Proud and Humbled

I was in Toronto yesterday for an awards ceremony.  Aisha Ahmad, one of my Phd students from my time at McGill, was receiving an award for best article on an international security topic in 2016.  She was supposed to heave received it last winter at the ISA meeting in Baltimore, but that took place shortly after Trump announced his Muslim ban.  So, I accepted the award on her behalf, and we decided to hold an event in Toronto to recognize her.

Of course, Aisha decided to take advantage of the moment by doing two things: schooling us on doing research and on highlighting her students.  After big IR poohbah Robert Keohane (whose last name gets mispronounced more frequently and in more ways than mine) had a few comment and insights, Aisha discussed positionality in research, especially in fieldwork, making it clear that everyone has a distinct position from where they ask questions, but it seems that only brown folks and women folks tend to be asked about their position and how it affects their work.  She had a great example from real life as her white male colleagues interviewed the same guy she did on the same day but in a different context and got a very different perspective of that same guy.  Really very clarifying discussion. 

Aisha then had a series of her students--undergrad and grad--to discuss their work briefly, and they knocked our socks off.  I have always been impressed with her diligence and her dedication, but mentioning that would have turned my Harry Potter reference (three d's of disapparition) into a Dodgeball reference (five d's of dodgeball).

After she talked, Barnett Rubin moderated, David Dewitt and I said a few things.  David talked about Aisha's article and spiffy new book. I talked about Aisha and how truly impressive she is and how far she has come.  The path has not been easy for her, but she has walked it (or ran it, I guess) with grace and fire. 

I have much pride for her excellence, but I am also humbled because she works so much harder than I do/did, is so much more diligent and passionate about the work, and is just rocking the profession. I joked that I will take all credit for her success, as is my right as her supervisor, but, we know the truth--it is all Aisha. 

Thanks, Ben Schiff

This month, my adviser at Oberlin, Ben Schiff, retires.  I was not able to make it to Oberlin to give thanks, perhaps make a few jokes, and wish him well give him thanks.  So, I will do what I always do--talk about it here.

I only took two classes with Ben, as I discovered Political Science and IR late in my frosh year and he was on sabbatical during my second year at Oberlin.  When he returned, I took his Mideast Politics class and then his seminar.  I was disappointed at first that he had changed his seminar topic from Arms Sales to Refugees.  It reflected his changing research interests, but I had been more interested in the old arms sales topic.  Of course, that might have been a good thing since a friend I knew had his paper disrupted towards the end of the semester as he had been studying the "successful" arms embargo against Iran just as it came out that the US via Iran-Contra was selling arms to Iran.  Ooops. 

Anyhow, the refugee course was new to Ben, reflecting a desire to continue to pursue his curiosity wherever it took him.  This helped inspire not just my career but how I pursued it.  Ben went from studying the International Atomic Energy Agency to refugees to the International Criminal Court.  Perhaps as a result, my worked has also bumped around from topic to topic, depending on what intrigued me, rather than specializing in one thing for my career. 

Ben was far better than I have ever been in running a seminar.  It was a good group to be sure, as Obies are pretty sharp folks and like to argue about everything discuss stuff.  In the Politics of the Mideast Class, or whatever it was called, we had a paper assignment which was actually two papers--to argue the issues from the Israeli standpoint and from the Palestinian standpoint: Schmuel Saideman vs. Steve Said.  I thought I was pretty clever.  Maybe I wasn't, but I only remember a few assignments from my undergraduate days, and this was one of them.  I also remember Ben's appeal to foster discussion--that classroom discussions were low risk environments (as opposed to conversations around a boardroom table or government meeting), so have at it.

While Ben shaped some of my views of both IR and teaching, perhaps the contribution I can most clearly identify to my career is that he gave great advice to a panicked senior who was looking at grad schools.  "Check out UCSD.  Sure, the folks there are pretty arrogant, but they are also quite sharp."  I would not have applied to UCSD if not for Ben's advice, and I would not have gotten in without his recommendation.  His assistance that year definitely changed my life, as that choice forever dominated my destiny.

Ben turned out to be a great adviser to the next generation of IR scholars.  Oberlin has a grand tradition of producing not just Phds and not just Phds in Political Science, but in IR: Kenneth Waltz, Robert Jervis and Scott Sagan all went to Oberlin.  The folks who Ben mentored may not have as big names, but I am pretty proud to be in the same company as George Shambaugh, Audie Klotz, and, my classmate, Beth DeSombre. 

