Derrick Huang.
Baker Institute founding director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian talks with students during his class.
One of the Baker Institute’s central missions is to engage students, the next generation of policymakers.
Although the Baker Institute does not grant academic degrees, many institute fellows teach classes in addition to their research. Some of their areas of expertise include: energy policy, economics, religion and Asian studies.
Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, the institute’s founding director, taught an undergraduate class for the first time this semester. The course, “Policy Studies 455: Contemporary Middle East Policy,” focuses on United States’ Middle East policy and politics as well as the major historical, religious, and cultural dynamics of the region. Key topics include the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, Iran and U.S. public diplomacy.
“Teaching is a lot of work. But the challenge and enjoyment of engaging young minds is compelling and well worth the investment,” says Djerejian, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Syria and to Israel. “I have been impressed by the students’ interest in global affairs, and their questions suggest a real desire to understand the world around them.”
The Baker Institute also offers competitive internship opportunities for Rice undergraduates interested in public policy. The Jesse Jones Leadership Center Summer in D.C. Policy Research Internship Program enables undergraduates to undertake substantive research, and many alumni of the program have later received Rhodes, Fulbright and Watson scholarships. In addition, for the second consecutive summer, the institute is sending four interns to Paris and Brussels, where they will be working with research fellows of the French Institute of International Relations on subjects as diverse as Asian studies and the European Union.
The newest internship opportunity launched by the institute is a student-led initiative on public diplomacy and global policymaking in the 21st century. For a week in June, 10 Rice undergraduates will travel to the American University in Cairo and open a research-driven dialogue with AUC students on issues of mutual interest in Egypt and the United States. Key topics to be addressed include education, mass media, women’s rights and cross-cultural communication.
The Baker Institute Energy Forum sponsors undergraduate internships that promote sustainability in developing countries. Under faculty supervision, interns conduct community-level assessments to identify energy, environmental, technological, health, and educational adaptations that, when implemented, provide improved, sustainable and cost-effective adaptive capacity. Internship locations include Maseru, Lesotho, as well as Mexico and Morocco.
Students on campus also have multiple opportunities to engage first-hand with institute scholars and staff. Undergraduates are invited to apply for research and administrative positions at the institute. Graduate students are also encouraged to participate.
In addition, the Baker Institute Student Forum allows Rice undergraduates the chance to create institute-supported, public policy events to engage the wider student body. This year’s guests have included U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. and World Bank President Robert Zoellick also had private meetings with student forum participants.