Lena M. Surzhko - Harned Assistant Professor of Political Science, Mercyhurst College Mercyhurst College Model UN Team Advisor 501 East 38th Street Department of Political Science Mercyhurst College Erie PA 16546 Telephone: 814.450.7703 Email: osurzhkoharned@mercyhurst.edu Education: Ph. D. Candidate (ABD), Department of Political Science University of Pittsburgh Focus: Comparative Politics, Russia/Eastern Europe. Political Behavior Normative Political Theory. Dissertation Title: The Ukrainian Voter: Cleavage-based Voting in a new Democracy Dissertation Committee: Prof. Steven Finkel, University of Pittsburgh (Dissertation Chair) Prof. Jonathan Hurwitz, University of Pittsburgh Prof. Jonathan Harris, University of Pittsburgh Prof. William Mishler, University of Arizona Research Interest: Political Behavior: Voting behavior in new democracies of the post-soviet space, particularly Ukraine and Russia. The behavior patterns of ethnic populations within Ukraine. Social cleavages within Ukraine and their influence on development of party structures and voting preferences of Ukrainians. Political Theory: The democratic theory. Theory of democratization. Issues of nationalism. Interaction of nationalist upheavals with democratization processes. Master of Arts in Comparative Political Science (Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe) University of Pittsburgh. January 2006. Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (summa cum laude) from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Graduation May 2003. Major: Political Science Focus: International Relations/Comparative Government. Political Theory. Minor: Philosophy
Awards & Grants: Faculty Guided Research Grant. Mercyhurst College. Winter and Spring 2011 Faculty Guided Research Grant. Mercyhurst College. Winter and Spring 2010 Summer Research Fellowship. Department of Political Science University of Pittsburgh, Summer 2009 Travel Grant from the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, University of Pittsburgh, Spring 2009 Graduate Student Assistant to the Director of the Center for European Studies and European Union Center of Excellence, Fall 2006 Summer 2008 Travel/ Research Grant from the Center of Russian and East European Studies, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Spring 2007, Spring 2008 Graduate Student Assistant, Center for West European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence, Spring 2006 Certificate Student at the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Fall 2004- present Walter Hetrick Memorial Award in Political Science, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. 2003 The Provost s Award for International Education, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, 2003 University Honors Program Diploma from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania 2003 Summa Cum Laude in Political Science from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania 2003 Most Authentic Delegation Award of Eighteenth Annual Model NATO Conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by Howard University and Kent State University, February 2003 Kevin Maloney Scholarship 2002-2003 Academic year Edinboro USI Presidential Scholarship 2002-2003 Academic year Internship at Erie County Executive s Office. September 2001-December 2001
Professional Activities/ Involvement: Discussant on the panel entitled Politics in the European Union, at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, January 6-8, 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana. Chair and Discussant on the panel entitled European Parties, at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, January 6-8, 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana. Chair and Discussant on the panel entitled Activism and Participation in the Former East Bloc, at the 68 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 22-25, 2010. Discussant on the panel entitled Thinking about the Big Picture: Public Opinion towards Democracy and Authoritarianism in Post-Communist Countries, at the 67 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 2-5, 2009. Discussant on the panel entitled Parties and Elections in Central and Eastern Europe, at the 67 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 2-5, 2009. Member of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism, 2009 present. Part-time Faculty, Political Science Department, Russian and Eastern European Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Fall semester 2008. Member of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies formerly American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 2008 -- present Member of the organizational committee of the Third Annual Graduate conference on European Union sponsored by the European Studies Center and European Union Center of Excellence, The Future of the EU: Addressing the Challenges of Governance, Globalization and Multiculturalism. University of Pittsburgh. March 1, 2008. Member of the Graduate Organization for Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA), University of Pittsburgh 2007-2008. Chair of the panel entitled "Aesthetics, Art, and Politics," at the 79 th Annual Conference of Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 10-14, 2008 Chair of the panel entitled "Political Development in Eastern Europe," at the 79 th Annual Conference of Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 10-14, 2008
