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Paul Apostolidis was a professor of politics at Whitman College from 1997 to 2019, serving as Judge and Mrs. Timothy A. Paul Endowed Chair of Political Science from 2007 to 2019. He began at Whitman as an assistant professor one year after graduating from Cornell University with his Ph.D in government. He became an associate professor in 2003 and a full professor in 2011. His early research was focused on the Christian Right, in particular, the evangelical conservative organization and radio show, Focus on the Family. This early work culminated in his book, Stations of the Cross: Adorno and Christian Right Radio (Duke University Press, 2000).

After the book's publication, his research interests shifted towards Latino immigrants to the United States, with an emphasis on labor, economy, and political action. He has published two books on the subject, The Fight for Time: Migrant Day Laborers and the Politics of Precarity (Oxford University Press, 2019) and Breaks in the Chain: What Immigrant Workers Can Teach America about Democracy (University of Minnesota Press, 2010), in addition to numerous articles.

In 2005, Apostolidis began the community-based research program, State of the State for Washington Latinos. Students produced an annual report on racial inequalities, policy solutions, and advocacy/action priorities for Latinos in Washington State. The annual report was the first comprehensive report on Washington Latino social conditions in the United States. The program continued until he departed Whitman College in 2019. In 2013 he published an article on the project in the Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement, "Community-Based Research, Race and the Public Work of Democracy: Lessons from 'The State of the State for Washington Latinos.'"

He is currently a professor of government and the school academic lead for student civic engagement at The London School of Economics and Political Science.