Professor of political science Keith Yanner was a journalist writing about politics before he became a scholar of the discipline. During his Ph.D. program at Washington University, Yanner found himself drawn to the quantitative, social science side of political science. His interest and eventual specialization in immigration stemmed from spending time with family in southern Louisiana where many subcultures thrived. His first grad school course in Latin American politics opened a series of opportunities that led him to live and conduct research in Mexico and later Spain’s Basque country with former Central colleague Steve Ybarrola.
Yanner’s pursuit of scholarship was both a practical and pleasurable professional decision. Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in 1969, he felt he could have a longer career in academia than in journalism, and he enjoyed teaching and scholarly writing, as well as the collaborative, ethnographic projects with Ybarrola.
Throughout his first 25 years at Central, Yanner has remained active in scholarly publishing and presenting, teaching courses across disciplines that involve service learning, serving on numerous campus-wide committees, and creating oral histories for marginalized populations.
The breadth of Yanner’s commitment is illustrated in a long list of internal and external awards: Iowa Campus Compact Civic Mission Leadership Award 2016; Wesselink Award for outstanding contribution to community service; David Crichton Memorial Award for teaching; Wesselink Award for outstanding performance in professional growth and development; Central College Service Standard Award for Integrity; and Huffman Award for outstanding contribution to international education.
The Iowa Campus Compact leadership award last year highlighted Yanner’s devotion to ethnic minorities and refugees in Des Moines, as well as community partners and students with disabilities, often using his own disabilities to expand students’ understanding and capacity building for community partners.
In his early career, Yanner’s involvement as a frequent invited panelist often focused on his specialization in Latin American politics; in more recent years, he has lent his expertise in oral histories, the refugee movement and civic engagement to organizations near and far.
Faculty colleague Peggy Fitch, vice president for student development, who arrived at Central about the same time, calls Yanner “a deep and careful thinker. He is full of thought and compassionate in his teaching, especially supportive of students who are struggling. He has high integrity when considering what changes the college should make and how it affects faculty and students. He is an inspiration to others. His self-effacing manner makes others more comfortable. He is quiet and saves his voice for when he really has something to say. He is full of wisdom but very humble.”
As proof, Yanner quickly credits others with “whatever is noteworthy in my career. It would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of colleagues and family. An example I give repeatedly is when I lost my vision in 2000, Louise Zaffiro, who was on sabbatical, came everyday to read texts to me so I could prepare for my classes. I couldn’t have met my classes without her and she gave up her sabbatical time for me.”
Noting the importance of institutional service and his involvement in the writing and international education programs since arriving on campus, Yanner says his committee work and support of experiential learning “has meant a lot to me, both personally and professionally. I try to make my courses as interesting as I can, do as much collaborative work with the Center for Community-Based Learning as I can, and do as much with the oral archive as possible. Those will live on and are the things that matter beyond us.”
