As we move from one of the wettest winters in Seattle history to the wonderful two weeks when cherry blossoms lighten up the quad on our campus, we are taking stock of a very busy winter quarter. We conclude another year of our Task Force seminars with a full day of evaluations.
In addition to eight seminars that tackled some of the most complicated issues of our times, for the first time this year, we organized a Task Force in Rome. Students had a chance to research and write about the political and security challenges in Europe while living at the center of that rapidly changing continent.
James McDermott who just retired after forty years of public service, most recently as U.S. Congressman, joined the Jackson School as a Faculty Affiliate, taught a seminar for our master’s degree students and evaluated one of the Task Force seminars. Our students will continue to have the opportunity to benefit from Congressman McDermott’s vast experience in the coming years.
Congressman McDermott’s seminar was only one way in which we have tried to keep up with the international ramifications of changing politics in our capital. In addition to several public events that focused on different aspects of the Trump Presidency, we hosted the Consul General of Mexico, Dr. Roberto Dondisch, and have organized a ten-week spring quarter seminar titled, Trump in the World.
In February 2017, we collaborated with the Wilson Center in Washington D.C. and hosted a one-day conference on Cybersecurity. Representatives from Seattle area businesses, policy people in D.C. and Jackson School faculty and students spent the day discussing the ongoing changes in information technology and how best to transform them into a positive force in our lives as teachers, students, businesspeople, and practitioners.
We in the Jackson School take very seriously our responsibility to share our knowledge with our public. Professor Daniel Bessner, who holds the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Professorship in American Foreign Policy in the Jackson School, recently co-authored an article in Foreign Affairs with Professor Stephen Wertheim of Cambridge University where they discussed the importance of bringing together intellectuals and the public. This happens to be a key part of our mission as a School of International Studies at a major research university.
These are just a few highlights. You will find more detailed information about what we have been doing in the School in this issue of The Jackson Scoop.
As always I am grateful to you for your interest and support.
Sincerely,
Reşat Kasaba
Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies
Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
