From New Delhi to Tokyo, the global nature of a policy school means that faculty and staff regularly meet with alumni all over the world. But earlier this month, hundreds of alumni of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs returned to campus as they attended Many Minds, Many Stripes: A Princeton University Conference Celebrating Graduate Alumni.

More than 1,100 people attended the three-day conference, representing many of the University’s 46 degree-granting departments and programs that admit graduate students. Of those attending, more than 250 were Princeton SPIA graduates.

Princeton SPIA faculty, staff, and alumni led numerous events throughout the gathering.

The first was a discussion that modeled a core focus at Princeton SPIA: constructive dialogue. Dean Amaney Jamal joined two Princeton SPIA alumni, Cara Abercrombie MPA ’03 and Ajay Bisaria MPP ’09, who drew on their long careers as a civil servant and career diplomat to share how governments with differing interests can find common ground.

“Some of the world’s most fraught conflicts — whether the Cold War, the future of Ukraine, the ongoing ceasefire negotiations about Gaza — they are going to be resolved by public servants through diplomacy, negotiations, and peace building,” Jamal said in her opening remarks. “We cannot allow ideology and polarized convictions, divisive as they may be, to distract us from this critically important work. Thus, the challenge for all of us as stewards of public service, as parents, as concerned citizens, as daughters, sons, grandparents, is how to continue engaging and learning from one another to make better policy.”

Abercrombie, a former acting U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, shared an example of constructive dialogue between the U.S. and China during the Obama administration. Bisaria, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation and former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan and Canada, explained how the Indian government repaired its relationship with Canada after a security challenge and continues to negotiate with its neighbor, Pakistan.

The conversation stimulated an engaging question-and-answer session and helped set the tone for a conference that would focus on timely topics of the day and substantive discussion.

Later that evening, conference attendees heard from Yasmin Elhady MPP ’15 and Joel Johnson MPA ’67 at the official kickoff, where speakers shared how they have built impactful lives since graduating from Princeton. Laurence Latimer MPA ’01, who is president of the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni, gave the session’s closing remarks.

On Friday afternoon, after a full day of programming that included a conversation with President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83, Princeton SPIA alumni gathered in Robertson Hall to hear faculty reflect on current issues.

“This gathering is a testament to the strength and spirit of our alumni community, a global network of change makers, collaborators and leaders,” said Steven Petric MPP ’17, the School’s assistant dean for global outreach, admissions, and alumni engagement.

Princeton SPIA alumni also led roundtables and spoke on numerous panels throughout the conference, including:

• Accelerating Economic Mobility in America: Chad Philip Maisel MPA ’13, Larry Handerhan MPA ’12, and Rodney Harrell MPA ’02
• Alumni in Service: José A. Quiñonez MPA ’98 and Frederick Wherry MPA ’00
• Ethical Decision-Making in Complex Times: Values, Accountability, and Action: Dan Jaffe MPA ’67, Summer Lopez MPA ’08, Maribel Hernández Rivera MPA ’10, and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries MPP ’05
• Global Governance in an Era of Geopolitical Shifts: Ileana Cruz-Marden MPA ’19, Sophal Ear MPA ’97, David L. Goldwyn MPA ’86, and Steven Simon MPA ’83
• Leadership and Public Responsibility: Taylor Nelson MPA ’19
• Reimagining Education for a Changing World: Emily Andrews MPP ’20
• Research to Impact: Navigating Tech Transfer, Intellectual Property and Funding Innovation: Laurence Latimer MPA ’01
• Shaping Climate Policy: Innovation, Action and Accountability: Maya Buchanan Ph.D. ’17, Harry Godfrey MPA ’13, and Dawn Miller MPA ’10
• The Role of Alumni in Public Service and Civic Engagement: Amber Greene MPP ’12, Natalie Quillian MPA ’07, Kathy Roth-Douquet MPA ’91, and Steven Siqueira MPP ’05
• Where Innovation Meets Urgency: Climate Tech’s Next Chapter: Andrew Eil MPA ’09

The events at Many Minds are just one aspect of how the School is connecting with alumni this fall.

In addition to alumni gatherings, coffee chats, and meetups at global conferences, virtual alumni panels are also bringing current students together with graduates working at a variety of institutions — including the U.S. Treasury, the World Bank, the City of Los Angeles, NYC Housing Development Corp., Human Rights Watch, and the New Jersey State Senate.

The School will also launch SPIAConnect, a platform to form meaningful connections among students and alumni, this fall. It will help deepen one-on-one connections between community members, a continued focus.

Photo credit: Sameer A. Khan / Fotobuddy