Anthony Arend stands in front of a bewildered group of students, continuously jumping up and down.

“I’m a state,” he explains to the curious students.

The professor decided to use this round of early morning aerobics to illustrate customary law, which consists of laws that aren’t codified but are still practiced by countries as a matter of course.

Though the students may have been expecting a more subdued lecture on the topic, the professor’s animated style of teaching made an impression on them. They will likely never forget the meaning of customary law.

Arend, a professor of government and foreign service and the new director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program, is widely known around Georgetown for his nonstop energy. It comes, he says, from a deep-seated enthusiasm for what he does.

“I’m very passionate in the way I teach and interact with students, but I try to keep it academic. I don’t preach to students,” Arend says. “I want to make sure we examine issues in an academic and analytic way, and also in a way that’s as fun as possible.”

That often proves to be a daunting task since the professor’s primary research area deals with the serious nature of international law and military force.

“Given the nature of my research, the facts of the world, unfortunately, provide fertile areas for me to explore and examine,” Arend says. “Tragically, what I’m dealing with now is the treatment of detainees, torture and the so-called war on terror in a post-9/11 world.”

Mathew Cahill (G’10), an MSFS student focusing on global commerce, takes Arend’s fall graduate-level class, International Law and War.

“He brings these subjects to life,” Cahill says. “He’s a very good discussion leader because while he guides our conversations, he never overwhelms them. He’s passionate when he speaks, but allows the debate to flow.”

That teaching style has garnered notice at Georgetown, where Arend’s accolades include the 2004 Dorothy Brown Award and the 2002 Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Award, both awarded for faculty excellence.

“I love teaching,” Arend says simply. “I work at a world-class university, and I have the opportunity to be creative, think about how we can better meet students’ needs and work with faculty and staff who are amazing – and that’s fun.”

Gratifying Moments
Currently, he is working with co-authors Robert Beck and Catherine Lotrionte on the second edition of the 1993 book “International Law and the Use of Force: Beyond the U.N. Charter Paradigm.” Again, current events take center stage thanks to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The scholars examine how international law restricts states’ use of force and the legal implications of using force. The book will address more recent cases, such as disputes in Somalia and Rwanda.

Arend also keeps an ongoing conversation of such issues through his blog, Exploring International Law, where daily updates expound upon classroom lessons. By providing legal analysis for current events, such as treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Arend juxtaposes laws versus actions.

“Professor Arend is able to step outside politics when he’s discussing these things,” Cahill notes. “He asks us to think through what the United States is obligated to do according to the law, and compare that to what the government is actually doing.”

Arend says it’s gratifying that so many of his students visit the blog and often suggest topics for inclusion. The entries, he hopes, help his students better think through international law.

“Georgetown students are able to engage in serious international issues academically, and not emotionally,” Arend explains. He hastens to add that neither he nor his students are detached from their scholarship.

“But there are times you need to step back and look at the question academically,” Arend says. “Until you understand it academically, you can’t take it to the next policy level.”

Arend helps pass those lessons onto younger scholars as well. He runs the annual International Relations Summer Program for high school students. The intensive weeklong summer program, described as an academic boot camp for teenagers interested in foreign policy, provides a learning environment for students through lectures, field trips around Washington and prominent guest speakers.

“I’m impressed when you feel the students have learned something they didn’t know, or they’re seeing something in a different way,” Arend says. “They’ve been inspired, and they’ve come to appreciate international relations for how important it is.”

Arend knows firsthand how transformative such classroom experiences can be for students. A 1980 Walsh School of Foreign Service graduate, Arend spent his junior year abroad at the University of Trier in Germany. Exposure to global law helped push him toward earning a master’s degree and Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.

They Call Him ‘Mr. Georgetown’
Teaching is only one part of Arend’s responsibilities on the Hilltop. As the new director for MSFS, Arend focuses on bolstering the program, especially as international affairs gain ever more attention and the global picture changes day to day.

“We’re trying to take an outstanding program and make sure it’s relevant to the real world five, 10 years down the road,” he says. “Things are changing; where should we be moving and how should be we changing? How should we develop the curriculum?”

Arend draws his inspiration from the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s founder, the Rev. Edmund A. Walsh, S.J., who spoke movingly about service during the school’s November 1919 opening.

“Walsh said that service is not just service to the country or international system; it’s service to humanity,” says Arend, who cited the speech in his address to students at the start of the academic year. “One thing our program does is instill a sense of service to a higher goal and higher good. It’s a critical part of our identity as a program and also our university’s identity.”

The MSFS program’s 200 graduate students carry out that service in the public, private and nonprofit sector through internships and jobs at places such as congressional offices, embassies, the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Save the Children, the International Development Bank and other entities.

MSFS offers students concentrations in international relations and security, development, commerce and business or regional and comparative studies. Students also are encouraged to take electives outside of their concentrations to add more breadth to their programs. Arend says that broadened knowledge is important for any future practitioner, given the rapidly changing field of foreign service.

“We’re at a time where ideas matter more. It’s important we understand that,” he says.

Arend also is in the beginning phase of spearheading a strategic planning initiative for the master’s program. Stakeholders in the planning include MSFS faculty members, students, alumni and potential employers of graduates, and Arend’s job is to connect them. MSFS admissions director Eleanor Monte Jones says her colleague is ideal for this role.

“He’s Mr. Georgetown,” she says laughing. “He knows everyone here and one of Tony’s great strengths is that he can pull in faculty members from across the university.”

A testament to that comes from fellow faculty member Casimir Yost, who has known Arend since the 1970s. Yost was Arend’s first boss when Arend interned as a college freshman for former Sen. Charles Mathias Jr. (R-Md.).

Yost, head of the international relations and security concentration, says his longtime friend is ready to address challenges and has been meeting with people about MSFS’s future for months.

“Tony is very high energy and has boundless enthusiasm for both the university and the School of Foreign Service,” Yost says. “The glass is always half-full for him, so he’s willing to see how we can do better.”