The loud and firm “da” (“yes”) that comes in response to a knock on the closed door of Office 238 takes you slightly aback. But as soon as you venture in, the young female occupant’s smiling face and sharp wit quickly win you over. It’s happened to students, staff, and fellow professors alike. 
 
Cosmina Tanasoiu is no ordinary professor. She is one of those teachers students worship or steer clear of, depending on how much they like being challenged. If you intend to take a class of hers, you had better switch to high-speed writing mode; she comes to class well prepared and delivers a compelling amount of thought-provoking information. She doesn’t feel as though she has done her job well if students leave feeling like they have had just a nice conversation. She wants to make them think.

Professor Tanasoiu’s teaching career is short but impressive: Fresh out of her doctorate, she came to AUBG in 2003 and founded the European Studies program, which quickly established itself as one of the most popular disciplines at the University. She spent six of her seven teaching years at AUBG, with a year off to take fellowships at George Washington and Harvard Universities. She now chairs the joint department of the Political Science and European Studies and advises Honors-track students working on senior theses.

Many of Professor Tanasoiu’s students participate in prominent conferences attracting top young talent while former students go on to do graduate studies at high-ranked European and U.S. universities. She also advises a number of student organizations and encourages students to broaden their horizons through extracurricular activities. Working with AUBG students is gratifying, she says, because they are intellectually capable and ambitious.

Despite a busy schedule that includes meeting with students and teaching classes ranging from Intellectuals to Comparative Politics of Europe to European Union Institutions, she finds the time to do her own research and get published in prestigious European journals.

Much as she enjoys teaching, Professor Tanasoiu never thought she would work in the academia. Her parents are both university professors, but she never considered teaching as a career option until she was well into her doctoral studies in the U.K. The turning point came when she had to deliver a speech at a London conference to an audience of more than a hundred people. Throughout her presentation, Professor Tanasoiu noticed that some of the listeners were taking notes of her words. She enjoyed the feeling, but also realized how careful and responsible she had to be with what she was saying.