By Caroline Paris Paczkowski
Dear Students, Parents, Alumni and Friends:
Happy New Year to you and your families. As we enter 2015, I remain extremely optimistic about SPIA and its trajectory. Already highly placed in several national rankings, SPIA’s faculty, students and alumni continue to impress with their scholarly and professional accomplishments and by their dedication to public service and the common good. It is truly my good fortune to serve as Dean to such a remarkable group of individuals. It is no exaggeration for me to say that I learn something new from our faculty, students, staff and alumni every working day.
You may be interested in several recent developments and accomplishments by students, faculty and alumni.
In tribute to our faculty and student excellence, we now have six journal editorships at SPIA. Internationally known for his expertise in national security studies, Professor Loch Johnson edits The Journal of Intelligence and National Security. Our new Department Head in Public Administration and Policy, Professor Bradley Wright, edits The Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, widely acknowledged as the top journal in Public Administration. Recently named as a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration, Professor Andrew Whitford edits The Journal of Public Policy. CITS scholar Igor Kripunov, an internationally-recognized expert on security policy, edits the UN-funded 1540 Compass, which focuses implementation of UN Resolution 1540 regarding the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Professor Cas Mudde was recently named as editor of The European Journal of Political Research. And not least, our own SPIA students edit and produce the outstandingGeorgia Political Review, an incredibly impressive compilation of student-written articles about domestic and international politics.
Professor Han Park has recently announced his retirement in December 2015. We will be celebrating his remarkable career at UGA/SPIA and fundraising for the Han Park Professorship in International Affairs over the coming year. As you know, Professor Park is one of the world’s leading experts on North Korea and has dedicated his career to pursuing peace initiatives around the globe.
At the end of September, I traveled to Romania with BOV member Powell Moore, Carl Vinson Institute Director Laura Meadows, and faculty from Public Service and Outreach and from the Grady College. We met with the former Romanian Prime Minister among other leading figures. The purpose of the trip was to collaborate with Babes-Boyes University in Cluj to create a training program for government officials and journalists focused on combatting government corruption in emerging democracies.
We are also pleased that the Baldwin Hall Expansion and Renovation project is fully underway! We look forward to a new annex to the existing Baldwin Hall that will provide a special space for SPIA faculty and students and a wonderful event space overlooking the historic cemetery on Jackson Street. We thank our SPIA alumni and members of the Georgia General Assembly, Representative Earl Ehrhart and President Pro Tem and Senator David Shafer, as well as Speaker David Ralston (whose son Matt is a SPIA alumni) and Governor Nathan Deal, for their efforts on SPIA’s behalf in making the Baldwin Hall project a reality.
As we hope you have noticed, we are making substantial progress on our marketing through social media and other venues. We have created three new social media outlets, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and most importantly, implemented an alumni profile feature on our website. We hope you will participate and follow us through these social media outlets.
There is so much more to tell, but we will keep you posted on other developments through social media and the website as they progress. We have reason to be proud of our initiatives, but we are always searching for new ways to enhance our programs. If you have any ideas to share, please contact me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @SPIADean.
Thank you for visiting with us!
Stefanie A. Lindquist
Dean and Arch Professor of Public and International Affairs
