Professor John Lappie: PSU’s Political Pundit

There is always interest in presidential elections. They decide what direction the country will be heading in the next four years … and maybe beyond. Of course, there are the barbs, innuendos, and flat-out lies that make for interesting discussions.

So to know that John Lappie, PhD, assistant professor of political science, was one of tens of millions of people in the United States—and millions more worldwide—to fervently follow the race between George W. Bush and Al Gore is no surprise.

However, Lappie was merely a middle schooler in Connecticut. That is not the normal demographic for an interest in politics.

“I paid a lot of attention to the 2000 election. I was probably the only one in middle school who did,” said Lappie, who has been at Plymouth State since fall 2018.

Politics, especially on the local level, was a common topic of discussion in the Lappie household. His mother and father were both involved, as a school board member and a town counselor, respectively.

Lappie, whose courses focus mostly on American politics, public policy, and research, is popular in part because he makes sure his classes, such as Tackling a Wicked Problem: Political Polarization in the Extremism of Politics, Being an American, and Public Administration, are as interesting as possible. It helps keep political science majors in the major and encourages non-majors to transfer in.

Lappie also educates the public as a political expert. He can be heard on radio programs “NH Today” with Chris Ryan on WGIR, and “Morning Update” with Jeff Chidester on WFEA, and is a regular contributor on television stations WMUR and WCAX. Media outlets like the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Politico, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post have also sought him as an expert in a wide range of areas.

Gabriela Gondolfe ’23, a political science major and pre-law minor, was drawn to Lappie’s teaching style early. It played a big part in her PSU career, which included classes with him every year, as well as being a teacher’s assistant in his Tackling a Wicked Problem course and a tutor in Social Statistics. She remembers him breaking up lectures with lots of visual aids, pointing out interesting political social media posts, and even posing random questions unrelated to politics to break up the subject matter and keep everyone loose.

“Professor Lappie really cares about his students,” says Gondolfe, who works at Middlesex County Probate and Family Court in Woburn, MA. “He makes learning a not-so-fun topic more interesting and fun to learn. If it wasn’t for his teaching style and his wanting to see everyone succeed, I am not sure if I would have stayed a political science major, and a lot of my classmates felt the same way.

“I always recommend to other students that if they have a chance to take a class with him to do so because it will stick with you.”

Matt Rudzinski ’22, ’24MBA photo.

Lappie’s interest in students’ well-being goes beyond the campus. He often checks in with Gondolfe to see how her first full-time job is going and offers any assistance he can provide, much like he did when he wrote a letter of recommendation for her current position.

“We have been staying in touch since I graduated,” Gondolfe adds. “I am sure he will always be a valuable person in my life as a mentor.”

It’s not surprising that Lappie gets so much joy and satisfaction teaching non-majors as he does, since he believes providing young adults with information they will use for decades is invaluable.

“I think it is important for every student to learn politics. It affects everything you will do as an adult and I often use this analogy: I am not mechanically inclined. I don’t find conversation about how a car works interesting, but since I own one, I should know the basics of how it works. The same can be true as regards to politics. You need to know the basics.”

Lappie enjoys the “outside” work. He realizes, though, that he is in the right place at the right time.

“I feel fortunate to be studying and teaching political science in New Hampshire,” he says. “I work in a state that has influence in national politics and draws local and national media to me every four years.”

Before coming to Plymouth Lappie was at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, earning his master’s and doctorate. His next three years were at the Center for Local Elections in American Politics at Rice University in Houston. He and his colleagues collected data on local elections to unearth how voter turnout and candidate behavior are affected by different factors. At the time it was the biggest sample size for studies on local elections and races, and he is considered an expert on the topic.

Lappie certainly uses that experience in the classroom to students’ benefit.

“It’s really impressive that he knows so much on one subject after all of his research,” says Gondolfe. “It gives a lot of credibility to what he teaches.” ■ Brad Spiegel