April/May 2007 Volume 7 No. 3 The Newspaper of the Johns Hopkins University Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Special Double IssueYear in Review Pull-Out Section Inside

Baker, Cohen BidSAIS Goodbye

Inside: Cohen and Baker’s plans to moveon, and how they hope to stay involved

A Gift ThatKeeps Giving

Most SAIS students

stress about how they will repay

their massive loans after they

graduate. It isn’t surprising,

then, that students are taken

aback – even shocked – when

they’re asked to donate money

to SAIS before they’ve received

their first post-graduation pay-

check.

But that’s exactly what

the 2007 “Senior Class” Gift

initiative asks them to do.

“Previous class gift

[initiatives] missed the point of

having a class gift, which is to

start the habit of giving early,”

SGA President Shakti C’Ganti

said.

Alumni giving is

important because the cost of a

SAIS education is well over

$40,000 a year, while tuition is

$29,500 a year for the

2006/2007 school year.

“SAIS is dependent on

30 to 35% of its operations

coming from fundraising every

year, which does not nearly

cover the cost of every students’

education,” according to Scott

Rembold, the former Associate

Dean for Development who

worked on alumni issues and

recently left SAIS.

According to C’Ganti,

it’s important for students to get

in the habit of donating money

now – even a relatively trivial

amount – so that they will con-

tinue to support the school

throughout the duration of their

careers. The imperative to begin

a donation solicitation cam-

paign targeted at current stu-

dents and recent alumni pro-

pelled him and other concerned

students to launch the unusually

aggressive initiative and its

audacious goal of recruiting

70% of graduating students to

contribute.

Henry Nuzum, who

helped to organize the initiative,

felt compelled to act after read-

ing about what he felt was a

lackluster alumni-giving rate in

the Donor Acknowledgments

section of SAISphere.

“The major problem is

that a low alumni donations per-

centage belies the notion that

SAIS students are loyal to the

school,” Nuzum said.

In fact, the statistics tell

a mixed story. According to sta-

tistics obtained from SAIS,

while recent alumni giving rates

have been anemic (only 1% of

the Class of 2006 has donated,

and 3% of the Class of 2005),

11% of SAIS grads overall have

donated to the school, com-

pared with 13% of Harvard’s

Kennedy School, 24% of

Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson

School, 26% of Tuft’s Fletcher,

6% of Columbia’s SIPA, 10%

of George Washington’s Elliot

School, and 5% of

Georgetown’s MSFS.

SAIS is not the best, but

it’s better than Georgetown,

Columbia, and George

Washington. According to

Nuzum, though, it’s essential

that the school aggressively

solicit student donations from

the moment they begin at SAIS.

“Even though the

amount of money we can recruit

from recent grads might not be

a lot, it’s important to start get-

ting people in the habit of giv-

ing,” he stated.

Rembold agrees that

increased participation among

alumni in the form of donations

is necessary, but says the degree

Recycling at SAIS

SAIS is such a well

reputed policy school that

mere International Affairs

does not suffice – the

descriptive “Advanced” must

be attached in order to trulycapture this school’s genius.

Yet for all the fan-

fare, recycling bins are team-

ing with food particles; Coke

cans fill trash bins adjacent to

empty recycling bins; and

eyewitness accounts have

caught our very own ABM

janitorial staff leisurely

throwing bags of uncontami-

nated recycling material into

the regular trash behind

SAIS. Under this massive

weight of wasted recyclables,

the planet is falling off its

axis.

Alright, so that last

line was hyperbole, but this is

not: until recently, recycling

at SAIS has been abysmal. In

a recently conducted poll,

93% of students are aware

there are recycling bins on

every floor of both Rome and

Nitze. Despite this, only 60%

recycle regularly at school

while 28% admit that they

throw whatever happens to

be in their hands into whatev-

er happens to be the closest

bin to them. Furthermore,

more students claim they

recycle at home (83%) than

do those who recycle at

school.

How to explain the per-

plexing contradiction of

industrious, conscientious

students acting in such a

seemingly slothful, bone-

headed manner? Several

arguments are made.

First, recycling at SAIS

is not convenient enough.

“I think all the

garbage/recycling bins need

to be in the same place,” one

student says. “Given options,

people put things in the right

one.”

SAIS-ers see red over lack of green

By Nadav Davidai

continued on page 3

Low alumni givingrate inspires senior

class giftBy Eric Jaffe

continued on page 4

(Kind Of)

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 2

LETTER FROM THE EDITORSThe end of the school year has snuck up on us

quite suddenly. It seems like just yesterday we wereasking people about what they did on their winterbreaks, but now the conversation has all-too-disquiet-ingly shifted to what people will be doing over thesummer or after graduation. The fast-approaching endhangs over our heads like that rain cloud that followsWile E. Coyote wherever he goes.

As first years, when we meet a new secondyear or MIPP, we can’t help but wonder if it’s worth theeffort of the small talk we’re making with someonewho, in a matter of weeks, we will in all likelihoodnever see again.

Andrew Duff’s article this month explores thequestion of goals and regrets as the school year andmany of your SAIS experiences come to an end. It’shard not to feel as though you could have met morepeople, been more involved in student life, studiedharder, done more internships, or whatever your per-sonal regrets may be.

Here at the Observer we have our regrets too.We wish we could have been wittier and made youlaugh a little more, we wish we had another issue inwhich we could cover the emerging Hopkins studentloan scandal and the even-more-emerging-and-more-scandalous World Bank corruption story (these eventswere strategically timed at the end of the SAIS schoolyear, we suspect, just so we couldn’t cover them). Andwe wish that on occasion we had simply kept ourmouths (and pens) shut.

Yet the nature of a 2 year masters program isthat it will never be enough time to make of it all thatyou wish you could. It’s barely enough time to find outwhat you want to make of it in the first place.

For what it’s worth, it was a pleasure and anhonor getting to know the 2nd years and MIPPs thisyear. We have been floored by the knowledge andexperience you bring to the table, and sometimes it’sbeen the alcohol you’ve brought to the table that hasquite literally floored us. We wish you the best of luckin the future — and not only because the higher youclimb the better the chances you will help us get jobsnext year.

We’d also like to thank everyone who hascontributed to the Observer over the past year and inparticular the three former editors, Sole Birnbaum,Eric Jaffe and Jon Raviv, to whom we can never hopeto compare, at least in density of Jewishness.

Yet in the cloud of nostalgia, we look forwardto the excitement of new experiences. New jobs andlocales for second years, summer internships for firstyears, and the prospect of having about 300 new stu-dents on the DC campus next year (fresh meat!) Andfor those of you who fear change, no need to worry, thegood old Observer will be here to cover it all (nowonline too…) with the mix of humor, cynicism andcomplete irreverance you’ve come to expect.

The SAIS ObserverEditors-in-Chief

Alex Selim

Neil Shenai

Jessica Stahl

ContributorsMichael Anderson

Ethan Arnheim

Shakti C’Ganti

Nadav Davidai

Andrew Duff

Eric Jaffe

Arthur Lord

Jay Lurie

Chris Meyer

Jon Raviv

George Turner

The SAIS Observer is a news monthly written, edited, and produced by

the students of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

(SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University.

SAIS students, faculty and members of the administration at the

Washington, D.C. campus, Bologna campus, and the Hopkins-Nanjing

Center are encouraged to submit articles, letters to the editor, photo-

graphs, cartoons, and other items for consideration.

Material for consideration or inquiries may be submitted to :

observer@jhu.edu.

The SAIS Observer is an approved SAIS student organization. Opinions

expressed in the SAIS Observer are not necessarily the views of the edi-

tors, SAIS, or the University.

The Observer welcomes accolades, denials, comments, critiques,

and hate mail at observer@jhu.edu.

Photos:

Michael Anderson

Mirentxu Arrivillaga

Ben Deering

Andrew Duff

Tania Hamod

Eric Jaffe

Monika Kelemen

Dan Lecce

David Michaels

Kaveh Sardari

George Turner

Diversions:Keep your eyes and ears open and contribute to the below

sections! E-mail us at Observer@jhu.edu with submissions

“I’m emotionally erect.”– Not-so-anonymous SAIS-er at the Mr. SAIS competi-tion

The Ostrich

$60

$70

3130

$1000

1787

$101995

544

Thanks to your support, Gustav is back andready to tell us who’s having a good month,and who might want to stick their heads inthe sand and hope for better luck next year

Winners LosersDavid MichaelsCongratulations to the reigning Mr. SAIS,whose rousing remake of the song AmericanPie had everyone up on their feet. Everyonewho was sober enough to stand, that is.

DC Soccer Team

DC footballers beat the Bologna Center gradsfor the second time this year proving yet againthat while Americans may not care about soc-cer, they sure know how to play it

Library

Advertises decision to drop the VPN clientwith posters advertising how we can do ourwork from home in our PJs. Hey, anythingthat gets me out of those depressing carrels...

BC Grads

Win a hard-fought battle to make theBologna laurel optional head gear for gradu-ation. Bet they had to pay the $60 for thecap anyway, suckas!

Strategic Studies

With the unexpected departure of Cohen,this perpetual winner finally finds itself onthe losing side of our list. Will the depart-ment go on without him?

Graduating Class

No more teachers, no more books. But notquite yet - first you’ve got to make it throughorals and turn in your theses. And admit it,you’re gonna miss us just a little.

Incoming Class

Showed up at Open House all wide-eyed andeager. These kids have no clue what they’rein for!

SAIS Works

Raise your hand if you still don’t havea job/internship...

VerbatimWhat the SAIS

community has been saying

“He’s the Hamas tomy Fatah.” – Anonymous SAISstudent explaining herrelationship with a co-worker

“Pride doesn’t pay rent.” – Anonymous SAIS stu-dent describing why he didn’t want to compete inthe Mr. SAIS competition

"The product oftwo small num-bers is very small.Very, very small."– Anonymous SAISprofessor explain-ing how to do math

"Hi. I'd like to place anorder for some kegs andice block for this week-end…"Oh! You do already haveluges? How much do theluges run?" – AnonymousSAIS student on the phonewith a liquor store

“America is like the big elephant.Everyone wants to hit it.”– Anonymous SAIS Professorexplaining why the world loves tobash the US

By theNumbers

Cost of a cap and gown forgraduation

Amount of money collect-ed for the Cap and GownFund, a fund to help stu-dents who can’t afford thecost of renting the cap andgown

Loaves of bread you couldbuy for $60

Number of infants in Africayou could feed for onemonth with $60 (accordingto MercyCorps)

Clearing price for a wine-tasting with ProfessorArroyo at the live auctionduring the Mr. SAIS pag-eant, the highest bid pricefor any item

Vintage year of the world’smost expensive bottle ofwine, a Chateau LafiteBordeaux valued at$160,000

Lowest priced item sold atthe live auction

Year of the computer mon-itor that sold for aboveprice (to a certain editor ofthe SAIS Observer)

Number of contestants whoentered the Mr. SAIS pag-eant

Number of contestants whomade it to the end of thepageant

Number of hours the eventlasted

"There's a deathly silence

in the room. It's slightly

uncomfortable."– Anonymous SAIS professor,after bringing up the subjectof the midterm examination

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 3

Recycling Other students have complained that the right kind

of recycling bins are not around when they want them to

be, or that they are unsure about what item goes in which

type of bin. Such issues are, apparently, more complicat-

ed and unsolvable than econometrics.

