| Margee M. Ensign | |
| President of the American University in Bulgaria | |
| Term Start: | 2023 |
| Birth Date: | 1954 |
| Alma Mater: | New College of Florida, University of Maryland University College |
Margee M. Ensign (born 3 October 1954) is the President of the American University in Bulgaria.
President Ensign was born in Los Angeles, California. She earned her BA in peace studies and international relations from New College of Florida, and her PhD in international political economy from the University of Maryland. She began her academic and administrative career at Columbia University in New York City as assistant professor of politics and economy and director of the International Political Economy Program, 1984-89.
In 1989 she relocated to Washington, DC where she became a visiting professor at American University and director of the Development Studies Program sponsored by USAID and the U.S. Department of State. In 1993 she moved to Tulane University as associate professor and director of Tulane’s Institute for International Development, located in Washington, DC, which offered master's and Ph.D. degrees in international development on three continents.
In 1999 she assumed the position of dean of the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific in California, where she was also appointed associate provost for international initiatives. She set up undergraduate and graduate programs in social entrepreneurship, Inter-American Studies, and intercultural relations. In 2010, Ensign moved to Yola, Nigeria, to become the third president of the American University of Nigeria, established using American pedagogy, and focused on its mission as Africa’s first “Development University.” There she oversaw the building of infrastructure (Library, Hotel/Conference Center, Graduation and events hall, green Administration building, and student and faculty housing), and the creation of the Graduate School, the School of Law, and the School of Engineering. Her administration was marked by a focus on establishing AUN as a “Development University” paired with the school’s extensive work in the community, sustainability, and most notably the establishment of the Adamawa Peace Initiative. She led the (API), a peace initiative composed of religious and community leaders which successfully promoted peace and countered Boko Haram through education, humanitarian assistance for 300,000 refugees, and youth empowerment.
In 2017, she returned to the United States to become the 29th president of Dickinson College.[1] Not only steering that institution through the difficult COVID-19 pandemic, but President Ensign also launched a number of new initiatives that were interdisciplinary and global, stressing ethics, sustainability, and community engagement. She also oversaw the creation of Dickinson's first post-graduate program in conjunction with the Army War College in human security and humanitarian response.She returned to Nigeria to once again assume the presidency of the American University of Nigeria in July 2021.
Dr. Ensign is a well-respected scholar on development, on Africa, and—growing out of her experience in Rwanda—on genocide. She is the author and editor of six books, including Rwanda: History and Hope, and Confronting Genocide: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention. She co-edited a recent Peace Review special issue on Religion in War and Peace in Africa and most recently co-authored the forthcoming book Transactional Radio Instruction: Improving Educational Outcomes for Children in Conflict Zones. She has presented at the World Economic Forum, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and the American Council on Education, and she has testified before Congress on global education, international affairs, and foreign assistance.
Dr. Ensign has been interviewed multiple times by the BBC and CNN, and her writings have been published in The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Hill, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, The Army Times, The Huffington Post, and Hechinger Report, among others.
Professor Margee Ensign is the current President of the American University in Bulgaria.[2]
Ensign is a scholar whose research has focused on international development and the implications of development assistance. Her works include:
Ensign is a scholar whose works focus on international development and the implications of development assistance. Her works include:
Ensign started the New Foundation School (NFS) in 2014 at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola where she served as president during the height of Boko Haram's terrorist insurgency and now the President of the American University of Nigeria, 2021.
In 2011 Ensign was awarded the "African Leadership Award in Educational Excellence" conferred upon her in London by African Leadership Magazine.[5]