"The fellows are a wonderful resource," says IFP director Sudha Shetty. "As high-ranking mid-career professionals, they really help us look outward, so that our curriculum is not so America-centric. The case studies and examples I use in the course titled Leadership for the Common Good--to point to just one example--are much richer because of the fellows.

"Thanks to the commitment by the dean and the Institute, we are one of the model programs in the country," she continues. "We have wonderful relationships with Hennepin County and other local organizations and companies, as well as a 'buddies' program that pairs each international fellow with a current Humphrey student so that they can learn from one another on a social level as well as in an academic setting."

Below are the biographies of this year's Humphrey Fellows.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program provides a year of professional enrichment in the United States for experienced professionals from designated countries throughout the world. Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and their commitment to public service in either the public or private sector.

Ishfaq Ahmed
Pakistan
Mr. Ishfaq Ahmed has been with the Pakistani police service since 1999. He currently serves as commandant of the Punjab Police Department's Rawalpindi Police Training School in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. There, he supervises training, administration, and the training curriculum development. During his fellowship year, Mr. Ahmed will focus on human rights mechanisms, due process and the rule of law, and judicial and criminal justice systems.

Sabha Al Dhafri
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Ms. Sabha Al Dhafri has worked for the Union National Bank in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi for 13 years. Promoted to bank manager in 2006, she is the first UAE national female branch manager in the Union National Bank. Her focus is on the recruitment, motivation, development, evaluation, and retention of employees. During her fellowship year, Ms. Al Dhafri will focus on human resources management and team leadership.

Faiza Al-Qubati
Yemen
Ms. Faiza Al-Qubati has a rich background in accounting and financial management. She currently serves as Accounting Coordinator for the Yemen Liquid Natural Gas Company, one of the country's largest companies working to develop Yemen's gas resources. There, she coordinates various types of audits, such as cost recovery, shareholders', and external audits. During her fellowship year, Ms. Al-Qubati will focus on U.S. auditing practices, economic development, finance, and banking.

Sultan Al Shereiqi
Oman
Mr. Sultan Al Shereiqi began his career with Oman's Ministry of Manpower in 1999, working his way from data entry to his current position as director of labor inspection. His responsibilities include preparing action plans for comprehensive labor inspections; advising business owners, workers, and stakeholders on labor law; conducting follow-up investigations; and organizing labor inspection research. Mr. Al Shereiqi will concentrate on labor rights, human trafficking, and public-private partnerships.

Idirisu Chin
Cameroon
Over the past 17 years, Mr. Idirisu Chin has held many leadership positions within Islamic education in Cameroon, first as vice principal then principal of an Islamic high school, and now as chief of pedagogy and administration for the Organization of Islamic Educational Establishments in Kumbo, North West Region. During his fellowship year, Mr. Chin will focus on human resources management, performance evaluation and career development, leadership, conflict management, nonprofit management, organizational culture, and public-sector ethics.

Mohamed El-Qasemy
Morocco
Mr. Mohamed El-Qasemy's background is in economics, public administration, and public finance. He has worked in Morocco's Ministry of Economy and Finance for the last 10 years, currently serving as state controller in its Department of Public Enterprises and Privatization, responsible for oversight of contracts and performance of public establishments and state-owned companies. Mr. El-Qasemy will focus on public finance systems, the budget processes, public policy analysis, and program evaluation.

Jin Hyuk Her
South Korea
Mr. Jin Hyuk Her is an officer in the Korea National Police Force, currently serving as police patrol car dispatcher with the Gyeong Ju Police Station, where he counsels callers on legal matters and conflict resolution, and dispatches patrol cars when necessary. During his fellowship year, Mr. Her will be focusing on law enforcement, human rights, and social policies.

Min Htin
Burma (Myanmar)
Mr. Min Htin currently serves as executive committee member and board member for the YMCA in Mandalay, an organization that plays a vital role in developing a civil society through practical training and education for local youth. His main interest is in human resources management and of youth development as it relates to the future of his country. During his fellowship year, Mr. Htin will focus on human resources management, particularly human resource planning, performance management, and youth training.

Agnes Igoye
Uganda
Ms. Agnes Igoye has served 14 years in the Government of Uganda's Ministry of Internal Affairs, currently as senior immigration officer/training coordinator for the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control in Kampala, Uganda. She is responsible for planning, designing, and conducting training activities on such topics as irregular migration and counter trafficking, passport/document fraud, organized crime, and effective border management. During her fellowship year, Ms. Igoye will focus on human trafficking prevention, victim and witness protection programs, and victim rehabilitation programs.

