Cam Silver, Ph.D.

Dissertation: The Domestic Reality of Foreign Policy: The 1994 Clinton Administration Response to the Crises in
Rwanda and Haiti
Committee: Earl Conteh-Morgan (Chair), Peter Funke, Marco Rimanelli, Lawrence Morehouse
Comprehensive Exams:
Major Field: International Relations (Foreign Policy and Human Rights)
Minor Field: Comparative Politics (Nationalism)

Thesis: The United States Response to Genocide in Rwanda: A Reassessment

Thesis: The International Community Response to Genocide in Rwanda

• Teaching and Course Instruction
  • Teach core and upper-level undergraduate courses in American politics, racial politics, international relations, LGBT politics, and research methods.
  • Courses taught include Introduction to American Government and Politics, Racial Politics, International Relations, The Law and Politics of LGBTQ Rights, Celebrity Politics, POL 409: Colloquium for Research in Government and Politics, and the Honors Capstone.
  • Designed and teach HR 713: Defending Dignity: LGBT+ Rights as Human Rights, a graduate seminar in John Jay’s Human Rights Program.
• Curriculum Development and Departmental Service
  • Contribute to curriculum development, assessment, and adjunct mentoring for POL 101, the department’s gateway course.
  • Served on the department’s AI Committee in Political Science.
  • Served on the department’s American Government Committee.
  • Support the department’s broader instructional mission through course development and curricular planning across undergraduate and graduate offerings.
• Faculty Programming and Institutional Engagement
  • Worked with the Teaching and Learning Center on programming related to the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
  • Contributed to faculty development initiatives focused on LGBT inclusion in teaching materials and classroom practice.
• Pedagogy, Research, and Student Development
  • Advance inclusive, intersectional pedagogy across teaching and course design.
  • Support undergraduate research development and foster public service pathways for students.

Developed and taught original courses including:

• The Myth of a Post-Minority Era: The Politics of Diversity in the 21st Century
• The Domestic Reality of American Foreign Policy
• Beyond Stonewall: The Dynamics of Queer Politics
• Taught Introduction to International Relations through Columbia's Department of Political Science.
• Maintained a research affiliation with the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.
• Served as second reader for a master's thesis at the Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights, advising an advanced project on global LGBT persecution.
• Earned exceptional student evaluations for academic rigor, classroom inclusivity, and mentorship.

• Taught Introduction to American Politics (four sections per semester).
• Designed and led the 2022 Winant Scholars Program curriculum, including educational travel to Tokyo, Hiroshima, Iwo Jima, and Washington, D.C.
• Delivered a guest lecture on Queer Theory in SS392: The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality.
• Mentored cadets on undergraduate thesis research, civil-military relations, and diversity in political thought.

• Developed global course syllabi and rubrics for experiential learning, in collaboration with international partners.
• Designed immersive learning experiences across multiple international sites, aligning course content with on-the-ground field opportunities.
• Coordinated field instructors and participated in curriculum training, maintaining high standards for student engagement and academic rigor.

Taught across Saint Leo’s University Campus, the Tampa Education Center, and Pasco County Jail.

Courses Taught

• Native American History
• Building a Multiracial Society
• Immigration: The Face of America
• Modern Middle Eastern History
• Democracy in Troubled Times
• African-American History: From Slavery to Freedom (online course developer)

Judy Genshaft Honors College, University of South Florida

• Innovative Course Design and Instruction
  • Designed and taught innovative courses including:
    • Beyond the Border: Immigration, Migrations, and Human Rights
    • Queer Social Movements in Global Context
    • Queer Theory
    • #Hashtag Global Activism: The Politics and Dynamics of Social Movements
    • Remote Cosmopolitanism: How to Survive a Global Pandemic?
    • Global Queer Cultures on Film and TV
    • The Art of War: Game Theory, Foreign Policy, and the Struggle for Peace
    • Global Political Violence
    • Theory of Knowledge

University of South Florida Undergraduate Studies

• Course Instruction
  • Taught American Foundations.

• Program Administration and Grant Support
  • Worked closely with the program coordinator over an eight-year period to support the academic, administrative, and long-term grant goals of the Upward Bound Program.
  • Collected and analyzed data for semester and annual reports.
  • Tracked student overall GPAs, graduation rates, reasons for non-completion, transfer patterns from community college to four-year institutions, and six-year graduation outcomes.
  • Contributed to program assessment and helped align reporting with federal grant objectives and student success measures.
  • Assisted with the renewal of the Upward Bound Program grant and helped edit materials for its five-year renewal process.
  • Contributed to the attempted development of a STEM Upward Bound grant.
  • Researched barriers facing first-generation and low-income students in access to and persistence through college.
• Student Advising, Mentorship, and Recruitment
  • Mentored high school juniors and seniors through independent learning projects and broader academic development.
  • Monitored and implemented academic improvement plans for students whose semester GPAs fell below 2.5.
  • Worked closely with seniors on the college admissions process.
  • Counseled alumni seeking to return to the University of South Florida.
  • Interviewed prospective high school students as part of the application process and assessed their fit for the program.
  • Recruited prospective students into the Upward Bound Program.
  • Conducted scholarship matching by researching scholarship opportunities and aligning them with students’ academic profiles.
• Teaching, Curriculum Development, and Internship Design
  • Taught AP U.S. History, Holocaust studies, World History, AP World History, and Economics across Saturday and summer programming.
  • Tutored and provided supplemental instruction in Saturday high school history courses.
  • Developed syllabi and instructional materials for diverse student populations across multiple subject areas.
  • Taught reading and history courses during the summer program.
  • Developed the Holocaust course.
  • Created a summer social services internship to expand students’ academic and professional development opportunities.
  • Helped develop a pre-law internship through which first-generation students explored careers in law.
• Residential Leadership and Program Operations
  • Served as Dorm Director during the summer residential program.
  • Oversaw a combined staff and student population of 111.
  • Oversaw aspects of the residential program and helped maintain the broader structure and stability of the summer experience.
  • Hired and trained resident assistants from 2013 to 2015.
  • Collaborated in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Social Services track.
• College Access, Enrichment, and External Programming
  • Assisted with in-school visits to partner high schools, including Tampa Bay Technical High School, King High School, Armwood High School, Chamberlain High School, Jefferson High School, Leto High School, Middleton High School, and Blake High School.
  • Helped plan, coordinate, and chaperone college tours, cultural trips, and conferences aligned with the program’s college-access mission.
  • Coordinated college visits to institutions including the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida–St. Petersburg, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Miami Dade College, Edward Waters College, Florida Memorial University, Miami University, FAMU College of Law, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, University of Alabama, Tuskegee University, Georgetown University, Howard University, University of North Florida, Daytona State College, Florida Polytechnic University, Savannah State University, University of South Carolina Beaufort, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
  • Secured VIP guest speakers, including Ambassador Prudence Bushnell.
• Staffing and Program Development
  • Assisted with hiring teachers, tutors, and other essential staff needed to sustain program operations.
  • Helped support broader program development across academic, residential, and enrichment dimensions.

Instructional Support

• • • Served as a teaching assistant in courses such as University Experience, Study Skills and Learning Lab, and Academic Writing I.
    • Tutored students in essay writing and in history and political science courses.
    • Developed presentations on academic integrity and student success, including plagiarism.
• Mentorship, Student Support, and Retention
  • Mentored international students and students on academic probation.
  • Helped international students adjust to American university culture.
  • Served as a bridge between first-year students and faculty.
  • Supported broader student retention efforts at Saint Leo University.
• Summer Academic Programming
  • Helped plan academic activities during the summer program.
  • Assisted in running the daily three-hour summer study session