Global Environmental Politics Program - School of International Service

05/20/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR3Do1QHVaQ
From conferences and community-engaged research to campus events, service projects, classroom experiences, and student leadership, this montage captures just a glimpse of the people and moments that made this year so meaningful.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to another inspiring year.

The Department of Environment, Development, & Health (EDH) at SIS i...

12/05/2023

The familiar black-and-white face of the giant panda stares at you through the camera lens, looking simultaneously thoughtful and pleading. Then it rolls over on its back, clutching a stalk of bamboo, seemingly at peace with everything all at once. In a world filled with conflict, people appear to agree that the giant panda is the undisputed global cuteness champion. But that fluffy, round face is also the face of China’s soft power, and the news that all pandas will be gone from the US by the end of 2024 has left many with questions about how these gentle giants first came to the US—and how that cherubic face came to symbolize so much about diplomacy, environmentalism, and relations between the world’s two largest economies.
We caught up with SIS professor Judith Shapiro, director of graduate studies for SIS’s Department of Environment, Development & Health, to ask her some panda questions. Shapiro is the author of China’s Environmental Challenges and co-author of China Goes Green.

Read more of this great conversation between Judy Shapiro and Kay Summer here: https://www.american.edu/sis/news/20231127-goodbye-or-just-goodbye-for-now-pandas-soft-power-and-us-china-relations.cfm

11/06/2023

NRSD students have been hard at work in the UPEACE greenhouse during their Sustainable Agriculture class!

10/30/2023

Our very own Dr. Judy Shapiro was the keynote speaker on China's impact on the future of the planet at the annual National Council for Geographic Education conference held this year in Columbia South Carolina!

Judy is one of the many amazing professors that we have the privilege of learning from in our programs!

10/16/2023

The EDH department welcomed fall with an amazing potluck at Rock Creek Park!

09/16/2023

SIS, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to the US, was proud to host Jennifer Morgan, SIS/MA '92, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action in the German Federal Foreign office, for a keynote and a conversation with SIS professor Simon Nicholson.

Through this discussion, taking place ahead of the Climate Leaders’ Summit and New York Climate Week, State Secretary Morgan laid out Germany’s approach to climate foreign policy and to building new partnerships in a world confronted with multipolarity and multiple crises. She also laid out priorities ahead of the upcoming UN climate conference COP28.

09/08/2023

Our NRSD group in Costa Rica is settling in great for their second semester at the University for Peace in Costa Rica!

08/27/2023

New environment and development MA students and faculty at a reception at the Royal Norwegian Embassy as a special event during orientation!

08/26/2023

GEP and NRSD students visit the USEPA on orientation weekend. The hosts, Jeremy Schreifels and Stacy Zintgraff, shared their work with new and continuing GEP and NRSD students.

08/25/2023

SIS professor, Dr. Pashayan just completed primary research over the summer as part of the Deans Research Award. Two undergraduate interns assisted in this work. The three-part research project is on international development in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and is entitled "Settling the Informal Settlements."

08/17/2023

Some of our wonderful GEP scholars visiting the University of Life Sciences in Norway 🇳🇴