Dr. Darren Hawkins will soon be finishing his term as faculty coordinator for the Kennedy Center’s International Development program, and we are pleased to announce that Dr. Hayley Pierce of BYU’s Sociology Department will be stepping into that position. She will begin on 1 July and overlap Dr. Hawkins for two months before he finishes his term at the end of August.
For Pierce, a first-generation college student, coming to BYU as an undergraduate opened her eyes to a field of study she hadn’t been aware of: “Before coming to BYU, I didn’t even know what sociology was,” she says. “But one day, I browsed the list of majors and came across a description for the Introduction to Sociology course. It mentioned things like social group influence, family, race relations, and culture.” The description intrigued her, she says, because she had always wondered, “Why do circumstances beyond our control, like where or when we’re born, our age, sex, race, religion, citizenship status, and so on, shape so much of our lives?”
She took the class and quickly discovered a love of sociology. “It also helped that I really admired my professor, Dr. Renata Forste (a former director of the Kennedy Center and now BYU’s International Vice President), who took me under her wing,” she says. “She helped me navigate college life, encouraged me to think about becoming a professor, and played a major role in shaping who I am today.”
Another important role Forste played in Pierce’s journey was introducing her to Dr. Ralph Brown, a sociology professor and, at the time, the faculty coordinator of the International Development program. Brown encouraged Pierce to apply for his Thailand internship program, so she did and spent a summer working with Native hill tribe women. There, she discovered a passion for international development, leading to her pursuing minors in International Development and Nonprofit Management.
That internship, and another one she did in Uganda, changed her life, she says: “These experiences completely shifted my understanding of the world and my place in it. I realized how deeply our lives are shaped by systems, structures, and circumstances far beyond our control. That realization sparked a lifelong desire to better understand those systems and contribute to efforts that create more equitable, just, and sustainable outcomes for all communities.”
Reflecting back on Brown’s mentorship, which led to her current passion for international development, Pierce says, “Ralph Brown fundamentally shaped how I understand international development. I am better because of the people I’ve met around the world. I can only hope I’ve been able to give back even a little in return.” She quotes a life-changing lesson she learned from him in his “Last Lecture”:
Be in a place long enough to realize what you have as an American (if you are American) and appreciate it, but then be there long enough to realize what you do not have, and bring that home with you. Cross a frontier. Do something different. Challenge your epistemic closure. Change your context. Change your perspective. Get a new idea of what is going on—and never stop searching for the truth.
After completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sociology at BYU, Pierce earned a PhD in Demography from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018 and became a professor in BYU’s Sociology Department in the same year. In her time at BYU, Pierce has been an affiliated faculty member with the Kennedy Center’s American Studies, Latin American Studies, and International Development programs; she has also been on the Global Women’s Studies executive committee and spoken several times in their GWS Colloquium lecture series.
On becoming the International Development faculty coordinator, she says, “I feel incredibly honored to step into this role, especially following so many thoughtful and inspiring directors who have guided the International Development program over the past two decades. My goal is to continue that momentum, to ensure that students not only have meaningful international experiences, but that they also understand the complexity of global issues through an interdisciplinary lens.”
When asked why it’s important for students to study international development, she says, “Because it challenges them to think beyond their own experiences. It requires them to examine global inequalities, cultural assumptions, and the ethical implications of engaging in communities different from their own. It also teaches empathy, critical thinking, and responsibility, skills and values that are essential no matter what field they go into. At its core, international development is about learning how to love our neighbors more fully, both near and far. Studying it gives students the tools to see all people as deserving of dignity, opportunity, and respect, and prepares them to engage in the world in meaningful and thoughtful ways. It truly feels like a divinely inspired endeavor.”
As she considers her new position, she says that she is “particularly passionate about helping students learn how to engage ethically and sustainably in development work. That means approaching communities with humility, listening before acting, and recognizing that real change often comes through relationships and long-term commitment, not quick fixes. I’m also looking forward to mentoring students, just as mentors have guided me. This program has the potential to open doors, shift worldviews, and shape lives. I hope to foster an environment where students can challenge their assumptions, expand their lenses, and come away not just with academic knowledge, but with a deepened sense of responsibility and global connection.”
What’s powerful about international development, she says, is that it can affect students not only during their time in college, but throughout the rest of their lives—in a wide variety of ways. “Ultimately, I want students to leave this program not just with academic insight, but with a deeper sense of their responsibility to the world,” she says. “I hope they come to see all people as their neighbors, equally valued and equally loved, and to see international development as a way to live out that calling. That’s what transformed me as a student, and that’s what I hope to pass on in this next chapter of the program.”
Learn more about the International Development program here.