Maxwell in Rome for Thanksgiving…studying Food Security with Professor Bertini

Maxwell PAIA Food Security Class Enjoying a Thanksgiving Meal in Rome, Italy

Twenty-five MPA and MA IR students participated in a week long class on Food Security with Professor Catherine Bertini in Rome, Italy over the Thanksgiving Holiday break.  Students were required to complete case studies, a group project, daily “Food for Thought” memos, and two formal writing assignments. Readings included:  One Billion Hungry: Can We Feed the World?, Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know, and Uniting on Food Assistance: A Case for Transatlantic Cooperation, among other articles.  Students engaged in discussion of such topics as: State of the World’s Food Security; Relation of Hunger and Poverty; Agriculture as Economic Catalyst; Nutrition: The Intersection of Agriculture and Health; Energy, Biotechnology, and Food Safety; Governance and Institutional Roles, among many others.

Along with her full time position at Maxwell, Catherine Bertini, serves as a Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  Prior to joining Maxwell, she served as the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Management (2003-2005) and the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (1992-2002). She is the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate. Professor Bertini also teaches courses in UN Organizations – Managing for Change, Humanitarian Action – Challenges, Responses and Results, Post Conflict Reconstruction, Girls Education in the Developing World and the core MPA capstone course, Executive Leadership.