FIYou profile: Dr. Paul Kowert

Name: Paul Kowert

Hometown: Midland, Texas.

Job Title/Department: Associate Professor, Department of International Relation

Campus: University Park

In a nutshell: For the past several years, I served as graduate director for the International Relations program and also for the Institute of Asian Studies. Currently, I’m a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, where I teach classes in American politics and international relations, while also conducting my own research on national identity and Japan-U.S. relations.

Number of years at FIU: Almost 15.

What do you enjoy most about your job? When I first arrived at FIU, I was primarily focused (as junior faculty must be) on my research. Yet increasingly, and although I continue to have an active research agenda, I find that teaching is the single most enjoyable part of my day. Several of the classes I teach are regarded as fairly difficult – either because they incorporate formal mathematical models or because they rely heavily on difficult philosophical concepts – but I’ve found that students rise to the challenge (and enjoy the challenge!) provided that I do two things: (1) don’t take myself too seriously, but (2) take the topic very seriously.

What do you think faculty/staff and students should know about your department? International Relations – soon to be part of the new Department of Politics and International Relations – is an unusual academic degree. But it is growing in popularity as a degree program, and FIU has one of the strongest programs in this area in the Southeastern United States.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why? My favorite spot is any empty parking space in the Gold Garage.

If there is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU, what would it be? This is easy: FIU’s name does nothing to convey its status as the large public research university of Miami. Nor does it convey the high quality of the research and instruction FIU faculty provide. What a shame that students and colleagues at other universities fail to understand FIU’s role (and potential) for such a trivial reason.

Family snapshot: My wife Deborah and I are still basking in the joy of being new parents. At least it feels that way – but our son, Devan, is already almost 20 months old.

Word that best describes you: “Dada!” This happens to be Devan’s first word, and still my favorite when he says it with such incredible glee.

First paying job: My first teaching job was assistant professor at FIU. My first regular paying job of any kind was as a baggage screener at the local airport in Midland, Texas. I also worked, not so long after that, in the shop of a pipe organ builder in Davidson, N.C. Mostly, this involved repetitive work using power tools to fashion the small wooden parts with which these pipe organs were constructed. It’s amazing I still have all 10 fingers.