Welcome to my website.

I am a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. As director, I work with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners to advance student success, support faculty excellence, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and expand the school’s public impact. My leadership focuses on building academic communities that prepare students to address complex local, national, and global challenges through engaged learning, civic leadership, and innovative scholarship. I currently lead a school with approximately 40 full-time faculty and 25 part-time faculty. My work as a scholar, teacher, and academic leader has earned system-wide and university-wide awards for teaching, service learning, and research, reflecting my commitment to excellence across all dimensions of the academic mission.

Leadership

Throughout my career, I have been committed to creating environments where faculty, staff, and students can thrive. My leadership philosophy is rooted in collaboration, transparency, shared purpose, and continuous improvement. I view academic leadership as bringing people together around a common vision while ensuring institutions remain responsive to changing student needs, emerging societal challenges, and new opportunities for innovation.

My administrative experience includes serving as Director of the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, Graduate Program Chair in Political Science, Faculty Leadership Fellow at Academic Affairs, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, and Director of the Islamic Studies Program at the University of Nebraska Omaha. In these roles, I have strengthened academic programs, supported faculty development, expanded student opportunities, built community partnerships, and promoted institutional excellence.

Research and Public Scholarship

My scholarship examines the relationship between democracy, governance, religion, human rights, and societal change. Through comparative and international perspectives, I explore how political institutions, public policies, and social movements shape opportunities, rights, and outcomes for diverse communities. I am the author of Alien Citizens: State and Religious Minorities in Turkey and France (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and co-author of Generating Generosity in Catholicism and Islam: Beliefs, Institutions and Public Goods Provision (Cambridge University Press, 2018). My research has appeared in leading journals in political science, comparative politics, international relations, and public policy, including Perspectives on Politics, Comparative Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Journal of Democracy, Politics and Religion, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Religion, State and Society, Turkish Studies, and Muslim World Journal of Human Rights.

I am also committed to public scholarship and community engagement. Through public lectures, media contributions, community partnerships, and service-learning initiatives, I seek to connect academic knowledge with contemporary policy challenges and public conversations. My goal is to produce research that advances scholarly understanding and contributes to informed public policy discussions on democracy, human rights, religious freedom, migration, and social cohesion.

Public Engagement and Community Impact

Universities have an important responsibility to serve society beyond the classroom. Throughout my career, I have developed programs that connect students with communities, encourage civic participation, and create opportunities for experiential learning. My work has included partnerships with government agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, human rights initiatives, refugee communities, and civic organizations. These experiences have reinforced my belief that meaningful education occurs when scholarship, public engagement, and student learning intersect.

Selected Awards

• Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award, University of Nebraska System (2021)
• Faculty Service Learning Award, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2022)
• Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2020)
• Research and Creative Activity Award, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2022)