"The beauty of mentoring adult learners is that you have students who are mature, responsible and have varied life experiences. In many cases, they are experts or managers in their occupations. More likely than not, there is always someone in the course with the knowledge and expertise to come up with the appropriate information." —Dr. Cleophas Tsokodayi

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Meet a Mentor:
Cleophas Tsokodayi, PhD

Mentor Dr. Cleophas Tsokodayi shares his journey from diplomacy to academia

Dr. Cleophas Tsokodayi has impacted international relations and politics – all while completing his own educational journey.

During a career that has spanned the globe, Tsokodayi previously served as a senior career diplomat in the foreign service of his native Zimbabwe. He later became deputy chief of Mission at embassies in Beijing, New York (United Nations), Moscow and Berlin.

Making his mark in the field of international relations, Tsokodayi contributed to the resolution of one of the longest-running disputes in contemporary international politics: the refusal of then apartheid South Africa to end its illegal occupation of Namibia.

In his capacity as deputy permanent representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations, and deputy chair of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, he participated in 1989 in the drafting and negotiation of all Security Council resolutions that implemented the United Nations settlement plan for the independence of the territory.

Since taking on his most recent role as a mentor for Thomas Edison State College's course, Global Issues and Society (GLB-301), Tsokodayi said that his focus now is to transfer his practical knowledge and experience in international relations and diplomacy to his courses.

The Global Issues and Society course, Tsokodayi explains, allows students to appreciate and discover how diverse topics such as population, resource management, technology, information, economics, security and governance are all interrelated.

"The challenges humanity faces today transcend borders more so than any other time in history. These challenges include global warming and climate change, migration, organized crime and terrorism. These challenges affect more than one state or region and no one government or region can solve them alone. It is these very global issues that call for global governance."

He has also begun mentoring the recently launched Ethics and Politics of War (LIB-360) course.

Having been a distance learner himself for part of his education in the 1990s, Tsokodayi explains that he relates to his students.

"I understand how much the learning model has changed," he says. "The beauty of mentoring adult learners is that you have students who are mature, responsible and have varied life experiences. In many cases, they are experts or managers in their occupations. More likely than not, there is always someone in the course with the knowledge and expertise to come up with the appropriate information."

In addition to mentoring at the College, Tsokodayi serves as an instructor in several distance education courses at Mercy College in New York where he teaches courses on African, European and American history as well as Modern Africa.

He holds a Doctorate in History of International Relations and Foreign Policy (PhD) from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow; a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in diplomacy and a master's in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; and a bachelor's degree in English literature from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

Since March 2011, he has been volunteer editor of Cross Currents, the monthly newsletter of Saint Stephens Lutheran Church in Silver Spring, Md.

Tsokodayi is the author of Namibia's Independence Struggle: The Role of the United Nations (Xlibris, 2011), which chronicles his experiences of the conflict and its eventual resolution. He has also contributed numerous articles on history and international affairs on Examiner.com. He is founder and CEO of CJMT Consulting – a company that provides global affairs consulting services as well as writing and editing services.

Before you schedule your next advising appointment or book your next business trip, check out A Beginner's guide to the New Academic Advising Video Chat Option and 7 Tactics to Get Schoolwork Done on Your Next Business Trip.

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