Vali Nasr Named Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS

MEI's neighbors across our back ally, John's Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), has named a prominent Middle East specialist, Vali Nasr,  as its new Dean. Just before the weekend Vali had told me he was just to busy to peer review an article I'd asked him to look at. Now I know why.

MEI and SAIS have long had a neighborly relationship, and back in the early 1950s had an organic one; Vali Nasr has emerged as one of the leading experts on Southwest Asia, particularly Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, on Shi&lquo;ism in politics, and related fields. He's been at Tufts most recently but will take over at SAIS July 1. I congratulated him by e-mail but let me do so in a more public forum here. I think it will strengthen SAIS, give Vali Nasr greater visibility, and spruce up the neighborhood.