Michael Popović

Please accept the materials on this web site as my application for continuing appointment in the Politics Department at SUNY Potsdam. Since my first semester at SUNY Potsdam in 2005 I have felt a strong connection to the college and particularly to the Department of Politics. Of all the different work environments that I have encountered over the course of my 23 years of teaching, this department has been by far the best place for me. I am excited to be applying for tenure, which has remained elusive for many years. I hope I have shown that I am deeply committed to this institution, my colleagues, and foremost my students through my work for Potsdam overall but in particular in the years under review (2017-2023). I have written 7 reappointment folders before this one (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022) and I hope I have shown throughout that I am providing high quality work in teaching, scholarship, and service.

 

When it comes to teaching, I want to point your attention to the International Studies Program that I have helped build through the addition and diversification of my class offerings. In addition, I want to underline my stellar teaching evaluations that I receive consistently from my students every semester. In most of my classes almost all students give me an overall rating of excellent with only a single ranking as average. In Spring 2020 and again in Spring 2021, 100% of my students rated me as excellent which is especially meaningful in the pandemic context. While I receive these high rankings from my students, I am able to provide effective and high quality education that has allowed some of my International Studies advisees to receive of two of the most competitive graduate fellowships of the State Department (Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship) and be selected for programs such as the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship. In recognition of my efforts in teaching my students, I received the 2022 SUNY Potsdam President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. 

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In my research, I have pursued two connected main lines of inquiry. First, my social justice research in the context of gender, sexuality, race, and economic inequality. This work has resulted in social justice advocacy and work using the dialogue approach, conference presentations, and a co-authored forthcoming fall 2023 publication in the Journal for Global Ethics. This publication combines my first line of research with my second - international climate change migration. I am conducting cutting-edge research with Dr. Rogers (Environmental Studies) and Dr. Humagain (Earth and Environmental Science) in the quickly expanding literature analyzing international migration adaption to global climate change through the innovative use of Geographic Information Science. This work has resulted in two conference paper presentation and the invitation to join a team of researchers (mostly from NYU) in a larger multi-year NSF grant application as one of the 5 PIs.  

 

In addition, I have provided a very significant amount of service to SUNY Potsdam by taking on leadership positions in high-profile and often highly sensitive DEIJ contexts by successfully advancing a variety of programs and initiatives. In my last reappointment recommendation, Provost Bergeron noted that my "support of our campus' DEI mission and initiatives is unprecedented" and that I have "made sizable and impactful contributions to many marginalized individuals on this campus". In the context of the First Year Connect (1YC) program, Days of Reflection, Office for Gender and Sexuality, I have provided trainings, initiated and led a LGBTQ+ support group, raised significant funding, organized multi-day conferences, supported and ran multiple programs, facilitated over 200 dialogues, and created the SUNY Potsdam Lavender Graduation among many other activities. In addition to my DEIJ work for the college, I also helped establish and successfully coordinated the International Studies major (2015-20), which has produced an impressive track record of successful applications to graduate programs at top ranking universities and highly competitive graduate fellowship programs.  

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While the pandemic and racial reckoning in 2020 constituted some of the most challenging periods of my professional career so far, I am very satisfied with what I have been able to accomplish despite the overall difficult situation. Not only was I able to advance my research and continue to provide significant service to the college, I also transitioned my students very successfully to the virtual format and was able to ensure that learning continued, which was aided by my significant online teaching experience (13 asynchronous classes before Covid). I am looking forward to applying this experience and my successful approach to the new Politics online major. 

 

This continuing appointment application provides you with the most important aspects of the work I do at SUNY Potsdam. I am more than happy to promptly provide you with any additional information and supporting materials you may need to evaluate my request. I started my academic career at SUNY Potsdam almost 18 years ago. Receiving a continuing appointment would constitute my most significant professional achievement. Thank you for considering my request and reviewing my materials.

 

Sincerely,

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Michael Popović