Yet another student contrarily claims that there are

too many recycling bins at school.

“That is, there aren’t enough regular trash cans,”

another student says. “For example, on the 7th floor in

the library, I think you have to go all the way to the ele-

vators to find a normal trash can . . . And unfortunately,

I just don’t have the initiative to walk all the way down

to the other end of the floor to throw something other

than paper out. If there were a recycling can next to (or

close to) a normal trash can, I would throw things away

in the correct bin.”

Somewhere in the end of this explanation is the seed

of another explanation: the lack of will required to walk

50 feet (or less!) to the appropriate bin. While some –

like your green-leaning correspondent – see in this inad-

equacy sheer laziness, others – like Environment and

Social Change Club (ESCC) President Rima Mutreja –

are more gracious.

Mutreja believes what is needed at SAIS is an

awareness campaign to jolt the SAIS community into a

greater sense of urgency and ownership for the recycling

problem at their school. She believes that SAIS students

don’t intentionally ignore recycling but merely have

poor recycling habits. Just as they are passionate about

higher ideals, they should apply that mentality to worthy

day-to-day tasks all around them – like energy conserva-

tion and yes, recycling.

Another argument often expressed by these students

is that their efforts will literally just be thrown away with

the rest of the trash – so what is the point?

“Convenience is an issue,” another student says,

“But I’m doubtful that any effort expended recycling –

just making sure it goes in the right bin, for example -

will ensure that the item is recycled. I think it’s more

likely that I’m just choosing a different trash bin.

Guarantee that my recycling will actually make its way

to some processing plant and turned into a new bottle,

and I’ll recycle.”

And indeed, numerous examples abound of the jan-

itorial staff disregarding school policy and throwing

recycling out with the trash. Prompted to grade the recy-

cling performance of the faculty, ESCC Vice President

Michael Obeiter offers a lowly grade of 4 out of 10.

While there were many recycling bins, Obeiter admits,

their locations are not ideal, and the labeling of bins are

lacking. “A lot comes down to labeling,” Obeiter wisely

proclaims.

Confronted with these issues, the Environment and

Social Change Club has consulted with Director of

Facilities Management Rolando Perez and Senior

Associate Dean for Finance and Administration Ted

Baker and taken decisive action. There has subsequent-

ly been a combination of grassroots and top-down

efforts.

The top-down approach has been particularly vigor-

ous. To combat the inconvenience argument, clearly

labeled and properly topped recycling bins are now

bunched together with a regular trash bin on every floor

to avoid confusion.

To combat the “too convenient” argument, the small

blue recycling bins have been removed from the library

and placed in employee offices throughout SAIS, giving

employees a convenient avenue to recycle as well.

To combat ABM-Gate, Mr. Perez has explicitly

warned the janitorial company that their contract with

SAIS stipulates their adherence to SAIS’s recycling pol-

icy, and is thus contingent on this adherence. Recycling

bin liners are now colored blue to distinguish them from

regular trash and to help prevent recyclables from mis-

takenly ending in the trash.

What, then, is the last impediment to a successful

recycling campaign? The SAIS students themselves.

Acclaimed for being the leaders of tomorrow and

seasoned scholars of international affairs, this bunch

cannot even muster the motivation to exit the classroom

and toss a Dasani bottle in the appropriate bin. These

students, who are ostensibly taking $80,000 worth of

debts for the selfless pursuit of and devotion to altruism,

cannot manage even the simple task of tossing an alu-

minum can in the bin with the circular receptor. While

the new recycling scheme has produced better results, it

is still not uncommon to see that ubiquitous Coke bottle

in the trash bin, now located right next to the recycling

bin.

While the administration’s grade was a 4, Obeiter

gives SAIS students a score of 2 out of 10. Obeiter says

“it’s a given” that there will be trash in any given recy-

cling bin at any time. Keep in mind, also, that the city

considers recycling bins with food particles to be “cont-

aminated” and will therefore throw out the entire bin if

even one apple core goes astray. No longer is it the jan-

itorial staff who undo all of the majority’s recycling

efforts, but instead, a few of our own thoughtless SAIS

students.

So what then is there to do? How to motivate this

budding bunch of prima donnas into participating in the

world’s easiest bit of conservation? Many of the SAIS

community’s complaints of recycling have already been

sufficiently addressed.

The only remaining issue is, perhaps, ensuring that

recyclables actually get recycled. Beyond being

defeatist, this argument is invalid. If that were the true

and sole reason preventing you from your deep desire to

recycle, why would you not simply raise the issue?

Some students have done so, and indeed, the early

results of this added pressure has so far been positive.

Student monitoring missions have reported that recy-

clables are indeed ending up in their appropriate bin

behind Nitze Building.

In the end, however, Ms. Mutreja is correct. What is

needed is a consistent information campaign to prod

these future leaders from their Iran policy papers and

World Bank interview preparations long enough to put

their Snapple bottles in the bin to labeled “cans/bottles”

instead of “regular trash.” This is where the grassroots

efforts come into play. Emails from SGA and Dean

Baker have been distributed to all students, and ESCC

has put up recycling flyers around the school.

Beyond making students aware, I will add that it is

important to shame students as well. A little bit of peer

pressure (or “social monitoring” if you prefer) would

help immeasurably. When SAIS students see other stu-

dents throwing their recyclables in the trash or vice

versa, they should make a point of it. Ladies, no more

dates for your recycling-delinquent partners. TAs, use

your power of the problem sets to make a difference!

This article was written in purposefully scathing

language, I do not really believe, for example, that SAIS

students are prima donnas, in order to draw attention to

such a silly deficiency in our student body. This issue

bothers me mostly because it is so fixable, and requires

the most minimal effort and consideration.

Like in kindergarten when you had to put the star in

the star box, recycling at SAIS is now “paint-by-color”

easy. Put your white paper in the slots; your cans and

bottles in the circles; if you get confused along the way,

read the signs! Who said this school was so difficult?

Nadav Davidai is a 1st year MA candidate in Middle EastStudies

continued from page 1

Lettersto the

Editors:To the Editors:

Alex Selim ended his article in the March

Observer: "If we can't make a difference in this

microcosm called SAIS, how can we even think

about changing the world?" I asked myself the

same question while looking through the piece

titled "March madness hits SAIS hard" in the

April Fool's issue. I understand that the com-

ments made about me, which I opt not to repeat

here, were not intended to be offensive. It is

nevertheless important to point out that jokes

employing this brand of sexual innuendo dis-

play a careless insensitivity to gender issues in

the workplace and undermine the credibility

and authority of their (generally female) targets.

They are simply inappropriate in the SAIS

Observer.

I believe it is important that faculty not attempt

to exert control over student publications. But I

nonetheless chose to write this letter as a regu-

lar Observer reader. I've been continually

impressed and inspired by the level of sophisti-

cation, idealism and humor contained in these

pages. However, I believe that if we let humor

of the type mentioned above pass without

acknowledging it for what it is, sexist and

degrading, we have no hope of achieving gen-

der equality at a privileged institution like ours,

let alone changing the world.

Mine Senses

(Assistant Professor in the

International Economics

Program)

Dear Professor Senses and SAIS community:

Last month we published our annual April Fools edi-tion of the newspaper. This year we included a MarchMadness bracket, in which we hypothetically pittedprofessors against each other, and tried to poke somegentle fun at their stereotypes and reputations, and wehope that this humor was taken in the April Fools spir-it in which it was meant.

That being said, we recognize Professor Senses’ legit-imate concerns about the way in which she was por-trayed in that article, and acknowledge that our senseof what toes the line and what crosses the line mayhave failed us in this case. Therefore, we would like toissue a public apology to Professor Senses for ourcomments in the March Madness piece.

In this case it seems that appropriateness was sacri-ficed in an attempt at humor, and we are truly sorry forthat. Professor Senses, we hope you will accept ourdeepest apologies.

The Editors

On another note:

This seems an appropriate moment to point out that

our hope is always for this newspaper to be a forum for

SAIS students to speak to each other and share their

viewpoints.

In such a diverse community, we know that there are

a wide variety of views out there, all of which deserve

to be part of the campus conversation.

We hope Professor Senses’ willingness to express her-

self through a Letter to the Editor will encourage oth-

ers of you to do the same when you disagree with

things that have been printed in the paper, or when you

simply have something to say.

The newspaper is SAIS’s forum to speak to itself, and

we encourage you to use it as such.

How did you get into this school? Recycling bins filled

with trash abound at SAIS, and both the administration

and student body are starting to take action

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 4

Senior GiftMonthlySGA Report

So, after recovering from var-

ious spring break sunburns, your SGA

got back to work to put the finishing

touches on the year.

Many of you enjoyed the

marathon Mr. SAIS competition + tal-

ent show and live auction, which was

so much fun that one contestant couldn’t

even finish the competition. That

event finished off a great year for the

Student Foundation, which raised

thousands of dollars ($10k actually) to

help subsidize a large number of first

year’s internships this summer.

Mr. SAIS also functioned as a

primer for the Class of 2007’s

fundraising campaign as the class tries

to achieve a 70% giving rate for its

scholarship fund, which will benefit

future generations of SAIS students.

We also recently held elec-

tions for next year’s SGA. First-year

representative Nancy Tran will

become President Nancy Tran as of

Wednesday when the old board hands

over control to the newly elected pres-

ident. She will soon be recruiting for

the all powerful academic, graduation,

and operations committees, so keep in

mind which committee you will want

to serve on when she comes by.

Refusals are not permitted.

President Tran will also be

overseeing a new board structure that

concedes more power to Bologna

Center graduates. The Bologna reps

were close to engineering a coup of

the board this year, but Chris beat

Cenk in a Greco-Roman wrestling

match in the courtyard, thus only

allowing the loss of one spot to the

Bologna team.

As of next year, a Bologna

representative will occupy the VP

position. DC still holds the President

and Treasurer posts.

A DC student will also occu-

py the Student Foundation

Coordinator position, and will be a

full voting member of the board. The

new Student Foundation Coordinator

will recruit the biggest gossiper from

this year’s Bologna campus to help

them coordinate the numerous events

with the Bologna masses.

This reorganization reduced

the board membership by one DC

position, and we believe it will be

more representative of the school’s

population

Also upcoming is the selec-

tion of the top teacher of the year.

Every year we select the best teacher

of the year based on a student vote.

The top teacher receives an award of

$10K, so don’t forget to vote (or sell

your vote).

Finally, a number of soon to

be alumni are planning a party to cel-

ebrate the epic occasion that is gradu-

ation. More details will be released

when plans are finalized, but plan on a

good time.

Hasta pronto…

You can contact the SGA atsaissga@jhu.edu

By Chris Meyer, Outgoing First Year

Rep / Incoming Treasurer

of participation is difficult

to measure.

