Meet the Faculty
Dr. April C. Kelly
Dean of School of Public Service and Professor of Political Science
kellya@etown.edu | 717-361-1285
April C. Kelly is Dean of the School of Public Service and Professor of Political Science at Elizabethtown College. Dr. Kelly received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Ohio State University, specializing in public opinion, mass behavior, and political psychology.
Dr. Kelly's research explores the intersection of politics and higher education. For example, her book (with Stanley Rothman and Matthew Woessner), The Still Divided Academy: How Competing Visions of Power Politics and Diversity Complicate the Mission of Higher Education (Rowman and Littlefield, 2011) examines the role of students, faculty, and administrators in shaping political dialogue on campus. She has published a number of articles on politics in higher education, which have appeared in The Journal of Political Science Education, PS: Political Science and Politics, and as chapters in edited volumes. Most recently, her research examines the decline in political tolerance among America's youth.
Dr. Kelly's previous research has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Science Magazine. Her opinion editorials have appeared in The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and The Harrisburg Patriot News. She was the inaugural recipient of the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence at Elizabethtown College.
Dr. Oya Dursun-Özkanca
Professor of Political Science and College Professor of International Studies (Endowed Chair)
dursuno@etown.edu | 717-361-4749 | Personal Website
Dr. Oya Dursun-Özkanca (University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D.) is a College Professor of International Studies (Endowed Chair), Professor of Political Science, and Director of Honors Program and the International Studies Minor at Elizabethtown College, PA. In Fall 2021, she served as a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, working on her next book manuscript on the Eastern Mediterranean regional balance of power. Her research interests include Turkish foreign policy, transatlantic security, European Union, Eastern Mediterranean, South East Europe, and peace operations. She is the author of two new books, Turkey–West Relations: The Politics of Intra-alliance Opposition, published by Cambridge University Press in November 2019 and The Nexus Between Security Sector Reform/Governance and Sustainable Development Goal-16: An Examination of Conceptual Linkages and Policy Recommendations, published as part of the SSR Papers flagship series of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) by Ubiquity Press in May 2021. The Turkish translation of her Turkey-West Relations book, Türkiye–Batı İlişkileri: İttifak İçi Muhalefet Siyaseti is published by Koç University Press in Turkey in 2023. She is also the editor of two books – The European Union as an Actor in Security Sector Reform (Routledge, 2014) and External Interventions in Civil Wars (co-edited with Stefan Wolff, Routledge, 2014) as well as a number of scholarly articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as International Affairs, Turkish Politics, Foreign Policy Analysis, Civil Wars, European Security, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, French Politics, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, and Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. She served as a Visiting Fellow of Research on South Eastern Europe (LSEE) at London School of Economics (LSE) in 2013, and received grants and fellowships from Georgetown University, the London School of Economics, the European Commission (multiple grants), the American Political Science Association (APSA), the University of Texas at Austin (multiple fellowships), Deutscher Academischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), the European Union Studies Association, and the Mellon Foundation (multiple grants), the Elizabethtown College (multiple grants). She is the inaugural recipient of the Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence at Elizabethtown College (2015), and the recipient of the Richard Crocker Outstanding Service to Students Award (2018, 2020), the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence (2022), the Outstanding Honors Professor Award (2025) at Elizabethtown College, and the Honors Professional of the Year Award in the Administrator Category (2025) from the Northeast Regional Honors Council.
Dr. E. Fletcher McClellan
Professor of Political Science Emeritus
mcclelef@etown.edu | 717-361-1304 | Faculty Website
Dr. E. Fletcher McClellan is Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Elizabethtown College. A member of the Elizabethtown faculty for over 40 years, he served in many leadership roles at the College, including Dean of Faculty, Interim Provost, and department chair. He was a lecturer in political studies at the Queens University Bader College in East Sussex, England, and an American studies lecturer at the Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Liaoning Province, China. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Dr. McClellan teaches the senior capstone in political science and legal studies, as well as previously teaching courses in American government, the presidency and presidential elections, public policy, and public administration. He has presented dozens of papers at professional conferences in such areas as the American presidency, politics and popular culture, and teaching and learning in political science. His research has been published in such sites as the Journal of Political Science Education and PS: Political Science and Politics, and featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Conversation. Undergraduate students and alumni co-author some of his articles and columns, and many students he has mentored have presented their research at professional conferences. He is the recipient of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2018 Craig L. Brians Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Mentorship, presented by the Political Science Education Section of the American Political Science Association (APSA). In 2020, Elizabethtown College awarded him the Kreider Prize for Teaching Excellence.
