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Recognizing SIPA's Graduating Class of 2009
Congratulations to the SIPA Class of 2009! On Monday, May 18, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs awarded 737 students a Master of International Affairs or a Master of Public Administration. SIPA also recognized thirteen graduating students for their achievements:
Shailly Barnes, Marcy Hersh, Meredith Stricker and Jennifer Takigawa received the Dr. Susan Aurelia Gitelson Award for Human Values in International Affairs. It recognizes a project that promotes a broad understanding of human rights and humanitarian action. The student team conducted an analysis for the Uganda Based Association for Child Welfare (UCOBAC), creating a set of recommendations for an initiative on women’s property rights. More
Eric Hoplin received the George C. Marshall Prize for Strategic Studies. It recognizes a graduating student for an outstanding paper addressing issues of defense policy, military strategy, arms control, intelligence, peacekeeping, negotiation, and alternatives to the use of force as an instrument of policy. Hoplin won for his paper on the TransAtlantic Alliance.
Noelia Cornejo, Claire Kells, Tania Ortiz de Zuniga, Stacey Roen and Brandon Thompson received the Leous/Parry Award for Progressive Sustainability for their work on promoting social dialogue on the impacts of mining company operations in Pará, Brazil. The award was created by two SIPA alumni, J.P. Leous and Neal Parry, to support interdisciplinary approaches to protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development. More
Eamon Kircher-Allen received the Raphael Smith Memorial Prize for his article in the alumni magazine SIPA News entitled “The Politics of Justice.” The article is an analysis of the case against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in the International Criminal Court and the balance of justice, peace, national sovereignty and relations among international powers. The prize is in memory of the late Raphael Smith, a member of SIPA’s Class of 1994, and is awarded to the student judged to have authored the best article published in SIPA News.
Jakob Lund and Brandon Woods received the Harvey Picker Prize for Public Service, which recognizes graduating students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to public service. Lund founded Play31, an organization that provides footballs and other sporting goods equipment to children in post-conflict zones. Woods served as a volunteer with The Liberty Partnerships Program at Barnard College, spearheading an enrichment program for youth in New York. The Picker Prize honors former Dean Harvey Picker (1972 – 1983), who introduced the Master of Public Administration program. More
View photos from graduation and the awards program here.
View the video of the graduation ceremony here. 
05/20/2009