“The participation

rate is the hardest thing to

get at because everybody

counts differently,”

Rembold said. “It’s hard to

get a really accurate com-

parison. The only thing I can

say about our participation

rate is that there is definitely

a disconnect between the

strong feelings of affiliation

and value perception that we

hear from alums every sin-

gle day and their giving to

the institution.”

According to

Nuzum, for SAIS to be con-

sidered worthy of large

donations from wealthy phi-

lanthropists, it is essential

that the alumni donation rate

be improved.

“If I was an institu-

tional donor or a high-pro-

file individual, the first

thing I would look at would

be the yield rates to judge

whether it’s worth giving,”

Nuzum stated. “We need to

get our yield rate up.”

But Dean Rembold

cautions against reading too

much into the numbers, not-

ing that SAIS’s international

alumni significantly affect

the donation rate.

“Forty-one percent

of our alums are abroad

right now,” Rembold stated,

adding that the notion of

philanthropy to a U.S.-

based institution is an unfa-

miliar concept to students

from a state or country-sup-

ported education system

that costs them nothing.

“So when you look

at the U.S.-based alumni

participation, we’re at 26%.

When you factor in the

international alums, which

are at 5%, it drags us down.”

And if one assesses

the yield rate more realisti-

cally, according to

Rembold, the statistics tell a

different story. “If you fac-

tor out the 800 people who

we counted as part of our

denominator that we have

not actually been able to get

in touch with, the more real-

istic overall number is

around 15 or 16%.”

When evaluating

alumni support, SAIS’s

endowment is also relevant.

Compared with similar

schools, SAIS is somewhere

in the middle of the pack; at

$105 million, it is more than

Fletcher’s $95 million, but

far less than Harvard’s

Kennedy School at $765

million or Princeton’s

Woodrow Wilson at $750

million. But Rembold

rejected the comparison of

SAIS with Harvard or

Princeton, noting, “The

Kennedy School is larger,

has more alumni, and by

virtue of the Harvard

Association has the connec-

tions to raise more money.

The Woodrow Wilson

School is a bit of an anom-

aly – they have one large

donation that has grown

over time that puts their

endowment at over $600

million.”

Rembold, to his

credit, does not deny that

SAIS has work to do in

alumni development, and

his office has begun a sig-

nificant transformation,

with the goal of upping

alumni participation and

donations.

“SAIS is certainly

under-endowed,” Rembold

admitted. “But we’re 60

years old, and the develop-

ment effort really only

began in the 80’s. We’ve

raised a lot of money

through foundations over

the years, but most of it is in

current use, and the endow-

ment is more of an individ-

ual-giving type of a project.

SAIS didn’t get large until

the late 70’s or early 80’s,

and that group is just com-

ing of age in terms of their

ability to make major gifts.”

Rembold was

recently replaced by Dr.

Amir Pasic MA ‘87, who

returned to SAIS after serv-

ing as Deputy Vice

President of Advancement

at The George Washington

University. From 2001 to

2005, he was Director of

Development and Manager

of Special Projects at SAIS.

Gift initiative

organizers have suggested

several common-sense ideas

to boost recent grads’

involvement and donations,

including starting an aggres-

sive solicitation campaign

and instituting a group of

“class agents” to promote

networking and solicit

donations after students

graduate. The SGA organ-

ized a recent event to cele-

brate the launch of the gift

initiative, and an auction

preceding this year’s Mr.

SAIS competition raised

over $4,600.

According to

Nuzum, the SGA and SAIS

Development office have

been superb in coordinating

their efforts.

“While this is a stu-

dent idea, Development has

been fully supportive and

helped in making forms and

keeping administrative track

of things,” he said.

According to

Spencer Abruzzese,

Assistant Director of

Development at SAIS, the

students who have organ-

ized the effort deserve much

praise.

“The Class of 2007

Fund initiative is a remark-

able effort by a group of stu-

dents who understand the

importance of giving back

to SAIS. What makes this

effort extraordinary is that

these students want to give

back, even before they have

received their degrees, and

are challenging other SAIS

alumni to get involved in

giving back to SAIS.”

Rembold is enthusi-

astic about these new

fundraising initiatives, and

notes encouragingly that

SAIS alumni look fondly

upon their time spent at the

school.

“Our challenge is to

figure out ways to engage

alums to make us current in

their lives. Even when we

talk to alums with multiple

degrees, SAIS does seem to

rise to the top. But they go

off and have careers and

have families, but there are

so many causes out there, so

how do we get back on their

radar screens? We haven’t

done such a great job of

educating students while

they’re here about the need

for philanthropic support.”

Eric Jaffe is a 2nd year MAcandidate in StrategicStudies

continued from page 1

“If I was an institutional donor ora high-profile individual, the firstthing I would look at would be the

yield rates to judge whether it’sworth giving.”

The 2007 ClassGift Explained

By Shakti C’Ganti, Outgoing SGA President

I have been asked a lot of good questions

about the financial structuring of our class gift, the

Class of 2007 Scholarship Fund, so I thought I

would take a minute to explain it.

Our committee’s goal was to raise $15,000

in student contributions with 70% of the class con-

tributing to the gift by May 17th. Thanks to several

generous donations during the auction at Mr. SAIS

we were able to revise our contribution estimates

from $48.70 per person to $35.70 per person. And in

order to ensure that we reach our participation goal

of 70% we lowered our minimum suggested dona-

tion from $50 to $20.

To sweeten the deal, the SGA will con-

tribute $100 to the fund for each percentage point

above 50% participation. So that means if 70% of

the graduating class donates to the fund the SGA

will contribute $2000.

SAIS has also agreed to match all student

contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. As of

April 12th we had reached a 20% participation rate

and about $6500 in donations.

Starting in the fall of 2007 the Class of 2007

Scholarship Fund will pay out $1500 annually,

which will be matched by a $3500 contribution by

SAIS, in order to award a scholarship of $5000

every year to an incoming SAIS student.

Our overall goal is to raise $100,000, which

we plan to do by 2017. Once we raise that amount,

the Class of 2007 Scholarship Fund will reach

“endowment” status and an annual scholarship will

be payable on the interest accrued during the year.

While we are waiting to achieve “endow-

ment” status, any interest generated will be plowed

back into the Class of 2007 Scholarship Fund.

So, now that you understand the financial

structure of the class gift, don’t you think it’s time

you went and made your donation?

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 5

Hello. I am The Watcher.I observe your universe from afar and record what I see. I see you even when you think no one is watching. When you come in and out of a building – I see your embarrass-

ment when the right-hand door of Nitze is locked and you walk right into it. When you think you are alone in the halls – I see you try out that new dance move on the 5th floor

after the cleaning crew has left. When you “check your email” on the computers in the lobby – I saw you looking at porn, you know who you are.

I can only watch and record what I see. I cannot interfere with the affairs of mortals.

There has been a shift in the cosmos. That is why I have chosen to reveal myself to you. A feeding frenzy has taken over the students at SAIS. Where they used to focus on

politics and war, and sometimes the environment, their energies are now being directed elsewhere. They seem to focus all their spare energy on finding and procuring free

food.

Students hang out in hallways like beings possessed. They grasp plastic containers in their hands, their tools in the hunt. Then, when the time is right they move swiftly to

their target with speed and agility like no other beings in your world.

In the presence of food, students begin to morph back into their hunter-gatherer state, grabbing up whatever they can find with reckless abandon. So intent are they on the

hunt and reward that they take no notice of their surroundings, oblivious to ongoing events, important speakers and even news cameras.

It often begins with one alert student, who picks up on the scent of the free turkey sandwiches or Spanish rice, but they soon call others of their kind. Soon the area is

swamped with students grabbing as much as they can possibly carry. They eat until the room has been picked clean, but their appetite is ravenous and cannot be sated. They

then move on to other floors in search of more food.

Their mission is to eat. In past years, students might take food to the homeless, or even leave it to be eaten by the actual event participants themselves. No more. Now they

are controlled by the need for free food. Their lives have become about the hunt and the reward.

I am The Watcher. I can only watch.

Each semester gets us

pondering questions such as

which way the supply and

demand curves slope and the

difference between a presiden-

tial and parliamentary system.

But the end of the spring

semester brings up a much

thornier question:

Did this year suck?

Or was it a success?

A successful year

would be one that achieved

the three basic goals of a grad

student’s life: Academic

achievement, professional

advancement, and of course a

hot relationship. As the end of

the year approaches, how

many SAIS students can say

they achieved these objec-

tives? Come commencement

hour, will there be tears of joy

– or pathetic puddles of

regret?

This reporter’s inves-

tigation into the

grades/job/babe balance was

inspired by his own explicit

prioritization between them in

autumn, which set the tone for

what I hoped to achieve dur-

ing the year (hint – in reverse

order). Having established my

own goals for the year, I want-

ed to write about how other

students prioritize among

these objectives in working

towards a “successful” school

year.

What I found is that

most students respond with a

striking antipathy to such

explicit planning.

“SAIS is about having

a great experience, taking it as

it comes” insisted Chris

Saunders. “Any guy who goes

on a mission to focus solely on

jobs, grades, or girls would

either be a jerk, a nerd, or a

sleaze.”

This reporter chose

not to determine which one

applied to himself.

Further resistance to

my priority-setting idea fol-

lowed.

Tanja Faller noted that

SAIS gals who actively

searched for love consistently

whiffed.

“Your question is

flawed,” agreed Junko Saito.

“You can’t just decide to get a

girlfriend. It’s 80%

luck…50% luck, if you

account for looks.” Pleased to

discover that SAIS females

were only 30% about the

superficial booty, it was

nonetheless disheartening to

have no article.

This reporter decided

to seek expert help.

“Certainly, if a student

needs assistance in prioritizing

goals, we are here for them,”

offered Michael McKenzie.

But would Career

Services throw a rope to those

lonely in love? “Uh…We’re

probably more qualified to

give, you know…job advice,”

McKenzie replied.

This reporter then

ventured higher up the admin-

istration food chain.

“The Dean and I have

seen students in tears,” admit-

ted an administrative assistant.

“SAIS students are under a lot

of pressure.”

Back in the lobby,

Jankowsky’s morbid assess-

ment echoed in this reporter’s

head as raccoon-eyed students

listlessly sifted through cookie

hour crumbs.

One of these wounded

warriors was Martin Oswald,

who admitted to boldly

attempting to achieve the

grades/jobs/girl trifecta over

the course of a single week of

spring break in Shanghai. He

didn’t bag the gal, and

“screwed up three take-home

midterms.” He was, however,

offered two teaching positions

(not teaching English!).

Oswald’s bittersweet

success spurred on this

reporter’s investigation. Was

success on all three fronts at

SAIS some sort of ‘Impossible

Trinity?’

“Absolutely. It’s an

unachievable balance. And it’s

the administration’s fault!”

cried a frothing Bologna

returnee, speaking on condi-

tion of anonymity.

Matthias Feldmann

agrees that the three cannot be

pursued simultaneously, say-

ing that the black hole of

schoolwork kept him from

sowing his oats. “I’d trade in a

few grades for a few girls,”

Feldmann conceded.

