WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 11, 2010 -- Williams College has announced the acceptance of 19 students into its new Summer Institute in American Foreign Policy.

The students are Matiullah Amin ’12, Afghanistan; Meira Bernstein ’12, Jericho, N.Y.; James Elish ’13, Woodbury, Conn.; Zachary Ferguson ’13, Battle Ground, Wash.; Aaron Freedman, ’12, Carlisle, Mass.; Hannah Hindel ’13, Charlotte, N.C.; Tyler Holden ’13, New York, N.Y.; Joseph Leidy ’13, Burlington, Vt.; Lisa Li ’11, Columbia, Mo.; Mary Anne Ludwig ’12, Baker, W. Va.; Tarun Narasimhan ’13, Decatur, Ga.; Jared Nourse ’11, Marion, Mass.; Cam Nguyen ’12, Vietnam; Isabelle Phelps ’12, Seattle, Wash.; Matthew Piltch ’12, Bryn Mawr, Pa.; Andrew Quinn ’13, Lake Forest, Ill.; William Simmons ’13, Woodbury, Conn.; William Wright ’13, Richmond, Va.; and Jared Zuckerman ’12, White Plains, N.Y.

The rigorous four-week course will include seminars, debates, and crisis simulations. Students will collaborate on projects designed to provide an intellectual foundation in American foreign policy and strategy as well as a deeper understanding of unique challenges faced by policy makers. The institute will run from June 14 to July 9. 

The core faculty for the summer program consists of James McAllister, professor of political science and chair of leadership studies; Michael MacDonald, the Frederick L. Schuman Professor of International Relations, and Paul MacDonald, assistant professor of political science at Williams.  

McAllister's research and teaching interests focus on American foreign and national security policy. He is the author of “No Exit: America and the German Problem 1943-1954.” He is currently engaged in research on American foreign policy during the Vietnam War.

Michael MacDonald is currently working on a book on the reasons why the U.S. went to war in Iraq. He teaches courses on the Iraq War, Theories of Comparative Politics, Democracy and Democratization, and Conservative Political Thought.

Paul MacDonald specializes in international security with imperial conquest, colonial warfare, and counter insurgency.  His recent courses include Introduction to World Politics, International Security, and War in the Modern Age.

Although on a different scale, the new institute harkens back to the days of the Institute of Politics, which flourished at Williams College from 1921 to 1931. President Harry Garfield founded the Institute to advance the study of politics and promote a better understanding of international problems and relations.  Scholars and politicians of national and international distinction offered lectures to selected students and talks for summer visitors. “Its frank and intensely interesting discussions, in which markedly divergent opinions were expressed, proved eminently successful,” and it was reported, “By 1923, 800 to 900 visitors were attending the Institute’s talks.” The Institute of Politics was made possible financially through the generosity of Hon. Bernard M. Baruch of New York.

The new summer institute is sponsored by the Leadership Studies Program through the generosity of the Stanley Kaplan Program in American Foreign Policy. 

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Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their undergraduate teaching. The achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in research. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college is located in Williamstown, Mass. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu