North Central faculty pair offers perspective on 2016 election campaign

North Central College Assistant Professor Suzanne Chod teaches American politics and research methodology.
North Central College Assistant Professor Suzanne Chod teaches American politics and research methodology. | Contributed photo

In an election year when national politics has become front and center, two North Central College faculty members in Naperville, Illinois recently conceded that 2016 has yielded much unpredictability — in turn, altering their current work.

Assistant Professor Suzanne Chod, who teaches American politics and research methodology, and political science instructor Abigaile VanHorn, an adjunct professor and assistant director of leadership programs, shared their respective views on how the race for president has impacted their research — particularly with the presumptive nominees being a female and a businessman.

Weighing in on gender and the roles of spouses, both agreed that 2016’s presidential election has sparked lively classroom conversation and forced them to fine-tune their predictions midway through primary season. Chod said she didn’t see Trump’s nomination coming and “decided to stop prognosticating” as a result.

Van Horn’s dissertation explored the roles of candidate’s spouses, and she expressed special interest in seeing how Bill Clinton’s role in Hillary Clinton’s campaign will evolve in the very near future.

“I don’t see Bill as having a surrogate role on the campaign trail,” she said.  As for the official title for Bill Clinton should his wife be elected president? Van Horn termed that “the million-dollar question.”