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 You are in: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications Office > Biographies > Biographies Listed Alphabetically by Last Name
Picture of Roy L. AustinBIOGRAPHY

Roy L. Austin
Ambassador, Trinidad and Tobago
Term of Appointment: 10/19/2001 to present

Roy L. Austin was sworn in on October 19, 2001, as United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Prior to his August 31, 2001 nomination, Ambassador Austin was Associate Professor of Sociology, Justice, and African American Studies at Pennsylvania State University.  Between 1994-98, he served as Director of the Crime, Law, and Justice Program at Penn State, and in July 2001 became Director of the Africana Research Center.  Among his publications are works on the Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago.

Ambassador Austin was born in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  He held positions there as customs officer, secondary school teacher, carnival bandleader, and captain of the national soccer team, and was selected for trials for the national cricket squad. 

He moved to the United States in 1964 to attend Yale University, where he was a classmate of President George W. Bush.  He graduated with a B.A. in sociology, and then earned an M.A. (1970) and Ph.D. (1973) in sociology from the University of Washington.  Subsequently, Ambassador Austin became a U.S. citizen.


Released on January 8, 2002

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