Hartwick Faculty, Students to Pursue Real-World Issues
through State Department Collaboration
Hartwick College has been selected to join the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab, a partnership that harnesses the efforts of students and faculty at a select group of colleges and universities across the country to solve real-world challenges related to foreign policy.
The Diplomacy Lab is a public-private partnership that allows participating institutions to work with the Department of State on various “course-source” research and innovation projects related to foreign policy challenges. Hartwick is one of a select group of over 40 prestigious institutions, including the College of William and Mary, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Oberlin College and Purdue University.
“We are so honored to have been selected to join the Diplomacy Lab,” said Hartwick President Darren Reisberg. “Through this partnership, our students and faculty will have the opportunity to provide solutions to some of society’s most vexing problems. Students will have access to the kind of real-world experiences that are hallmarks of the Hartwick education while also giving them an understanding and awareness of how their respective disciplines can have practical and substantive societal impact.”
Twice a year, the Department of State sends out a list of proposed projects to participating institutions, whose faculty then “bid” on specific project proposals that come from offices across the department and at posts around the globe. As the State Department is responsible for responding to various international issues and challenges, projects could include climate change, democracy and human rights, global health, energy security, gender equality, economic policy, trafficking in persons, food security, and conflict and stabilization. As the scope and issues related to the projects are so broad, faculty in all disciplines are encouraged to participate.
If a bid is approved, the Diplomacy Lab team will begin work under the supervision of a faculty member with expertise in a field related to the project. Students engage directly with State Department officials throughout the semester through video or teleconferences. The final product, determined by the requesting State Department agency, varies across the projects and could include short policy memos, research papers, statistical analyses, or data sets. The information is then considered by the State Department to inform policy change.
“We are grateful to President Reisberg for his continued support and encouragement in pursuing the Diplomacy Lab opportunity,” said Cherilyn Lacy, assistant dean of faculty. “As soon as we found out we had been selected to join the group of participating institutions, he urged us to get right into the bidding process and I am pleased to note that as first-time ‘bidders,’ we’re already in the thick of things, pursuing two projects including post-conflict nation-building in Ukraine and foreign language assessment for diplomats.”
In the coming weeks, the State Department will announce which participating institutions will pursue this fall’s projects. The State Department will release the next round of projects in September for faculty to bid on for spring 2024.
For more information about the Diplomacy Lab, contact Cherilyn Lacy, assistant dean of faculty, at [email protected] or 607-431-4885, and Amy Forster Rothbart, associate professor of political science, at [email protected] or 607-431-4865.
