Political Science Faculty

Marc Belanger
Associate Professor
Chair

Madeleva 334, Office phone 284.4470
B.A. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz
Ph.D. in Comparative Politics, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst

Professor Belanger joined the department in 1995. He was the recipient of the 2001 Maria Pieta Award for outstanding teaching. In recently published articles, he has examined democratization in Guatemala, social movements and democratization in Latin America, and the pedagogical challenges of teaching introductory comparative politics. He served an international observer for the historic 2000 presidential election in Mexico. One of the founding members of Saint Mary's Intercultural Studies Program, Professor Belanger served as coordinator of the program from 2003-2006 and is the Faculty Director the Honduras Study Abroad Program. Beyond Saint Mary's, Professor Belanger has developed a curriculum unit for the Latin American Studies Program at Tulane University and taught a course for the Global Leadership Program in Cordoba, Argentina.

Areas of research: Latin American politics; democratization; political identity; transnational politics.

Professor Belanger is also the Political Science Club Advisor and the Pi Sigma Alpha Advisor.

Email Professor Belanger

Courses Taught

Course Number Course Title
POSC151 Political Issues
POSC207 Comparative Politics
POSC304 Latin American Politics
POSC319 Politics of the Third World
POSC370 Democratization
POSC416 U.S. Foreign Policy
ICS 201 Introduction to Intercultural Studies


Amy L Cavender
Assistant Professor

331 Madeleva Office phone 284.4473
B.A., Political Science and Spanish, Gustavus Adolphus College
M.A., Ph.D., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame

Professor Cavender joined the department in 2004. Prof. Cavender specializes in the field of political theory, with a concentration in the area of religion and politics. Prior to entering the Sisters of the Holy Cross, she taught at Indiana University South Bend and at Holy Cross College, where she also assisted in Campus Ministry. Before coming to Saint Mary's, she was a Visiting Lecturer at the Philosophy Centre of Jinja in Jinja, Uganda, where she taught social science and philosophy from January 2003-May 2004.

Research interests: liberalism and religion, religious pluralism in American politics, Christian political thought

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Courses Taught
POSC 204 Intro. to Political Thought
POSC 152
Politics of American Democracy
POSC 390
SpTp: Religion and Politics
POSC 390
SpTp: American Political Thought

 

 

Teresa Marcy
Lecturer

3 Madeleva Hall, Office phone 284.4744
B.A. Saint Mary's College
Diploma, Institut d'Etudes Politiques

Joined the department in 1974.

Areas of interest: Middle East politics; international relations.

Email Professor Marcy

Courses Taught
POSC206
International Politics
POSC316
International Law and Organization
POSC329
Middle East Politics

Patrick A. Pierce
 Professor

B.A. in Mathematics and Political Science, San Diego State University
M.A. in Political Theory, Rutgers University
Ph.D. in American Politics, Rutgers University

Joined the department in 1981. Prof. Pierce has received several COSTAR grants to pursue his research with Prof. Don Miller (Math) on the politics of legalized gambling. That research has culminated in a forthcoming book to be published by Lynne Rienner Publishing. Prof. Pierce also received a SISTAR grant to work collaboratively with Madeline Carpinelli (1999) on the consequences of constituency contact. He has been inducted into the college honor society chapters of Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science) and Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics). He managed the campaign of James Caldwell for St. Joseph County Commissioner, and provided polling consulting to numerous Congressional candidates.

Areas of research: Women candidates for political office; Political psychology; Public policy; Politics of legalized gambling.

Email Professor Pierce

Pat Pierce's personal web page

Courses Taught

 Course Number
Course Title
POSC151 Political Issues
POSC217 American Public Policy
POSC313  Mass Media & Public Opinion
POSC314 Political Participation
POSC315 Political Parties & Interest Groups
POSC317 Scope and Methods of Political Science
POSC320 Congress & Legislative Behavior
POSC390 Comprehensive Seminar
POSC420 Statistical Applications in Political Science

 

 

Sean J. Savage
Professor

Madeleva 333, Office phone 284.4471
B.A. Assumption College
M.A. Syracuse University
Ph.D. in American Politics, Boston College

Dr. Savage joined the department in 1990. Professor Savage won the Inaugural Emerging Scholar Award for his dissertation on Roosevelt's presidential party leadership. He was also the assistant to Professor Herbert Kaufman, the O'Neill Chair, while he was a graduate student. At Boston College, Dr. Savage was the Thomas P. " Tip" O'Neill, Jr. Fellow. Professor Savage has published Roosevelt: The Party Leader, 1932-1945 (University Press of Kentucky, 1991) and Truman and the Democratic Party (University Press of Kentucky, 1997). He earned an Emerging Scholar Award from the American Political Science Association for his first book, Roosevelt: The Party Leader. Professor Savage's book, JFK, LBJ and the Democratic Party, was published in 2004 and won a Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title of 2005.

Areas of research: The Presidency; Public law. Professor Savage is also the Pre-Law Advisor, Washington Semester Representative, and Internship Coordinator.

Email Professor Savage

Professor Savage's Vita

Courses Taught
 Course Number
Course Title
POSC152 Politics of American Democracy
POSC307 Intro to American Law
POSC322 The Presidency
POSC323 The U.S. Constitution
POSC324 American Civil Liberties
POSC355 Public Administration
POSC 390 American Political Development

 

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