H. Gibbs Knotts

Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Gibbs Knotts - Interim Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Office Address
2 Green Way
Charleston, SC 29424

Phone: 843.953.0760
E-mail: knottshg@cofc.edu

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H. Gibbs Knotts was appointed the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in October 2020. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences is comprised of the following academic departments: communication, English, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies and sociology and anthropology.

Before assuming the role of dean, Knotts served as the department chair of the College's Department of Political Science from 2012 to 2019. In the area of political science, he teaches undergraduate courses in American politics and graduate courses in the public administration program.

Knotts has published works on political participation, Southern politics, public administration and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Articles have appeared in a variety of outlets including the Journal of Politics, Public Administration Review, Political Research Quarterly, The American Review of Public Administration, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, PS: Political Science and Politics, Social Science Quarterly, Southern Cultures, Southeastern Geographer and Social Forces. He also co-edited The New Politics of North Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, 2008). He has two co-authored books: The Resilience of Southern Identity: Why the South Still Matters in the Minds of Its People (University of North Carolina Press, 2017) and First in the South: Why South Carolina’s Presidential Primary Matters (University of South Carolina Press, 2019). He received the College of Charleston’s Distinguished Research Award in 2017.

Prior to arriving at the College of Charleston, Knotts worked at Western Carolina University, where he served in a variety of administrative roles including MPA director, graduate school and research associate dean, political science and public affairs department head and College of Arts and Sciences interim dean. While at WCU, he also received the 2004 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2010 Board of Governor’s Teaching Award and the 2010 University Scholar Award.

Knotts is a frequent contributor to various media outlets, including the BBC, France24, Global TV News (Canada), Al Jazeera American, Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio, FOX News, FOX Business, MSNBC, KUT News, CNN, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today and The Washington Post, among many others.

Education

2000: Ph.D. in Political Science, Emory University
1997: M.A. in Political Science, Emory University
1993: B.A. in Political Science, University of  North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Career Highlights

2020–present: Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Charleston
2019–2020: Interim Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Charleston
2012–2019: Chair, Department of Political Science, College of Charleston
2011–2012: Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Western Carolina University
2011–2012: Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, Western Carolina University
2008–2011: Head, Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, Western Carolina University
2006–2011: Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, Western Carolina University
2005–2007: Associate Dean, Graduate School and Research, Western Carolina University
2003–2005: Director, Master of Public Affairs Program, Western Carolina University
2000–2006: Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Affairs, Western Carolina University
1997–1998: Instructor, Department of Political Science, Emory University

Honors and Achievements

2017: Distinguished Research Award, College of Charleston
2010: Board of Governor’s Teaching Award, Western Carolina University
2010: University Scholar Award, Western Carolina University
2004: Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Western Carolina University
2001: Olympic Torchbearer, Asheville, N.C.