The following experts from Kent State University are available to media covering the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Their areas of expertise and topics they can discuss are provided, as well as links to additional information and contact information. Areas of expertise include religion and politics, U.S. relations to Europe, issues around branding and the candidates, security at large-scale, urban events, political advertising and more.
If you have any difficulty reaching any of these experts, please contact Emily Vincent (evincen2@kent.edu or 330-672-8595) or Kristin Anderson (kander63@kent.edu or 330-672-7907) for assistance.
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Christopher Banks, Ph.D.
Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Law; Supreme Court of the United States; American politics; terrorism and human rights; civil rights and liberties; constitutional law
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/christopher-p-banks
Email: cbanks6@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-0908
Availability: After the first week of July, he can offer comment on a reasonable basis.
Michael Beam, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies
Kent State University
Topics: Influence of partisan media sources on political polarization and political information processing; how new media systems change information distribution patterns
Profile: https://www.kent.edu/comm/profile/michael-beam
Email: mbeam6@kent.edu
Phone: (330) 672-0183
Available: 9am-5pm, during the convention
Casey H. Boyd-Swan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Labor and employment policies; child care (including barriers to accessing early care and education, and programs aimed at improving the quality of care; and income inequality; national programs such as TANF (“welfare”), SNAP (“food stamps”), Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Support Enforcement, and Child Care and Development Fund
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/mpa/profile/casey-boyd-swan
Email: cboydswa@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-7903
Availability: Available during the month of July, Monday-Friday
Mark Cassell, Ph.D.
Master of Public Administration Coordinator and Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Challenges and opportunities associated with presidential debates; how the debates and the election are being viewed outside the country; the particular challenges each candidate faces; the role of Ohio and Ohio’s economic recovery play in the presidential election; wages; unions; financial regulation; U.S. relations with Europe; healthcare; tax policy
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/profile/mark-k-cassell
Email: mcassell@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-8945
Ryan Claassen, Ph.D.
Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Political engagement; political participation; citizen competence; public opinion; election administration; religion and politics; interest groups; racial and ethnic politics; parties; activists; public opinion and polling; author of “Godless Democrats and Pious Republicans? Party Activists, Party Capture and the ‘God Gap’” and “Ignorance Abroad: Political Knowledge and American Foreign Policy” (under advance contract with Yale University Press)
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/profile/ryan-l-claassen
Email: rclaasse@kent.edu
Office: 330-672-8942
Available: Anytime needed. Call his office and leave a message. Ryan gets that message instantly via email on his phone.
Danielle Sarver Coombs, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Kent State University
Topics: 2012 Republican primary as a point of comparison, based on her book “Last Man Standing: Media, Framing and the 2012 Republican Primaries”; role of the outsider; issues around branding and the candidates
Profile: www.kent.edu/jmc/profile/danielle-sarver-coombs
Email: dcoombs@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-8876
Availability: Leading up to and during the convention
Patrick Coy, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Applied Conflict Management and Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Peace movements in the United States and the obstacles they face to organizing and expressing their positions (Coy suspects there will be some parallels with the people who try to demonstrate at the convention)
Profile: https://www.kent.edu/spcs/patrick-g-coy
Email: pcoy@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-2875
Yanhai Du, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology
Kent State University
Topics: Clean energy; climate change
Profile: www.kent.edu/research/yanhai-du
Email: ydu5@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-1910
Michael J. Ensley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Congress; elections; ideology
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/michael-j-ensley and http://michaelensley.com
Email: mensley@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-8933
Availability: Generally available Monday-Friday in July
Kimberly Garchar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Kent State University at Stark
(She also serves on the Summa Health System Bioethics Committee.)
Topics: Healthcare policy, including the Affordable Care Act; clinical bioethics; macro-allocation issues
Email: kgarchar@kent.edu
Phone: 330-244-3457
Availability: Any time after July 17
Paul Haridakis, Ph.D.
Professor & Coordinator of Doctoral Education in the School of Communication Studies
Kent State University
Topics: YouTube and social media in political campaigns; media uses and effects on law, public policy, new communication technologies, sports communication, freedom of speech
Profile: https://www.kent.edu/comm/profile/paul-haridakis
Email: pharidak@kent.edu
Phone: (330) 672-0180, Alternate: 330-620-5604
Availability: 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday, through July 22
Daniel P. Hawes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: Immigration
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/profile/daniel-p-hawes
Email: dhawes2@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-2060
Availability: He will be teaching Summer I classes, so he will be on campus through July 14.
Steven Hook, Ph.D.
Professor in the Department of Political Science
Kent State University
Topics: U.S. foreign policy; international relations; foreign aid policy; author of “U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power” (2014) and “National Interest and Foreign Aid” (1995); co-editor of “The United States and the Gulf: Shifting Pressures, Strategies, and Alignments”; co-authored textbook “American Foreign Policy Since World War II, 20th Edition”
Profile: www.kent.edu/polisci/steven-w-hook
Email: shook@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-8949
Christina McVay
Associate Lecturer in the Department of Pan-African Studies
Kent State University
Topics: Pan-African studies; African-American studies; black literature and history; cultural or population studies
Profile: www.kent.edu/pas/christina-mcvay
Email: cmcvay@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-0163
Availability: Free most of July including dates of the convention
David W. Odell-Scott, Ph.D.
Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Religion Studies Program Coordinator, and Co-Director of the Ohio Pluralism Project (an affiliate of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University)
Kent State University
Topics: America’s religious pluralism; religious diversity in Ohio
Email: dodellsc@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-0271
James Ponder, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies
Kent State University
Topics: Media use for political information; social networking in politics; interpersonal and mass communication influences materialistic attitudes; financial literacy, credit card misuse, financial well-being and debt
Profile: https://www.kent.edu/comm/profile/james-ponder
Email: jponder@kent.edu
Phone: office: (330) 672-0182, Alternate: 234-281-7292
Availability: 7:30am-5pm, Monday-Friday, through July 29
Kim Schimmel, Ph.D.
Professor of the Sociology of Sport and Director of the School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
Kent State University
Topics: Security at large-scale, urban events (Super Bowl-level), including the agencies responsible for security and anti-terrorism initiatives; urban planning and development, including how the event is used to stimulate growth; politics, including the politicians’ “spin” versus the reality of who benefits (and who is burdened) from these big events; impact and image, again separating the spin from the reality
Profile: www.kent.edu/ehhs/fla/spad/profile/kimberly-schimmel-phd
Email: kschimme@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-0232
Deborah Smith, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Chair of Faculty Senate and has held prominent roles in the Kent State chapter of the American Association of University Professors
Kent State University
Topics: Organized labor, including labor law
Profile: www.kent.edu/philosophy/profile/deborah-c-smith
Email: dcsmith1@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-0275
Availability: Any time except for July 20-24
Chance York, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Kent State University
Topics: Media and political socialization (how we learn to use media and get engaged in politics as kids); news media effects; political advertising; campaign communication
Profile: www.kent.edu/jmc/chance-york
Email: cyork8@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-7509
Availability: Can accommodate interviews if there is some advance notice to plan the date/time
For more information about Kent State, visit www.kent.edu.
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Media Contacts:
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907