The objective of this article is to report differences we have found in teaching “American National Government” via the web and in a traditional lecture/discussion format. Since beginning this quasiexperimental field study in late 1997, we have gathered a variety of comparative data concerning students' characteristics and their changes in political knowledge and attitudes—things that are important to all of us who labor teaching American government in hopes of nurturing healthy citizens.

Academic publishing is tightly connected to college and university faculty members' prospects for promotion, tenure, salary increases, and professional recognition, and is often regarded as an index of one's scholarly contribution to a given field (Blackburn and Lawrence 1995). This is problematic because, as many researchers have clearly documented, women publish less than men. Because female faculty produce fewer publications on average than their male counterparts, they also receive lower pay and are more likely to hold the ranks of assistant and associate professor (Blackburn and Lawrence 1995; Creamer 1998; Dinauer and Ondeck 1999; Roland and Fontanesi-Seime 1996; Schneider 1998). And, although gender differences in publishing have narrowed in most disciplines over the past two decades, in most cases, men still outpublish women by a ratio of two to one (Roland and Fontanesi-Seime 1996). Among the factors cited as being important to publishing regularly are ambition, reputation, merit, institutional support and resources, professional networks and collegial/mentoring relationships, research topic and methodology, and time.

The job market for newly minted political science Ph.D.s has been bleak for a long time and is likely to remain so for a long time. There has been a lot of gnashing of teeth about this, and a lot has been made of doctoral students' need to consider “alternative careers.” There has not, however, been much written about an alternative some young scholars may find attractive: teaching at a community college. As a political scientist who has made the transition from a regional university to a four-year liberal arts college and, finally, to a community college, I know how rewarding it can be to teach at a community college. I also know first hand that many community colleges are actively seeking to recruit faculty with terminal degrees, partly to take advantage of the sluggish academic job market (Haworth 1999a, A12). Therefore, I thought this a propitious time to translate my experience into some useful recommendations for political science graduate students who might be weighing the advantages and disadvantages of community college teaching. My suggestions are aimed at both those with a doctorate and those who have been advanced to candidacy and might be wavering over whether to write the dissertation. They are also aimed at the faculty in doctoral departments who want to undertake serious and sustained measures to prepare some of their candidates for community college careers.

Activities

Bernard Grofman, professor of political science, University of California, Irvine, has been named president of the Public Choice Society for a two-year term, 2001–02.

Elsa Chaney

Elsa Chaney passed away on June 16, 2000. A University of Wisconsin Ph.D. (1970), she is well known for path-breaking research on women and politics in Latin America, policy work on international development, and active collaboration with women in South America. In the final month before her death, she had returned from Brazil and revised a chapter for a collection edited by Irene Tinker and Arvonne Fraser.

The City by the Bay will once again be home for APSA's Annual Meeting with record numbers expected to attend the conference. Led by Program co-chairs Edward Mansfield and Richard Sisson, both of Ohio State University, the 97th meeting will feature over 650 panel sessions, beginning on August 30 and continuing through mid-day on September 2, 2001. APSA's annual preconvention day of professional development workshops and research seminars will be held on Wednesday, August 29. For information on events and sessions be sure to visit APSA's web site throughout the spring and summer at www.apsanet.org/mtgs.

Northeastern Political Science Association Holds Thirty-Second Annual Meeting

More than 400 political scientists gathered in Albany, NY in early November for the Thirty-second Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association and International Studies Association-Northeast.

I. Constitutional Committees

Administrative Committee

The Administrative Committee consists of the president, president-elect, treasurer and four other Council members whose main duties include preparing agendas for Council meetings and annual business meetings, making recommendations to the Council, reviewing the budget and acting on behalf of the Council to dispose of policy issues deemed of insufficient weight to require decisions by the Council.