Our Mission
At Jackson, we recognize and celebrate the rich diversity of perspectives and experiences that make up our community of students, faculty, staff, fellows, and alumni. We are committed to understanding and supporting all of the dimensions of diversity necessary for a truly global perspective on the challenges we face around the world today. Central to our commitment are the principles of respect, belonging, equity, and inclusion.
We aim to elevate underrepresented voices in addressing global issues, and to acknowledge how historical and current injustices against marginalized groups shapes the context and complexity of the world’s most pressing concerns. Our goal is to prepare our community for ethical engagement in the field of global affairs, with understanding and compassion for our common humanity.
DEI Council
Jackson’s DEI&B Council, launched in 2021, plays a key role in advancing Jackson’s DEI initiatives. The Council — made up of students, staff, faculty and alumni — aims to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and global understanding for the entire Jackson community.
Each year the Council will be focused on addressing at least one of the following DEI aspirations:
- Increasing the demographic diversity of the Jackson community and visitors
- Creating an inclusive student, faculty, staff and alumni culture and developing programs to deepen the sense of belonging felt by all members of the community
- Foster opportunities to amplify the experiences of regions of the world, with a particular focus on regions of the world underrepresented in the curriculum and co-curricular experiences
Read more about the Council
From the Dean
At its core, Jackson’s mission is to educate and train the next generation of leaders in global affairs. To solve the most complex global problems requires thoughtful, responsible, and ethical leadership and the bravery to directly confront the realities of the world in which we live today.
Issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are foundational to our worldview as we prepare our graduates to lead diverse communities around the globe. At Jackson, these issues are present throughout the curriculum, for we recognize how closely intertwined diversity, equity, and inclusion are with so many of the pressing challenges in global affairs.
Jackson is, in essence, a community. It is hugely important to me that this community be both diverse and inclusive across the many dimensions of diversity. This means intentionality when convening our community and it means always working to make sure everyone feels a welcome part of the effort. I am fully committed to just that.
It’s an honor for me to chair Jackson’s inaugural Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Council. It is an exciting time to lead these efforts at Jackson as we transition to a school and set the direction for our future. With the expertise and energy of Jackson’s small, interdisciplinary, and diverse community of scholars, practitioners, staff and alumni, I welcome the challenges ahead.
—Jim Levinsohn, Dean, Jackson School of Global Affairs
Get to Know the Jackson Community
‘Trust is a currency,’ former Philippines VP tells students
On October 24, the Jackson School of Global Affairs hosted a conversation with Leni Robredo, the former vice president of the Philippines, and Senior Fellow Harry K. Thomas. Robredo addressed a number of hot topics from her time in office, including the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea, the spread of disinformation in social media, and the impact of climate change. Robredo noted that while studies show that the Philippines is one of the most at-risk countries for climate change-related disasters, “we’re not giving it the urgency it requires” as a national security issue.
The event was part of the school’s Sunrise Foundation Lecture Series, which addresses policy issues especially pertinent to emerging economies.
Jackson co-hosts visit by Under-Secretary-General & Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
On October 3, 2023, the Jackson School hosted a campus visit by Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya, a recognized voice in the field of peacebuilding and atrocity crimes prevention. As mediator of armed conflicts, she served as a member of the African Unions Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (Fem-Wise), the Women Waging Peace Network and Global Alliance of Women Mediators. She contributed to defining the role of women mediators, as one of the few women who are signatories to peace agreements as a mediator.
The visit was co-sponsored by the Genocide Studies Program at the Yale MacMillan Center.
Authenticity is the key to success, VP of Uruguay tells students
On February 16, 2023, the Jackson School of Global Affairs hosted a conversation with Beatriz Argimón, the vice president of Uruguay, which was moderated by Jessica Faieta, Jackson Senior Fellow and the former Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Colombia.
The event, “Women in Leadership,” was co-sponsored by the Yale MacMillan Center’s Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies.
