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.”