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AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
February 3 - 9, 2007

Civitas Circulation
Unruly and discourteous behavior is on the rise, and it is a growing preoccupation of academics and college administrators nationwide. The Baltimore Sun noted that American University began responding to this national trend in 2003, when they launched a campus-wide civility campaign 'Civitas', the Latin word for body-politic, or citizenship. The ongoing initiative is co-chaired by Bernard Schulz; he has been asked to present the program at universities nation-wide.

Giving Back Globally
Rebecca Wolf, a student at American University Washington College of Law recently embarked on a service experience to Israel after their war with Lebanon this past summer. She wrote about her experience for Jewish News of Greater Phoenix saying, "I connected with my fellow Israelis and finally had the opportunity to do something that I have wanted to do since the war broke out - actually do something to help with my own two hands."

Sowing Savings in the States
Americans spent more than they earned last year as the economy steamed ahead, pushing the personal savings rate to negative 1.0 percent, the deepest hole since the Great Depression of the 1930s, reported the Agence France Presse. Martha Starr, an economics professor specialized in savings and consumption issues at American University, said "it's surprising, especially in a period with the economy growing so strongly."

Covering Politics at the Center
The practice of journalism in Washington DC has come under scrutiny since the trail of Lewis "Scooter" Libby according to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. On the show Alicia Shepard, journalism professor at American University, said "I think we see a really interesting way that Washington journalism works. We see how journalists take notes, how they cozy up to sources, we see how their memories aren't so good. We see a misunderstanding or not common understanding of deep background, and off the record."

Acquiring Accountability
As much as $12 billion in unaccounted cash has been spent from May 2003 to June 2004 representing over half of Representative Henry Waxman's annual budget for the project, reported Bloomberg News. Congressional oversight hearings will spotlight Waxman's spending, the use of contractors in Iraq and on homeland security under President George W. Bush. In an interview, James Thurber, a political science professor at American University, said the hearings, "'will embarrass the administration.'

Off Shoring at Bargain Prices
Global Workforce Solutions(TM) evolved off shoring by providing up to 60 percent savings on pervious techniques, a rarity in an industry that has historically shied away from providing quantifiable savings reported KLFY CBS 10. "There is no question that companies are looking for new ways of structuring their outsourcing and global workforce solutions that the traditional outsourcing model does not fully address,' said Erran Carmel, associate professor and chair of the information technology department of the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Spaced Out
From the dawn of the space program, America's astronauts have been treated like stars, saluted as red-white-and-blue heroes, and indoctrinated in NASA's can-do, failure-is-not-an-option ethos. The Washington Post asks, could that explain the downfall of Lisa Nowak, the astronaut accused of attempted murder? American University professor Howard McCurdy, who has written several books about space policy and history, said the stress of working in the space program puts pressure on personal relationships and results in higher divorce rates among astronauts.

Climate Change
By every measure, reported the Boston Globe, the UN 's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change raises the level of alarm. The fact of global warming is "unequivocal" according to scientists. But, American University's Matthew Nisbet is among those who see the importance of expanding the story beyond scientists. He is charting the reframing of climate change into a moral and religious issue and into a corruption-of-science issue and an economic issue.

AU in the News Archives