Argimón is the first woman to occupy the office of vice president in her country and one of the first to hold high office in South America.
Ambassadors share insights on Africa, war in Ukraine
On October 4, 2022, International Security Studies launched the Africa Security Program (ASP), a new research initiative, with the panel discussion, “Africa and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.”
Benedito Machava, Assistant Professor of History at Yale and director of the new program, highlighted the program’s goals, including key questions of African security and the continent’s role in global affairs, countering violent extremism, global power competition, and responding to threats from climate change.
Panelists included Ambassador Martin Kimani, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations, and Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, a major in the US Army Reserves who was until recently Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs in the US Department of State.
Jackson Senior Fellow Bisa Williams, a former US Ambassador to Niger and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs, moderated the discussion.
President Arce of Bolivia delivers annual Sunrise Foundation Lecture
On September 21, 2022, the Jackson School of Global Affairs hosted Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora for a conversation on the Bolivian economic model.
The event, “Emerging Economies in Latin America: Bolivian Economic Model,” was part of the school’s Sunrise Foundation Lecture Series, an annual event which addresses policy issues especially pertinent to emerging economies.
Sixteen global leaders named 2022 World Fellows
The Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program has named its 2022 class of World Fellows. These 16 extraordinary individuals consist of global leaders working in government, the environment, technology, journalism, international development, and the arts, around the world—from China to Uruguay, from Belarus to South Africa.
“In a time of conflict and volatility, there is an urgent need for leaders around the world who are committed to making the world more peaceful and just,” said Emma Sky, director of the International Leadership Center at Yale. “The 2022 World Fellows exemplify the kind of innovative and adaptive leadership that is needed in today’s world. They are tackling some of the biggest issues facing the world today with creative and disruptive thinking, doing their part to improve society, and motivating others to do the same. I am thrilled to welcome them to Yale where they will deepen their knowledge and skills while inspiring the next generation of leaders.”
Journalist shares insight on tensions between India and China
On November 11, 2021, International Security Studies hosted a Discussion Forum focused on the complex, volatile relationship between India and China featuring one of India’s most prominent foreign affairs journalists, Sushant Singh.
A Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research in India, founder of The India Cable, and former Deputy Editor of The Indian Express newspaper, Singh is currently at Yale this semester as a lecturer in Political Science and South Asian Studies.
Singh gave a brief presentation on the current situation unfolding along the China-India border. In August, troops clashed over a contested boundary area, exchanging gunfire.
Di Giovanni sheds light on embattled Christian communities, her own faith journey
On November 2, 2021, the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs hosted a discussion with award-winning journalist and Jackson Senior Fellow Janine di Giovanni about her new book, “The Vanishing: Faith, Loss, and the Twilight of Christianity in the Land of the Prophets.”
Di Giovanni opened the discussion by sharing her motivations for writing about the ancient religions of the Middle East, where many Christian communities are facing extinction after 2,000 years in their historical homeland.
Born and raised as a Roman Catholic, di Giovanni talked about attending church in war zones—not only for a sense of peace, but also because spaces of faith provide “a handle on how people are thinking and living,” she said.
Creating a working economy for all, with Black women at the center
When it became clear to me as the term ‘essential worker’ was being coined, that most of the people who are being appreciated as such, are women of color and especially Black women, it dawned on me immediately, that they certainly are not treated as such. The disconnect between this language and what economic policy actually is, is peculiar to me. After all, if they are absolutely necessary for the governing of our economy during a global pandemic, should it not be easier for them to do so through offering paid sick leave, and paying them a livable wage?
Jackson Women group creates ‘brave space’ for personal, professional growth
It started in 2015 with a simple idea—to build connections between the women of the Jackson community.
After hosting a number of successful on-campus events, the student group received an offer they couldn’t refuse: to hold a 40-person gathering at the New York City apartment of Jackson Senior Fellow Blair Miller. Over appetizers and wine, Jackson Women took shape.