Stephen Maynard Caliendo, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Central College / Professor of Political Science

Since 2016, Stephen Maynard Caliendo has served as the inaugural Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Central College (Naperville, IL) where he holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Political Science. He has been active with the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences since 2017 and serves as treasurer for Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area consortium. Stephen’s administrative work prioritizes pathways and partnerships, seeking to bolster the traditional liberal arts while embracing applications to pre-professional areas.

Born in Pittsburgh, Stephen grew up in a Western Pennsylvania exurb and later attended Clarion University (now Pennsylvania Western University at Clarion) – as a first-generation college student – to study English literature and political science. He earned Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in political science from Purdue University and has taught at the University of Missouri—St. Louis and Avila University (Kansas City, Missouri).

Stephen is the author of Teachers Matter: The Trouble with Leaving Political Education to the Coaches (Praeger 2000) and a popular textbook, Inequality in America (Routledge), which will be in its fourth edition in 2027. He is often called upon by media outlets to lend his expertise. Many of his appearances can be found on his YouTube channel (@SMCaliendo).

With Charlton D. McIlwain (New York University), Stephen is co-author of Race Appeal (Temple University Press, 2011) and co-editor the Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity, which is currently in its second edition (2022). They are currently co-editing a books series for De Gruyter and have recently served as co-Principal Investigators on a National Science Foundation grant.

Stephen was named Professor of the Year at Avila in 2002, was honored with the American Political Science Association’s Ralph Bunche [BUNCH] Award for Race Appeal (shared with Charlton D. McIlwain) in 2012, received an “Emerging Voice” award from Purdue (2010), and was recognized for outstanding teaching (2007), research (2011), and service (2009) at North Central. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Jillian, their twins, Gianni and Stella, and his beloved AussieDoodle, Carmela. He is the proud father of Amelia, an industrial-organizational psychologist based in Chicago.