Earlham College | News from Public Affairs

Gregory Mahler, provost at Kalamazoo College (Mich.) for the past 10 years, is Earlham College's new academic dean and vice president for academic affairs.

RICHMOND, Ind. — Earlham College is pleased to announce the appointment of Gregory Mahler as academic dean and vice president for academic affairs. He also will be named professor of politics. For the last 10 years, Mahler has been provost at Kalamazoo College, a residential liberal arts college and sister member of the Great Lakes Colleges Association in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Mahler replaces Len Clark who plans retirement in June 2007 after more than 25 years as Earlham's provost and academic dean, and joins other chief administrators, including Nelson Bingham, professor of psychology, who assumed responsibilities as provost in September 2006.

An accomplished scholar and teacher with a strong commitment to international education, Mahler begins his duties on July 1. Before that time he will make a few visits to the College over the coming months.

"I am delighted to welcome Greg Mahler to this important position at Earlham," said President Douglas C. Bennett. "His superb understanding of the liberal arts and sciences, along with his commitment to diversity and consultative decision-making, make him a strong addition to the College's leadership."

Mahler received his B.A. in 1972 from Oberlin College, and his Ph.D. in political science from Duke University in 1976. Before coming to Kalamazoo, he was an assistant professor of political science at Metropolitan State College of Denver (1977-78), assistant and associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont (1978-90), and professor and chair of political science at the University of Mississippi (1990-97).

"I am very excited about joining the Earlham community. Earlham's reputation for academic excellence, international and intercultural activity, and collaborative learning are very attractive," Mahler said. "I look forward to working with a new group of colleagues in support of these goals."

Throughout his lengthy teaching career, Mahler has conducted research in a wide range of settings, often receiving grant funding to support his activity. His activity has included research in several Caribbean countries with support of a grant from the Organization of American States and a Fulbright-Hayes Research grant.

Early in his career Mahler was a visiting scholar at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Headquarters Secretariat at the Palace of Westminster in London. Later, he served as a visiting professor at both Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has done extensive international speaking for the U.S. Department of State in such countries as Albania, Belarus, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Moldova, Mauritania, Senegal and Spain. In 1991 as a part of work with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, he received a Malone Fellowship for Arab and Islamic Studies and traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. More recently Mahler conducted a week-long seminar on civic education in Jerusalem and Ramallah for the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs.

He has authored and edited over two dozen volumes, including both textbooks and scholarly monographs. His comparative politics textbook published by Prentice Hall is currently in its fifth edition. His book Constitutionalism and Palestinian Constitutional Development (1996) received much attention in Palestine. His newest book is Politics and Government in Israel (2004), and he has recently signed a contract for a new volume to be titled The Middle East Peace Process. As well he has published much work in the study of Canadian politics. He also has published a substantial number of journal articles and chapters in books.

Greg and his wife, Marjorie, plan to move to the Richmond area. Their two grown daughters, Alden and Darcy, both reside in Atlanta.

Contact:
Denise Purcell, public affairs assistant
765/983-1323 — E-Mail Denise