Main Content Region

Kevin Grisham

Kevin Grisham

Professor Global Studies

Contact

Professor
Geography
Office Phone(909) 537-8276
Office LocationIW-110

Bio

Students wanting to schedule meetings with Dr. Grisham during the Fall Semester 2025 can go to his appointment calendar: CLICK HERE TO MAKE APPOINTMENT


ABOUT ME:

I am a proud first-generation student who had the privilege of graduating from CSUSB in 1997 with my BA in Criminal Justice. I then completed coursework for my MA in Interdisciplinary Studies at CSUSB. After working overseas in Yemen, I returned to the Inland Empire and began teaching in 2000. Since 2000, I have been privileged to teach students from the Inland Empire at Victor Valley Community College, the University of California, Riverside, and California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). I returned to CSUSB in 2007 to teach and have been here ever since, teaching at the San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses. In 2021, I became the Associate Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and in 2022, I was appointed Interim Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Development. I served in that position from July 2022 to August 2024, when I decided to return to my passion -- teaching and mentoring students. 

I am now a Professor of Global Studies at the Palm Desert Campus of CSUSB, helping to serve the students and communities of the Coachella Valley. I teach general education courses in the social sciences at PDC and serve as the Co-Coordinator of the CSUSB Model United Nations Program.

Since 1997, I have studied hate and violent extremism both in the United States and globally. My research focuses on the reasons why violent political movements (including hate groups) transform over time into other entities, including mainstream political parties, criminal organizations, and terrorist organizations. Since December 2015 (with the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California), I shifted my research back to primarily focus on hate groups, hate and racism, and violent extremist ideology in the United States. From 2015 to 2021, I served as the Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSUSB. Our research was frequently cited by the national and international press, as well as policymakers in the U.S. and abroad. For example, President Biden and the US Congress used research conducted with Prof. Brian Levin to justify the passing of federal law related to hate crimes against the AAPI communities.

Through my research on race, hate, and violent extremism, I am frequently interviewed in various media outlets, including BBC News, NPR, Rolling Stone Magazine, and other regional, national, and international press outlets. For a sampling of those interviews, see below:

Dr Kevin Grisham ISIS and Egyptian Bombing, February 16 2015 (BBC World News)

Proud Boys channels are exploding on Telegram, January 14, 2021 (Rolling Stone)

CSUSB professor discusses QAnon influencers on paid subscription service Patreon, January 13, 2021 (Rolling Stone)

The Democracy Project program on home-grown extremists features CSUSB professor Kevin Grisham, May 19, 2021 (Jefferson Public Radio (Southern Oregon University))

CSUSB professor discusses threat of right-wing extremist violence on March 4, March 2, 2021 (Insider)

QAnon’s spread to Bosnia and Herzegovina discussed by CSUSB professor, September 7, 2020 (Balkan Insight [East Europe])

CSUSB professor discusses QAnon conspiracy movement, August 27, 2020 (KCBS Radio - Santa Barbara)

Education

Ph.D. (2009)
Political Science
University of California, Riverside

M.A. (2005)
Political Science
University of California, Riverside

B.A. (1997)
Criminal Justice
California State Univ., San Bernardino

Courses/Teaching

Fall 2025 - During the Fall Semester 2025, I will be teaching:

  • GEOG 1650 - World Regions and Peoples - Lower Division Social Science GE, G, and DI Designation 

    Tuesday & Thursday, 1 PM to 2:15 PM, Rogers Gateway (RG) Building 117

  • GEOG 5150 - Global Governance and the United Nations System - Upper Division Social Science GE, G Designation & AB 386

    Asynchronous (Fully Online)

  • SSCI 3000 - Global Issues and Perspectives - Food and Globalization -- Upper Division Social Science GE, G, and DI Designation and Writing Intensive Designation

    Tuesday, 2:30 to 3:45 PM, Rogers Gateway (RG) Building 311

  • GEOG 5755 - Model United Nations Practicum (Fall Semester MUN Team)

    Friday (Section 01) - SBS-361 and Friday (Section 80) - TBD

PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE FACULTY BEING OFF-CONTRACT FROM MAY 23, 2025, TO AUGUST 18, 2025, I AM UNAVAILABLE FOR MEETINGS DURING THIS PERIOD.

Research and Teaching Interests

International Peace and Security, International Organizations, Global Governance, Conflict Resolution & Diplomacy, Transnational Movements, Insurgencies, and Guerrilla Movements, & Geography of Hate and Violent Extremism

Area Studies: Geopolitics of the Middle East and North African & Geography and Geopolitics of the Islamic World.

Geography-Related: Global Studies; Identity, Space and Location; Geopolitics; Political Geography; and Geopolitics