Department Awards and Honors

The Government Department makes two annual awards, the Jonathan L. Besecker Best Paper Award and the annual award for the graduating senior with the highest grade point average in the major.

Past winners of the Besecker Best Paper Award:

2009 - Margot Conover
2008 - Katie Sparks
2007 - Cody Zimmerman

Past winners of the highest grade point average award:

2009 – Margot Conover and Brian Chenault – co-winners

Our students are also nationally recognized for their undergraduate research:

Andrew Berglund won runner-up from Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society for Best Undergraduate Class Paper in 2009 for his paper entitled “Disturbing the Dragon: Chinese Threat Perceptions and the Influence of the United States.”

Erin Phillips won first place from Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society for Best Undergraduate Class Paper in 2008 for her paper entitled “Generational Differences: Examining Significant Factors Influencing Political Science Participation among Cohorts.”