The Western Political Science Association will host its 2019 annual meeting at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel in San Diego, California. Please make plans to attend and encourage others to join us!

The theme for this year's conference is The Politics of Climate Change. For details on the theme, the Call for Papers can be found here. The DEADLINE for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms will be September 21, 2018.

Opportunities for Workshops, Mini-Conferences, and Special Events

The annual meeting not only presents an opportunity for traditional research presentations and panels, but also a place for interested groups to schedule special events and workshops. On the Wednesday right before the conference begins, there may be some space available to accommodate groups who wish to hold workshops or offer short courses. In addition, if you are part of research community that is interested in holding a meeting in the spring, we may be able to accommodate your group by coordinating a mini-conference within the conference. The association does not charge for providing the space and support for these mini-conference, though the attendees are required to register for the WPSA meeting. There is also the opportunity to host receptions, business meetings, and special events. For information about these opportunities, please contact Richard Clucas, WPSA Executive Director, at hprc@pdx.edu.

WPSA Anti-Harassment Policy

The Western Political Science Association was created for the purposes of promoting the study and teaching of government and politics, to foster research, and to facilitate the discussion of public affairs. The Association promotes these purposes in the spirit of free inquiry and free expression. The primary event in which WPSA members gather is at the Association's annual conference. Harassment of colleagues, students, or other participants at the conference, or at any other WPSA-sponsored event or forum, undermines the principle of equity at the heart of the Association's principles and is inconsistent with the principles of free inquiry and free expression. Consequently, harassment is considered by the WPSA to be a serious form of professional misconduct. The WPSA is committed to providing a safe and welcoming conference environment for all participants, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, or religion. To live up to that commitment, the WPSA Executive Council adopted an Anti-Harassment Policy last year. The complete Anti-Harassment Policy can be found in this year's program.

WPSA STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM

There is no principle more central to our work as intellectuals than academic freedom. Academic freedom protects the integrity of our classroom and the integrity of our laboratories. It exists, not to protect our ability to speak popular opinions, but to protect our ability to offer unpopular opinions, to swim against the stream, to challenge existing orthodoxies and received knowledge.

Drexel University's decision to place Professor Ciccariello-Maher on administrative leave, ostensibly in response to threats of violence against him for controversial remarks he made about the mass shooting in Las Vegas, comes at the expense of academic freedom. The Western Political Science Association stands firmly behind Professor Ciccariello-Maher's freedom to communicate and express ideas, both in public forums and classrooms. We are alarmed that Drexel restricted a professor from promoting inquiry, communicating knowledge, and exchanging ideas in the classroom. We are also greatly concerned that Drexel's actions might have a chilling effect on academic freedom by discouraging other academics from engaging audiences outside the university. Although threats to Professor Ciccariello-Maher and his campus community must be taken seriously and those making them held responsible, we are adamantly opposed to Drexel's actions becoming a common response to similar circumstances.