Congratulations to the Class of 2012!
On May 12, the Sanford School congratulated 277 new alumni, including the school's first PhD graduate, Erin Hye-won Kim. Among the class of 2012 were 165 undergraduates, 63 Master of Public Policy (MPP) graduates and 48 Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) graduates from 23 countries. Alumnus Michael Sorrell MPP'90/JD'94, President of Paul Quinn College, gave remarks. See student award winners here and photos on our Flickr site. 

Dean Search Extended
Provost Peter Lange announced on May 10 that the search for a new dean for the Sanford School has been extended. Dean Bruce Kuniholm will continue to serve during the search. Read more.

Spring Issue of Sanford Insights Available Online
The number of organizations conducting international election monitoring has risen dramatically over the last 30 years. How well do they work?  Professor Judith Kelley's research is the cover story for the spring issue of Sanford Insights magazine. Read it online.

A new series of articles "What Can You Do with a PPS Degree?" highlights the diverse careers pursued by public policy undergraduates. Alumni interviewed for the series include Johanna E. Anderson PPS'04, director of the Belk Foundation, Mark Pike PPS'04, lawyer at Facebook, Claire Rivero PPS'09, senior associate at the American Red Cross, and Adam Grossman PPS'02, SVP for marketing for the Boston Red Sox.

California Assembly member Bob Blumenfield PPS'89 was recently elected as an Obama delegate and will therefore be back in North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention. 

CEO and Founder of Catchafire Rachel Chong MPP'09 is #56 on the Fast Company list of 100 Most Creative Business People of 2012. Catchafire matches nonprofits with volunteers who have the skills most needed. Chong recently added Durham as one of the launch cities in the program, focusing on 20 local nonprofits that will be matched with volunteers.

Oxford University Press published After Neoliberalism? The Left and Economic Reforms in Latin America, by Gustavo A. Flores-Macías MPP'03 this spring. The book offers the first systemic explanation of why some left-wing governments in the region have embraced macroeconomic orthodoxy while others have followed a statist path

Henrique Villa da Costa Ferreira PIDP'98 has a new position with the Center for Strategic Management and Studies, a nonprofit supervised by Brazil's Ministry of Science and Technology.

Find more alumni news and notes on the Sanford alumni pages and the MIDP alumni page.

Teaching Awards
Helen (Sunny) Ladd has been selected as the Duke University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award recipient for 2012. Judith Kelley has been appointed to an endowed chair in the Bass Program for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Jay Hamilton received the 2012 Susan E. Tifft Award for Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring from the Sanford School. Catherine Admay received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Duke Global Health Institute. Elizabeth Frankenberg won the Stubbing Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. Read more.

Lynne Florian P'09 and Mark Florian T'80 P'09 have donated $1.5 million to Duke University to endow the Mark and Lynne Florian Professorship, to support an associate, assistant, visiting or professor of the practice position at the Sanford School. The recipient will be a public policy scholar or practitioner of distinction. The initial appointment will be part of the University’s Energy Initiative.

Kathy Lieb WC'69 P'03 and Rick Lieb T'69 P'03 have donated $1 million to endow the Richard B. and Kathryn C. Lieb Dean's Fellowship Fund. This fund will provide whole or partial fellowships to Sanford graduate students, with preference given to those in active U.S. military service or honorably discharged veterans. The first fellowship endowment at this level for Sanford, it will help attract and recruit the most promising graduate students.