While Bradley Lyon

concurs that trade-offs are

necessary (he placed econom-

ics coursework first, followed

by social life, and said the job

search will “be overcome in

due time”), he insisted that he

has no regrets, and believes

that most SAIS students are

happy with how they spent

their time this year.

Nora Sohnen focused

on grades first semester, but

says that “the pendulum has

swung.” When prodded to

reveal whether she’s spending

her time gettin’ busy on

Monster.com or with Mr.

Right, she cryptically noted

that she’s “not graduating any-

time soon.”

Nikki Duncan also

placed grades as top priority

last semester, but notes that

“judging from recent

midterms, things are now

quite the opposite.” She fears

that the juggling of

grades/job/babe (or dude)

might be a zero-sum game, but

noted that a relationship “can

really be a stress reliever.”

This reporter was not

certain what Duncan meant by

‘stress relief,’ but was

nonetheless unable to concen-

trate on the rest of the inter-

view, wondering if it is too

late in the game to go for

‘babe?’

“Are you kidding?

The last month of school is

your best chance for booty!”

insists Matt Marolla, alluding

to the existence of a certain

“desperation dynamic” for

departing students.

Career Services’

McKenzie indicates that des-

perate job seekers should keep

the faith as well. “At this

point, the worst thing is to

give up. It may be time to

reassess where you are, but it

will work out in the end.”

Though few SAIS stu-

dents seem to harbor signifi-

cant regrets about their

achievements over the past

year, they do note that they

have had to sacrifice to

achieve particular goals. And

while most interviewees did

not explicitly prioritize

grades/job/babe last autumn

(and made fun of this reporter

for doing so himself), they did

so in practice, adjusting their

priorities (generally away

from grades) as the year went

on.

Perhaps the only way

to achieve the ‘Impossible

Trinity’ is to follow the advice

of Ken Nold: “Lower stan-

dards to succeed.”

As summer draws

nigh, this revolutionary

method could prove quite

tempting, even for hard-charg-

ing SAIS students.

Andrew Duff is a 2nd year MAcandidate concentrating inStrategic Studies

Good Grades, Dream Job,Hot Babe...

The “Impossible Trinity” of SAIS?By Andrew Duff

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 6

Eliot Cohen The Exit Interview

It was announced early last month that Professor EliotCohen would take leave from his position as Director ofthe Strategic Studies Program to work as Counselor to theState Department. He takes a break from SAIS after morethan 15 years of teaching to fill a position that has beenempty since Philip Zelikow departed earlier this year. Inthis conversation with SAIS first-year Ethan Arnheim,Cohen reflects on his time at SAIS and the development ofthe University. He describes what he hopes to accomplishin his new job and gives an insider’s perspective on work-ing closely with the Secretary of State and changes withingovernment.

Now that students can’t take classes with you, whatcourses would you recommend, and with which pro-fessor?

Well, I think the Strategic Studies courses

are as good as they’ve always been. Dr. Keaney is

going to be teaching Strategy and Policy, and actual-

ly he’s been doing that in summers all along - so that

will remain a great course and students should stick

with it. If Profesor Grygiel is around, there should be

another round of Thucydides and Machiavelli, and

he’s also a great teacher. For the rest of the courses,

War and the Modern World is going into the cooler,

but I’ll bring it out when I return.

Do you plan to return to SAIS? Yes. Absolutely.

You’ve been at SAIS for more than 15 years. How hasit changed in that time, and what direction do yousee the school taking?

Well, I think the school is as good as it was

when I came to it or much better today. We’ve gone

through a major demographic change. There are a lot

of new faculty members. I think we’ve made a won-

derful set of hires. As I think about the tenured fac-

ulty that we’ve brought on during my tenure, each

one seems to me to have added strength to the insti-

tution. If anything, it’s a more collegial place. I think

from an administrative point of view, its much more

efficient. The students were always good. I think that

the students today are the best ever. That’s not just

happy talk. There’s always something of a bell

shaped curve, but the students I’m seeing today are

the best I’ve ever seen. I think the school is doing

phenomenally well. I think I wish we were rolling in

dough, but other than that, I think we’re really in

wonderful shape.

That’s great to hear. I hope that trend continues.I do too. One thing that has really struck me,

even in the travel I’ve already I done for the State

Department...Everywhere I go there are SAIS stu-

dents. In the State Department, in the intelligence

community, in the military. There’s just something

really wonderful about encountering them and see-

ing their enthusiasm. Not only for what they’re

doing, but for the school, and their appreciation of it.

About your job. There’s been a lot written about yournew post - what is something people don’t under-stand about the position?

I think people don’t understand what, in a

way, an idiosyncratic job it is. It’s actually quite old.

The position of counselor has existed over a century.

It has had some very distinguished names associated

with it, but some Secretaries of State have chosen not

to have Counselors. For example, Secretary Powell

did not have a Counselor. The title is Counselor to

the Department of State, not to the Secretary. I’m not

quite sure why that’s the case. George Kennan was

running the policy planning staff when he was

Counselor. That’s now separate - there’s the Director

of Policy Planning. In the past, Counselors took

some responsibilities that are now assigned to the

Undersecretary of Political Affairs. It’s a position

that has shifted around alot in the past. I think the key

to understanding it is that you’re really there to sup-

port the Secretary and the other senior people. You

have no statutory or set of responsibilities in the

same way that, say, the regional bureaus do. If you’re

running EUR [Bureau of European and Eurasian

Affairs], your job is running relations with Europe.

You can define the job differently or define the job

for you differently. I think probably the most impor-

tant thing is that you be seen as someone who can

first tackle issues that go across some of the region-

al bureaus. But, more importantly, that you are some-

body dispassionate and will articulate a view and

will be discreet about it. That’s one of the reasons

why I’m intending to submerge for the next year,

year and a half. Its not an effective position, as far as

I can tell, if you are a very public figure. So I don’t

intend to be a public figure.

To delve further, what would be a typical assignmentthat as Counselor to the Department of State youmight receive? Or do you make your own agenda?

I’m not going into what the Secretary has

already asked me to do, and she has already asked

me to do some things. I guess what I can say because

she’s made it public is that she would like me to be

working at the places where the Defense Department

and the State Department interact and come together.

There’s a whole set of issues there. I’ll presumably

be involved in those. It could be any kind of things -

convening working groups on something, drafting a

policy paper, it could be going on a trip somewhere

and taking a look at things. It really varies a lot. But

part of it also is just fitting into the general policy

process. You know, that’s of course a major sort of

responsibility.

The interaction between government agencies ischanging. State is now cooperating more withDefense, and USAID is becoming increasinglyattached to DOS? What further changes do you thinkare likely? What do you think the overall directionis?

That’s an interesting thing. People some-

times talk about the idea of doing a Goldwater-

Nichols for the interagency world. Goldwater-

Nichols of course being the major reorganization of

the Defense Department in 1986. I don’t know about

that. It certainly strikes me that since 2001 in the

national security field, a lot of the bureaucratic

boundaries that used to exist have been substantially

reduced. That really has struck me quite forcefully,

just in terms of willingness to share information and

so on. I suspect that in the future what we may see

more of is individuals going back and forth between

different agencies and a more routinized interagency

cooperation at a pretty low level. You’re already see-

ing that to some extent in things like the Provincial

Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan and Iraq. I sus-

pect we’re likely to see more of that in the future.

There have already been very substantial changes.

The Pentagon was always a place on the go when I

was there. If you remember after the Cuban Missile

Crisis, the State Department stands up an operations

center that is continually manned and has pretty high

speed communications. One of the first things I did

when I came on board was to take a look at that and

it’s quite an impressive operation. I think you’ll to

see a lot more of that. I don’t know if formal reform

is in the works. I’m not smart enough to know that. I

think you are going to see more and more systemat-

ic interagency cooperation and a lot of personnel

moving back and forth.

More broadly about your job. How would you definesuccess in this post? How will you know at the end ofyour term if you’ve done well, if you’ve accom-plished what you set out to?

As a general proposition, I strongly believe

that there are no policy successes which can be

attributable to a single individual. I also believe, at

least in cases that I’m aware of, some of the greatest

successes is where the hero is unsung, and preferred

it that way. I don’t expect and I don’t want my name

attached to any particular policy move....I would feel

that I will have succeeded if I have given any prob-

lems that come my way the most thorough thinking

through I can do and have delivered my opinions in

a timely and completely candid way to my boss. If I

do that I will have done my bit. She’s ultimately the

principal, and the President is ultimately the boss.

I’m not a decision maker. I’m a counselor, I’m an

adviser. For me, that’s going to be the measure of

success - do I give advice that fits with the time and

in retrospect is sound and timely. There’s no point in

giving advice too late. You’ve got to give it when it’s

required. What they do with it, that is really their

responsibility.

One thing I find curious is what its like to work withfor the Secretary of State. Don’t worry, this isn’t apolicy question. What is it like working for SecretaryRice? I guess you’re on a first-name basis now?

I refer to her as Madame Secretary. That’s

the appropriate title, so that’s what I call her by.

She’s actually, I think, rather easy to work for. She’s

very open. Her training is in academe, as you know,

so she’s somebody quite comfortable with hearing

divergent views. She’s somebody who is a very good

listener. The truth is I think I’m really going to enjoy

working for her. I have a lot of respect for her. So far

I’ve really enjoyed it a lot.

Do you sense that the mood in those office haschanged - I know you’ve been talking to her for sometime - has it changed as popularity has declined andsupport for the administration has changed?

Obviously, people are aware of what’s going

on outside. How could they not be? But they’re so

consumed with all kinds of challenges going on right

now that people don’t have all that much time to fret

about those sorts of things. So people...they’re

aware, certainly, they’d have to be foolish not to be.

But that’s not what people are thinking about most.

They’re mainly thinking about what is the next set of

continued on page 7

“I think the studentstoday are the best ever.That’s not just happy

talk.”

Special Pull-Out SectionSAIS 2006-2007

We’re gonna need a montage. . .

