Alexander Mirescu, Ph.D., instructor of political science at Saint Peter’s University, has been awarded the very first Guarini Faculty Fellowship Award for the 2012-2013 academic year by the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership.
“The Guarini Institute is happy to award the inaugural faculty fellowship to Dr. Mirescu,” said Nicholas Chiaravalloti, director of the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership. “He brings a tremendous amount of international experience to Saint Peter’s. We expect that by working together, we can create new, innovative ways of introducing the concept of global citizenship to the University.”
As a fellow, Dr. Mirescu will assist and participate in the Guarini Institute’s events, including the Lecture Series, High School Model United Nations and High School Oratory Contest. He will also serve as an advisor to the Guarini Institute in the development and marketing of programs and activities, write two faculty essays for the Institute’s website and present essay topics during faculty/student luncheons.
“On several levels, I am very pleased to be a part of the Guarini Institute,” said Dr. Mirescu. “I am honored to be given the task to expand Saint Peter’s University’s global characteristic. The Guarini Institute, with strong support from the Department of Political Science, will allow me to reach a greater number of individuals than just in the classroom.”
The fellowship was established in order to recognize faculty members who work closely with the Institute. Last year, Dr. Mirescu, the political science department and the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership successfully co-sponsored several events, including the Washington Center Internship Program.
“Indeed, both entities can work together to strengthen each other’s presence and footprint [in relation to] students and faculty and build upon Saint Peter’s new University status,” said Dr. Mirescu. “The opportunity to provide more to our students and help multiple campus actors to advance the University made this chance particularly interesting.”
While Dr. Mirescu is the first Guarini Faculty Fellowship Award recipient, the award will become a yearly endeavor. As the fellowship advances in the future, it will lead to the expansion of existing programs, and the creation of new enterprises. These initiatives will continue to fulfill the mission of the Guarini Institute to foster critical thinking and discussion among students on state, national and international issues.
“It is my hope that the fellowship will continue to grow and be viewed by faculty as an opportunity to work on issues of government and leadership,” said Chiaravalloti. “The fellowship also rewards, in a small way, the tremendous efforts of our faculty to bring interesting programming to our students.”
As for the 2012-2013 academic year award, Dr. Mirescu has a number of goals he plans to accomplish during his time as a Guarini Institute fellow. These include increasing the relationship between the political science department and the Institute to enhance “the profile and relevance of national and global issues to our student body and the wider community.”
He said, “My teaching thus far has revealed to me a large section of our student body that, by virtue of their rich immigration backgrounds, are hungry to discover more of the world and their role as potential global leaders.”
Dr. Mirescu joined the political science department at Saint Peter’s University in the fall of 2010, teaching introductory and upper-level sections in comparative politics and international relations theory. Since that time, he has sponsored several departmental events on job prospects in political science. He also regularly organizes meetings at the United Nations with senior policy makers at the U.N.’s Development Program, where he previously worked for two years.