Brianne Heidbreder & Ethan Bernick receive Interdisciplinary Research Grant From Chapman Center

The Chapman Center for Rural Studies, a center of excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences, announces Ethan Bernick, Brianne Heidbreder and Chardie Baird as recipients of the 2022 Interdisciplinary Research Grant. Bernick, Heidbreder and Baird will use this grant on their interdisciplinary project, "Gendered Pathways: In Pursuit of Local Elected Office." The project focuses on the reasons why American political institutions are male-dominated and positions of county clerks, especially in rural communities, are female-dominated. There is very little known about how and why this happens, and the team’s exploration will tackle this question by using insights from sociological and political science research.

“I am excited that the Chapman Center is providing such a great opportunity to work with community leaders and, hopefully, soon-to-be community leaders as we try to better understand how we can help improve governance and inequity in rural America while embracing K-State’s land-grant mission,” Bernick said.

Bernick, Heidbreder and Baird receive a stipend to encourage their interdisciplinary work. The aim of the Interdisciplinary Research Grant is to generate new insights into the dynamics of rural life through partnerships with rural Kansas communities or with the potential to improve the quality of life for rural Kansas residents. The project embodies this mission as it explores and creates collaborations and support systems between K-State and rural elected officials throughout Kansas.

"This project is such a great fit with the work of the center," said Mary Kohn, Chapman Center director. “The team is well-poised to provide valuable research experiences to our undergraduate researchers while also producing work that speaks directly to the unique experiences of rural Kansas communities. This is exactly the kind of work the Chapman Center hopes to promote.”

“I am so excited about the Chapman Center’s new IRG projects,” said Amit Chakrabarti, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “These funded topics show the interdisciplinary breadth of our faculty’s research and scholarly work in the college. We are grateful to Mark Chapman and Cheryl Mellenthin for their support of the Chapman Center. With private support and federal grant dollars, the center is quickly becoming a leader in Kansas for interdisciplinary humanities research.”

To learn more about the center’s annual Interdisciplinary Research Grant and previous recipients, visit the IRG webpage.

Information about the next round of grants will be available in fall 2023.

Katie Sleichter becomes Kansas State University's 37th Truman Scholar

Katie Sleichter, junior in political science, Clay Center, is Kansas State University’s 37th Truman scholar.

Sleichter is receiving a 2022 Harry S. Truman scholarship for her academic excellence, leadership and commitment to a career in public service.

The Truman scholarship is a highly competitive national award that provides up to $30,000 for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. According to the Truman Foundation, 58 scholarships were awarded this year from a candidate pool of 705 students nominated by 275 colleges and universities.

"We wish to congratulate Katie on this tremendous honor," said President Richard Linton. "She joins a long line of K-State Truman scholars committed to public service. Katie's dedication to understanding global cooperation and food insecurity shows how K-Staters put our land-grant mission into action to advance the well-being of Kansas, the nation and the world. She represents the best of K-State, and we are so proud of her."

Sleichter also is pursuing a secondary major in global food systems leadership at K-State. After graduation, she plans to earn a Master of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She wants to pursue a career in the foreign service as a political officer or a public diplomacy officer so that she can increase global cooperation on borderless issues.

"Many of the issues that are facing the world, such as food security, climate change and the refugee crises, require collaboration between not only a variety of different organizations but also many countries," Sleichter said. "I believe that by studying foreign service at a graduate level, I will be better equipped to begin tackling issues such as these through increased global cooperation during my career."

Sleichter grew up on a vegetable farm in rural Kansas, which has inspired her passion for addressing food insecurity and other global issues. Her family has lived in rural Kansas for more than a century.

At K-State, Sleichter is a food security scholar, which is a leadership program for students interested in understanding food systems and challenging the way we think about food insecurity. She is involved in International Buddies and the Food Recovery Network and is a coordinator for International Service Teams. She has been selected into Blue Key Honor Society and will serve as the director of leadership programming for 2022-2023.

She also has been involved in the Kansas State University Student Foundation, Student Governing Association as the campus culture director, Quest Freshman Honorary and West Hall governing board. She is a Hagan scholar, 4-H Key Award recipient, Borlaug scholar and Kansas honors scholar. She has received an FFA state degree and an animal science academic achievement award.

Sleichter is the daughter of Jay and Linda Sleichter and is a 2019 graduate of Clay Center Community High School.

Brianne Heidbreder receieves 2022 Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award

Brianne Heidbreder, associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies, is one of four recipients at K-State to receive the 2022 Commerce Bank and W.T. Kemper Foundation Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. Along with the title, she will receive an honorarium for $3,000 honorarium from Commerce Bank and the W.T. Kemper Foundation.

The Commerce Bank and the W.T. Kemper Foundation have been honored to recognize exceptional teaching at Kansas State University for more than 25 years," said Shawn Drew, market president and CEO of Commerce Bank, Manhattan. "We congratulate this year's recipients and thank them for their excellence in educating K-State students.

