Jafar Javan
Longtime United Nations executive, international development expert, and educator Jafar Javan joins the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership as a Leader-in-Residence on April 1.
As a Leader-in-Residence, Javan will mentor and advise students enrolled in the master’s degree program in international relations, and teach a course on “Leadership in Global Justice.” Javan will also work closely with Colin Powell School leadership on the Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change, which he conceived and helped to launch during his tenure as director of the United Nations Systems Staff College.
“Jafar and I came to know each other last year, when the Colin Powell School became the higher ed anchor for the UNSSC’s Nelson Mandela Project for Social Change, an innovative and timely endeavor to bridge societal polarization,” said Andrew Rich, the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean of the Colin Powell School. “Jafar conceived this program for the United Nations, and he has been directing its launch there. We are thrilled that he will be joining us as a Leader-in-Residence.”
The Colin Powell School-based U.S. component of the Mandela Project is led by Richard Stengel, who served as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs during the Obama Administration, and is a former editor of TIME magazine. Stengel collaborated on Mandela’s bestselling 1995 autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, which became the basis for his own 2010 New York Times bestseller, Mandela's Way: Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage.
“The Nelson Mandela Program for Social Change, which launched under Jafar’s leadership at the UNSSC, has developed into an active network of universities across the world to develop learning offerings in leadership inspired by the values and achievements of Mandela,” said Stengel. “As a member of this network, CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership welcomes Jafar Javan’s new contribution to this important initiative.”
“One of the thrills of working in the Colin Powell School is the ability to work with world-leading professionals like Jafar,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Nicholas Rush Smith, the director of the M.I.A. program. “Having him teach a leadership course for our students will help the master's program in international affairs achieve our mission of fostering the next generation of global leaders.”
During his more than three-decade career in the United Nations system, Javan specialized in policy formulation for community development, empowerment and social participation, training, and education, as well as post-conflict reconstruction and recovery.
He retired earlier this year as director of UNSSC, where he was previously deputy director and head of programs. He also served as director of policy support and program development for the Bratislava, Slovakia-based United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Development Centre for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
“I am looking forward to being a member of the Colin Powell School community, and to contributing to building a cadre of young leaders who are committed to change through social and political engagement and activism,” said Javan.
Launched in 2023, the Leaders-in-Residence program brings together leaders in their fields who impart their wisdom and experience to Colin Powell students through teaching and mentoring.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Syd Steinhardt
212-650-7875
ssteinhardt@ccny.cuny.edu