SFS News
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Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
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Since being appointed permanent dean last year, I have often been asked the question, “What is it like being a dean?” I struggled with an answer because heading up a school in a university is as complicated as the university itself. I decided that outlining a day in the life of a dean would lend some insights. Since I am an early riser, I use the morning to get to unfinished business from the day or night before. My colleagues are getting used to receiving early emails – however, students are typically shocked by my 5 a.m. missives. One student asked me whether I had just come in from a party. (The answer was no!) Given the time differences with Qatar, I also utilize early morning hours to talk to leadership of the SFS campus in Doha. The Doha program continues to flourish: this month, we are celebrating the inauguration of a lovely new building there (see below). Working lunches are the norm. They provide me with relaxed opportunities to meet with faculty or to other leaders in the Georgetown community to discuss common concerns or opportunities for collaboration (increasingly important in this time of budget limitations). On occasion, I escape from the Hilltop and attend a seminar downtown to keep up with my scholarly interests in foreign policy and foreign aid reform. Days are filled with meetings, including a weekly meeting with all the associate deans and SFS director of development. This group, which we call the G-8, has been a valuable source of information and support; I rarely make an important decision without consulting some or all of its members. As part of looking forward to the 100th anniversary of the School (coming up in 2019), we are currently undertaking a strategic planning process designed to build on our existing strengths as well as identify new directions so that the School remains the premier institution for the study of international affairs.
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As part of that process, I have been spending time in meetings with faculty, staff, students, alumni and Board members to solicit their ideas. Some of the most interesting and inspiring people I have met during my deanship are SFS alumni. SFS could not survive without the enthusiasm – and support – of alumni. The experience of hearing about their professional experiences, and brainstorming ways they can continue to stay involved in the School and to share their expertise with students has been interesting, inspiring and invaluable for me. Alumni are also essential sources of financial support for the School. Fundraising is a key part of the dean’s job – and I try constantly to reach out to new donors and keep in touch with existing donors to sustain and enhance the School. (Our new senior director of development shares his thoughts on page 7.)
can without actually placing them in a job. It’s a course that can only be offered in Washington, D.C. Evenings at Georgetown often include receptions, seminars and dinners hosted by President DeGioia or others for distinguished visitors. One may find oneself sitting next to a national TV journalist, a famous religious figure, a prominent ambassador or a successful Georgetown graduate. These events are always engaging and enriching.
Keeping on top of issues, dealing with problems, figuring out how to make things happen (or how to stop them from happening), coming up with or finding ideas to make SFS better, representing SFS within the University and beyond – these are the elements of a dean’s life. It is the busiest job I have ever had, I continue to teach as an important way to but because of the mission of a dean and a connect with students. This spring, I am couniversity, because of the very special characteaching a graduate seminar on the foreign aid ter of SFS and Georgetown University and policy process. We will be hosting or visiting because of the wonderful students, faculty, senior policy officials from USAID, the Destaff and alumni we are blessed with, it’s the partment of State, the NSC, the Chief of Staff best and most fulfilling job of my life. of the Army (who is an SFS grad), Capitol Hill staff, think tank presidents and others – With warm regards, taking students as far into the process as we Carol Lancaster
Students, faculty and staff at SFS-Q are celebrating the opening of their new home in Doha.
Classes in the new facility began January 9. The 360,000-sq. ft. building features a three-story atrium, an auditorium with a seating capacity of 350 and 14 classrooms and lecture halls that are providing students with an inviting and functional space to learn. Additional highlights are the library, which serves the campus community as well as the general public, and space for the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS).
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Fashion entrepreneur and global philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg’s November 1 address at Gaston Hall inaugurated a series on women and leadership that will be a signature School of Foreign Service initiative. Being a businesswoman in the 1970s meant putting up with a lot of sexism, the designer told a large crowd, but it didn’t impede her success. The innovation that turned von Furstenberg into a household name was the wrap dress, and although its popularity landed her on the cover of Newsweek before she turned 30, she still had to fight for respect. As her company grew, she began to trust her own instincts.
Diane von Furstenberg’s presentation drew hundreds to Gaston Hall.
