for the past six years, this is the first time I am also including a message as Department Chair. As I begin my thirtieth year at UB, I am also starting my second year in this position. It is genuinely an honor to serve the department in this capacity. It has been a wonderful and supportive context for my career and I appreciate having this opportunity to give something back to this extraordinary group and organization.

Let me begin by acknowledging the extraordinary efforts and contributions that are made every day by our amazing professional staff, Jeanine (Assistant to the Chair), Mary (Graduate Coordinator), and Pamela Menshel (Undergraduate Coordinator). We congratulate the latter on the birth of her son, Asher Charles Menshel, born on August 8. Key contributions have also been made by our Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Michelle Benson, and our Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Jake Neiheisel. Jake has just stepped down after serving three years and we are pleased to welcome Professor Antoine Yoshinaka to the role for the next two years. Thanks to the contributions of all these colleagues, we are able to offer our students and faculty a high-quality level of service, and to create a genuine community for all.

The past year has seen some exciting personnel developments. First, we congratulate Professor Rachael Hinkle on her promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure. We now have no Assistant Professors in the department, but we hope to change that soon by recruiting another specialist in Public Law to the Department. We also welcomed Professor Shawn Donahue to the Department last fall so he is now starting his second year with us as a Clinical Professor. Shawn is just finishing his doctoral dissertation at SUNY Binghamton. In addition, SUNY Distinguished Professor (and the Bridget and Thomas Black Professor) James Gardner of the UB Law School has joined us as an “Adjunct Faculty” member. He will play an important role in the Advanced (Graduate) Certificate in Election Law and Administration” that we are in the process of developing.

Beyond the certificate, we are also in the process of gaining SUNY and SED approval for a new Bachelors and Masters degrees in “Global Affairs.” These offerings will take advantage of our faculty’s strengths in international and comparative politics.

So there continue to be interesting developments in our department’s life and we invite you to keep us abreast of your news, either by sharing it with us via our website or this newsletter, or by stopping by the department to visit if and when you are in Buffalo. We take great pride in the accomplishments of all students who graduate from our programs.

We also encourage you to donate to the department so that we can continue to enhance and augment our offerings. 

I wish you all the best, and hope that you enjoy reading this issue of our newsletter.

D. Munroe Eagles, PhD

Department Chair