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IU School of Global and International Studies helps found International Policy Scholars Consortium

Funded by a $1 million, two-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York

• Sept. 29, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington has been selected to be a founding member of a new International Policy Scholars Consortium to be funded by a $1 million, two-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The consortium will bring together faculty from five top international relations programs to better prepare students for successful careers in both policymaking and academia.

The IU School of Global and International Studies will join Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The network has been designed to connect basic research in the social sciences and humanities with policy-relevant investigations and analysis. Also participating are scholars from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, based in Cambridge, Mass., one of the oldest learned societies and independent research centers.

“Effectively preparing students to succeed in today’s global marketplace demands that we deliver rigorous programs that bridge the gap between the advanced knowledge and experience they are receiving in the classroom and the challenging and complex needs of today’s public policymakers,” said IU President Michael A. McRobbie.

“The establishment of this new consortium is a major step toward establishing a path toward broader, richer and more policy-relevant scholarship that substantially enhances students’ global literacy and understanding. Indiana University and its new School of Global and International Studies are extremely pleased to be part of this important initiative and join with these other renowned global institutions in expressing our commitment to the next generation of international scholar-practitioners.”

The program is part of Carnegie’s “Rigor and Relevance” initiative, which challenged schools of international studies to address concerns over a growing gap between the scholarly work of academics and the needs of policymakers dealing with complex international issues.

“This award enhances opportunities for our faculty to develop new courses in new formats, face-to-face and virtual, and to engage in research collaborations across institutions,” said Lee A. Feinstein, founding dean of the School of Global and International Studies. “There will also be programs for mentoring and credentialing students entering academic and policy job markets, and training to enhance their ability to publish in top-tier academic journals.” 

Feinstein said the program aims to help policymakers “recognize the crucial relevance of deep historical, economic and cultural knowledge of world regions, and to make that knowledge available to scholars working on current policy problems." 

Carnegie sought creative ideas with an emphasis on face-to-face interactions between practitioners, academics and students. The funding will support distance-learning collaborations, student workshops and development of new courses.

The grant program will run for two years. The consortium will expand on the School of Global and International Studies’ efforts to draw together and enhance IU’s immense resources in languages and area studies and to build new undergraduate and professional degree programs in international affairs.

The School of Global and International Studies was inaugurated in 2013.  A new state-of-the-art $56 million building, opening next academic year, will house the school.  Some 76 languages are taught at IU and the university has long been an international leader in regional and area studies.

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• IU School of Global and International Studies