Introducing the United Nations and Global Governance Studies Center Fellows  

UN Center Fellows Meeting

The School of Diplomacy recently hosted this semester's first United Nations and Global Governance Studies Center Fellows meeting for students, faculty, and friends of the program. Father Brian Muzás, explained that fellows develop research and engage with students, faculty, and school partners. Each UN Center Fellow was nominated by at least one faculty member and approved by the full faculty. The Fellows are:

Dr. Catherine Tinker, J.D., J.S.D.
Dr. Tinker has taught at the School of Diplomacy since the program's inception in 1997. She founded a non-governmental organization (NGO) recognized by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) called the Tinker Institute on International Law and Organizations. Her background is focused on issues like sustainable development, women's rights, climate change, biodiversity and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030.

Dr. Mary Norton, Ed.M., Ed.D.
A professor emeritus of Felician University, Dr. Norton formerly managed the Center for Global Educational Opportunities and been the recipient of several Fulbright and USAID grants. Her background centers on global health, multilateralism, and the implementation of the SDGs. She chaired the 2010 UN NGO conference, "Advance Global Health: Achieve the MDGs." (The Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, were the predecessors of the current SDGs.)

Rev. Bob Chase
Rev. Chase is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and recent fellow with the School of Diplomacy. He founded Intersections International in 2007, an interfaith initiative of the Collegiate Church of New York intended to unite people across lines of difference. He also co-founded the US-Pakistan Intercultural Coalition (UPIC) in 2011 along with the late Dr. Mumtaz Ahmad of Pakistan. UPIC operates at a grassroots level to increase mutual understanding between the US and Pakistan.

Mr. Joe Donnelly
Mr. Donnelly, the newest UN Center Fellow, has worked closely with the School of Diplomacy for nearly two decades and has been involved at the UN for the last four decades. He recently retired as the Permanent Delegate to the United Nations of Caritas Internationalis, a Catholic NGO that provides disaster relief and development aid across the globe. He also worked extensively on the MDGs and SDGs to ensure that governments, businesses, and individuals, be held accountable for their actions.

Students work with the Center's Fellows on research, internships, programming and more. In addition to working alongside Dr. Tickner, Dr. Norton, Rev. Chase, and Mr. Donnelly, students who become UN Youth Reps are allotted grounds passes that grant access to UN Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York. Of the School's five UN grounds passes, two are held in reserve for UN Youth Representatives who are required to be under 32 years of age. Pre-pandemic, the School of Diplomacy appointed two students, one graduate and one undergraduate, on a rotating basis. Youth Reps used their UN grounds passes to access events at the UNHQ, to learn, and to network at the UN while also representing the School of Diplomacy and increasing its visibility. To be a UN Youth Rep is an opportunity to enhance a student's skill set.

Students can immediately become involved in the UN Center by volunteering to become UN Center Digital Reps. Digi Reps work with the UN Center's Director, Fellows, and Youth Reps to curate and expand the digital presence of the UN Center and the Diplomacy School through the Center's Instagram account, Twitter feed, and blog (named the Permanent Observer).

Mr. Donnelly affirmed, "Many NGOs and UN internships seek Seton Hall interns because of the reputation of this program, this school, the faculty, the advisors and the support system here."

Students who wish to become involved with the work of the UN Center should reach out directly to Father Muzás at [email protected].

Categories: Nation and World