Meet Our New Department Head
Posted: August 23, 2023 by Orla Fennell
With the start of the fall '23 semester upon us, we as a department would like to re-introduce you to our new department head: Dr. Craig Greathouse.
When asked about how he feels about being the new department head, Dr. Greathouse said, "Right now there are a lot of administrative actions to get trained on and qualified for, while continuing to address student and faculty needs. Learning all the processes requires a significant amount of time right now, as is trying to figure out the budget, which is something new for me. In addition, with the arrival of a new President at 天美社区 there will be some changes coming as he puts in place his vision and ideas. While I was exposed to most of these processes as the Associate Department Head, being the one to make the final decision on actions requires more thought and contemplation than I originally expected.
Prior to coming the 天美社区 (North Georgia College and State University as it was called then) and becoming a professor of political science, Dr. Greathouse was born and raised in Akron, Ohio where he stayed to continue his education at the University of Akron when he was accepted into the Honors program. In 1998, Dr. Greathouse received his BA in Political Science. With his bachelor's degree in hand, Dr. Greathouse continued his education by getting both his master's in political science, also from the University of Akron in 1993, and his PhD in Political Science from Claremont Graduate School in 1999.
Prior to joining the #PSIAfamily in 2007, Dr. Greathouse taught at the University of Akron, Central Michigan University, Walsh University, and the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Since joining our faculty, Dr. Greathouse has been an invaluable professor and faculty member, primarily in our international affairs programs. He was instrumental in the creation of the first fully online degree within our department, our Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA), which he is now the advisor of. Prior to assuming the position of Department Head, Dr. Greathouse served as Associate Department Head for the past nine years, primarily responsible for our programs and activities on the Gainesville and Oconee campuses and online programs.
Many of you may have met Dr. Greathouse in undergrad classes such Intro to the EU, European Security, Comparative Security, U.S. National Security, Western European Politics, International Relations Theory, and the Capstone for the BA in International Affairs. Others of you might have met Dr. Greathouse in master's classes such as International Relations Theory, Capstone, U.S. National Security, International Security, European Security, Grand Strategy and Strategic Thought
Outside of the halls of Hansford, Dr. Greathouse continues to educate others on the complex and necessary field of political science & international affairs, as well as in strategic and security studies. Dr. Greathouse has published research in areas including the European Union, European and American defense policy, strategic culture, grand strategy, issues related to cyber war, foreign policy. When asked about some of his other activities outside of the walls of Hansford Hall, Dr. Greathouse said he has been a "[p]art of the Control Staff of the National Security Decision Making game (NSDMG) for over 20 years. NSDMG provides lectures and international simulations for different audiences. For civilian audiences we normally run a full slate of lectures and simulations at the Origins Gaming Convention, GenCon gaming convention, and DragonCon. We have provided simulations for colleges and universities and a couple of high schools. For professional audiences we have presented war games at the Marine Corps University, National Defense University, and WHINSEC at Fort Benning
Dr. Greathouse has multiple goals that he hopes to achieve as the new department head. Regarding his goals for students, faculty and the department alike, Dr. Greathouse said "[f]irst and foremost is to offer the strongest degrees we can provide to our students. By ensuring we continue our quality of instruction and level of expectations we can ensure students remain competitive when they graduate. Second is to figure out if there are any chokepoints towards graduation or other limiting factors for students and address those."
"In addition to growing our undergraduate programs, a major goal is to show students the value of our master's degrees in Public Administration and in International Affairs. The value being degrees that will effectively prepare them for the job market today and in the future at a very competitive cost."
"In terms of working with faculty, we are going to have to work together to address the loss of positions from faculty retiring or leaving 天美社区 which have not been replaced. This will entail working to streamline classes and offerings while continuing to provide the most options for our students."
"The last goal is to grow the number of majors in the department by making the degrees we offer more visible and show more students that getting a degree in Political Science, International Affairs, or Strategic and Security Studies will make them very employable."
We are excited to have Dr. Greathouse as our new Department Head.
You can "meet" Dr. Greathouse in more depth at: