The following are George Mason University faculty experts with knowledge in areas of the presidency and political campaigns.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGNS
Michael Fauntroy
Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy
Expertise: elections, the Republican Party, political analysis, race and politics, black voting patterns, Republicans and the black vote, race and public policy, redistricting and Congress
Fauntroy is the author of “Republicans and the Black Vote.” He teaches courses in urban policy and American government and specializes in race and American politics. Prior to joining the faculty at Mason, he was an analyst in American national government at the Congressional Research Service, where he provided research and consultations for members and committees of Congress. He was also a civil rights analyst at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where he conducted research on major civil rights issues. Fauntroy is currently the host of “The Forum” on GMU-TV and has appeared on several national television and radio shows including “The Tavis Smiley Show,” “Hardball,” “Hannity and Colmes,” and “PBS NewsHour.” He was a featured commentator on NPR’s 2010 general election coverage.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Jeremy Mayer
Associate Professor, School of Public Policy
Director, Masters of Public Policy Program
Expertise: political analysis, presidential elections, media, racial politics, political history, foreign policy, public opinion, tea party politics
Mayer published a groundbreaking book, Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns 1960-2000, as well as articles and chapters on presidents and elections. Mayer has extensive media experience, appearing on national and international programs including “World News Tonight,” “PBS Newshour,” Headline News and CNBC. During the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, he provided national live commentary to the Associated Press radio service. He has also lectured on behalf of the U.S. government on American politics in countries around the globe including Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Janette Muir
Associate Professor, New Century College
Expertise: political campaigns, political advertising, first ladies
Muir can discuss the role of political communication in campaigns. She can also talk about political advertising and presidential ads, political debates, gender differences in communication and problem with media coverage. She is very interested in engaging citizens in critical thinking about political campaigns and helping them to become better informed voters. In January 2008, she took a group of younger voters to the New Hampshire primaries to study youth engagement in politics.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Mark Rozell
Professor, School of Public Policy
Expertise: political analysis, Virginia politics, executive privilege, Christian right politics, interest groups and the role of the media in politics
The author or editor of more than 25 books ranging in topic from executive privilege to religion and the presidency, Rozell is a frequent contributor to local, national and international media outlets including PBS, CNN, Reuters and the Washington Post. His latest co-authored book is “The President’s Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution” with Mitchel A. Sollenberger. Rozell has testified before Congress on several occasions on executive privilege and presidential issues and has lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Solon Simmons
Assistant Professor, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Expertise: media and politics, presidential and congressional elections, economic inequality, identity politics, class politics, culture wars, political racism and social stratification
Simmons is currently completing a book on the evolution of the conventional wisdom in America on matters of race, class, foreign policy and economics called, “The Eclipse of Equality: Arguing America on Meet the Press.”
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Susan J. Tolchin
Professor, School of Public Policy
Expertise: political influence, voting trends, American electorate, Congressional ethics, the American presidency and women in Congress
Tolchin is the co-author of “Pinstripe Patronage – Political Favoritism from the Clubhouse to the White House and Beyond.” In addition she has authored “The Angry American – How Voter Rage is Changing the Nation” co-authored of “Glass Houses: Congressional Ethics and the Politics of Venom.” She has appeared on many television and radio news programs including the “Today Show” and “PBS Newshour.”
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Toni-Michelle Travis
Associate Professor of Government and Politics
Expertise: political analysis, race and gender issues in politics, Virginia and urban politics
Travis is the author of the annual “The Almanac of Virginia Politics.” As a former Fellow at Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute, she conducted research on “The Evolving Color Line” which explores how the old black/white racial division has been changed by the arrival of non-European immigrants who are called “people of color.” She also co-authored “The Meaning of Difference,” which examines race, gender, social class, sexual orientation and disability. Travis has served as a political analyst on Virginia and national politics on BBC World Service, C-SPAN, CNN, Fox News, and radio stations WAMU and NPR.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY
Richard Norton Smith
Scholar-in-Residence
Expertise: presidential history
Smith is a presidential historian and former head of five presidential libraries. He can discuss trends and movements in presidential history, past elections, and most anything and everything related to the presidency from a historical perspective. Smith is a regular contributor to the PBS Newshour and C-SPAN.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
FOREIGN POLICY
Colin Dueck
Associate Professor of Public and International Affairs
Expertise: American foreign policy, security studies, international relations
Dueck is the author of “Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II” and “Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy.” His current research focus is on the relationship between party politics, presidential leadership, American conservatism, and U.S. foreign policy. His broader research and teaching interests are in the history and practice of international strategy and diplomacy.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
RELIGION AND POLITICS
John Farina
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Expertise: religion as relates to contemporary society, politics, law, public affairs and American history
As an attorney and scholar of religion, Farina has published articles on current topics on law and religion. He is the former editor-in-chief of “Classics of Western Spirituality” and general editor of “Sources of American Spirituality.” He is the author of “Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America” and “Great Spiritual Masters: Their Answers to Six of Life’s Questions.” He is currently writing “The Intelligible Sphere: Theory of Religion in Civil Society.”
