Nassau notes

The 2008 Presidential Election: Can the State Polls Be Trusted?” is the subject of a panel discussion featuring scholars and public opinion experts at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.

The panel will include:

• Christopher Achen, the Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences and professor of politics at Princeton. Achen’s research interests include political methodology, American politics and international relations.
• Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University and director of the university’s Applied Statistics Center. He is the author of the new book “Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do.”
• Larry Hugick, the chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. A nationally recognized expert in public opinion, pre-election polling and policy research, Hugick conducts the regular Newsweek poll and advises the magazine on social trends and politics.

The discussion will be moderated by Alan Krueger, the Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Princeton and director of the University’s Survey Research Center.

The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the Survey Research Center, the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics and the New York and New Jersey chapters of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Cotsen Children’s Library exhibits work by Leo Politi

Works by beloved children’s author and illustrator Leo Politi (1908-1996), including his Caldecott Medal-winning tale “Song of the Swallows,” are on view in an exhibition at the Cotsen Children’s Library.

During his career, Politi produced a number of picture books about children in the Los Angeles area, creating portraits of a dynamic region that has long been home to a highly diverse population. The exhibition, titled “Leo Politi’s Los Angeles: A Celebration of the Centenary of His Birth,” runs through Jan. 23. (image: Courtesy of Costen Children’s Library)

Ex-Clinton adviser discusses culture wars

Burns Strider, a former adviser to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton on faith issues, will present a lecture titled “Left Behind ... in the Culture Wars of 2008: Evangelicals, Culture and the Politics of Moose Hunters, Community Organizers and Family Values” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Strider is a former senior adviser and director of faith outreach to Clinton and her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and principal of the Eleison Group LLC, a consulting firm that aims to help political, nonprofit, business and government entities better understand America’s faith landscape on the local and national levels.

Strider also has served as director of policy for the congressional Democratic caucus, an adviser to U.S. Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi, director of the U.S. House Democratic Faith Working Group and Rural Working Group and chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows.

In 2007, Strider was named one of the 12 most influential Democrats in the nation on faith and values politics and issues by the Religion News Service.

The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School and the Center for the Study of Religion as part of the “Crossroads of Religion and Politics” series.

‘New Diplomacy’ is lecture topic

What Is New About the New Diplomacy?” is the subject of a lecture by William Maley, a scholar of diplomacy who has written extensively about Afghanistan, set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Maley directs the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at Australian National University. His lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the Princeton-Harvard China and the World program and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination.

Human intelligence expert to speak

James Flynn, a social scientist well known for his work on human intelligence, will discuss the factors behind rising IQ scores as well as research on race and intelligence in events scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 7-9.

Flynn is known for discovering the “Flynn effect,” the trend toward rising average IQ scores in many countries. He will deliver two talks at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 and 9 in McCosh 10. The first, “What Is Intelligence? Paradoxes Resolved,” will explore the factors behind the gains in IQ test performance since 1900. Flynn will address “Black IQ: Environmental Factors” in the second. These talks are designated as Stafford Little Lectures sponsored by the University Public Lectures Series.

In addition, Flynn will be a featured participant in a seminar focusing on “The Ethical Implications of Recent Research on Race and IQ” scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 8 in 101 McCormick Hall. The seminar, sponsored by the University Center for Human Values, also will feature two Princeton scholars, psychologist Deborah Prentice and ethicist Peter Singer.

Flynn is an emeritus professor of political studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His books include “What Is Intelligence? Beyond the Flynn Effect,” “How to Defend Humane Ideals: Substitutes for Objectivity,” “Asian Americans: Achievements Beyond IQ” and “Race, IQ and Jensen.”

Talks cover entrepreneurship in India

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey and government officials from India will be among the participants in a series of discussions on “Entrepreneurship in the U.S.-India Corridor” from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Multipurpose Room B of the Frist Campus Center.

The discussions will focus on the opportunities and challenges of doing business in India’s rapidly expanding economy. In addition to Holt, participants will include Prabhu Dayal, the consul general of India in New York; Yashwant Bhave, India’s secretary of consumer affairs; Rajiv Khanna, president of the U.S.-India Chamber of Commerce; and Kenneth Morse, senior lecturer and managing director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship Center.

The event is sponsored by Princeton’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education along with TiE NJ-Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship, and the MIT Club of Princeton. It is open to the public, but registration is required. For more information and to register, go to commons.princeton.edu/ciee/2008/10/entrepreneurship_in_the_usindia_corridor.html.

Roof use prohibited

University policy prohibits the use of roofs on campus for personal or social purposes. This policy exists because of the obvious hazard of falls, as well as the possibility of roof damage.

Some roofs may be used for research and teaching with prior approval.

Anyone with questions may contact either Chris Machusak, maintenance, at 258-6607; or Greg Cantrell, environmental health and safety, at 258-5294 or cantrell@princeton.edu.