Congratulations to Andy Markovits on his retirement, which was celebrated on Saturday, March 8, 2025, when a group of his former doctoral students came to Ann Arbor from institutions across the United States, Australia, Canada, and Germany. 

Andrei S. Markovits, Ph.D., Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies, professor of Germanic languages and literatures, professor of sociology, and professor of political science in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, retired from active faculty status on May 31, 2024.

Professor Markovits received his B.A. degree (1969), M.B.A. degree (1971), M.A. degree (1973), M.Phil. degree (1974) and Ph.D. degree (1976) from Columbia University. Professor Markovits joined the faculty of Harvard University as a research associate at the Center for European Studies in 1975 and of Wesleyan University as an assistant professor in 1977. He joined Boston University as an associate professor in 1983. He served as chair of the Department of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 1992-1995 and as a professor until joining the University of Michigan faculty as a professor in 1999. 

Professor Markovits is the author and editor of many books and scholarly articles and most recently published a memoir, The Passport as Home: Comfort in Rootlessness (Budapest and Vienna: Central European University Press, 2021) that offers a panoramic view of the forces that shaped the latter half of the 20th century and his life. Professor Markovits’ work, which has been translated into 18 languages, focuses on German and European politics, European anti-Americanism and Antisemitism as well as comparative sports cultures and human/canine relations. Professor Markovits received many teaching awards throughout his career, including the Golden Apple Award (2007), the Tronstein Prize for Exceptional Undergraduate Teaching (2007, 2016), and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship in 2009.

Once again, the Political Science Department wants to thank you for your years of service and congratulate you on a well-deserved retirement!