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In 1904, Edmund J. James inherited the leadership of an educational institution in search of an identity. His sixteen-year tenure transformed the University of Illinois from an industrial college to a major state university that fulfilled his vision of a center for scientific investigation.

Winton U. Solberg and J. David Hoeveler provide an account of a pivotal time in the university’s evolution. A gifted intellectual and dedicated academic reformer, James began his tenure facing budget battles and antagonists on the Board of Trustees. But as time passed, he successfully campaigned to address the problems faced by women students, expand graduate programs, solidify finances, create a university press, reshape the library and faculty, and unify the colleges of liberal arts and sciences. Combining narrative force with exhaustive research, the authors illuminate the political milieu and personalities around James to draw a vivid portrait of his life and times.

The authoritative conclusion to a four-part history, Edmund J. James and the Making of the Modern University of Illinois, 1904–1920 tells the story of one man’s mission to create a university worthy of the state of Illinois.

The image of a prison with a revolving door helped George Bush win the presidency in 1988, but did negative advertising damage the electoral process itself? Why did campaign ’88 represent an all-time low in the minds of many voters? These are some of the questions that impel this thought-provoking analysis of the 1988 presidential election, sponsored by the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation.

Using extensive empirical studies of the candidates, the media, and the voters, Bruce Buchanan, executive director of the Markle Commission on the Media and the Electorate, traces the roots of popular dissatisfaction with the 1988 election. Buchanan argues that the campaign drifted too far from popular ideals of how democratic processes ought to work—that the substitution of negative advertising and quickie “sound bites” for reasoned debate on national problems and issues alienated much of the electorate, causing the lowest voter turnout in sixty-four years.

Negative campaigning, however, cannot bear the full blame for the 1988 election. While the Markle Commission offers specific recommendations for improvements in candidate and media performance, the great need, says Buchanan, is for voters to reclaim the electoral process, to insist that candidates and the media give enough information about positions and programs for voters to make informed choices. Voters need to be educated out of the idea that democratic elections and representative government can somehow occur without the participation of ordinary citizens.

At a time when the American democratic process is being used as a model by newly independent nations around the world, it is particularly appropriate to ask how well it works at home. Electing a President does just that.

What role does gender play as women pursue government positions, gain office, and govern countries in Central and Eastern Europe? In Empowering Women Executives, Farida Jalalzai and Meg Rincker examine women’s paths to and influence at the executive level, focusing specifically on Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, and Romania.

The authors interview President Kersti Kaljulaid of Estonia, Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor of Croatia, Prime Minister Iveta Radičová of Slovakia, and Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă of Romania as well as dozens of political experts and insiders to provide an in-depth look at female executives’ power in office. The authors also show the impact these leaders had in a region where traditional gender roles expanded only after the fall of Communism.

Each case study describes the historical context in which a woman emerges as a candidate, her ability to shape legislation, and how the media portrays her gender in analyzing her leadership. The authors also consider how gender influences a female executive’s leadership style or policy priorities—from appointing women to government positions and support for policies benefitting women to being a role model.
Empowering Women Executives illuminates women’s political inclusion in an area of the world where women have gained significant political agency.