Carstens, Ronald W.

Biography

Professor R.W. Carstens was born on May 27, 1947, in Davenport, Iowa, the second of ten children of Gene W. and June Carstens. He attended St. Ambrose College, receiving his BA in 1969 cum laude with majors in political science and philosophy and a minor in history. After two years in the Army, he was honorably discharged in 1971 with the rank of E-5 (sergeant) and a citation for distinguished service. From 1971-1974, Dr. Carstens studied at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, receiving his MA and PhD in political science and political philosophy. His dissertation was entitled "The Notion of Obligation in the Political Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas." In 1974 he was appointed assistant professor at Ohio Dominican where he began his teaching career. Made full professor with tenure in 1985, he has directed the ODC Humanities program from 1976-1988 and from 1995 to the present, chaired the department of history/political science/criminal justice from 1990-1993 and was named outstanding teacher in 1990, Dominican Master Faculty in 1994, and Dominican Professor in 2011. The students of Ohio Dominican voted him the Conley Award for Outstanding Teaching. The author of several books and many articles including: Notes on Humanity: Faith, Reason and Order, Antecedents of Constitutionalism, The Fiction of Andrew Greeley, and Why St. Francis of Assisi Still Matters. Professor R.W. Carstens was born on May 27, 1947, in Davenport, Iowa, the second of ten children of Gene W. and June Carstens. He attended St. Ambrose College, receiving his BA in 1969 cum laude with majors in political science and philosophy and a minor in history. After two years in the Army, he was honorably discharged in 1971 with the rank of E-5 (sergeant) and a citation for distinguished service. From 1971-1974, Dr. Carstens studied at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, receiving his MA and PhD in political science and political philosophy. His dissertation was entitled "The Notion of Obligation in the Political Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas." In 1974 he was appointed assistant professor at Ohio Dominican where he began his teaching career. Made full professor with tenure in 1985, he has directed the ODC Humanities program from 1976-1988 and from 1995 to the present, chaired the department of history/political science/criminal justice from 1990-1993 and was named outstanding teacher in 1990, Dominican Master Faculty in 1994, and Dominican Professor in 2011. The students of Ohio Dominican voted him the Conley Award for Outstanding Teaching. The author of several books and many articles including: Notes on Humanity: Faith, Reason and Order, Antecedents of Constitutionalism, The Fiction of Andrew Greeley, and Why St. Francis of Assisi Still Matters.

Research Interest

Political Science