"Social Thought with a Public Purpose"

The Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership is a leading center for social research and education at the City College of New York.

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Five Minutes with: Preeya Saikia

New on the blog: #CCNY #Alumnus @PreeyaSaikia on life after college #WhiteHouse

***A note from Ms. Saikia: All views expressed are my personal views and are not necessarily the views or the position of the Administration or the Government of the United States of America. Thank you. 1. You have been working in the Office of Management and Budget and we wonder, when you first applied to the PSM program, where did you imagine your degree would take you?  I pursued an MPA at The…

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There Is No Military Path to Victory in Afghanistan

"There is no military path to victory in Afghanistan" by Prof. Rajan Menon #CCNY

By Professor Rajan Menon (originally written for the National Interest, 9/12/2016) Few will say it, but the facts are indisputable: America’s war in Afghanistan has failed. There comes a time when persisting in a lost cause amounts to foolishness, indeed irresponsibility. That time has arrived. Washington’s minimal goals were to vanquish the Taliban, root out Al Qaeda and build a stable,…

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'The last 100 days': How a lame-duck Obama presidency might play out

‘The last 100 days’: How a lame-duck Obama presidency might play out

Amid apparent snubs in Asia, Obama ‘doesn’t have any leverage’ left but can lay groundwork for Clinton Spare a thought for U.S. Presiden Barack Obama. Being commander in chief isn’t what it used to be. The past week saw him being cursed at by the leader of the Philippines, leaving empty-handed on a Syrian ceasefire deal with Russia, and apparently being snubbed by China in a lapse of protocol.…

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On Graduation

If you’ve never been to a CCNY graduation, you should come. All graduations are joyous events; all graduations affect transitions between years of preparation and a world rife with new possibilities.  And, I’ll admit that it’s been years since I’ve attended a graduation that did not take place on a CUNY campus—but I still think our graduations are different. I think they’re different because…

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In Memory of Elie Wiesel: A Message from General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)

In Memory of Elie Wiesel: A Message from General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)

From the Facebook Page of General Colin L. Powell, July 2, 2016: Elie Wiesel, one of the greatest humanitarians of our time and a dear friend of mine has died. Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate, brilliant author, conscience of the world lived by the code “to forget the dead is akin to killing them a second time.” He also faithfully served on the Board of Visitors of the Colin Powell School at…

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Five Questions: Russia’s Goals in Syria and Ukraine (repost from Carnegie Corporation of New York)

Five Questions: Russia’s Goals in Syria and Ukraine (repost from Carnegie Corporation of New York)

Rajan Menon, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science, and the author of new book, The Conceit of Humanitiarian Intervention, recently spoke with Carnegie Corporation’s Eugene Scherbakov about recent Russian actions in Syria, the state of U.S.-Russia relations and the way forward in Ukraine. What are Russia’s strategic intentions in Syria? Putin intervened because he concluded—as…

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Political Battles Over Funding CUNY

Political Battles Over Funding CUNY

by Vince Boudreau, Dean, Colin Powell School I’ve recently discussed the changing pattern of funding for public higher education and the pressures that those shifts have imposed upon tuition-paying students. Despite arguments about tight state budgets and financial crises, that shift is mainly underpinned by a real change in the way public officials view higher education and about who should be…

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Have you seen A New Light in Harlem?

Have you seen A New Light in Harlem?

Our original upload to YouTube got over 600 views in just a matter of days! We had to do a *tiny* bit of clean-up, so we uploaded a new version (click below). The film features interviews with General Colin Powell, Dean Vince Boudreau, and faculty, students, alumni, and board members, spotlighting the amazing community we have up here on the City College campus. Do you know a young person who…

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Meet Usha Pitts, Diplomat-in-Residence

For just over a decade, the City College of New York has held a privileged position among New York-area universities by hosting the Diplomat in Residence (DIR). Sponsored by the Department of State, the DIR spends two years on campus imparting their specific knowledge and experience as foreign service officers to students interested in foreign or civil service jobs, as well as various fellowships…

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The Crippling Weight of the 'Last Straw'

The Crippling Weight of the ‘Last Straw’

by Vince Boudreau, Dean, Colin Powell School The Office of Student Success was our earliest and most ambitious innovation at the Colin Powell School. It represents our commitment to a goal that we cherish, and must still pursue: to ensure, insofar as possible, that no student falls through the cracks. In our early imaginings, that office would primarily take on higher-order advisement—guiding…

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New York state’s program to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission could work around the world

New York state’s program to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission could work around the world

by Stephen W Nicholas, Columbia University   Editor’s Note: For World AIDS Day, we share an article, originally published by The Conversation, by Dr. Stephen W. Nicholas, a professor of pediatrics and public health at Columbia University and leading expert on pediatric AIDS research. In October, we hosted Dr. Nicholas as guest speaker in our breakfast lecture series “Conversations with City.”  …

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New York state’s program to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission could work around the world

New York state’s program to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission could work around the world

by Stephen Nicholas, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health; Public Voices Fellow, Columbia University Reprinted from The Conversation, originally published August 5, 2015. Editor’s note: For World AIDS Day, we publish an article by Dr. Stephen Nicholas, a professor of pediatrics and public health at Columbia University and leading expert on pediatric AIDS research. In October, we hosted Dr.…

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Spring 2016 Overtally Forms

Students: Spring 2016 overtally forms are available on dept. websites and on our blog.

Students! Find your overtally forms here: Anthropology Economics and Business International Studies Latin American and Latino Studies Political Science Psychology (*see department advisers) Sociology Women’s Studies    

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In case you missed it in our recent newsletter: Thoughts from our Dean, Vince Boudreau, on New Investments for a 'Changing Financial Landscape' by Vince Boudreau, Dean, Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership This summer, the Pew Charitable Trusts…

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Get Your Guns: The Negative Network Effect

New on our blog by Prof. Matthew Nagler! Get Your Guns: The Negative Network Effect

by Matthew Nagler, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and Business, Colin Powell School In the wake of the tragic mass shootings on a college campus in Roseburg, Oregon, President Obama and others have called for stricter gun control laws. Yet others, including many close to where the shootings took place, are saying increasingly that they feel they need to own a gun. (See, for example,…

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Notes on 'The Hunting Ground': CUNY Community Screening and Conversation

On Our Blog: Notes on a CUNY Community Screening of 'The Hunting Ground.'

by Julia Suklevski Based on the well-publicized number of sexual assault cases on college campuses across the United States, many might assume that these assaults are occurring at an alarming rate. They would be correct. But this is no recent phenomenon. For decades, the epidemic that has been impacting our nation’s college students was something that administrations did not want to admit was…

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Meet Nimmi Gowrinathan, Visiting Professor and Noted Human Rights Specialist

Meet Nimmi Gowrinathan @nimmideviarchy , Visiting Professor and Noted Human Rights Specialist

Nimmi Gowrinathan, a leading researcher, analyst, and commentator on international gender and violence issues, has joined the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at The City College of New York as a visiting professor. She directs the Politics and Sexual Violence Initiative, a three-year program funded by a grant from the NoVo Foundation. The NoVo Foundation works to transform…

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