The South Asia Center welcomes back Masood Hyder, Professor
of Practice in the Department of Public Administration and International
Affairs. He had taught at Maxwell in 2011-2012 before leaving to teach at
Fordham University in New York City. He offers courses on Humanitarian Action,
Food Security, the UN, and Development Aid.
Professor Hyder has 28 years’ experience in development and
disaster management, in progressively responsible positions at the United
Nations. He has first -hand experience of dealing with humanitarian and development
operations and projects at the country level, having lived and worked in Sudan,
Iran, North Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Djibouti.
Since his return, Professor Hyder has been a familiar face
at the Center’s Hindi-Urdu tables. When asked about his interest in the
language table, he said, “I was coming out of my office and I heard people
talking in Urdu and Hindi so I sat in and I thought it was good fun…And of
course, language is magical. I think that the closest we come to magic is
poetry and language in general.”