On April 22, the Global Studies Launch party was held at the Peace Pole on campus to announce the new major. The event featured Professor Mark Juergensmeyer, Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, professor of sociology, and affiliate professor of religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He spoke speak on the topic of “Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence.” The event was sponsored by IRA funds.