Dr. Thomas Pope
has served as Director of Kairos since 2017 and has been teaching Political Science at Lee since 2010, specializing in Political Philosophy and Constitutional Law. In a nutshell, this means that he loves talking about the ideas and institutions behind politics, but knows next to nothing about current events.
​
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Pope attended Berry College for his B.A. and Baylor University for his M.A. and Ph.D. While in Waco, he taught in Baylor’s Honors Program, cultivating an interest in interdisciplinary dialogue over questions perennial to the human experience. This fascination with dialectical conversation led him to Lee — an institution that emphasizes holistic pedagogy and Christ-centered philosophizing.
As a scholar, Dr. Pope has spent most of his time considering the relationship between individuals and communities, with a particular view to the responsibilities of each. Prominently featured in his office are pictures of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan.
Within the Kairos curriculum, Dr. Pope teaches the Freshman Gateway cohort and American Government. He also coordinates the Honors Colloquium each Spring. In addition to his Kairos responsibilities, Dr. Pope is the faculty sponsor of Alpha Chi and Lee University’s Pre-Law advisor. On sunny days, he is known to play croquet with students behind Storms Hall. On not-so-sunny days, he favors board games.