Diplomacy in practice

Despite being an early Friday class, students in Global Political Economy sat up and listened as Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, UD’s Human Rights Center visiting scholar-practitioner, explained how disaster-prevention investments reduce domestic costs and strengthen global security. 

The students listened earnestly and asked thoughtful questions. Jenkins was impressed.

“It’s clear young people at this University are very interested and engaged in their local, national and global community and politics,” said Jenkins.

So were the students. 

“Ambassador Jenkins articulated international connections that I haven’t thought much about before,” said first-year student Noah Barnard.

Ambassador Jenkins' visit was made possible by a gift from Binod and Shyama Kumar. Binod Kumar, a retired research engineer in the School of Engineering and UD Research Institute, and his wife  established the Endowment for Education on Nonviolence to support educational initiatives that support peace. Over two days, Jenkins met with students and faculty to provide insights on the intersections of policy, peacebuilding and diplomacy. 

“You rarely get to hear from someone who has been part of the negotiations that shape the rules and institutions we study,” said junior Lily Barry.

Jenkins' long career includes serving in the Biden administration as the first African American woman to hold the post of undersecretary for arms control and international security, and in the Obama administration as special envoy and coordinator for threat reduction programs, where she led global disease-prevention diplomacy. 

Currently, she serves as executive director of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation, which she co-founded in 2017.

“Her dedication and depth of knowledge are gifts to us students,” said Charity Avinger, a student who attended Jenkins’s lecture in the course Gender, Women’s Rights & Global Politics and a student luncheon that afternoon.

And it was an opportunity for Jenkins to hear from the next generation of peace advocates. 

“These students are having the conversations of and doing the work of activists,” Jenkins said. “Their passion is clear. I encourage them to stay engaged, stay curious and find balance wherever they can.”

“Their passion is clear. I encourage them to stay engaged, stay curious and find balance wherever they can.”

It was advice the students took out of her lectures and into the world.