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Jeffrey VanDenBerg, Ph.D.

Portrait of Jeff VanDenBerg

Office: OEC 305
Phone: (417) 873-6947
E-Mail: jvandenb@drury.edu

Fall 2024 Office Hours

Monday
9 – 11 a.m.

Wednesday
9 – 11 a.m.
1 – 2 p.m.

Thursday
2 – 3 p.m.

Friday
9 – 11 a.m.

Jeffrey VanDenBerg, Ph.D.

Chair, Political Science Department
Professor of Political Science
Director of Middle East Studies

Dr. VanDenBerg teaches courses in international relations, foreign policy, and Middle East politics. He is the Director of the Middle East Studies program and coordinator of the Model United Nations program.

Dr. VanDenBerg’s research interests focus on Arab politics and international relations in the Middle East. As a USIA/NMERTP Fellow, he conducted research in Jordan that included personal interviews with Jordan’s prime ministers, cabinet members, parliamentarians, and other government officials.

In 2012, Dr. VanDenBerg served as Visiting Fulbright Professor of International Relations at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).  Along with History professor Dr. Shelley Wolbrink, he has directed many Drury study abroad programs to Morocco, Italy, Egypt, and Greece.

His research and essays have been published in Security Studies, Issues in Middle East StudiesHistory in DisputeArab Studies QuarterlyReading Religion, and the Canadian Journal of History. His most recent project, co-authored with Dr. Dan Ponder, investigated President Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorization for the use of force against Syria in 2013. This work was published in the volume Evaluating the Obama Presidency: From Transformational Goals to Governing Realities (Meena Bose and Paul Fritz, eds. 2024). Dr. VanDenBerg is a founding member of the Middle East Studies Association’s Committee on Undergraduate Education.

Education

  • B.A., Miami University (OH), 1990
  • M.A.,University of Cincinnati, 1995
  • Ph.D.,University of Cincinnati, 2000

Awards

  • Fulbright Teaching Fellowship, Department of International Relations, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2012
  • Regional Travel Award, US Department of State, award for travel and lectures in Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 2012
  • Faculty Award for Excellence in Liberal Learning, Drury University, 2009
  • Global Research Initiative, travel grant to Istanbul, Turkey for research on the Turkish parliamentary elections, Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Drury University, 2007
  • United States Information Agency/NMERTP Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 1996 Fellowship for dissertation research, American Center of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan