David C. Earnest, Ph. D., serves as dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and professor of political science at South Dakota State University.  In this role, he manages seven schools and two ROTC units; more than 150 faculty; 54 undergraduate and graduate degree programs; more than 2,800 students; and an annual budget of $24 million.  He previously served as Odeen-Swanson Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of South Dakota; and as associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Arts & Letters, Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Virginia). 

Prior to joining the academy, Dr. Earnest served as fellow in Political-Military STudies at the Center ofr Strategic & International STudies (CSIS) in Washington, DC.  Dr. Earnest's research investigates how people create institutions to manage complex interactions between economic, political, ecological, technological and physical systems.  His publications and research have contributed to several transdisciplinary fields including globalization theory, complex systems theory, and computational social science.  

During his career he has taught at six different universities, including the University of Sydney (Australia) and the University of Southern Denmark.  Dr. Earnest is author of three books: Massively Parallel Globalization: Explorations in Self-Organization and World Politics (SUNY Press, 2015); Old Nations, New Voters: Nationalism, Transnationalism and Democracy in the Era of Global Migration (SUNY Press, 2008) and On the Cutting Edge of Globalization (Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).  He has published in leading journals including International Studies Quarterly, World Politics, Foreign Policy, and Globalizations.  He holds a Ph. D. and M.A. from the George Washington University and a B.A. from Stanford University.