June 19, 2015 marked a special celebration for the program's 2014-2015 students, as it represented the culmination of their intense and rewarding academic year abroad.
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8th Annual EUPS Graduation
Florence, Italy - On Friday, June 19th, at Palazzo Incontri in Florence, Italy, James Madison University's M.A. program in political science held its 8th annual commencement ceremony. The day marked a special celebration for the program's 2014-2015 students, as it represented the culmination of their intense and rewarding academic year abroad.
JMU President Jonathan R. Alger gave the keynote address. "This program has provided a rich platform to understand the European Union," Alger noted. "Like the American experiment in democracy (of which James Madison was a key founding father), the EU has been an experiment on a grand scale to foster cooperation, dialogue, economic development and prosperity." President Alger gave graduating students an inspiring charge, reminding them that their degree confers "a significant responsibility" and noting that "graduates of this program are doing amazing and important work in government, the non-profit sector, and in business."
John Scherpereel (Director of the EUPS program), Caterina Paolucci (Academic Coordinator) and Alessandro Gentili (Senior Director, JMU in Florence) also spoke at the ceremony, and Ryan Prusator offered remarks on behalf of the Class of 2015. "Throughout the year," Prusator noted, "it was truly a blessing to watch my classmates and I develop into global citizens. Living in a foreign country forced us to think differently, to shift our perspectives about the world, and to find beauty in the minute differences of culture juxtaposed with the underlying ties that bind all of us."
Later in the ceremony, Prusator was presented with the Outstanding Student Award, and Margaret Schmelzinger was recognized for preparing and delivering the outstanding paper (“A Normative Analysis of Competition Policy in the United States and the European Union: The Cases of IBM and Microsoft") at the annual JMU-Max Weber Programme Symposium on April 16, 2015.
James Madison University’s M.A. program in political science congratulates all 2014-2015 graduates on their achievement!
