Meet the Faculty

American University has one of the largest concentrations of faculty, referred to as Scholar-Practitioners, focused on international development. Members of the development faculty are distinguished by their scholarly reputation, their combination of theory and field experience, their commitment to teaching, and the lasting relationships they build with students in the program.

Department Chair

Research interests

  • Humanitarian interventions
  • Sustainable development
  • Global health

Department Director of Graduate Studies

Research interests

  • Political and social dynamics of environmental degradation
  • Prospects for sustainable development in China

Core Faculty

Research interests

  • Political economy
  • Ethnicity, inequality, and development
  • Sub-Saharan Africa

Research interests

  • Political economy of development
  • Local governance in South Asia

Research interests

  • Economic globalization and development
  • Environment and development
  • Worker rights vs. corporate rights

Research interests

  • Development economics
  • Labor markets and migration
  • Agriculture
  • Environmental economics

Research interests

  • Social enterprise
  • Nonprofit management

Research interests

  • Governance and citizen participation
  • Transparency and accountability
  • Action-research

Research interests

  • Bureaucracies of international aid projects
  • Politics of conservation
  • Haiti

Research interests

  • Governance and development
  • Social change and politics
  • Latin America

Research interests

  • Agriculture and rural development
  • Monitoring and evaluation

Research interests

  • Gender, race and identity in Africa
  • The African diaspora
  • African urbanism
  • Politics of representation

Research interests

  • Post-conflict democratization
  • Security-sector reform
  • Smart power and gastrodiplomacy

Research interests

  • Conflict and Development
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Monitoring and Evaluation

Research interests

  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Extreme poverty reduction
  • Cultural communication
  • Women's empowerment

Research interests

  • International trade
  • Labor economics
  • Development economics

Research interests

  • Global health
  • Reproductive health and HIV
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Sexual and gender minorities

Research interests

  • Global health
  • HIV prevention
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Social networks in health

Affiliated Faculty