Center's Director

Dr. Michael J.G. Cain
Political Science Department
Kent Hall 105
240-895-4215

Dr. Michael Cain joined the faculty at St. Mary's College in 1999 and is currently a Professor of the Political Science. He authored the first external grant award received by the Center in 2002 from the Library of Congress and was an original member of the Faculty Advisory Committee. He was named Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy in July 2007 after serving two years in Romania as a senior technical advisor to the United States Agency for International Development. He teaches classes on Processes of Democratization, Voting and Legislatures, and Political Philosophy.

Dr. Cain received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Rutgers University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in government and politics from the University of Maryland. He has authored over thirty academic publications and government reports covering a wide range of topics on voting, international development and public policy. Much of his research has focused on ways to improve democratic institutions and increase the civic engagement of citizens. His work has appeared in national and international academic journals including the Journal of Theoretical Politics, Public Choice, and Energetica. He has provided political commentary on Maryland politics for WYPR's Maryland Morning with Sheila Kast, the Mark Steiner Show, and The Baltimore Sun. Dr. Cain also has been invited lecturer at the College of William and Mary, the World Bank, Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies at Brown University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Humboldt University and the University of Warsaw.

Prior to joining the faculty Dr. Cain taught political science and public policy at the University of Mississippi, the University of Warsaw and the University of Maryland. He received post-doctorate fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies.

Michael Cain was on sabbatical during the 2010/2011 academic year. Professor Todd Eberly was appointed the acting Director.

Professor Eberly is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of Public Policy Studies. He specializes in American Politics and Institutions as well health, welfare, and budget policy. His recent research has focused on electoral politics and mass political participation in an era of declining party influence.

Before joining the St. Mary's College Political Science Department, Dr. Eberly was a senior research analyst with the Center for Health Program Development and Management (the Center), a health policy firm based on the campus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) that works to improve the health and social outcomes of vulnerable populations through research, analysis, and evaluations on behalf of government agencies, foundations, and other organizations. During his tenure, Dr. Eberly was responsible for health program evaluation, survey design and implementation, and data analysis. Dr. Eberly possesses expertise in Medicaid managed care, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and Medicare and Medicaid long-term and acute care policy ands has presented original research at several regional and national conferences on topics ranging from racial disparities in access to health care to state level initiatives to expand health insurance coverage.

Dr. Eberly has been a primary or contributing author on studies addressing the Maryland HealthChoice Program, the Maryland Children's Health Program, private insurance crowd-out by public programs, and racial and ethnic disparities in health. He was also an editor and columnist for a bi-monthly health policy newsletter.

Dr. Eberly received his Ph.D. in public policy from UMBC. He received the 2006 Annual Dissertation Award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration for his doctoral research on the impact of the Maryland Medicaid program on racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of health care.