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SUNY Announces Post in International Education and Public Diplomacy

Amb. Robert Gosende addresses students in Spain: Image Credit - GaliciaHoxe.com

Amb. Robert Gosende addresses students in Spain: Image Credit – GaliciaHoxe.com

The State University of New York announced that Ambassador Robert R. Gosende has been named the John W. Ryan Fellow in International Education for 2010-2011.  Here is the official SUNY press release:

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher Announces Robert Gosende as 2010-11 John W. Ryan Fellow in International Education
September 10, 2010

AlbanyState University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher today announced that the John W. Ryan Fellow in International Education for the 2010-11 academic year will be Robert Gosende. “SUNY will benefit greatly from Ambassador Gosende’s service as our John W. Ryan Fellow in International Education,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “His vast experience in the international arena and deep familiarity with SUNY’s international programs position him to make a critical contribution to the conversation about the role we can play in world affairs.” “I’m delighted to welcome Ambassador Gosende as a Ryan Fellow at UAlbany,” said University at Albany President George M. Philip. “His knowledge and insights regarding the role international education plays in public diplomacy will be of tremendous benefit to our students and faculty.” Gosende will be based at the School of Education at the University at Albany where he will teach and collaborate with students and faculty. His focus will be on the crucial role that international education plays in the public diplomacy of our country and, specifically, how we can be more broadly engaged in this process through SUNY’s international programs. As SUNY’s Ryan Fellow, Gosende will also lecture at other SUNY campuses and at the Levin Institute in New York City. After serving for over three decades as a career U.S. Foreign Service officer in the U.S. Information Agency and at the U.S. Department of State, Gosende came to SUNY in 1998.  His Foreign Service specialization was educational and cultural affairs but as an international affairs generalist he also served tours of duty as President Clinton’s Special Envoy (Ambassador) for Somalia, 1992-93, and as the senior State Department official supervising voter education activities in the run-up to the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994. In 2000, Gosende was appointed by the SUNY Board of Trustees as associate vice chancellor for international programs. He served in that position until his retirement this month. Gosende is also the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service for his work over this past decade expanding and enhancing SUNY’s international activities and reputation. Along with his colleagues in SUNY’s Office of International Programs, Gosende was a recipient of the Institute of International Education’s Andrew Heiskell Award in 2007 for their work in Turkey establishing academic partnerships between Turkish universities and State University campuses. These programs now enroll more than 2,300 students including 750 graduates and as such are the most extensive of their kind in our country.

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 465,000 students in 7,351 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu


 

Author

James Ketterer

James Ketterer is Dean of International Studies at Bard College and Director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program. He previously served as Egypt Country Director for AMIDEAST, based in Cairo and before that as Vice Chancellor for Policy & Planning and Deputy Provost at the State University of New York (SUNY). In 2007-2008 he served on the staff of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education. He previously served as Director of the SUNY Center for International Development.

Ketterer has extensive experience in technical assistance for democratization projects, international education, legislative development, elections, and policy analysis – with a focus on Africa and the Middle East. He has won and overseen projects funded by USAID, the Department for International Development (UK), the World Bank and the US State Department. He served on the National Security Council staff at the White House, as a policy analyst at the New York State Senate, a project officer with the Center for Legislative Development at the University at Albany, and as an international election specialist for the United Nations, the African-American Institute, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is currently a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association and has also held teaching positions in international politics at the New School for Social Research, Bard College, State University of New York at New Paltz, the University at Albany, Russell Sage College, and the College of Saint Rose.

Ketterer has lectured and written extensively on various issues for publications including the Washington Post, Middle East Report, the Washington Times, the Albany Times Union, and the Journal of Legislative Studies. He was a Boren National Security Educational Program Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and in Morocco, an International Graduate Rotary Scholar at the Bourguiba School of Languages in Tunisia, and studied Arabic at the King Fahd Advanced School of Translation in Morocco. He received his education at Johns Hopkins University, New York University and Fordham University.

Areas of focus: Public Diplomacy; Middle East; Africa; US Foreign Policy

Contributor to: Global Engagement