News

In a new piece for The Conversation, Paul Collins, Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, analyzes the judicial nominations of the Trump-Pence and Biden-Harris administrations.

Congratulations to Tegan Oliver on having her thesis published in the London School of Economics Undergraduate Political Review: "Socialized for Success: Exploring the Relationship Between Gender and Political Ambition Among Undergraduates Authors." 

Jesse Rhodes, Tatishe Nteta, and Adam Eichen from UMass Poll have written an editorial discussing how racial prejudice could influence the 2024 election. They acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding the exact impact but emphasize that their polling indicates racial attitudes still play a significant role in American elections. Despite progress toward racial equality, they argue that more work is needed to address persistent racial bias. Rhodes and Nteta are professors of political science and key leaders of the UMass Amherst Poll, while Eichen is a doctoral candidate and research fellow for

Tatishe Nteta, Provost Professor and Director of the UMass Amherst Poll, will offer expert commentary at a presidential debate watch party hosted by New England Public Media. The event will take place at White Lion Brewing in Amherst on September 10, starting at 8 p.m.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear insights from Nteta and other experts as they analyze key moments of the debate.

Ray La Raja, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the UMass Amherst Poll, gave a speech about the value of open inquiry and civil dialogue at the New Student Convocation on Sept. 1, 2024.

Paul Collins, Professor of Legal Studies, comments on a perceived conflict of interest involving Paul Clement, a board member of the Bradley Foundation. The foundation has been linked to funding groups that filed pro-NRA amicus briefs in gun rights cases. Questions have arisen about Clement's role in approving grants to these organizations, particularly in cases where he represented the NRA in the Supreme Court. Collins notes that while Clement may technically comply with legal rules, his actions could be seen as violating the spirit of ethical guidelines.

Amel Ahmed, Political Science, and Joshua Braun, Journalism, are among the five UMass Amherst faculty selected by the Provost to receive Mid-Career Post-Tenure (MCPT) Fellowships for the 2024-25 academic year.

Charli Carpenter, Political Science Professor and Director of the Human Security Lab, along with political science graduate student Jenna Norosky, have published a paper in Human Rights Quarterly. Their paper examines how Ukraine's travel restrictions on "battle-aged" men during the ongoing conflict may violate international human rights laws. The authors argue that such policies, which limit the freedom of movement based on gender and age, raise significant legal and ethical concerns under international human rights frameworks.

He describes his welcome speech to first year students at Convocation this week, saying “One of my concerns is that a lot of reports today, students are getting very quiet. They’re not engaging… So I encourage them to put themselves out there. The other thing I said [is] open-mindedness. You have to listen to other viewpoints that may not be your own. In fact, you learn from that and you could be wrong.”