Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance

Niehaus Response to COVID-19

Response by Helen V. Milner, Director of the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance

October 5, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

As announced by the University in early August, reopening efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere have demonstrated how difficult it is to contain the disease. New Jersey’s careful approach has helped to keep the pandemic in check, but public health principles and state guidance still limit very substantially what we can do on campus. 

In light of the diminished benefits and increased risks currently associated with residential education amid New Jersey’s battle against the pandemic, the University has decided that the undergraduate program should be fully remote in the fall semester of 2020.

In support of efforts to reduce transmission of COVID-19, gatherings, meetings, or events will be hosted virtually whenever possible. 

The Niehaus Center has as its number one goal to create a large and dynamic community of scholars and students interested in both the academic and policy dimensions of globalization and international governance. To accomplish this, we have two postdoctoral fellowship programs for young scholars who will meet our Center’s goals by performing remotely until in-person resumption on campus.  

The Center is convening a series of Zoom sessions in which participants can share and engage with faculty, students, and one another in a remote environment. 

These events include:

1. The Monday IR Faculty Colloquium lunchtime seminars which is well attended by faculty and both undergraduate and graduate students from various academic departments including Politics, Economics, and the School of Public and International Affairs. These weekly sessions have given them the opportunity to meet and discuss with many scholars doing interesting research in comparative politics and international relations.
    
2. The Wednesday Pizza and Politics lunchtime sessions is an informal research seminar series where postdocs and graduate students gather to present their research, in all states of progress, and share constructive feedback over pizza. The seminar is being held virtually in Fall 2020 and will resume in person as soon as the University allows. For more information or to join the Pizza and Politics mailing list, please contact Zenobia Chan (zeno@princeton.edu) or Noel Foster (noelf@princeton.edu). 
    
3. Wednesday weekly morning fellows’ meetings provide a means to share an overview of their main research agendas/any upcoming research projects and characterizes their goals for the fellowship. These weekly meetings give the opportunity to help support each other in achieving their goals. Associated faculty members will assist the fellows in promoting engagement with the broader academic community.
    
4. We host a monthly ‘NCGG Virtual Community Happy Hour’ to gather together in an informal setting to allow faculty, fellows and graduate students to find out more about people's research interests, but in a fun, aspirational, and fanciful way. 

Looking forward, we are not canceling later events but will be scheduling them remotely until further University instructions.

The University’s goal is to restore Princeton’s on-campus, in-person research and teaching enterprise as soon and as fully as is consistent with sound public health principles.

I will be following up with you in the future and appreciate your understanding while we take measures to keep our community safe during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Best regards,

Helen V. Milner

Welcome to NCGG        

The Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance began operation in Fall 2004 and is directed by Helen V. Milner. The Center strives to develop a tight-knit intellectual community at Princeton and promote ties between the academic and policy communities involved in globalization and international governance issues.