Copy

March 2018

Faculty Featurette
Dr. Thorsten Spehn
This month we had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Thorsten Spehn from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He is an Associate Professor C/T  and Director of the Political Science Graduate Program.
What initially drew you into the political science as a career?
I am German but grew up in Karachi, Pakistan during the 1970s and 80s. Those were unstable times. I remember when the military took over and the main newspaper was half-empty—all these white spaces—because it had been censored. Throughout my time in Pakistan, I had to be aware of the political climate with schools being closed during times of trouble. Shockwaves traveled throughout the Middle East after the Iranian revolution in 1979. The American High School I went to was shut down for three months. I remember when my Mom came to tell me. Those were among the experiences that made me realize how important politics is to people. We take our political stability for granted but that can change quickly when political processes unfold. I wanted to understand them better and then, make other people aware of them also.
Besides teaching, what other activities do you engage in for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Political Science?
I was the Director of the Graduate Program in Political Science between 2009 and 2017. This involved advising, recruiting and providing information for interested students. Lots of paperwork but very rewarding because of the mentoring components involved. I have done my share of committee work: Academic Standards, Educational Policies and Curriculum, Advisory Committee for the CTT just during the last few years. I also supervised a TA exchange program between the University of Denver and UCD Pol Sci: I would select and mentor a PhD candidate in one of my classes and, if qualified, that candidate would teach his/her own class at UCD, complementing our course offerings. I find mentoring extremely rewarding. But teaching is my passion and, like you and many other NTT colleagues, I teach many students which creates the financial base to support the research of our tenure-track colleagues.
What do you like most about your work here at CU Denver?
I like our students. As urban university, we attract a great diversity of students. I like the fact that many of them work, have families, have a life outside of UCD. Of course, this creates challenges since we need to have them meet our academic standards. I also like UCD as a workplace. On the whole, people are respectful to each other. There is a lot of cooperation and consideration for each other, especially within the Department of Political Science. I enjoy coming to work. That is the main reason I stayed here after I finished my dissertation.
You have received your education from different parts of the world. In what way were the challenges different –and the same?

I grew up in Pakistan, went to Oberlin College in Ohio, received an MA from Muenster in Germany and came back to get my PhD at the University of Denver. The paperwork was challenging. Course credits got lost in translation although I hear that it is getting better. Different cultures emphasize different modes of thinking. Germans tend to emphasize precision and standards. In the United States, there is more of an emphasis on creative thinking—on discovering something new. Of course, both modes are important.
Your appointment as a Clinical Teaching Track professor is “Teaching Heavy”. How do you feel about teaching and research components of your appointment and their relationship?
It is a considerable challenge. Research and writing sharpen my communication skills, so that is a good thing. But there is conflict also. Teaching means learning to reduce complexity while complexity is the hallmark for academic writing. I am close to finishing a book but it really is difficult given my teaching load. Academic research is highly competitive. It is difficult to create a “small” research program when the output has to compete with the best research in the field.

I feel that UCD has been supportive of my research and writing efforts but as you know, this is a structural issue and many things still need to change for NTTF: Greater recognition of high teaching loads, TA support, conference funding, sabbaticals to keep up with the field, and dare I say it salary increases…






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
University of Colorado Denver UCDALI · 1380 lawrence street Campus Box 137 · Denver, CO 80204 · USA

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp