Marija Anna Bekafigo
Department of Political
Science, International Development and
International Affairs
University of Southern
Mississippi
118 College Drive
#5108
Hattiesburg, MS, 39406-0001
601.266.4310
Education
University of Florida
Ph.D.,
Political Science, 2009
Fields: American Politics, Political Behavior,
Methodology
Dissertation
Title: Party Leaders, Committee Chairs and the
Ebb and Flow of Actions in the U.S.
House of Representatives, 1949-1996
Supervisory
Committee: Lawrence C. Dodd (Chair), Richard S. Conley
(Co-Chair), Daniel A. Smith, Beth Rosenson, Elizabeth Dale (History)
University of Connecticut
M.A.,
Political Science, 2000
University of South Florida
B.A.,
Political Science, 1996
Current
Position
Assistant
Professor of Political Science, University of Southern Mississippi, 2008-
American Government
Political Parties
Legislative Process
Presidency
Additional
Education
Quality
Enhancement Program Faculty Development Seminar Fellowship, Finding a Voice: Improving Oral and Written
Competencies, Participation in 10 week seminar, University of Southern
Mississippi, Fall 2009 ($1500 award).
Program
Scholar, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Summer 2004. Time-Series.
Program
Scholar, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Summer 2002. Mathematics for
Social Scientists II, Mathematical Models: Game Theory, Regression Analysis II:
Linear Models.
Research
and Teaching Interests
U.S.
Congress
American
Political Parties and Interest Groups
American
Campaigns and Elections
American
Institutions
U.S.
Presidency
Research
Methods
Public
Law
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor, University of Southern Mississippi, Fall
2008-
Adjunct Instructor, University of Georgia,
American Government, Spring 2007
Adjunct Instructor, University of Georgia, Introduction
to Political Science, Fall 2006
Adjunct Instructor, University of Georgia, American
Political Parties, Spring 2006
Teaching
Assistant, University of Florida, State and Local Government, Spring 2004
Teaching
Assistant, University
of Florida, Cultural
Diversity, Fall 2003
Teaching
Assistant, University
of Florida, American
Federal Government, Fall 2002 and
Spring 2003
Northwestern
Middle School, Jacksonville, Florida, 7th grade teacher, 2001
Substitute
Teacher, Various Schools, 1994-1998 and 2000-2001
Publications
“‘No
Irish Need Apply’? Veto Players and Legislative Productivity in the Republic of
Ireland, 1949-2000” with Richard S. Conley. 2010. Comparative Political Studies 43:
91-118.
"Safe
Seat." 2006. In Encyclopedia of American Parties and Elections,
edited by H. R. Ernst and L. J. Sabato, Facts on File.
Book
Reviews
Edward
S. Greenberg and Benjamin I. Page, The
Struggle for Democracy. New York: Longman, 2007.
Conference
Presentations
“Party Leadership in the Age of Committees.” Presented at
the Midwest Political Science Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
April 2009.
“An Examination of Party Leaders’ and Committee Chairs’
“Actions” in the U.S. House, 1945-1996.”
Presented at the Midwest Political
Science Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago,
IL, April 2008.
"The Determinants of
Legislative Productivity: Parties, Coalitions, and 'Divided Government' in the US, France
and Ireland."
Presented at the American Political
Science Association, Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
PA, August 2006 (with Richard S.
Conley).
“Evoking the Word of God: The
Use of Religious Rhetoric in Congress During the Debates on Partial Birth
Abortion.” Presented at the American Political Science Association, Annual
Meeting, Washington, DC, September 2005 (with Matthew K. DeSantis).
“The
Ascension of Followers to Leaders in the U.S. Congress.” Presented at the American Political
Science Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago,
IL, September 2004.
“Political
Ideologies of Leaders and Followers in the U.S. Congress, 1966-1999.” Presented
at the Florida Political Science
Association, Annual Meeting, Gainesville,
FL, 2004.
Conference
Attendance
Taking Action
for Animals, Humane Society of the United States,
July 24-27 2009, Attended for Data
collection purposes
Working
Papers
“The
Determinants of Legislative Productivity: Parties, Coalitions, and 'Divided
Government' in the US, France and Ireland,” with Richard S. Conley.
“Party Leaders and Committee Chairs in Congress: A
Newspaper Analysis of Influence.”
Awards and
Honors
Summer
Research Assistantship Award, University of Florida, 2006
Summer
Research Assistantship Award, University of Florida, “Legislative Productivity
and Executive Leadership in Three Republics, France, Ireland and the United
States,” 2005
Grinter
Scholarship Award, University of Florida, 2003, 2004, and 2005
Summer
Advancement Grant, University of Florida, Department of Political Science, 2004
Nominated
for Best Graduate Student Paper, Department of Political Science, University of
Florida, 2004
Nominated
for Barbara Noreen Roth Memorial Award, Department of Political Science,
University of Florida, 2003
Travel
Grant, University of Florida, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2006 and
2008
Travel
Grant, University of Florida, Department of Political Science, 2004, 2005, 2006,
and 2008
Travel
Grant, ICPSR, 2002 and 2004
Nominated
for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences O. Ruth McQuown Scholarship,
University of Florida, 2002
Professional
Experience
Coordinator
for the First Annual Graduate Symposium on Methodological Pluralism in
Political Science, University of Florida, 2004-2005.
Graduate
Field Representative for American Government, University of Florida, 2004-2005.
Commission
on Presidential Debates, Volunteer Coordinator for Vice-Presidential Debates, University of South Florida, Under the supervision of
Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, 1996.
Professional Affiliations
American Political Science Association
Midwest Political Science Association
