UCLA Political Science Department Commencement 2010 - Brian Cornell

The 2010 commencement speech by Brian Cornell is now available on YouTube. Click here to view the commencement video.

Hans H. Baerwald, UCLA professor emeritus and an internationally known scholar of Japanese politics, died at his home in Pope Valley, California, June 2, 2010.

Hans H. Baerwald
1927 - 2010

Born in Tokyo to a German businessman and his wife on June 18, 1927, Baerwald began a lifelong connection with Japan. During his childhood, he learned by hearing and became fluent in both Japanese and German and, as a result of several years in the American School in Japan, he added English. In 1938, with World War II impending, his mother enrolled Hans and his sister, Ann, in Swiss schools, where they became fluent in French.

In 1940 the family immigrated to Berkeley, California, where Baerwald attended Berkeley High School and subsequently the University of California at Berkeley. During this time he ushered for the San Francisco Opera, where his love of music was nurtured, and became an ardent fan of the Cal Bears, an enthusiasm that continued throughout his life.

To read more about his life click here

Congressman Brad Sherman Scholarship Awarded

The Congressman Brad Sherman Scholarship Award for Undergraduates has been awarded. Congratulations to Jenna Chilingerian, RoseAnita Hernandez, Matthew Margolis, Nikhil Sharma and Jason Tengco.

We would like to thank the committee members, Sue Pfeiffer, Lane Sherman, Kathy Escobedo and Jim Bondurant, for their hard work in reading all of the essays we received and assisting in the decision on the five awardees.  We would also like to thank Mrs. Lane Sherman for her continued support in making it possible to celebrate the achievements of our students.  Continued here.

Activist and political science major to serve as student speaker at UCLA commencement

A political science major who is a nationwide leader in the movement to pass the federal Dream Act has been selected as the student speaker for the UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony in June.

Flavia de la Fuente, a 22-year-old native of Irvine, Calif., will deliver her remarks on Friday, June 11, at 5 p.m. in Drake Stadium on the Westwood campus. Approximately 3,400 students will receive bachelor's degrees at the ceremony.

"I feel great about being selected," de la Fuente said. '"I hope to do the position justice."

De la Fuente was selected from a pool of 30 applicants by a 10-person panel of staff, faculty and students.

"We knew that Flavia would challenge the 2010 graduating class in a powerfully positive way so that they would want to emulate her experiences and take her speech to inspire their future endeavors," said Joseph Brown, a UCLA staffer and a member of the selection committee.

Welcome to UCLA Political Science Department

In 2009 the Department of Political Science celebrates eighty-nine years of teaching, research and public service within one of the nation's finest universities. Instruction in Political Science began on September 14, 1920 with a staff of one assistant professor, Dr. Charles E. Martin, offering three year-long courses (Comparative Government, U.S. Foreign Policy, and International Law).

Today the department is among the best in the country. The most recent ranking by the highly respected National Research Council ranks us nationally in the top ten. Among the department's many strengths, we have gained notable distinction in political economy, comparative politics including the politics of developing nations, and political theory. Click Here to see more...