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“The confidence I had gained, I shared through the clothing,” she explained. “It was an extraordinary dialogue between me and the consumers.” She told the many students in the audience to “believe in what you’re doing. When you’re young, you have one advantage – you have nothing to lose.” Von Furstenberg serves on the board of the global women’s rights group Vital Voices and participates in other charitable endeavors. That includes her Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, which gives scholarships to outstanding female leaders. She also led the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s design and sale of a T-shirt that raised $1 million for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. Von Furstenberg is “a very unusual person in that she has had three highly successful careers,” SFS Dean Carol Lancaster said in introducing her. “She is a designer extraordinaire … a highly successful businesswoman … and an active and generous philanthropist.” Dean Lancaster serves on the Vital Voices board with von Furstenberg. SFS sponsors of the talk included the Dean’s Office, Georgetown Women in International Affairs and the Mortara Center for International Studies. Other sponsors were the Georgetown Women’s Leadership Initiative, the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership, the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity.
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n preparing to speak to SFS students, attorney Bob Gage said an interesting thought occurred to him: Taking the oral Foreign Service Exam is a lot like being in the courtroom. Although Gage (F ’77, L ’80) considered a diplomatic career, he is one of many SFS alumni to have found a career path leading to another discipline. He talked about the pluses and minuses of law school, the challenges of presenting to a judge and jury and career opportunities at the intersection of law and international affairs in a presentation October 28. Gage is founding partner of Gage, Spencer & Fleming, a New York-based firm where he is a litigator working on issues that range from mergers and acquisitions to media and intellectual property. His appearance was part of SFS’ Michael Jurist Distinguished Alumni Roundtable Series. “The chance to try a case before a jury is one of the greatest experiences one can have. It’s exhilarating,” he told students – but he urged even those who were already fixed on law school as a next step to “explore as much [career-wise] as you can, whether it’s the Foreign Service, working for a nonprofit or something else.” Gage said opportunities may await students who can combine the world focus of an SFS education with the skills acquired through study of the law. “Law is probably lagging a little bit behind” in terms of globalization right now, Gage said, noting that in many developing countries, ‘rule-of-law’ conditions prevail sporadically or not at all. “Countries will need great minds – creative minds – to help them establish that rule of law,” he said.
Attorney Bob Gage shared career insights as part of the Michael Jurist Distinguished Alumni Roundtable Series.
For those who are looking to law – internationally centered or otherwise – Gage had these tips: • Sharpen analytical skills • Learn to write “well, clearly, analytically and tersely” • Don’t neglect math The Michael Jurist Distinguished Alumni Roundtable Series is named in memory of Michael Jurist (F ’07) and is designed to expose SFS undergraduates to the rich and varied experiences of alumni. Read more about the series at http://sfs.georgetown.edu/jurist.
Georgetown welcomed the former president of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez, to campus this fall.
SFS’ BMW Center for German and European Studies celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding this fall.
As a Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership, President Uribe gave numerous lectures and presentations. “It is a great honor to participate in this prestigious Georgetown University program, sharing my experience with younger generations,” he said. “My greatest wish and happiness is to contribute in the continuous emergence of future leaders.”
It also marked the 20th anniversary of the unification of East Germany and West Germany through events and activities that included a partnership with the Breakthrough Art Organization for an exhibit, 20 Years after German Unification: Critical Perspectives of Berlin Artists. In the photo, BMW AG Senior Vice President Franz Cremer (left) speaks with Gerald Adam Hahn, one of the featured artists.
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Several individuals (see additional stories on these pages) took on new roles at SFS as the 2010-2011 academic year began. Professor Bruce Hoffman was named director of Center for Peace and Security Studies and the Security Studies Program. Hoffman is the author of Inside Terrorism and is a senior fellow at the U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center. Before coming to Georgetown, he was chair of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation. Hoffman succeeded Professor Daniel Byman as head of CPASS and SSP. Richard Jacobs was tapped as the new senior director of development for SFS. Jacobs has spent 17 years in development, all but one year in private
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education. He began with Cambridge University, his alma mater, and has spent time at the Cardozo School of Law, primary and secondary schools and the University of Maryland.
director of the program in Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA) and co-director of the Center for the Environment. At MAGES, she replaced Roger Chickering, who retired.
