Karen Beckwith, Ph.D. – Flora Stone Mather Professor and Chair Department of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University

Joe White, Ph.D. – Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and the Director of the Center for Policy Studies at Case Western Reserve University at Case Western Reserve University

Dear Colleagues:

Is our long national nightmare about to be over – or is it only beginning? The election is scheduled to end on Tuesday, November 8 – but lord knows what happens next. It has already been an unprecedented contest, with both major parties nominating presidential candidates who break standard molds – though in very different ways. So what will happen, and what will it mean? We don’t know, but we can guess – sorry, “forecast.”

Could Donald Trump rally to win the presidency? Can the Democrats gain a Senate majority? What does this election tell us about the role of gender in elections, or the roles of money, or the media? What does it seem to tell us about The American Voter, or the divisions within the country? And what does it suggest for the political system in the weeks, months and years after the election? Join us for some data and discussion before the drama.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies 

About Our Guests

Karen Beckwith is the Flora Stone Mather Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University. She received her B.A. from the University of Kentucky (1972) and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Syracuse University (1977, 1982). Teaching primarily in the areas of political parties, political movements, and women, gender, and politics, she has special interests in the United States and West Europe, particularly Britain and Italy.

Professor Beckwith’s current research includes projects on 1) how social movements respond to loss; 2) gendered competition in party leadership contests in parliamentary democracies; and 3) patterns of women’s appointments to cabinet posts in North America and West Europe. For the latter research she was awarded the 2012 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics. In 2013, she was honored by the Midwest Women’s Caucus for Political Science as the Outstanding Professional Scholar.

In the spring term of 2014, Professor Beckwith was the Fulbright-Scotland Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh, where she worked on her project What’s New? Institutional Transformation and Women’s Political Representation. During that time, she spoke at several British and European universities, and she concluded her Fulbright Professorship by interviewing Members of the Scottish Parliament about the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence.

As Director of the Center for Policy Studies, Joe White organizes and usually moderates the Friday Lunch discussions, as well as sponsoring 3-6 other public programs each year. His appointment as Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy is in the Department of Political Science, and he also has a secondary appointment as Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research focuses on federal budget politics and policy; health care, especially cost control and reform; the politics of social insurance programs such as Medicare and Social Security; and differences between rich democracies’ health care systems. He is author or co-author of three books and about six dozen articles, with his most recent work being on relations between the president and Congress in federal budgeting and on budgeting for healthcare programs around the world.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library. The Dampeer Room is on the second floor of the library. If you get off the elevators, turn right, pass the first bank of tables, and turn right again. Occasionally we need to use a different room; that will always be announced in the weekly e-mails.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

November 11: The Unrealized Promise of Libertarianism. With Gus Dizerega, Ph.D., independent political theorist.

November 18: Can Democracy Meet the Challenge of Polarization? With Mark Chupp, Assistant Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Social Sciences.

November 25: Thanksgiving Break.

December 2: Putin’s Russia. With Kelly M. McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, International Studies Program.

December 9: Health Care Report Cards – Time for Second Thoughts? With J.B. Silvers, John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance.