cv - udisommer

Udi Sommer, Lecturer (Assistant Professor)

Political Science Department

Tel Aviv University

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Personal

· Date and Place of Birth: December 28, 1974; Jerusalem, Israel

· Nationality: Israeli

· Personal Status: Married, three children (7.5 years; 4.5 years; 1 year)

Academic Positions

· Tel Aviv University, Department of Political Science
Assistant Professor (tenure track), Fall 2010 -

· University at Albany: State University of New York, Department of Political Science
Assistant Professor (tenure track), Fall 2007 – Spring 2010

Education

· Stony Brook University: SUNY, Ph.D. in Political Science, August 2007
Exams: Political Methodology, American Politics, Political Economy
Dissertation: “A Supreme Discretion and A Passivity Conundrum: Strategic Agenda Setting in the US Supreme Court.”
Committee: Jeff Segal (adviser), Stanley Feldman, Scott Basinger and Jeff Lax (Columbia)

· Tel Aviv University, M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, 2002
MA Thesis: ”What Leads to Aggression? The Development of a Predictive Model”
Michael Rosenbaum (adviser)

· Hebrew University, Amirim Program for Outstanding Students, 1999

· Hebrew University, B.A. in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, 1999

Scholarships, Honors and Awards

· Marie Curie Grant, the European Research Council, 2011-2014, (€100,000)

· Martin Edelman Award for Outstanding Teaching, University at Albany, 2010 ($500)

· University at Albany: SUNY Research Awards Program, 2008-2009 ($9,637)

· NSF Doctoral Dissertation Grant, 2007-2008 ($11,900)

· Fulbright Grant for Doctoral Students, 2003-2005 ($25,000)

· Stony Brook Foundation, Summer Research Grant, 2004 ($5,000)

· Fulbright Professional Enhancement Grant, 2004

· Full tuition scholarship, Stony Brook University, 2003-07 ($40,000)

· Financial aid Fellowship, Stony Brook University, 2003-07 ($48,000)

· Full tuition scholarship, Hebrew University, 1996-99 ($14,000)

· Financial aid Fellowship, Hebrew University, 1996-99 ($3,000)

· Dean’s List, Hebrew University, 1996, 1997, 1998.

· The ‘Payis’ Award for Young Artists, 2002 ($1,500)

Publications (peer reviewed journals)

· “Crusades Against Corruption and Institutionally Induced Strategies in the Israeli Supreme Court” Israel Affairs 15(3), 2009

· “Extreme Dissensus: Why Plurality Opinions Happen on the US Supreme Court” Justice System Journal 31(2), 2010

· “A Strategic Court and National Security: Comparative Lessons from the Israeli Case.” Israel Studies Forum 25(2), 2010

· “Beyond Defensive Denials: Evidence from the Blackmun Files for a Broader Scope of Strategic Certiorari.” Justice System Journal 31(3), 2010

· “Original Sin: A Cross National Study of the Legality of Homosexual Acts”. 2011. Comparative Political Studies (forthcoming)

· “Judicial Decision Making in Times of Financial Crises: State Supreme Courts and Mortgage Moratorium Laws in the Great Depression.” 2011. Judicature (forthcoming)

· “Representative Appointments: The Effect of Women Constituencies on Supreme Court Confirmation Votes.” 2011. Women, Politics and Policy (forthcoming)

· “How Rational Are Justices on the United States Supreme Court? Doctrinal Considerations During Agenda Setting.” 2011. Rationality and Society

Work under Review

• “Agenda Setting on the Supreme Court of the United States."

• “Judicial Appointments.”

• “Formalizing Judicial Decision Making.”

