New center focuses on political research

BY RACHEL BEANLAND
A&S Director of Communications

“In some ways, it’s easier to engage science majors in research,” said Dan Palazzolo, professor of political science and the person spearheading the University’s new Center for Government and Policy.

Science students often join faculty members’ laboratories as early as their freshman year. After receiving some basic training on the instrumentation and means of data collection, they can jump right in. The laboratory experience they gain as undergraduates prepares them for the group work and labs they will participate in as graduate students and in their careers.

“The social sciences are different. Students are typically mentored by one faculty member, even through graduate school. It can be difficult for professors to make their research agendas accessible to undergraduate students because students lack extensive methodological training,” Palazzolo said.

His department has a successful internship program, organized by John Whelan, professor of political science, who has been placing students in the Virginia General Assembly and Washington, D.C., for decades.

“If our goal is to offer students the entire spectrum of experiential learning opportunities, then research is our underdeveloped opportunity,” Palazzolo said.

 “This is our opportunity to create a laboratory for political scientists, with projects defined by the faculty and research agendas that are accessible to undergraduate students. The benefits are two-fold. Students conduct research that is theoretical in nature yet has the potential to inform the public debate,” said Palazzolo.

The center has identified three projects that will guide initial student research: education policy, Virginia governance and election reform. “The number of topics should expand over time and perhaps include projects led by faculty in other departments, the law school or the leadership school,” said Palazzolo.

Last spring, the center hosted its first symposium, showcasing such research topics as independent candidacies in Virginia, welfare and education, and the politics of paper ballots. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, published a paper that resulted from the paper ballot research co-authored by Palazzolo and two students, Patrick Meredith, ’08, and Doug Rubin, ’08.

During the summer, three students conducted research on politics and education. Several faculty-student teams are working out of the center this fall, conducting interviews, collecting oral histories of the Virginia legislative process and analyzing government data.

Palazzolo says the center will eventually support up to 15 research students, who will choose projects according to their interests and relationships with professors leading the research.

Palazzolo doesn’t intend for projects to eclipse the department’s internship program, but to complement it.

“Many students will get everything they need out of an internship and feel prepared for a career in politics or public service,” said Palazzolo. “For the students who want to explore research and what graduate school in political science might be like, we’re providing them with the laboratory.”