Campus news in brief
Dietrich College announces opening of the Institute for Politics and Strategy
By the time students return from their summer vacation, the Dietrich Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences will have a new addition: the Institute for Politics and Strategy (IPS).
The IPS, which opens on July 1, will seek to further political science, international relations, national security policy, and grand strategy at the university through research, education, and initiatives across Carnegie Mellon University.
The IPS will be led by Director of the Center for International Relations and Politics Kiron K. Skinner, who also serves as the university’s advisor on national security policy.
Upon opening, the IPS will offer undergraduate students a bachelor of science in international relations and politics, as well as two minors: one in international relations and politics and one in politics and public policy. The IPS will also offer the college’s Washington Semester Program.
For graduates, the IPS will administer the humanities part of the master’s of information technology strategy program.
“The IPS will be a focal point for research on politics, particularly politics in the international arena,” Dietrich College Dean Richard Scheines said in a university news release. “Along with several important scholars from the Pittsburgh office of the RAND Corporation as well as political science departments at several top universities, the work of the IPS will add a critical dimension to Dietrich’s portfolio in humanities and social sciences.”
In addition to its major and minor offerings, the IPS will house the Center for International Relations and Politics and the humanities part of the Institute for Strategic Analysis (ISA).
The ISA, with portions in the College of Engineering and School of Computer Science, aims to provide campus members with “high-level, strategic engagements with the defense, diplomatic and intelligence communities through activities spanning disciplines of several colleges at the university,” according to the news release.
Skinner is the director of both of these programs.
Students receive Goldwater scholarships to pursue science, math, or engineering
Junior biological sciences major Jillian Jaycox and junior materials science and engineering and chemistry double major Joshua Kubiak are recipients of Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships.
They are two of 260 sophomores and juniors chosen from 1,200 nominations for the 2015–16 academic year.
Goldwater Scholars receive up to $7,500 for one or two years to pay for items such as tuition, books, and room and board.
The scholarship was created by the U.S. Congress in the name of Sen. Barry M. Goldwater and is awarded to allow students to study mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.
“Jaycox’s and Kubiak’s recognition as Goldwater Scholars demonstrate the embodiment of a CMU education,” said Jennifer Keating-Miller, associate director of undergraduate research and national fellowships in a university press release. “They are fully deserving of their recognition as Goldwater Scholars. It will be an exciting endeavor to see how their respective academic and personal paths will unfold in the coming years.”
Carnegie Mellon has had 20 Goldwater Scholars, according to the release.