For what occupations does the study of political science prepare students?
Traditionally political science majors have gone into careers in business, law, teaching, journalism, and government. A major in political science stresses development of skills in analysis and communication and these skills are useful to many careers.
To learn more about what you might do with a major in political science, read Mary Curzan's pamphlet, Careers and the Study of Political Science: A Guide for Undergraduates. Copies are available from Professor Hadley.
Recent Wabash graduates in political science have gone to graduate school in political science, war studies, political and legal philosophy, and public policy and administration. Many have enrolled in law school. Several are active in electoral politics as campaign managers, fundraisers, and political consultants. Others work in government. Graduates of the last few years include the mayor of Indianapolis, a City Councilman for Washington, DC, the Deputy Legislative Director for the Governor of Indiana, the Executive Director of the Indiana Bond Bank, the Press Secretary for Rep. Dan Burton, financial consultants with Shearson Lehman and E.D. Jones, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, an admissions officer at Wabash College, a news editor of a daily paper, English instructor in Japan, an M.D. director of prosthetics, a chef, a budding actor, and a rock musician--a pretty broad spectrum indeed!!!
Partial List of Political Science Alumni
The list is not meant to be inclusive, but is designed to show some examples of the many areas in which our graduates find employment.
William Flanigan '53 - Majored in political science and minored in history. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. at Yale before taking a position in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota in 1961. In thirty-five years at Minnesota he has published research on American voting behavior and public opinion as well as work on American political history. E-mail: FLANIGAN@POLISCI.UMN.EDU
George Jones '55 - Served as a foreign service officer, principally in Latin America. He held the post of Ambassador to Guyana. E-mail: geojones@erols.com
Robert E. Allen '57 - Chairman of the Board, AT&T. URL: http://www.att.com/ar-1996/html/allen.html
Wayne Francis '57 - Professor of Political Science, University of Florida. E-mail: wlf@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
Phillip Mikesell '63 - Professor of Political Science and Chair of Social Science Division, Wabash College. See faculty listing. E-mail: Mikeselp@wabash.edu
Larry Landis '67 - Former President of Marketrends is a commissioner of the Indian Utility Regulatory Commission, Indianapolis. E-Mail: 76355.3576@CompuServe.COM
Roger Bowen '69 - President of the State University of New York at New Paltz. E-mail: BOWENR@NPVM.NEWPALTZ.EDU
Stephen Goldsmith '69 - Former Mayor of Indianapolis.
Mark Miles '76 - Chief Executive Officer of the ATP Tour, the governing body for the men's professional tennis circuit. Formerly Executive Director of Corporate Relations, Eli Lilly & Co. Political experience includes: manager of the successful 1980 Senate campaign for then-Congressman Dan Quayle in Indiana; Administrative Assistant to Sen. Quayle in Washington DC; and Campaign Manager for former Indianapolis Mayor William H. Hudnut, III. His sports management career includes service as President of the Organizing Committee of the Pan American Games. Mark writes a bi-monthly column called "First Serve" in International Tennis.
Kevin Chavous '78 - Councilmember, 7th Ward, Washington DC. Chair, Committee on Education, Libraries, & Recreation; Member: Committee on the Judiciary Committee on Public Works & the Environment. Bio, "Bold Faces," Washington City Paper. Co-Author (with Jack Kemp), "Let the Diamond Shine."
Steven J. Riggs '81 - Works as a federal public defender in Indianapolis. E-mail: sjriggs@indynet.com
J. James Cooper '81 - Works as a litigation partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell & Riggs in Houston, specializing in maritime cases as well as complex insurance coverage disputes. Has lectured on maritime law for the University of Texas. E-mail: COOJA@gardere.com
Brian Shinkle '85 - After completing law school, Brian served as Trial Counsel and Chief Government Counsel for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot '89-'92. Currently he is a Major in the Marine Corps Reserve and State's Attorney for Edwards County, Illinois (elected in '92 and re-elected in '96). E-mail: shinkle@wworld.com
Robert L. Dion '85 - Assistant Professor in political science at University of Evansville. Ph.D., Indiana University.
John A. Clark '86 - Assistant professor at the University of Western Michigan. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University and specializes in American government and political parties and organizations. E-mail: john.clark@wmich.edu
Clint Gasaway '87 - Director of Financial Aid at Wabash. E-mail: gasaway@tctc.com
Thomas Halverson '87 - Worked in Washington DC for two years after graduation then earned a DPhil at King's College London on a British Marshall Scholarship. He taught international relations and international economics at Keele University in England 1992-1994 before switching careers. In 1994 Tom joined the credit department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. In 1996 he entered the private sector, joining the Credit Department of Goldman Sachs International in London, where he is the senior sovereign analyst for the countries of Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, and the Middle East. E-mail: tom.halverson@gs.com
Robert Kachur '87 - Works in the CIA's Crime and Narcotics Center as an analyst of Mexican narcotics trafficking organizations. He is also completing his Masters degree in Latin American studies at George Mason University.
Tyce Light '87 - In March 1998, after eight years in Washington DC, where he worked for seven years at the World Bank in Information & Technology Services, and one year with TOWER Software supporting their records management software - TRIM, Tyce relocated to Vermont. Tyce found himself giving tours at Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory before coming to PKC Corporation, a clinical software company located in Burlington, Vermont that builds knowledge engineering tools for the healthcare community. E-mail: tlight@pkc.com
Todd Shellenbarger '87 - Works in the Porter County Prosecutor's Office. Returned from a six-month peace-keeping stint in Bosnia. E-mail: TSHELL@MSN.COM
Geoff Goodman '88 - Working in France for HSO Business Systems, a consulting firm specializing in ERP Systems (Enterprise Resource Planning) for multinational corporations. He is Vice-President for International Development. E-mail: 103454.2450@compuserve.com
Lance More '91 - Works for R.R. Donnelley as an Account Administrator in their Bible Module. He works with four major Latin American Publishers and nine domestic. Email: lmore@wico.net
Jim Callane '92 - Works at Northwestern Junior High School outside Kokomo, IN, teaching 8th grade History and English and coaching Varsity Tennis, 8th Basketball, and Junior Varsity Baseball. He has started Graduate School at Ball State University to work on an Administrative License.
Rick Cardis '92 - Teaches high school social studies in Bloomington and has already sent 3 of his students on to Wabash. E-mail: RCardis@monon.Mccsc.edu
Chris Worden '92 - Presently enrolled in the JD/MPA program at Indiana University. Since graduation, Chris has been heavily involved in government and politics. His work has included running Pamela Carter's campaign for Attorney General, working for the Federal Election Commission, the State Senate, the Public Employees Retirement Fund, and the Attorney General's office. In fall 1996, he served as campaign manager for Jeff Modisett, the Democrat candidate for Attorney General. E-mail: Barbw1.aol.com
Keith Mason '94 - Recently received his MA in secondary education at Indiana University and hopes to teach social studies (world history, government, anthropology in the Bloomington area. E-mail: KMason@Indiana.edu
Pat Mulry '94 - Opened his own firm, Mulry & Hernandez, P.L.L.C., in November 1998. The firm is focusing on representing individuals and small businesses, doing lots of family law work along with quite a bit of pro bono work for the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program. E-mail: ptm@mulryhernandez.com
Michael Rogers '95 - Ph.D. E-mail: rogerseast@mindspring.com
Ben Deufel '98 - Graduate student in government at Harvard. He recently received a Javits fellowship. E-mail: deufel@fas.harvard.edu
Luttrell Levingston '98 - Graduated from Michigan Law School in May 2002 and is in private practice. E-mail: llevings@umich.edu