Mehmet A. Balkanlioglu is an associate professor of Sociology and has been teaching at the college level since 2011. He has a Ph.D. degree in Sociology from the University of North Texas and is a visiting researcher in the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

His research interests are marriage and family (long-term marriage, intermarriage, and divorce), ethnicity, gender, and Alevism - the religious creed and tradition in Turkey. His publications include two books: And Love Has Won: Alevi-Sunni Intermarriage and Code of Marriage: 40 Secrets of Happy and Long-term Marriage, in addition to several articles in both Turkish and English. Dr. Balkanlioglu's work focuses on theoretical and applied Sociology, and his recent research projects (with Dr. John L. Esposito) are Gender, ethnicity, and religion: Turkish-American intermarriage in the US and An Investigation of Alevi Civic Organizations and Activities as a Type of Social Capital.

He is an expert for the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (EU-funded program), and a reviewer for international journals such as International Sociology, Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, and International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. Dr. Balkanlioglu has been an invited speaker by international institutions and presented his studies at international conferences in the U.S. and Europe (e.g., the American Sociological Association and European Sociological Association). His work is often cited in various media outlets, including television, radio, newspapers, and online.

Balkanlioglu has been teaching courses on Introduction to Sociology, Social Theory, Sociology of Marriage and Family, Intercultural Perspectives on Family and Gender, Introduction to Social Statistics (I-II), Advanced Social Statistics, Qualitative Research Methods, Quantitative Research Methods, Sociology of Religion, Race, and Ethnicity, Social Problems, Social Movements, Social Welfare, and Sociology of Mental Health.

Dr. Balkanlioglu is fluent in Turkish, English, and Arabic.