Dr. Ripley is a Professor of Political Science and teaches a broad range of courses in international relations and comparative politics. His interests include global governance, contemporary global issues, European and Asian politics, and international relations theory. Dr. Ripley earned his B.A. in political science at Macalester College and his doctorate at The Ohio State University. He taught at the University of Pittsburgh and held a visiting appointment at the University of Wisconsin prior to his arrival at Mercyhurst in 1996. Dr. Ripley received a Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Pittsburgh and was a Pew Fellow of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the 2013 recipient of the Mercyhurst Teaching Excellence award. Previously he served as the Dean of Faculty and Senior Academic Advisor for the Office for Academic Affairs and as the Associate Dean in the School of Social Sciences at Mercyhurst. Dr. Ripley was born and raised on a family farm in Winnebago, Minnesota.