Division of Global Affairs

The Division of Global Affairs
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Newark

The Division of Global Affairs (DGA) was established in 2005 as the successor to the Center for Global Change and Governance, in existence since 1995. In 2007, the Ph.D program at the Division of Global Affairs was ranked fifth in the nation in the Benchmarking Academic Excellence survey of Top Universities in Social and Behavioral Sciences Disciplines for 2006-07. The Division of Global Affairs Ph. D. program in Global Affairs' fifth place ranking was in the combined category of International Affairs and Development.

Housed within the Graduate School of Rutgers University-Newark, the DGA administers graduate programs in global affairs, conducts research on global change and governance, and serves as the focus of the University's outreach to professional communities with global concerns.

At the core of the DGA's concerns is the relationship between globalization, the post-cold war realignment of great-power relations, and the growing role in the promotion and attenuation of conflict of international institutions and non-governmental organizations; international trade, global finance, and transnational corporations; and social movements. The DGA's approach to global affairs is explicitly professional and multidisciplinary, drawing on the research, teaching, and expertise of a distinguished faculty representing a variety of disciplines—anthropology, business, criminal justice, economics, history, law, philosophy, political science, public affairs and administration, and sociology. The DGA's academic agenda is specifically geared to the needs of a world increasingly facing global and local challenges.

International organizations such as the United Nations and its affiliated organizations
Transnational corporations and international financial institutions
Non-governmental organizations
Government agencies
Think tanks and research institutions
University departments and administration
Journalism and media

DGA professors are actively engaged in teaching as well as in research and writing on global affairs. Their research encompasses such issues as biotechnology, business ethics, corporate innovation, economic policy, environmental institutions, genocide, global cities, global diplomacy, global finance, globalization and regionalization, information technology, international migration, international trade, media and propaganda, nationalism, political violence, sustainable development, transnational crime, and war. Reflective of the DGA's global concerns, DGA graduate students hail from a diverse range of cultural, educational, and professional backgrounds. Both faculty and students contribute to making Rutgers-Newark the most diverse major research university in the United States.

The Division of Global Affairs has become a vital participant in the educational and professional life of the New York metropolitan area, northern New Jersey, and the city of Newark. The DGA's outreach to the region's many constituencies and communities—as well as its involvement in the ongoing revival of Newark—builds on its commitment to education and service.

Simon F. Reich, Director, DGA
Simon Reich was Director of the Ford Institute for Human Security (University of Pittsburgh) until July 2008. Dr. Reich (Ph.D., MA, Cornell University) has held a faculty appointment as a Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs University of Pittsburgh since 1987.

Alexander J. Motyl, Deputy Director, DGA
Alexander J. Motyl is also Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Central and East European Studies Program at Rutgers University-Newark. He is the author of six books. More...