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News & Events
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May, 2009
Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri Delivers Heller School Commencement Address
Dr. R.K. Pachauri spoke to the graduates of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, including those receiving the Master of Arts in Sustainable International Development, the Master of Science in International Health Policy and Management, the Master of Public Policy, the Master of Business Administration and the Ph.D. in Social Policy. Later in the day, Dr. Pachauri was one of seven distinguished individuals receiving honorary degrees as part of the Brandeis Commencement.
Click here to watch Dr. R.K. Pachauri's Commencement address.
Dr. Pachauri was also interviewed by Professor Susan Holcombe, Professor of the Practice, while at the Heller School.
Click here to watch the one-on-one interview with Dr. R.K. Pachauri.
Rajendra K. Pachauri is an Indian environmentalist who serves as director general of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an organization in New Delhi dedicated to research and the promotion of environmental sustainability. He holds a Master's degree in industrial engineering and Ph.D.s in industrial engineering and economics from North Carolina State University, where he also served as a member of the faculty. In 1981-82, he was a visiting professor of resource economics at West Virginia University and a senior visiting fellow at the Resource Systems Institute at the East-West Center in Washington, D.C.
The author of some twenty-three books, he has
also written more than 100 articles for academic journals. Since he joined TERI in 1982, it has become one of the best-known research
institutes in the world. Since 2002, Pachauri has chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where he spearheaded the
production of its fourth and most challenging assessment report. He has also served the government of India as a member of the prime
minister's Economic Advisory Council, Advisory Board on Energy, and Council on Climate Change, a scientific intergovernmental body
that provides policymakers an objective analysis of climate change.
The recipient of many global honors, he was awarded India's Padma
Bhushan for his service to the environment and received the country's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan. In 2006, the
Government of France awarded him the Legion of Honor medal, and in 2007 he was co-recipient with Al Gore of the Nobel Peace Prize.
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April, 2009
SID Students featured in local newspaper
Students in Professors Olson and Green's Right to Water class were featured in The Milford Daily News while visiting the
Milford Water Company to learn about water filtration systems optimal for use in developing countries.
Click here for the news article.
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January, 2009
Dr. Clark Abt Appointed Adjunct Faculty at the Heller School
The Heller School is proud to welcome Dr. Clark Abt, Founder and former President of Abt Associates, as an adjunct professor for the Programs in
Sustainable International Development. The author of ten books on social and economic policies and advanced technologies, as well as many articles,
Dr. Abt is an Associate of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and Distinguished Professor of Management
at Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Abt founded Abt Associates in 1965 - a company described by President Wendell Knox as "Clark's unique and original vision, a company with the
feel of a university but one that also enables entrepreneurial efforts." Another early colleague described the Company as "a mild-mannered social
reform organization, an informal graduate school, and a profit-making company."
A long-time proactive environmentalist credited with planting over a thousand trees, Dr. Abt completed in 2001 a design study and economic analysis
of an energy-efficient, high-rise, solar-powered office building for the Abt Associates Inc. headquarters complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In 1997, 1998, and 1999, he conducted research and presented papers on renewable energy and environmentally sustainable economic development in the
United States, Brazil, China, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Africa, as well as at the United Nations. This work resulted in the book
(as yet unpublished), Solar-Powered Economic Growth.
Dr. Abt has a Ph.D. in Political Science from MIT. In addition to teaching at Boston University, he has taught at Harvard University, the Johns Hopkins University,
the University of Massachusetts, and the State University of New York (Binghamton). The numerous books that Dr. Abt has written or edited include AIDS and
the Courts (editor; 1990), Applied Research for Social Policy: The United States and The Federal Republic of Germany Compared (editor and coauthor; 1979),
The Evaluation of Social Programs (editor; 1976), Perspectives on the Costs and Benefits of Applied Social Research (editor; 1979), Problems in American
Social Policy Research (editor and coauthor; 1980), Serious Games (1970), The Social Audit for Management (1976), and A Strategy for Terminating a Nuclear War (1986).
