The American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) held its 2010 annual graduation ceremony on June 3. The Commencement took place in the Alliance Française auditorium and was followed by graduation dinner in the French Senate in Paris.

The Class of 2010 is composed of 26 students from 11 different countries—the United States, France, Austria, Turkey, Greece, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Morocco and Iran.

Eighteen graduates were awarded the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy in partnership with Arcadia University. One graduate was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in International Relations and Diplomacy, and seven graduates were awarded the degree of Executive Master of Science in Finance, in partnership with the Baruch College at the City University of New York.

In addition, nine of these graduates, having followed one of the double-degree programs offered at the American Graduate School in Paris, were or also will be awarded a second Master’s degree from one of the school’s partner universities: M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from Arcadia University, European Master in Diplomacy and Strategic Negotiation from Université Paris Sud 11 (France), or LL.M. in French and European Union Law from Université de Cergy-Pontoise (France).

The commencement address was given by Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan, Assistant Director General for Communication and Information at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. Of Indian nationality, Abdul Waheed Khan holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and a master’s degree in Agricultural Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s degree in Agricultural Extension from Agra University (India). His address was on the theme: “Youth Power and Power of Peace.”

Dr. Eileen Servidio, who heads the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at AGS, and Dr. Ali Fatemi who heads the School of Business and Economics at AGS, each conferred the degrees upon the students, after which the Class of 2010 offered the traditional class gift to the school.

This year’s gift consisted of a floor globe. Additionally, on behalf of the class, one of the graduating students made a donation to Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) in the name of the school.

The President of the Graduate Student Association at AGS said as she presented the gift: “We students feel that you at the American Graduate School in Paris opened the world to us, so we wanted to give the world back to you in a symbolic way.”

The American Graduate School in Paris (www.ags.edu) is a not-for-profit institution that offers U.S. higher education in France to students from every continent. It has programs in Business and Economics and programs in International Relations and Diplomacy.