Stanford Report, October 11, 2006

Interdisciplinary working groups to help shape direction of International Initiative

Stanford's International Initiative has established five new working groups to encourage informal, interdisciplinary dialogue about critical world issues, such as global health and the well-being of children.

According to Catharine Kristian, assistant director for programs at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the objective of the working groups is to gauge whether emerging proposals have enough depth and support to become viable projects. The groups also can develop proposals to establish new programs and solicit funding. Through such efforts, Kristian said, participants will help shape the direction of the International Initiative's focus on the broad themes of peace and security, governance and human well-being. Faculty lead the interdisciplinary discussion groups that meet on a regular basis and are open to all Stanford and visiting faculty, and staff. Graduate students also may contact faculty conveners about participating.

Following are the working groups for the 2006-07 academic year:

Developing Resilience to Non-Traditional Security Threats

Co-Conveners: Anne Kiremidjian and Greg Deierlein, professors of civil and environmental engineering.

Objective: The group will explore the feasibility of establishing a program that would usher in a new era in engineering analysis and design, risk assessment and management, and public policy development to find ways to reduce significantly the impact of potential catastrophes caused by natural and manmade hazards. The program will focus on the development of new technologies and the integration of engineering, socio-economic factors and regulatory policy to prepare for, respond to and recover from catastrophic events. The working group's goal is to identify the necessary components of such a program and to write a formal proposal for approval to start work and obtain initial funding.

International Influences on Non-Domestic Governance

Co-Conveners: Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Michael McFaul, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, associate professor of political science and deputy director of FSI.

Objective: The group will begin an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which external factors can affect domestic institutions of governance. This will incorporate issues of democracy promotion, intentional efforts by authoritarian states to frustrate or block democratization, and semi-intentional efforts to influence domestic governance institutions through economic flows of aid, trade and investment. The long-term goal is to encourage the group or smaller subgroups to investigate new ideas generated through formal research projects.

Human Well-Being

Convener: Paul Wise, the Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society and core faculty member at the Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at FSI.

Objective: This working group has a range of interests, including the well-being of children as it relates to child labor, infectious diseases and civil strife. At 4:15 p.m. Nov. 28, the group will sponsor an event, "Endangered Childhood: Disease, Conflict and Displacement," in the Bechtel Conference Center at Encina Hall. A film, Their Brothers' Keeper: Orphaned by AIDS, will be screened, followed by a panel discussion that will include Stephen Stedman, senior fellow at FSI; Ellen Schell, director of the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance; and Ruthann Richter, media relations director at the School of Medicine. Wise will moderate the discussion. The event is free and open to the public.

International Health Program

Convener: Julie Parsonnet, the George DeForest Barnett Professor of Medicine, professor of health research and policy and senior associate dean for medical education.

Objective: The group plans to draft a proposal establishing a new Stanford international health program that will go beyond the traditional public health focus of existing programs in an effort to solve complex international issues through collaborative research. The new interdisciplinary program will draw on work in diverse areas such as business, finance, economics, law, anthropology, engineering, management sciences, health services research, epidemiology, public policy, political science, biomedical sciences, biology, computer science and education. It also will encompass an educational program that will send students and fellows working with international partners to identify complex problems that require multidisciplinary solutions.

International University Collaboration

Co-Conveners: Khalid Aziz, the Otto N. Miller Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, and Amos Nur, the Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences.

Objective: The group proposes to establish a new kind of international program formally supported by Stanford that would develop institutional collaborations with a few carefully selected academic institutions in developing countries. These collaborations would involve a long-term commitment to provide visiting faculty and support for participation in joint research efforts and possibly a graduate student exchange. The working group's goal is to identify the necessary components of such a program and to develop a formal proposal to begin work and obtain initial funding. The group plans to hold a meeting in early November to finalize the proposal.