Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Yvan Ilunga

Dr. Yvan Ilunga, assistant professor and associate program director in the Department of International Relations and Political Science, joined the Salve Regina community in 2022, bringing more than a decade of higher education experience as well as 15 years of experience conducting policy-relevant research and studies on Africa's security, development and governance issues.

Ilunga's academic and professional focus has been in peace operations, humanitarian action, civil-military interactions and natural resources-based conflicts. Growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1997-2003 civil wars, he experienced and observed one of the first major United Nations peacekeeping deployments. "Observing the performances of United Nations peacekeepers, and the effectiveness of their work, raised interest in wanting to understand why they were they there and what made their mission successful," Ilunga said.

Having experienced firsthand those years of conflict and institutional destabilizations, Ilunga felt that he wanted to raise academic awareness of international relations and political science. "We cannot live in a world without addressing these things," he said. "I wanted to bring a well-informed approach to international relations and political science."

When he joined the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Ilunga was captivated by the opportunity to use his personal experiences in the Congo and globally to help educate graduate and undergraduate students. He was especially interested in Salve Regina's mission and its relation to his own values. Ilunga understands the critical role that the University plays in providing students with a values-based understanding of political science and international relations. Since joining Salve Regina, he has supported his students through various initiatives, including participation in research.

"One of my primary goals is bringing real world experience to my classrooms," Ilunga said. "I want to make sure students are getting exposed to practitioners' rationale of decisions made in public policy."

Through building relationships with his students, Ilunga is also building a strong student interest in wanting to discover and engage with new materials from different perspectives.

"Dr. Ilunga went above and beyond to cultivate a personalized, interactive environment that allowed students to learn about international relations as well as how we each perceive topics differently," said Dalton Riedlbauer '23, a graduate student in the international relations program. "We had a very diverse class from all over the world, and Dr. Ilunga reminded us to celebrate that and open our eyes to how others may perceive things differently. This is crucial in the world of international relations, where we must connect and learn from others with very different backgrounds and perceptions of the world."

"Salve's international relations and political science programs provide the ground for critical analysis, writing, debriefing and engaging to ensure student success," Ilunga said. "Master's students are engaged in research that prepares them to be more competitive and adapt to the fast-changing space in this industry."

Prior to joining the Salve Regina community, Ilunga taught at Central State University, Providence College and James Madison University. He holds bachelor's degrees from the University of Lubumbashi and the University of the Western Cape, master's degrees from the University of Cape Town and Rutgers University, and a doctorate from Rutgers University.