Book Manuscripts

· A Supreme Discretion and a Passivity Conundrum: The Effects of Case Selection on the Constitutional Position of the US Supreme Court (Stanford University Press requested that chapters be sent for review, after a successful review of the proposal)

· Home but Away: The Experience of Immigrant Parents (Palgrave MacMillan and Brandeis Press requested that chapters be sent for review, after a successful review of the proposal; Hebrew version received extensive media coverage, with its findings reported in New York Post, Yediot Aharonot, Haaretz, Israeli TV Channels 2 & 10 and Kol Yisrael, among other outlets)

Book Reviews

· Review of Vanessa Baird’s “Answering the Call of he Court: How Justices and Litigants Set the Supreme Court Agenda” Law and Society Review 42(2), 2008 (May): 439-441

· Review of Paul Collins’ “Friends of the Supreme Court.” Law and Society Review 43(4), 2009 (December): 943-945

Reviewer

Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, National Science Foundation (reviewer and invited panelist), American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Law and Society Review, American Politics Research, Political Psychology

Media

· “Host City for 2020 Olympics: Why Not Jerusalem”, Christian Science Monitor, April 20, 2010

· The Nomination of Judge Sotomayor --- Radio interview at an ABC radio station in San Francisco (WKGO – Newstalk), May 2009

· “Obama, Sotomayor and Middle East Policy” Op-ed in Yediot Aharonot web portal, June 2009

· “What Happened to Obama?” Op-ed in Yediot Aharonot web portal, September 2008

· “Israel’s 60^th Anniversary” Op-ed in Yediot Aharonot web portal (in Hebrew), April 2008

· “An Israeli Constitution.” Op-ed in Haaretz (in Hebrew), December 2007

Conference Participation and Talks

2011 –

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (New Orleans)
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)
American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Seattle, WA)
International Society for Political Psychology Annual Meeting (Istanbul, Turkey)
European Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Dublin, Ireland)
Hebrew University, workshop for beginning scholars (Jerusalem, Israel)
Invited talk – University at Albany, Rockefeller College, Albany NY (April 2011)

2010 -

Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Atlanta)
Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (San Francisco)
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago)
American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Washington, DC)
Invited talk – IDC Herzliya, Israel (December 2010)

2009 -

“Sophisticated Friends” Northeastern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, November 2009

2008 -

“Setting a Supreme Agenda: A Typology of Strategic Behavior During Certiorari.” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Boston MA, September 2008
“Contingents, Pivots and Fluidity: Macro-Level Analyses of Agenda Setting on the US Supreme Court”, Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago IL, April 2008
“Supreme Agenda Setting: Strategic Considerations During Certiorari”, Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago IL, April 2008
“A Typology of Strategic Behavior During the Decision on Certiorari: Evidence from Justices’ Papers”, Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, January 2008, New Orleans LA
“Opinion-Minded Justices and Strategic Agenda Setting on the US Supreme Court”, Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Diego CA, March 2008
“Introducing SIMEX to the Study of Judicial Politics”, Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Motreal, May-June 2008
“Voting Patterns on Certiorari: A Macro Perspective”, Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Motreal, May-June 2008
“A Strategic Court and National Security: Comparative Lessons from the Israeli Case.” ISA-West Annual Meeting, San Francisco, September 2008

2007 -

· “A Neo Institutional Approach to Judicial Decision Making” Association for Israel Studies, Ra’annana Israel, June 2007

· “Strategic Agenda Setting on the US Supreme Court” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago IL, April 2007

· “Secondary Benefits for Justices and the Institutions that Produce Them” Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas NV, March 2007 (with Eser Sekercioglu)

· “Cert Votes and Opinion Writing: The Connection”, Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, January 2007

· “Women Organized Interests, Women Voters and Their Effects on Supreme Court Confirmations”, Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, January 2007

· “Institutionally Induced Strategic Judicial Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Analysis,” Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, January 2007 (With Eser Sekercioglu)

2006 -

· “A Step Forward from Defensive Denials and Aggressive Grants: Are Justices Opinion Minded When Voting on Cert?” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia PA, September 2006

