Friday, February 28, 2025 – Photo of the Day – At Sea

MEET DESTINATION LECTURER – DR. GLENN E. ROBINSON
Dr. Glenn E. Robinson, Adventure Traveler and Destination Expert
Glenn E. Robinson is an award-winning teacher and expert on the Middle East and broader Muslim World. He is a Fellow at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, following a 30-year career as Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. On three occasions, he has been recognized for his outstanding teaching, twice by the Naval Postgraduate School and once by Berkeley. His most recent book, Global Jihad: A Brief History (Stanford), was recognized as a “Best Book of 2021” by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy.

Robinson received his Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1992. An Arabic speaker, he has lived, worked, and studied in most countries of the Middle East and North Africa, including as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Jordan, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the American University in Cairo, Yarmouk University in Jordan, and as an exchange student to Iran in 1978. Touched by wanderlust from an early age, he has lived in countries worldwide, including Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Iran, New Zealand, and Colombia, and has traveled to over 80 countries.

MEET ENRICHMENT LECTURER – MICHAEL TYROPOLIS
Athenian by birth and Greek and Swiss by nationality, Michael Tyropolis was educated in Greece and Germany, where his degree in German Literature and Linguistics was supported by his study of archeology, history, and the arts. While a language teacher, Michael worked with early computer-assisted learning models before shifting gears and finding a career in Switzerland’s travel industry. Working in travel allowed him to pursue his real passion of visiting all ends of the world, including Antarctica and the North Pole, gaining an ever so slight understanding of the human experience and the similarities connecting us all across the globe.
Now a private financial investor and perpetual traveler, Michael continues pushing the boundaries of travel experience. He is delighted to share his insight into how the world has evolved, yet so much of today is influenced by the distant past. Occasionally, he even dares to glimpse possible futures. Michael is passionate about delivering memorable and entertaining presentations to discerning audiences, even more so when they actively participate.