Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, an assistant professor of political science at Catawba College, recently attended two conferences. The first was the annual North Carolina Political Science Association’s conference at High Point University, in which he helped to organize a roundtable discussion of North Carolina politics, presented a paper on Tar Heel voting patterns in the 2004 election, and was re-elected historian for the association.  

The second conference was the T.A. Mentors Annual Retreat, sponsored by the University of Georgia and held on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia. As a graduate of the T.A. Mentor program, Bitzer was an invited reviewer and discussant for participants on being a faculty member at a small, liberal arts institution. A nationally-recognized program, UGA’s T.A. Mentor Program brings experienced teaching assistants who have been recognized at the institutional level for their outstanding teaching together to develop their scholarship of teaching and increase peer mentoring in academic departments.  

A frequent commentator on Southern politics and campaigns and elections, Bitzer joined Catawba College in 2002. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Erskine College, a master of arts degree in history from Clemson University, and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs, where he was selected as one of five “Excellence in Teaching” award winners for 2002.

Dr. J. Michael Bitzer, an assistant professor of political science at Catawba College, recently attended two conferences. The first was the annual North Carolina Political Science Association’s conference at High Point University, in which he helped to organize a roundtable discussion of North Carolina politics, presented a paper on Tar Heel voting patterns in the 2004 election, and was re-elected historian for the association.  

The second conference was the T.A. Mentors Annual Retreat, sponsored by the University of Georgia and held on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia. As a graduate of the T.A. Mentor program, Bitzer was an invited reviewer and discussant for participants on being a faculty member at a small, liberal arts institution. A nationally-recognized program, UGA’s T.A. Mentor Program brings experienced teaching assistants who have been recognized at the institutional level for their outstanding teaching together to develop their scholarship of teaching and increase peer mentoring in academic departments.  

A frequent commentator on Southern politics and campaigns and elections, Bitzer joined Catawba College in 2002. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Erskine College, a master of arts degree in history from Clemson University, and his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs, where he was selected as one of five “Excellence in Teaching” award winners for 2002.