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January, 2009
The Programs in SID Kicks-Off Spring Friday Speaker Series
The Heller School is pleased to host ten experts in development during the spring semester for engaging lunch seminars. These development practitioners will share their
professional experiences working on issues like education, humanitarian assistance, climate change, and civil rights all over the globe.
Click here for a detailed schedule.
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January, 2009
Former Heller Faculty Member Becomes Ambassador to the UN
Former Heller Professor Dessima Williams presented her credentials to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a small ceremony at the UN's
Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Janaury 17th, 2009. Ambassador Williams thanked the Secretary General for receiving her and
indicated that for Grenada and other Caribbean countries, development remans a top priority. The Secretary General expressed that he was impressed
with Williams' background in development and human rights and that he hoped this previous experience would be of use to her in her new position at the UN.
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January, 2009
Heller Faculty Member Receives Prestigious Appointment
Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies Anita Hill has been appointed Chair of the Human Rights Law Committee of the International Bar Association.
The Association, established in 1947, has a membership of 30,000 lawyers and 195 bar associations and law societies. It serves as "the global voice of the legal profession." The Human Rights Law Committee examines
matters of human rights relevant to legal practice.
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January, 2009
UNESCO Paris Publishes Volume of Essays Edited by Heller Faculty
"Another Side of India: Gender, Culture, and Development," edited by Adjunct Professor of the Practice Brenda McSweeney has been
published by UNESCO Paris as a joint project between the UNITWIN Network on Gender, Culture, and People-Centered Development and the Women's Study
Program at Boston University. The volume mirrors the twin actions of academics who focus on real life issues and of grassroots activists propelled
to have a voice in shaping academia. The outcome of the partnership was this volume that combines field-based papers and theory. The papers focus on
governance, political voice, livelihoods, education and women's rights. The next step will be a symposium on "Gender: the Multidimensional Aspect
of Working in India,"conceptualized and hosted by Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal.
"Another Side of India: Gender, Culture, and Development" can be downloaded here.
More information about UNITWIN Network projects can be found here.
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December, 2008
SID Alum Delivers Speech on Behalf of UN Mission in South Sudan
Malick Ceesay, MA/SID '04, is current Head of Office for operations in Jonglei State in Southern Sudan and Civil Affairs Team Leader for the United Nations Mission in Sudan. He coordinates the various activities of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in the region and works closely with the Governor of Jonglei State to effectively implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 in South Sudan.
In December, Malick was selected to speak on behalf of the UN Mission in Sudan at a ceremony in Southern Sudan to mark the 60th Anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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November, 2008
Program Director in 'Historic' Conversation
Professor Laurence R. Simon was recently invited by the University of California at Berkeley to deliver a university
lecture and be interviewed in their renowned series called Conversations with History.
This series, hosted by Harry Kreisler, is supported by the Library of Congress and the National Science Foundation and
consists of one-hour unedited interviews with "distinguished men and women from all over the world talking about their
lives and their work," each interview focusing on individuals and ideas that make a difference.Click here to watch the interview.
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November, 2008
Head of Research at Oxfam UK Presents New Book
Duncan Green will present Oxfam's new book, "From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States can Change the World." This major new book
argues that ending the scourges of extreme poverty, inequality, and threatened environmental collapse is the greatest global challenge of the
Twenty-First century. The best way to tackle them is through a combination of active citizens and effective nation states.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
5:30 p.m., Zinner Forum
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November, 2008
Distinguished International Judges Visit Heller
Heller is honored to welcome Judge Anita Usacka of the International Criminal Court, Judge John Hedigan of the High Court of Ireland, formerly a judge on the European Court of Human Rights, and
Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz, of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. The judges will hold a special seminar on Saturday, November 8. Following lunch, the honored guests will each discuss
their views on the relevance of international law and international legal mechanisms for improving well-being at national levels. Students will have a chance to ask questions, engage in discussion, etc.