Associate dean Mitch Kaneda is the new director of the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) program. An expert in international economics and international trade, Kaneda replaced Jim Reardon Anderson, whose new role in the Dean’s Office is senior associate dean.
Jennifer L. Windsor started as the associate dean for programs and studies. Prior to her arrival at Georgetown in August, she served as the executive director of the nonprofit organization Freedom House from 2001 until 2010; during much of her tenure there, Windsor was an adjunct professor at SFS, teaching on democracy and human rights, and she began teaching at Georgetown again in January. Windsor also spent ten years at USAID and worked with foreign policy issues on Capitol Hill. Windsor replaced Jennifer Ward, who retired.
Associate professor Kathy Olesko became director of the Master of Arts in German and European Studies Program. She teaches courses in history of science, German history, European intellectual history and European civilization and has held several other positions including
Leading:
Barbara Stowasser
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rofessor Barbara Stowasser is not an unfamiliar face around Georgetown – or to the role of director at SFS’ Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. She has been teaching at GU since 1966, and at the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year, she took on the role of CCAS director for the third time. She held the position from 1993 to 2003, then again from 2006 to 2007. Stowasser instituted the study of Islam and gender into the curriculum at Georgetown and has published many works and given many talks on the topic, making her a pioneer in the topic in the West. Barbara Stowasser’s latest research has explored cultural manipulations of time.
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Though she now teaches about what she has come to be known for, she is now focusing her research on the idea of cultural manipulations of time, calendars and the contemporary role of apocalyptic ideas. Stowasser feels that education is paramount to promoting more dialogue among civilizations. “Our investment has to be in the students whom we teach to understand the world and whom we train to put their energies into the pursuit of these goals. Their numbers are critical — the more of them that exist, the better the chances of global tolerance and cooperation,” Stowasser says. The caliber of SFS students fosters her desire to accomplish this goal. “Teaching is much more effective than travel because prejudice and hatred are based on ignorance and only knowledge can overcome this ignorance. In the present cultural atmosphere in the United States, marked by a spirit of Islamophobia that I do not remember to have existed before, it is especially important for me to teach a critical mass of elite students who will be influential in a few years’ time, be it in politics, the economy, NGOs, or academia,” Stowasser says.
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ssociate professor David Edelstein didn’t get into SFS as an undergrad, although he’s not holding any grudges. “I was fortunate enough to get a job at a school that I was really excited about in a city that I was happy to live in. It worked out and I’m very happy that it did,” says Edelstein, the newly elected chair of the School of Foreign Service faculty.
in international security and foreign policy. As a child, he watched the news when he was home alone to combat a quiet house. It wasn’t long before he started bringing up the topics at the dinner table – not something you’d expect from the average eightyear-old. “There was something about the news that always fascinated me,” Edelstein says.
Equivalent to a department chair, the faculty chair is responsible for general issues related to the faculty and serving as the faculty’s voice to the School. While this requires some administrative work – conducting merit reviews and hiring new faculty, for example – there are also broader responsibilities that include involvement in strategic SFS planning.
Introduction to International Relations has been Edelstein’s favorite class to teach; he notices right away how many students arrive on the Hilltop precisely because they want to take classes in international relations. “It makes a big difference that they want to be there and want to learn,” says Edelstein, who has been at Georgetown for eight years.
“There are no major curriculum changes in the school without faculty. The faculty is heavily invested in this place. We care a lot about the direction where it goes,” Edelstein says.
Edelstein’s most recent book is Occupational Hazards: Success and Failure in Military Occupation. He’s researching the issue of military exit strategies and working on a book about the time horizons of political leaders and security issues. But for now he’s mostly focusing on teaching and learning the
Edelstein’s own passion for teaching comes from his long-time interest
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Associate Professor David Edelstein is the new SFS faculty chair.
ropes of the faculty chair position. “It’s been a challenge. It’s a really interesting time to be in this job. Almost everybody in the Dean’s Office is new in their roles or their jobs. It’s sort of an exciting time to think about new things, and we’re not wedded to the ways things were in the past,” Edelstein says. Edelstein can often be found cooking, eating out or watching sports – probably a Philadelphia team.
