Saladin Ambar

Professor of Political Science; Senior Scholar, Eagleton Center on the American Governor

(848) 932-8504

M.A. in political science, New School for Social Research; Ph.D. degree in political science, Rutgers University

Saladin Ambar joined the Eagleton Institute of Politics in 2017. Dr. Ambar is a Senior Scholar at Eagleton’s Center on the American Governor and Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He is the author of four books, including Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era (Oxford University Press), which was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for best non-fiction book written by an African American author. The book is the basis for a film currently in development by Number 9 Films (UK).

Prof. Ambar’s next book, Stars and Shadows: The Politics of Interracial Friendship from Jefferson to Obama, will be released by Oxford University Press in the spring of 2022. He is also a co-author of Rutgers University Press’ forthcoming, Governors and the Crises that Define Them, written with Eagleton’s John Farmer, Kristoffer Shields, and John Weingart. Dr. Ambar’s research focuses on the institutions of the American presidency and governorship, race and ethnic politics, American political thought, and American political development.

Dr. Ambar has appeared as an expert commentator in several episodes of CNN’s series “Race for the White House,” and has consulted for the Smithsonian Channel as a fact-checker. He is a regular guest on PBS New Jersey and New York’s broadcasts of MetroFocus, offering political commentary, and his work has been featured on the Tavis Smiley Show and NPR. Prof. Ambar’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Newsweek, The Root, the Huffington Post, Literary Hub, and the Daily News. He is also an opinion columnist for NJ Spotlight.

Before his career in academia, Dr. Ambar taught in the New York City and New Jersey public school systems for 18 years, beginning as a Teach For America recruit. Prof. Ambar is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he received his BS in International Politics; he received his MA in Political Science from the New School for Social Research, and completed his PhD in Political Science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. He is an aspiring dual citizen with Italy, and awaits official word this year. Dr. Ambar is the father of 14-year-old triplets, and he lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Back to Faculty & Staff