FAU Diplomacy Team Places First at Washington, D.C. Competition

diplomacy program

FAU students Karina Nentwig and Emaad Khan attend the annual diplomacy competition in Washington, D.C.


By lisa metcalf | 11/28/2022

The Leon Charney Diplomacy Program at Florida Atlantic University recently competed in the annual diplomacy competition in Washington, D.C. The program received seven Delegation awards, finishing first place overall out of 61 competing universities. FAU was represented by 72 students who joined more than 800 college students from other universities, representing various countries as students step into the shoes of diplomats to solve global problems.

FAU’s diplomacy program has won a total of five national titles and is currently the top-ranked academic diplomacy program in the country.

The Leon Charney Diplomacy Program, which trains students in world affairs, dispute resolution and debate, was established in 1996 and is a unit of the Peace, Justice & Human Rights Initiative. To date, the program has won 66 national and international awards for academic excellence.

In 2017, the program was named to honor the diplomatic legacy of Leon Charney, who played a key role in the 1978 Camp David Accords.  FAU professors Jeffrey Morton, Ph.D., Annette LaRocco, Ph.D., and Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D., all direct the program, which will next compete in Kobe, Japan.

“Experiential learning for our students in the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program uniquely prepares them for myriad careers in which research, presentation of complex ideas, and cross-cultural negotiation are key elements of success,” said Michael Horswell, Ph.D., dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. “Dr. Morton and his colleagues have mentored our students to an unprecedented level of national titles, and we are very proud of that achievement.” 

For more information about the Leon Charney Diplomacy Program, visit www.fau.edu/artsandletters/pjhr/diplomacy/.

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