News

Catherine Bertini, professor of public administration and chair of the international relations program at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will speak this week at the Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP). Bertini will discuss the impact of hunger and poverty on national policies, and the importance of addressing these issues in U.S. government policy. The program is free and open to the public. IRP meets from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville.

Following more than a decade of service to the United Nations, Bertini joined the faculty of the Maxwell School in 2005 as professor of public administration. She teaches courses in humanitarian action, UN management, girls’ education and post-conflict reconstruction, drawing on the vast experience she gained during her years of leadership in public sector management, international organizations, humanitarian relief, nutrition policy and agricultural development.

Bertini’s career spans public service at international, national, state and local levels and includes private sector and foundation experience. She was the driving force behind reform of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), where she was the chief executive for 10 years. During her tenure, WFP’s institutional changes in the area of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability were cited by the United States government and the 36-government board of WFP as a model of UN reform.

She has received honorary degrees from several universities worldwide. Bertini is the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate and was awarded the Gene White Lifetime Achievement Award for Child Nutrition in 2007. She is a member of two US AID advisory committees, a board member of the Stuart Family Foundation, a juror of the Hilton Foundation Humanitarian Prize, and serves on a number of advisory boards and foundations. Currently, she is co-chair of the Global Agriculture Development Initiative for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and chair of the council’s Girls in Rural Economies project.

For more information on this program, call University College of Syracuse University at (315) 443-4846.

The March 3 session of Thursday Morning Roundtable (TMR) will feature Paul Beyer, director of Smart Growth Planning at the New York State Department of State.

Various New York state agencies are involved with the Smart Growth initiative, which is committed to working with localities to use smart, sensible planning to create livable communities, protect our natural resources and promote economic growth. Smart Growth bolsters and complements the state’s overall sustainability agenda.

In his position as director, Beyer oversees the governor’s Smart Growth cabinet, a group of state agencies committed to promoting Smart Growth on the state and local levels in New York. His experience in land use and Smart Growth began when he worked in the New York State Assembly, where he focused on land use, environmental policy and public health policy. Beyer served on the planning board in the Town of Amherst for five years, where he helped develop the town’s comprehensive plan. He also served on the board of directors of Partners for a Livable Western New York, the premier Smart Growth advocacy group in the Buffalo area. Beyer has a law degree from the University at Buffalo.

TMR meets from 8:15-9:15 a.m. at Drumlins, 800 Nottingham Rd. For further information, contact Sandra Barrett, director of community programs, (315) 443-4846.

The Feb. 24 session of Thursday Morning Roundtable (TMR) will feature Miriam Elman, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and one of the faculty research directors of international and intra-state conflicts at the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Elman will present “Beyond the Jasmine Revolution and Tahrir Square: Egypt’s Regime Change and the Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East.”

Elman is also the director of the Project on Democracy in the Middle East (DIME) at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and a member of the advisory board and steering committees for the Judaic Studies Program, the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT) and the Middle Eastern Studies Program.

She received a bachelor’s degree in international relations and English literature, and a master’s degree in international relations from the Hebrew International University of Jerusalem. She also earned a master’s degree in philosophy and a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.

TMR meets from 8:15-9:15 a.m. at Drumlins, 800 Nottingham Road. For further information, contact Sandra Barrett, director of community programs, (315) 443-4846 or visit http://www.yesu.syr.edu/community/tmr. The TMR program is broadcast on WCNY-FM, 91.3 on Sundays at 8 p.m. and at http://www.wcny.org/tmr.

For more information, contact Sandra Barrett, director of community programs, at (315) 443-4846 or visit http://www.yesu.syr.edu/community/tmr. The TMR program is broadcast on WCNY-FM 91.3 on Sundays at 7 p.m. and at http://www.wcny.org/tmr.

Bill Hoffman, member services manager for the Syracuse VA Medical Center, will speak at the Thursday, Feb. 17, meeting of the Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP). Hoffman will discuss programs that are available to veterans, as well as soldiers returning from active military service. The program is free and open to the public. IRP meets from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville.

Hoffman oversees three departments, including the Veteran Service Center, centralized scheduling and transportation. Additionally, he serves as the outreach coordinator for the medical center and the network of facilities throughout Central New York. He serves on the Onondaga County Veterans Advisory Board and the Onondaga County Community College Veterans Advisory Committee. Prior to coming to the Syracuse VA, Hoffman worked for several private sector companies over an 18-year career in sales, marketing and consulting. He is a United States Air Force Veteran and a graduate of Empire State College.

For more information on this program, call University College at (315) 443-4846.