Dr. Denis Dean
Five new tenure-track faculty members joined the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) this fall, expanding the school’s expertise in international conflict and economics.
Three of the new faculty members study war and peace, terrorism, insurgencies and civil conflict with an emphasis on quantitative research. The two new economics experts focus on taxation and monetary policy, broadening the school’s faculty in microeconomics.
“Individually and collectively, this group of new faculty members is a wonderful addition to EPPS,” said Dr. Denis Dean, dean of EPPS. “Individually, each of the five is an outstanding expert in their fields and will contribute to EPPS’ and UT Dallas’ research and teaching prowess. Collectively, they strengthen the school’s already considerable strengths in quantitative analysis and international conflict, and they fill some long-standing holes in our research and teaching portfolios. I am confident that this group’s contributions will benefit EPPS and UT Dallas for years to come.”
EPPS has degree programs in nine subject areas: criminology, economics, geospatial information sciences, international political economy, political science, public affairs, sociology, public policy and political economy, and justice administration and leadership.
New Tenure-Track Faculty
Dr. Paul F. Diehl
Dr. Paul F. Diehl, Ashbel Smith professor of political science, associate provost and director of teaching-learning initiatives; president, International Studies Association, 2015-16
Previously: Henning Larsen Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; founding director of the Office of Undergraduate Research; founding director, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Teaching Academy
Research interests: enduring rivalries, U.N. peacekeeping, conflict management, international law
Quote: “There is a consensus that at least war between states, not civil war, is on decline and has been since 1945. It isn’t just that war is on the decline, however; it’s also that more peaceful relationships are rising at the same time independently of the decline of war. In many ways, there’s some good news out there about the rise of peace. That doesn’t mean that most of the country relationships in the world are fully peaceful. A number of relationships are moving slowly from the one end of a continuum, where there are very hostile rivalries toward the middle where the two states are neither friends nor enemies.”
Dr. Vito D’Orazio
Dr. Vito D’Orazio, assistant professor of political science
Previously: postdoctoral researcher, Harvard University, Institute for Quantitative Social Science
Research interests: international conflict, military cooperation, social measurement, data privacy, machine learning algorithms and software development
Quote: “The international system is filled with many types of cooperative and conflictual interactions. I work to understand the effects of military cooperation on state behavior, particularly with respect to conflict and the use of military force. Relatedly, I work in developing and applying the latest technologies to collect data on these interactions to improve our understanding and ability to predict conflict and political violence.”
Dr. Seth Giertz
Dr. Seth Giertz, associate professor of economics
Previously: associate professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Economics; principal analyst, Congressional Budget Office (Tax Analysis Division); staff economist, President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform
Research interests: taxation, public finance, urban and regional economics
Quote: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in public policy. That’s the reason I went into economics. I served as a legislative intern for the Illinois State Senate Appropriations Committee immediately after college. From there, I entered the PhD program in economics at Syracuse University. Like UT Dallas, economics at Syracuse is in a policy school (Maxwell). Economic policy affects everyone’s lives. Understanding the implications of policy choices should be the foundation for policy debates.”
Dr. Idean Saleyhan
Dr. Idean Saleyhan, associate professor of political science, co-director of the Social Conflict Analysis Database
Previously: associate professor of political science, University of North Texas
Research interests: political science, international relations, international conflict, international security, civil war
Quote: “Ideally, we’d like to live in a more peaceful, just, humane world. If research can help inform that, all the better. My current research tries to understand why governments sometimes respond violently and abuse human rights when people are exercising their right to peaceful assembly. Our goal is to try to inform governments around the world in best responses to peaceful protests and how to facilitate long-term stability, economic development and growth.”
Dr. Victor Valcarcel
Dr. Victor Valcarcel, associate professor of economics
Previously: assistant professor of economics, Texas Tech University
Research interests: monetary economics, applied time series, business cycles
Quote: “Attention to the federal funds rate as a single indicator of monetary policy has become doctrine in policy circles, and it has percolated as a common wisdom to the public at large. However, since 2008, it has ceased to be informative as it has not moved appreciably from zero. My current research involves searching for alternative measures that may complement the usefulness of the federal funds rate during normal conditions and, more important, retain informational content in the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis.”
New Faculty Series
News Center is publishing profiles of tenured and tenure-track professors who have recently joined the University. The following school profiles have been published: