February 19, 2013
UW selects Jeffrey Riedinger as vice provost for global affairs
Jeffrey Riedinger, professor and dean of International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University, has been named vice provost for global affairs at the University of Washington, UW Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today.
Riedinger, a Seattle native who earned a law degree from the UW School of Law in 1980, will assume his new position Sept. 1.
The UW Office of Global Affairs oversees the university’s multiple activities in the global arena including study abroad, exchanges for students and faculty with universities in other countries, and support for international research and centers the UW has established abroad.
“We are very excited to have Jeff Riedinger coming to the University of Washington,” said Cauce. “He is unquestionably one of the top university global affairs and global engagement administrators in the country. He is also a well-recognized scholar in the field and has on-the-ground experience in land-use reform in foreign countries. We are a perfect match for his energy and initiative.”
Since 2007 Riedinger has been dean of International Studies and Programs at MSU. His responsibilities include facilitating multidisciplinary research and project collaborations, formulating proposals for external funding and strategic partnerships abroad to advance research, teaching, and engagement on critical global issues. He also guided efforts to enhance the internationalization of curricula and student life, and sought to enhance program quality, curricular integration, and cost control in study-abroad and other exchanges programs.
He joined MSU in 1990 as an assistant professor of political science. He has been an associate professor of political science and of resource development and is currently a professor of community sustainability. He was co-director and then director for seven years of the Center for Advanced Study of International Development.
He has first-hand experience with undergraduate study abroad programming. From 1993-2001, he co-directed a study abroad program in Australia, jointly sponsored by MSU’s Department of Political Science and School of Criminal Justice. He also co-directed an Australian internship program on behalf of a consortium of Midwest universities.
Riedinger, an expert on the political economy of land reform and sustainable agriculture and natural resource management, has conducted research in East and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, the Middle East and South Asia.
One ongoing project involves colleagues from the UW, universities in Beijing and the Seattle-based Landesa (formerly Rural Development Institute) conducting surveys of China’s rural families to provide evidence-based recommendations to the Chinese government to enhance long-term land-use rights for farmers. As they are implemented, these laws and policies can improve the security of agricultural land use rights for China’s nearly 200 million rural farm households.
Among his U.S.-based activities, Riedinger has conducted briefings on foreign aid, land reform and other development issues for members of the White House staff, state department and USAID personnel, members of Congress and their staff, World Bank, non-governmental organizations and private foundations.
He has written two books and more than 30 articles, chapters, reviews and monographs. He’s written opinion pieces for news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Newsday and the Los Angeles Times.
His bachelor’s degree is from Dartmouth College in 1977. After earning his Juris Doctor degree from the UW, he earned a master’s and doctorate from Princeton in 1989 and 1991 respectively.
His salary at the UW will be $235,000. Along with serving as vice provost, Riedinger will have a faculty appointment with the UW School of Law.
