Kyle Christensen is reluctant to accept full credit for being selected Columbus State University’s Educator of the Year.

He reflexively deflects accolades and attributes his success to the students and staff of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, where he’s an assistant professor.

“I didn’t do this alone,” said Christensen, a Blue Ridge, Ga., native. “Just to be nominated is a big deal. Any of the (finalists) there could have easily won the award, so everybody’s surprised when they win it.”

His students say Christensen’s caring attitude sets him apart.

 “Since the first time I met him, I noticed how he takes a personal interest in every student he meets, and I was no exception,” said Jessie Sizemore, a senior political science major. “He has taught me how to think and act like a professional. He has given me invaluable advice for success in academia both here in my undergraduate career at CSU and for the future.”

Christensen is currently in his fifth year at CSU. In addition to teaching, he’s also director of CSU’s Social Research Center, which assists with community, faculty and student research needs. Christensen teaches undergraduate courses in American government, comparative politics, international relations and research methods. He’s published articles about his research in several scholarly journals, including the European Journal of Public Policy, the Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective and PS: Political Science and Politics.

Christensen's research interests include comparative public policy, comparative foreign policy and international security.

To appreciate where Christensen has arrived in his career requires a look back to where he started and who set him on his current course.

Initially an engineering major at Mercer University, Christensen found himself fascinated with the political science classes among his coursework. He enjoyed the opportunities he had to participate in the model United Nations, and his conference presentations were mostly in Mercer’s political science department.

“I eventually changed my major,” Christensen said. “I enjoyed political science because, one, it’s pretty quantitative. And two, the topic areas are something I’m really passionate about.”

Some of those passions developed in a foreign policy class taught by Greg Domin when he was teaching at Mercer. Domin, who later came to Columbus State as political science chair, was CSU’s associate provost for graduate education, distance learning and international affairs at the time he died of natural causes April 10, 2012 on his way home to Byron, Ga.

“It was a great class,” Christensen said. “It was one of my earlier classes at Mercer that kind of changed my major. He used a lot of simulations. It was very involved. He made students think outside the box. He just always encourages us to do more.

“When I got the job here, I emailed Greg. Then two weeks later, he sent me one saying, ‘So did I.’ It was a very lucky coincidence that we both ended up here.”

After earning his master’s and doctorate, both in political science, from the University of West Virginia, Christensen came to CSU and got busy doing a lot more than just teaching. He has been an active mentor to students and is involved with several campus organizations. He serves as faculty advisor to the International Relations Club and Pi Sigma Alpha (the political science honor society). He’s also a board member for the Georgia Political Science Association and a member of the CSU Business and Enterprise Foundation Board. He’s also CSU’s director of the Columbus-area Model United Nations.

He also has done several projects for Columbus State, overseeing student evaluations of instructors and assisting faculty and students with research. He’s driven to make sure information gleaned from student surveys go a long way in helping programs meet their needs.

In his own teaching, Christensen prefers presenting information to students in a more interactive format, subscribing to the Socratic method of teaching and hoping it helps bring out the best in his students.

“I engage students in conversation in class so that there is a sort of lively conversation,” Christensen said. “I like to think I have pretty high expectations for students in terms of writing, in terms of oral and written communications. I hope they are taking away why (they study political science), and what it takes to be a political scientist, and what that means beyond the class.”

His enthusiasm has definitely made an impact, one student said.

“I believe Dr. Christensen's passion is transferred to his students, and he utilizes his excitement for education to encourage his students to do well — not only in his classes, but (in) all of their classes,” said Deja Thomas, a senior political science major. “He pushes his students to further their education and truly become the best at what they are pursuing.”