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November, 2008
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Talks with Heller Students
Heller students participated in a discussion with Louise Arbour on November 6th. Mrs. Arbour shared her experiences as former UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, a former Supreme Court Justice of Cananda, and Former Chief Prosecuter of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
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October, 2008
Faculty Member Receives Order of Merit, First Class in Germany
Professor Brenda McSweeney, Resident Scholar at Brandeis University Women's Studies Research Center and Adjunct Professor of the
Practice at The Heller School, has received Order of Merit, First Class in recognition for her outstanding services rendered to
the international community and the nation of Germany while serving as the Executive Coordinator for the United Nations Volunteers.
During this time, Dr. McSweeney orchestrated the move of the United Nations Volunteers headquarters from Geneva to Bonn, Germany. Bonn now hosts 17 United Nations organizations.
UNV was the pioneer United Nations organization to have its headquarters seated in Bonn. Photo Credit: Michael Sondermann, City of Bonn.
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October, 2008
Graduate Students Participate in Special Seminar with Postmodern Socrates
Heller graduates will participate in a special program with Kwame Anthony Appiah, Laurence S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. Appiah is a Ghanaian philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist who has taught philosophy and African and African-American studies at the University of Ghana, Cambridge, Duke, Cornell, Yale, Harvard and Princeton universities. He is the author of numerous articles and several books.
In 1992, he won the Herskovitz Prize for African Studies in English for the autobiographical "In My Father' s House," which placed Appiah in the forefront of scholars dealing with contemporary African studies and identity. Among his later books are "Colour Conscious" (with Amy Guttman), "The Ethics of Identity" (2005) and "Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers" (2006).
As a lecturer in the Stanford Presidential Lectures in the Humanities and Arts, Appiah was called a "postmodern Socrates." In general, his body of work questions and challenges most accepted theories about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion, nationhood and multiculturalism. In "Cosmopolitanism," one sees the spirit of his work as he deals with the inherent conflict humans face in a global, technological society as " free" and independent, yet increasingly dependent on one another for survival.
Professor Appiah was born in London, raised in Kumasi, Ghana, and educated at Bryanston School and Clare College, Cambridge, where he earned a B.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy. His father was the Ghanaian politician and barrister Joe Appiah, and his mother was Peggy Cripps, a children's-book author.
Professor Anthony Appiah is the first recipient of Brandeis University's Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize. The $25,000 prize, the legacy of Professor Joseph B. Gittler, is the first and one of the largest academic prizes awarded to a U.S. or international scholar for outstanding and lasting contributions to racial, ethnic and/or religious relations.
The prize also honors Gittler's mother, Toby Gittler.
Joseph B. Gittler was a sociologist by training who taught at Cardozo Law School and several of the nation's leading universities, including Duke (where he earned his Ph.D.), George Mason, Iowa State, the University of Rochester, Yeshiva, Hiroshima in Japan and Ben-Gurion in Israel.
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October, 2008
Heller Faculty and Alum Present on Infectious Disease China
Interim Assistant Director of the MS program, Dr. Joan Kaufman and MA/SID '05 alum Xiaoqing Lu served as panelists at a conference hosted by the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C. The conference, entitled "China's Capacity to Manage Infectious Diseases
and its Global Implications" presented the findings of prominent experts commissioned by the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies through
a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The meeting examined challenges and opportunities for managing infectious diseases in China,
the global implications, and China's health diplomacy, as well as address potential ways to engage China as a net donor on global health. Dr.
Kaufman's presentation, "Infectious Disease in China at the Beginning of the 21st Century" and Ms. Lu's presentation "The
Challenge of TB Resurgence in China" were part of a session on the current status and specific challenges of infectious diseases in
the country. Ms. Lu is a research associate under the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS.
Click here to see the website.
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October, 2008
SID Student Receives Federal Grant for Practicum Project
While completing her six-month practicum with the Forgotten People Community Development Corporation on the Navajo Native American Reservation
in Arizona, Rita Monastersky-Sebastian, MA/SID '09 negotiated an Environmental Justice Small Grant through the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Community Development Corporation has been rewarded $20,000 to work on safe drinking water and toxic substance control. This is the first
time a student on a practicum has negotiated and received a federal grant to support their work.
