The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosted a delegation from the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) focusing on foreign policy on June 25, 2018. The IVLP delegation included government officials, public officers and academic professionals from Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia and Sweden.
The group visited Carolina to examine the role of academia in foreign policy. Several faculty members participated in a panel to share their research and teaching interests related to foreign policy and describe Carolina’s curriculum offerings. Panelists included Cori Dauber, professor of communication; Stephen Gent, associate professor of political science; Timothy McKeown, professor of political science; Holger Moroff, adjunct professor of political science; and Michael Morgan, assistant professor of history. A discussion followed the panel presentations, covering topics such as the future of alliances and international organizations, global trade, academia and government engagement, the role of the media and methods to counter extremism, as well as current issues and challenges confronting the U.S. and the home countries of the IVLP participants.
Sarah A. Hutchison, associate director of the TransAtlantic Masters (TAM) Program, represented the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for European Studies. Two students joined as well: Bevan Therien, an undergraduate student participating in the center’s Excel BA-MA EURO-TransAtlantic Master’s Program; and Katja Greeson, a TAM candidate. “During the discussion, the visitors asked several questions about the way forward in an increasingly unstable and unpredictable world order brought on by populist sentiment both in the U.S. and in Europe,” Hutchison commented. “The center strives to foster this type of informed discussion, and it is important to expose our students and faculty to diverse opinions about global affairs.”
Established in 1993, the Center for European Studies is one of only five in the nation to be designated as both a National Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Education and a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence by the European Union and is consistently recognized for its innovative programming. The center is home to Carolina’s undergraduate Contemporary European Studies Major (EURO), the only bachelor’s degree of its kind in the state, and serves as the lead institution in the TAM Program, which offers three specializations in transatlantic studies in consortium with 10 universities across Europe and one in Turkey, offering a master’s degree in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as degrees from partners.
Story by UNC Global