Congrats on your retirement, Ben.  Oberlin will miss you, and I will certainly miss our occasional coffees at random ISA's over the years.

Mentoring Training Video

This is now my go-to video for mentoring posts:

Mentoring For the Win!

The Research Prizes came with a slick pamphlet!

I would like to thank the Academy, my agent, my manager, and, of course, my family.  Today, I received an award for Faculty Mentoring at Carleton.  Why?  Damned if I know.  Ok, I may have some clues.  Unlike my last few years at my old job, since I arrived in 2012, I have said yes to nearly everything, including helping other folks with their stuff.


I am my department/school's (is NPSIA a department or a school?  hmmm)  Research Mentor.  I had never heard of such a thing before I came here, but the Vice President for Research developed this position within each unit to help foster research.  But it came with no instructions/rules/expectations.  So, my primary focus has been to help my colleagues in their pursuit of grant money.  We have created the equivalent of study groups when multiple people apply for the same grant competitions (SSHRC's Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants).  We read each other's proposals and give comments.  Nothing too special.

I have little experience with the shake, hold and grin process.

I also participated in a couple of campus wide events that were aimed at giving advice to fellow faculty: one on publishing books and the other on social media.   And, I give out heaps of advice, solicited or otherwise.  Mostly otherwise.

Of course, I am sure my colleagues at my various stops along the way are thinking: people actually listen to him?

Seriously though, this award means a great deal, as this job is not just about research.  And I would not be here if I had received much mentoring over the years.  How much?  Well, given how many I thank below, a veritable heap.

I am very grateful to many, many folks for providing suggestions, constructive criticisms (even some helpfully destructive ones), shoulders to lean on, much patience as they listened to me whine, for many letters of recommendation, and all the rest.  I will probably forget a few, but I am very, very thankful for the mentoring I have received from:

• Ben and Isebill at Oberlin to start me on this path;
• Miles, David, Peter C, Arend, Lisa, and Phil who guided my early work and my professionalization (don't blame them for my various flaws) at UCSD;
• the folks in and near my cohort who gave me so much useful feedback and served as role models, especially Debbi, Hendrik, Dave, John, Brian, Neil, Lisa, Lisa, and Mike;  
• the folks in subsequent cohorts who demonstrated that the UCSD community is mighty cool especially intergenerationally (mentors can invent new words), especially Wendy and Idean;
• some nice folks during hard times at UVM: Tony, Cherie (something about that name..), Peter and Bob;
• my fellow POWs at TTU: Cherie, Irwin, David (the best chair I ever had), John T, Grant, lil' Steve, and Craig;
• all of the folks near and/or in the J-5's Balkan Mosh Pit of Despair, but especially Colonel Jim, Captain Jim, Doug, and Ray;
• the McGill mafia of mentoring excellence (a new brandname?) also known as the supervisors of last resort: Juliet, Jacob, Stuart and Dietlind;
• the folks at my home away from home in Ontario at Queen's: Kim, John, Margaret and David;
• the enemy--those bandits up the canal at U of O--thanks to Phil, Marie-Eve, and Roland;
• the NPSIA folks, especially a couple of Davids, Jean, and Dane, not to mention my favorite dean of all time (André);
• the bloggers and tweeps who have inspired me and advised me, especially Dan, Dan, Marc, Jon, Charli, Laura, Stephanie, Caitlin, and Erin;
• my conference pals (now a 365 day thing thanks to fb and all that) who provided much guidance and support, especially Pat, Sara, Pattie (missed so very much), Johanna, Erin, Sherrill, the poker crew, and others that I am currently forgetting;
• the co-authors who did more than just share the research/writing:  David, Erin, MJ, Johanna, Jonathan, Phil, and especially Bill and Dave;
• and to all of my mentorees who have suffered through my trial and errors (that mentoring is always a two-way street), and who have taught me so much: Sam, Brent, Jonathan, Suranjan, Amy, Sarah-Myriam, Ora, Aisha, and Jessica (and honorary members of Team Steve: Theo, Cesi, David, and Julie).

I am honored by this recognition.  I feel really appreciated here, which, of course, makes it easier for me to agree to do more stuff.  Their dastardly plan is working!!

I enjoy working with others.  Academia can be seen as an individual sport and often seems like it, but it can be a team sport, and I am very glad to have found great teammates along the way.