In 2007,聽Lev Szentkir谩lyi聽started his doctoral studies in Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, and in desiring to study in a field that had greater practical application to the problems of social justice that concerned him, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi changed the trajectory of his graduate studies and arrived on our campus in 2010 as a Ph.D. student in Political Science. Throughout the following years at CU, he developed an interdisciplinary specialization in political philosophy and international relations, engaging diverse empirical and philosophical problems of environmental risk, public health, and environmental justice, as well as the ethics of revolutionary violence. As a second-generation American citizen (the youngest son of Andr谩s and Enik艖 Szentkir谩lyi, both of whom immigrated from Hungary in the 1950s), Dr. Szentkir谩lyi鈥檚 Hungarian heritage has uniquely shaped his formal studies, current research interests, and his teaching career.
In learning the sobering details of his parents鈥� histories鈥攏ot the least of which included their enduring the Second World War in Budapest, Hungary, surviving Hungary鈥檚 revolution against the Soviet Union, and fleeing their home country for the promise of greater freedom and security鈥攁nd in learning how his parents and various relatives were impacted by decisions of state actors, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi became keenly interested in subjects of political morality: inspiring his commitment to the study of global and environmental justice, and our moral obligations to champion democratic values and to protect our communities against injustices.聽In this spirit, his current research explores contemporary problems of applied ethics like sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, gun violence, and disaster risk reduction.聽 For example, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi鈥檚 first book,聽, defends safeguards against scientifically-unverified environmental health threats and argues that industry is morally obligated to take reasonable strides to prevent putting others in the way of potential albeit uncertain harm鈥攅specially vulnerable groups, like children, the elderly, the poor, and marginalized minority groups.聽Similarly, his most recent manuscript, 鈥淩un, Hide, and Fight?!,鈥� aims to raise the standard of corporate social responsibility by arguing that businesses have significant duties of due care to strive to safeguard the public against possibilities of gun-related injuries and deaths, which the gun industry has routinely failed to heed.聽Dr. Szentkir谩lyi鈥檚 current book project,聽Future Uncertain, is a co-authored edited volume that critically engages genuine and manufactured challenges of uncertainty and brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners across the natural, social, and policy sciences, on a host of climate-change-related problems. In exploring prevailing uncertainties with the impacts of climate change on diverse issue-areas (like ocean health, infectious diseases, food systems, and water security), this book indicts those who would abuse uncertainty to sow doubt and confusion or to advance private agendas at the expense of truth and the public鈥檚 interest, and it reaffirms our capacity to overcome uncertainty and achieve greater environmental sustainability.
As a Political Science graduate student, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi spent two years (2012-2014) serving as a Lead Graduate Student in the former Graduate Teacher Program (now housed within the Center for Teaching and Learning), working to refine his teaching skills and to promote teaching excellence among graduate students in his home department.聽It was through this meaningful experience that he discovered the importance of student-centered pedagogy and deliberately striving to accommodate the diverse needs of our students and to effectively teach to their different strengths to help them achieve their potential.聽This foundational principle has defined Dr. Szentkir谩lyi鈥檚 interdisciplinary teaching career at CU.聽In 2017, he accepted a position as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences, where he designed and taught a diverse suite of thematic academic and professional writing courses at the intersection of public policy and ethics, which taught students how to improve their research and writing skills in their respective majors and professional futures. In 2022, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi transitioned to the Leeds School of Business and joined the聽Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division, where he teaches courses on business ethics, global political economy, and environmental sustainability鈥攈elping Business students understand the broader social and ethical implications of their studies and future careers, and challenging students to explore their moral obligations as educated citizens and community leaders to improve the welfare of those who are underprivileged and marginalized. He also teaches occasional classes for the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics, and Society and the Philosophy Department.
Beyond his research and teaching, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi also consistently invests in our broader campus community.聽For instance, as the former Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) Chair of the Student Affairs Committee, he collaborated with faculty and university leaders to motivate greater faculty involvement in promoting mental health wellness of CU students.聽 During the pandemic, as the Student Affairs Committee Chair, he also served on the COVID-19 Faculty Response Committee, advising university leadership in promptly addressing myriad pressing and quickly-evolving challenges of the pandemic. As the Faculty Director for聽Global Initiatives in Leeds School of Business and the Director of the Global Business Certificate鈥攚hich also involves serving on CU鈥檚 Education Abroad Committee and International Risk Committee鈥擠r. Szentkir谩lyi聽helps to create meaningful experiential-learning opportunities for students, and helps to ensure rigorous global curricula that enhance students' cross-cultural competence and that prepare them for careers in a dynamic and globalized economy.聽Moreover, as the聽Faculty Fellow for Teaching and Clinical Professors聽with the Office of Faculty Affairs, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi advocates for our non-tenure-track faculty and creates professional development programming to support early-, mid-, and late-career teaching and clinical professors through unique challenges that define their careers at CU.聽 Finally, as the Founder and Executive Director of the聽鈥攁 501(c)(3) private, non-profit foundation whose purpose is to award scholarships to deserving CU students鈥擠r. Szentkir谩lyi strives to enrich the educational experience of our students by recognizing their achievements and potential, and to expand the educational opportunities available to students who face unique barriers to attending college and succeeding in their studies.
Whether it鈥檚 contributing to a聽, facilitating graduate student workshops on teaching and learning for CTL, hosting professional development workshops for teaching and clinical professors, or regularly treating his students to coffees to explore their academic and professional aspirations, as a dedicated educator and colleague, Dr. Szentkir谩lyi has a strong presence on campus and in Leeds鈥攁lways wearing a smile, always willing to help others, and always ready for a friendly conversation over a cup of coffee.