Few university professors can match political science professor Barry Stein’s longevity in the classroom. Stein has been teaching for 41 years at Michigan State University, but since 1975, he has been teaching a course on refugees, making it one of the oldest courses on the subject in the world.
“There are other courses that have been going on a long time, but I’m older than the others who have been doing it,” Stein said.
Stein headed a 10-year research project in the ‘80s that helped shape U.S. government policy on refugees.
“I did a long-term research project on refugee repatriation during conflict, which is basically, how do you get refugees back to their home country even though conflict is still going on in their home country,” Stein said.
Stein’s research and expertise has helped him become a valuable commodity to the U.S. government and United Nations agencies. He also played a role in bringing a national conference dealing with refugee recertification to campus.
The National Conference on Refugee Professional Recertification will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center June 22-23. The conference, the first of its kind, will address issues related to retraining and recertifying refugees with professional education and experience.
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