Place of Birth

Rostock, Former East Germany

Education

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (2000)

Received Ph.D. from the Department of Politics in May, 2000

Dissertation: Communities of Trust: Social Capital and Public Action in Comparative Perspective

Dissertation Committee: Nancy Bermeo, Larry Bartels, Ezra Suleiman and Sheri Berman

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Summers 1996 & 1997)

Summer Program in Quantitative Methods for Social Scientists

Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA (1993)

Completed M.A. Program in International Studies with emphasis on International Political Economy. M.A. received in May 1993. Master's Committee: Jacek Kugler and Russell Dalton

Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1991)

Completed John S. Knight Fellowship for professional journalists. Program emphasized American and European history and politics, documentary production

Association of Journalists of the GDR, Rostock, GDR (1987)

Completed professional education and specialization in journalism with a focus on local and national politics

Awards and Fellowships

2008-2009

Award for the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by the Political Science Student Association, McGill

2004 Guest Professor

Invited to teach the Ph.D. Summer Course on Social Capital for the Oslo Summer School in Social Science Research. See http://www.sv.uio.no/oss/Museum/2004/

2004 Associate Directorship

Was named Associate Director of the Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy: Survey, Project at the Center for Democracy and Civil Society at Georgetown University

2003

Recipient, Best Paper on European Politics award, selected by the APSA Organized Section on European Politics and Society (with Bo Rothstein)

2002/2003 Guest Professor

Wissenschaftszentrum für Sozialforschung Berlin. Was named Karl W. Deutsch Gastprofessorin

1998 - 2002 Best Paper Nominations

Was nominated three times for Best Paper awards at the APSA and ECPR conferences

1998/1999 Recipient

Dissertation Grant, The Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector Research Fund

1996 - 1998 Fellow

Woodrow Wilson Society, Princeton University

1995 - 1997 Recipient

Research Grants for field research from the Princeton Center of International Studies, Center of European Studies, Council of Regional Studies and the MacArthur Foundation

1996 Recipient

Summer Stipend for the Humanities and Social Sciences, Graduate School, Princeton University

1993 - 1996 Fellow

1991 - 1993 Fellow

Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, Bonn, Germany. Received stipend and half of the tuition for the participation in the graduate program at the Claremont Graduate University.

1990/1991 Recipient

German Marshall Fund fellowship

Fellow

John S. Knight Foundation, in a program for professional journalists, Stanford University

Administrative Tasks

2013-present

Director of the Inter-University Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship

2013-2014

Committee Member for the Evaluation of Insight Development Grants, Social Science Research Council of Canada

2013

Dean’s Representative for the Search Committee for the chair of the Dept of Sociology Faculty of Arts, McGill University

2012-14

Member of the Board of Directors at the Canadian Political Science Association

2012-13

Axis leader and Organizer of the Speaker Series of the Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship

2009-2013

Co-Director of the EU Centre of Excellence of McGill University and Université de Montréal

Member of the Sustainability Committee at the Dept. of Political Science, McGill University

2012-13

Member of an informal methods committee at the Department of Political Science to help build a PhD field in Methods

2012-13

Representative of the Field Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science, McGill University

2012

Co-organizer of the Political Behavior section at the Canadian Political Science Association Meeting, Edmonton

2011-12

Member of the Joint Arts and Law search committee for the Pearson Chair, Faculty of Arts, McGill University

2010-12

Member of the University-Tenure-Committee (UTC) in Science, McGill University

2010-12

Joint Honours Advisor at the Department of Political Science, McGill University

2009-10

Member of the Sustainability Committee at the Department of Political Science, McGill University

2009-10

Member of the Space Committee of the Faculty of Arts, McGill University

2008-09

Member of Thesis Committee Faculty of Arts, McGill University

2008-2009

Member of Search Committee for one Assistant Professor Position in International Political Economy, Department of Political Science, McGill University

2008-2010

Representative of the Field Comparative Politics in the Department of Political Science, McGill University. Tasks include administration of PhD exams in the subfield, coordination of courses offered, student advising on subfield issues.

2005-2006

Speaker Series Coordinator for the Department of Political Science, McGill

2005

Head of the Comparative Politics (Industrialized) section at the Canadian Political Science Association Meeting in 2005. CPSA

2004-2005

Member in the Committee to Enhance Arts Education (Director: Prof. Myron Frankman, attended regular meetings, helped organize Forum on Learning).

2004

Member of Search Committee for three Assistant Professor Positions in Comparative Politics/IPE, Dpt. of Political Science, McGill

2003-2004

Member of the Dissertation Award Committee at the American Political Science Association Section European Politics and Society, APSA, USA.

Outreach Coordinator, Dpt. of Political Science, McGill

2003-2006

Member of the Advisory Board on the Citizenship, Involvement and Democracy Survey Project, Georgetown University, USA

2002-2006

Outreach Coordinator, Dpt. of Political Science, McGill. Designed poster to announce Departmental MA and PhD stipends, designed an IR-subfield information sheet and called faculty members in Canada, US and Europe about our faculty positions.

