Swimming Against the Tide: Managing an International University in the Age of Nationalism

Thursday, June 2, 2016
12:00pm to 1:00pm Lunch to Follow
Library of Evans Hall, UC Berkeley (Room 768- 7th Floor Evans) 
John Shattuck
President of Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

John Shattuck, President of the Central European University will discuss “Swimming Against the Tide: Managing an International University in the Age of Nationalism”. There is a growing wave of nationalism in Europe and increasing strains on the European Union caused by fears of terrorism, disagreements over refugees, increasing economic disorder and stagnation, and the rise of populist anti-democratic leaders.  Managing an international university in this environment presents new challenges and opportunities, particularly in light of recent trends in higher education.  Central European University, a U.S. accredited University in Budapest presents a case study of how an international university develops its mission and manages its development in this environment. Join us, as we explore shifting higher education themes and ways to incorporate them into international and domestic institutions. 

Biography

John Shattuck, President of Central European University, has a career that spans more than three decades in higher education, international diplomacy, foreign policy and human rights. Before coming to the Central European University, he was CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a national public affairs center in Boston; and Senior Fellow at Tufts University, where he taught human rights and international relations. Shattuck served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under President Clinton, playing a major role in the establishment by the United Nations of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia; assisting an international coalition under UN authority to restore a democratically-elected government to Haiti; and negotiating the Dayton Peace Agreement and other efforts to end the war in Bosnia. Subsequently he served as US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, working with the Czech government to assist in overhauling the country’s legal system, and with Czech educators to support innovative civic education programs in the country’s schools and universities. In recognition of his human rights leadership, he has received the International Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association of Boston; the Ambassador’s Award from the American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative; and the Tufts University Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award. Prior to his government service, Shattuck was a Vice-President at Harvard University, taught at the Harvard Law School, and was a Research Associate at the Kennedy School of Government.