Min (Zoe) Shen
China
Ms. Min Shen currently serves as director of international business development at Horizon Research Consultancy Group, the largest local independent research company in China. Ms. Shen's extensive research experience in public opinion and social studies enables her to serve as a bridge between the public and local government in China, as well as between the Chinese and others from around the world. During her fellowship year, Ms. Shen will focus on public policy analysis, foundation and nonprofit operation, management and governance of nonprofits, and organizational effectiveness.

Kirti Thapa
Nepal
Ms. Kirti Thapa has more than 10 years of experience in gender equality and protection of children and women from violence, abuse, and exploitation, including trafficking. She currently serves as senior program coordinator-child rights governance with Save the Children in Kathmandu, where she is responsible for providing strategic direction and technical assistance to her organization and its partners to improve their capacity to develop and implement child rights programs. During her fellowship year, Ms. Thapa will focus on human trafficking (prevention, protection, policy advocacy, victim support) and human rights.

Abdoul Aziz Traore
Mali
Mr. Abdoul Aziz Traore is director of human resources at Energie du Mali, the only electricity provider in Mali, where has worked since 1996. He also is a member of the international nonprofit LEAD, a worldwide network of organizations and individuals committed to sustainable development. During his fellowship year, Mr. Traore will focus on public policy, program evaluation, and leadership.

Nadezhda (Nadia) Trubova
Kazakhstan
Ms. Nadezhda Trubova has worked in Kazakhstan's NGO sector for more than 10 years, particularly in support of orphans and underprivileged young people, helping them find their place in life and arming them with educational and professional tools to be active members of the society. She currently is training coordinator at the public foundation HELP in Kostanai, where she is responsible for preparing and conducting trainings for HELP projects. During her fellowship year, Ms. Trubova will focus on community needs assessment, project management, qualitative methods in social research, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, and financial and organizational management of NGOs.

An expert on the international aspects of competition, taxation, and other economic policies, Kudrle recently returned from the Kingdom of Swaziland where he was invited to present at a workshop on competition policy to government representatives and staff of the Swaziland Competition Commission (SCC), as well as local law firms and businesses. The European Development Fund, the International Institute for Advanced Studies, and TradeCom Facility sponsored the workshop.

Formal competition law concerns three main areas, Kudrle explains:

Amalgamation by mergers and acquisitions among firms, which can lead to monopolies and threaten the competitive process;
Collusion by agreements that restrict competition among business, including the suppression of competition caused by cartels; and
Exclusion by such practices as predatory pricing, marketing restrictions, and other actions intended to drive competitors out of business or to keep them from entering.
The Kingdom of Swaziland is an absolute monarchy, says Kudrle, where the king exercises ultimate governing authority. The country has a parliament and a well-structured bureaucracy, but there also are deeply entrenched economic interests.

One of the principal functions of the SCC should be to eliminate anticompetitive activity fostered elsewhere within the government through various forms of regulation. In addition, 90 percent of Swaziland's imports come from South Africa, so many of the competition problems it faces have their roots abroad. This call for strong cooperation with competition authorities in South Africa and elsewhere.

"The issue goes well beyond getting the right laws the books. That's the easy part," Kudrle says. "The government must be alert to a broad range of practices that lower the purchasing power of the Swazi people.

Part of Kudrle's considered four industries that are important in many African countries: sugar, beer, cement, and telecommunications.

Swaziland is making progress toward a freer market. Three years ago, the Swaziland legislature enacted the 2007 Competition Act, creating the SCC, which is charged both with improving trade and economic liberalization and with enabling effective prosecution of region-wide anti-competitive market practices.

Kudrle's hopes for the project are even broader.

"The aim is to maximize transparency and make the market work freely. We want to try to encourage people working on these issues to be aggressive. We want them to become strong advocates for competition and choice in the marketplace."

The ultimate goal is to equip the SCC with the tools to support a free market where consumers benefit, bringing greater economic prosperity and reducing poverty. Kudrle will make at least one more trip to Swaziland in the near future.

"It's exciting to share lessons from abroad with people who are setting the groundwork for an important new venture. I think it builds morale--theirs and mine--to know that professionals all over the world face similar challenges and want to help each other," he says. "This is what networked governance is all about."

On September 29, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association honored outstanding alumni volunteers, groups, and programs, including former Humphrey School Advisory Council and Alumni Board member Bernadine Joselyn (MPA '99), pictured here with mentor and Advisory Council member Tom Swain.

"The University of Minnesota community benefits in many ways from the valuable contributions and service of its dedicated alumni," said Phil Esten, president and chief executive officer of the alumni association. "We are honored to annually recognize individuals who devote an incredible amount of time, energy and talent to promote the University of Minnesota across the state, nation and world, and who encourage engagement through unique and meaningful ways."

