The
School of General Studies teamed up with Columbia University’s School
of International and Public Affairs [SIPA] and Hostas Community
College, part of the C.U.N.Y. system, in an unprecedented program
designed to increase the number of Hispanics and minorities in foreign
policy and national security careers. The Foreign Policy and National
Security Training Initiative is affectionately referred to as the
“Serrano Scholars” program, as it is the brainchild of Representative
José Serrano (D-Bronx). Representative Serrano brought the
three schools together to form a program that will allow students
who attend Hostos Community College, which serves primarily Hispanics
and other minorities living in the South Bronx, to complete bachelor’s
degrees at General Studies and obtain master’s degrees from SIPA.
Peter
J. Awn, dean of the School of General Studies, hails the program
as “an innovative public and private partnership” between C.U.N.Y.
and Columbia University. The Serrano Scholars program will establish
relationships between Hostos faculty and Columbia faculty to develop
an academic track for Hostos students with interests in international
relations or public administration. Columbia faculty from The Institute
of Latin American Studies (I.L.A.S.), housed at SIPA, and the School
of Arts and Sciences, will help design courses and seminars that
will include the use of distance-learning technology. Staff from
Columbia and Hostos will develop recruitment materials and design
admission standards for Hostos students.
Students
who are admitted will be called “Serrano Scholars,” and will receive
tuition scholarships at Hostos, General Studies, and SIPA. After
completing two-year associates degrees from Hostos, Serrano Scholars
will be eligible to transfer to General Studies to complete bachelor’s
degrees. In addition, Serrano Scholars will be eligible for domestic
and international internships at the State Department in order to
gain practical experience.
The
Serrano Scholars Program will receive $2,345,000 in federal funding:
from the State Department ($1,000,000), Department of Defense ($750,000),
and Education Department ($595,000). These dollars amount to the
largest external support General Studies has ever received.
Columbia
University Vice President of Government Affairs Ellen Smith says
that a “unique idea that he [Serrano] had…fits well with the Columbia
community…and fits well with both GS and SIPA.” GS has a long history
of enriching the Columbia community by bringing in non-traditional
students, and Smith credits the staff at GS for their work integrating
the program into the school: “Awn, McGee [GS Dean of Students],
and Carlos Porro have done a fabulous job and have been creative
in their approach in how to implement the program.” The Serrano
Scholars Program is scheduled to begin admitting students for the
Fall 2001 academic year at General Studies.
“We
are excited about the prospect of establishing a unique crossover
between a community college and the Ivy League. General Studies
is uniquely positioned to extend this opportunity to highly qualified
minority students,” Dean Awn said.
You can learn more on-line about Hostos at www.hostos.c.u.n.y.edu,
and about SIPA at www.sipa.columbia.edu.
