The focus of the Center for the Study of Government and Politics is citizen education, with a goal of encouraging greater student interest and participation in government and politics.
The Center is governed by a collaborative Board comprised of members of the Department of Political Science, the Political Science Society and the Siena Research Institute (SRI), our nationally recognized public opinion research center.
The Center serves as a resource of information, a facilitator for promoting ideas and examining government, a catalyst for student directed and generated research on government issues, and a disseminator of program outcomes through presentation of journal articles, news releases, interviews, seminars, conferences and workshops.
Our History
The Center was established in 2009 as part of the Academic Excellence initiative and has had much success in engaging students with civic literacy.
In our pilot year, the Center hosted former state Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Hon. H. Carl McCall; it convened a series of panel discussions with state and local politicians on electoral politics; and it sponsored the First Woman President Symposium.
In 2005, the Center sponsored a panel discussion on the USA PATRIOT ACT in celebration of Constitution Day; cosponsored the Congress to Campus program in the Fall semester; sponsored Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Tanya Melich; and organized the First Woman President Symposium, Phase II, the Campaign.
In Fall 2006, the Center sponsored a presentation by Professor Paul Finkelman of the Albany Law School in celebration of Constitution Day. The topic of the presentation was "Making a Covenant with Death: Understanding the Pro-Slavery Constitution." In the spring 2007 semester, the Center organized the "Road to the White House Colloquium" with Professor Stephen Wayne from Georgetown University as the main speaker.