As President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address approaches tonight, a range of experts from Drexel University are available for interviews with the news media. They can discuss such things as what we can expect from the address, historic highlights from past addresses and predictions regarding topics that will be covered, including the economy and jobs, education, government surveillance programs, health care reform and foreign affairs, including those with North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria. They are also available to offer post-speech analysis and insight.

Experts are available on the following topics:

Domestic Policy:William L. Rosenberg, PhD, is a professor of political science at Drexel University. He is a well-known expert on local, regional and national politics and presidential elections, and is a recognized expert on the American presidency and presidential campaigns. Rosenberg also studies U.S. and public opinion, political polling and research methods used in polling. He is a co-author of two books related to public opinion and public policy, “News Verdicts, the Debates and Presidential Campaigns” and “The Politics of Disenchantment: Bush, Clinton, Perot and the Press.”

Health Care Reform:Robert I. Field, PhD, is a nationally known expert on health law and public health whose research focuses on ethical issues in managed care, public policy and legal facets of healthcare reform and genetic screening. In addition to being a professor in the School of Public Health, he also holds an appointment as professor of law at the School of Law at Drexel. He is the author of “Health Care Regulation in America: Complexity, Confrontation and Compromise” (2006), a comprehensive guide to the government's role in regulating health care. His most recent book on the American health care system, “Mother of Invention: How the Government Created ‘Free-Market’ Health Care,” was released by Oxford University Press in Nov. 2013.

Foreign Policy: Daniel Friedheim, PhD, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of History & Politics, is an expert in democratic transitions, civil society and foreign policy. Prior to his academic career, he served as a tenured U.S. Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department. His continuing research interest focuses on how states and societies interact to help or hinder transitions to democracy from authoritarian rule, and how individual states, international organizations or the whole international system try to “promote” democracy but often fail.

Economy and Jobs: Paul Harrington, PhD, is a professor and director of the Center for Labor Markets and Policy at Drexel. He is an expert in work-force development, public policy, job market trends and economic development and growth. Harrington has authored or co-authored more than 14 books. He has studied workforce development and human resource policy for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, the Rhode Island Board of Education, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Poverty and Hunger: Mariana Chilton, PhD, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities in the Drexel University School of Public Health, is available to discuss policies and programs affecting families living in poverty, including minimum wage, nutrition assistance programs, welfare programs and more. As founder of Witnesses to Hunger, Chilton works directly with low-income parents who aim to take a place in the national conversation about poverty. Participants in Witnesses to Hunger are also available to discuss their experiences and perspectives on poverty issues.

Homeland Security, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: Scott White, PhD, is a professor of homeland security and security management in Drexel’s College of Computing & Informatics. He is a criminologist with an accomplished career in security. He previously served as the director of the Institute of Homeland Security at Westfield State University. He was a commissioned officer with the Canadian Forces Military Intelligence Branch (Department of National Defence) and worked for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He also served as an associate consultant in terrorism and intelligence analysis at MONAD Security Audit Systems. Additionally, he has consulted with federal, state, provincial and municipal police services in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Cybersecurity, Information Policy, Government Information Ethics:Kristene Unsworth, PhD, is an assistant professor of information science at Drexel University who can comment on the national security policy as it relates to cybersecurity, information gathering and surveillance. Unsworth commented in stories about the NSA’s data gathering policies and President Obama’s proposed changes to the association’s tactics. Her current research examines how the federal government communicates national security issues to the public.

The Business of Health Care:Michael Howley, PhD, associate clinical professor in Drexel’s LeBow College of Business, specializes in the business of health care and the impact of health reform on the delivery of medical services. He worked as a physician assistant before receiving an MBA and doctoral degree in business administration.