I’m Miguel Centellas, a political science professor at Mount St. Mary’s University. Because of academic interests, I post frequently on Bolivian politics. I also occasionally discuss interesting books, pop culture, and daily life in Baltimore.
The Monday deadlines came & went. And I’m pleased to share that I’ll be joining Mount Saint Mary’s University in the fall. I think it’s a great fit for me, personally & professionally. It’s also conveniently located near K8’s post-doc at the University of Delaware, which means I don’t have to move far away. Most importantly, it’s tenure track.
In the fall, I’ll teach three courses: American Foreign Policy (a new one for me), Third World Political Development (another new one), and Research Methods I (similar to what I’m teaching this semester). I like that “the Mount” (as it’s called) requires a two-course research methods sequence for its political science majors (to be taken the junior year). In the spring I’ll teach Latin American Politics (two sections), Comparative Politics, and a topics course to be determined by me in the next few weeks (any suggestions?).
We’re going to start looking for a new apartment soon, probably in the north Baltimore area (equidistant from both our jobs). After that, we’ll see where we move—and where we can buy a house.
It’s been a long, grueling last few months—wondering about where I’d be next semester. I had a good feeling about the Mount from the start. I hope I’m not disappointed.
That's great--congratulations. As for the topics course, given your research interests you might do something on the Andean region. Economic development, indigenous issues, drug war, etc. would also be of interest to undergrads.
Thank you. Yes, I've had the idea of making Andean politics/studies a niche area for me (and the program). It's a good idea to have a "hook" -- especially if I can use it to help recruit from the nearby Bolivian-American community in the DC metro area.
Thurmont! There's some pretty good camping to be done there at Catoctin and Cunningham Falls parks, and it's right next to Camp David. It's a beautiful area and a nice (I've only driven by it) campus. Baltimore Co. and city are great, too.
Congrats!
Posted by
mike d
April 2, 2008 12:50 PM
Congrats Miguel...now salteñas are within driving distance!
Posted by
galloglass
April 2, 2008 2:30 PM
Hey Miguel, I'll be in DC this summer, so we definitely need to get together. Good luck!
Since I moved to Tampa, I can't get them. Although there's a restaurant in Naples that has them. In D.C., I got them in Alexandria. Pike's and other places...I tried making them once. Couldn't get the dough right though. :(
Posted by
galloglass
April 2, 2008 6:06 PM
We had saltenas when we were in Maryland this past Feb. visiting Betty and Ali Macias, our Bolivian friends. I'm sure they know lots of places for Bolivian food, groceries, etc.
Congrats, by the way, this is the school I was hoping and praying you'd take as your next step.
Posted by
mom
April 2, 2008 9:34 PM
HEy, we had Saltenas in Feb. when we visited our friends, Ali and Betty Macias who live in Maryland. I'm sure they can tell you how to get lots of Bolivian food and groceries.
Congrats, by the way. I was sure hoping you'd end up at Mount St. Mary's.
Posted by
mom
April 2, 2008 9:36 PM
Congratulations. MSM is a great location. I enjoyed going on retreats there when I lived in Carlisle.
By the way, I never heard how it went at Eat-n-Park.
Posted by
Gil Gilliam
April 3, 2008 1:03 AM
We actually never went to Eat-n-Park. We went to Outback Steakhouse instead.
Saltenas you can get at Tuto Bene's, near Ballston Commons Mall, in Arlington. Just take route 7 past seven corners. Another place is the pike's pizza right on route 50, near seven corners. It is in a shopping plaza off the road.
Those are my favorite places for saltenas.
good luck in the Mount, and thanks for taking us out to dinner. :-)
Posted by
miguel (mabb)
April 7, 2008 2:30 PM
Congratulations Miguel,
I have been to the Mount a few times while I was living and working in Gettysburg. It's a nice campus and convenient location.
p.s. Thurmont, known for white supremacists and Site "R"... interesting location to say the least.
