Marking the beginning of the new academic year, the Class of 2025 will also hear from Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy and Northwestern Qatar’s Student Union President Krishna Sharma.
“We are honored to have Professor Riles join us as we embark on a new academic year and to hear from her the global perspective she has acquired from her professional and academic experiences,” said Dean Kraidy. “I am grateful to Professor Riles for her partnership with Northwestern Qatar and the new avenues of knowledge and expertise that she has been and will be sharing with the Northwestern Qatar community.”
Northwestern Qatar’s Class of 2025 includes approximately 130 students representing nearly 30 countries. They join Northwestern Qatar’s diverse student body in studying journalism and communication and giving voice to the Global South in academia and research.
As associate provost and executive director of the Buffett Institute, Riles leads Northwestern’s efforts to enhance the university’s position as a leader in cutting-edge programs and research across academic disciplines by creating connections between researchers and experts worldwide.
An interdisciplinary anthropologist and legal scholar, Riles’ scholarly work include legal and anthropological research on comparative law, conflict of laws, financial regulation, and central banking in Asia and the Pacific. Her first book, The Network Inside Out, won the American Society of International Law's Certificate of Merit for 2000-2002.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University’s Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, a MSc in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics, a JD from Harvard Law School, and a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge.
Riles joins many notable academics, journalists, filmmakers, as well as experts in the field of media and communication who have delivered Northwestern Qatar’s convocation address in previous years, including producer, Jordan Horowitz; author and journalist, Ellis Cose; internationally syndicated columnist and commentator, Rami Khouri; author and independent scholar, Jonathan Lyons; and, political scientist, Mehran Kamrava.
To attend the Class of 2025 Convocation, visit the university's YouTube channel.
