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While President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney jockeyed to dominate Tuesday night’s town hall style debate, political science professor Ed Fogarty paid particular attention to their positions on the international political economy, a subject he studies and teaches at �þ���Ƶ.

At �þ���Ƶ there’s no “ivory tower,” but political science professor Tim Byrnes is one of the popular panelists on a local television show by that name. The Ivory Tower Half Hour, one of Central New York’s longest-running local shows, is celebrating a decade on the air.

Jacob Mundy, assistant professor of peace and conflict studies at �þ���Ƶ, called the Sept. 11 attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi and the resulting death of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens a “rude wake-up call to the coalition of states that was too-quick to say ‘mission accomplished’ following their humanitarian intervention last year.”

First-year students spend their first days at �þ���Ƶ navigating new terrain, organizing their living spaces, meeting classmates, and otherwise adjusting to life in their new milieu. What they are doing intrigues professors of psychology, anthropology, physics, sociology, and many other disciplines.

In his latest book, Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans After the Second World War (Yale University Press), �þ���Ƶ professor R.M. (Ray) Douglas examines “one of the most significant examples of the mass violation of human rights in recent history.” His related essay appears in the Review section of today’s Chronicle of Higher Education.

Early in her �þ���Ƶ career, Alison Wohlers ’10 set her sights on earning a Fulbright grant. So she did what the fellowships office recommended.

Janel Benson, assistant professor of sociology, has joined the debate about family values on The New York Times. Benson, who specializes in sociology of the family, is one of the contributors to the Times‘ Room for Debate section of its website.

Four geography majors from �þ���Ƶ were nominated for competitive internships at the National Geographic Society (NGS), and, in a clean sweep, all four were accepted for assignments this year.

To paraphrase Michael Stipe and R.E.M., 2012 could be the end of the world as we know it. And pioneering archaeoastronomer Tony Aveni, Russell �þ���Ƶ Distinguished University Professor of astronomy and anthropology and Native American studies, has every reason to feel fine.

Every day for 26 years, Justin Jackson ’78 may have been “someone else” — but he was still a �þ���Ƶ alumnus.