2009 was a year of consolidation and growth for RIGS and International Studies at UCI.  We saw our new curriculum go into effect, welcomed additional visiting scholars, hosted a full schedule of research seminars and International Studies Public Forums, and instituted a “Meet the Diplomat Series” in cooperation with the Center for the Study of Democracy. 

We were happy to provide support for two major conferences at UCI in tandem with our affiliated centers: “Critical Approaches to Humanitarianism in Africa,” organized by Cecelia Lynch and the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies and “1989: Twenty Years After” organized by Nina Bandelj and Dorothy Solinger, as well as many other smaller events.   

As 2010 gets underway, we have just awarded grants to two collaborative research projects: “Altruistic Generosity: an international study of its Origins and Political Importance” by Kristin Monroe (political science), David Easton (political science) and Mahtab Jafari (pharmacology) and “Global City Formation in China” by David Smith (sociology) and Jeffrey Wasserstrom (history). 

Finally, our team has expanded.  Graduate student assistants Heidi Haddad, Mark Berlin and Amy Grubb and undergraduate interns Evonne Liew, Nancy Ruiz and Sasha Sabherwal are now working with our program manager, Mike Roesler.  We look forward to a productive year with our 770 undergraduate majors, 50 affiliated graduate students and more than 150 interested faculty members.  Read on for more on their research and accomplishments during 2009.