Stam, a well-renowned scholar in the field of international relations, began teaching at Dartmouth in 2000 after four years as a professor at Yale University. In 2004, he received the Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association, an annual award given to the scholar under 40 years of age who has made the most significant contribution to the field of International Relations and Peace Research through published writings.
Aside from his work in the field of research, Stam is a retired U.S. Army officer, rowing enthusiast, amateur photographer and avid Jeff Gordon fan. Stam could not be reached for comment at press time.
Dartmouth students widely lauded his teaching style.
"He presents the material in such an engaging way, with great anecdotes and trivia, so you almost feel like you're being entertained, rather than taught," Dominik Kolodziejczyk '08, a government major, said.
At Dartmouth, Stam taught a variety of courses in international relations including Society and War, War and Peace in the Twentieth Century, International Law, US Foreign Policy, International Organization, International Political Economy, International Relations Theory, Quantitative Political Analysis and Introduction to International Relations.
The government department will begin the lengthy process of searching for a new professor in the fall, by using advertisements and interviews, according to William Wohlforth, chair of the government department.
"It will take a year to complete the search," Wohlforth said. "It's a very long and difficult process we go through when we hire someone. Of course, there will be no replacement for Allan Stam. It is impossible to replace Allan Stam."
Associate Professor of Government, Daryl Press, will take on Stam's position as Director of War and Peace Studies at the John Sloan Dickey Center.
During his time at Dartmouth, Stam was named as the Daniel Webster Professor, awarded the J. Kenneth Huntington Memorial Teaching Award and chosen as the Faculty Speaker at Class Day during the Dartmouth College Commencement exercises of 2004.
Though members of the government department expected Stam's sabbatical in the upcoming year, as he was chosen for the fellowship in 2004, the news of his permanent departure for the University of Michigan -- where he obtained his masters degree and Ph.D. in the political science department -- came as a disappointment. Stam informed the government department that he would be leaving permanently at the end of Spring term, Wohlforth said.
Wolhforth particularly lamented Stam's departure, calling it "devastating" and "huge."
"He was a lynchpin critical figure here, we're absolutely crushed," he said. "We'll go on as a department, but without Stam it just won't be the same."