Mid

term

Ele

ctions

“The strength of SAIS is in its people. The faculty andstudents alike are bright and interesting, coming from awide range of backgrounds. It is truly an environment thatencourages exchange and learning.” - Dan Lecce, MIPP

US-Korea Institute

“I think the best thing aboutSAIS is the community of intel-lectuals. All day long, I havediscussions about books andspeakers with people who arejust as passionate as I am, butsmarter. The best classes I'vetaken, I walk out feeling like ithas been a privilege to be ableto listen to my classmates andprofessors...I look around andsee so many talented, intelli-gent people, and I really do feelso lucky to be here.” - EricJaffe, MA

Learning:Not just libraries and classrooms

Crisis Simulation

Brz

ezin

ski

Kerry

Trips:SAIS-sponsored vacations

Haiti

Chin

a

“The conflict management trip to Haiti, the group of peo-ple who went and the people we met were not somethingyou could casually put together yourself and not some-thing that I will forget soon. It’s not every day that theheads of all international and national organizations cleartheir schedules to meet with you.” - Elaine Hensle, MA Quantico

Unite

d N

atio

ns

“The whole year atBologna was aunique experience.Pretty fabulous.” - Jessica Hais, MA

Middle East

Sicily Staff Ride

Guatemala

Fun!Happy hours and beyond

“The various performances I've been involved with as aDeadweight Loser and then a Rent Seeker have beena special treat. So was TAing, which I found especiallyrewarding, helping my less quantitative classmates insomething that I found very interesting...What I like iswhat first occured to me when I arrived: namely that Iam pretty much always the least interesting person inevery room I enter. I love that my classmates are suchcool people with such fascinating experiences behindthem, I can only imagine where we will all end up. Thatsaid the vibe is never one of entitlement or alreadyknowing better. People are generally very humble andcurious, which is what brought them here, and verysocially competent, which makes me think we'll all doquite well on the outside.” - Adam Ross, MA

“I’m going to miss waking up whenever I want.Class or no class - I get out of bed when I'mgood and ready...Everyone needs to take astep back and realize that you are not thatbusy, you dont have that much work to do, andyes you do have time just to chill out.” - JonRaviv, MA

More Fun at Mr. SAIS

A long, long time agoI can still remember How Pre-Term used to make mesmileAnd I knew when I came to SAISThat studying here would be realniceAnd maybe I’d be happy for a while

But Bonnie Wilson made me shiverWith every speech that she deliv-eredChris Forster played a cricket matchMike McKenzie has a soul patch

I can’t remember if I criedWhen I saw the Berlin Wall outsideSomething touched me deep insideCause’ I’m a future SAIS alumni

CHORUS::So bye bye future SAIS alumniYou don’t even have a job yet butyou’re sure gonna tryYou’re leavin’ school so kiss yourbackpacks goodbyeSingin’ I’m a future SAIS alumni; I’ma future SAIS alumni

Did you go to Macro classAnd do you still have 2 cores topassIf the red book tells you soNow do you believe in construc-tivism?Did you take Comparative NationalSystems?Can you teach me why the interestrate is low?

Well I know that Nadav makes hishomeIn the 8th floor kitchen, up in RomeHe scrounges SAIS for foodWhat a cool Israeli dude!

Oh Dean John Harrington teachesmeWith his god-damned calculus DVDI know that 1 plus 2 is 3Cause’ I’m a future SAIS alumni

We started singin’CHORUS

Now in econ class we understandThe workings of supply and demandWith a textbook that nobody wantsto read

And the finance kids think they’rereally coolBut they should’ve just gone to busi-ness school

An MBA is all they really need

Oh and while we studied the bal-ance of powerI had a beer at happy hourThai names puzzle meLike Yanichnat and Kullawee

Fukuyama knows that he’s a starToo bad he’s not tall enough toreach the barThe end of history is where we areCause’ we’re future SAIS alumni.

We were singin’CHORUS

Alex C. Fleming is a SAIS DJAnd John McLaughlin’s from theCIAMy cousin here is Erica SheinSo come on, can you tell me, is bid-ding fair?What’s the deal with Shakti’s hair?Joe Bubman likes to call me TheRep

If a SAIS girl wants to go out withmeShe’s gotta pass her oral proficiencyThe ladies want romanceOh, when they see Dan Daltondance

And everybody’s askin’, yes it’s trueWhat the hell kind of name is SarahGloo?I’ll bet she’s thinkin’ the same thingtooCause she’s a future SAIS alumni

Everybody sing itCHORUS

I met a kid, a TA guyA BAMA student named Neil ShenaiHe’s a special kind of ladAnd it doesn’t take much imagina-tionTo know that we’ve got grade infla-tionWhen a B minus is really bad

Eliot Cohen’s leavin’ SAISTo work for Condoleezza RiceWe’ll do our best to get byBut we’re gonna miss his bow tie

And 6 months from graduation dayOur FAFSA loans we must repayBut it’s alright because then we cansayThat we’re SAIS alumni

CHORUS

“Future SAIS Alumni”(To the tune of American Pie)

Written and Performed by David Michaels

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 7

Ted BakerReflections

It was going to be a big

Tuesday for Felisa Neuringer Klubes,

SAIS’s Director of Public Relations.

That morning, former Clinton negotia-

tor Dennis Ross was speaking in

Professor Zartman’s class and in the

evening then–National Security

Advisor Condoleezza Rice was sched-

uled to speak at an event.

But this September morning

was different. While Ross was speak-

ing, Klubes received word from her

assistant that a plane had crashed into

the World Trade Center.

Throughout the rest of the day,

Klubes and Dean Baker expertly han-

dled the school’s response to the ter-

rorist attacks. They canceled Secretary

Rice’s visit while keeping the media

and the students informed about the

developments at the school, and kept

the school buildings open for students

to congregate around the TVs.

Klubes says that throughout

the crisis, Dean Baker’s handling of

the situation made everyone’s jobs

much easier in coordinating the

school’s response and in helping the

students through the day.

“The whole time he stayed

very calm and collected,” she said.

That September morning

demonstrated how even under the most

extraordinary circumstances Dean

Baker has served SAIS with a sense of

professionalism, all the while being

completely sensitive to the needs of

students.

And now, after fourteen years

of service, Dean Ted Baker will be

stepping down as Senior Associate

Dean of Finance and Administration

and taking a half-time position on June

30. While he will retain the title of

Senior Associate Dean, he will not

have the Finance and Administration

portfolio, which will free him to pur-

sue other projects that he has not had

time to complete in his current posi-

tion.

SAIS is actively looking to fill

Dean Baker’s position but it is hard to

imagine anyone could fill it with the

energy and enthusiasm that Dean

Baker has.

During his tenure at SAIS,

Dean Baker has been instrumental in

refurbishing both the Nitze and Rome

buildings, setting up the Bernstein

Offit building, and changing SAIS’s

academic structure in order to allow

more professors in the larger pro-

grams.

He also contributed to the for-

mation of the South East Asia and

South Asia programs as well as the

revamping of the International

Development program, and enabled

the founding of research projects such

as the Central Asian-Caucus Institute,

the Protection Project, the

International Reporting project and the

Center for Transatlantic Relations.

“Everywhere you look at

SAIS, you see the infrastructure that he

found the money to finance and care-

fully oversaw to get,” Dean Einhorn

said about him.

“A Quintessential Gentleman”

Describing his responsibilities

in finance, infrastructure, technology,

human resources, communications, the

library and other school activities,

however, still does little justice to what

Dean Baker has done for the school.

“He’s helped guide the school

to an extent that’s unusual for a dean of

finance and administration.” Dean

Wilson said. “It’s inherently a vital

position but he’s so much more than

that.”

Those who’ve worked with

him all mentioned his desire to be

involved with everything and every-

one. If he wasn’t working on a project

directly, he was encouraging and

inspiring those around him to put their

hearts and souls into their work.

“Everything good that hap-

pens at SAIS has had Dean Baker’s

participation in cheering it on, or spon-

soring it or just making it possible,”

Dean Einhorn said.

Those who worked with him

have described him as a wonderful

friend and a strong leader. Nearly all of

them commented on his character.

“He’s a quintessential gentle-

man,” Dean Wilson said of him.

Discipline and a Sense of Service

Before coming to SAIS, Dean

Baker was a Rear Admiral in the Navy

where he served for 35 years, which no

doubt contributed to his leadership

skills.

“He brought with him [from

the Navy] discipline and a sense of

service that have been the hallmark of

his career,” according to Dean Wilson.

During the Lebanon Crisis in

1958, he was a midshipman in the

Sixth Fleet that was sent to Beirut.

Later as he grew in rank, he

was stationed, among other places, in

the Horn of Africa and in the Far East.

He eventually became the Director of

East Asia and the Pacific in the

Defense Department.

In 1972, while in Washington,

he was a Federal Executive Fellow at

the Brookings Institution where he met

a PhD student from Princeton and

SAIS alum named Jessica Einhorn. At

about the same time, he met his wife

Stephanie, one of Dean Einhorn’s

friends and classmates from the SAIS

class of 1970.

With his background in sys-

tems analysis and international policy

SAIS was a logical transition for him.

As the Senior Associate Dean

at SAIS, he finds his role very similar

to his position in the Navy.

His work at SAIS is “a lot like

running a ship,” he says, but with the

added benefit that “you don’t have

worry about running it aground.”

Between retiring from the

Navy and starting at SAIS, he only

took one month of vacation, and he

says that his only regret is that he

should have taken three. However, it’s

fitting that he should say so since one

of his colleagues remarked that it

seems that he never takes a vacation.

A Commitment to his Students

There is a story Dean Baker

likes to tell the faculty and the students

who came to see him about when his

wife asks him how his day was when

he goes home from work.

“If I’ve had three or four meet-

ings with students, I’ll tell her it was a

good day,” he says.

“But if it was just the faculty ...” he

sometimes adds jokingly and trails off.

“His number one priority is

absolutely the students at SAIS,”

Klubes, who has worked with him

since 1998, said.

“There have been a number of

occasions where he was bent over

backwards to make something happen

for the students,” she said.

Dean Baker’s funding has

made a lot of student projects and trips

possible.

“If something is a great expe-

rience for students he makes it hap-

pen,” Klubes adds.

Having a meeting with Dean

Baker, at least for this writer, has

almost always meant talking about

business for five minutes and talking

about his days in the Navy (his stories

about the Horn of Africa inspired my

own trip to Yemen over Spring Break)

or whatever book he happens to be

reading.

According to Klubes, he’s an

avid reader. Almost every book she’s

recommended to him, on any subject,

he’s read.

He also has a great sense of

humor. At faculty holiday theme par-

ties, Dean Baker has been known to goall out in his costumes. One year hewent as the Captain of the SAIS“cruise ship” and another year he wentas the wizard from the Wizard of Oz.

Keeping SAIS’s ReputationWhen asked how he feels

about his job, Dean Baker has threethings to say about it: “A.) I love it. B.)I love it and C.) I love it.”

Though he is cutting down hisresponsibilities with the school, he isno less invested in its success.

“The competition is improv-ing. We should never be satisfied withwhere we are. It takes continuous workto keep our reputation.”

This, he says, is done by con-tinuing to attract excellent students,and by adapting to their current inter-ests and needs.

And considering how hard heworks, even as a part time employee,the school may not be losing as muchas it thinks.

When Dean Baker told his

wife about the change in his employ-

ment status she responded, “You’ve

never done anything half time. This

just means you’re getting half pay.”

Alex Selim is a 1st year MA candidatein Middle East Studies, and an editorof the Observer

By Alex Selim

Cohenmeetings and what decisions have to go up the chain,

and all sorts of things of that kind. But they’re not

spending a whole lot of time thinking about external

pressures. They’re aware of them...but not consumed

by them, not by a long shot.

So the suggestion that Karl Rove is hanging over atFoggy Bottom examining how it will play with theirconstituency is pretty much a myth?

I have yet to detect that. But I haven’t really

been on the job. People are trying to do their best for

the country. That really is what strikes me. One thing

one realizes is just how much stuff is going on at any

given time. The State Department has an extremely

wide remit. That’s one of the things that is quite

impressive. Whether it’s some conflict in Africa,

trade negotiation, human rights issues somewhere,

all this stuff ends up somehow on the desk of the

State Department. They really have alot of stuff on

their plate.

