Coatsworth Outlines SIPA's International Goals in Address

At Wednesday night’s School of International and Public Affairs town hall, Acting Dean John Coatsworth and other administrators discussed the long-term plans of an institution facing a fundamental transition.

SIPA has been preparing for a possible change of face since Dean Lisa Anderson stepped down last year. As the school plans a move into Manhattanville by the end of 2015, administrators and students are contemplating how non-physical aspects of the school should transform.

In his state of SIPA address, Coatsworth said that the move will “permit the school to evolve from dependency to an independent policy school.” He outlined the changes that will come with SIPA’s proposed independence from the administrative auspices of the University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, saying that SIPA would have “more academic autonomy” and its own budget in two to three years. This would remove a layer of bureaucracy from hiring procedures—most public policy schools in the United States run more independently than SIPA currently does, allowing them to hire practitioners who may not have the time or academic research experience necessary to complete the mainstream tenure process. Administrators will sort out the details of the shift during the summer, Coatsworth said in an interview after the event.

SIPA, Coatsworth said, will also be instrumental in facilitating the University’s “Columbia Global Centers,” the offices Columbia plans to open in China, India, Africa, and the Middle East in order to connect Columbia alumni and researchers.

In light of other changes, SIPA administrators have formed a curriculum review committee to evaluate the fit of the school’s 19 concentrations within SIPA’s overall academic architecture. Associate professor Robert Lieberman, who is co-chairing the committee, presented its findings to the students present, adding that he would solicit feedback in the form of a survey. The proposed plan entails reducing the number of concentrations to seven streamlined areas of concrete policy knowledge that “we would like SIPA to be known for,” Lieberman said.

Students would further be able to add specializations to concentrations, which would endow them with added expertise in a particular region or discipline and increase their attractiveness to prospective employers.

Lieberman also said that the SIPA dean search committee has completed its mandate by supplying University President Lee Bollinger with an unranked list of three final candidates. Lieberman said Columbia’s central administrators have reassured him that Bollinger, who must now make the final decision, would like to make the announcement shortly. Coatsworth has said in previous interviews that he would accept if the University offered him the permanent position, but added that he expected someone who is more of a “household name” in public policy to land the position.

While the administration focused on broader changes, students homed in on day-to-day issues. The SIPA Student Association gathered questions from an online discussion board and presented them in a PowerPoint presentation. Hot topics included library hours, bathroom cleanliness, student group registration, course evaluation, and the library’s no-food policy.

“Should we ban toilet paper, given how much of it is strewn around by people using the bathroom?” one PowerPoint question read. “Frankly, I think the no-food policy is a bit silly.”

The administrator in charge of libraries said the no-food policy is University-wide and helps preserve the library’s collection.

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