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September, 2008
Heller School Welcomes New Assistant Dean
The Masters Program in Sustainable International Development is proud to welcome Dr. Cristina Espinosa as the new assistant director and assistant professor of gender and development. Dr. Espinosa graduated from the Universidad Católica in Lima, Peru (BA in Social Sciences) and spent the next 20 years as a researcher working for different institutions on issues as diverse as: gender, migration and livelihoods, gender, livelihoods and decision making, education in population, and sustainable development in the Peruvian highlands, coast, and Amazon. After receiving her PhD from the University of Florida, she worked at the IUCN for four years coordinating the Global Social Policy Program. In August of 2006, Dr. Espinosa joined the Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean, ISLAC, as their Interim Associate Director.
Dr. Espinosa's publications include books like Unveiling Differences, Finding a Balance published by IUCN in 2004 (Spanish
version was published in 2002), Migracion, Familia y Socializacion: los cortadores de cana de azucar de Patapo-Pucala, published in
Lima in 1987, and several articles and book chapters.
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September, 2008
Heller School Welcomes Visiting Professor from Israel
Dr. Benjamin Gidron joins Heller and Hornstein Professional Jewish Leadership Program as a visiting professor for the Fall 2008 semester.
Dr. Gidron is an expert in nonprofit/nongovernmental/third sector organizations management and policy. He has been studying these topics
for the past 25 years, with a focus on Israel. He was the Founding President of the International Society for Third Sector Research
(ISTR), based at Johns Hopkins University, between 1992 and1996. At his home university, Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva,
Dr. Gidron is Director of the Israeli Center for Third Sector Research, Professor and Director of the Nonprofit Organization Management
program at the Guilford Glazer School of Business and Management, and the David and Dorothy Schwartzman Chair for Community Development.
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July, 2008
Alum's Work on Wildlife Management Published by FAO
Julius N. Mbotiji, SID '02 travelled to Libreville, Gabon for the 13th Session of the Forestry and Wildlife Commission for Africa in March,
2002, to present a paper as part of his second-year practicum with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Accra, Ghana.
The paper, entitled "Sustainable Utilization of Wildlife: Case of the Bushmeat Crisis," has recently been published by the FAO.
Click here to see the website.
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July, 2008
Alum Takes Country Director Position with Peace Corps
Dorothea Hertzberg, SID '07, is the new Associate Peace Corps Country Director for Ethiopia. She will be starting her work in Addis Adaba soon.
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July, 2008
SID Faculty Member Appointed as Expert on Addressing Muslim Alienation after 9/11
Mari Fitzduff, Director of the Masters Program in Coexistence and Conflict at Brandeis University, has been appointed as an Expert for the United Nations Alliance
of Civilizations (UNAOC). The Alliance is a group of high-level experts formed by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan to explore the roots of polarization between
societies and cultures today and to recommend a practical program of action to address this issue.
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July, 2008
Alum Explores New Challenges with USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives
After three and half years working with USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in Venezuela supporting local civil society, Joel Hirst, SID '03
has become the Country Representative for OTI's Uganda program.
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July, 2008
Heller Joins the Brandeis Office of Global Affairs and Coexistence Program to Host Students from The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi
From July 8 to 10, the Brandeis Office of Global Affairs will co-host 11 mid-career Masters students from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) located in Delhi, India. Led by R.K. Pachauri, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore as Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, TERI is one of the world's premier research institutions in environmental, energy, and development studies. The students will be taking module courses taught by Brandeis faculty from the Coexistence & Conflict and Sustainable International Development programs. This initiative is part of the Office of Global Affairs larger efforts to strengthen Brandeis University's networks to key regions of the world.