Thanks for your time....I hope we can do this again

when you come back to SAIS and give some talksabout your time in government.

I've got a feeling that while I'm away I may

be invited to give a talk at...Mr. McLaughlin's

Defense of the Dark Arts Seminar about what I've

learned about process, which is really quite fascinat-

ing.

Ethan Arnheim is a 1st year MA candidate inInternational Development

continued from page 6

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 8

SAIS in Crisis: Sim 2007The weekend before midterms,

while most of you were studying like mad,

a group of brave students gathered in Rome

to take on the monumental task of running

the world, and to find out what happens

when SAIS-ers stop being polite and start

getting real.

Welcome to Crisis Sim 2007.

The simulation involved nearly 80

players representing 22 countries (including

the Palestinian Authority), 5 international

organizations and the media, plus Al Qaeda

spokesman Marollahammed, who roamed

the halls throughout the weekend looking for

targets. All this was coordinated by a 6

member “control” team who planned the

entire simulation and then spent the week-

end making sure things stayed on track.

The annual crisis simulation grows

out of a class offered every year, in which the

students who will become the control team

learn how to manage this immense task.

This year they had visits from experts at

RAND, the Department of Defense, the

New York Times, the NSC and a former

Presidential advisor who spoke to the team

about the various aspects of putting together

a simulation.

According to control member Phil

Reiner, “Our goal in the simulation was to

answer questions: what does the internation-

al community do when a nuclear armed state

falls apart? How do countries share intelli-

gence? What will the international commu-

nity do with about a crisis in Africa? What is

the decision-making process and how does

it work under duress?”

In the process of answering those

questions we endured long hours (about 17

hours in total) and early mornings (9 am on

a weekend!!!!), and consumed an obscene

amount of donuts and coffee (not so differ-

ent from real world politics I guess).

This proved too much for some

participants; a select few didn’t quite make it

through the entire simulation. Saudi king

Omar Itum was reported MIA for most of

Saturday morning (second-in-command

Nadav Davidai refused to confirm reports

that Itum was in bed nursing a hangover, but

we know the truth), and UK Prime Minister

Bertie Troughton buggered off on Sunday,

allegedly to have an affair with Victoria

Beckham, leaving UK “Defence” Minister

Brandon Bryan to run the country in his

stead.

Most of us survived the simulation,

however, largely thanks to a number of

lighthearted moments as only SAIS can pro-

vide.

For example, after control reported

that the PRC had accidentally killed some

Japanese fishermen, the Japan team released

an official government statement: “Japan

would also like to offer China, free of charge,

a shipment of our latest high definition

binoculars (since we are, as China rightly

pointed out, brilliant at technical ‘gadgetry’)

that will greatly improve the vision of

Chinese soldiers.” The China team, in a sim-

ilar spirit, chose to defend itself with nuclear-

armed pandas in the last seconds of the sim-

ulation.

The Iran team also had a number of

prize moments, offering “vowels, possibly

diphthongs, to Rpblk Srpsk” and executing

a last minute rocket launch, which not only

“broadcast the holy Quran as it passed over

Europe and North America”, but also “deto-

nated in [sic] a shower of confetti in space 50

miles above the American state of Iowa

approximately 30 minutes after launch.”

But the simulation was also, and

primarily, deadly serious as we tested our

ability to cope with global crisis in an unpre-

dictable world.

A number of major crises emerged

throughout the course of the weekend.

Radiation was detected after a terrorist group

attacked the US base in Djibouti, killing US,

French and German citizens. While in Latin

America, Colombia and Venezuela worked

on a number of issues that threatened

regional stability, breaking off diplomatic

contact at a few critical points.

The crisis that ended up taking

center stage was the death of Pakistani

President Musharraf, which caused Pakistan

to disintegrate rapidly. A General Majeed,

played by Josh White, took over the coun-

try’s leadership and the simulation ended

with US troops, under the NATO flag,

invading Pakistan to secure its nuclear facil-

ities.

Control member Elaine Hensle

says, “I think the most telling moment in the

entire simulation came when [US President

Chris] Wendell was on the phone to Majeed

and we had him up on the screen in the con-

trol room. They were talking about nuclear

weapons and precedents when Wendell said,

‘We’ve never dealt with questions about the

command and control of nukes before; there

is no precedent here.’ The control room let

out collective cheer. It showed that the play-

ers actually got it.”

Some of the countries played their

roles like champs. Anny “Kim Jong-Il” Vu

was just as attention-hungry and unpre-

dictable as the real thing. When she was

feeling ignored at the Six Party Talks, she

decided to lob a missile over Japan and con-

duct a missile test on the China border. The

Iran team also stepped easily into their role,

proving to be a suspicious, duplicitous and

conniving bunch.

According to control member

Steven Goode, “The personalities of the

team leaders were extremely important. We

knew an Iranian team led by Henry Nuzum

and Chris Forster would be very strong, but

it turned out to be even more dynamic than

I had anticipated.”

There were some surprising and

exciting moments. Most notably, UK

Foreign Minister Tarig Hilal spearheaded a

Middle East peace process that resulted in a

comprehensive peace agreement between

Israel and the entire Arab world.

“Tarig’s Middle East deal was the

biggest surprise of the simulation, and I think

most of us (those that didn’t leave the con-

trol room) didn’t even get to witness the

negotiation process, which was really amaz-

ing and innovative,” says control member

Monika Kelemen. “Tarig rocked the whole

simulation by actually getting a Middle East

Peace Accord.”

But some of the smaller playeres

were just trying to stave off boredom as they

found themselves a bit marginalized in the

simulation. Andrew Pleininger’s Kenya

launched what the media team came to jok-

ingly call his “great works agenda,” creating

a civil service corps and hiring Frank Weiss

as Corruption Czar.

IAEA Director-General Alex

Fleming, meanwhile, spent the simulation

trying to garner support for the Iranian dele-

gation’s proposal to replace the NPT with

the Treaty for the Prevention of Nuclear

Proliferation, or TPNP (pronounced tip-nip),

a move which eventually got him fired by

the IAEA Board of Governors.

At one point, Indian President

Anthony Diaz told his delegation that TPNP

was likely the result of Nuzum’s inordinate

fondness for good acronyms.

When all was said-and-done, our

performance in the simulation did not speak

particularly well for SAIS students’ability to

run the world in the future.

As control member Claire

Stockman put it in the post-simulation

debrief Sunday afternoon, “Our goal was to

see if you could deal with the problem of a

failing nuclear state in the midst of other

global crises. The answer, we found, is no.”

“In the end,” Reiner notes, “People

did what we expected them to do, which was

lead Pakistan into a military conflict and lose

control of the nuclear weapons to radical

elements in the process. Somewhat unset-

tling when you think about it.” He adds, “I

think people have much to learn, in terms of

how to speak in diplomatic situations, how

to strategize, how to keep a broad perspec-

tive in the midst of a chaotic situation, but

also be able to focus in the strongest

resources on the biggest threats at the same

time.”

So maybe we’re not ready to run

the real world quite yet. But if anyone’s

looking for a few first-rate men (or women)

to wreak a little havoc, or come up with

some good acronyms, we know who to rec-

ommend.

Jessica Stahl is a 1st year MA candidate inConflict Management, and an editor of theObserver

By Jessica Stahl

Professional DevelopmentCurrent and future makeovers at Career ServicesBy Arthur Lord

As part of an ongoing effort to expand the

professional development capabilities and activities

of SAIS, the Career Services office underwent its

biggest physical change in over twelve years when it

reopened this past January in expanded offices. And

the new office space is only the first of many steps

aimed at helping all SAIS students develop more

effective professional growth strategies, according to

Director Ron Lambert.

The expanded and updated office came as a

surprise to many students – particularly the ones

looking for the Registrar’s Office, which used to

reside next door to Career Services.

Lambert explains that this major renovation

was motivated by a SAIS-wide effort led by Dean

Ted Baker to “create better spaces for students, staff,

and faculty.”

With the acquisition of a new floor in the

Bernstein-Offit Building, the Economics Department

moved en masse, leaving room for internal restruc-

turing within the Nitze main campus building.

Career Services took over the former Registrar’s

office, and after significant construction turned it

into a new, sleek, and professional office.

Even though Career Services staff was

forced to work out of classrooms for 2 months as a

result of the construction project, their new space –

which will be complete once a glass wall enclosing

the Career Services classroom is installed – provides

a timely facelift to SAIS Career Services at a time

when competition with other international relations

graduate school programs is increasing.

In addition to the more professional looking

office suite, Career Services has also added a dedi-

cated interview room and now hosts the Alumni

Relations office within its suite, though the Director

of Alumni Relations continues to report to the

Associate Dean for Development and Alumni

Relations, Amir Pasic.

Career Services human capital upgrades

have complemented the physical upgrades, Martina

Leinz joined the staff in November to coordinate the

Professional Skills Course program and Collen

McCusker came on in January to fill a vacant coun-

seling position, bringing the Career Services staff to

6 full time and one half-time.

Increased staff resources have allowed for

Career Services to embark on an ambitious new plan

to enhance employer outreach, focusing on develop-

ing and cultivating alumni and recruitment office

relations with the top 200 SAIS employers in the pri-

vate, public, multilateral organization, and NGO

realm.

The office overhaul, notes Lambert, is a sig-

nificant milestone for Career Services at SAIS, rem-

iniscing that “when I arrived here [in 1995], Career

Services was incredibly small and under-resourced,”

only able to operate on weekday afternoons and not

offering support to MIPP students or alumni.

continued on page 10

“Iran to offer vowels, possiblydipthongs, to Rpblk Srpsk.”

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 9

Giving It Up for SE AsiaPerhaps no part of the world is

as enticing as Southeast Asia. For

those who have lived or traveled there,

few things seem more important than

returning.

One way that students (and

faculty) in the Southeast Asia depart-

ment stay in touch with the region is by

running volunteer projects in their free

time. They say that it’s a small way to

give back to a place that has given

them a lot more.

Show Ei Tun is from Burma,

and has been volunteering with

Karenni immigrants in America. One

of Condoleezza Rice’s greatest

achievements as Secretary of State so

far has been to allow Karen refugees

forced from their homes in Burma to

be resettled in the United States (they

technically weren’t allowed entry for

years because of links to armed resist-

ance groups).

In one of the world’s most

bizarre social experiments, they have

moved from one of the most squalid

refugee camps in Thailand to rural

North Carolina and upstate New York.

Show said those who speak English

and have found jobs are doing well,

but others are struggling in their new

environment.

Ultimately, she says, what we

need is an American policy toward

Burma that focuses less narrowly on

democracy and human rights, and

more on bringing peace and stability to

her war-torn country.

Professor Welsh works with

SAIS alumni to provide school materi-

als to primary school students in

Burma. Working with local contacts,

they select groups of 20 promising

kids to sponsor, and over the past few

years have supported more than 100 in

five different villages.

Amazingly, for the price of a

cocktail in D.C., a Burmese student

can receive pencils, a backpack, and a

uniform. In parts of the country where

some kids don’t even have shoes, these

simple materials give students a little

extra incentive to go to school.

