Faculty

• Dr. Wayne F. Lesperance, Jr.

  

  Dr. Wayne F. Lesperance, Jr. became the 16th President of New England College on December 12, 2022.

  Dr. Lesperance arrived at NEC in 1999 to serve as Assistant Professor of Political Science, a role he relished for 17 years. He transitioned to NEC’s administration in 2016 when he became Dean of Residential Undergraduate Programs. He has served as Director of the Center for Civic Engagement; Vice President of Academic Affairs; and most recently, Provost.

  A political enthusiast, Dr. Lesperance moved to New Hampshire in 1999 to take advantage of the State’s special place in presidential politics. His love of the political process has helped him lead NEC’s civic engagement focus. He is a frequent commentator in regional and national media outlets, where he is often quoted on public policy, presidential elections, and U.S. foreign policy. Among his more recent publications, he was Associate Editor of the annually published two-volume Political Handbook of the World (2017–2020), a contributor to both Leadership and Legacy: The Presidency of Barack Obama (2021) and The New Islamic State (2016), and the author of “American Foreign Policy and the 2016 Election” in the Journal of Social Science and Modern Society (September/October 2016). Additionally, he has authored numerous articles and chapters in peer-reviewed journals, textbooks, and other publications.

  He received his BS in Political Science and MA in International Studies from Old Dominion University and his doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University.

  Dr. Lesperance was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He resides in Cogswell House in Henniker with his wife, Stephanie; daughter, Grace; and their two dogs, Nero and Emmitt.

• Dr. Nathan Shrader

  

  Associate Professor of Politics
  Co-Director, Center for Civic Engagement
  Phone: 603.428.2591
  Email: nshrader@nec.edu

  Education
  PhD, Temple University
  MS, Suffolk University
  BA, Thiel College

  Bio
  Before arriving at New England College in July 2022, Nathan Shrader served as chair and associate professor of Government and Politics as well as director of American Studies at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Prior to this he served successively as legislative aide and deputy director of communications to Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll, legislative aide in the Virginia General Assembly, and research analyst at Abrams Learning and Information Systems under General John N. Abrams (retired). He worked from 2009 to 2014 at the Center on Regional Politics at Temple University and was an adjunct professor at Drexel and Neumann Universities. Shrader was also a freelance writer for the Philadelphia Public Record.

  He earlier served as legislative intern in Washington for United States Senator Arlen Specter, legislative intern to Pennsylvania State Representative Rod E. Wilt, and as a clerk under Westmoreland County (PA) Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy. He has also been a consultant, manager, staffer, and volunteer on scores of political campaigns at the state, local, and national levels.

  Shrader appears as a regular political analyst for television, radio, online, and print media sources. He has appeared in national and international news coverage of American politics through the Washington Post, Fox News, BBC World Radio, NPR, Bloomberg, Teen Vogue, Governing, USA Today, Newsweek, Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi Today, and others. He regularly contributes on-air to network news affiliates to discuss national, state, and local politics and elections. In addition to his teaching and efforts to assist in keeping citizens informed about politics, Shrader helped to create and conduct the quarterly Millsaps College/Chism Strategies polling series that examined public opinion trends pertaining to government and politics in the state between 2017-2021 and the Millsaps College/Women’s Foundation of Mississippi Legislative Fellowship program.

  Through his own unique experiences both studying and practicing the art of politics and governance, Shrader encourages his students to build bridges between the theoretical and the real-world application of political science. His main areas of scholarly interest include state and local government, political history, the presidency, political marketing, campaigns and elections, and political parties.

  Shrader is a member of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), American Political Item Collectors (APIC), founding member of the President Joseph R. Biden Collectors Association, and the International Churchill Society. He is a past member of the Common Cause Mississippi Board of Directors, president of the Mississippi Political Science Association, the Mississippi Coalition to Against Domestic Violence Board of Directors, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Utility Workers Union of America. Shrader was also elected as a delegate to the 2022 Democratic National Convention from Mississippi’s Third Congressional District and served as Deputy Whip for the Mississippi delegation.

• Dr. John Callahan

  

  Director of Online Military Programs
  Phone: 603.428.2274
  Email: jcallahan@nec.edu
  

  Education
  PhD in International Studies, Old Dominion University

  Bio
  John Callahan has been Director of Combined Online Military Programs in International Relations and Homeland Security at New England College since 2017. From 2019 to 2022, he also served as Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. He has taught at NEC since 2010.

  John received a PhD in International Studies from Old Dominion University in 2015.  His dissertation examined U.S. Foreign policy and Strategic Communication in Humanitarian Interventions.  His chapter on the information environment was published in April 2017’s “Future of U.S. Warfare,” by Palgrave, and his first book, “Explaining Wars of Choice,” was published by Academica Press in February 2018.  His research focus is on foreign policy decision making, framing, and strategic communication.  John is a contributor to the UK Defense Forum’s Defense Viewpoints, focusing EU enlargement issues. He is also a Co-Convenor for the Political Science Association of the UK German Studies Group, focusing on the rise of populism in Europe.

  From 2007 to 2017, John served as a consultant to the Joint Public Affairs Support Element, U.S. Transportation Command, and the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.  In this role, John has worked as a strategic communications planner as well as a Joint Public Affairs and Media Trainer for all of the U.S. Regional Combatant Commands.

  Dr. Callahan served as Deputy Spokesman at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, helping the Director, Ambassador John Negroponte, to communicate key messages of intelligence reform to the American people.  Prior to this, John was honored to be selected by the Department of Defense and the Department of State to serve as a Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.  His missions there included working as an information officer for the Iraq Commission on Public Integrity and working as a portfolio press officer at the embassy.

  John is President of the International Ambassador Club, a global networking and humanitarian affairs organization.