About

Education

Ph.D., The Ohio State University
M.A., DePaul University
B.I.E., Georgia Institute of Technology

Biography

Donald Hempson serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy (CSLD).

The Center’s two-fold mission is to promote an appreciation and critical understanding of the cardinal principles and institutions of liberal democracy by probing its principles, practices, and institutions and to advance intellectual diversity at the University by encouraging wide-ranging civil discourse.  In so doing, the CSLD aspires to be a model of intellectual diversity in action for the University of Wisconsin–Madison by encouraging wide-ranging civil discourse on ideas related to various strands of conservative political thought and libertarian thought, as well as thought addressing religious liberty, foreign policy, and the role of the military in American society and on campus.

Donald graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering and worked for several years as an engineer in the manufacturing sector.  Intrigued by how this sector of the economy was used to shape the strategies and advance the foreign policy objectives of transitioning regions of the world, he pursued a Master’s degree in European and Middle Eastern history at DePaul University and subsequently earned his Ph.D. in international diplomatic and business affairs from The Ohio State University.  He spent a year living in Prague conducting research on U.S.-Czechoslovak foreign and economic policymaking and frameworks for transatlantic security guarantees.

At Ohio State, he taught courses on European state-building, cultural diplomacy, political terror, international peacekeeping, and Western civilization as a member of the International Studies faculty and later spearheaded global programming, international partnership agreements, and curriculum enhancement initiatives for the College of Engineering.  More recently, Donald has initiated and led global and industry engagement strategies at both Ohio State and Virginia Tech where he designed and implemented pioneering education and outreach programs, helped facilitate new public-private research ventures in emerging disciplines, and expanded experiential programming, institutional partnerships, and alumni engagement in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  He has published and been invited to speak on topics related to transatlantic security, foreign and economic policy formulation, East European affairs, foreign direct investment in transitioning markets, and curriculum internationalization.