Anna Krift, B.A., Ph.D.

Anna Krift, B.A., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, International Relations
Citizenship Project Director

Basic Information

Contact Information
Phone: 561-237-7413
E-mail: akrift@lynn.edu
Fax: 561-237-7400
Office Location
Assaf Academic Center
Lynn University
3601 N. Military Trail
Boca Raton, FL 33431

Professional Profile

I enjoy the individualized, innovative and international approach to Lynn’s learning community.

Anna Krift is an associate professor of International Relations in the College of Liberal Education at Lynn University. She teaches several courses on International Relations as well as Comparative Foreign Policy, European Politics and History, International Diplomacy, Latin American Politics and History, Politics of Development, and Women and Politics. She also teaches in the Dialogues of Learning. Courses she has recently developed and taught in the Dialogues of Self and Society are “Global Crises: Individual Response and Responsibility” and “The Responsible Citizen: Awareness and Action in Today’s Global Society.”

As co-chair of the Dialogues of Innovation, she helped develop and launch Lynn’s inaugural January Term, or J-Term, consisting of 74 course opportunities taking place on-campus or as domestic or international programs abroad. In the 2010 J-Term, Krift taught the course “Talking Trash and Tracking Turtles Take Two” and co-taught another on “Local Service: Global Impact.” As director of the Center for Global Education and Citizenship, she has also had a contributing role in the numerous international education opportunities for students. She has guided students on the Puerto Rico/Costa Rica Academic Program Abroad. And three times she led students on the Alternative for Academic Adventure Land Tour throughout Florida. She also assisted on the Academic Adventure to Mexico and the Spain Study Tour.

Krift completed her Ph.D. at the University of Miami in the summer of 2004. The topic of her dissertation was the “Effectiveness of Foreign Assistance in Central America: The Case of Hurricane Mitch.” Prior to conducting fieldwork in the region for the dissertation, she spent two years in Costa Rica researching the country’s first women voters as a Fulbright fellow. While there, she founded and taught in a kindergarten and also instructed English. An avid supporter of international education, she encourages students to participate in study abroad opportunities.

Education
  • B.A., Eckerd College
  • Ph.D., University of Miami
Teaching Philosophy
To encourage and motivate students, I state my goals for the class at the beginning of each semester. It is my hope and expectation that students come to class prepared, ready to participate and have a desire to learn. The success of each and every student is my purpose and objective; it is why I teach. It is my job to see that they have a positive learning experience. I encourage communication and interaction and save class time for students to ask questions. This helps students formulate their own conclusions and encourages critical thinking. Simply listening to a lecture is not enough. I want students to feel they can come to me if they need to discuss a class or their academic experience. As an undergraduate student, I had a mentor with whom I could discuss my classes as well as my overall educational goals. This is an openness that I wholeheartedly support as it provides motivation and reinforcement. The most rewarding part of teaching occurs when a student questions, grasps and understands the subject being discussed. Being a part of the map of their educational journey is incredibly humbling. Most importantly, I am acutely aware that they are not the only ones who are learning. I also learn every day with each new class.
Teaching Specialties
  • International relations
  • Latin American politics
  • International development
  • Diplomacy
  • Foreign policy
  • Women and politics
Areas of Scholarship and Professional Practice
  • Fulbright grant recipient and program advisor
  • First women voters in Costa Rica
Awards/Honors
  • Fulbright Fellow, Costa Rica, 1995-1996
  • Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society
  • University of Miami Department Scholarship

Curriculum Vitae

AnnaKrift_CV.pdf — PDF document, 189Kb
Document Actions