Faculty

Dr. Gretchen Van Dyke

Gretchen J. Van Dyke is an Associate Professor of Political Science at The University of Scranton, where she has taught International Relations and American Government since 1994. Following her undergraduate degree in Political Science at Trinity College, Washington, D.C. and three years working in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill, Dr. Van Dyke completed both a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. At UVA, she focused on the development of national security policy during the Kennedy Administration, within the broader context of broad theoretical questions about the national interest, presidential leadership, and foreign policy decision making.  

Teaching Interests: Dr. Van Dyke teaches an array of electives in the subfields of International Relations and American Government, including: U.S. Foreign and National Security Policy, War and Peace, Genocide, International Humanitarianism, European Foreign Policy, the European Union, Women in the Global Community, and the American Presidency. 

Research Interests: Her research interests include national security decision making and policy implementation as well as the pedagogy of International Relations, specifically the value of active and experiential learning as it relates to civic education, engagement, and citizenship.  She and her students have participated in the Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation program since 1996. 

Additional Information: In 2012, Dr. Van Dyke completed the Ignatian Colleagues Program (ICP), an 18-month formation program in Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit education offered to senior administrators and faculty leaders by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. ICP has provided the foundation for her First-year Seminar course, Ignatian Citizenship and Contemporary Political Issues, which she first offered in 2012.

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