ECU political scientist to dine with Vice President Joe Biden

GREENVILLE, N.C. —   An East Carolina University political science professor will have the honor of dining with Vice President Joe Biden at his residence on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., June 9.
 
Jody Baumgartner, assistant professor of political science at ECU, has been invited to join five other individuals who have been selected to share their knowledge regarding the vice presidency.
 
“The invitation came as quite a surprise,” Baumgartner said. “It’s an honor to be asked to share some of my understanding with the new vice president.”
 
Over dinner, Baumgartner and other guests will engage the vice president in an informal discussion about how previous vice presidents have approached the job, what tactics have worked and what has not. Counselor to the Vice President Mike Donilon, who extended the invitation, said, “Our hope is to get a historical perspective on the office and thoughts on the opportunities and pitfalls associated with the office.”
 
Baumgartner, whose research interests include party politics, presidential power, and campaigns and elections, has written several articles and one book about the vice presidency. These include “The American Vice Presidency Reconsidered” (2006); “Scoundrel or Über Lieutenant? The Vice Presidency of Dick Cheney,” written for the American Review of Politics; “The Veepstakes: Forecasting Vice Presidential Selection in 2008,” written for PS: Politics and Political Science; and a forthcoming article co-authored by Rhonda Evans Case titled “Constitutional Design of the Executive: Vice Presidencies in Comparative Perspective,” which will appear in the journal, Congress and the Presidency.
 
Baumgartner received his doctoral degree in 1998 from Miami University, Ohio. He began teaching American and comparative politics at ECU in 2003 as a visiting professor, prior to becoming an assistant professor in 2006. Baumgartner has authored four additional books, and he has published more than 60 professional papers, journal articles and book chapters within his areas of study.