The School of Diplomacy and International Relations (SODIR) is the international affairs school of Seton Hall University, a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in collaboration with the United Nations Association of the United States of America, it was the first school of international relations to be founded after the Cold War. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs.

History

The school was founded in 1997, and welcomed its first class in the Fall of 1998. Among the founding members was its first dean, Ambassador Clay Constantinou, a former U.S. diplomat and graduate of Seton Hall Law. The school was later named in honor of retired Goldman Sachs executive and philanthropist John C. Whitehead, who served as deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan from 1985–89; Whitehead also headed the United Nations Association of the United States of America and was the Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. As the first school of international relations in the post–Cold War era, the Whitehead School was founded with a need to "prepare the next generation of global leaders."

World Leaders Forum

The school hosts lectures as part of its World Leaders Forum. Two previous United Nations Secretaries-General, Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, have participated in the forum, as well as Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams, Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume, President of Israel Shimon Peres, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Liberian peace activist and Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee, United States National Security Advisor Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, and the President of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly Miroslav Lajčák. Other heads of state have included former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations

The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations is an internationally-distributed periodical produced by the school's graduate students. It is indexed by Columbia International Affairs Online, the International Relations and Security Network, Public Affairs Information Service, International Political Science Abstracts, and America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts.

References

  • Official website