Academics at MBC
Political Science Faculty
Laura van Assendelft
Professor
of political science Laura van Assendelft has been teaching at Mary Baldwin
College since 1994. Currently serving as chair of the political science department,
van Assendelft teaches American Government, State and Local Politics, U.S.
Congress, U.S. Presidency, Women and Politics, Political Parties and Interest
Groups, Political Behavior, and Senior Seminar in American Politics. Her research
interests include state and local politics and women and politics. She has
published numerous journal articles and several books, including Governors,
Agenda Setting, and Divided Government, The
Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics (co-edited with Jeffrey Shultz),
and two editions of Women, Politics, and American Society (co-authored
with Nancy McGlen, Karen O’Connor, and Wendy Gunther-Canada). She received
her BA in political science (cum laude with honors in political science)
from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee (1989) and her PhD
in political science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia (1994). She
was recognized by Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 2004, 2005,
and 2006. Outside of teaching and research, her interests include spending
time with family, running, hiking, horseback riding, reading, and photography.
Gordon Lewis
Bowen
Professor
of Political Science and International Relations Gordon L. Bowen has taught
at MBC since 1983. After receiving his BA with honors from San Jose State University,
he was awarded the MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University
of California, Santa Barbara. The author of more than 50 academic publications,
he also is a local OpEd columnist. Bowen's teaching and research have focused
on U.S. foreign policy throughout the 30+ years of his full-time college and
university teaching. A chief focus has been American involvement with political
problems of the underdeveloped nations of the Third World, and he has conducted
field research both in Latin America and in the Middle East. In recent years,
much of this work has concerned problems posed by terrorism and the challenges
involved in creating effective counter-terrorism policies. To learn more about
Prof. Bowen's MBC courses, teaching methods, and published research, visit
his website at: http://academic.mbc.edu/gbowen/
Brenda Bryant
Dr. Brenda L. Bryant came to Mary Baldwin College in 1995 as director of the
Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership. Currently, as dean of students,
she combines teaching and administration and believes that combining both
the teaching and practice of leadership makes her work with students relevant
and well-grounded in theory and research. Dr. Bryant teaches in leadership
studies, an interdisciplinary field rooted in the social sciences.
Dr. Bryant holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California, Washington Public Affairs Center, where she taught for 10 years as an adjunct professor in the graduate program in public administration. Her master's degree in education is from Catholic University and her BA in political science was awarded by Vassar College. Her particular areas of interest in addition to leadership are organization behavior and fourth generation evaluation.
Prior to coming to Mary Baldwin, Dr Bryant served as executive vice president of Creative Associates International, Inc., a Washington-based consulting firm specializing in international development, democratic transition, and women's education.
Sarah H. Ludwig
Assistant professor Sarah H. Ludwig (Sally) practiced law with the firms of
Smeltzer & Hart in Roanoke, Virginia, and Ludwig & Ludwig in Staunton,
Virginia, before joining the Mary Baldwin faculty in 1992. Dr. Ludwig teaches
Business Law I and II, Constitutional Law I and II, Mass Media Law and Ethics,
and Judicial Process. She also serves as the Pre-legal advisor for
Mary Baldwin students interested in law school or law related careers.
Dr. Ludwig received a BA from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg,
VA, and a MA in English from the University of Virginia. After teaching 11th
and 12th grade English at Fairfax Hall School in Waynesboro for four years,
she returned to school and received a JD from the University of Virginia School
of Law.
In addition to teaching part-time in the Residential College for Women, Dr.
Ludwig also offers her courses as independent tutorials for Mary Baldwin Adult
Degree Students. Her areas of special interest are First Amendment and Equal
Protection law.
Steven Aker Mosher
Since 1989, Dr. Mosher has served as the director of the Health Care Administration
Program at Mary Baldwin College. He is also a professor of health care administration
and political science. He has held similar positions at Avila College in
Missouri and Ferrum College in Virginia. He received his PhD in government
and international studies from the University of South Carolina where he
also received his Master of Arts degree in international studies and his
Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) in political science.
Dr. Mosher’s 30 year career as an academic has involved teaching, researching, writing, consulting, mentoring, and making presentations at international and national conferences. He has spent considerable time investigating the field of long term care. He has a special interest in strategic management as well as comparative and international health care. He has traveled widely, including looking at the health care systems of Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. He has received numerous grants, including two awards from the government of Quebec to analyze their health care system. He has also worked with a long term care facility in Nova Scotia to enhance its decision making system. He has completed four consultancies in the area of organizational behavior and development with the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents, the only children’s psychiatric hospital in Virginia.
The undergraduate program in health care administration that Dr. Mosher directs is one of only 35 such programs in the United States and Canada to be fully certified by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. The program is also the only one of its type to be endowed.
Dr. Mosher is an active member in a variety of professional organizations including the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, and he has served for 14 years on the Planning Committee of the Augusta Health Care, Inc., a top 50 hospital in the United States.
Quality in long term care is the major research interest of Dr. Mosher. This interest is international in scope. It speaks to a commitment to the integration of academic and practitioner worlds to the betterment of the people served in long term care settings.
