Pardee School Launches New Michael T. Corgan Internship Fund
The Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University is pleased to announce the creation of the Michael T. Corgan Internship Fund, which supports students seeking relevant, high-impact internships in field of international relations.
This career development fund joins the Pardee School travel grants program, including the Keylor Fund, that was initiated in 2015, as a major initiative to provide graduate and undergraduate students at the Pardee School with high-impact opportunities to advance their career goals in the field of international affairs. The first cycle of awards by the Corgan Fund is likely to be made for the summer of 2022.
The Michael T. Corgan Internship Fund will award a stipend to selected students for a qualified summer internship in the area of international affairs that would otherwise be unpaid. The fund seeks to support Pardee School students to undertake highly relevant and career advancing internships in leading institutions that would give them applicable experience for pursuing a career in the field of international affairs.
This competitive award is named for Professor Michael T. Corgan, who taught in the Pardee School and Department of International Relations from 1995 until his untimely death in 2018. Professor Corgan was a beloved teacher and mentor whose enthusiasm for the subject and for his students was boundless. Having spent over 12 years as Director of Undergraduate Studies and taught more than 10,000 students, he had an enormous positive impact on the lives and educations of generations of Boston University students.
“It has been over twenty years since I took Introduction to International Relations, and part of me still thinks that my life would be so different had it been someone else teaching that 8 a.m. class, had Michael Corgan’s passion for the subject not inspired me to make this my major and, ultimately, my career,” said Nikos Tsafos (Pardee ’03), a primary funder of the Corgan Fund. “This fund is a small way to pay back that debt – and to let others who were similarly touched show their appreciation for a great teacher.”
“Career development is one of the most important things we can provide as a professional school of international relations,” said Adil Najam, Dean of the Pardee School. “I’m delighted we have been able to create this fund and honor the memory of our colleague Michael Corgan, who was a great champion for professional career development for our students. Through this fund, the Pardee School will help our students get a leg up in their careers by supporting high-impact and career-advancing internships in the field of international relations.”
Learn more about the Corgan Fund, eligibility, and applications details on the Pardee School website.
The Pardee School launched a large fundraising campaign to build support for the Corgan Fund as part of BU Giving Day 2021. During that 24 hour period, the Pardee School raised over $2,000 for the fund.