Turner, Charles C.

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Turner, Charles C.

PERSONAL:

Education: William Jewell College, B.A. (summa cum laude), 1994; Claremont Graduate University, M.A., 1996, Ph.D., 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Political Science, California State University, Chico, Butte Hall, Rm. 741, 400 W. 1st St., Chico, CA 95929-0455; fax: 530-898-6910. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Academic and political scientist. Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, research assistant in politics and policy, 1997-98, McNair Scholars Program writing instructor, 1998, 1999, Writing Center assistant director, 1999; California State University, Chico, assistant professor, 2000-05, associate professor of political science, 2005—, department vice chair, 2004—. Learning Options Supervisor, New College of California, 1996; Jon and Lillian Lovelace fellow, 1996-97; adjunct instructor, Woodbury University, 1998-99; adjunct instructor, Mount San Antonio College, 1999; visiting assistant professor, Truman State University, 1999-2000; guest lecturer and academic advisor, Junior Statesmen Foundation, California Symposium on Leadership and Politics, 2003-06.

MEMBER:

Pi Sigma Alpha (chapter advisor, 2002-03, 2005-06), Western Political Science Association (executive member, 2007—), Academy of Political Science, California Faculty Association, American Political Science Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Congressional Research Award, Dirksen Congressional Research Center, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004; recipient of numerous grants.

WRITINGS:

The Politics of Minor Concerns: American Indian Policy and Congressional Dynamics, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals and academic journals, including Journal of Political Science Education, PS: Political Science & Politics, Inside Chico State, Journal of Political Science, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Politics & Policy, Political Science Quarterly, Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and American Politics Research.

SIDELIGHTS:

Charles C. Turner is an academic and political scientist. He earned a bachelor of arts degree, graduating summa cum laude, in 1994 from William Jewell College. He undertook graduate studies at Claremont Graduate University, earning a master of arts degree in 1996 and a Ph.D. in 2000. As a doctoral student, Turner was a Jon and Lillian Lovelace fellow from 1996 to 1997. He also served as an adjunct instructor at Woodbury University from 1998 to 1999 and at Mount San Antonio College in 1999. Turner was also a visiting assistant professor at Truman State University from 1999 to 2000. At his alma mater, Claremont Graduate University, Turner worked as a research assistant in politics and policy from 1997 to 1998; a McNair Scholars Program writing instructor in 1998 and 1999; and the university's Writing Center assistant director in 1999.

After completing his dissertation, Turner began working as an assistant professor of political science at California State University, Chico. In 2005 he was promoted to associate professor of political science. He has served as vice chair of the department of political science at the university since 2004. He also served as a guest lecturer and academic advisor at the Junior Statesmen Foundation of the California Symposium on Leadership and Politics from 2003 to 2006. He was a recipient of the Congressional Research Award from the Dirksen Congressional Research Center in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

As a writer, Turner has contributed to a number of periodicals and academic journals, including Journal of Political Science Education, PS: Political Science & Politics, Inside Chico State, Journal of Political Science, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Politics & Policy, Political Science Quarterly, Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and American Politics Research. Turner published his first book, The Politics of Minor Concerns: American Indian Policy and Congressional Dynamics, in 2005. The book examines Congress's role in forming Native American policies by considering the number and types of bills passed, congressional roll call votes, and committee decisions. He uses this information to point to any movement in policy direction over the decades.

A contributor writing in the Reference & Research Book News observed that the book finds "much that contradicts the conventional wisdom in both spheres" of congressional behavior and American Indian policy. David R. Jones, writing in the Political Science Quarterly, commented that "Turner has managed to present a nice case study of their punctuated equilibrium theory" while covering the insufficient arguments that propose that theories of legislative incrementalism are good measures of congressional attention to Native American policies. In Turner's discussions on congressional theories, however, Jones found that the author's "findings, although generally solid, present less of a challenge to current thought." Jones remarked that "Turner presents convincing evidence that the conventional wisdom requires some revision," though, while analyzing existing Native American policies. Jones pointed out that The Politics of Minor Concerns "is highly quantitative," adding that it is "atypical of most case studies approaches."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Political Science Quarterly, June 22, 2006, David R. Jones, review of The Politics of Minor Concerns: American Indian Policy and Congressional Dynamics, p. 347.

Reference & Research Book News, November 1, 2005, review of The Politics of Minor Concerns.