News & Features
As PPS research assistant, undergrad experiences ‘academic citizenship’
By Sidney Cruze
Durham, N.C. -- First Duke senior Jimmy Soni read the books about the dramatic last years of the Soviet Union and its collapse. Then, thanks to an undergraduate research opportunity with a public policy professor, he got to meet the man behind the books.
Soni was impressed when he read former U.S. Ambassador (and Duke alumnus) Jack Matlock’s books about Russia’s post-Stalin-era culture and politics. This summer, Soni got the chance to talk with Matlock in person about his diplomatic service and the memorable years that marked the end of the Cold War.
“It was one thing to read Matlock’s books,” Soni said. “It was another to hear him tell the story, to see his eyes light up. I saw the progression of the Cold War, not just what happened, but how leaders reflected upon it and what it meant for U.S. and Russian history.”
A University Scholar majoring in ethics with an interest in U.S./Soviet relations, Soni interviewed Matlock and five other men respected for their roles in U.S foreign policy while working as a research assistant for Bruce Jentleson, professor of public policy studies and political science at Duke’s Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.
It’s the kind of research experience that Duke faculty and administrators hope for all Duke undergraduates and the kind of education envisioned in the new strategic plan.
next page >>>
1 | 2 | 3
