Introduction: IAFS Director - Robert Wyrod
As we kick off the 2026-27 Academic Year, we want to introduce our community to our IAFS Director, Robert Wyrod. Please read on to learn more about Robert!
I am excited to be taking on the role of Director of the International Affairs Program this fall. It is an honor to help lead such a longstanding and vibrant program at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ. In my view, the program is one of the most important hubs for globally-engaged teaching, learning, and research at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ. Faculty from across the college of Arts and Sciences, with expertise on a huge range of world regions, are affiliated with program and committed to sustaining and growing its unique contributions to the university. Similarly, International Affairs attracts some of the brightest and most adventurous students at CU, many of whom go on to exciting, internationally-oriented careers. We are also fortunate to have an active Advisory Board of impressive, global professionals who support the program in myriad ways.
I have been a faculty member with the program since I arrived at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ a decade ago. As a sociologist whose research focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, International Affairs has been a natural home for me. The topics I have researched, from the impact of the AIDS pandemic in Uganda to the rise of China as a development partner in Africa, do not neatly fit into any one academic discipline. My colleagues and IA students have always been comfortable thinking past disciplinary divides and eager to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives to think through some of the most challenging international issues of the day.Ìý
This interdisciplinary perspective at the heart of the International Affairs Program is crucial now as many international institutions and global norms have been disrupted or discarded. These shifts only make the work of the International Affair Program more vital. I look forward to working with everyone in our International Affairs community—students, staff, faculty, board members—as we continue to grow this dynamic and essential part of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ.