What is Great Decisions?
The
Great Decisions program at UNC-Chapel Hill is an outreach program of the
Foreign Policy Association (FPA).
There are over two thousand Great
Decisions programs across the U.S.The mission of each program
is to facilitate national awareness and critical analysis of the
current events that roil foreign affairs.
At Carolina, the Great Decisions program is a class with two core
parts. In the fall, an eighteen member coordinating committee
of Carolina’s top undergraduates find eight speakers on eight
current international topics and manage the logistical, financial,
and administrative aspects of creating a lecture series. Committee
members receive one hour of fall semester pass/fail credit. In
the spring, the committee members become Teaching Assistants for
the class, INTS 393 (093), which centers on the eight high-profile
lectures. Discussion sessions after each lecture are run by the
committee members, who also assign weekly readings and create
written assignments. Committee members receive three hours of
graded credit in the spring for participation in the program and
the seminar that follows the lecture series. The Great Decisions
Committee is a singular experience in leadership, communication,
and management and offers undergraduates a rare opportunity to
be Teaching Assistants and meet international leaders.Enrollees
into INTS 393 receive one hour of pass/fail credit. Our motto
is critical thinking in a collaborative setting, and our goals
include increasing the intellectual climate on campus and engaging
tomorrow’s leaders on contemporary events in foreign affairs.
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Why is Great Decisions important to UNC?
On
campus for over 20 years,
the UNC Great Decisions Program is now the largest of more than
two thousand programs in the nation. Our efforts were formally
applauded by former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Each year, we
bring in speakers who are national and international decision
makers. Recent speakers have included the UN Secretary-General
for External Affairs, Gillian Martin Sorenson, the former Commander
of the Strategic Air Command, General Lee Butler, the first-ever
US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and
former President of World Vision, Robert Seiple, and Foreign Policy
Advisor to Vice President Al Gore and Director of the Sanford
Institute, Bruce Jentleson.
Approximately 400 undergraduates and community participants enroll
in Great Decisions (INTS 393), and all lectures are free and open
to the public. We take UNC to the communities that surround us.
The committee runs an outreach program to local retirement communities
and secondary schools. Continuing Education Credit is available
to secondary school teachers who enroll.
Special thanks is given to the College of Arts and Sciences, the
Center for Global Initiatives, and Curriculum in International
Studies for their continued support of the Great Decisions program.
Without their support and funding, we would not be able to continue
with the caliber of lectures we've held for over a decade.
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