Christi Gramling

Assistant Professor of Political Science
Whitfield Center for Christian Leadership
P843-863-7266 / Ecgramling@csuniv.edu

CREDENTIALS

MA, JD

Christi Gramling

Christi Gramling teaches political science and pre-law courses at CSU. She has been teaching at CSU since 2012, but she has been blessed with an exciting and varied professional history prior to beginning her teaching career.

Gramling graduated from Ohio University (not to be confused with Ohio State) with her bachelor’s degree in English and shortly thereafter began her graduate studies at Regent University where she graduated with a master’s degree in government and public policy and a law degree.

After her four years of graduate studies, and passing the bar exam, Gramling began practicing law. She started as an associate lawyer at a general practice law firm where she handled a variety of cases, such as contracts, debt collection, bankruptcies, adoptions, and criminal defense, to name a few.

Though she enjoyed practicing law, Gramling had always been interested in law enforcement and federal agencies, so she pursued a position with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a diversion investigator and later as a program analyst. Working for that agency was an exciting career; every day was different, and the work always interesting. In addition, as a public servant, Gramling felt the satisfaction that came from helping others and upholding the law.

Even though she experienced joy and fulfillment in these positions, Gramling still had a sense that she had not found her true calling. Looking back now, she realizes that she had always “dabbled” in her calling; She worked as a tutor, helped develop a writing center, and acted as a faculty advisor for the National Youth Leadership Forum. Then, in the summer of 2007, she was hired to teach a single course for a separate institution; She knew after that first class that teaching full-time was her calling.

Today, Gramling’s calling and her students provide a constant source of opportunities to guide, teach, learn, and grow, and she is excited to serve God in fulfilling her calling professionally.

Your Purpose. Our Mission.

To me, the statement, "Your purpose. Our mission," reminds me of 1 Corinthians 12. In that chapter, God's vision of diversity and unity are beautifully illustrated by considering the valuable and equal role each part of the body fulfills. As a professor at CSU, it is my responsibility to fulfill my God-given calling and purpose to guide students to discover and develop their purpose. As we each grow in the discovery and development of our purpose, we will be better prepared to fulfill the mission all Christians have been assigned: reaching our families, communities, and world for Christ.

Christi Gramling

Martin Luther King, Jr. Award
Black History Intercollegiate Consortium
Honored “For dedicated and distinguished service to the Charleston Southern community.” Trident Technical College, North Charleston, SC. January 20, 2015.

Book:
Peace Agreements and Civil Wars in Africa: Insurgent Motivations, State Responses, and Third Party Peacemaking in Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone (NY: Cambria Press, 2010): http://www.cambriapress.com/.

Book chapters:
Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends, 1992-2002, A Democracy Coalition Project, Kenya chapter. Open Society Institute, Washington, DC, December 2005: http://www.demcoalition.org/pdf/Kenya.pdf.
Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends, 1992-2002, A Democracy Coalition Project, Tanzania chapter. Open Society Institute, Washington, DC, December 2005: http://www.demcoalition.org/pdf/Tanzania.pdf.

African Studies Association
American Political Science Association
International studies Association
Kenya Scholars & Studies Association