Chair and Discussant at the Panel IDENTITY AND CONFLICT: NEW COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE, at the 65 th Annual Conference of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 12-15, 2007. Vice-President of the Graduate Organization for Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA), University of Pittsburgh 2006-2007. Responsible for organization of Russian and Eastern European Studies 4 th Annual Graduate Student Conference Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia Defining Ourselves and Being Defined: Globalization, Regionalism and Multiculturalism, University of Pittsburgh, February 23-25, 2007 Member of the American Political Science Association, 2006-presetn Member of the Midwest Political Science Association, 2006-present Member of the Southern Political Science Association, 2006-present Member of the organizational committee of the Second Annual Graduate conference on European Union, European Union Center of Excellence, The Challenge for Europe: Governance, Economics and Multiculturalism, University of Pittsburgh. October 21, 2006. Member of the organizational committee of the First Annual Graduate conference on European Union, European Union Center of Excellence, The Challenge for Europe: Governance, Economics and Multiculturalism, University of Pittsburgh, March 25 th, 2006. Member of the organizational committee of the First Annual Model NATO conference. Center for Western European Studies/ European Union Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh. 2005-2006. Head Delegate of the Edinboro University team to 18th Annual Model NATO Conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by Howard University and Kent State University, February 2003 Vice President of the Edinboro Political Awareness Club (EPAC) 2003 Member of the University Honor Program at Edinboro University of PA, and member of the Honor Students Council 2000 2003 Chair of the Activities/Events Committee and Founding Member of Edinboro Political Awareness Club (EPAC) 2002 Edinboro University Representative at the NATO simulation in Washington D.C. sponsored by Howard University and Kent State University, February 2002
Papers Delivered: To Tweet or Not to Tweet: A Comparative analysis of Twitter adoption in the US Congress and the European Parliament. With Rolfe Peterson. Paper delivered at the 2011 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, September 1-4, 2011 (forthcoming) The Effects of Economic and Political Transitions on Value Systems in Europe: Analysis of Generational Differences with Ekaterina Turkina, Paper presented at the Twelfth Biannual International Meeting of the European Union Studies Association, Boston, Massachusetts, March 3-5, 2011 From Soviet Super Woman to an Independent Woman : Gender and Political Behavior in Ukraine. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 6-8, 2011 "Has Aid for Trade Increased Recipient Exports? The Impact of U.S. AfT Allocations 1999-2008" with David H. Bearce, Steven E. Finkel, Aníbal Pérez Liñán, and Juan Rodriquez-Zepeda. Paper delivered on the paper entitled Political Economy of Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Allocation at the 2010 meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington DC, September 2-5, 2010 "Political (Non) Preferences? : Ukrainian women and gender politics" Paper delivered on the panel entitled "Postcommunist Voters" at the 68 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 22-25, 2010 "Class Politics in a Post-classless Society: the Case of Ukrainian Voter" Paper delivered on the panel entitled "Party, Class, and Ideology as Political Cleavages" at the 68 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 22-25, 2010 A Generation Apart: How the Post-Communist Transition Shaped Post-Soviet Values. With Ekaterina Turkina. Paper delivered on the panel entitled Current Economic and Social Transitions in Russia at the 33rd annual Mid-Atlantic Slavic Conference, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, March 20, 2010 Magic Potion or Molotov s Cocktail? Democratic Development, Economic Growth, and Ethnic Heterogeneity, Paper delivered on the panel entitled Social Heterogeneity and Democratic Development at the 67 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 2-5, 2009. Comrades to Voters: Class cleavages and voting preferences in Ukraine, Paper Delivered at 66 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 3-6, 2008 Liberal Nationalism, Nationalist Liberalization, and Democracy: Cases of post- Soviet Estonia and Ukraine, Paper delivered at the meeting of the Comparative Politics Reading Group, Department of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh, March 31, 2008
