Timothy Steigenga

Dr. Steigenga is a professor of political science and chair of the social sciences and humanities at the Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University (FAU).  He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1996.  He is the author/editor of five books and numerous other publications on topics ranging from social movements in Latin America to immigration and religion and politics.

Since moving to South Florida in 1999, he has worked closely with non-profits and local government authorities to do outreach and education on behalf of Palm Beach County’s Mayan immigrant community and has collaborated with civil society organizations in Guatemala to educate policy makers on immigration issues and foster positive transnational linkages. He has also volunteered as a fundraiser, grant-writer, public spokesperson, consultant, and conference organizer for multiple local and international non-profit organizations and academic institutions.

In 2006, Dr. Steigenga served for six months in Guatemala as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar.  For the past  8 years, he has also served as co-principle investigator on two major Ford Foundation grants focused on the lives of Latin American immigrants in Florida and Georgia. During the summers of 2010 and 2011 he served as a public policy fellow in Washington D.C. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.  Since 1999, he has been honored with multiple awards for his service and research, including a Dwight Allison Fellowship (2004), the Presidential Leadership Award (2005), the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award of Excellence (2007), and the FAU Researcher of the Year Award (2008).