Rate My Professor Tony Robinson

Tony Robinson serves as Department Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Lewis and Clark College in 1986, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1994, with an emphasis on the challenges of inner-city poverty and grassroots community organizing. Robinson joined the University of Colorado Denver as Assistant Professor of Political Science in 1994, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2003, and has chaired the department since 2011. His administrative roles include directing the HUD-funded Denver Outreach Center for Community Organizing from 1998 to 2004 and leading programs such as the CU in the Capitol legislative internship, student research internships with community groups, a study abroad summer session in South Korea, and a GIS in Political Science course utilizing CU Denver’s Facility for Advanced Spatial Technologies.

Robinson's research interests encompass American elections, urban political economy, poverty and politics, urban politics, American political institutions, grassroots empowerment, and social movements. Key publications include textbooks "The 2008 Presidential Campaign Workbook" (Pearson/Longman, 2008) and "The First 100 Days" (Pearson/Longman, 2008); refereed articles such as "Voter Migration as a Source of Electoral Change in the Rocky Mountain West" (Political Geography, 2010), "Hunger Discipline and Social Parasites: The Political Economy of the Living Wage" (Urban Affairs Review, 2004), and "Service Learning as Justice Advocacy: Can Political Scientists Do Politics?" (PS: Political Science & Politics, 2000); and community reports like "The Denver Urban Camping Ban: A Report From the Street" (2013) and the "Denver Atlas" series (2006, 2008). Recent co-authored books with Minsun Ji are "Sustainable, Smart, Solidary Seoul: Transforming an Asian Megacity" and "A Flying Dragon: King Taejo, Founder of Korea's Choson Dynasty." Robinson has received awards including the Campus-wide Excellence in Teaching Award (University of Colorado Denver, 2009), Chase Faculty Humanitarian Service Award (University of Colorado, 2005-06), and President's Faculty Excellence Award for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Technology (2001). He co-founded El Centro Humanitario, Save Our Section 8 Low Income Tenants Organization, and Denver Tent City Initiative, and serves on boards for Denver Jobs With Justice and El Centro Humanitario.