Building Leaders at GPSA 2025
UNG PSIA students and faculty members at GPSA 2025
Members of UNG’s Political Science & International Affairs Department joined other leaders and professionals in the field for the 57th Georgia Political Science Association (GPSA) Annual Conference on November 5th-7th in St. Simons, Georgia. The GPSA conference places students in contact with professionals in the field while allowing them to make strides in their careers through showcasing their own research. In 2025, seven accomplished students and twelve faculty members represented UNG as GPSA explored the theme of "Democracy in Transition." They follow the long-standing tradition of the department to participate in this distinguished regional conference each year.
During the conference, Dr. Miner and five PSIA students (Alison Freligh, Sheila Ganley, Sara Gonzalez, and Meg Kelham) presented on the Trump administration’s foreign policy decision-making. During Dr. Miner’s International Affairs Capstone course in the spring of 2025, his students performed the initial research and afterwards discussed, analyzed, and compared findings and conclusions to prepare for GPSA. Dr. Miner shares that: “While individually each is an excellent writer and speaker in an academic context, this was a valuable opportunity to collaborate by comparing our five different case studies in order to assess patterns in the foreign policy making of the current Trump administration”.
Associate Department Head Dr. Raluca Viman-Miller was not only featured on multiple panels, with her fellow faculty members, but also received the James T. LaPlant Award for her excellence in teaching and mentoring. 
Dr. Viman-Miller is no stranger to helping students reach their full potential, whether within her classroom or outside through prestigious opportunities, like GPSA. Continuing her history of coaching students toward success at the conference, she mentored Eli Polk and Olivia Holm to share their undergraduate research at GPSA’s esteemed and selective Pajari Panel. Dr. Viman-Miller says that she believes in “the power of mentoring students to participate in professional conferences which enhances their research skills, expands their academic networks, and fosters early professional socialization within the scholarly community”.
Written by Hailey Walter, Communications Intern, English Major