University of Virginia Experts Cover Numerous Angles On Politics
Newswise — The University of Virginia is a political science powerhouse, home to Larry Sabato's Center for Politics, whose Crystal Ball predictions of the 2006 election results were the most accurate of any prognosticators. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=1031]; the Miller Center of Public Affairs, a national center for the study of the American presidency; and the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership, hailed as a national model for bipartisan leadership training [Link to: http://www.sorenseninstitute.org/newsroom/sorensen-news] as explained in the PBS documentary, "Across the Aisle."
This tip sheet offers U.Va.'s top experts from among the 38 faculty of the Department of Politics, and from across the University, ready to comment on a wide range of political issues, from campaign ads to the implicit racial biases of voters, to voting machine security issues, to healthcare policy.
Experts:
Political Advertising
"¢ Paul FreedmanAssociate professor of politics
Freedman co-authored a book demonstrating how, contrary to popular opinion, voters benefit from the ongoing barrage negative political ads, which serve as "multi-vitamins for the average American's impoverished diet of political information." His research found that negative ads are the ones most likely to educate, engage and mobilize voters. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=3955]
He posits that John McCain's recent television spot comparing Barack Obama's celebrity to that of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears has redefined the negative political ad by breaking all the traditional rules of political advertising. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5953]
Freedman also studies the impacts of new media and technology on politics, as in this short video interview: [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?print=1&id=2825]
Freedman does off-camera polling return analysis for ABC News.
Gender, race and class in politics
"¢ Brian NosekAssistant professor of psychology
Nosek is a co-developer of the Implicit Association Test [Link to: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/], an online test that measures how long it takes respondents to match positive and negative words with black and white faces (including Obama's), revealing "implicit bias." [Link to: http://www.uvamagazine.org/site/c.esJNK1PIJrH/b.1601199/apps/s/content.asp?ct=3167337]
Previous media citation:
Discussion of bias needs give and takeSan Francisco Chronicle / May 10, 2007http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/10/SPGQ3PO74L1.DTL
"¢ Lynn SandersAssociate professor of politics
http://www.virginia.edu/politics/staff/scholars/sanders.html
Sanders studies gender, race and class issues, with a special interest in the issue of whether voters lie to conform with perceived social standards. [Link to: http://www.magazine.clas.virginia.edu/x13792.xml]
Previous media citations:
For scholars of race, an Obama dilemmaSeattle Times / Newhouse News Service / Aug. 13http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008109755_scholars13.html
What role has gender played in Clinton's campaign?National Post (Canada) / May 23http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=535886
"¢ Vesla WeaverAssistant professor of politics
Weaver studies race and ethnic politics, immigration, the politics of inequality, social policy and political psychology. [Link to: http://www.magazine.clas.virginia.edu/x13792.xml] She is currently completing a book manuscript, "Frontlash: Race and the Transformation of American Criminal Policy and Politics," which uncovers a connection between the movement for civil rights and the development of punitive criminal justice. [Link to: http://oscar.virginia.edu/researchnews/x13684.xml]
She has conducted research exploring how white voters react to black and Latino political candidates of varying skin tones. [Link to: http://news.clas.virginia.edu/politics/x12366.xml] At age 28, she's one of the youngest faculty at U.Va., having gone from undergraduate to professor in just six years.
Previous media citations:
In a gamble, Obama takes aim at America's 'racial stalemate' USA Today / March 19, 2008http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080319/1a_cover19_dom.art.htm
General presidential politics
"¢ James W. CeaserProfessor of politics
http://www.virginia.edu/politics/staff/scholars/ceaser.html
Ceaser has written several books on elections and political thought, including as co-author (with Andrew E. Busch) of "Red Over Blue: The 2004 Elections and American Politics" [Link to: http://tinyurl.com/6oq2nt] and "The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Presidential Election." [Link to: http://tinyurl.com/6lf6ty]He is a frequent contributor to national media including the Weekly Standard, Voice of America, the New York Times, USA Today, and others.
Previous media citations:
What a Long, Strange Race It's BeenWall Street Journal / Apr. 2, 2008http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120707947853781165.html
Coping with Victory / The Democrats' dilemma.The Weekly Standard / Nov. 15, 2007 http://weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/352hmudx.asp
Passing Down the Legacy of ConservatismNew York Times / July 31, 2006http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/us/31camp.html
"¢ Sidney MilkisProfessor of politics Assistant director for academic programs at U.Va.'s Miller Center of Public Affairs
http://millercenter.org/about/staff/milkis
Milkis has written 11 books on American politics. Several serve as popular textbooks, including, "American Government: Balancing Rights and Democracy, 2nd edition" and "The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776"1998, 5th edition."
His research focuses on the American presidency, political parties and elections, social movements and American political development.
Previous media citations:
What Obama Can Learn From BubbaHuffington Post / July 2, 2008http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/02/what-obama-can-learn-from_n_110512.html
Historians see little chance for McCainPolitico / June 15, 2008http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11090.html
"¢ Russell RileyAssociate professor and chairman of the Presidential Oral History Program at U.Va.'s Miller Center of Public Affairs
http://millercenter.org/about/staff/riley
Riley studies race and politics, presidential leadership, Southern politics and political parties. His book, "The Presidency and the Politics of Racial Inequality: Nation-keeping from 1831"1965," is a comparative study of how presidents dealt with abolitionism and the later movement for black civil rights. He is currently working on a book about post-war politics in the United States, examining comparatively the immediate aftermaths of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Cold War.