In addition, Dr. McClellan is actively involved with the Political Science Education section of APSA. He was a member of the APSA Presidential Task Force on Rethinking Political Science Education, co-chairing efforts to reform the undergraduate political science major. The final report of the Task Force, released March 2024, is found here: APSA Presidential Task Force on Rethinking Political Science Education – APSA (apsanet.org). A regular contributor to LNP/LancasterOnline, he offers commentary on current politics for area media outlets, including WITF-FM and the Pennsylvania Cable Network. In 2022, City & State Pennsylvania named him one of the “50 Over 50” most influential difference-makers in the state.
Dr. Gabriel Ricci
Professor of Humanities Emeritus
riccigr@etown.edu | 717-361-1139
Gabriel R. Ricci has taught in the History and Philosophy Departments since 1996, and served as the chair of the History Department from 2004 to 2011. He teaches political theory courses and a public policy ethics course for political science.
Dr. Wayne A. Selcher
Professor of International Studies Emeritus
wayneselcher@comcast.net | 717-361-1308 | Personal Website | Virtual Library
Wayne A. Selcher graduated from Lebanon Valley College (B.A., Spanish) and the University of Florida (M.A., Latin American Studies and Ph.D., Political Science). From 1969 to May 2007 he taught at Elizabethtown College, where he was chair of the Department of Political Science from 1970 to 1996 and held an endowed chair as Professor of International Studies from 1984 to 2007. He retired in May 2007, but still lectures occasionally and helps to advance the College's international connections. His major academic interests are international relations, Latin American politics and foreign policy, American foreign policy, American values and culture in a comparative context, and Internet use in international studies teaching and research. He is the creator, editor, and maintainer of the WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources, part of the WWW Virtual Library system.
Dr. Nathan Gibson
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Nathan Gibson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Elizabethtown College. He received a B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University and M.A. and Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University. His research focuses on how managerial and political factors affect policymaking in the executive and legislative branches. Dr. Gibson teaches courses on American government, the presidency, Congress, public policy, and public administration.
Before to coming to Elizabethtown, Dr. Gibson served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, drafting his book manuscript, The Policies Presidents Make: When and Why Presidents Centralize Executive Branch Policymaking. Prior to this fellowship, Dr. Gibson spent a semester as a Postgraduate Research Associate and Lecturer at Princeton University.
Dr. Gibson’s research has been published in Congress & The Presidency, The SAGE Handbook of Research Methods in Political Science and International Relations, and the Social Science Research Council’s volume, Can America Govern Itself? His dissertation, Presidential Use of Centralization and Politicization, won the American Political Science Association’s 2022 George C. Edwards III Dissertation Award in executive politics for its examination of how presidents use White House staff and political appointees to manage policymaking in the executive branch.
Dr. Matthew Telleen
Pre-Law Director
telleenm@etown.edu | 717-361-1272
Matthew Telleen teaches Etown’s LSAT prep course and constitutional law courses. Telleen previously has worked in corporate communications, print journalism, and as an attorney in St. Paul, Minnesota. His research focuses on corporate political speech, commercial speech, and First Amendment Theory. He earned his doctoral degree in communications from the University of South Carolina and his juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Kyle C. Kopko
Adjunct Professor of Political Science
kopkok@etown.edu | 717-361-1990 | Personal Website
Kyle C. Kopko received his Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University in 2010, with a specialization in judicial politics and constitutional law. His teaching and research interests include American politics, election law, constitutional law, judicial behavior, political psychology, and religion & politics. Dr. Kopko has published articles in Election Law Journal, Judicature, Political Behavior, and Presidential Studies Quarterly. Dr. Kopko also graduated with honors from Elizabethtown College in 2005.
William Bova
Adjunct Professor
Senior Associate at Greenlee Partners
William Bova is Senior Associate at Greenlee Partners, one of Pennsylvania's premier government affairs firms. He teaches the Pennsylvania Politics course at Etown, drawing upon over 20 years of experience covering politics as the Sr. VP of Programming for the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN). Bova has won various awards including being named COLUMNA CURIAE by the Pennsylvania Superior Court and serves on the Palmyra Library Board. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Elizabethtown College and a master’s degree in telecommunications from Kutztown University.
