Bringing Politics Close to Home

UMBC’s resident expert on the American presidency, Tom Schaller, has more than enough to keep busy in these exciting political times. Whether he is drawing comparisons between the presidencies of William McKinley and George W. Bush or guiding undergraduates through internships in legislative offices throughout Annapolis or Washington, D.C., Schaller, an assistant professor of political science, brings his research to the most pressing political issues of the day.

Schaller likes to apply evolutionary theory to contemporary politics in his classes. "Evolutionary psychology informs our understanding of what sorts of people emerge as leaders, whether by force or by election," he says. One of Schaller’s courses incorporates Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer-winning book, Guns, Germs and Steel. "It shows how the peopling of the planet was a function of random factors that have nothing to do with the inherent superiority of any particular ethnicity or ideology," Schaller says.

Schaller supervises the political science department’s legislative internship program, which assigns students to offices of local and congressional politicians including Governor Parris Glendening, and current gubernatorial candidates Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and GOP congressman Robert Ehrlich.

Many interns go on to paid jobs straight out of college, while many more attend graduate or law school after UMBC with future plans for a government service career. "They are some of the finest students I have taught, and I am proud to be associated with them," says Schaller.

Politics also play a big role in Schaller’s family life. His fiancée, Traci Siegel, is the executive director of the Women’s Vote Center project at the Democratic National Committee. "Our first real date was a Saturday picnic on the 4th of July weekend in 2000 — on the lawn of the White House!" Schaller says.

Naturally, dinner table discussions in the Schaller home revolve around political issues. "We really built our relationship during the turmoil of that bizarre presidential recount following the 2000 election," Schaller says. "People may never know who really won in Florida, but from my point of view, the real winner of the recount was me."

Since coming to UMBC in 1998, Schaller has been an active citizen on campus, serving as a faculty mentor for the Office of Residential Life and co-teaching with assistant professor of history Kathryn Brown the "Introduction to the Humanities" seminar for first year Humanities Scholars.

Schaller also has a family connection at UMBC. His younger brother, John, is an assistant with the men’s basketball team.

Recently, Schaller’s research has been a hot commodity for political observers. In addition to his recent OpEd piece in the Baltimore Sun, Schaller and colleague Tyson King-Meadows, visiting assistant professor of political science, have a book on the role of African American political caucuses in state legislatures forthcoming from the State University of New York Press. While the Sun may have been the first place we’ve heard from Tom Schaller in the current election cycle, it’s unlikely to be the last.