The Elliott School of International Affairs (known as the Elliott School or ESIA) is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It is highly ranked in international affairs and is the largest school of international relations in the United States. The Elliott School is located across from the U.S. State Department and the Organization of American States, and closely to the White House, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The Carnegie Corporation of New York ranks the Elliott School as one of the world's foremost, leading research institutions in the fields of public and foreign policy, hosting numerous research centers, institutes, and policy programs, such as the Institute for International Economic Policy and The Project on Forward Engagement. Elliott School alumni and faculty have included ambassadors, diplomats, politicians, and public figures, including heads of state and government, U.S. senators, prominent politicians, NATO officials, U.N. ambassadors, and foreign ministers. Since January 2021, Alyssa Ayres has served as dean, the first woman to hold the post. History The Elliott School traces its roots to 1898 when the George Washington University first offered studies in international affairs within the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy. In 1905, the school was replaced with the Department of Politics and Diplomacy, which ran from 1905 to 1907. This department was expanded to include other fields of study and reconstituted as the College of the Political Sciences, a part of the university that operated from 1907 till 1913. At this point, the college was turned into an academic department within the Columbian College and renamed the Department of International Law and Diplomacy. This iteration of the Elliott School functioned from 1913 until 1928. In 1928, the university once again reorganized its departments. It was in this year that the School of Government was created. This school had the longest run until then, as it remained a part of the university from 1928 till 1960. It was in 1960 that the fields of business and international affairs were added to the school of government, creating thus the School of Government, Business, and International Affairs, working from 1960 until 1966. Then, in 1966, President Lloyd Hartman Elliott split its faculties into a new School of Government and Business Administration (SGBA) and a new School of Public and International Affairs. Running from 1966 until 1987, it