A former legal adviser to the United Nations has been named the inaugural director of Penn State's new School of International Affairs.

Tiyanjana Maluwa's appointment is effective immediately and will run through June 30, 2009.

The Penn State Board of Trustees approved the school in January, and it plans to start admitting students in fall 2008. The school is administratively part of the Dickinson School of Law, where Maluwa was the H. Laddie Montague chairman in law before being named to his new position.

Maluwa's career highlights include holding the position of the first legal adviser to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner and serving as a member of the International Jury for the Stockholm Prize in Criminology.

Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz cited Maluwa's "professional background, long international career, substantial international diplomatic experience and public service" as factors in his hiring.

"I can't think of credentials that would be more fitting for a school of international affairs than someone with his background," she said.

Maluwa could not be reached for comment.

According to a press release announcing Maluwa's appointment, his first priority will be to establish the school's faculty and credentials.

The school will offer a master's degree in international affairs with specialty concentrations and initially will only serve graduate students. However, Mountz said that could eventually change.

"You have to focus on the area of interest, and right now that would be graduate," she said. "I think just as the IST school started very small and expanded and evolved in response to need and interest, I would say the same sort of thing with the School of International Affairs."

Interest in the school has been strong so far, Mountz said.

"From the day that the Board of Trustees approved the formation, we've gotten inquires from students about how to enroll in it," she said. "It's not a matter of how we'll attract students; they're already interested in it."