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June, 2008
SID Alum Joins Word Bank Agriculture and Rural Development Team
Elizabeth Petheo, SID '06, has joined the Agriculture and Rural Development team of the World Bank in Washington D.C. to help countries develop, share, and apply global and local knowledge to meet their development challenges. As part of her position, Elizabeth leads the World Bank's annual Development Marketplace, a unique competitive grant that funds innovative, early-stage development projects from civil society groups, social entrepreneurs, foundations, academic institutions, and businesses.
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June, 2008
Visiting Scholar Returns To Home University To Lead Development Institute
Rhoderick Samonte, SID '06, returns to the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod City, The Philippines to lead a new institute on development. After receiving his Masters degree, Rhoderick stayed at Heller for two years as a Visiting Scholar in the SID programs. An excellent street organizer and development practitioner, Rhoderick looks forward to sharing what he learned at Heller in to his home University.
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June, 2008
SID Alum Takes Position with Education Development Center
Kevin Corbin, SID '05, has become Deputy Chief of Party for the Education Development Center's projects in the Philippines.
This non-governmental organization designs, develops, delivers, and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world's
most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic development. Kevin will be working to manage the technical and operational
aspects of a large USAID-funded education project.
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May 12-16, 2008
The Masters in Sustainable International Development Capstone Week
May 12-16, the MA Program in Sustainable International Development holds its Capstone Week. Over 80 second year students will present key findings
from the second year projects in panel sessions organized like a professional conference. Panel session topics include microfinance, natural resource
management, remittances and migration, gender, touris amd development, and rights based approaches to development.
Events open with a Keynote Address by Dr. Calestous Juma: "Seizing the Future: Making Change Happen", on Monday, May 12, at 10:30 am in the Zinner Forum.
Calestous Juma is known for his problem-solving approaches and as a champion of science and technology in development. In a recent book, Professor Juma
urges developing countries to focus on learning and knowledge as the key to achieving development goals.
Professor Juma is Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School at Harvard, and Director of the Science, Technology and
Innovation Project. He has published widely in academic journals and in public fora on the Global knowledge economy, Africa, the role of higher
education, science, technology and the environment. He holds a Ph.D in science and technology policy studies.
The panel Sessions and the Opening Session are open to the public.
Click here to see the schedule.
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May, 2008
MA/SID Student Awarded by The World Bank for Contributions to Women and Children in the World
Fanny Howard, SID '09, has been awarded one of nine worldwide awards from the World Bank's Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund which recognizes contributions to children and women in the world.
Click here to see the website.
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May, 2008
MA/SID Students Awarded Boren Fellowships
Stacy Alboher, SID '09, and Jessie Babcock, MBA '09, have been awarded National Security Education Program's (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowships to add an important international and language component to their graduate education at the Heller School.
Click here to learn more about the Boren Fellowship.
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May, 2008
SID Program Director Delivers Keynote Address on the Right to Water
Professor Laurence Simon gave keynote speech at the Water for People's 3rd Annual Gala at Fenway Park on May 10th, 2008. Speaking to audience of water and sanitation engineers, Dr. Simon hailed the organization's role in addressing the basic human right to clean water.
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April, 2008
Students Visit Local Water Company to Understand the Right to Water
The Milford Town Crier covered a student trip to the Milford Water Company's Echo Lake reservoir and Dilla Street filtration plant to learn about the logistics of providing communities with a safe and reliable water supply as part of the SID program's "Right to Water" course.
Click here to see the article.
Click here for a picture.
Click here for other pictures.
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April, 2008
Heller Faculty Receives "Lifetime Achievement Award" from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sajed Kamal received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New England Region, on April 22, 2008, at Boston's historic
Faneuil Hall. Professor Kamal has worked for sustainable energy for more than 25 years. He has been a lecturer and consultant on renewable energy in the U.S.,
Latin America, Europe and Africa. He is now president of the International Consortium for Energy Development, a Boston nonprofit; board member of the Boston
Area Solar Energy Association; member of the Union of Concerned Scientists and founder of Solar Fenway Boston.
Click here for a picture.
Click here to read at article from The Fenway News on Professor Kamal's work.
Click here to see the website.
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