By Cole Hatcher
During more than 22 years working for the United Nations, Ohio Wesleyan University graduate Stephen Tull, Ph.D., completed assignments in Afghanistan, Chad, Kazakhstan, Russia, Rwanda, Switzerland, and the former Yugoslavia.
Tull, a member of OWU’s Class of 1982, will share his insights on “The Role of the U.S. in the World: How Others See Us” during a free Zoom lecture at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, April 20. For access to the lecture, visit owu.edu/Tull.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Tull was a double-major in Math and Philosophy and a double-minor in Political Science and Physics. He spent a semester in Yugoslavia during his senior year and became fascinated with the country’s history and diversity. The overseas experience set him on a path to become a Yugoslav specialist during its breakup and subsequent wars.
After graduating with his OWU Bachelor of Arts degree, Tull continued to earn a Master of Arts in Philosophy (and International Affairs) at Duke University and then spent five years as a program manager and policy adviser on energy efficiency in Washington, D.C.
Next, Tull returned to academia and earned his doctoral degree in Political Science at the University of Michigan, spending roughly half his time in (the former) Yugoslavia conducting research on the post-Communist party system development, ethnic mobilization, and conflict.
He then completed post-doctoral work at Princeton University’s Center of International Studies, and his academic specialization made it a natural step to enter the United Nations, first serving as a civil affairs officer in the peacekeeping mission in Croatia.
From there, Tull moved to other U.N. assignments, particularly handling human rights, humanitarian affairs, and sustainable development. His last two positions were as a U.N. resident coordinator (in Kazakhstan and Chad), which involved leading interagency teams providing humanitarian and development assistance and diplomatically representing the international organization.
