Rebounding Poli Sci Dept. nabs two profs

Penn's Political Science Department, continuing on the road to revitalization, has hired two senior professors in the field of International Relations. Princeton Professor Joanne Gowa and Ohio State Professor Edward Mansfield will leave their respective schools to become senior faculty members at Penn this fall. The two new additions complete what has been a comeback year for the Political Science Department, following years of unsuccessful attempts at hiring faculty and losing top faculty members. Last month, Yale Professor Rogers Smith joined the department, and two assistant professors have also been added. Political Science Department Chairman Jack Nagel said the two appointments help fill voids left by faculty departures and retirements over the past few years. "It re-establishes us as an important leader in international relations," Nagel said. "I think we've proven that we can get the star faculty." School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston echoed Nagel's sentiments about the acquisitions. "I think this is a great win for political science," Preston said. "The department identified the best talent, and between the department and the dean's office, we made a very concerted effort to bring these people to Penn." Mansfield, who will become the Hum Rosen Professor of Political Science, received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Penn. He recently won an award from the International Studies Association for being the most outstanding scholar under 40 years of age. "This is a department that has enormous potential for growth," Mansfield said. "I really think that this is going to be an exciting place to be over the next five to 10 years." Gowa, who will become the Annenberg Professor of Political Science, is a leading scholar in International Relations, focusing on worldwide economics and trade. She worked at Penn before leaving to take an endowed position at Princeton. The two professors have worked together on numerous articles, and Mansfield said the addition of Gowa helped make his decision to come to Penn easier. "It certainly made it more attractive to have Professor Gowa coming," he said. "We have a long-standing relationship." Nagel said he believes that this relationship helped bring both professors to Penn. "We went after the two of them because they are collaborators," Nagel said. "It's that kind of synergy that attracts people to places like these." In addition to their teaching responsibilities, Gowa and Mansfield will become co-directors of the Christopher Brown Center for International Politics, a research center established at Penn in 1997. Mansfield said his relationship with other professors in the department helped him decide to return to Penn. "It's true that having other people in the department that you know is appealing, but it also matters that they're great people," Mansfield said. International Relations Professor Avery Goldstein, who is friends with both Gowa and Mansfield, said the two scholars are worldwide figures in international relations. Goldstein added that he believes the additions will provide a much needed boost to the department's national standing. "It's hard enough to recruit one senior professor in a year," he said. "With these two on board, it really puts us in a stronger position in international relations than we have been in the last 15 years."