Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals

Dr. Mykletun is a distinguished alumnus of the College of Liberal Arts. He received his master’s degree in 1972 and his doctorate in 1975, both in the fields of international relations and political science.

He has had a distinguished career as a professor, scholar, researcher, director of several organizations inside and outside Norway, science counselor to the Norwegian mission to the EU in Brussels, and science counselor at the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has focused his career on advancing science and technology in our world.

He is currently the deputy director general of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which allows him to work at the international cross-roads of higher education, science, technology, innovation, commercialization, industry, and business. One of the most important outcomes of Dr. Mykletun’s career has been the signing of the U.S.-Norway bilateral science and technology agreement in December 2005. This agreement will result in a stronger relationship between the two countries. He also played an integral role in structuring and obtaining funding for “The Norwegian Centennial Interdisciplinary Chair” at the University of Minnesota.

Earlier in his career, he held senior management positions in a variety of major scientific organizations, including the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities in Oslo and the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg. He has been elected to the Norwegian National UNESCO Commission, the Nordic Association for Social Science Research Councils, the Christian Michelsen Research Institute in Bergen, and the Centre for Alternative Future Research in Oslo. He is a member of the Oakley Caucus, which is a consortium of social science research councils in the U.S., Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Norway.

He has served as the head of the Washington Science Diplomats Club, which brought together embassy science counselors in Washington D.C. Under his leadership the organization developed collaborate programs and partnerships and facilitated broad communication about U.S. actions and policies that impacted the international science community, such as the response to the 2004 Asian tsunami, education reforms, and homeland security directions. He has been called “one stop shopping” for international outreach.

During the past four years Dr. Mykletun has worked to foster relationships between U.S., Canadian, and Norwegian researchers and academic institutions as science counselor of the Norway-U.S. Forum on Higher Education, Research, and Technology. The Forum’s objective is to stimulate joint research in the areas of biotechnology, energy, climate, and healthcare.

In naming Dr. Mykletun as a recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals, the committee cited his impact on the University, his accomplishments in promoting international cooperation, and his recognized international leadership.