Ambassador Rugh is the Edward R. Murrow Visiting Professor of Public Diplomacy at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Between 1995 and 2003 he was President and CEO of AMIDEAST. He was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer 1964-1995 and had nine diplomatic assignments in the Arab world, that included ambassador to Yemen 1984-87, and to the United Arab Emirates 1992-95, as well as Deputy Chief of Mission in Syria 1981-84. He also had assignments for the US Information Agency in Jidda, Riyadh, Cairo and Washington. He is the author of five books: Diplomacy and Defense Policy of the United Arab Emirates (2002), Engaging the Arab and Islamic Worlds through Public Diplomacy (Editor 2004), American Encounters with Arabs: the “Soft Power” of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab World (2005), Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio and Television in Arab Politics (2008), and The Practice of Public Diplomacy: Confronting Challenges Abroad (Editor 2011). He has also published a number of journal articles and op-eds on the Middle East. He holds a PhD in international relations from Columbia University; he is a Trustee of the American University in Cairo and a Board member of the Middle East Policy Council.
Education
BA Oberlin College; MA Johns Hopkins; PhD Columbia University
Languages
English, German, Arabic, French
Countries of Expertise
UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia
Issues of Expertise
U.S.-Arab Diplomatic Relations, U.S. Public Diplomacy, Arab Media
Contact: billrugh2003@yahoo.com
Contact Information
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