US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy Visit to USC

The US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy visited USC on Tuesday November 13, 2007. The Commission was interested in learning about the Master’s of Public Diplomacy program at USC and to see how the program could be applied to the practice of public diplomacy and the training of public diplomacy personnel within the U.S. government. To that end, the Commissioners met with Center leaders and MPD faculty and students and sat in on Public Diplomacy courses.

The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is a bipartisan panel created by Congress and appointed by the President to provide oversight of U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics.
By law, the Commission's seven members are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. They are selected from a cross-section of professional backgrounds and serve 3-year terms with the possibility for reappointment.
Some of the visiting commissioners included Barbara Barrett, Chairman of the Commission, Harold Pachios, Jay Snyder, and Carl Chan, Acting Executive Director.

The Commission, now in its 59th year is responsible for assessing public diplomacy policies and programs of the U.S. State Department, American missions abroad, and other agencies. Advisory Commission responsibilities extend to international exchanges, U.S. Government international information programs, and publicly funded non-governmental organizations.

The Commission reports its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, the Secretary of State, and to the American people.
More information about the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy can be found on their website.