Stephen Frederick Starr (born March 24, 1940) is an American expert on Russian and Eurasian affairs, a musician, and a former president of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

. Founder and chairman of the

Central Asia-Caucasus Institute The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute or CACI was founded in 1996 by S. Frederick Starr, a research professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. He has served as vice president of Tulane University and as preside ...

, he is fluent in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 articles on Russian and Eurasian affairs.S. Frederick Starr, Ph.D,"
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University website. Accessed Dec. 16, 2013. Starr's expertise is in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, Russia, and the rest of the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He focuses on developing nations, energy and environment issues,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic faith, culture and law, and oil politics. Starr has advised three U.S. presidents on Russian/Eurasian affairs and chaired an external advisory panel on U.S. government-sponsored research on the region, organized and co-authored the first comprehensive strategic assessment of Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan for the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

in 1999. He joined the

American Foreign Policy Council The American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit located in Washington, DC, which is largely chaired by conservatives and officials that served in conservative Presidential administrations. Its foreign and defense policy speciali ...

as a Distinguished Fellow for Eurasia in January 2017.

Early life

He was born on March 24, 1940. Among North American archaeologists, he is known for his survey of archaeological sites throughout Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1958, the results of his exploration of a prehistoric Native American mound were published by The Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio, and the results of his countywide survey were published by the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History in 1960. Starr earned a bachelor of arts degree at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1962. While there, he was a member of the social and literary fraternity

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

. He then received his M.A. at the King's College, University of Cambridge. He received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in history at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

Career

Academics

He began work as an archaeologist in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and in 1974 started the

Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded in 1974 to carry out studies of the Soviet Union (Sovietology), and subsequently of post-Soviet Russia and other post-Soviet states. The institute is widely ...

, which opened U.S. research contact with Central Asia."Dr. S. Frederick Starr,"
Institute for Security & Development Policy website. Accessed Nov. 4, 2015. He served as vice president of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

from 1979–1982, as well as its vice provost from 1980–1981. Starr served as the 12th president of

from 1983 to 1994. Despite increasing minority hiring, Starr's presidency contained clashes with students over such issues as divestment from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and the dismissal of a campus minister, as well as his desire to turn Oberlin into "Harvard of the Midwest."Foss, Sara and Miller, Hanna
"Pomp and circumstances: Nancy Dye's first four years,"
''Oberlin Review'' (May 22, 1998).
Oberlin College website. Accessed Nov. 5, 2015. After a clash with students on the front lawn of his home in April 1990, Starr took a leave of absence as president from July 1991–February 1992. He resigned in March 1993, effective to June of that year. After leaving Oberlin, he was president of the

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

from 1994–1996. Journalist

Ken Silverstein Ken Silverstein is an American journalist who worked for the ''Los Angeles Times'' as an investigative reporter, for The Associated Press in Brazil, and has written for ''Mother Jones'', ''Washington Monthly'', ''The Nation'', ''Slate'', and ...

has dubbed Starr "The Professor of Repression" due to his support for corrupt despotic regimes in the

Caspian Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...

region. Similarly, a book on the 2008 Georgian-Russian war co-edited by Starr was criticized for lack of impartiality.

Musician

Starr is a jazz clarinetist. In 1980, he co-founded the

Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

while at Tulane. The ensemble is dedicated "to preserving the raucous pre-1930 jazz of New Orleans." The band has performed across the United States, France, and the former Soviet Union. In March 1982, the group gave the Doubleday Lecture at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. It also made national television appearances in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Jazz historian Al Rose once called it "the most authentic band on the scene today". The Ensemble's albums include ''Alive and Well'' (1981), ''Uptown Jazz'' (1984) and ''Hot & Sweet: Sounds of Lost New Orleans'' (1986).

Publications

Books

* ''Decentralization and Self-Government in Russia, 1830-1870''. Princeton University Press, 1972. * ''Melnikov. Solo Architect in a Mass Society''. Princeton University Press, 1978. * ''Two Evils: Memoirs of a Diplomat-Soldier During the Third Reich.'' with

Hans von Herwarth Hans-Heinrich Herwarth von Bittenfeld (14 July 1904 – 21 August 1999), also known as Johnnie or Johann von Herwarth, was a German diplomat who provided the Allies with information prior to and during the Second World War. Biography Herwarth ...

. Collins, 1981. * ''Red and Hot. The Fate of Jazz in the Soviet Union 1917-1980''. Oxford University Press, 1983 . * Southern Comfort: The Garden District of New Orleans, 1800-1900. MIT Press, 1989. * ''Bamboula!: The Life and Times of Louis Moreau Gottschalk''. Oxford University Press, 1995. * ''Strategic Assessment of Central Eurasia.'' Atlantic Council of the United States'','' 2001. with Charles Fairbanks, C. Richard Nelson, and Kenneth Weisbrode. * ''Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane''. Princeton University Press, 2013. * ''Looking Forward: Kazakhstan and the United States.'' with Bulat Sultanov, S. Enders Wimbush, Fatima Kukeyeva, Svante E. Cornell, and Askar Nursha. Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, 2014.

Articles

* "A Usable Past" in

Alexander Dallin Alexander Davidovich Dallin (21 May 1924 – 22 July 2000) was an American historian, political scientist, and international relations scholar at Columbia University, where he was the Adlai Stevenson Professor of International Relations and the d ...

and Gail S. Lapidus, eds. ''The Soviet System: From Crisis to Collapse'', 2nd. revised edition. Westview Press, 1995, pp 11–15. * "Rediscovering Central Asia." ''

The Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ideolog ...

''. Summer 2009.

Edited

* ''Legacy of History in Russia and the New States of Eurasia.'' M.E. Sharpe, 1994. * ''Xinjiang: China 's Muslim Borderland''. Routledge, 2004. . * ''The Guns of August 2008: Russia's War in Georgia,'' with Svante E. Cornell, editor. M.E. Sharpe, 2009. * ''Putin’s Grand Strategy: The Eurasian Union and Its Discontents'', with Svante E. Cornell. Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, S. Frederick 1940 births Living people Yale University alumni St. Anthony Hall Princeton University alumni Cambridge College alumni International relations scholars American jazz clarinetists Tulane University faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Terrorism in Central Asia Presidents of Oberlin College 21st-century clarinetists 20th-century non-fiction writers