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Model UN Team Named "Outstanding Delegation"
Cal Poly Pomona’s 2008 National Model United Nations team accomplished another stellar performance at the annual NMUN conference, held April 21-26 in New York City, winning a coveted “Outstanding Delegation” Award, the highest honor presented by the national conference. Also, for the sixth time in the last eight years, the delegation won an “Outstanding Position Paper” Award.
This is the eleventh straight year that Cal Poly Pomona has been an award-winner at the NMUN, the largest student-administered conference in the country. In 2008 the NMUN attracted over 4000 students from universities and colleges throughout the United States and from over 25 foreign countries. About 40% of the student delegates were from overseas, highlighting the cosmopolitan character of the conference.
Cal Poly Pomona represented the country of Portugal this year. In a rigorous preparatory course, students studied Portuguese history, culture, demography, politics, and foreign policy, the history and activities of the United Nations, world geography and current world affairs, and the rules and procedures of international diplomacy. Also, Portuguese Ambassador João Manuel Guerra Salgueiro met with students during a briefing at the Portuguese Mission to the UN, where senior diplomatic staff provided insight into Portuguese foreign policy for approximately two hours.
Cal Poly Pomona’s 17-member team represented Portugal on nine of the 20 committees, organizations, councils, and specialized agencies simulated at the conference. In addition, two Cal Poly Pomona students were selected to serve as committee chairs – one for the simulated Security Council and another on the UN Population Fund – three students represented Portugal on the General Assembly and ECOSOC Executive Committees, and four delegates received commendation from their committee colleagues as most effective delegates.
The “Outstanding Delegation” Award along with the “Outstanding Position Paper” Award places Cal Poly Pomona in the top 3 - 4% of colleges and universities who send their best students to the conference. The “Outstanding Position Paper” Award is presented for the research papers individual students must submit a month prior to the conference, detailing – with consummate style and skill and considerable data – the Portuguese position on complex issues of international relations.
The conference takes place at the New York Marriott Marquis and at the United Nations headquarters. The opening session and final plenary sessions of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and ECOSOC are held in the UN headquarters; and the closing ceremonies (where awards are presented) take place in the striking Great Hall of the General Assembly.
Student members of 2008 team are:
Ramsey Ayass
Aaron Burton
Seyi Dodo-Williams
Ryan Hashmi (Head Delegate)
Susan Hassen
Amanda Hill
Sean McPherson
Shannon Nakamoto
Lisa Orwig
Salil Pandit
Rafaela Pereira
Jessica Romero
Wendy Sit
Michael Stover
Sunny Tsou
Jose Vargas
Raquel Villar
Faculty Adviser John Moore, Professor of History, notes that “this group of students performed at the highest academic and diplomatic level imaginable while at the same time demonstrating a sophistication, sense of humor, and collegial spirit that made my New York visit one of the most memorable of the many years I have attended the NMUN. We worked hard, enjoyed one another’s company, were recognized as a delegation of the highest quality, and proudly represented our university.”
For further information contact: Ryan Hashmi (Head Delegate), rrhashmi@csupomona.edu or John Moore, Department of History, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768. Phone: (909) 869-3585, jamoore2@csupomona.edu
Faculty News
Dr. Eileen Wallis and Dr. Anne Wohlcke will make presentations at the upcoming World History Association Annual Conference in London this summer.
Dr. John Lloyd has helped secure our department's second "Teaching American History" grant. The grant will establish a special master's degree program for teachers in the Riverside City Unified School District. Those enrolled will work with Cal Poly Pomona faculty in the coming summers, touring significant historical sites as they study topics and methodologies associated with both general and specific topics and themes.
Dr. Judith Anderson helped secure a separate grant last year that created a similar experience for instructors in the Hacienda-La Puente School District. The two grant-funded masters degree programs will triple the size of our graduate student population and serve as a model for future linkages with local school districts that wish to provide their teachers with a content-rich, discipline-specific teacher development opportunity.
History Club News
The History Club and Phi Alpha Theta are busy organizing the year-end banquet. It will take place on June 7. Contact the department office for details.
