American University News & Events

New & Noteworthy...

American University students and faculty at the conventions

A group of ambitious American University students, the nation’s most politically-active students according to the Princeton Review, are starting off the school year at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Eight American University students will be working at the conventions or live blogging from the convention floor.

Three American University professors will also be attending the conventions and will be available to media for commentary.

Five students— Sam Hagedorn (DNC), Kaitlin Scanlan (DNC), Katie Smith (DNC), Dan Shorts (RNC), and Alex Knepper (RNC)—will be live blogging for politics@theEagle, a Web site created by AU’s student newspaper, The Eagle.

Dan Shorts and three other students from the School of Public Affairs Leadership Progam will also be on the floor at the conventions:

Michael Monrroy, will be attending the Republican National Convention as an embedded political reporter for Si TV & Voto Latino as the winner of their “Crash the Parties contest.

Kristian Hoysradt will be at the Democratic National Convention, staffing Mayor David Cicilline of Providence (President) and Virginia Mayer (Staff Director) of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors (NCDM).

Jon Kohan will be attending the Republican National Convention to work for Dick Zimmer's U.S. Senate campaign in NJ. He is currently on leave from American University to work as the Director of Operations for the campaign.

For more information about experts and students available at the conventions or to speak about the election, contact Media Relations at 202-885-5950.

Olympics end without a medal for AU assistant wrestling coach

For American University, there was more to watch in the 2008 Olympics than the world record setting, gold medal grabbing Michael Phelps. American assistant wrestling coach Brad Vering entered the Beijing Olympics as a favorite in the 84 kilogram (185-pound) division of the Greco-Roman competition.

Unfortunately, Vering's Olympic dream ended in the waning moments of a second round match against Armenia's Denis Forov. The former NCAA champion from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who won the World Championships in 2007, was turned by Forov in the final 10 seconds to drop the match, 8-2.

While the defeat was unexpected, there was plenty for AU fans to cheer for in Vering's first match. The three-time All-American opened his second Olympic appearance with a commanding 5-1 victory over Poland's Artur Wichalkiewicz.

After dropping his second match, Vering still had a chance to wrestle for bronze, provided Forov reached the finals. His visions of the medal podium disappeared, however, as Forov was bested by Ara Abrahamian of Sweden.

Vering may be done competing in Beijing, but he still has plenty of Olympic experiences to share with the AU community. Find out about his time in Beijing and his experience wrestling on his Olympic blog.

Nick Clooney Joins AU's School of Communication

Nick Clooney, veteran journalist and television host, joins the faculty at American University this fall as American University School of Communication and Newseum Distinguished Journalist in Residence. Clooney’s appointment is part of a long-term partnership between the School of Communication and the Newseum, the interactive museum of news in Washington, D.C.

During his career, Clooney has been a broadcast journalist; a newspaper columnist; a television series writer, producer, and host; a documentary filmmaker; an Emmy Award winner for commentary; a candidate for Congress; the author of three books; and a human rights activist. He recently travelled with his son, Academy Award-winning actor George Clooney, to Darfur to make A Journey to Darfur, a documentary about genocide in the conflict-ridden region of Sudan.

“Nick Clooney is natural fit for AU’s School of Communication,” said Larry Kirkman, dean of the school. “His professional experiences bridge all three of our academic divisions: journalism, public communication, and film and media arts. Nick's appointment is an excellent example of how the School of Communication’s longstanding partnership with the Newseum strengthens both of our institutions.”

“We are going to create memorable, meaningful and important programming and have a good time along the way,” said Joe Urschel, executive director of the Newseum.

This fall, Clooney will teach Opinion Writing, and in spring 2009 he will teach Films that Changed Us, a new course based on his book, The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen (Atria, 2002). The book analyzes the significance of such iconic American films as The Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer, Dr. Strangelove, Stagecoach, The Graduate, Star Wars, and Saving Private Ryan.

As part of the school-Newseum partnership, Clooney will host the fifth annual AU School of Communication-Newseum Reel Journalism Film Festival and other events at the Newseum. The Newseum moved into its new $450 million home at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. in Northwest Washington in April 2008.

“After a news career that stretches back to the Eisenhower administration, I'm looking forward to joining American University’s School of Communication and the Newseum to work with a new generation of prospective journalists” said Clooney.

J-Lab Moves to American University; Draws $2.4m Grant from Knight Foundation

J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism has moved to American University's School of Communication, where it will expand its operations with the help of a $2.4 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to American University.

J-Lab helps journalists and citizens use digital technologies to develop new ways of participating in public life. J-Lab provides award and seed money to professional journalists, citizens, and new media entrepreneurs for innovations in journalism and community news startups; builds e-learning Web sites for interactive and citizen journalism; and engages in training and research.

“I am excited that we have the opportunity to expand our programs in a place as full of energy and focus on innovation as AU's School of Communication,” said Jan Schaffer, J-Lab's executive director and one of the nation's leading journalism reform thinkers. “Our new affiliation is a good fit for J-Lab's mission, which is to help transform journalism for today and reinvent it for tomorrow.”

