College of DuPage launches virtual speaker series April 30

The College of DuPage Speakers Bureau launched a Virtual Speaker Series, a collection of weekly webinars featuring college experts discussing a wide range of topics, as a complimentary service for community members.

The online series will be broadcast live from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays, beginning April 30, on Facebook. Or watch it later on www.youtube.com/user/CollegeofDuPage.

The series kicks off with "The Impact of Coronavirus on the 2020 Election" presented by political science professor David Goldberg.

Goldberg is an expert on foreign affairs with an emphasis on Latin America and U.S. foreign policy. His most recent work has been examining the promotion of democratic norms by regional organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. This research is an extension of previous work on the Organization of American States and the promotion of procedural democracy in Latin America. He has presented on local and national elections and provides historical perspective on U.S. foreign policy.

Additional programming includes "China's Expanding Sphere of Influence" presented by assistant professor of history Maria Ritzema (May 7), and "Social Inequalities and COVID-19" presented by sociology professor Matt Green (May 14).

Ritzema holds a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University, a master's degree in urban planning and a doctorate in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her areas of expertise include nationalism and migration in South Asia, China's debt diplomacy in Sri Lanka and Africa, and India-Pakistan relations.

Before coming to College of DuPage, Green completed his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Arizona, where he also taught undergraduate sociology courses. Prior to that, he was an adjunct sociology instructor at Woodland Community College in Northern California while concurrently completing his master's degree in sociology.