Dr. Dennis Jett

Biography

Dennis Jett is a Professor Emeritus at the Penn State School of International Affairs, with vast experience in international relations and U.S. foreign policy. He served for 28 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a career beginning as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1973. His roles included being the science attaché in Tel Aviv and later, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Malawi, where he managed the response to a significant influx of Mozambican refugees. During his distinguished career, Jett was appointed the U.S. ambassador to Mozambique and Peru, overseeing major diplomatic missions and confronting critical challenges in those regions, including facilitating the world's largest peacekeeping operations and managing substantial aid programs. In academia, he joined the University of Florida as the dean of the International Center and has produced extensive academic and literary contributions, including four books and over 170 opinion pieces in major newspapers. Jett earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Research Interests