At its new home, J-Lab will use the Knight grant to:

Renew the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism.

Fund 16 additional New Voices citizen-media projects.

Create eight to 10 Knight Citizen News Network learning modules and update J-Learning, J-Lab, and J-New Voices Web sites.

Launch five Networked Community News pilot projects, teaming five newspapers with citizen media outlets in each of their communities.

Build a Community Media Toolkit to help foundations fund, vet, support, and measure local media projects.

Ramp up knowledge sharing with a Re-imagining Journalism project.

J-Lab’s J-Learning and the Knight Citizen News Network are Web-based, comprehensive community journalism instruction programs; its McCormick New Media Women Entrepreneurs project provides seed funding and support for original news ideas proposed by women; and the New Voices project provides start-up funding and instruction for pioneering community news ventures in the United States. The Knight-Batten Awards recognize innovations in journalism and are one of the profession’s most prestigious honors.

American University Students are ‘Most Politically Active’ According to 2009 Edition of The Princeton Review Guide: ‘The Best 368 Colleges’

American University students were ranked the "Most Politically Active," and the university is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review in the newly released 2009 edition of its annual book, ‘The Best 368 Colleges.’

In addition to the number one ranking for politically active students, American University was ranked #13 for Best Quality of Life, the university’s Career Center was ranked 18 for Best Career/Job Placement Service and ranked fifth for Great College Town.

Only about 15 percent of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and two Canadian colleges are in the book. It has two-page profiles of the schools and student survey-based ranking lists of top 20 colleges in more than 60 categories. Princeton Review released the rankings on its Web site on July 28; the print edition will hit newsstands August 5.

"We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's vice president of publishing. “We evaluated them based on institutional data we collect about the schools, feedback from students attending them, and our visits to schools over the years. We also consider the opinions of independent college counselors, students, and parents we hear from year-long. Finally, we work to have a wide representation of colleges in the book by region, size, selectivity, and character."

In its profile on American University, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from students the company surveyed. Their candid comments include, “This school lives, breathes, eats, and sleeps politics,” a club exists “for just about every type of person you can think of,” because of the school’s location, politics “infect the campus.” “Watching CNN” and “working on the Hill” are everyday activities for many students and “Social justice and community-service groups” are also “very popular.”

AU SOC Professor Named Hometown Hero for Charity Work With Students

The Washington Mystics honored American University assistant professor of communication Gemma Puglisi as a “Hometown Hero” on Tuesday, July 8 for her work with the United Nations (UN) Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign to prevent malaria. The award, given before the Mystics game against the Fever, was in recognition of Puglisi's work with 20 students in her public relations portfolio class, who created campaigns to raise awareness of Nothing But Nets.

“Her students are lucky to have a leader in Gemma, a teacher who helped them to prepare a professional portfolio showcasing their work before graduation,” said the Mystics announcer before the Verizon Center crowd. “Her kind spirit and work with the campaign has allowed the Nothing but Nets campaign to raise awareness in groups they might not have been able to reach. The Washington Mystics salute Gemma for all of her work with the campaign and wish her the best of luck in her future efforts.”

The PR portfolio students were asked to work in small groups to create unique public relations campaigns for Nothing But Nets , an idea Puglisi got from former student Kate Kovarovic, who interned at the UN Foundation during her time at American University . Through outreach to the D.C. and American University communities, Puglisi and her students were able to land 436,100 media impressions which allowed Nothing but Nets to reach a far greater audience.

"It's so hard for me to find the right words to describe all of this,” she said. “I was so surprised and honestly, honored to have received the recognition outside the classroom.”

Puglisi was joined at the game by two of her PR portfolio students, Halley Ofner and Kimberly Beauman.

“My students are such an inspiration and I was so thrilled that they were a part of it,” added Puglisi. “They deserve so much and I'm honored to have been their professor. My thanks to the Mystics and the UN Foundation for recognizing what we do each day as teachers.”

Nothing But Nets is a grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. The campaign, which sends bed nets to villages in Africa, has teamed up with the Mystics, the WNBA, the National Basketball Association's NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, and Sports Illustrated.

“I was very excited to be working with such a worthy campaign,” said Ofner, who graduated in May with a degree in public communication. “It was so upsetting to hear about the death and illness that comes from an insect and how preventable that illness could be if only funds were available.”

While the project demanded that students create a strong PR campaign with little money, Beauman, who also graduated in May, found that a little ingenuity and targeted campaigns allowed them to get the word out. “ Especially on a campus as active and civic-minded as AU, it is easy to get the public involved and excited about activities that benefit a charity,” said Beauman, who now plans to attend the London School of Economics to work towards a masters in Politics and Communication.

Fourth of July History and Pageantry

Grandiose displays of fireworks, parades, and concerts are hallmarks of celebrating the Fourth of July. According to James Heintze, American University librarian emeritus and author of The Fourth of July Encyclopedia (McFarland, 2007), little has changed since 1776 in terms of how we celebrate America’s birthday.

