Political Science Major and Minor

In the ubiquitous world of polling, the Siena College Research Institute is considered the gold standard. This election season, some 50 Albion College students have been given the opportunity to work for SCRI to see how the American people think and what’s important to them as a pivotal election looms.

“I expect to see more efforts to reform,” says the Albion political science faculty member and longtime United Nations observer.

In a New York Times op-ed co-written with Kathryn Sikkink of the Harvard Kennedy School, Albion College political science professor Carrie Booth Walling (left) wrote that it’s time for the United Nations Security Council to rise to the pandemic crisis and look to the Dominican Republic, which currently holds the UNSC presidency, as a global leader. They write that a decisive statement calling for working together can make all the difference: it would legitimize recent General Assembly decisions, reinforce the authority of the secretary-general, and strengthen the efforts of specialized UN agencies to save lives.

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Class of 2016 alumni Mitchell Moore and Mariah Phelps have both been accepted into Michigan State University’s Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP) for 2020. The selective MPLP is limited to just 12 men and 12 women each year.

“This summer I interned in Michigan’s 44th District Court in my hometown of Royal Oak to gain a better understanding of the judicial system in Michigan,” writes Brittan, a political science major and Ford Institute member. “I was surprised to learn that there are many ways our district court helps people in my community.”

As a Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholar, Yale University international law professor Harold Koh spoke to Albion students about the importance of the rule of law, fighting for what you believe in, and understanding just how America remains on the world stage. “I want students to stand for something,” he said.

“For most people, agriculture can mean planting crops and taking care of animals,” writes Mary Baker, a junior political science and Spanish major with a concentration in public policy. “For me this summer, it meant learning how politics and the industry come together, and communicating through social media.” Baker is also a member of Albion College’s Ford Institute and Honors Program, as well as a member of the equestrian dressage team.

PBS scion Alexander Heffner filled Bobbitt Auditorium on November 15 for a distinctly 21st-century conversation on civil discourse for the 2017 David Aldrich Memorial Speaker Forum in Law, Justice, and Society.