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• IU School of Global and International Studies appoints Russ Hanson as its first associate dean

IU School of Global and International Studies appoints Russ Hanson as its first associate dean

• Aug. 19, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Russ Hanson, a faculty member at Indiana University Bloomington since 1980 and chair of its political science department since 2009, will become the first associate dean of the Indiana University School of Global and International Studies.
 
Hanson, who will become the school's associate dean for institutional planning and development, also will continue in his responsibilities as chair and professor of political science.
 
In making the appointment, School of Global and International Studies Dean Lee Feinstein noted Hanson's extensive IU administrative experience in addition to his academic record. Hanson served as acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1999 and 2000 and as an associate dean for several years prior. The School of Global and International Studies is based within the College of Arts and Sciences.
 
“Russ Hanson is ideally qualified for this position with nearly four decades of impressive academic scholarship and a distinguished record of service in administrative roles at Indiana University,” Feinstein said. “Russ’ experience and leadership will be instrumental in helping SGIS leverage IU’s unmatched strengths in regional studies and languages. I’m delighted that Russ has agreed to offer his energy and talents as we build upon IU’s already impressive record of international and global education.”
 
"I'm honored to assist Dean Feinstein in launching the new School of Global and International Studies, which capitalizes on historic strengths of our university and the growing interest of faculty and students alike in a wide range of contemporary global issues and concerns," Hanson said. "With these resources, and Dean Feinstein's leadership, we can become a leader in preparing the next generation of policymakers, entrepreneurs and humanitarian aides acting on the world stage. That is an exciting prospect, and a very worthwhile endeavor. I'm looking forward to it."

A native of South Dakota, Hanson earned a Master of Arts degree and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John's University in Minnesota.

In addition to teaching at IU, he has been a teaching fellow at the Institute of United States Studies at the University of London, a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Science at Stanford University. He also has been a visiting professor at Carleton College in Minnesota, Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and his alma mater.

His primary research interests lie at the intersection of political philosophy and American politics. He has studied the historical development of liberalism in the United States, and the way development affects prospects for democracy, along with a related concern, Federalism.

He is the author of "The Democratic Imagination in America" (1985), and the co-editor of "Political Innovation and Conceptual Change" (1989), "Reconsidering the Democratic Public" (1993) and "Politics in the American States" (2012). His articles have appeared in the Journal of Politics, American Journal of Political Science, Publius, State Politics and Policy Quarterly.

For decades, IU has been a leader in international studies, teaching more foreign languages than almost any other American institution of higher education and housing 11 federally funded Title VI area studies centers, more than any other university. About 70 languages are taught at IU Bloomington regularly, which is home to federally funded Language Flagship programs in Chinese, Turkish and Swahili, and National Language Resource Centers in African and Central Asian languages.

The new interdisciplinary School of Global and International Studies brings together these strengths and will draw upon internationally focused resources in other schools and departments at IU to expand international education opportunities for all students.

Related Links

• IU School of Global and International Studies
• College of Arts and Sciences