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I was also blessed to have several wonderful teachers growing up, but two were particularly important for my development; Gary Anderson and Geoffrey Kovacik. Mr. Anderson was my seventh-grade American history teacher. Mr. Anderson made the subject matter come alive. But it was more than his entertaining and informative classes that meant so much to me; it was his professional example that later made me decide that I too wanted to pursue a career in education. Mr. Kovacik was my eleventh-grade AP American history teacher. Simply put, Mr. Kovacik expected excellence from his students. As a result, I had to work harder in his course than I did in many of my undergraduate courses. In many ways, his course made my transition to college much smoother than that of many of my colleagues.
After graduating from high school, I attended Muskingum University. Once again there are many people to acknowledge from my four years there, but with limited space, I would like to recognize Brian King, Walter Huber, and Anne Steele. Dr. King was my advisor and mentor. It was also in one of his lectures during my sophomore year that for the first time I heard that graduate schools offered assistantships. I had envisioned myself as a high school teacher who would one day go back to school when I could afford it and become a college professor later in life. After class I immediately went to Dr. King’s office, where he explained the graduate school process, and from that day forward I was determined to enroll in graduate school immediately after graduating from Muskingum, so that I could begin my career as a professor as soon as possible. Dr. Huber was particularly influential because of his leadership within the political science department, and it was Dr. Huber who encouraged me to consider attending Miami University. I will forever be grateful for that advice. Lastly, Dr. Steele, the college president, encouraged all students to become leaders; but more influential than her encouragement was her willingness to follow through and make this happen.
At Miami, in addition to my coauthor, there are four individuals who deserve special recognition: John Rothgeb, Phil Russo, Gus Jones, and Betsy Burger. Shortly before I arrived, Dr. Rothgeb established a