Elmira College

On November 13, 2021, Dr. Jim Twombly, Professor of Political Science at Elmira College, presented his latest research into the dynamics of votes in the U.S. Senate on presidential appointments to the Cabinet. At the annual meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association, held virtually for the second year in a row, Twombly presented his findings that presidential approval ratings are related to the number of votes a president's nominees get during their confirmation by the senate. The paper, " The Rise of Dissent: The Relationship Between Presidential Cabinet Nomination Dissenting Votes and Polarization," also suggested that recent increases in the level of political polarization were related to the increasing number of votes against presidential cabinet nominees. Noting that some nominees face extra scrutiny because of scandal or controversial positions, Twombly concluded "There will always be those occasional circumstances that bring negative attention to a cabinet nominee that cause her or him to withdraw or be withdrawn. Given, however, how rare those events are, it may be better to look more closely at the apparently rising number of dissenting votes on presidential cabinet nominations." Twombly noted that this paper was part of a series of papers he has presented at recent political science conferences and plans for it to serve as the centerpiece for his next book, which, if published, would be his fifth.

Deeann Perkowski '17 completed a 14-week RN Residency with Thompson Health in Canandaigua, NY, and was featured in their "Partners in Health" publication.