An established Minneapolis researcher focused on areas such as human rights and political violence, James Ron, PhD, most recently held tenured responsibilities as Stassen Chair in International Affairs with the University of Minnesota. In this role, Dr. James Ron undertook groundbreaking quantitative and qualitative research in the developing world, and placed an emphasis on effectively communicating findings with the public at large.

Dr. Ron also conducted graduate classes that brought focus to world politics, with an emphasis on how public affairs and human rights policies are forged. A consultant with Human Rights Watch since the early 1990s, he has additionally undertaken field investigations in conflict-ridden areas of the world such as the Albania/Kosovo border, the Ingushetia/Chechnya border, and Israel/Palestine.

Dr. Ron’s consulting activities extend to undertaking program evaluations with the Australia-headquartered nonprofit Life for a Child. The charity has distributed syringes and insulin to more than 18,000 children in low-income regions of the globe who are living with type 1 diabetes. Dr. James Ron has coauthored a number of books in his field, including Taking Root: Human Rights & Public Opinion in the Global South (Oxford University Press, 2017).