January 2011

A Message from the Dean

The beginning of the calendar year marks the mid-point of our academic year. GW's Elliott School of International Affairs is having yet another terrific year. I would like to note some of the highlights from the Fall and also look ahead to the Spring.

In August, following record applications at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, we welcomed more than 800 new students to the Elliott School academic community. Over the course of the semester, Elliott School faculty continued to publish cutting-edge scholarship on wide range of critical international issues. We have showcased these publications on the school's website: http://elliott.gwu.edu/.

The Elliott School has continued to take advantage of our unique location, sponsoring an array of more than 100 special events in the Fall semester. Many of these programs focused on timely policy topics. In September, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) discussed the START treaty and nuclear strategy. In October, the school hosted the 3rd annual conference on China's economic development and U.S.-China economics relations, known as "G2 @ GW." Meera Shankar, India's ambassador to the United States, spoke about the evolving U.S.-India relationship less than one month before President Obama's first official trip to India.

In November, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela discussed U.S. foreign policy in the Americas in a digital town hall meeting with students at GW and around the world. Zainab Salbi, the founder and CEO of Women for Women International, marked the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the linkages between women, peace, and security with an address, "No Peace Without Women." Anne-Marie Slaughter, the director of policy planning at the State Department, analyzed the relationship between diplomacy and international development just weeks before the release of the State Department's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. Bob Woodward, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Obama's Wars, discussed the relationship between foreign policy and journalism, touching on the Wikileaks disclosures.

These events and many others are available on the Elliott School website via our Web Video Initiative, which makes these insightful discussions available to students, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends around the world. I hope you will take advantage of these rich intellectual resources and share them with others who might be interested.

The Spring semester is off to an equally impressive start. The Elliott School has already hosted Jendayi Frazer, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, who spoke on the referendum that took place in southern Sudan early in January. Later this semester, Elliott School faculty member Skip Gnehm will give the annual Kuwait Lecture, marking the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait. Shapiro Visiting Professor and noted nuclear expert George Quester will give a lecture on nuclear issues. Dozens of other events are in the pipeline.

Every school of international affairs tries to bridge the theory and practice of international affairs. At the Elliott School, we don't need bridges; we have sidewalks. I believe — and I hope you agree — that GW's Elliott School of International Affairs is doing a superb job of connecting our students, our faculty, our alumni, and our entire academic community to the people and issues that are shaping our world.

Michael E. Brown
Dean
Elliott School of International Affairs
The George Washington University