Professor 
PhD, University of Toronto (previously Carthage College)

t.f.powers@csuohio.edu
(216) 523-7227

Professor Powers directs the Center's federal grant-funded "Seminars in American Civics," providing professional development for Ohio teachers through the Department of Education, and is the author of American Multiculturalism and the Anti-Discrimination Regime (2023). Before joining CSU, he chaired the Political Science department at Carthage College, where he taught Constitutional Law and contributed to the school's Great Books common core program.

Associate Professor 
PhD, Ohio State University (previously Waynesburg University)

 

Associate Professor 
PhD, Boston University (previously Ashland University)

Dr. West is passionate about the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, especially texts exploring political theory, statesmanship, and the relationship between philosophy and politics, from Thucydides and Cicero to Homer and Vergil. His research centers on Roman political thought, most recently guest-editing a special issue of Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought on Cicero and Livy, and he is completing a book on Cicero as civic educator.

Assistant Professor 
PhD, Tulane University (previously University of Texas at Austin)

Coming Spring 2027
Dr. Ma's research explores conceptions of statesmanship in ancient Greek and pre-Qin Chinese philosophy, with a current book project, Philosophic Statesmanship in Plato's Statesman, examining political knowledge in Plato's dialogue. She received the Emerging Scholar Award from the Ancient Philosophy Society in 2023, and her article on Plato's Statesman appeared in Epochē.

Assistant Professor 
PhD, George Mason University (previously Olivet Nazarene University)

Professor Watson's research spans the origins of money, ancient economic and monetary history, Polish and Intermarium history, and the relationship between ethics and economics, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to teaching economic reasoning alongside ethical inquiry. He previously taught at Olivet Nazarene University and directed the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program at Belmont Abbey College, and serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Civil Affairs branch.

Assistant Professor 
PhD, Hillsdale College (previously Cleveland State University)

Assistant Professor 
PhD, Georgetown University (previously American University)

Dr. Utter's scholarship spans the history of political thought, from Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon to Rousseau and Nietzsche, alongside the relationship between modern science, political economy, and human flourishing. Before joining Cleveland State, he taught in the Department of Government at American University and served as Associate Director of its Lincoln Scholars program.

PhD in Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania (previously Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Dr. Fritz's research focuses on political legitimacy and authority, with current work connecting territorial authority to questions of political legitimacy. Before joining Cleveland State, she was a postdoctoral fellow with David Enoch's Liberalism Rekindled project at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her PhD in philosophy in 2025.

PhD Candidate in Politics, University of Dallas

Miriam is writing her dissertation on the significance of language in Augustine's political thought, with broader research interests spanning patristic and medieval political thought, language and political order, and localism. She holds MA degrees in Politics and Humanities from the University of Dallas and a BA in Government from Patrick Henry College.

PhD Candidate in Politics, University of Dallas

Natalie's dissertation develops a theory of power within Hannah Arendt's understanding of politics, portraying power as mutual storytelling rather than resource allocation or command. She is completing her PhD at the Institute of Philosophic Studies in the University of Dallas's Braniff Graduate School, and most recently taught courses on the U.S. Constitution and Western Political Philosophy at Baylor University.

PhD Candidate in Political Science, Baylor University

Angela is writing her dissertation on Aristotle's account of civic friendship, with broader research interests in citizenship and civic friendship in classical political philosophy. She holds an MA in Political Science from Baylor University and a BA in History and Political Science from Geneva College.

PhD Candidate in Political Science, Hillsdale College

Paul practiced law for several years, first in the New York City area and later back in his native Columbiana County, Ohio, after clerking for a federal judge and earning his JD from Columbia Law School, where he served on the Columbia Law Review. He is now completing his PhD in political philosophy and American politics at Hillsdale College's Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, with a dissertation on the progressive origins of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.