Administration

Ian Hurd
Director, WCCIAS

Ian Hurd is Professor of Political Science, Director of the Weinberg College Center for International and Area Studies, and Director of the International Studies Program at Northwestern University.  The 4th Edition of his book International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice was published in 2020. His book How to Do Things with International Law (2017) looks at the political uses of international law around war, drones, and torture to reconsider the idea of the international rule of law. His book After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council (2008) won the Chadwick Alger Award from the International Studies Association and the Myres McDougal Prize from the Policy Sciences Society. He is also co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of International Organizations (2016).

His research and teaching focus on international law and politics in theory and in practice, and on political science research methods. He is a frequent contributor to public debates on global affairs, foreign policy, and international law. His work has appeared in leading academic and policy journals, including International Organization, Foreign Affairs, International Politics, Global Governance, and Ethics & International Affairs. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Times and other media outlets, and he is interviewed frequently by Chicago Public Radio and the Chicago PBS station, WTTW. He has been a visiting scholar at the American Bar Foundation in Chicago, WZB in Berlin, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, EHESS in Paris, and elsewhere. Contact Ian Hurd at ianhurd@northwestern.edu. 

Bianca R. Jimenez
Associate Director, WCCIAS

Bianca has been at the University since 2006 working with various area studies programs including Asian Studies, International Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and Middle East & North African Studies. She received her M.A. in Social Sciences with a concentration in Anthropology, from the University of Chicago. As Associate Director she oversees the administration of the center's programs and works with the faculty Directors to advise students, manage curricular development, and provide program management. Prior to joining Northwestern she worked for the Environmental and Conservation Program at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago where she worked closely with a local NGO in Peru, CIMA-Cordillera Azul to protect cultural diversity and land security, and to integrate improved quality of life into the management of Cordillera Azul National Park. While at the Museum, she also worked with the interactive program expeditions@fieldmuseum™, which followed Field Museum scientists as they conduct groundbreaking scientific research around the world and communicate it to a wider audience through dispatches, interactives and photos.

Contact Bianca for information about our undergraduate programs, study abroad consultation, course planning, Undergraduate prizes, Graduate summer grants, Global Lunchbox programming, Alumni connections, Visiting Scholars, GA opportunities.

Margaret Sagan
Program Coordinator, WCCIAS

Margaret Sagan is Program Coordinator of the Weinberg College Center for International and Area Studies, handling the center’s events. She joined the center in 2022. She co-authored the report “Responsible Coffee Sourcing: Towards a Living Income for Producers” in 2021, for the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI). She received her Master of International Affairs degree at Columbia University SIPA, performing field work in Malawi for the Business and Human Rights Clinic. She worked for a decade at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, where she managed visitor services, planned events including Jazz Showcase concerts and film screenings, and wrote the Close-Ups section of the Native Networks website.

Contact Margaret for information about event programming, communications, and honoraria.

Tiffany Williams-Cobleigh
Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinator, WCCIAS

Tiffany is a Program Assistant for the Center for International and Area Studies. She supports the International Studies Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, and Middle East and North African Studies Program. She has been at Northwestern since 2016 and was with the Program of African Studies before joining WCCIAS. She earned her M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in rural community and economic development from Western Illinois University through their graduate program for returned Peace Corps volunteers and worked with the University of Missouri Extension before coming to Northwestern. She did her Peace Corps service in Rwanda and continues to travel internationally each year.

Contact Tiffany for questions regarding CAESAR, course information, registration inquiries, permission numbers, graduate summer grants, special payments, student group co-sponsorships, undergraduate prizes.

Cindy Pingry
Program Coordinator for Faculty Research Groups & Events, WCCIAS

Cindy provides administrative support to the faculty research groups in the Center for International and Area Studies. She has worked in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern for over 10 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having worked both in the Weinberg Dean’s office and in the Department of Economics. She’s played a key role in Weinberg College’s Convocation and has planned and managed a number of special events, lectures, colloquia, and conferences on campus. She’s had the opportunity to work with a wide range of faculty members and staff across Weinberg College. 

Contact Cindy for zoom meeting information, event planning, Global Lunchbox, honorariums, flyers and publicity, inquiries related to faculty research groups.

Joel Laureano
Program Adminstrator for Faculty Research Groups & Programming, WCCIAS

Joel provides administrative support to the faculty research groups in the Center for International and Area Studies. He manages communications and media along with production of the Global Lunchbox podcast.

Contact Joel for website updates, flyers and publicity, event information, co-sponsoships, Global Lunchbox podcast.