“Penn has a strong sense of being an active part of the larger community,” says Ronald J. Granieri, Ph.D., assistant professor of history. “The University is plugged into current events and feels a great responsibility to be involved, to educate people who can have a positive impact on the situations we face at home and around the world.”

Professor Granieri, a native of Niagra Falls, New York, brings his global perspective to Penn from previous faculty positions at Furman University, Bucknell University, Susquehanna University, and the University of Chicago, where he earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in history. He also holds a B.A. from Harvard and was a visiting professor at the University of Tübingen in Germany. “I’m fortunate that Penn was looking for a historian who specializes in European International Relations just at the time I was looking for a new professional opportunity,” says Professor Granieri. “It’s been a great fit, and I am very happy to be at Penn.”

In Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), Professor Granieri teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on topics such as Modern European History and a two-semester course on European International Relations Since 1648. For SAS’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS), he has taught seminars in the Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program covering the Cold War and War and Peace in 20th Century Europe. His experience with LPS/MLA has been so successful, he won the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award for Outstanding Faculty. In 2006, Professor Granieri also received both the Richard S. Dunn Award for Undergraduate Teaching from Penn’s Department of History and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Assistant Professor from the School of Arts and Sciences.

“People who take courses in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies have a wide range of experiences,” says Professor Granieri. “The mix of personalities and backgrounds brings an excitement and an intensity to the classroom that reflect how a world-class university like Penn needs to interact with the world.”

In Professor Granieri’s fall 2007 MLA seminar, discussion of the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I touched on current events in the Middle East and Pakistan, since most of the countries in the region had their boundaries determined at those Paris talks. Sitting in the class were two students from India, one from Pakistan, and two Americans who had served in Iraq. “Everyone was able to talk about the messages they had received growing up about their respective countries and other countries around the world and to explore how those impressions play out on the global stage,” says Professor Granieri. “That’s a typical example of the kind of interaction and learning that happens at Penn.”

In the fall of 2008, Professor Granieri will teach a new MLA seminar, The Atlantic Community – Past, Present and Future, to explore how the relationship between Europe and North America developed during the Cold War, how it has since shifted, and the implications for the future. “I can take an interdisciplinary approach in the courses I teach for LPS/MLA,” says Professor Granieri. “That helps me examine new areas, try out new ideas, and provide an intellectual boost to myself and the students.”

Beyond Penn’s great resources, opportunities for professional research, and conferences, Professor Granieri enjoys the interaction and networking with other scholars, both on campus and at other institutions. “Penn not only provides material support for faculty, we also benefit from Penn’s encouragement of professional involvement with our colleagues, wherever they may be located.”

Professor Granieri feels that programs offered through the College of Liberal and Professional Studies are a crucial part of Penn’s larger mission to interact with the neighborhood, greater Philadelphia, region, nation, and world. “We want to bring in people from our traditional day programs, as we also reach out to people everywhere who can benefit from experiences at Penn,” says Professor Granieri. “LPS is an active part of the School of Arts and Sciences. And we all want to expand our learning community.”