Michael J. Francis, professor of government and international studies and a fellow in both the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame, will become the University’s assistant provost for international studies, according to Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., vice president and senior associate provost.p. The appointment is effective July 1, when Francis will succeed Ivan Jaksic, associate professor of history and Kellogg Institute fellow. Jaksic in the fall will become senior associate member of St. Antony’s College at Oxford University, where he will conduct research for a biography of Venezuelan intellectual Andrés Bello. Jaksic will return to the Kellogg Institute in the spring of 1998.p. As assistant provost for international studies, Francis will coordinate the many facets of Notre Dame’s expanding international presence, including 18 international study programs encompassing general undergraduate studies as well as special or advanced programs in architecture, business, engineering and law; internationally oriented research centers including the Kroc and Kellogg institutes and the Center for Civil and Human Rights; area studies and language programs at Notre Dame and abroad; library collections; international conferences and symposia; visitor and exchange programs; and international fellowships and internships for faculty and students.p. A recent survey found the percentage of Notre Dame students studying abroad to be among the highest of any American teaching and research university.“Notre Dame is committed to becoming an international institution in the fullest sense, and this is a critical moment in that process,” Father Scully said in announcing Francis’ appointment. “Mike Francis’ background has superbly prepared him for this endeavor, and we are delighted to have him take an active role in it.”p. A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1966, Francis has devoted his entire academic career to research and teaching in international relations and foreign policy, particularly with respect to Latin America. He is the author “The Limits of Hegemony: United States Relations with Argentina and Chile During World War II” and “La Victoria de Allende,” an analysis of the 1970 Chilean presidential election. His many articles and reviews on hemispheric relations have appeared in journals including the American Political Science Review, the Hispanic American Historical Review, The Review of Politics, and Political Studies. He is a member of the executive committee of the Kellogg Institute and coeditor of its Working Papers series and also was a member of the Kroc Institute executive committee from 1991-95.p. Francis is an experienced administrator of international programs. Director of Notre Dame’s Latin American Area Studies Program since 1994, he previously served as director of the University’s London Program in 1992-93, director of its Institute for International Studies from 1978-80, director of the sophomore year in Mexico program in 1972-73, and acting director of the Latin American Program from 1969-72.p. Francis chaired the Department of Government and International Studies from 1979-86 and in 1982 received the University’s Madden Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen. A native of Hays, Kan., he earned his bachelor’s degree in English and political science from Fort Hays Kansas State University in 1960 and his doctorate in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia in 1963.
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