Developments in Egypt have been so dramatic and have moved so fast in the past few days that I am engulfed in conflicting emotions about what is happening there.

On the one hand, I am elated and excited about the potential for democratic change made possible by ordinary people losing their fear of a repressive regime and going to the streets to demand its ouster.

On the other hand, I am filled with apprehension at the potential for chaos and violence. I worry about family members and friends who are having to fend off a wave of looting and vandalism unleashed by a police force that simply vanished from the scene.

The uprising has already achieved a great deal. President Hosni Mubarak has given up on his ambition to pass on the mantle of power to his son Gamal. By appointing a vice president for the first time in 30 years, he acknowledged the impossibility of the inheritance scenario.

Mubarak is trying to suggest that he is willing to enact reforms. But he has appointed a vice president and a prime minister who both have prominent military backgrounds. He seems to be trying to aiming to please the military, rather than the protesters.

These changes will never satisfy the crowds in the streets. These measures will become meaningful only if they pave the way for Mubarak's own exit. If Mubarak leaves, the protesters might be willing to grant the military a chance to usher the country toward democratic elections.

The military appears unwilling to fire on the protesters. The repressive internal security forces are off the street. In my view, the demonstrators have gained the upper hand.

The disappearance of those security and police forces from the streets of Cairo on Friday night may have been a tactic to frighten the middle and upper classes into clamoring for their return. If so, the tactic failed when neighbors organized to protect their families and property. The people simply refused to let themselves be terrorized.

They see that the game is over for the Mubarak regime. Now it's time for the Obama administration to acknowledge as much. It has been trying to hedge its bets by appearing tough on Mubarak, yet stopping short of pulling the plug on his regime in case he survives.

The administration should quit prevaricating and take a clear position in line with the principles America stands for. It should help nudge Mubarak into the dustbin of history. That is the only way to gain the future trust and friendship of the Egyptian people.

----

Ragui Assaad, a professor of international development at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs, spends three to four months a year conducting research in his native Egypt. He is a source in MPR's Public Insight Network.

ABC News, 02/01/11, Egypt president Mubarak is 'making the whole country pay the price'

KSTP, 01/31/11, Unrest in egypt could affect local gas prices

Minnesota Daily, 01/31/11, Protests, pressure mount in egypt

Minn Post, 01/31/11, Behind the turmoil in egypt: angry young people who expected more

Council on Foreign Relations, 02/14/11, Demographics of Arab Protests

Council on Foreign Relations, 02/16/11, Top of agenda: violent protest erupt in libya

Fox 9, 02/04/11 Professor predicts democracy for egypt

Brookings, 02/23/11, How will tunisia's jasmine revolution affect the arab world?

American Public Media, 02/02/11 Egypt bank closures halt remittances

Spiegel Online International, 02/03/11, No quick fix for arab youth's economic woes

Knowledge Wharton, 02/02/11, Uprising in egypt: rebirth in an ancient land?

CNN, 02/02/11, Inside the numbers: the frustration of a generation

KSTP, 01/30/11, How egyptian protests could impact minn.

The National, 02/09/11, No quick fix for economic malaise of many Arab countries

Sify News, 02/06/11, Egypt's divided military will want mubarak to go with dignity

The New York Times, 02/05/11, Egypt stability hinges on a divided military

Today online, 01/31/11, Suleiman likely to please military, not crowds

Oneinida News, 01/30/11, Mubarak's appointment Suleiman as VP likely to appease military, not people: Analysts

Hindustan Times, 01/31/11, Suleiman may please military, not public

Turthout, 02/23/11, US-financed egyptian military orchestrating attacks on protesters

The Gleaner, 02/06/11, Egypt at is red sea

Yahoo News, 02/03/11, The youth unemployment bomb

The Telegraph, 02/23/11, Even if the fires raging in the middle ease raze its authoritarian regimes, little will change

The Daily Reckoning by Bill Bonner, 02/09/11, Problems of unemployed youth deepen

NDTV, 02/01/11, Egypt crisis: A million protesters march into tahrir square in cairo

Guardian.co.uk, 01/30/11, Egypt protest-as they happened

"The University of Minnesota is a ground breaker with the development of a rigorous, interdisciplinary, practice-based MDP program. They have moved forward with developing a program that prepares young people with the knowledge and skills they need to address the complex challenges of sustainable development be it poverty, hunger or disease," says Lucia Rodriguez of the Global Master of Development Practice Secretariat, the umbrella organization overseeing all MDP programs and activities worldwide. "University of Minnesota's launch of the MDP program will ensure that more young people are prepared to be the type of leaders who really make a difference in the world."

