Fatos Tarifa is Professor of Sociology and International Relations at the University of New York Tirana, and was previously rector of that university. He has a double doctorate, with a PhD in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Tirana. Tarifa has held a number of academic positions at various institutions of higher education in Europe and North America, including the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell University, Webster University, and Eastern Michigan University. He has been inter alia a visiting or guest scholar at various reputable universities, including Harvard University, Duke University, Tufts University, Brown University, Stanford University, New York University, American University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Toronto, Universoty of Ottawa, University of Guelf, York University, University of Amsterdam, University of Essex, University of Salford, University of Uppsala, Mid-Sweeden University, University of Helsinki, University of Valladolid, University of Minho, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Universaity of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur etc. His expertise is primarely in the areas of social and cultural change, political sociology, higher education, and globalization  He is the author, co-author or editor of 55 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Prof. Tarifa served as Albania’s ambasador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1998-2001), and to the United States of America (2001-2005). Tarifa has been for several years a member of the Council of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Albania. He is currently the President of the Albanian Academy of Arts of Sciences, and recipient of several grants, honors, and international awards.