Previous media citations:
Divided We StandThe Politico / Jan. 31, 2007http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0107/2538.html
For History's Sake, Nothing Like a Paper TrailWashington Post / Nov. 6, 2005http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/04/AR2005110402284.html
"¢ Larry J. SabatoRobert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics and director of the U.Va. Center for Politics
Recognized as one of the nation's top political analysts, Sabato is a keen observer of politics on the national, regional and state levels. Sabato has written more than 20 books and numerous essays on the American political process. His recent book, "Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election," examines the election and sets the stage for what the nation might expect to see in the 2008 presidential election.
International relations
"¢ Jeffrey W. LegroProfessor of politics
Legro explores the challenges that different views of international order and security among major nations pose for American foreign policy in his most recent book, "Rethinking the World: Great Power Strategies and International Order." In an earlier book, "Cooperation Under Fire: Anglo-German Restraint During World War II," Legro examined the use and non-use of "unthinkable" weapons such as chemical warfare and unrestricted bombing. In 2002-2003, he was a Fulbright professor at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing.
Voting machine technology
"¢ David Evans Associate professor of computer science School of Engineering and Applied Science
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/
Evans is an expert on voting machine technology and security. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2005/19/voting_machines.html] In addition to his research on the flaws of computerized voting equipment, Evans has served on a Virginia state legislative subcommittee on voting equipment.
Previous media citations:
Computer expert: Scrap all paperless voting machinesRoanoke Times / Nov. 16, 2006http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-91818
"¢ Bryan Pfaffenberger Associate professor of Science, Technology, and Society
Pfaffenberger is currently writing a book on the history of voting machines from 1888 to 1983, tentatively titled, "Machining the Vote." He has found that scholars have all but ignored the history of voting machines, which he finds surprising given our politically obsessed culture. "There's an almost exact parallel between the debate we're having today concerning electronic voting machines and the equally divisive, but completely forgotten, debate that greeted first-generation voting machine technology in the 1920s," Pfaffenberger says. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=4141]
The "Christian Left"
"¢ Charles R. Marsh Religious studies professor and director of the Project on Lived Theology
According to Marsh, the Christian Left is alive, well and active in many important social justice causes nationwide, but has been flying below the media's radar. "Committed Christians have been working quietly for decades to cope with this country's social problems," says Marsh, the son of a Southern Baptist minister. "Many of them have opted out of national politics, putting their faith to work in grassroots efforts to 'think globally, act locally.'" He believes the faith-based movement has been co-opted by the political right and used by "compassionate conservatives" to justify cuts in federal social spending. Marsh directs the Project on Lived Theology, a research initiative that seeks to understand how theological commitments shape the social patterns and practices of religious communities.
Energy and Environmental Politics
"¢ Vivian E. ThomsonAssistant professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Department of Politics
In 2001, Thomson co-founded and now co-directs a bachelor's degree program in Environmental Thought and Practice. She recently participated in meetings in Germany and Italy on the subjects of trash management and greenhouse gas emissions trading, respectively. Her book manuscript, "Desperately Seeking Certainty: Air Pollution Policy and Its Discontents, 1970-1995," is under review. Her second book project, "Garbage In, Garbage Out: Virginia is for Landfills," examines interstate trash transport in the United States within a broad social, economic and cultural context that includes cross-country comparisons. She was appointed in 2002 to the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board, the five-member body that makes air pollution policy for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Health care reform
"¢ Dr. Arthur Garson Jr.Provost and former dean of the U.Va. School of Medicine
A leading expert on national health policy, Dr. Garson has authored or co-authored over 400 scholarly publications, and eight books including, "Health Care Half Truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Reality." He has served in advisory capacities to the Bush administration and the state governments of Virginia and Texas, and on two presidentially appointed task forces. He has strong views on health care reform.
"Tax breaks will clearly help reduce the uninsured," Garson says. "The key is how much is the break. It's no good if anyone has to come up with more than 5 percent of their income, or if they buy 'insurance' that when you read the fine print actually barely covers a doctor visit and no tests. More than seven in 10 people who are uninsured work — and continue to work — and so the ability to be covered between jobs is vital. Automobile accidents don't just occur when people are working."
In 2006, he helped draft the Health Partnership Act, a bill with bipartisan sponsors in both the U.S. Senate and House, designed to expand health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans by providing grants to states for health care innovations.
Previous media citation:
Opinion: Prevention is good medicine, but it's not a fiscal panaceaUSA Today / February 13, 2008http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/02/prevention-is-g.html
"¢ Elizabeth Olmsted TeisbergAssociate professor of business administration http://faculty.darden.virginia.edu/teisberge/healthcare.htm
An economist with expertise in strategy and innovation, Teisberg focuses her current research on innovation in health care. She is co-author of the book "Redefining Health Care," which addresses the paradox of why competition doesn't work in healthcare and how to make it work.
"The problem with our health care system isn't that we have too much or too little competition, but that we have the wrong kind of competition," Teisberg says. "The structure of health care delivery has to change. Consumer-driven health care won't work."
Teisberg is also a strong proponent of universal health care coverage: "Not just for reasons of ethics," she says, "but for reasons of economy as well."
Previous media citation:
Guest column: Rethinking the role of employersFinancial Times / July 3, 2008http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d9c85a76-48c9-11dd-9a5f-000077b07658.html
Media and politics
"¢ Siva VaidhyanathanProfessor of law and media studies 434-243-4333917-532-6043 (mobile)[email protected]http://sivacracy.net
Vaidhyanathan writes a popular blog called "The Googlization of Everything: How One Company is Disrupting Culture, Commerce and Community... and Why We Should Worry." [Link to: http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/] He is an expert on the struggles of new media versus old media, and how that plays out in national Internet policy. [Link to: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=3293] He is frequently a source for national media.
Previous media citations:
What the Creative in 'Creative Commons' Really MeansPC Magazine / Dec. 14, 2007http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2234809,00.asp
Google Offers a Map for Its PhilanthropyNew York Times / Jan. 18, 2008http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/technology/18google.html
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