Owen Sirrs
Adjunct Professor

• M.A., United States Naval War College (2002)
• M.S., National Defense Intelligence College (2001)
• B.S., Georgetown University

Email: owen.sirrs@umontana.edu
Phone: (406) 243-3612

Owen served as a Senior Intelligence Officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency based in Washington, D.C. specializing in the Middle East. His publications include Nasser and the Missile Age in the Middle East (2006) and The Egyptian Intelligence Service: A History of the Mukhabarat (2011). Currently he is working on a history of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Directorate.

Jonathan Rutgers
Adjunct Professor

• M.A., Kansas State University

Email: jonathan.rutgers@mso.umt.edu
Phone: 910-432-2867

Jon Rutgers is a retired soldier, serving in the U.S. Army for 28 years in conventional and special operations units with assignments in Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, India, and Nepal. He has also worked as a security consultant supporting protective services and security training requirements in the U.S., Middle East, and Asia. 

Dr Maz Mazinani
Assistant Professor

Email: mehran.mazinani@mso.umt.edu
Phone: (406)243-3600

Currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Regional Studies at the University of Montana's Mansfield Center within the Defense Critical Language and Culture Program, I collaborate closely with a diverse group of students and professionals. My background includes impactful roles at the Defense Language Institute, where I supported military service members as an Assistant Professor, Team Lead, and Acting Department Chairperson. My teaching experience extends internationally and domestically, including researching and teaching at the University of Utah, where I completed my Post-doctorate, PhD, and MA. I've designed and taught graduate and undergraduate courses covering Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Islam. I have several publications in peer-reviewed journals mostly on the Middle East. I've been honored with several awards, notably my induction into the Army Antiterrorism Honor Roll, a distinction recognized across the US Army.

Dr Udo Fluck
Assistant Professor

• Ph.D., University of Montana (2003)
• M.Ed., University of Montana (1999)
• M.I.S., University of Montana (1995)
• B.A., University of Montana (1993)

Email: udofluck@mso.umt.edu
Phone: (406)243-3604

Udo Fluck is an intercultural researcher and curriculum developer with 20 years of teaching experience at the University of Montana and as a professional trainer and consultant. He maintains an active, internationally recognized research portfolio in cultural competence development. Between 2004 and 2016, while at UM, he initiated, developed, and oversaw one of the largest intercultural and global competence training offices. In 2016 he founded a training and consulting LLC, where he developed and taught intercultural and global skill building seminars between 2016 and 2023. Between 2018 and 2023, he also managed Missoula’s sister city relations, offered cultural awareness trainings and provided cultural community programming. As a Clinical Professor of Management in UM’s College of Business, he continues to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in cross-cultural management. He has been an invited speaker at over 35 national and international conferences.