On October 21, Josef Korbel School DC alumni welcomed new dean Ambassador Christopher Hill at an event held at Hotel Monaco in Washington DC. Over 150 alumni, students and friends attended the event, including board members from the Josef Korbel School's Social Science Foundation (SSF), a group of distinguished leaders who manage a trust with which it promotes the study and application of international relations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Alicia Kirkeby, Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events at the Josef Korbel School, and Grant Mooney, Chair of the Josef Korbel DC Alumni Group, gave opening remarks and introduced Ambassador Hill. Ambassador Hill spoke to guests and took questions about what brought him to the Josef Korbel School and about his vision for the school's future. During his remarks, Ambassador Hill highlighted his goal of ensuring that the Josef Korbel School remains firmly in the top ten International Studies programs. He emphasized his desire to balance academic theory and professional development courses and the need to ensure that the School's Development and and Security degree programs remain leaders among international studies graduate programs. Potential new initiatives include teaching a diplomatic history course and a greater focus on courses in diplomatic security.
Ambassador Hill began his tenure as dean on September 1, 2010.
Profile of Ambassador Hill
Christopher Robert Hill served as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq since April 2009. Ambassador Hill is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service whose prior assignment was Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He has also served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea. On February 14, 2005, he was named as the Head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Previously he has served as U.S. Ambassador to Poland (2000-2004), Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (1996-1999), and Special Envoy to Kosovo (1998-1999). He also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southeast European Affairs in the National Security Council.
Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul and Tirana, and on the Department of State's Policy Planning staff and in the Department's Operation Center. While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association he served as staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz working on Eastern European issues. He also served as the Department of State's Senior country Office for Poland. Ambassador Hill received the State Department's Distinguished Service Award for his contributions as a member of the U.S. negotiating team in the Bosnia peace settlement, and was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.
Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine with a B.A. in Economics. He received a Master's degree from the Naval War College in 1994. He speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian.
Read more!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)