· “Strategic Behavior and Internal Institutions on the Israeli High Court of Justice,” Presented at the Annual Conference of the Southern Political Science Association, Atlanta GA, January 2006

· “Senate Confirmation of Supreme Court Justices: Women votes and the Electoral Connection,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, April 2006

· “Crusades against corruption,” Presented at the Association of Israel Studies Annual Meeting, Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 2006

2005 -

· “Landmark Decisions Strategy: The Israeli High Court of Justice as a Proactive Political Player.” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meting, Chicago, IL, April 2005

· “Courts as Proactive Players, with the Israeli Supreme Court as a Case Study.” Presented at the Taub Center, New York University, December 2, 2005

· “Conversion due to Expansion: Collegial Game and Internal Judicial Institutions” Presented at the Political Science Department, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, December 28, 2005

Teaching Experience

· Department of Political Science, Tel Aviv University, 2010 – present

· Department of Political Science, University at Albany, 2007 – 2010

· Instructor, Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, 2005-2007

Courses Taught:

· Doctoral -

1) Survey Class in Public Law (Fall 07)

2) Math for Political Scientists (Summer 05, Summer 06)

3) Advanced Judicial Decision Making Seminar (Fall 08; Spring 11)

4) Advanced Political Methodology (Spring 2010; Spring 11)

5) Introduction to the Discipline of Political Science (Fall 09)

· Masters -

1) Intermediate Statistics for Public Policy (Spring 06; Spring 11; Summer 11)

· Undergraduate -

1) American Supreme Court (Summer 07, 08, 09, Fall 07, 09, Spring 08; Fall 10)

2) Constitutional Law and Politics: USA (Summer 05, Spring 07)

3) Comparative Politics (Spring 05, 06, Fall 05, 09, Summer 05-10, Winter 06-09)

4) Civil Liberties and Civil Rights (Summer 06, Fall 06, 09, Summer 08; Fall 10)

Professional Affiliations
American Political Science Association; Midwest Political Science Association
Southern Political Science Association; Association for Israel Studies
Western Political Science Association

Other Work Experience
•    Project Director, Tel Aviv University, Summer Youth University Project. The project promotes political, social and educational goals, for 50 high-potential high school students of lower socioeconomic status. Project was under the aegis of the President of Tel Aviv University Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, 2001-2003.
•    Founder, Director and Teacher, Center for Preparation for the Matriculation and Psychometric Exams for University Applicants, 1996 – 2002.
•    Project Initiator and Director, the ‘Dor Shalom’ (Generation for Peace) Movement. An outreach Project for Jews of Ethiopian Origin in Israel - Eighty-five new Ethiopian immigrants participated in the project, 1999.
•    Psychotherapist – Community Center for Mental Patients, Jaffa, Abarbanel Mental Institution, Bat Yam - Psychotherapy with mental patients, 1998-2002

Literary Publications
•    Trucks (Forthcoming), volume of poetry published by Emda/Carmel Publishers
•    Order of the Acts of Love, volume of poetry published by Emda/Bittan Publishers, Tel Aviv, 2002.
•    Published short stories and poetry in Ha’aretz, Maariv, Yedioth Aharonoth, Iton 77’, Moznayim, Gag, Mitan, Shvo, Emda, and Helicon.

Languages:
•    Hebrew – mother tongue
•    English – fluent reading, writing and speaking
•    Spanish – basic speaking and reading
•    French – basic speaking and reading

References:

Jeffrey Segal Scott Basinger

Distinguished University Professor, Chair Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science Department of Political Science

Stony Brook University University of Houston

Stony Brook, NY 11794 447 Phillip Guthrie Hoffman Hall

(631) 632-7662 Houston, TX 77204

Jeffrey.Segal@StonyBrook.edu (713) 743-3911

jbasinger@uh.edu

Stanley Feldman Robert Howard

Professor and Associate Director Professor

Department of Political Science Department of Political Science

Stony Brook University Georgia State University