AU Media Relations

Today's Experts...

Election 2008: Ask the Experts
The final primaries are approaching and the race for the Democratic nomination is as close as ever. With a wide range of experts on campaigns, elections, and politics, American University professors can provide news outlets with the insightful and in depth analysis that voters are looking for as the 2008 National Party Conventions draw closer. American University experts can speak extensively about presidential elections, presidential campaigns, voting behavior, polling, survey research, election management, election reform, campaign reform, public opinion, national conventions and many other important topics. To arrange an interview with an American University election expert, contact the Media Relations office at 202-885-5950. For more information visit our Election Experts webpage.

Around Campus...

AU MBA Students Revved Up To Attract Chinese Sponsorship to NASCAR
This spring, as the central component of the applied business practicum at American University’s Kogod School of Business, five MBA students are taking a look under the hood of NASCAR in hopes of helping the sport seek new sponsors in a largely untapped market—China. “Just about everyone in NASCAR is having sponsorship troubles right now: the big teams, but especially the smaller teams,” said Robert Sicina, the students’ faculty advisor and an executive in residence at Kogod. The students flew out to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., to attend a series of races on Saturday, Feb. 23, and Sunday, Feb. 24. Students had passes to the garage area and spent the weekend interviewing fans, team owners and general managers, NASCAR officials and the president of the Phoenix International Raceway.

AU Professor Documents the Documentary's Rise in Popularity, Identifies 100 "Must See" Films
Last year, the widely-distributed AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. This year, Michael Moore’s SICKO, another documentary that enjoyed mainstream success, is among the nominations for the same category. Patricia Aufderheide, an expert on documentary film at American University’s School of Communication, says this is a sign that the documentary has come into its own. Aufderheide, a professor and director of AU’s Center for Social Media, is the author of the new book Documentary: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, Dec. 2007).

2008 Primary Turnout On Pace To Reach Record Highs
Voter turnout on Super Tuesday, and in earlier primaries, is on pace to break the record turnout seen during the 1972 presidential primaries. With 27 percent of eligible citizens voting in primaries so far, this year’s primary turnout will eclipse the 25.9 percent average recorded in 1972, according to a preliminary Presidential primary report issued today by American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate (CSAE).

Marketing May Influence How Often Parents Feed Children Fast Food
Marketing may influence how often parents feed their children fast food, according to a study by Sonya A. Grier, an associate professor of marketing at American University’s Kogod School of Business. The study, titled "Fast-Food Marketing and Children's Fast-Food Consumption: Exploring Parents' Influences in an Ethnically Diverse Sample," is in the current issue of the American Marketing Association's Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

American University Study Finds Many Uses of Copyrighted Material Could Be Legal
A new, first-of-its-kind study conducted by American University Professors Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi finds that many online videos creatively use copyrighted materials in ways that are eligible for fair use consideration under copyright law; In short, they potentially are using copyrighted material legally. These uses—an exercise of freedom-of-speech rights—are threatened by anti-piracy measures online. The study, Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video identifies nine kinds of uses of copyrighted material.

Primary School: American University Students Rub Elbows with Presidential Candidates, Media in New Hampshire
From Saturday, Jan. 5 through Wednesday, Jan. 9, approximately 30 American University students rubbed elbows with the presidential candidates, their campaign staffs and the news media in Manchester, N.H., for the 2008 New Hampshire Presidential Primary. The trip was the culmination of Special Topics in News Media: Covering the 2008 Presidential Election, a course offered by AU’s School of Communication. Taught by faculty members Bill Gentile, Dotty Lynch and Lynne Perri, the course will focus on what makes election 2008 different in the eyes of young Americans.

American University Health Expert Finds the Real Value in 2007’s Best-Selling Weight-Loss Books
Diet and weight-loss books have become a multi-million dollar a year business, with millions of Americans searching for the latest way to shed those extra pounds. As 2007 wraps up and Americans get ready for another round of weight-loss New Year’s resolutions, a study by American University nutrition expert Stacey Snelling analyses the year’s best-selling weight-loss books to find those that provide a healthy way to lose the weight and those that are all hype.

Graphic Novels Reach Academia: American University Professor Teaches and Practices the Art of Graphic Novels
Graphic novels, comic books grown up counterpart, have gained popular appeal in the last five years thanks to blockbuster Hollywood movies based on graphic novels like 300, Sin City, Ghost Rider and V for Vendetta. Now they have a place in academia. American University literature professor Michael Wenthe has brought the medium to the Department of Literature with a course titled, The Graphic Novel. “This definitely is a time when comics in general, and graphic novels as a species of them, have found a lot more general acceptance,” said Wenthe.

American University's School of International Service Breaks Ground on "Green" Building
American University's School of International Service (SIS), the nation's largest school of international affairs, broke ground today on a new 70,000-square-foot environmentally-friendly building. The state-of-the-art building is scheduled to open to students and faculty in 2010. The new structure, designed by renowned “green” architect William McDonough with William McDonough & Partners, has been designed to reduce energy consumption and minimize construction waste. The architects also are fashioning spaces that will protect public health by using natural lighting, nontoxic materials and climate controls that ensure the quality of indoor air.

Understanding Baby Boomers: American University Professor Helps Students Identify With Their Parents’ Generation
As baby boomers approach retirement age, many of their sons and daughters know little of the true impact the generation has had on American culture. American University professor Leonard Steinhorn is working to bridge that knowledge gap with a course titled, Talking About My Parents' Generation: Understanding Baby Boomers and How They've Shaped Us. Steinhorn's class covers the people, events, literature and media that shaped a generation and looks at how that generation continues to influence American culture today. Students are immersed in the culture of the 1960's and early 1970's with screenings of popular and influential movies and TV shows.

Upcoming Events...

HS Students Lend New Perspective on Improving the D.C. Public School System
When: Thursday, May 1; 7 p.m.
Where: Greenberg Theatre, 4200 Wisconsin Ave. N.W.
American University 's School of Education , Teaching and Health (SETH) will release “Invitation to Dream,” a report that compiles high school students' opinions on ways to improve the D.C. school system, 7 p.m. May 1 at American University 's Greenberg Theatre. The “Invitation to Dream” report is the culmination of four student forums that asked D.C. high school students to give solutions to the school dropout epidemic and ways to improve the school system.

AU Center for Global Peace to Discuss Islamic Traditions of Nonviolence at Upcoming Conference
When: Monday, May 5; 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Where: Butler Board Room, Butler Pavilion
American University 's Center for Global Peace will cohost a conference on Islamic Traditions of Peace and Nonviolence from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 5, in the Butler Board Room at American University . The one-day conference will focus on the history, religious interpretations and implementation of peace and nonviolence in the Muslim world and will address many questions about peace in Islam today. Mohammed Abu Nimer, American University professor of international peace and conflict resolution, will deliver the keynote address.

Inauguration Newsroom...

The Inauguration of AU President Neil Kerwin
The American University community and friends are invited to attend a series of inaugural week events showcasing the university's commitment to teaching-learning; scholarship, professional contributions and creativity; service; and alumni. The formal Inauguration of Neil Kerwin as Fourteenth President of American University will be held, Friday, Feb. 8

For more details, including a complete listing of press releases, advisories, feature stories and additional details for all inauguration week events visit the inauguration newsroom.

To arrange an interview or for additional information, please contact AU Media Relations at 202-885-5950 or aumedia@american.edu.