“The fireworks, the parades, the music, the costumes date all the way back,” Heintze said. “The degree and character change with the times, but the patriotism is always the same.”

Heintze has compiled one of the most extensive databases about the Fourth of July. The database documents selected celebrations and events that have occurred from the first Fourth of July in 1776 to present day.

Heintze has also chronicled how each American president celebrated the Fourth of July. John Adams and his descendents boast the longest family legacy of celebrating the Fourth of July, but one of the most unconventional observances of the holiday goes to our 27th president.

“In 1911, William Howard Taft celebrated the Fourth of July in one of the most unique ways experienced by one of our presidents,” Heintze said. “He went to Indianapolis, which was the farthest west any president to that date had traveled to celebrate. In honor of his visit, the people of Indianapolis held a locomotive collision. A grandstand was built for Taft to get the best view of two unoccupied trains smashing into each other at full-throttle speed.”

AU's Kogod School of Business Launches Two New Master of Science Degrees

American University’s Kogod School of Business will offer two new graduate degrees, the master of science in finance (MSF) and the master of science in finance and real estate (MSF&RE), starting with the 2008–2009 academic year. The programs, which add to Kogod’s graduate offerings in business administration, accounting and taxation, will allow students to concentrate on and fine-tune the technical and analytical skills required of finance and real estate specialists.

“Finance is inherently a field in applied mathematics and economics, and we have positioned our programs to help students succeed in that environment,” said director Phil English.

By taking an extra year’s worth of classes, undergraduate students in either program will earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees almost simultaneously. They will have a competitive edge over other students in terms of experience with challenging situations, their understanding of the finance decision-making process and their marketability.

Both the MSF and MSF&RE degrees require completion of 33 credit hours and are offered full- or part-time. Two new classes are featured, Fixed Income and Financial Modeling, as well as some current course offerings. Some discontinued courses, including Quantitative Methods in Finance, are being reintroduced. The new degrees also offer a preparation course for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam. The CFA charter, which a candidate earns after passing three CFA exams, designates excellence for professionals in the global investment community.

"We ultimately envision a highly quantitative program, with dedicated sections taught [according to] the format that AU has established for graduate-level studies in business: night classes, summer classes, few or no weekend classes and some hybrid offerings,” English said. “One particularly nice feature is the FIN 685 classes. They are tailored to meet current topics and techniques critical to success. We can change these classes to ensure our students are current and competitive."

American University Appoints New Provost: UMBC's Scott Bass Selected to be the New Chief Academic Officer

Following a national search, American University President Neil Kerwin has named Scott A. Bass as the university's new provost. Bass is currently vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He will start July 1.

As chief academic officer, Bass will provide leadership for AU's six schools and colleges, University Library, Washington Semester, AU Abroad/Abroad at AU, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Enrollment, Institutional Research and Assessment, Sponsored Programs, the Registrar and the Career Center.

"Dr. Bass has developed an impressive knowledge of contemporary higher education through his work at UMBC and in previous positions," said President Kerwin. "As a key member of UMBC's senior management group, Dr. Bass has been deeply involved in all significant aspects of the university's academic mission, and he has played a central role in shaping the strategic plan, which includes faculty development, undergraduate programs and enrollment management.”

Bass earned a combined doctorate in psychology and education from the University of Michigan, where he also earned an M.A. in clinical psychology and a B.A. in psychology. A nationally known gerontologist, Bass has written or edited eight books, 45 articles, earned a Fulbright Research Scholarship to Japan and is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. He has served as co-editor of Aging and Social Policy and on the editorial boards of several other journals. In 2004, he was a visiting professor at Stanford University.

Two American University Juniors Named 2008 Truman Scholars

Molly Kenney and James Valvo, juniors in the School of Public Affairs, have been named 2008 Truman Scholars by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in recognition of their commitment to a life of public service, leadership and academic accomplishment. The prestigious scholarship provides the students with $30,000 for graduate studies.

This is the second year in a row that American University has produced two Truman Scholars. The students will receive their awards at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Mo., on May 18.

A former chef at a top four-star restaurant in Detroit , Mich. , 2008 Truman Scholar James Valvo traded his knives for textbooks. At AU, Valvo has developed an interest in government ethics and legislation and currently works full time for Americans for Prosperity as an assistant for policy and public affairs. With his Truman Scholarship, Valvo plans to pursue a law degree and hopes to land a position as a senior legal consultant for a senator on the appropriations, finance or budget committees.

Scholar Molly Kenney is a law and society major, minoring in communications, from Medway , Mass. As co-president of the Peace and Empowerment Project (a student club), she dramatically increased the budget through fund raising and lobbying, which enabled the group to fund business and life skills training for three African women. Kenney has her sights set on law school and has focused her work on prisoner rehabilitation. She has interned with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and participated in an alternative spring break trip focused on prison justice. Kenney is currently studying abroad at the London School of Economics.