Faculty Publications: Rochelle A. Davis is the author of Palestinian Village Histories: Geographies of the Displaced (Stanford University Press, 2010), in which she examines how geographically displaced Palestinian communities put their pasts into volumes of print – recounting family histories, cultural traditions and details of life. Palestinian Village Histories examines how history is documented and how Palestinians’ conceptions of their past mold their modern life.
Susan F. Martin is the author of A Nation of Immigrants (Cambridge University Press, 2010), in which she explores the settling of America by three different models of immigration: the Virginia Colony, which gave laborers few rights; Massachusetts, which excluded those with differing religious beliefs; and Pennsylvania, which valued pluralism. A Nation of Immigrants traces the evolution of these three different models as they explain the historical roots of current immigration policy debates.
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To give to SFS,
Improving the Human Condition
Advancing SFS
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n 2010, a total of 20 SFS graduate students and 13 undergraduates were awarded Improving the Human Condition grants covering travel and sometimes living expenses for internships in remote corners of the world.
Generous private donations to the
Dean’s Leadership Fund
made these experiences possible. Empowering Young Women in Cambodia The countryside of northwest Cambodia, though economically challenged, is rich in human spirit. Young women there want to learn more and to do more—to join the ranks of leaders in their country’s civic and social spheres. Theirs will be challenging journeys. Loren Hyatt (MSFS ’11) spent last summer helping some of them—although she says she learned more from them than they might have from her. “I got a totally different understanding of the culture and issues facing the next generation there,” says Hyatt, who taught a life skills, leadership and women’s empowerment course to 20 girls who lived in a cramped dormitory in Siem Reap so that they would be able to continue their education. “I challenged them. I said, ‘If you were the prime minister of Cambodia, how would you tackle these problems?’” Hyatt worked for the U.S.-based Ponheary Ly Foundation, founded by Ponheary Ly, a Cambodian national and survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Her summer also included grant writing, donor outreach and even providing medical assistance in four primary schools serving children from the poorest rural villages.
Matthew Ippel and others joined construction crews working to rebuild Haiti.
Lending a Helping Hand in Haiti Matthew Ippel (F ’13) had already been to Honduras twice—“so I thought I’d seen poverty at its worst,” he says. But that didn’t prepare him for what he saw in post-earthquake Port-au-Prince, where aid organizations are working to help determined Haitians rebuild their capital and their country. Ippel spent his summer preparing for, then leading a relief trip to, Haiti for the nonprofit group International Samaritan, the same charity through which Ippel had taken the Central America trips. He and others joined construction crews working on new schools and other facilities— “everything from putting in doors to painting rooms to installing mosquito netting.” “I get the most out of working with organizations that emphasize social justice and serve the poorest of the poor,” Ippel says. At International Samaritan’s Michigan offices prior to the Haiti trip, Ippel also researched service trips offered by Jesuit high schools nationwide and helped with preparations for a group that was headed to Egypt to build houses.
A new apparel factory in the Dominican Republic is founded on high labor principles: payment of a living wage, freedom of association and respect for the rights of workers.
The products are destined for the collegiate market, where student activism is strong and passionate consumers pay premium prices. Professor of International Business Diplomacy John M. Kline’s special publication Alta Gracia: Branding Decent Working Conditions asks the question, Will College Loyalty Embrace ‘Living Wage’ Sweatshirts? The publication received media attention this fall; it can be downloaded in its entirety at http://ibd.georgetown.edu.
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visit http://sfs.georgetown.edu/giving
The SFS Newsletter is published twice yearly in print and online at sfs.georgetown.edu by the Dean’s Office of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. With questions, call 202/687-5113 or e-mail dbb29@georgetown.edu. Executive Editor: Jennifer Windsor Editor: Beau Boughamer Writer: Jen Lennon University Photographer: Phil Humnicky Designer: Creosote Affects Emmitsburg, Md. www.creosoteaffects.com
“Thirty-three and an income of $50,000 per annum! By this time two years I can so arrange all my business so as to secure at least $50,000 per year. Beyond this never earn—make no effort to increase fortune, but spend the surplus each year for benevolent purposes.”
