Faculty Fellows


Khaldoun AbouAssi Provost Associate Professor SPA | Public Administration

Khaldoun AbouAssi is the Provost Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration & Policy. He holds a PhD in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affa

  abouassi@american.edu

  (202) 885-2509

Lynn Addington Professor SPA | Justice, Law & Criminology

Professor Addington’s research interests include the nature of violent crime and its impact on victims, measurement of crime, and utilization of U.S. crime statistics. Her current work focuses on i

  adding@american.edu

  (202) 885-2902

Ernesto Castaneda Director, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies CAS | Sociology

Maria De Jesus Professor SIS | Environment, Development & Health

Dr. Maria De Jesus brings to AU a wealth of research and teaching experiences in the area of global health, a critical area of focus in interstate and transnational relations. Her research focuses on

  dejesus@american.edu

Daniel Esser Associate Professor SIS | Global Inquiry

Carolyn Gallaher Professor SIS | Peace, Human Rights & Cultural Relations

I do research in two distinct areas—organized violence by non-state actors and urban politicsIn the first area, on which I have spent more time, I examine the politics, internal dynamics, and patterns

  caroleg@american.edu

Sonya Grier Professor KSB | Marketing

Professor Grier is an interdisciplinary scholar with diverse expertise across private, government, and non-profit sectors. Her research examines marketplace topics related to race, with a focus on enh

  sonya.grier@american.edu

  (202) 885-1971

Jocelyn Johnston Professor SPA | Public Administration

Professor Johnston’s current research focuses on government contracting, public management, and intergovernmental programs and policy. Her publications can be seen in such scholarly journals as the Jo

  johnston@american.edu

  (202) 885-2608

Dan Kerr Associate Professor CAS | History

Daniel Kerr is the director of American University's Humanities Truck program and the associate director of its public history program. He is the president-elect of the Oral History Association. Kerr

  kerr@american.edu

  (202) 885-2161

Jordanna Matlon Associate Professor SIS | Global Inquiry

Dr. Matlon is an urban sociologist and scholar of race and colonial legacies in Africa and the African diaspora. Her scholarship interrogates the ways “Blackness” operates as a signifier, intersects w

  jcmatlon@american.edu

  (202) 885-6720

Taryn Morrissey Professor, DPAP Chair, and Associate Dean of Research SPA | Public Administration

Dr. Morrissey is Associate Dean of Research at the School of Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Her work centers on examining and improving public polic

  morrisse@american.edu

  (202) 885-6323

Jane Palmer Associate Professor SPA | Justice, Law & Criminology

Dr. Jane Palmer is an Associate Professor with a primary focus on community-based participatory research, help-seeking, community-based responses to harm, and ending gender-based violence.

Sh

  jpalmer@american.edu

  (202) 885-3118

David Pike Professor CAS | Literature

Professor Pike has taught in the Department of Literature since 1995. His most recent book is After the End: Cold War Culture and Apocalyptic Imaginations in the 21st Century, forthcoming fro

  dpike@american.edu

  (202) 885-2996

Malini Ranganathan Associate Professor SIS | Environment, Development & Health

Malini Ranganathan is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American University, and a political ecologist and geographer by training. She is a faculty affiliate of three un

  malini@american.edu

Elizabeth Rule Assistant Professor CAS | Critical RGC Studies

Dr. Elizabeth Rule (enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation) is an Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies at American University in Washington, DC. Rule’s research on issue

  rule@american.edu

David Schwegman Assistant Professor SPA | Public Administration

David J. Schwegman is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. He is also an Academic Affiliate with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) in the General Service

  schwegma@american.edu

Brenda Smith Professor WCL | General Academics & Research

Brenda V. Smith is professor of law at the American University Washington College of Law and Director of the Community Economic Development Law Clinic. From 2018-2020, Smith served as Senior Associ

  bvsmith@american.edu

  (202) 274-4261

Jhacova Williams Assistant Professor SPA | Public Administration

Jhacova Williams is an applied microeconomist focusing primarily on economic history and cultural economics. Her previous work has examined Southern culture and the extent to which historical events h

  jhacovaw@american.edu