Faculty & Staff
Organization and Contributing Faculty
The International Relations program is governed by an executive committee, and has a dedicated team of faculty advisors (see below).
The home of the International Relations program is the Department of Political Science. As an interdisciplinary program, International Relations is staffed by faculty from the following departments:
- Area Studies
- African and African American Studies
- Chinese Studies
- East Asian Studies
- Latin American Studies
- Middle East Studies
- Russian Studies
- School of Communications
- Geography and Planning
- History
- Hospitality and Tourism Management
- Political Science
- Seidman College of Business
- Economics
- Finance
- Management
- Marketing
- Sociology
Staff and Program Contact Information
Academic Office Coordinator
Ashley Savage
(616) 331-2320
[email protected]
Fax: (616) 331-3550
International Relations
1121 AuSable Hall
1 Campus Drive
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, MI 49401-9403
Executive Committee

Polly Diven
Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Director, International Relations Program
Department of Political Science
1107 AuSable Hall
(616) 331-3282
[email protected]
Fields: International Relations, U.S. Foreign Policy, American Politics

Chad Lingwood
Ph.D. (University of Toronto)
Department of History
D-1-122 Mackinac Hall
(616) 331-8697
[email protected]
Fields: Middle East, Islamic Civilization, Iran, Persian Literature

Heather Tafel
Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Department of Political Science
1125 AuSable Hall
(616) 331-1131
[email protected]
Fields: Democratization, Federalism, Russia and Eastern Europe
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Jim Penn
Ph.D. (University of Florida)
Department of Geography
B-4-205 Mackinac Hall
(616) 331-8522
pennji@gvsu.edu
Fields: Amazonia, Latin America, Non-timber Forest Products, Ethnobotany, Natural Resource Use and Indigenous Communities, Agriculture and Farmers, Rural-to-urban Migration, Globalization and Development, Railroads and Freight Transportation.
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Faculty Advisors

Polly Diven
Ph.D. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Director, International Relations Program
1107 AuSable Hall
(616) 331-3282
[email protected]
profile
Fields: International Relations, U.S. Foreign Policy, American Politics

Heather Tafel
Ph.D. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
1125 AuSable Hall
(616) 331-1131
[email protected]
profile
Fields: Democratization, Federalism, Russia and Eastern Europe
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Thomas Walker
Ph.D. (Rutgers University)
1105 Au Sable Hall
(616) 331-8713
[email protected]
profile
Fields: International Relations, History of International Political Thought, Causes of War