Benjamin Rifkin

Originally from Bergen County, N.J., Benjamin Rifkin earned his Ph.D. in Slavic and East European Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan and began his faculty career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was recognized for excellence in teaching at UW-Madison with the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Dr. Rifkin is currently Professor of Russian and formerly Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science, including the School of Education, at Hofstra University. He was previously the Provost at Ithaca College and before that the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at The College of New Jersey. He has an impressive record of scholarship in Russian studies and language pedagogy.