The new degree will provide training that integrates policy analysis and management, health and education, natural sciences, social sciences, and interdisciplinary research methods. The University's is one of only four such degrees in the nation, including an existing program at Columbia University and planned programs at the University of Florida and Emory University.

"The new MDP capitalizes on ICGC's experience working with scholars and doctoral students on interdisciplinary study and combines that with the professional school ethos of the Humphrey School," says Eric Sheppard, Regents Professor of Geography who serves as associate director of ICGC. "It's an exciting new undertaking."

The academic units participating in the MDP degree are: College of Biological Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, and School of Public Health.

De Soto: First of all, as opposed to conventional wisdom in developing countries--which is that the United States is such a straightforward place--I actually find you are a very complex country. I share with the United States many of what were probably your concerns and challenges in the 19th century. Institutionally, Peru and the other countries I work with are somewhere in your 19th century. There's the barbed wire, there's the cowboys, there's the Indians, there's the gold rush, and there's the fact that many things are settled at gunpoint.

There are Latin-Americanists in the United States. I'm sort of an Americanista in the case of Latin America. I've studied your 19th century. I'm not versed in American history, but those nooks and crannies can tell me how [America] got here, given our same kind of wilderness--that's my take.

Atwood: I've heard you speak about the Wild West here in this country, in terms of the land rush and the way communities developed. Of course, you had people that usurped other people's property rights. You had outlaws, who would steal cattle and do other things, but, eventually, we developed a sense of community in this country, and, obviously, a rule of law society.

You are dealing in the developing world with a lot of illegal behavior or, perhaps, because society doesn't create the framework for legal behavior, the so called informal economy. Talk a bit about that and how that relates to Minnesota. We were part of the Wild West at one time.

De Soto: To me, the rule of law is the opposite of anarchy. Anarchy is not chaos. Anarchy is many laws in one territory, so these people believe in this and these people believe in that. Rule of law is when everybody agrees on the basic rules.

I believe that it's a process and--allow me to be audacious--sometimes Americans aren't actually conscious of what they have built. It was like a train wreck in slow motion to form [this country], and it worked wonders.

What you have in many developing countries is, as we came to be independent countries, our statutes arrived from France or Spain and that was our country. You look to see how many of the people actually obey the law, using this law in their own house, in their own businesses. In most African countries, it's probably only two to 10 percent. The informal economy essentially is that part of the country where there is no real rule of law, where human beings establish the rules. Wherever you go, it's hard to find people who don't make rules. Even when you fuel up, someone says, "He's first, he's second." We all make rules.

So, we deal with that part of the economy that is outside the rules and therefore doesn't have the tools to integrate into the global economy, doesn't see the benefits of social democracy, and constantly rebels against it because they are left outside. The idea is how can we avoid taking 200 to 300 years to get there; how can we do it over the next 10 to 20 years?

continued

Vang, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and grew up in Wisconsin, has a lot of practical experience, working on literacy programs in St. Paul and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and serving for two years as a youth development coordinator with the Peace Corps in Guatemala

"In the field you realize that many things need improvement and you make changes along the way," Vang says. "But it isn't very scientific."

Vang enrolled in the University of Minnesota's new Master of Development Practice (MDP) degree to ground her experience in theory and to learn the skills to make her work more effective. The program, which enrolled its first cohort of 16 students this fall, is jointly administered by the Institute and Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change and spans several academic units across the University, including the College of Biological Sciences, the School of Public Health, and several others. Coursework includes training in policy analysis and management; health and education; natural sciences; social sciences, and interdisciplinary research methods.

"I want to be able to analyze situations and then make improvements or eliminate programs that aren't useful," Vang says.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, who spent the 1970s working as an economic planner for an international consulting firm "helping wealthy corporations exploit developing nations," was one of several factors that influenced Vang's decision to pursue graduate school. The tell-all exposé reminded Vang that not all in international development is as it appears on the surface.

"A dam project might be promoted as an economic boon to an area but it might come at a huge environmental cost," she says. "I want to be able to interpret the data myself and evaluate the options, not be taken advantage of."

The first semester of the two-year program has just begun but Vang is enjoying her courses in development theory and the ecology of agricultural systems, the latter because it is a new area of study for her.

"I think I will really have the opportunity to grow here," she says. "There are such a large variety of options that I can branch out and find new interests."

Despite Vang's lack of formal training in program evaluation, Vang is quick to size up her fellow MDP classmates: "They are amazing! Most speak several languages and have visited many countries."

