Dear alumni and friends,

In this issue of HarrisView, you will read about why the 2007-08 academic year promises to be one of our best.

With three new faculty members, the School now has its largest and, by every measure, our most accomplished faculty. This issue describes research by Associate Professor Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, on the use of violence by terrorist groups and how governments react, and Professor Dan Black, on the racial wage gap among highly educated men.

The School received a record number of applicants for this academic year and welcomed its largest number of PhD students. The entering MPP class is composed of 116 students from twenty-one countries, including five Fulbright scholars from Pakistan spotlighted in this issue.

You can also read about the new Program on Political Institutions, which we inaugurate this year, signaling the School’s commitment to understanding the institutions in which public policies are designed, implemented, and evaluated.

Compared to the alumni of other schools at the University, Harris School alumni are young. However, they actively support the School.

They are also putting their Harris School experience to work in important ways. Surge Sen, MPP’98, who recently joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Nikki Walter, MPP’97, of Deloitte Services LP, are featured in this issue.

Finally, in September a committee of the University Board of Trustees approved plans for the School’s much needed new building and agreed to begin the architect selection process. The School has worked for nearly four years to develop the plans and to raise nearly a quarter of the cost of the new building, which is expected to be about $55 million.

As always, we welcome your feedback and look forward to communicating with you throughout the year.

Susan E. Mayer
Professor & Dean