The following University of Maryland faculty members and researchers are available to discuss a wide-range of national and regional U.S. political issues including expertise in elections and voting behavior and political communication.

Contact the experts directly (many have included home phone or cell phone numbers), or contact University Communications: Neil Tickner, 301-405-4622, 301-257-0073 (after-hours), ntickner@umd.edu

Part 1: Political Experts and Specialists

Ron Walters - political scientist, professor and director, African American Leadership Institute, Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland
Expertise: national politics; African American political leadership; urban politics

Credentials - books include: "Black Presidential Politics in America," " White Nationalism, Black Interests: Conservative Public Policy and the Black Community"and "African American Leadership;" deputy campaign manager, Jesse Jackson presidential campaign (1984)
Contact - 301-421-5919 (home); 301-405-1787 (office); rwalters@academy.umd.edu; or Neil Tickner, 301-405-4622 (office) or 301-257-0073 (after-hours)
Web site - http://www.academy.umd.edu/AboutUs/staff/RWalters.htm

William Galston - Stern Professor of Civic Engagement; director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE); acting dean, University of Maryland School of Public Policy
Expertise - American politics and public policy; civic engagement; youth vote

Credentials - deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy and executive director of the National Commission on Civic Renewal in first Clinton administration; served as senior advisor to Albert Gore Jr. during 1999-2000 presidential campaign and the run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988; issues director for Walter Mondale's presidential campaign, 1982-1984; chief speech writer for John Anderson's National Unity Campaign; directs research center on civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25
Contact - 301-405-6347 (office); bgalston@umd.edu; or Neil Tickner, 301-405-4622,301-257-0073 (after-hours)
Web site - www.puaf.umd.edu/faculty/people/galstonm.html

James Gimpel - professor of government and politics, University of Maryland
Expertise - politics of immigration reform; American voting behavior; political geography of presidential elections; voter turnout and absentee ballots; Maryland politics

Credentials - specialist in geographic and demographic targeting for campaigns and elections, including ongoing research on voter turnout patterns; recent work includes research on political socialization of adolescents and rural reactions to ethnic diversity; books include: "Patchwork Nation: Sectionalism and Political Change in American Politics," "Separate Destinations: Migration, Immigration and the Politics of Places," " Cultivating Democracy: Civic Environments and Political Socialization in America," "National Elections and the Autonomy of American State Party Systems;" editor, "American Politics Research"
Contact - 301-405-7929 (office); jgimpel@gvpt.umd.edu; or Neil Tickner, 301-405-4622 (office), 301-257-0073 (after-hours)
Web site - http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/gimpel/index.html

Keith Olson - professor of history, University of Maryland.
Expertise - Presidents in the 20th century.

Credentials - Olson has written extensively about 20th century presidents and their administrations. Prof. Olson's most recent book is about Watergate. He is currently working on a book about the Eisenhower administration and civil rights. He has appeared extensively in print, on the radio and TV talking about 20th century presidential history.
Contact - (301)-405-4286 (office); kwolson@umd.edu
Web Site - http://www.history.umd.edu/Bio/olsonk.html

Georgia Sorenson - founding director and senior scholar, James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland.
Expertise - presidential leadership.

Credentials - co-author of the book, Dead Center: Clinton Gore Leadership and the Perils of Moderation , which is an unflattering look at the Clinton presidency. She wrote about this in an article for Newsday.com. Sorenson also is the author of a four volume comprehensive Encyclopedia of Leadership. She is a frequent contributor and commentator on social issues in the popular media.
Contact - (301)-405-6399 (office); gsorenson@academy.umd.edu
Web Site - http://www.academy.umd.edu/AboutUs/staff/gsorenson.htm

Shawn J. Parry-Giles - associate professor of communication and women's studies; director, Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership, University of Maryland
Expertise - presidential image making and rhetoric; presidential war rhetoric; presidential campaigning; propaganda; rhetorical, feminist and media criticism

Credentials -books include " The Rhetorical Presidency, Propaganda, and the Cold War, 1945-1955," "Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics" (co-author); journal articles include "Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: Television News Practices and Image-Making in the Postmodern Age," and "Embracing the Mess: Reflections on Campaign 2000;" co-directs Political Advertising Resource Center (http://www.umdparc.org/)
Contact - 301-405-6527 (office); 301-495-8875 (home); spg@umd.edu
Web site - www.wam.umd.edu/~spg/