Professor Ragui Assaad, who leads the MDP program, agrees with Vang's assessment.

"The entering class of MDP students is not only impressive academically and diverse along gender and ethnic lines, but also comes with a rich variety of life and work experiences in just about every major world region. Kaying Vang typifies this combination of excellence, diverse life experience, and a strong personal commitment to make the world a better place."

Consistent with China's commitment to modernize, the country has a growing need for trained professionals to serve in and teach about public institutions--China has established more than 200 public affairs programs in the last few years and expects to create several hundred more.

But, like any growth industry, the need for well-trained faculty outstrips the supply. This is a need the Humphrey School hopes to help address.

"For such a small school, we have a lot of connections with China," says Associate Dean Greg Lindsey. "Three members of our faculty were born and studied in China, Assistant Professor Elizabeth Wilson is there now on sabbatical, and Professor Sam Myers, Jr., spent the 2009-10 academic year in China. That's pretty impressive." In addition, Sherry Gray, who coordinates the global policy area, is a China scholar who spent several years there while completing her dissertation.

In fall 2008, the Institute hosted the International Conference on Public Administration, cosponsored by the American Society for Public Administration; the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; the Chinese Public Administration Society; the School of Public Administration at Moscow State University; and the Chinese Public Administration Journal. The conference drew more than 40 Chinese public administration researchers and practitioners to share the progress of their relatively young profession. (While the roots of China's tradition of public administration go back to Confucius's ideology of governance and the development of a civil service system some 2,000 years ago, public administration as an independent field of study only recently has emerged within the Chinese academy).

One outgrowth of the meeting was a signed agreement to pursue closer ties with Chinese institutions--faculty exchanges, research opportunities, and the possibilities of cooperative academic programs.

Last summer, Dean J. Brian Atwood led a small delegation from the Institute to further explore these opportunities for collaboration and assess the Chinese higher education market. Atwood, Lindsey and, Assistant Professor Zhirong (Jerry) Zhao visited Fudan, Renmin, Peking, and Tsinghua Universities and a provincial university in Hangzhou.

"We found real interest in our degree programs, particularly our Master of Public Affairs and Master of Development Practice programs," says Lindsey. "We had the opportunity to build institutional and personal foundations for future discussions. It is not easy to enter new markets--especially in these challenging economic times--but the potential rewards are great, as well.

"We want to be smart about strengthening our ties and building our relationships in China," he continues. "As the fifth-century B.C. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, 'Because the sage always confronts difficulty, he never experiences it.' Confronting the future in a clear-eyed way is how we intend to proceed."

APSIA's 34 member schools represent North America, Asia, and Europe. Each is the primary source of education for international affairs in their respective countries. Recent past presidents of the association include deans from the top-rated public policy and international relations degree programs in the country, including the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, American University's School of International Service, and Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

"Brian Atwood's election to the presidency of APSIA is a richly deserved honor," says Professor Robert Kudrle, chair of the Humphrey School's global policy area and director of the Freeman Center for International and Economic Policy. "It also sends a far-reaching signal that the Humphrey School's global policy curriculum is among the best in the world. His leadership of APSIA will raise our profile worldwide and ensure that we attract students who are future leaders in the international arena."

Global policy is one of the most popular concentrations for students in the Institute's Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Affairs degree programs. Responding to increased demand, the Institute has hired new faculty members and now offers more courses in foreign relations, security policy, and international development. The school also hosts a newly approved Master of Development Practice (MDP) offered with the University's Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change and other colleges. Admission to the MDP program will begin in the fall of 2010.

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance will host a conversation discussing Islam and the West on Monday, May 23 from 4 - 5:15 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey Center. Participants include Islamic Scholar and Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badawi and moderator Robyne Robinson. A reception will follow the program.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at http://primeministerbadawi.eventbrite.com/

The Center for Integrative Leadership will host Kjell Magne Bondevik, executive director of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights and former prime minister of Norway, to speak about their organizations' work with the Somali community at a public forum at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, in Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey Center. RSVPs are required at www.oslocenter.eventbrite.com.

The International Fellowship Programs, Humphrey Students of Color Association (HSOCA), and the Master of Public Affairs program will host "Impermanence and the Tibetan Community in Exile," featuring Michael Ormond, Wangyal Rizekura of the Tibetan American Foundation Minnesota, Indian government official Gaiong Panmei. Assistant Professor Ryan Allen will moderate the association. The group will discuss the democratization of the Tibetan government in exile, the retirement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from political leadership, and the status of Tibetans in India, among other issues. For more information, please contact Michelle Lamere at mlamere.mpa@gmail.com.