News and Events at SIPA, Columbia University
Events at SIPA, Faculty News, and Faculty in the News

• Steven Cohen on Bloomberg’s Gun Survey for Candidates
  Mayor Bloomberg is asking all presidential candidates to complete a 16-question survey on gun trace data, gun trafficking, and punishment levels for breaking gun laws. Steven Cohen, a professor of public administration at Columbia University said, “gun control is an emotional issue in America that has divided urban and rural voters.”
• Gary Sick on Iran Following Late Shah’s Strategy
  Part of the Shah’s defensive strategy was to develop a nuclear “surge capacity” – the know-how and infrastructure to build a bomb at short notice if and when the need for the ultimate deterrent arose. “Iran’s rulers are following a strategy very much like that of the Shah,” said Gary Sick, a senior research scholar at Columbia University. He blames the Bush administration for not adopting a negotiating strategy with Iran over its nuclear ambitions that would take into account Iran’s strategic concerns.
• Ester Fuchs on Giuliani Weeding out Welfare Fraud
  “Giuliani’s welfare people matched the city data with the State Department of Labor data and basically found that people were working already,” said Ester Fuchs, a Columbia University professor of public affairs. “So they found fraud, sent out letters, people left the rolls and they were instantly employed. Weeding out fraud is an inarguable achievement, but Giuliani makes it sound as if he also created a robust job program.”
• Jeffrey Sachs on Ending Famine in Malawi
  Malawi hovered for years at the brink of famine. Almost five million of its thirteen million people needed emergency food aid. “The donors took away the role of the government and the disasters mounted,” said Jeffrey Sachs, a Columbia University economist who lobbied Britain and the World Bank on behalf of Malawi’s fertilizer program and who has championed the idea that wealthy countries should invest in fertilizer and seed for Africa’s farmers.
• Steven Cohen on Questions Giuliani Doesn’t Want
  The revelation that security costs for Giuliani’s trysts with Judith Nathan were spread to obscure New York accounts exposes the former mayor to harsh questions his campaign wanted badly to avoid about character, truthfulness and a penchant for secrecy. “The biggest problem for him, if you look at the New York papers today, it’s all pictures of Rudy and Judi in the Hamptons,” said Steven Cohen, a public administration professor at Columbia University. “I’m sure that’s not what he wants to see in the press right now while he’s pushing his campaign.”
• Steven Cohen on Bloomberg Meeting with Nancy Soderberg
  Steven Cohen, a professor of public administration at Columbia University, cautioned against reading too much into the reported meetings between Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Soderberg, a foreign policy adviser in the Clinton administration and a critic of the war in Iraq. “I would never assume that because he is consulting with someone he is necessarily going to follow that person,” he said.
• SIPA’s Center for International Conflict Resolution Partners with Colombian Singer Juanes
  Juanes’ Mi Sangre Foundation has partnered with the Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) to create a campaign for nonviolence in the singer’s home country of Colombia. The goal of this campaign is to formulate innovative solutions that will bring peace to the people of Colombia, who desire an end to the violence from guerillas and paramilitaries. CICR director, Aldo Civico, says the program could involve a partnership between other universities and non-governmental organizations. Civico will introduce Juanes to experienced peace moderators who have worked on CICR projects in the past, such as former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. Both Civico and Juanes hope that new creative solutions will start a path to peace. More information is available in an article in the Los Angeles Times.
• Professor Pete Johnston to Retire; Anya Schiffrin Appointed Acting Director of IMC
  After nearly 20 years of exemplary service as the Founding Director of SIPA's International Media and Communications concentration, Professor Pete Johnston has announced that he is retiring at the end of this academic year. To ensure a smooth transition, Anya Schiffrin will be appointed as the Acting Director of IMC for the 2008-2009 academic year. A reception in honor of Professor Johnston will be held in the spring semester.
• SIPA Alumnus Named Executive Director of Habitat-NYC
  Habitat for Humanity - New York City has announced the appointment of a SIPA alumnus, Josh Lockwood (MIA 97) as Executive Director. Habitat-NYC, a leading affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, builds affordable homes for ownership in New York City's five boroughs. Lockwood earned his Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in 1997. "I am honored and inspired to be leading Habitat-NYC at this historic time, when we are providing more affordable homes to hardworking New York City families than ever before," said Lockwood. He joined the organization in 2006 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Acting Executive Director in the spring of 2007.
• Steven Cohen on Rudy Giuliani’s Ad Campaign
  Giuliani’s recent commercial plays to one of his strengths, New York’s resurgence while he was mayor. During his term, crime in New York decreased by sixty percent and welfare rolls shrank by more than half. Yet critics say he doesn’t deserve all the credit for the city’s comeback. “It wasn’t done in Rudy’s first term, it was done over the course of twenty-five years of people working to rebuild what had fallen apart,” said Steven Cohen, a public affairs professor at Columbia University.
• Sanjay Reddy on Poverty Estimates
  Byline: Sanjay Reddy. “The problems with poverty estimates go well beyond the inappropriate nature of the conversion factors used to make such adjustments across currencies, and ultimately reside in the failure to specify an international poverty line that are meaningful in the sense that they correspond to the real cost of achieving basic human requirements."
• Joseph Stiglitz on the U.S. Dollar’s Fall from Grace
  “The global reserve system is fraying; it’s falling apart,” said Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-laureate economist at Columbia University. “The change in mindset about the use of the dollar in reserves and the movement of the dollar out of the reserves will continue to exert downward pressure.”
• SIPA Alumnus Bill de Blasio Running for Brooklyn Borough President
  On October 9, 2007, Bill de Blasio (MIA 1987) announced his candidacy for Brooklyn Borough President. Mr. de Blasio says that he is running for Borough President because he believes, “I have the experience and vision to strengthen and protect Brooklyn neighborhoods in a time of unprecedented growth and change.” His priorities as Borough President would include keeping Brooklyn affordable by building and preserving affordable housing and stopping out-of-control and out-of-character development, and improving quality of life in every Brooklyn neighborhood. Bill de Blasio has dedicated his career to public service. He is the current Councilmember representing Brooklyn's 39th District and current Chair of the City Council's General Welfare Committee. His past accomplishments include serving as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's successful 2000 U.S. Senate bid and as a former member of Brooklyn's Community School Board. For more information on his campaign please visit: www.billdeblasio.com.
• SIPA Alumni Pioneer First Ever American Human Development Report
  Images from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina exposed some of the realities of poverty in this country–the living conditions of poor Americans, the racial divides, government funding biases, and dangerously weak social safety nets. For Kristen Lewis (MIA ’93) national reactions to Katrina made her realize that many Americans did not understand poverty in their own country. At around the same time, Sarah Burd-Sharps (MIA ’87), who was Deputy Director of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, thought it might be valuable to explore well-being and poverty issues through this lens in a domestic context, as well. She had seen the power of this approach to question the status quo and bring change on every continent. As a result, the two former UNIFEM colleagues began the exciting yet