Taking Chances: A Political Scientist at Large Inside and Outside the University

After starting out in New Brunswick as a Forestry student, Kenneth Carty was led by his training in Economics and Politics into research on the political and electoral system in Ireland and so to similar subjects in the Canadian context. He also developed a parallel career as a consultant for political parties, governments and citizens at home and abroad. Long-term involvement in academic publishing at UBC Press and Oxford University Press recently took him back to Ireland and the editing of a scholarly journal. His talk will illustrate how saying “Yes” to unexpected opportunities can create new possibilities for intellectual and professional growth, raise research questions worth answering, lead to productive partnerships, and enable one to participate more fully in the collective enterprise of a research university.