He joined NYU Abu Dhabi in 2015 as a Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science before his appointment to Stern at NYUAD in 2023. He teaches courses in business, politics and society, and international politics. His research engages a variety of political economy topics, notably the relationships between firms and politicians, public finance (taxes/spending), and economic development.
Over the past eight years, Timmons has held a number of management and faculty leadership posts at NYUAD, including Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for Social Science, Political Science Program Head, and Chair of the Faculty Governance Committee. He was also the architect of NYUAD’s Business, Organizations and Society major.
Before coming to NYUAD, he worked as an Associate Professor of Strategy at IE Business School in Spain, a Professor of Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), and a Visiting Assistant Professor and Global Fellow at UCLA. He has received multiple awards, including Best Professor of the International MBA Program at IE Business School, the Best Dissertation Award from the Western Political Science Association, a Fulbright Fellowship, and the Jean Fort Award from the University of California San Diego.
Timmons has served as an external consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Development Bank (CAF), and Harstad Strategic Research (polling for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign). Before graduate school, he worked as a journalist in Venezuela, writing about politics and economics for the Economist Intelligence Unit. In addition to the UAE, he has lived in the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, the UK, Brazil, and Spain.
