Annual Conference

MIPSA’s annual conference normally takes place in October of each year on the campus of one of its member institutions.

The 2024 conference will take place October 17-18 on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. Information about the conference may be accessed through the links below. For questions not covered by the information presented here, please contact the organizer and host, Dr. Kevin Lorentz, kglorent@svsu.edu.

Located in the heart of the Great Lakes Bay Region, Saginaw Valley State University is a regional comprehensive university serving more than 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students in more than 100 academic programs. SVSU recently celebrated its 60th anniversary and is committed to empowering its students through a supportive and enriching environment. The Department of Political Science offers undergraduate degrees in political science and public administration, and also hosts the Master of Public Administration program.

Call for Proposals

We accept proposals from all subfields of political science, public administration, and public policy. Additionally, we also accept proposals from scholars in other disciplines whose work touches on power, politics, government, and/or public policy. We do not require printed papers at the MIPSA meeting, though they are welcome. Our emphasis is on carefully prepared oral presentations that can stand by themselves.

We especially encourage proposals from undergraduate and graduate students. MIPSA is a welcoming environment where early scholars are encouraged and supported. Graduate and undergraduate students should also consider submitting their finished papers for MIPSA’s paper prizes. For more information go to https://mipsanet.org/awards.

Proposals are due September 20, 2024.

Call for Proposals

Proposals are now closed. Acceptances were sent out on September 28, 2024.

Registration

Travel & Parking

Events will take place both days in Gilbertson Hall on SVSU’s main campus. (See #18 on map) The University’s formal address is 7400 Bay Road, University Center, MI 48710. Room information will be provided on site, but please enter at Gilbertson Hall’s main entrance (near the “Ott Auditorium” signage). Free parking is available in front of Gilbertson and Bachand Halls in Lots G2 and G3. (Please do not park in Lot G1, which is permit-only. Your vehicle will be ticketed!)

SVSU is located less than 15 minutes off I-75 or I-675. If traveling from southbound I-75, take exit 160 on to Bay Road/M-84. You will arrive at the main entrance to the campus (College Drive). Take a left at the junction of College Drive and University Drive, and you will arrive at Gilbertson Hall. If traveling northbound I-75, you can also take exit 160 or you can take I-675 (Exit 150) to Tittabawassee Road (Exit 6), turn left, and then turn right on Bay Road/M-84 and follow it north until you arrive at campus.

If you are staying in any of the conference hotels, they are a short drive to campus. From any of the hotels, take Cardinal Square Boulevard to Tittabawassee Road. Turn right onto Tittabawassee Road, and then turn right on Bay Road/M-84. Take Bay Road to College Drive, turning right. Make a left onto University Drive and you will arrive outside Gilbertson Hall.

Click here for an interactive campus map.

Keynote Speaker

2024 Keynote Address
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
Thursday, October 17th

5:00-6:15pm
6:30pm
7:00pm
8:00pm

Program

Full Conference Program

Schedule at a Glance

Thursday, October 17, 2024

5:30-6:15 pm 
Welcome Reception and Teaching and Research Poster Presentations
GS 202 Dining Room
CHECK IN - Atrium, Gilbertson Hall

6:30-8:00 pm 
Opening Banquet Dinner featuring Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel
GS 202 Dining Room

Friday, October 18, 2024

7:30-8:00 am
Coffee and Pastries, GS 202 Dining Room
CHECK IN - Atrium, Gilbertson Hall

8:00-9:15 am–Session 1
Roundtable: Civic Engagement and Institutional Priorities at Community Colleges, GS 213
Panel: International Politics 1-War, Democracy, and Protests, GS 215
Research Roundtable: Is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting Sustainable? Corporations and “Green Wishing” Toward Alleged Sustainability, GS 217
Panel: Global Miscellany, GS 219

9:30-10:45 am–Session 2
Roundtable: 2024 Supreme Court Roundup, GS 213
Panel: International Politics 2-Africa and Latin America, GS 215
Panel: Elections in the U.S., GS 217
Panel: Public Policy and Public Administration, GS 219

11:00 am-12:15 pm–Session 3
Research Roundtable: Gaza, GS 213
Panel: American Public Policy and Politics, GS 215
Panel: Law and Judicial Politics, GS 217
Panel: Politics of Asian and the Pacific, GS 219

12:30-2:30 pm–Lunch and Business Session
GS 202 Dining Room
Presentation of the MIPSA Founders Award 
The 2024 Election: A Discussion
MIPSA Business Meeting

2:30-3:45 pm–Session 4
Roundtable: Using the “F Word” (Facism), GS 213
Panel: Food Security in the U.S. and Italy, GS 215
Research Roundtable: Teaching and Learning of Political Science, GS 217
Panel: Polarization, Partisanship, and Changing American Politics, GS 219

Hotels

Accommodations are available at the following locations, with slightly differing rates. To book using the group rate, please use this reservation link (one link for all three locations; you’ll select which hotel you want to book on the landing page).

The group rate is good through September 21, 2024; please be sure to book ahead of time!

SpringHill Suites Saginaw
5270 Cardinal Square Boulevard, Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 792-2800
$102+tax per night

TownePlace Suites Saginaw
5368 Cardinal Square Boulevard, Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 792-2200
$102+tax per night

Residence Inn Saginaw
5230 Cardinal Square Boulevard, Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 799-9000
$112+tax per night