Congratulations to the Class of 2019!

At the Departmental Commencement Celebration on June 6, 2019, DUSP was pleased to welcome back Ambassador Paul Altidor (SM 2004) as our Commencement Speaker. Ambassador Altidor served as the Ambassador at Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington D.C. from May 2nd, 2012 until March 2nd, 2019. During his seven-year tenure, Ambassador Altidor oversaw a three-year renovation project of the Embassy to increase access and create a more welcoming space, redefined Haiti’s public diplomacy with the United States, and streamlined services offered to Haitian citizens.

In addition to hearing from Ambassador Altidor, the following year-end awards were announced at the event:

Departmental Awards
• Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis: Kevin Li,"An Analysis of Nonprofit Board Interlock Networks"
• Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation: Hannah Teicher, " Climate Allies: how urban/military interdependence enables adaptation"
• Outstanding Ph.D. Teaching Assistant: Laura Delgado
• Outstanding MCP Thesis: Alexander Gerard Meeks, " Accounting for Disaster: Small Business Recovery in North Carolina after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence"
• O. Robert Simha Prize: Elizabeth Haney
• Flora Crockett Stephenson Writing Prize: Aarthi Janakiraman
• APA Outstanding Student Award: Kavya Vaghul
• Outstanding Contribution to the Intellectual Life of the Department: Jay Dev
• Student Departmental Service Award: Collyn Chan
• Excellence in Public Service Award: Priya Johnson (MCP 2017)
• Rolf R. Engler Award for Outstanding Service: Jesse Kaminsky

DUSP Student Council Awards
• Excellence in Advising: Marie Law Adams
• Excellence in Teaching: Laura Delgado
• Outstanding Contribution to Student Life: Mariana Arcaya, David Hsu
• Outstanding Contribution to Creating a Healthy DUSP: Ceasar McDowell
• Hebbert Award for Student Contribution to DUSP: Yael Nidam

Congratulations to our winners, and to the entire 2019 graduating class!