Beyond Fraternal Rivalry : Social Cleavages and voting Behavior in Ukraine, Paper Presented as part of speaker series sponsored by the Russian and Eastern European Studies Center, University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh. February 6 th, 2008. Beyond Fraternal Rivalry : Social Cleavages and Party Preferences in Ukraine, Paper Presented on the Panel Political Development in Eastern Europe at the 79 th Annual Conference of Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 10-14, 2008 Can Nationalism benefit Democratization: Cases of Estonia and Ukraine, Paper Presented on the Panel REASSESSING THE PROGRESS OF NATIONALISM: A SECOND LOOK AT ETHNIC IDENTITIES at the 65 th Annual Conference of Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois, April 12-15, 2007. Nationalism and Democratization, Paper Presented as part of the panel Nations and their relations: issues in contemporary political theory at 78-th Annual Conference of Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 3-7, 2007 Research Experience: Faculty Principal Investigator. Faculty Guided Research Grant. To Tweet or Not to Tweet: A Comparative analysis of Twitter adoption in the US Congress and the European Parliament. Mercyhurst College. Winter and Spring 2011 Faculty Principal Investigator. Faculty Guided Research Grant. A Generation Apart: How the Post-Communist Transition Shaped Post-Soviet Values. Mercyhurst College. Winter and Spring 2010 Research Assistant. Trade Capacity Evaluation. Project in cooperation with Management Systems International Inc. on request of USAID. University of Pittsburgh. February August 2009. Graduate Student Assistant to the Director of the Center for European Studies and European Union Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Fall 2006 Summer 2008. Data Coder (text and video coding), Qualitative Data Analysis Program (QDAP) at the University of Pittsburgh s University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR), University of Pittsburgh, Summer 2006 Graduate Student Assistant, Center for West European Studies and European Union Center of Excellence, University of Pittsburgh, Spring, 2006 Research Assistant. Edinboro University of Pennsylvania on research grant from the Center of Rural Pennsylvania, Integration of Rural Transportation Services. January 2002- January 2003
Teaching Experience: Instructor: Mercyhurst College Fall 2009 present PS 214 Comparative Democratization (Seminar) PS 212 Comparative Political Behavior (Seminar) PS 214 Global Inequality and Justice (Seminar) PS 212 Nations and Nationalism (Seminar) PS 336 Diplomacy and International Organizations PS 242 Global Balkans PS 242 European Politics PS 302 Russian Politics PS 436 World Politics University of Pittsburgh Fall 2008 PS 1504/HIST1046 Nations and Nationalism Teaching Assistant: PS 1317 Politics of the European Union Undergraduate Course, Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008 PS 2310 Politics of the European Union Graduate Course, Fall 2006, Fall 2007. Guest Lectures: Development of the Human Rights Regime, March 2, 2010, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania European Union Enlargement Process and Implications, April 15, 2008, University of Pittsburgh Poland s historical role in European Union, January 31, 2008, University of Pittsburgh European Union Enlargement, April 13, 2006, University of Pittsburgh
Publications: A Generation Apart: How the Post-Communist Transition Shaped Post-Soviet Values. With Ekaterina Turkina. Communist and Post-Communist Studies. Under Review "Has Aid for Trade Increased Recipient Exports? The Impact of U.S. AfT Allocations 1999-2008" with David H. Bearce, Steven E. Finkel, Aníbal Pérez Liñán, and Juan Rodriquez-Zepeda. Conference paper published by the Social Science Research Network. Liberal Nationalism, Nationalist Liberalization, and Democracy: Cases of post- Soviet Estonia and Ukraine Nationalities Papers Vol. 38, No. 5 (September 2010), 623-646. Interviews with Hope: Victims of human traffickers tell their stories. (Интервью с Надеждой). Book dealing with issues of human trafficking in post-soviet Countries. (Linguistics Editor) Blank-Press, Kiev, Ukraine. 2006 Community Involvement: AFS Intercultural Programs, Western Pennsylvania Area Team Volunteer 2004- present Sponsored Programs Cluster Coordinator 2007-2010 Congress-Bundestag Scholarship Selection Committee Member February 2005, February 2006, February 2008. Student Family Liaison 2005-2006, 2009-2010 Languages: Fluent in Russian, Ukrainian and English. References: Available upon request