About Kal

I grew up outside of Philipsburg, MT (population ~900) in the shadow of the Pintler mountains, where the paternal line of my family homesteaded and have lived continually for over 100 years. My mother's side of the family, who have been in Montana even longer than my father's side, originally settled in the Sand Coulee area (in north central Montana), but eventually moved northwestward to Lincoln County. My family’s story is a purely Montana one; we’ve worked (ranching, mining, and logging) and harvested (hunting, fishing, and foraging) Montana’s incredible landscapes for over a century.

I graduated from rural Granite (County) High School in 2008, where I was one of eleven graduating seniors that year, and then, as a first generation college student, attended and graduated from the University of Montana, where I earned a bachelor's degree in political science. I grew increasingly interested in empirical research and returned to the University of Montana to pursue a master's degree in political science, graduating in 2015. From there, I went on to earn my PhD from the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia (graduating in 2020), specializing in public opinion and social science research methodology. I served as a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University, where I engaged in research related to civic engagement and interest group politics. From 2021-2024, I held an appointment as Assistant Professor at Utah Valley University, where I annually taught a 4/4/1. Since Fall 2024, I have been an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Auburn University (War Eagle!).

As one may venture to guess--considering the landscapes and culture that shaped my childhood and young adult life--I count a wide variety of outdoor recreation activities among my interests. When I'm not enjoying the outdoors with my wife, Dr. Zoe Nemerever (a fellow political scientist), I am entertained by collegiate sports, cheering on the Jaguars or Seahawks, and a variety of board and card games.

My Erdős Number is 5: B. Kal Munis → Nicholas S. Ialongo → Chen-Pin Wang → Malay Ghosh → Gutti Jogesh Babu → Paul Erdős