Cris E. Toffolo Ph.D.
Interim Director of International Programs
Office:
LWH 0007
Phone:
(773) 442-5493
Email:
c-toffolo@neiu.edu
Office Hours:
N/A
Country:
United States
Expertise
• Modern and contemporary political theory, especially theories of justice and social movements • Human rights theory, practice and international law • Peace studies, conflict resolution and post-conflict peace building • Comparative politics and social change in the Global South, especially West and Southern Africa, Central American and South Asia.
N/A
Research Interests
N/A
Education
• Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1995
• M.A., University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1988
• M.A., George Washington University, Washington, DC., 1986
• B.S., Alma College, Alma, Michigan, 1983, cum laude
Background
I came to NEIU in 2008 to take up the position of Professor and Chair of Justice Studies. Prior to that, I was the Director of the Justice and Peace Studies program and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. I love to travel and sometimes I take students to conferences here in the U.S. and to study in Guatemala, Bangladesh and South Africa. I had the opportunity to teach high school in Nigeria for a year when I was an undergraduate and so I know just how important study abroad can be. I have also done consulting and research in Guatemala, Ghana and Pakistan. While on sabbatical in South Africa in 2005-06 I worked as a researcher for a human rights NGO in Johannesburg. This is related to my work on human rights for Amnesty International which I have done since 1991, including providing court testimony in immigration cases. I currently serve on a subcommittee of AI (USA)’s board and as the advisor to NEIU’s AI Student Club. I also serve as co-chair of the board of the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA), a group of peace studies scholars and activists in the U.S. and Canada. As the mother of a college sophomore I am currently getting to see college from several different perspectives, and I truly love working with NEIU students who are hungry to get an education.