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
VOTERS AND VOTING
Bryan Caplan
Professor of Economics
Expertise: voter behavior, voter irrationality, public choice and public finance
Bryan Caplan is author of “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies,” named the “best political book of the year” in 2007 by the New York Times. Caplan’s articles have appeared in the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, the Journal of Law and Economics, Social Science Quarterly and numerous other outlets.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Michael McDonald
Associate Professor of Government and Politics
Expertise: elections, polling, redistricting
McDonald is a leading expert on the process of voting and director of the U.S. Elections Project, which tracks early voting and voter turnout statistics that the media and scholars use widely. He is co-principle investigator of the Public Mapping Project, which provides open-source redistricting software with the goal to promote greater transparency and public participation in redistricting. He has worked as a redistricting consultant for several states, has provided election day decision analysis for the Associated Press and the National Election Pool’s exit poll, and has consulted for the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission. McDonald has authored several articles and op-eds on voting and elections and is currently writing a textbook on American elections.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
CHARACTER, PRESENTATION AND APPEARANCE OF THE PRESIDENT
James P. Pfiffner
University Professor and Director of the Doctoral Program, School of Public Policy
Expertise: the presidency, American government, public management
Pfiffner has lectured at universities in Europe and throughout the United States as well as at the Federal Executive Institute, the National War College, the U.S. Military Academy, and the Departments of State, Justice, and Defense. He has written or edited 12 books on the presidency and American National Government. While serving with the 25th Infantry Division (1/8 Artillery) in 1970 he received the Army Commendation Medal for Valor in Vietnam and Cambodia. He is listed in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World.”
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Peter Pober
Director, Forensics Team, and Associate Professor of Communication
Expertise: public speaking, communication
Pober is the director of the nationally ranked forensics team and the only director in history to direct a top-10 team nationally for more than 20 consecutive years. He is an expert in public speaking and presidential debates. He can discuss the importance of public speaking and communication in campaigning, and how public speaking can affect one’s image. He can also give tips on effective public speaking for someone in a leadership role.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Karen Studd
Associate Professor of Dance, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Expertise: body language and nonverbal communication
Studd has been observing and analyzing body movement for more than 20 years and is a certified Laban Movement Analyst. She can discuss the significance of analyzing and interpreting the body language and movement behavior of political candidates and leaders. She can also discuss how human movement is an expressive and communicative nonverbal language that the public intuitively understands and how our patterns of movement reflect factors such as culture, gender and age.
Media Contact: Catherine Probst, 703-993-8813, cferraro@gmu.edu
Janine R. Wedel
Professor, School of Public Policy
Expertise: special interest groups, shadow lobbyists, privatization of public and foreign policy, political corruption and influence, governance and privatization
Wedel studies the privatization of public and foreign policy, political corruption and development and foreign aid through the unique lens of a social anthropologist. A four-time Fulbright fellow, Professor Wedel has also won awards from the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the United States Institute of Peace and the National Institute of Justice, among others. She has testified before Congressional committees and appeared on television and radio outlets, including BBC, CNN, NPR and PBS’s Frontline, and associate produced three PBS documentaries.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
BUDGETING, NATIONAL DEBT AND IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Paul Posner
Professor and Director, Master’s in Public Administration program
Director, Centers on the Public Service
Expertise: public budgeting, policy process, government contracting, intergovernmental management
Before joining Mason, Posner served as director of federal budget and intergovernmental relations at the Government Accountability Office. He frequently testifies to Congress on issues related to budgeting and national debt. Posner also served as president of the American Society for Public Administration.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
Frank Shafroth
Director, Center for State and Local Leadership
Expertise: federal budgeting, local government, intergovernmental relations, state and local finance, federalism, and the effect of budget cuts and tax policy
Shafroth served as chief of staff for Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), Assistant Counsel on the U.S. Sen. Banking Committee, and director of state and federal relations for National Governors Association. He has also held policy related positions for Arlington County (Va.) National League of Cities and various Congressional offices. He has also taught government, ethics and policy classes at Mason and George Washington University.
Media Contact: James Greif, 703-993-9118, jgreif@gmu.edu
HEALTH CARE POLICY
Len M. Nichols
Professor and Director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics
Expertise: health care reform, Health policy
Nichols is former director of the Health Policy Program at New America Foundation (NAF) where he bridged the worlds of health economics and health services research among health system stakeholders, clinical leaders, policy officials and journalists. He founded and directed Health CEOs for Health Reform, an NAF sub-group that was pivotal in helping policy-makers see that delivery system reform and health insurance reform are necessary and feasible partners. Nichols has testified frequently before Congress and state legislators and published widely in a variety of health journals, including a commentary on the health care debate, “Be Not Afraid,” which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Nichols also served as vice president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, principal research associate at the Urban Institute, senior advisor for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration and chair of the Economics Department at Wellesley College.
Media Contact: Michele McDonald, 703-993-8781, mmcdon15@gmu.edu
EDUCATION POLICY
Penelope Earley
Professor, College of Education and Human Development
Director, Center for Education Policy and Evaluation
Expertise: teacher and teacher education policy, federal and state education policy, gender equity
Prior to joining the faculty at Mason, Earley was a vice president at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in Washington, D.C. At AACTE her responsibilities included federal and state governmental relations, policy analysis and gender equity.
Media Contact: Catherine Probst Ferraro, 703-993-8813, cferraro@gmu.edu
Gary Galluzzo
Professor, College of Education and Human Development
Coordinator, Teaching and Teacher Education Program
Expertise: teacher education, school reform
Galluzzo served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). With extensive experience in education policy, Galluzzo’s research includes investigations into how students become teachers, curriculum reform in teacher education, program evaluation in teacher education, education reform and preparing teachers to be agents of school change. He was a member of the AACTE Research and Information Committee, which conducted eight annual national studies of teacher education and published the monograph series, “Teaching Teachers: Facts and Figures,” known as the Research about Teacher Education (RATE) Project. He is co-author of “The Rise and Stall of Teacher Education Reform” and has been published in numerous professional journals and books.
Media Contact: Catherine Probst Ferraro, 703-993-8813, cferraro@gmu.edu
About George Mason University
George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university. George Mason University—Where Innovation Is Tradition.