Dr. Heidbreder teaches undergraduate courses in state politics, U.S. politics, urban politics, and gender and politics, as well as graduate courses in public personnel administration, urban politics, and a seminar in American government.

She has been previously recognized as one of the university's top teachers, and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the William L. Stamey Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.

"I love the moments in class when I can tell my students are really connecting and engaging with the material, perhaps even seeing their community and world in a new way," Heidbreder said.

Congratulations, Dr. Heidbreder!

John Fliter appointed to Kansas Advisory Committee to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

John Fliter, associate professor in the political science department, has been appointed a member of the Kansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Along with 11 other members, the committee's task is to advise the Commission on Civil Rights on matters in the state of Kansas.

Fliter will bring his expertise on prisoners' rights, criminal justice, free speech, religious freedom and fair labor standards to this role. His appointment to the commission is a recognition of his research and teaching contributions in these areas.

Advisory committees have recently examined education funding, school discipline disparities, policing practices, mental health and the criminal justice system, legal financial obligations, human trafficking, fair housing, hate crimes, voting rights, and collateral consequences of criminal convictions. In addition to advising the commission, advisory committee reports have contributed to policy changes at the national, state and local levels.

Fliter joined the political science department in 1994. His most recent book, "Child Labor in America: The Epic Legal Struggle to Protect Children," was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2018 and examines child labor laws. He is currently working on his fourth book, "U.S. v. Darby Lumber: The Triumph of Fair Labor Standards." Fliter received the 2010 K-State Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and he was named the 2013-14 Coffman University Distinguished Teaching Scholar. He has taught courses on constitutional law, administrative law, the judicial process, and civil rights and liberties.

Angela Y.S. Park receives national award by American Political Science Association (APSA)

Angela Y.S. Park, assistant professor of political science, has been awarded the prestigious 2020 Leonard D. White Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public administration. The award is presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, a major professional society for individuals engaged in the study of politics and government.

"The dissertation makes contributions to research on public management and collaborative governance, and the findings also have the potential to inform the practice of public administration in local government," the award committee notes. "The committee was also impressed by the close fit between the research question that each chapter set out to investigate and the data used in the analyses, and by the clear writing style used throughout."

The quality of Park's work was recognized early on, when, in 2018, she won the Staats Emerging Scholar Award from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.

See full article on Political Science Now

Middle East Studies Minor Announced

Middle East Studies has a lively presence at Kansas State University, with courses offered on various topics of the subject spread over numerous departments. In addition, faculty from various departments consistently share their expertise on this important region with the residents of Kansas and the nation through research, public lectures, invited talks, and media interviews. K-State also established the Michael W. Suleiman Chair in Arab and Arab-American Studies to advance the pursuit of Middle Eastern scholarship. Further, the Political Science department regularly invites prominent scholars on Middle Eastern affairs to campus as part of the Middle Eastern Speaker Series. As a result, a vibrant intellectual community interested in the region has developed – leading to the development of the Middle East Studies minor.

The Middle East Studies minor is a new interdisciplinary program that helps build a student’s knowledge of important geopolitical and cultural forces of the critical region, both on campus and beyond. Housed within the Political Science Department, the minor involves five departments across the university including; Political Science, History, Communication Studies, Philosophy and Modern Languages. Offering courses ranging from intercultural exchanges, the history of Islamic thought, political Islam, religion and communication in the Middle East and more – this minor gives students a dynamic perspective of a subject that has great global interest.
The minor will be directed by Dr. Sabri Ciftci, Associate Professor of Political Science and Michael W. Suleiman Chair in Arab and Arab-American Studies. Supporting faculty members include Dr. Nadia Oweidat (Assistant Professor of History), Dr. Jon Mahoney (Professor of Philosophy), and Thuria Mosa (Instructor of Modern Languages).

For more information about the minor, please e-mail Dr. Sabri Ciftci (ciftci@ksu.edu) or the Political Science department (polsci@ksu.edu).

Model United Nations Team Wins Awards at AMUN Conference in Chicago

K-State's Model United Nations team competed at the 30th American Model UN Conference in Chicago from Nov. 23-26. More than 1,200 students from 77 colleges and universities competed to win for their designated countries.

K-State’s Model UN team, who had chosen to represent Equatorial Guinea, won a Position Paper award for completing policy position papers for every simulated situation at the conference. Two team members, Claire Chaffin (Political Science junior and French minor) and Scout Molder (Political Science/Pre-Law freshman) also won a delegation award for exceptional representation of Equatorial Guinea on the Economic Commission of Africa. This is the first time in almost seven years that Kansas State has won this award.

This year, K-State’s Model UN team members included: Jennifer Acosta, Nathan Bothwell, Claire Chaffin, Ethan Chapman, Bayley Clark, Lily Colburn, Erick Echegaray, Ashley Fox, Natalie Jabben, Nicholas Kaechele, Nick McCreight, Scout Molder, Alexa Scheer, Bella Villegas, and Mason Witzke. Associate Professors John Fliter and Carla Martinez-Machain served as co-faculty advisors for the team.

Congratulations, K-State’s Model UN team!