Adam Stulberg Named Chair of Sam Nunn School of International Affairs

Posted March 14, 2019

Adam Stulberg, senior faculty in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, has been named chair of the school. He succeeds Joseph Bankoff who steps down this spring after seven years in the role. Stulberg will begin his appointment in July 2019.

Stulberg has been on faculty in the Nunn School for over twenty years. He is professor and Neal Family Chair and holds numerous leadership roles, both within the School and across campus, including those of associate chair for research and co-director of the Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP) in the Nunn School and associate director of Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute (SEI). 

“Dr. Stulberg has consistently shown himself to be a forward thinking leader, astute administrator, willing collaborator, and successful fundraiser who is as adept at building programs and establishing advisory boards as he is mentoring students and faculty,” said Jacqueline Royster, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts which houses the Nunn School. “We are excited to have his wisdom and passion on the leadership team for the Ivan Allen College and the Institute.

As co-director of CISTP, Stulberg secured millions in funding for the Center annually; as associate director of SEI and associate chair for the Nunn School, he has been involved in strategic planning, goal setting, and mission at the highest level.

“Adam Stulberg is a unique combination of both scholar and practitioner, which enables him to provide valuable intellectual and practical leadership in the field of international security policy," said former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, a distinguished professor in the School that bears his name. "In addition to his distinguished research record, Adam is well-known as an effective educator and academic entrepreneur. Joe Bankoff has done a remarkable job in taking the Nunn School to another level. I am confident that Adam will build on this solid foundation and continue to provide important strategic thinking and innovative ideas to the Nunn School as Chair.”

Stulberg’s research focuses on interfaces between resource endowments, institutions, markets, foreign and energy policy decision-making, and international cooperation and conflict across various sectors and regions of the globe. He served as a political consultant at RAND from 1987-1997, and as a senior research associate at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (1997-1998). He has worked closely with former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn drafting policy recommendations and background studies on future directions for the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, building regional and energy security regimes in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, and engaging Russia’s regional power centers. In addition, he served on the Executive Committee of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Technical Group, American Nuclear Society (2012-14). In 2016, he was appointed associate director of the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), one of Georgia Tech’s seven leading inter-disciplinary research centers. 

In addition to his significant administrative service and research, Stulberg has authored and edited five books, and has published widely in leading academic and policy journals. He has also received several awards, both from within Georgia Tech and nationally, for his teaching and commitment to serving students.

Stulberg earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University, an M.A. in Political Science from UCLA, and a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan.

Dean Royster expressed appreciation to the search committee for the position which was led by Anna Westerstahl Stenport, chair of the School of Modern Languages. Nunn School members were Professor Alasdair Young, Associate Professor Margaret Kosal, Assistant Professor Anjali Bohlken, Distinguished Professor of the Practice Philip Breedlove, and Senior Administrative Professional Marilu Suarez, along with Professor Willie Pearson of the School of History and Sociology, and Chair and Professor Bruce Stiftel in City and Regional Planning.