August 2009

Dorian Warren co-authored a chapter with Kate Bronfenbrenner in Mandate for Change: Policies and Leadership for 2009 and Beyond, entitled “Re-establishing a Workers’ Rights Agenda.” The book offers specific policy proposals for the Obama administration on major domestic and international topics. More

Lincoln Mitchell published the article “Georgia Postbellum” in The American Interest. Professor Mitchell writes, “In this new post-post-Cold War period, the challenge for U.S. policymakers is to craft a strategy that recognizes both the potential danger Russia poses to its neighbors and the limits to U.S. influence in the region – limits that have only grown tighter thanks to the ongoing global economic crisis.” More

Edward Luck published “Sovereignty, Choice, and the Responsibility to Protect” in the journal Global Responsibility to Protect. Professor Luck argues that both developing and more developed nations have concerns about the implications for their sovereignty of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle endorsed by world leaders in 2005. More

Rafis Abazov published Culture and Customs of Turkey, a comprehensive study of the nation of Turkey. Professor Abazov is an adjunct professor with the Harriman Institute and SIPA, focusing on public policy and governance, democratization and population movement in the former Soviet Union with a focus on Central Asia. Culture and Customs of Turkey examines how Western and Eastern traditions have combined to form a unique bridge between Europe and Asia. More

Guillermo Calvo delivered the keynote address at the Sixth Annual India Policy Forum, organized by the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the Brookings Institution. Professor Calvo’s address, entitled “Lessons from Systemic Financial Crises,” examined India’s response to the credit crisis. More

Professor Calvo also spoke with India’s Financial Express and Business Standard.

Merit Janow was appointed to the international advisory board of the China Investment Corporation, the country's $200 billion sovereign-wealth fund. The newly established board has 14 members, and comprises economists, investors and former government officials from the United States, Europe and Asia. More

Training a Competitive Urban Workforce: The Urban Policy concentration participated in the NYC Global Partners summit, “Job Creation and Workforce Development,” held at Columbia University. Presentations focused on successful policies and initiatives to train a competitive urban workforce, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered the keynote address. Watch videos from the summit here.

Professor Ester Fuchs, director of SIPA’s Urban Policy concentration, authored Innovations in City Government: The Case of New York City’s Workforce Development System.

Capstone Workshop: The Financial Crisis and Microfinance Institutions: Before the current financial crisis, microfinance institutions (MFIs) were largely thought to be immune to fluctuations in credit, equity, and commodity markets. This Capstone Workshop examines whether MFIs can maintain their traditional independence from outside economic forces, and what adjustments those institutions will have to make in growth and management strategies.

SciencesPo Admissions: Beginning in 2010, SIPA and SciencesPo in Paris will offer a new admissions option for their existing two-year dual degree MPA program. Students will be able to apply directly to the dual degree MPA program before beginning study at either school.  This option allows students to plan a coordinated two-year program of study and to target their graduation for the location that is most appropriate given their career goals. More

The Politics of Recognition: Charles Taylor, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at McGill University and Templeton Prize-winning author of A Secular Age, spoke on his experience co-chairing the Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences (CCPARDC) in Quebec. The lecture was co-sponsored by the Heyman Center for Humanities and the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion; and the Committee on Global Thought.

2009 Graduation Ceremony: SIPA's 2009 graduation ceremony and remarks from keynote speaker General Brent Scowcroft can be viewed on YouTube and downloaded free from iTunes. In May 2009, SIPA awarded 737 students a Master of International Affairs or a Master of Public Administration.

Robert Scher (MIA '91) was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. His area of responsibility includes bilateral security relations with nations in South and Southeast Asia, Australia, East Timor, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island States. More

Noreen O'Donnell (MIA '97) wrote an article for The Journal News in New York's Lower Hudson Valley entitled "Out of a job? State Department is looking for new diplomats." O'Donnell writes "Despite the recession - and a spike in job losses last month dashed hopes that the economy would grow soon - the State Department is hiring more people over the next two years than in any other time in its history." More

It's a New Semester! The fall 2009 semester begins August 31 with new student orientation. Registration opens September 1 for continuing students, and September 3 for new students. Classes begin Tuesday, September 8. For schedule updates, monitor the Student Affairs Web page here.

Opportunities Within Conflict: SIPA's Center for International Conflict Resolution and Consensus are jointly offering a series of executive workshops. The next workshop, "Opportunities Within Conflict," is scheduled for September 14 - 15. It will teach participants how to resolve and extract value from conflicts they are involved in, or conflicts they are mediating between others. More

Sharyn O'Halloran on "Americans Out of Work," MSNBC

Lincoln Mitchell writes “Georgia, One Year Later," New York Times

Lincoln Mitchell on “Georgia’s Counterweight to Power,” Washington Post

Stephen Sestanovich writes "What Biden Should Have Said," Washington Post

Gary Sick on possible sanctions against Iran, Time

Joseph Stiglitz: “The Most Misunderstood Man in America,” Newsweek

Kenneth Prewitt on "The Census Games: Groups Gear Up to Be Counted," Time

Rodolfo de la Garza on Mexican immigration to the U.S., CNN

Stuart Gottlieb writes "The Perils of Post-9/11 Probes," New York Post

William Eimicke on strategic analysis at the FDNY, CNBC

Joseph Stiglitz on inflation-targeting as a response to the economic crisis,
Mail & Guardian, News 24, BusinessDay, and Bloomberg

To contribute news and information for Inside SIPA, contact Alex Burnett, Communications Officer, at 212-851-1818 or ab3178@columbia.edu.