LSA Interim Dean Susan Gelman has named Pauline Jones Luong as director of the International Institute. She will serve a three-year term, effective July 1.
“I am honored and excited to lead the International Institute,” said Jones Luong, professor of political science.
“Thanks to the efforts of dedicated and highly effective staff, the commitment of faculty with deep area studies knowledge and expertise, and the growing interest of students in pursuing a global education, the II is poised to become the focal point for excellence in research, teaching, and community outreach on international affairs at the university.”
Currently, Jones Luong is the director of the Islamic Studies Program and was instrumental in the launch of the Global Islam Initiative colloquium series and the recent establishment of the Islamic Studies Virtual Curriculum.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.
Jones Luong joined the Department of Political Science in 2012.
Her scholarly work has contributed to the study of institutional origin, change, and impact in a wide variety of settings: newly emergent states with multiple competing subnational identities; states transitioning from planned to market economies; states rich in natural resources; and states with predominantly Muslim populations.
The empirical basis for her work has been primarily the former Soviet Union, particularly the five Central Asian republics that gained independence in 1991: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
However, she also has engaged in broad cross-national comparisons across regions, including Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa, utilizing a combination of controlled case comparisons and statistical analysis.
Jones Luong will replace outgoing International Institute Director Ken Kollman, who is stepping down after taking over in 2010.
