Political science professor Eric Selbin has been appointed to the Lucy King Brown Chair. The chair is one of six endowed chairs at Southwestern that were established with funds from The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston.

This is the third endowed position that Selbin has been appointed to during his tenure at Southwestern. He served as a Brown Distinguished Research Professor from 1999-2003 and was appointed to two terms as a University Scholar.

“I am very honored to receive this recognition,” Selbin said. “Our Brown Chair holders are an impressive group to have joined.”

Selbin has been a member of the Southwestern faculty since 1992, and has gained a reputation as both a leading scholar in his field and a popular professor.

His research focuses on theories of revolution and Latin American politics. His 2010 book, Revolution, Rebellion, Resistance: The Power of Story has now been published in four languages other than English − Arabic, German, Spanish and Turkish.

Selbin is currently working on another book that will more deeply examine some of the examples featured in his first book. He also is working on a book that will compare two years in different centuries that produced similar widespread revolutionary movements – 1848 and 1968.

Selbin is the author of another book titled Decentering International Relations that was written with Southwestern graduate Meghana Nayak.

Selbin’s teaching and research have previously been recognized with several awards, including the Exemplary Teaching Award from the General Board of Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church in 2001-2002.

“Dr. Selbin is an internationally renowned scholar and a thought-provoking teacher who is deeply committed to our students and alumni,” said President Dr. Edward Burger. “Since his arrival in 1992, he has worked tirelessly to support the academic mission of Southwestern and has helped shape the lives of countless numbers of individuals. I am so pleased that we are able to appropriately recognize his many successes and accomplishments with this well-deserved appointment.”

The Lucy King Brown Chair was most recently held by A.J. Senchack, a professor of business who retired at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year. Previous holders of the chair include Bill Jones and Weldon Crowley.

As a Brown Chair holder, Selbin will be responsible for planning Southwestern’s Brown Symposium on a rotating basis.