The Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame is expanding its expertise in democracy and democratic backsliding, environmental management and peacebuilding, and global mental health policy with the appointment of four new faculty.
“These exemplary scholars and practitioners will expand our research, teaching and policy engagement in areas of study that are key parts of the Keough School’s Strategic Plan 2030 and the University Strategic Framework,” said Mary Gallagher, Marilyn Keough Dean. “Notre Dame has centered the problems of sustainability, poverty, democracy and ethics in its strategic framework and the Keough School has responded by hiring rising scholars researching these very issues. We are delighted to welcome these new faculty to the Keough School.”
Laura Gamboa has been appointed assistant professor of democracy and global affairs. An expert in comparative politics, regimes and regime change, her research focuses on the survival and quality of democratic systems. She is the author of the book “Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies Against the Erosion of Democracy,” which uses case studies from Colombia and Venezuela to explore how the strategies and goals of the opposition can determine whether autocrats are able to erode democracies. Gamboa’s current research focuses on factors that determine the opposition’s tactical choices as well as strategies to counteract democratic backsliding. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Notre Dame. During the fall 2024 semester, Gamboa will teach the Keough School undergraduate global affairs seminar Democracies and Dictatorships.
Marc Jacob, assistant professor of democracy and global affairs, joins Notre Dame from Stanford University, where he was a postdoctoral scholar in the Polarization Research Lab. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Jacob’s research focuses on the intersection of political behavior, public opinion, and institutional change, particularly within European democracies. He examines how ordinary citizens perceive and respond to processes of democratization and democratic backsliding. He will teach the undergraduate course Crafting Research in Europe: Inspiration, Grant Writing, and Execution during the fall 2024 semester.
Richard (Drew) Marcantonio is assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs. He is a core faculty member of the Keough School’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and holds a joint appointment in the Business, Ethics, and Society program at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Marcantonio’s research focuses on regenerative and durable livelihoods, environmental management and policy, environmental and other violence, and peacebuilding. As both a researcher and peace practitioner, he has studied these critical issues on five continents working with communities, elected officials, regulators, corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Marcantonio holds a Ph.D. in peace studies from Notre Dame. He is the author of “Environmental Violence: In the Earth System and the Human Niche,” co-author of the textbook “Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills,” and co-editor of “Exploring Environmental Violence: Perspectives, Experience, Expression, Engagement,” all published by Cambridge University Press.
China Scherz, professor of global affairs, is a medical anthropologist who studies global mental health policy, sustainable development, substance use, charity, ethics and religion. She examines how health and well-being are fostered through care, connection and community, focusing regionally on sub-Saharan Africa and the Appalachian region of the United States. Scherz’s National Science Foundation-funded research was recently published in the co-authored book “Higher Powers: Alcohol and After in Uganda’s Capital City.” Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she was an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Virginia. She holds a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the Universities of California at San Francisco and Berkeley. During the fall 2024 semester, she will teach an undergraduate global affairs capstone seminar.
The Keough School of Global Affairs offers academic opportunities at both the graduate and undergraduate level, including a joint doctoral degree in peace research, a master of global affairs degree and an undergraduate program in global affairs.