Congratulations to the Class of 2016!
At the International Relations program commencement ceremony, one student wrote "E' pa' lante que vamos" on her cap, roughly translated to mean "we are going...
On Sunday, June 12, over 140 undergraduate and graduate students celebrated the completion of their degrees from Stanford Global Studies (SGS) programs,
including the Center for African Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, as well as the Ford Dorsey Program in International Policy Studies and the Program in International Relations.
At the International Relations (IR) ceremony, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented students with their diplomas, and SGS Faculty Director Norman Naimark delivered the commencement address. "It’s always wonderful to see parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, and – of course – our students as they graduate and make their way in the world," Naimark said. "We faculty flatter ourselves sometimes that we have helped prepare the path for them. But in fact, our job is much more to help them take advantage of the incredible opportunities available to them at Stanford to learn and to grow, and then get out of their way. They are amazing young people, full of smarts and ambition; no one should doubt in the least that they will make this world a better place, or, at the least, give it a serious try."
Naimark, a Professor of History with a focus on Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia, reflected on the history of the IR program at Stanford, which was founded in 1973 and began offering an undergraduate major in 1975. One of the factors that influenced the rapid growth and interest in the program back then, Naimark explained, was the real committment to the field by faculty and students.
"In the late sixties, there was an intense desire to understand the Vietnam imbroglio and the meaning for international affairs of the Sino-Soviet split," he recounted. "Today, we all want to know how to deal with Iran and North Korea; what to do about Islamist terrorism; how to assess the threat of cyberattacks and global warming; how to think about Putin’s aggressive designs. That mutual concern – students and faculty – motivates all of us to teach these subjects and pursue this major. And we are all learning together. This is not about theory or the abstract, or at least not in the main. It’s about facing the serious challenges to peace and security around the world."
The excitement is still there among students and faculty that was present at the birth of IR as a major, Naimark concluded. "The students sitting out there are problem solvers, just as the original curriculum reformers envisioned. We thank you for sharing your passion for international affairs with us and your commitment to improving the world. We wish you Godspeed in accomplishing your goals; in doing so, you honor us, your families, above all, but also faculty, staff, and the university as a whole."