The proposal for a school of international affairs at University Park may be submitted to Penn State President Graham Spanier for consideration by the end of this semester, said Philip McConnaughay, dean of the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

If Spanier approves the proposal, it will be brought to the Board of Trustees for final review.

"This is an idea that President Spanier has always had in the back of his mind," McConnaughay said.

Spanier mentioned the creation of a school of international affairs in his 2005 State of the University address and again in his address on Friday, which was presented at the Board of Trustees meeting.

"We will this year begin the development of the school of international affairs, to offer professional degrees and specialty study in such areas as diplomacy and conflict resolution, trade and commercial relations, civil and human rights, and international economic development," Spanier said in his address Friday. "This new interdisciplinary school will foster the serious study of some of the biggest transitional challenges around the globe."

A multidisciplinary committee was formed in October 2005 to begin working on a proposal for the school. The proposal is set to be given to Spanier this fall or next spring.

"In the past year we have made substantial progress moving toward a proposal to the Board of Trustees -- that they endorse these standards for a Penn State graduate professional school of international affairs," McConnaughay said. "I think it's fair to say work on the proposal is on a very fast track."

The Dickinson School of Law will have a large role in overseeing the school of international affairs. McConnaughay said the law school will, at least initially, share its offices with the school.

The law school already operates a "fairly sizable" program that hosts foreign lawyers interested in obtaining a master of laws (LL.M.) degree, he said.

"[The program suggests] that there is a natural synergy between the students who are seeking our LL.M. degree and foreign students and others who might happen to seek professional level education in various aspects of foreign affairs," McConnaughay said.

Additionally, the law school faculty already features an esteemed group of professors with international expertise.

Tiyanjana Maluwa, a law professor at University Park and Dickinson's Associate dean of international affairs, has been sent by the Secretary General of the United Nations to Sierra Leone to assess treaty rights.

McConnaughay said the existing courses and expertise of these professors and others will overlap with the requirements of the new school of international affairs.

In the next year, he said, the goal is to take an "inventory" of all professors who have international talents to offer to the school. McConnaughay predicted that there might be a few new appointments to round out the school's faculty.

"The proposal really is a uniquely multidisciplinary effort to take advantage of existing faculty expertise and create a curriculum which offers students a meaningful international dimension in their professional career," he said.

McConnaughay said he suspects the students who enroll initially in the school will consist primarily of graduate students seeking joint degrees.