AGS Commencement 2010: 26 Graduates from 11 National Origins

The American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) held its 2010 annual graduation ceremony on June 3^rd in Paris. The commencement took place in the Alliance Française auditorium, and was followed by graduation dinner in the French Senate.

The class of 2010 is composed of twenty-six students coming from eleven different countries: United States, France, Austria, Turkey, Greece, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Morocco and Iran.

Eighteen graduates were awarded the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy in partnership with Arcadia University (Glenside, PA, USA), one graduate was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in International Relations and Diplomacy, and seven graduates were awarded the degree of Executive Master of Science in Finance, in partnership with the Baruch College at the City University of New York (New York, NY, USA).

In addition, nine of the Master’s graduates, having followed one of the double-degree programs offered at the American Graduate School in Paris, were or will also be awarded a second Master’s degree from one of the school’s partner universities: M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University, European Master in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiation from Université Paris Sud 11 (France), or LL.M. in French and European Union Law from Université de Cergy-Pontoise (France).

The commencement address was given by Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. Abdul Waheed Khan is of Indian nationality and holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Extension from Agra University (India). His address was on the theme: “Youth Power and Power of Peace”.

Dr. Eileen Servidio, who heads the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS, and Dr. Ali Fatemi who heads the School of Business and Economics at AGS, performed the conferring of degrees, after which the class of 2010 offered a floor globe to the school as the traditional graduating class gift.

The President of the Graduate Student Association at AGS said as she presented the gift: “We students feel that you at the American Graduate School in Paris opened the world to us, so we wanted to give the world back to you in a symbolic way”.

Additionally, on behalf of the class of 2010, one of the graduating students made a donation to Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) in the name of the school.