Trevor Parry-Giles - assistant professor of political communication, University of Maryland
Expertise: presidential rhetoric, political strategy and advertising; judicial nominations

Credentials - former political consultant and writer; books include "Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics" (co-author) and "The Character of Justice: Rhetoric, Law, and Politics in the Supreme Court Confirmation Process" (forthcoming); co-directs Political Advertising Resource Center ( http://www.umdparc.org/)
Contact - 301-405-8947 (office); 301-495-8875 (home); tpg@umd.edu
Web site - www.wam.umd.edu/~tpg/index.html

Kathleen Kendall - visiting professor of communication, University of Maryland
Expertise: political communication, especially candidate-media interactions

Credentials - books include " Communication in the Presidential Primaries: Candidates and the Media, 1912-2000" and "Presidential Campaign Discourse;" Presidential debate publications include a "white paper" for the Presidential Debates Research Symposium (co-author) and "Presidential Debates Through Media Eyes" (journal article);
Contact - 202-363-6687 (home); kkendall@wam.umd.edu;
Web site - http://www.comm.umd.edu/people/faculty/kkendall.html

James Klumpp - professor of communication, University of Maryland
Expertise - Political communication; public discourse; communication and social change; public life in American communities.

Credentials - Prof. Klumpp has written countless articles looking at political communication and is the author of one book and the co-author of another. He has been quoted in a wide range of media on topics that have included the social issues surrounding political blunders to the State of the Union speech .
Contact - 301-405-6520 (office); email: jklumpp@umd.edu
Web Page - http://www.wam.umd.edu/~jklumpp/home.html

Karen Kohn Bradley - visiting associate professor of dance and director of graduate studies in dance at the University of Maryland.
Expertise - body language analysis of political figures; Laban movement analysis

Credentials - has studied nonverbal and movement behaviors of political leaders for 30 years; certified in Laban Movement Analysis; former President of the Congress on Research in Dance
Contact - 202-669-3927 (cell); kbradley@umd.edu
Web Site - http://www.dance.umd.edu/GraduateProgram/GraduateFaculty.html

Part 3: Political-Economic Issues

Gar Alperovitz - Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy and founding member of the Democracy Collaborative, University of Maryland
Expertise - political-economic issues including state and local responses to the national fiscal crisis, income and wealth inequality, innovative ownership strategies and community economic responses to job outsourcing, populist tax strategies, social security reform, progressive trade policy

Credentials - former fellow at Cambridge University, Harvard's Institute of Politics, Institute for Policy Studies; guest scholar, Brookings Institution; books include "America Beyond Capitalism: Reclaiming Our Wealth, Our Liberty, and Our Democracy," "Rebuilding America" (co-author), "Making a Place for Community" (co-author) and "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb;" media appearances include "Meet the Press," "Larry King Live," "The Charlie Rose Show," "Cross Fire," and "the O'Reilly Factor;" president, National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives

Contacts - 202-387-8775; garalper@ncesa
Web site - http://www.garalperovitz.com/; http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/alperovitz/

Part 4: Judicial Nominations

Trevor Parry-Giles - assistant professor of political communication, University of Maryland
Expertise: judicial nominations; presidential rhetoric, political strategy and advertising

Credentials - books include "The Character of Justice: Rhetoric, Law, and Politics in the Supreme Court Confirmation Process" (forthcoming), "Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality and Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics" (co-author); former political consultant and writer
Contact - 301-405-8947 (office); 301-495-8875 (home); tpg@umd.edu
Web site - www.wam.umd.edu/~tpg/index.html

Part 5: Economic Policies

Peter Morici - economist and professor of international business, University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Expertise - trade and international business economics; economic policy and macroeconomic forecasting

Credentials - former chief economist, U.S. International Trade Commission; has been a consultant to many large companies
Contact - 703-549-4338; email: pmorici@rhsmith.umd.edu
Web site - www.rhsmith.umd.edu/lbpp/pmorici.html