Professor Welsh and her team

are also planning to give scholarships

to the lucky ones who continue on to

secondary school. Anyone interested in

sponsoring a Burmese student can con-

tact her at: bbwelsh@jhu.edu.

Dominic Nardi and his

Burmese wife Lin are also setting up a

scholarship fund in Burma. They have

requested that all the presents from

their recent wedding be cash dona-

tions, and will use them to fund two

students from 2nd grade on through

college, even if they come study in

America (Dom is doing a dual degree

at Georgetown Law, so financing this

generous endeavor shouldn’t be too

difficult). The only conditions are that

the students maintain good grades and

perform some community service.

Volunteering to teach English

in Thailand made such an impression

on me that I set up a project to bring

other Americans over (www.volun-

thai.com). While at SAIS I still do the

recruiting online, and my in-laws run

the program over there. We get around

100 volunteers every year, who live

with a rural Thai family and teach in

the local school.

We recently had a family from

New Hampshire whose 7-year-old

daughter summed up the experience

nicely on their travel blog: “If you do

not speak someone’s language you can

just keep smiling and make your face

say ‘I like you. Will you be my friend?

Let’s play together!’”

She also surprised her parents

by being a great teacher’s aide and eat-

ing lots of fried crickets. Our typical

volunteer is in their 20’s and recently

graduated from college, and over

50,000 Thai students have studied

English with Volunthai since 1999.

At a recent talk in Kenney

Auditorium, I looked around at our

class and wondered where we’re all

heading. How many millions will we

collectively be making in ten years?

Will the world as we know it exist for

our children, and for children around

the world? Will we fall into the trap

our parents’ generation fell into, and

only think about ourselves? Or will we

utilize the precious opportunity that a

SAIS degree bestows upon us and

change the world for the better?

Volunteering, in any form, can connect

us to the underlying realities of life in

a world that seems to spin faster and

faster, out of control.

Michael Anderson is a 1st year MA candi-date concentrating in SE Asia Studies

“And the finance kids think they’re really cool

But they should’ve just gone to business school…”

So were the words crooned by a contender for the

venerable Mr. SAIS crown; a stanza that received a partic-

ularly large ovation from the crowd in his song to the tune

of American Pie. These words and the reaction they

engendered point to the misunderstandings about finance-

minded students here at SAIS.

But why gang up on the finance folks? What is

the source of this distaste for the “finance kids”? Why do

the non-finance types find comfort in the fact that they are

“keeping it real” and not “selling out” by choosing

Economics of Public Policy over Global Investment

Management?

Perhaps it is a defense mechanism employed by

an increasingly rare breed: a non-finance SAIS student.

Undoubtedly, the popularity of finance courses

and jobs has increased over the past five years. This

semester, every finance course except for one went to bid,

and it is hard to deny that the allure of high-paid jobs and

exciting workflow outshines the low-paid boredom of its

public sector alternatives.

Yet the allure of an education in finance and its

pay-offs does not mean that all these students who study

finance at SAIS “should’ve just gone to business school,”

where they could focus exclusively on these topics, and

expect an easier transition into a post-school career.

The truth is that they should not have. In terms

of pure academics, the finance program here is as robust

as any found at any MBA program and the quality of

finance instructors is unquestioned.

It is in the realm of jobs that justifying a SAIS

“finance” education over business school becomes tricky.

We take finance classes here, we pass finance

classes here, we spend literally 10 straight weeks doing

problem sets and modeling. But what is it all for?

As is the case every April and May, one gets the

strange feeling that “it” is all for the post-graduation job.

Because when it comes to earning a “terminal” Master’s

degree, not everything we do in our two short years here

can be purely “academic.”

Our beloved second-years are now grouped into

two distinct groups: the haves and have-nots. And out of

the latter, every last one of them is now more concerned

with career than class.

And rightfully so. Loans to pay off, lifestyle to

support – you’re not a student anymore so you must be

doing something with your life. Finance fills the gap;

makes you feel you’re learning something tangible. When

it comes to defending doing the “finance thing,” simple

utility comes to mind. Finance classes mean finance jobs.

Right?

Wrong. Taking every class at the school with a

course-name including the word “finance,” or some deri-

vation thereof, does not secure you anything anywhere.

And the Professors are quick to tell you that. Anyone who

has taken a course with Professors Bodnar or Leeds knows

that day one includes introductions followed by a brief yet

thoroughly disheartening discussion about how you will

have a tough time finding work in “finance,” “private

equity,” or whatever industry is currently enjoying a hot

streak.

And as far as numbers go, we can’t hold a candle

to MBA programs. Every major bank recruits at Wharton,

CBS, or Harvard. Perhaps one bank bothers to come to

SAIS, and even then the interviews yield little.

These gaps do not exist for lack of effort.

Everyone from Career Services to the finance department

to the students themselves is putting in a lot of effort to

sell the SAIS name, and people do break through.

Whether it is the IFC, the World Bank, the Fed, or the

FRBNY, we have several alumni working in some pretty

prestigious financial institutions. Even the venerable

“bulge bracket” investment banks have some SAIS-ers

running around their halls. But not many. Indeed, the bat-

tle to get into these institutions, and especially into the

major firms, is uphill all the way.

The biggest obstacle to get over is the firm

itself. Big banks specialize in one thing: minimizing

risk. They make money, and lots of it – but they do it

in a very regimented and established way that resists

significant change.

It’s also cheaper and more efficient for big

banks to recruit only at top MBA programs – there

are plenty of talented individuals there who will do

just fine, if not extremely well at these banks. There

is little track record in terms of success with our

school to rationalize the expense and time it would

take to tap SAIS specifically.

In addition, our track record may even work

against us. When it comes to entry-level analyst

positions, banks assume that the typical SAIS stu-

dent is overqualified and will not be content with the

job given to them. Numerous SAIS graduates have

secured analyst positions, but have become suffi-

ciently fed up to jump ship after only a year (read:

after their bonus check clears). With so many other

options available to the SAIS graduate, the bank is

uneasy about relying on them for a two-year commit-

ment.

Financial Seals of ApprovalBy Jonathan Raviv

continued on page10

By Michael Anderson

Volunthai’s youngest volunteer ever,

recently hired to teach macro at SAIS

If this is your future life, would a stint at business

school have been more useful than your 2 years at

SAIS?

Michael with Karenni displaced persons on the Burmese border

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 10

FinanceAnd in the unlikely event that you can

convince them that you will be happy with your

analyst lot, banks still won’t be interested

because there are a lot of other kids who fit the

mold better than you do. And the mold is simple:

ambitious, smart, academically accomplished,

and the king requirement of all: recently graduated.

When it comes to gunning for the more

advanced associate positions, SAIS students sim-

ply can not compete with MBAs. Yes, we have a

commensurate academic training, but on average

we lack the background. An MBA is a SAIS stu-

dent with relevant work experience.

Looking at this experience gap and the need for

recruiting efficiency, the bank’s choice is clear.

And our students know this, and are prepared to

fight harder to break in. They also know that the

tools they pick up in their classes, both finance

and politics, are useful, and they market them

during their job search.

Perhaps I would like to see more banks

take the chance. Acknowledge our diversity in

experience and learning, and pit us against any

newly minted MBA. I think that would be a fight

worth watching. We are informed, well-read, and

curious. We can write, we can analyze, and we

can understand. We would make half-decent

bankers, traders, and researchers. But the banks

just don’t know how to take advantage of the

SAIS graduate, and are scared to try.

In finance, as in any industry, there is a

heavy reliance on the past. We scored big on the

PMFs because we have a proven track record

throughout the government. We do well in the

State Department because they know how well

our predecessors have done. Almost every other

person in the international affairs section at the

Treasury Department went to SAIS. Our school is

a seal of approval in those places.

Our class gift this year is a scholarship

endowment that will help future generations to

attain the valuable SAIS education. I propose

another class gift as well: upon graduating, pick

up the slack no matter where you end up. Go into

your job knowing that you are not just represent-

ing yourself, but every future SAIS graduate as

well. This way, we can also help future genera-

tions attain the valuable career benefits that a

SAIS-educated student deserves

Our current class gift will help a future

student go to school. But it requires money on

your part.

This new class gift will help a future

graduate go to work. And they’ll pay you for it, too.

Jon Raviv is a 2nd year MA candidate in StrategicStudies

EU-Phoria in DCJust a little over fifty

years ago, Presidents and Prime

Ministers from the six founding

nations of the European

Community gathered together

in Rome to sign a treaty that

would aspire to an “ever closer

union between the peoples of

Europe,” founded on the princi-

pals of close cooperation

between nation states.

Today, this community

of 6 has grown into a Union of

27 and its anniversary marks a

milestone for perhaps the most

successful international organi-

zation in history.

For our students of

European Studies, there was

only one way to celebrate this:

throw a massive party. The

result of this vision was the gala

event held on the 31st of March

at the Embassy of the Federal

Republic of Germany.

The embassy, a beauti-

ful modern structure situated in

Georgetown, hosted around 300

students of international affairs

and interns from around

Washington, who danced late

into the night, whilst downing

German beer and sausages spe-

cially imported for the occasion.

The embassy itself was decorat-

ed appropriately, with balloons

spelling out the German EU

Presidency logo and parapher-

nalia from all of the member

states of the Union.

The evening started

with two prestigious keynote

speakers, Deputy Chief of

Mission Johannes Haindl from

the German Embassy, and

Deputy Chief of Mission

Angelos Pangratis from the

continued from page 9

By George Turner

Careerscontinued from page 8

These changes may go a ways in improving stu-

dents’ perception of Career Services’ capabilities and com-

petencies, which, like at most graduate schools, tends to be

mixed. A large number of students feel grateful that such a

professional and committed staff make themselves avail-

able to help them prepare for life after SAIS by aiding

them not just in finding jobs but in finding careers. Yet at

the same time, there are ongoing concerns about the

office’s operations.

Philip Reiner has strong praise for the Career

Services office, saying that in his search for a summer job,

“[Career Services counselor] Mike McKenzie was of the

utmost help.”

Tabitha Mallory describes Career Services as

“amazingly professional, helpful, and [with] an abundance

of information; however, they also run their outfit like a

military establishment.”

Saqib Rahim, an aspiring journalist currently

spending his second semester in Bologna, on the other

hand, noted that when he met with a counselor in the fall

“he seemed to be guiding me toward his area of expertise”

instead of what Rahim was really interested in, the world

of journalism.

That said, Rahim reflects that “career counselors

aren’t really supposed to tell you what to do, or to get you

a job. They should just ask you the right questions, to get

you thinking along the right lines.”

Career Services seems well-attuned to how

they’re perceived among the current students and alumni,

providing frequent opportunities for students to give input

on how to be more helpful in their professional develop-

ment, such as course evaluations for their professional

skills workshops and career service staff devoting consid-

erable time to one on one meetings as well as drop in

hours.

