High turnover and few returning senators mean ASUP newcomers
By Anna Walters
Lauretta Frederking knows the rewards of hard work. A professor of political science, Frederking recently had her first book, "Economic and Political Integration in Immigrant Neighborhoods," published by Susquehanna University Press last summer. But the feat was not without trying moments, including working with editors, revising and reworking her writing and even acquiring a black tongue during her field work in India.
"Success is meaningful only when it comes from hard work and overcoming challenges, and this book is no different," Frederking said. "I like the intellectual contribution, I like the ideas, and now I'm ready to move beyond it quickly."
Frederking spent the last 10 years researching and writing the book, which originally began as her dissertation to obtain her doctorate. Frederking said that her quest was at first theoretical; she was primarily interested in whether culture or structure determines political and economic behavior.
Next, Frederking looked at several Indian communities in the United States, England and India that shared the same set of cultural characteristics in different structures or different host countries.
While gathering data in India 10 years ago, Frederking had hundreds of surveys thrown out by mistake and as a woman traveling unaccompanied, was sometimes harassed. She also was stricken with a harmless, but alarming condition.
"I got a black tongue," said Frederking, who hypothesizes the culprit behind the incident to be a combination of Pepto Bismal and water purified through a charcoal filter.
"It's still a bit of a mystery," she continued. "I was getting married two months later and my husband said I had to sort that tongue out before we could have a good honeymoon." Luckily Frederking's chameleon tongue revived its normal coloring after she returned to the U.S., in time for her wedding.
Aside from the difficulties she encountered during her field work, which she began in 1997, Frederking ended up revising her work a number of times, sometimes to little avail, before Susquehanna University Press accepted her work for publication. For two years, Frederking worked with a prominent University Press in the United States, but after several revisions, the press switched editors ad dropped the project.
"After two years it was time to cast a wide net, and so I did," Frederking said. Her book was in the second stage of review by a European University Press and seemed like it would be accepted but only if revisions were made. But when the letter from Susquehanna University Press arrived saying that it would publish Frederking's book with minimal revisions, she took it up on it's offer.
"At that point, I saw the data becoming less relevant, the theoretical contribution becoming less exciting, so it was most important for me to get it published and out there," she said
Frederking sent copies to major think tanks. "The ideas are relevant in the current political climate and discussions about immigration policy," she said.
But Frederking has perhaps been more influential on the home front.
"She's really brought a new dimension to the political science department," said Gary Malecha, dean of political science. "She's gotten (students) engaged in doing research and engaged in the study of politics and policy and shown them that they can have a practical impact."
Some students view Frederking as tough, but fair.
"She has very high expectations for everybody," said Brady Shinn, a political science and German major who has taken three classes from Frederking. "The grade you earn is the grade you get; it's as basic as that."
Frederking also has high expectations of herself. Two years ago, Frederking took maternity leave during the semester.
"She had her child and only missed two weeks of class," Shinn said. "She had it perfectly set up so we had guest speakers and movies for those two weeks so we didn't miss a beat."
Currently, Frederking is looking at acts of terrorism and how they influence the immigration debate.
Shinn is aiding her in research efforts, a result of his difficulty in choosing a topic for a project.
"(Frederking) basically said, 'Here's a focus for you; if it's good I might use it,'" Shinn said.
If there's one lesson Frederking wants students to absorb from the publication of her writing, it's that teachers, like their students, are constantly undergoing scrutiny and offering their work for public consumption.
"Students probably see most UP faculty as being very extroverted in terms of public performance and interaction (but) I couldn't do what I do in the classroom without having that period of very introspective writing and thinking," Frederking said. "But it's quite a juxtaposition from the classroom setting to then going back to your room and writing and trying to think in a way that will make a contribution to your discipline."
