Faculty
Yasmine Ergas
biography and picture forthcoming
Paul Lagunes is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. His research focuses on corruption, especially as it affects subnational governments in the Americas.
Two basic questions motivate Lagunes’s research: First, how does corruption actually work in practice? Second, what tools are available for limiting corruption’s harmful effects? By relying on randomized control trials, Lagunes offers insights on corruption’s regressive impact on society, the factors maintaining a corrupt status quo, and the conditions under which anti-corruption monitoring is most effective.
He has published articles in Latin American Research Review, Political Psychology, Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, Politics & Policy, and Journal of Social Issues, among other outlets. Lagunes is also the co-editor with Susan Rose-Ackerman of Greed, Corruption, and the Modern State: Essays in Political Economy (forthcoming).
Lagunes is currently studying corruption in infrastructure projects in Peru’s municipal governments, and teaches the master’s-level course “Local and Global Corruption: Maneuvering Toward Good Governance.” He obtained his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University.
Dean's Office
Anne Waters
biography and picture forthcoming
Student Affairs
Sara J. Doyle is an Assistant Dean in the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). Her areas of oversight include Student Life, Student Organizations, Orientation, Disability Services, and academic misconduct cases.
She joined the OSA staff in the fall of 2014. In addition to academic advising responsibilities, Dean Doyle works with student organizations and SIPASA, serves as the School liaison between the Office of Disability Services and Public Safety, and coordinates SIPA’s new student Orientation programming.
Dean Doyle has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Western Michigan University and holds a Master of Arts in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University. She has worked at Michigan State University, Davenport University, and DePaul University. Prior to joining SIPA, Dean Doyle worked in the School of Continuing Education at Columbia University. Her background of expertise includes residential life, student leadership programs, orientation, judicial affairs, teaching methods and instruction practice, parent and family programs, assessment and student organization advisement.
Urbano Garza (Chair) has been a member of the SIPA Office of Student Affairs (OSA) since 2006. Prior to SIPA, he was Assistant Dean and Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
At SIPA, he provides general advising in addition to being responsible for the Global Public Policy Network (GPPN), under whose umbrella SIPA students are able to obtain dual degrees with our international partners. He also works very closely with the Office of Admission, and is actively involved in student recruitment.
Dean Garza holds a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a Master of Arts in Higher Education from Teachers College, and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Alumni
Mohammad Khan
biography and picture forthcoming
Students
Rachel Claude is currently an MPA candidate at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) where she is studying Urban Public Policy, with a specialization in Management and International Organization. While at SIPA, she has worked to find unified approaches to producing systems in which both social value and commercial revenue is sustainable and innovative in its processes.
As a native New Yorker and a member of the Diversity Task Force, Rachel’s goal is to work with various departments and areas within SIPA on institutional diversity and the commitment to advancing multicultural awareness and inclusion within its current student body and for its prospective students. Rachel hopes to contribute to an environment that is substantial and community serving, addressing the issues of poverty, access, and race in health outcomes. Having the opportunity to learn and work on health development and public health systems both locally and abroad has helped her to better create holistic and innovative public policies that address emerging challenges.
Li Zhou
biography and picture forthcoming
Nina Sawhney will be graduating with an MPA from SIPA in 2015, and has focused on economic development and management. She is interested in the potential for new business and economic models to create positive social impact, particularly in areas related to youth and development.
A Bay Area native, Nina is passionate about social justice, particularly through improving educational outcomes for marginalized youth. Before moving to New York City, she lived in Mumbai, India where she worked with high school students from urban slum communities, and designed a citizenship education program.
At SIPA, Nina advocates for students of color and other underrepresented communities as a former board member of SIPA Students of Color. She currently serves on the Diversity Task Force alongside faculty and administrators to make SIPA a more diverse and inclusive space.
Manuel Vazquez Cano
biography and picture forthcoming
Kiara Reed
biography and picture forthcoming
