Dan Paracka is a Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Paracka teaches courses aimed at helping students internationalize their college experience and better understand today’s complex interdependent world. He received a Ph.D. in International Education Policy Studies from Georgia State University and is the author of The Athens of West Africa: A History of International Education at Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone. He served with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone from 1985-1987 and taught English in China from 1987-1989. 

He has worked closely with partners in more than 50 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He previously served as Chair of Region VII NAFSA: Association of International Educators and has presented widely at the state, regional, national, and international levels. For more than 15 years, Dan led KSU’s education abroad office and coordinated KSU’s signature annual country study program and served as editor-in-chief of KSU’s Journal of Global Initiatives. He currently serves as the KSU Peace Corps Prep Coordinator.  He has been the PI or Co-PI for numerous grants and awards including awards from: the American Council on Education, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Institute of International Education, Institute of Turkish Studies, Japan Foundation, the Korea Foundation, Georgia Humanities Council, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, United States Department of State, and U.S. Summit & Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy. 

He is currently the PI for a two-year grant from the Stevens Initiative to conduct Virtual Exchange on Women’s Leadership with Hassan II University of Casablanca in Morocco. With more than 30 years of international education experience, Dr. Paracka’s scholarship focuses on intercultural competence and global learning.