Todd Lutes, PhD

Professor Lutes is Associate Professor of Government and Public Service at the University of Arizona South. He grew up in Michigan, but has lived in a number of other states over the years, including California, Ohio, Texas, the District of Columbia, and Neuvo Leon, Mexico. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies at Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, Texas, and worked for a semester as an intern in the Senate office of the Honorable Joseph R. Biden Jr., then Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Dr. Lutes earned M.A. (1989) and Ph.D. (1995) degrees from the University of Arizona, with specializations in Political Theory, Comparative Politics (Mexico and Latin America), and Public Policy. While a graduate student, Dr. Lutes served as the Assistant Book Review Editor for the American Political Science Review and began teaching for the University of Arizona South as an Adjunct Instructor.

He was hired by the University of Arizona South as a faculty member in 1995 and earned tenure in 2003 following the publication of his book: Shipwreck and Deliverance: Politics, Culture and Modernity in the Works of Octavio Paz, Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa (2003). Dr. Lutes served as the first Director of the Political Science Program at UA South and later played a primary role in the development of the UA South’s Government and Public Service Program. He stepped down from the Director’s role in 2017, after 24 years of service. Over the years, Dr. Lutes has taught courses in every subfield of political science and played a significant role in the creation and development of several new UA South degree programs, including the UA South B.A.S. programs in Intelligence Studies and Administration of Justice.

Dr. Lutes is married and has two daughters, ages 28 and 10. He enjoys many outdoor activities, from hiking and camping to SCUBA diving, spelunking, and skiing (when he can get away with it). Other interests include photography and carpentry – and he was known even to enjoy skydiving before becoming a responsible family man and giving up all that nonsense.