Lambert stresses that Career Services will contin-

ue to progress and adapt in order to become an even better

complement to a SAIS education. Looking ahead to the

next five years, Lambert says that Career Services’ biggest

challenge will be to continue to “integrate professional

development more effectively throughout the SAIS expe-

rience – without changing the emphasis on high quality

academics and scholarship that attract students and facul-

ty to SAIS.”

Additionally, Careers Services hopes to work with

its partners in the Bologna and Nanjing campuses to fur-

ther their capabilities, with talk of adding video confer-

ence facilities to the new Career Center office so that

Bologna and Nanjing students can participate in various

DC- based career development opportunities. The new

office in the Nitze building will also be increasingly used

for employer presentations, professional skills workshops,

and career club meetings.

Altogether, this might not mean Career Services

will be able to hand away jobs to all graduates along with

the diplomas they’ll receive on that bright sunshiny May

day, but they will do all they can to make more students

know what they can do throughout their SAIS experience

to develop a better sense of who they are, where they want

to go, and how to get there.

Arthur Lord is a 1st year MA candidate in Strategic Studies

European Commission. They

were followed by a musical per-

formance of European Hymn.

DCM Haindl comment-

ed in particular how pleased and

encouraged he was to see this

initiative coming from and

being organized by students.

Indeed the event itself was initi-

ated by SAIS students Trees

Robijns, along with myself,

Mark Huberty and Syssi

Mahieu.

These four students

spearheaded a committee to

organize the party, contacting

students from other universities

to get them involved. They next

contacted the European

Commission mission in

Washington who put them in

contact with the German

Embassy. The embassy kindly

and generously offered to host

and sponsor the event, and to

incorporate it into their program

of celebrations.

Other Embassies were

also generous in their support,

donating prizes for a raffle and

providing brochures and posters

with which to decorate the

venue.

The idea behind the

event was to bring together stu-

dents from all around

Washington, and with that in

mind 50 tickets each were given

to the policy schools in the area:

Georgetown, GW, American,

George Mason and of course

SAIS. There were also around

fifty interns invited from

European embassies.

In the end a great time

was had by all. During both the

organization process and the

party itself, we built bridges

between institutions and made

new friends. Most importantly,

SAIS showed once again that

we know how to put together a

kicking party.

George Turner is a 2nd year MAcandidate in European Studies.

SA

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Bri

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April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 11

One on One: Dean Einhorn

Dean, you graduated from SAIS in1970. How did you end up here thefirst time around?

SAIS was different then. It

was a much smaller school. I came

from New York City and had graduat-

ed from Barnard College young, at the

age of 19. That was much more com-

mon in those days. I had taken my jun-

ior year at the London School of

Economics when I was 18 years old. It

was my first time away from home,

and in those days we didn’t have cell

phones or email. When you went

abroad you really went abroad. When I

came home, I thought it would be fun

to go abroad for another year. So, I

applied for a Fulbright in Venezuela.

In undergrad, I had been invit-

ed to apply to SAIS. I didn’t know

graduate schools in International

Affairs, but I was impressed with SAIS

and accepted the offer to come. They,

of course, were happy to give me a

deferral to do the Fulbright in

Venezuela.

What made you decide to do theFulbright in Venezuela?

In applying for the Fulbright

in Latin America, I loved skiing, so I

wanted to go to Argentina or Chile. At

Barnard, I was taking a Senior Seminar

on Latin America, and the professor

said to me, “Oh Latin America, you

should go to Venezuela. It’s this great

experiment in democracy, it’s so inter-

esting. You should go there.” It was not

a popular choice for Fulbrights, so I

put it down as my third choice, and

they gave it to me. I was one of 5 peo-

ple who went to Caracas, and P.S. they

don’t ski in Venezuela.

Tell me about your experience as a stu-dent at SAIS.

I was at SAIS from 1968-70,

when I was 21-23 years old. My recol-

lection of SAIS is that we had a won-

derful time, but it was much less rigor-

ous and demanding than it is now. It

was much more about an introduction

to diplomacy, diplomatic history, inter-

national affairs, regional studies, and

economics. The neighborhood wasn’t

so gentrified then, so everyone could

afford to live near the school.

There was a good deal of

warmth and sharing. I didn’t know

much about the campus in Bologna,

where some of the students were. My

two years were much more about get-

ting a sense of what the professions

were like.

It was a lot of reading, a lot of

good learning, certainly a great deal of

grounding in international economics,

but it felt more like it was less focused

on the education and more an introduc-

tion to the whole sensibility of interna-

tional relations as a profession. Then,

afterwards I went to Princeton for a

PhD in Politics on the recommenda-

tion of an economics professor who

said to me that as a woman I should get

the best education that I can get.

What was your favorite class?A great class given by

Edmund Stillman – he wrote books

with William Pfaff. They didn’t think

the world was made up of people with

harmonies of interest, all with good

motivations. He gave a course on

American Foreign Policy or

International Relations and gave great

lectures and wonderful readings. It was

one of the better introductions to a

combination of political philosophy

and international relations.

Who was your favorite professor?I had a great professor of

International Law, Stephen Schwebel

who went on to become the head of the

International Court of Justice. I also

had a professor, Bill Luers, who taught

me Soviet politics. He was later the

Ambassador to Venezuela and

Ambassador to the Czech Republic.

He also brought me over to the State

Department when I was working at the

Department of Treasury.

As a PhD in Politics, how did you geta position with the US Treasury?

Well, I always loved finance,

and I did my thesis on the fight

between the State Department and the

Treasury Department on the “bureau-

cratic politics” of expropriation policy.

Initially, I went into the development

office of Treasury. Then, I got recruit-

ed into the monetary office in time for

the reform of the IMF articles. I loved

the Treasury, and I loved Monetary

Policy.

You had a very extensive career at theWorld Bank, culminating as VicePresident and Treasurer and thenManaging Director. How did youachieve such great success, and whydid you leave?

I had gotten to know the peo-

ple in the Treasury department at the

World Bank, and that was the start of

my 19 years at the institution. The

emphasis of the World Bank Treasury

is on fixed income. When I became

more senior, I oversaw the manage-

ment of the $10BN pension fund. I was

there for the transformation of fixed

income markets. Looking back, it was

technology and globalization that

transformed the financial sector.

As for leaving, I was coming

on 50 years old, and I had been there

close to 20 years. I felt that I didn’t

want to spend the rest of my career in

the position I was in, but I also didn’t

want to switch to another field in the

bank. So, it was time to move on to

something else.

Knowing that I loved mone-

tary policy, the heads of the World

Bank and IMF, and especially Stanley

Fischer (then number two at the IMF)

invited me to become a visiting fellow

in the research department at the IMF

for a year under Chief Economist

Michael Mussa. I was able to think and

read for an entire year about interna-

tional financial architecture.

In introducing Treasury SecretaryHenry Paulson at SAIS, you alluded tohis successful career in the private sec-

tor and now in the public sector, anideal to which many SAIS studentsaspire. You yourself have dedicatedmost of your career to the public sectorand academia, while you currentlyserve on the Time Warner Board ofAdvisors. How have you been able tobalance these divergent paths?

Because I was on the Treasury

side of the World Bank – even though

I was heart and soul working in the

public sector – I was working only

with the cream of the financial private

sector all over the world. So, I always

had one foot in the private sector and

one foot in the public sector. In terms

of boards, I started with nonprofit

boards. It was an appropriate mix since

you couldn’t be on a private sector

board while working at the World

Bank. There, I learned the dynamics

and governance of boards from non-

profits. Later, I was able to join a cor-

porate board, and I find the experience

at Time Warner to be very worthwhile.

What have been some of your majoraccomplishments during your tenure?

I think my deanship is a work

in progress. I share responsibility for

completed tasks with those around me.

What I do hold myself accountable for

is building out the community ties that

help us to do our jobs for the students.

That is the privilege and responsibility

that we have. I know it may sound like

I’m standing on a soapbox, but it’s

true, and it’s what brings me to work

every day.

You began your deanship in 2001,shortly after your predecessor PaulWolfowitz was appointed as US DeputySecretary of Defense under DonaldRumsfeld. Wolfowitz is often associat-ed with neoconservative politics. Doesthe “neocon” image of the school res-onate in the community even six yearsafter Wolfowitz’s departure?

In the early years I heard more

of it. I hear less of it now, and I think

it’s because even in our so-called “neo-

con” community there has been so

much criticism of the war effort, that I

think it has dissipated. I have never

heard anyone say that Paul Wolfowitz

brought politics into the school. He

came from an academic family, and he

really loved the school for what it was,

not as an instrument for something

else. I used to say, “When I come into

the school every day I stand on the

shoulders of my predecessor.” That’s

what you say if you’re in your first

year or second year. Once you’re in

your fifth year, you better not be stand-

ing on anyone else’s shoulders.

When Wolfowitz was Dean, he used tohave 8AM breakfast with students oncea week to build his relationship with

the students. Have you tried to dosomething similar to reach out to stu-dents?

I’ve tried a number of

approaches. First, I had a time when

people could come in to see me, but

barely anyone came. Then, I would go

downstairs once a week. So, the same

four students who read their newspa-

per every morning were stuck talking

to the Dean once a week.

What I’m going to do next

year is have individual occasions with

each of the clubs. That’s going to be a

great way to meet a lot of the students.

Once every two weeks I’ll try to get on

the calendar of a different club and get

to know them. It’s a little bit similar to

the reunions. If you see people where

they’re more passionate, I think you

will have more to talk about.

What do you see as the biggest chal-lenges facing SAIS in the comingyears?

We’ve been doing this big

exercise, “Roll Back the Future”, an

idea that came to us from a wonderful

alum that had a very successful career

at McKinsey. It’s a concept in which

you look out 10 years from now and

decide what you think the competitive

environment is. You identify the chal-

lenges that you’re going to face, how

you would need to be functioning to

thrive in that environment, and then

you roll back the future. By that you

recognize what we need to do in one

year, in five years to get there. In busi-

ness parlance, it starts with a focus on

clients. In educational parlance, you’d

be looking at both the environment of

educational competition and the kind

of students and the needs that they will

have 10 years from now.

We find that the education at

SAIS is very strong and the faculty is

very strong, and what we’re looking

at is how to enhance the whole SAIS

experience. So, instead of having two

surges of 13 weeks, and then all of

these breaks, we will try over time to

have a more continuous experience

from pre-term through to commence-

ment.

Some ideas that we are con-

templating are leadership training as

well as economics during pre-term,

more trips that are of professional

interest during winter or spring break,

short courses by special people who

are only available for a few weeks in

the January break, and enhancing

even more the summer jobs that relate

to the professional experience that

students want to have

So, the whole idea is to try

and build up the infrastructure of the

professional school around the great

academic core that we have.

With the end of the year drawing near, it seemed an appropriate moment to sit down withDean Jessica Einhorn and talk about the past and future of SAIS, as well as the experi-ences that led her here. The Observer’s Jay Lurie visited Dean Einhorn to talk abouteverything from SAIS to Hugo Chavez to Mikhail Baryshnikov. The full interview can befound on our website, www.saisobserver.org, but here are some interesting excerpts:

April/May 2007 THE SAIS OBSERVER Page 12