Lem, Steve B.

Dr. Lem received his Ph.D. from Binghamton University (SUNY) in political science in 2008 and joined the faculty at Kutztown University that year. Prior to arriving at KU, Dr. Lem held visiting positions at Hobart & William Smith Colleges and Kent State University.

At KU, Dr. Lem primarily teaches research methodology courses for political science, public administration, and Master of Public Administration students. He has been heavily involved in university leadership, serving as department chair from 2014 to 2023, co-chair of ChairNet (committee of department chairs) from 2017 to 2022, University Senate President from 2019 to 2023, and Acting Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences since 2023.

Dr. Lem's primary research interests are in third party politics in the United States and electoral systems in Western Europe. He enjoys collaborating with undergraduate students on research projects and has co-authored publications and conference papers with them. Off campus, he serves as the treasurer of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association.

Ph.D., 2008. Binghamton University (SUNY)

Discipline: Political Science. Major Fields: Comparative Politics and World Politics. Dissertation: The Declining Significance of Partisanship? Party Positions and Welfare Policy in Industrialized Democracies.

M.A., 2005. Binghamton University (SUNY)

B.A., 2002. East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

FYS 100: Poli Sci Fi
POL 101: Social Research Design & Writing
POL 201: Empirical Political Analysis
POL 509: Approaches & Methods in Political Science

Young, Brendan P., and Steve B. Lem. 2023. “A Content Analysis of Political and Policy-Based Learning Objectives in Social Work Theory Textbooks.” Sage Research Methods Cases. London: Sage Publications.

Best, Robin E., Steve B. Lem, Michael D. McDonald, and Daniel Blyth Magelby. 2022. "Do Redistricting Commissions Reduce Partisan Gerrymanders?" American Politics Research, 50(3): 379-395.

Portada, Robert A, III, Steve B. Lem, and Uttam Paudel. 2020. "The Final Frontier: China, Taiwan, and the United States in Strategic Competition for Central America." Journal of Chinese Political Science, 25: 551-573.

Lem, Steve B. 2020. "The Green Party of the United States," in Richard Davis (eds) Beyond Elephants and Donkeys: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics. University Press of Kansas.

Lem, Steve B. 2019. "A Multinomial Logit Analysis of Post-Conflict Justice Mechanisms: Publishing with Undergraduate Co-Authors".Sage Research Methods Cases.

DeTomasso, Meghan, Mario Schulz, and Steve B. Lem. 2017. "Choices of Justice: Examining the Effects of Civil War Termination on Post-Conflict Justice Mechanisms."International Journal of Transitional Justice, 11(2): 218-38.

Lem, Steve B. 2016. "Are you Divergent? Political Factions and Personal Identity." In Justin Vaughn and Michael Allen (eds) Pol Sci Fi: An Introduction to Political Science. New York: Routledge.

Best, Robin E., and Steve B. Lem. 2011. “Electoral Volatility, Competition, and Third Party Candidacies in US Gubernatorial Elections.” Party Politics, 17(3): 611-628.

Dowling, Conor M., and Steve B. Lem. 2009. “Explaining Major and Third Party Candidate Emergence in Gubernatorial Elections, 1980-2005.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly, 9(1): 1-23.

Lem, Steve B. and Conor M. Dowling. 2006. “Picking Their Spots: Minor Party Candidates in Gubernatorial Elections. Political Research Quarterly, 59(3): 471-480.

Third parties in American politics
Redistricting / gerrymandering in Pennsylvania
Ethnic conflict, transitional justice, and civil wars

Term	Days	Start Time	End Time	Course	Location
Spring 2024				POL 398 960