McGill Representative of the European Political Consortium

2002-2003

Graduate Admission Committee, Dpt. of Political Science, McGill

Method Committee, Department of Political Science, McGill

Member of Search Committee for two Assistant Professor Positions in Comparative Politics, McGill

2001-2003

Graduate Admission Committee, Department of Political Science, McGill

2000-2001

Member of Search Committee for Assistant Professor Position in Comparative Politics, Dpt. of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

Graduate Student Grant Committee, Dpt. of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

Students and Training

Over the last years, I have trained and worked with over 45 undergraduate and graduate students as research assistants. Several of them worked as independent researchers and led parts of a research team. All of them learned various research and methodological skills and found out about the details of an entire research process. Many students moved on to professorships, postdocs, graduate school, professional training or exciting jobs. Several students are co-authors of academic articles, data sets, or questionnaires.

Ph.D. Supervision Completed

Allison Harell (McGill): “The Micro-Story of Multiculturalism-Diverse Social Networks and the Socialization of Tolerance,” defense March 2008. Dissertation received the Joseph and Sandra Rotman Prize in Canadian Politics. Hired as postdoc at the Canadian Opinion Research Archive at Queens/McGill University.

Ph.D. Co-Supervision/Committee Membership Completed

Jasmine Lorenzini (University of Geneva): "Unemployment and Citizenship: Social and Political Participation of Unemployed Youth in Geneva," defended in May 2013.
Melanee Thomas (McGill): "Gender and Psychological Orientations to Politics." Defended 2011, now Assistant Professor at University of Calgary.
Mary Malone (Pittsburgh): “Respect for the Law in Latin America.” Defended June 2004, now Assistant Professor at University of New Hampshire.

Lucio Renno (Pittsburgh):“Information and Voting: Micro-foundations of Accountability in Complex Electoral Environments.” Defended July 2004, now Professor of Political Science at the University of Brasilia.

Stephanie McLean

(Pittsburgh):“The Impact of Procedural Justice on Electoral Legitimacy.” Defended August 2006.

Tim Reeskens (KU Leuven):“Ethnic Diversity, Trust and Immigration Policy.” Defended December 2009. Now a Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leuven.

Ellen Claes (KU Leuven): “The Role of Civic Education for Political Engagement of Adolescents.” Defended May 2010.

Current PhD Supervision

Valerie-Anne Maheo

(McGill)

Denver McNeney

(McGill)

Current Ph.D. Co-Supervision/Committee Membership

Chris Chhim

(McGill)

MA Supervision Completed

Bethany Or

(Research Paper 2009): “Parlez vous anglais? Language, immigration and work in Quebec.”

Angela Kostenko

(Research Paper 2009): “Examining the Effects of the Internet on Youth Electoral Participation in the United States.”

Ayanna Roberts

(Thesis, McGill, 2006)): “Protesting the Polls: How postmaterialism affects political participation in young people.”

Natalia Lis

(Research Paper, McGill, 2005): “Sources of political participation: the effects of religion in Eastern Europe.”

Sarah Freund

(Thesis, McGill, 2005): “Social Capital and State Repression in Nigeria.”

Sarah Houde

(Research Paper, McGill, 2005): “When social marginalization means political isolation: the impact of extreme inequality on the quality of democracy in Botswana.”

Shadia El Dardiry

(Thesis, McGill, 2010): “Investigating Perspectives on Integration by Second Generation North African French and Native French Citizens.”

Honour’s Thesis Completed

Joslyn Trowbridge

(Thesis, McGill, 2004): “Looking in the Wrong Place: Revisiting the Gender Gap in Canadian Politics” (Women’s Studies/Political Science).

Marc Trussler

(Thesis, McGill, 2010): “Online Political Media and Opinion Extremity.”

Current MA Thesis or MA Paper Advisor

Anna Laurence

(Research Paper, McGill, 2011): "Net Gains?: An Inquiry into the Scope of Internet Affects on Political Participation"

Jean-Simon Farrah

(Thesis, McGill, 2010): "Perceptions of Old Age in Comparative Perspective: Does the Welfare State Matter?"

Volker Derek

(Thesis, McGill, 2011): "Constituency representation in parliamentary systems: An examination of evidence in the legislative assembly of Alberta"

Further Service for the Academic Community

Reviewer or referee for journals

Reviewer or referee for publishers

Reviewer or referee for foundations

Other Professional Experience

1992/1991 (summer jobs) Radio NDR, Rostock, Germany

Worked as a radio journalist. Reported mainly on East / West unification problems as well as on the democratization process in the new Länder

1991 (summer job) Die Welt, Hamburgh, Germany

Intern. Worked as a newspaper journalist in the old Länder

1991 TV Channel 2, Oakland, CA

Intern. Observed and participated in journalistic work at a local TV station

1986 - 1990 Radio Rostock "Die Ferienwelle," Rostock, Germany

Full-time position. Worked as a radio-journalist, editor and announcer. Investigated the role of the state secret police, and reported about the first free elections in East Germany. Developed own radio show

Further Training

2001 - 2004 Education Canada and McGill

French language classes

2003 The Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics

Class on hierarchical models and HLM

2001 University of Michigan: Institute of Survey Research

Class on Multi-level Modeling, Class on Non-response Issues

Languages

Fluent in German (native) and English; good knowledge of Swedish; Danish (reading); Norwegian (reading); French (intermediate); some knowledge of Russian (10 years in school) and Bulgarian.

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