Kaya Şahin, PhD, is the vice provost for global strategies and international affairs, and began his tenure on Nov. 1, 2023. At Ohio State, Şahin will lead the university’s continuing efforts to develop and implement an evolving global strategy in collaboration with students, faculty and staff. The Office of International Affairs provides leadership and coordination for Ohio State’s international engagement, including through Area Studies Centers; Global Education; Global Gateways in Brazil, China and India; the Global One Health initiative; international partnerships; and support for international students and scholars.
He previously served as executive associate dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University (IU). Şahin oversaw four departments and 22 centers, institutes and programs. In this role, he was involved in campus and curriculum internationalization, global academic mobility, academic partnerships, and local and international engagement. Şahin also served as academic director of IU’s Eurasia Gateway, where he worked to enhance academic and institutional relations between IU and potential regional partners.
A member of IU’s Department of History for more than a decade, Şahin held adjunct appointments in Central Eurasian Studies and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. He served as director of Renaissance Studies and Islamic Studies and as a member of the IU Press faculty board. He received numerous grants and fellowships from American and European institutions.
Şahin earned a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, an MA in history from Sabancı University, and a BA in political science and international relations from Boğaziçi University. Before college, he attended the French-language Lycée de Galatasaray in Istanbul.
Şahin’s global perspective is built on his personal, academic and administrative experiences. Initially arriving in the United States on an F-1 student visa, he eventually became a naturalized citizen. He has spent the past two decades establishing research collaborations with individuals and institutions worldwide. As a historian of the Ottoman Empire, Şahin has emphasized comparative and regional and global perspectives in his publications. His most recent book, published by Oxford University Press in 2023, is Peerless among Princes: The Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman.
Contact
Jill Toft, Executive Assistant
toft.20@osu.edu