Indeed, this is reflected in Foreign Policy magazine ranking the SFS program as the top graduate program in the world and the undergraduate program the number five program in the world.
Since 1919, a School of Foreign Service education has been an investment in excellence. The price of excellence has been rising sharply. Some institutions can no longer afford it and they settle for less. The School of Foreign Service has no such option. There must be schools that exemplify excellence – which serve as the standard against which others are judged.
P.S. – I hope you enjoy the newsletter and that it prompts you to contemplate the impact that the School of Foreign Service has had upon you and your career. To that end, I encourage you to utilize the response envelope for “benevolent purposes” or visit http://sfs.georgetown.edu/giving. I may be reached at any time at 202/687-7088 or rj224@georgetown.edu.
The promise of uncompromised quality pervades the heritage of a School of Foreign Service education. It is attested by the accomplishments of each of our graduates and our current stuSo said Andrew Carnegie, one of America’s great philanthropists, in his 1889 book The Gospel of Wealth. In my first sev- dents. It is written into the compact with the generations that eral months as Senior Director of Development, I have spent a have come before and those that will follow. It is a legacy that I great deal of time talking to members of the School of Foreign am now proud and honored to be a part of and one that I look Service community about philanthropy and ownership – why forward to discussing with each of you. it is important to nurture and care for a place like the School of Foreign Service that has educated you, or your children, or Sincerely, even your grandchildren and the major role that SFS plays in Richard S. Jacobs Senior Director of Development defining who you are today.
Nonprofit Builds Global
Understanding among Youth
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any SFS graduates found nonprofit organizations, but few have already done so before they arrive on the Hilltop. Jess Rimington credits Georgetown as the place where both her idea for connecting youth across borders – and she herself – gained a footing. Rimington (F ’09) conceived of what has become the One World Youth Project (OWYP) in 2002, when she was 16. While attending a student conference on sustainable development in South Africa, she was distressed to learn as the event got underway that some of her peers wanted the U.S. delegation kicked out. She made a case for herself and stayed, but when she got home and relayed the story to American peers, she found their attitudes just as challenging
as those she confronted in Johannesburg. “It made me realize that we first have to make sure youth can communicate” even if they have different cultural backgrounds, she said. Her first endeavor – an attempt to establish a dialogue between her classmates in Massachusetts and students in Ethiopia – “failed pretty miserably,” she admitted, but she learned a lot about what training she might need. She also realized that this was what she wanted to do with her life – so when she researched colleges, SFS seemed like a perfect fit. Rimington dove into studies as a CULP major even as she worked to build OWYP, establishing school pairings and leveraging a special partnership with Georgetown University. Today, students from 16 middle and high school classrooms participate in cross-border conversations through the organization. Guiding their engagement are college students here and on three other campuses: SFS-Q, the
University of Massachusetts-Boston and the University of Prishtina in Kosovo. The program is free of charge to the middle and high schools. In Georgetown, Rimington found a college that suited her “in ways I couldn’t realize at first. People are constantly talking about being a global citizen. I thought all universities did this!” she said. Read more about the nonprofit at http://www.oneworldyouthproject.org. Jess Rimington, left, with students participating in One World Youth Project.
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The thethe headlines to cover topTheJournal Journalgoes goesbeyond beyond headlines, icsexploring that continue to prove their relevance long after international affairs with thoughtful, publication. providesthat readers withrelevant a breadth of provocativeIt content proves long perspectives on international affairs by giving after publication. The Winter/Spring 2011voice issue toincludes leading issues academics, analysts, and with policy Álvaromakers, Uribe Vélez, former journalists six continents. president from of Colombia, and Michael Oren,
ambassador of Israel to the United States.
To subscribe ($16 for one year – includes a free issue!) to subscribe: visit: visit:http://journal.georgetown.edu journal.georgetown.edu email: gjia@georgetown.edu e-mail: gjia@georgetown.edu call: 202.687.1461
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