Bruce Baron was born to American parents in Germany. He has lived most of his life in the “Rust Belt” of the United States near Detroit. There, he had a 20-year supply chain distribution career in purchasing, procurement, and inventory management where he observed the effects of modern, liberal globalization on suppliers, workers, and politics. He has visited over 30 countries and is excited by exploration and discovery.

With his experience in trade and a love for travel, Spanish, and French, Bruce was inspired to return to the University in 2018 to study the social processes of globalization, an interdisciplinary field of economics, political science, culture, and business. Globalization is a transformative process going back to the Silk Road that challenges social norms by exchanging goods, culture, and ideas with expanded social contact. Bruce is interested in history, inequality, social justice, labor, migration, and climate change/sustainability.

Bruce hypothesizes that every age creates a dominant “-ism” to meet the social needs of the era. As social needs change with time, these ages, and “-isms” come and go throughout history. Feudalism gave way to mercantilism. Industrialization and liberalism sparked reactions from socialism and communism. Today, liberalism remains dominant but social needs are rapidly changing with climate change and its potential to end modern civilization. The new social needs will drive new “-isms” to a yet unknown future. This includes the risk of a new dark age or the promise of a new enlightenment. The post-WW2 geopolitical order of liberalism is crumbling before our eyes from human rights and international law to standards of living and personal freedoms. Bruce seeks to make sense of the chaos and competing social orders emerging. He is a fan of using several theoretical frameworks to analyze thoughts including Constructivism, Liberalism, Realism, and Critical Theory to access multiple perspectives. Our future survival will depend on making sense of the nonsensical. Bruce wants to be part of that global discussion.

Credentials:

• Master of Science, Global Studies International Relations, concentration in International Economics and Consulting, Northeastern University

• Diplomacy Lab, certification, Northeastern University

• Political Economy and Business, certificate, London School of Economics and Political Science

• Circular Economy and Sustainable Business Strategies, certificate, University of Cambridge Judge Business School

• Climate Change Leadership, coursework, Cornell University

• BA Global Studies, minor in Spanish, Wayne State University

• Global Literacy Endorsement, certification, Oakland Community College

• Human Rights Education Training, certified Human Rights Consultant, U.S. Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights.