Come down to the DLC at 8:00pm!

Global Majority is an international organization committed to the promotion of nonviolent conflict management through education and training and we are seeking dedicated individuals to join our team as Conflict Management Teachers at two continuation high schools in Salinas, CA. Please see flyer and contact Margaret Coleman at mcoleman@miis.edu if you have any questions.

Join the 2015 MPA Capstone Class to explore social entrepreneurship in China (Andrew), re-integration of repatriates in Kazakhstan (Aliya), the making of a fundraising professional (Nicky) and the genealogy of a Hult Prize competition insurgency in support of social innovation for education! (Laura, virtually).  Compare online service learning (Nicole) with frameworks for more “grounded” land-based learning (Bonnie), and action-based research and learning (Sarah)—how does knowledge emerge differently in each? 
Who should be in charge when dealing with natural disasters in Haiti and what capacities are needed for doing so (Arianna)?  How is shelter provided and to what extent does emergency shelter actually respond to diverse human needs (Kelsey)? In addition to shelter, what are the unique needs of homeless families and children (Kelly) and how can we better connect homeless service providers to those in need in our own backyard of Monterey County (John, Cortney & Noah)? 

Come engage in “real talk” (Jessica) about how MIIS clubs can open conversations many actively choose to avoid, including how narratives on sexuality in development further marginalize women (Martina), how minority students actually get into college (when they do) (Julio, virtually), how female practitioner needs are ignored, yet how the seeds for their support may be found in Islamic and Yogic practices (Haley)!  

Does our training even work?  How might we improve training of coordinators who work in exchange programs (Sherry and Chanel) and how might we better train and motivate teachers to support older siblings to read to younger siblings n time (both teachers and siblings!) (Josefina and Rafa). on their ow

Do you need some motivation? Get off your ass! (Theory X) and come understand and share your own perspectives (Theory Y) on how incentives support motivation in social services organizations (Roger).   Light snacks and drinks will be provided! (Theory X!). 

We look forward to engaging with you on the critical issues we have been addressing through our diverse capstone initiatives.  
The 2015 MPA Capstone Class

Professor Tsuneo Akaha and four MIIS students Jessica Yoo, Kathryn Smart, Jack Lomicky, and Lewis Dorman traveled to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, Russia from March 21 to 27 as part of the Graduate Initiative in Russian Studies funded by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. In Vladivostok, the group stayed at the Far Eastern Federal University, the site of the 2012 APEC Summit, and met with faculty and students in the university’s School of Regional and International Studies and discussed the current state of Russia’s relations with North and South Korea, China, and Japan. Professor Akaha gave a lecture at the university and used it as an opportunity to engage the students in a discussion of some of the research questions the MIIS students had prepared for their individual research projects concerning Russian-Chinese relations, Russian-Japanese territorial dispute, Japanese investments in the region, and the North Korean human presence in the region. The group also met with a high-ranking international affairs official in the Primorskii Krai Administration as well as two journalists to discuss regional and international developments in the Russian Far East. In Khabarovsk, the MIIS group stayed at the Economic Research Institute and visited the Academy of Law and Economy and the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. They held a series of meetings with researchers, faculty, and students about the current state of regional development and foreign relations. Professor Akaha was interviewed by a local TV station about the MIIS delegation’s visit to Khabarovsk and the questionnaire survey that the group had prepared and distributed to colleagues in Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. The group was able to canvass the local experts’ views on the students’ research topics and also observe first-hand economic and social changes taking place in the two largest cities in the region as well as changing relations between the central government in Moscow and the Far Eastern region. Among the highlights of the trip were 11 hour+ train rides between the two cities and a dinner at a North Korean restaurant in Vladivostok.

In early February, I traveled to Beijing as part of an American delegation led by former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair for the China-US Dialogue on Strategic Nuclear Dynamics, the highest-level dialogue the two countries currently have about the implications of nuclear weapons for their relationship. While in Beijing, I also gave a talk at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, on the implications of growing Chinese nuclear-armed submarine capabilities.

In mid-February, I presented two papers at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, the biggest international relations conference in the world, held in New Orleans this year. One of those papers was an ongoing, co-authored research project on improvised chemical weapons threats, a collaboration with recent MIIS grad Navindra Gunawardena that began as a short memo Navindra wrote for one of my seminars. Navindra now works at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

In late February, I traveling to Istanbul as part of an American delegation for a US-Turkey Strategic Dialogue, where I was able to draw on my experience staffing an interagency group focused on Syria’s chemical weapons while on leave from MIIS during 2012-13 to serve in the Pentagon.

Members of the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium (GMHEC)—Champlain College, Middlebury College, and Saint Michael’s College—are continuing efforts to obtain institutional cost savings while also adding benefits.

Recently, GMHEC requested proposals for office supplies. We received five proposals, and after carefully reviewing and vetting them, we selected two finalist: W.B. Mason and Office Depot (formally OfficeMax). We then requested W.B. Mason give a presentation, since using this company would be a change for two of the institutions. We invited colleagues from academic, purchasing, and sustainability offices from the three institutions to attend the presentation, which included information on value-added initiatives, ease of website use, delivery options, and customer service. It also allowed participants to ask questions related to product ordering, reporting, and best practices.

After witnessing the successful presentation and going over of the overall contract terms, members of GMHEC recommended selecting W.B. Mason for all three institutions. W. B. Mason provides the lowest market-basket pricing on the products we order and offers a paid internship to one student for each school per year. We also considered the overall service and ease of website use.

Middlebury College has now implemented the W.B. Mason contract, as has the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Middlebury in D.C., and the Language School offices at Mills College. To sustain the low prices we negotiated, we will now place all office-supply orders through W.B. Mason only. The accounts with OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples, and Palace Art have been closed. And we ask that you don’t use other vendors, such as Amazon, Costco, or Walmart.

Anyone who needs to order office supplies or paper but does not yet have an account: please contact Matt Curran.

Former U.S. Ambassador/Author Headlines Carmel Public Library Foundation Benefit Event

Christopher Hill featured in April 8 program at Sunset Center

CARMEL, Feb. 25, 2015 – Christopher Hill, a four-time ambassador nominated by three U.S. presidents, will be the featured speaker at an upcoming benefit event on Wednesday, April 8 for the Carmel Public Library Foundation at Carmel’s Sunset Center Theater. The event begins with a wine tasting at 7 p.m., followed by the “Non-Fiction World Edition” program at 8 p.m.

Hill capped his distinguished 33-year career as a diplomat by serving under President Obama as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, where he oversaw that country’s national election. He previously served as an ambassador in Macedonia, Poland and South Korea; was a U.S. special envoy for Kosovo; negotiator of the Dayton Agreement for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and was the chief negotiator with North Korea for 2005 to 2009.

In October 2014, Hill published his memoir, “Outpost: Life on the Frontline of American Diplomacy,” which recaps his long service at the State Department. The Washington Post, in its review, called the book “a great introduction to the difficult game of diplomacy,” and added, “Hill’s book is lively, entertaining – even at times laugh-out-loud funny.”

A limited number of FREE student tickets are available. Please contact Eva Gudbergsdottir at evag@miis.edu to reserve a ticket. Individual non-student tickets, which include the wine tasting, are $55. Tickets can be purchased online at www.sunsetcenter.org, by phone at 831.620.2048, or in person at the Sunset Center Box Office from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The box office is located off San Carlos Street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues in downtown Carmel.

90.3 KAZU-FM, NPR for the Monterey Bay Area, is the event’s media sponsor and co-host. KAZU’s Krista Almanzan will moderate the program.

Various sponsorship levels of the Carmel Public Library Foundation also are available, with all sponsors and individual benefactors receiving complimentary tickets to the wine tasting, program and a special after-theatre reception. All proceeds from the “Non-Fiction World Edition” program benefit the Carmel Public Library.

For more information, call 831.624.2811. For more information on the Carmel Public Library Foundation, visit www.carmelpubliclibraryfoundation.org.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Kristen Hunter
Hunter Public Relations
831.375.1747
khunter@hunter-pr.com
Amy Donohue, Executive Director
Carmel Public Library Foundation
831.624.2811
adonohue@carmelpubliclibraryfoundation.org

• Wednesday, February 18 (12:15 – 1:50 PM): The Global Implications of the Deadlock over Ukraine: Is There a Path Forward? – presentation in English
• Thursday, February 19 (2:00 – 3:50 PM): Prospects for US – Russian Cooperation in the Changing World Order – presentation in Russian
• Tuesday, February 24 (2:00 – 3:50 PM): The US-Russian Bilateral Agenda in the Aftermath of the Ukrainian Crisis – presentation in Russian