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AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
Week of September 15 - 21

Top Washington Lawyer
American University General Counsel Mary Kennard was named one of Washington’s Top Lawyers by the Washington Business Journal. Kennard, who is from Philadelphia, practices several areas of law, including municipal financing and employment issues.
(09/17/07)

Kogod Recognition
The Kogod School of Business was ranked #31 in the regional ranking for M.B.A. programs, reports the Wall Street Journal. Kogod is one of three new M.B.A. programs to enter the Regional ranking. (09/17/07) [registration required]

Sleeping Easier
After generations of twin mattresses in the rooms and complaints from students that they were too small, residence halls at American University are getting a makeover with full-size beds, reports The Washington Post. “Our students are constantly giving feedback about having to sleep on a single bed,” said Rick Treter, director of residence life. “Many of them are not coming from single beds. Many come from doubles and queens, so they have to readjust to living on the single bed.” (09/17/07)

Lack of Faith in FDA
According to American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, drug safety is of major concern to the American public. The University recently performed a nationwide poll to assess the public views on the safety of prescription medicines, the FDA and overall satisfaction with the U.S. health care system. Associated Content, FDAnews.com, The Washington Times, Bloomberg, The Baltimore Sun, HealthDay.com among others included the results of the survey in coverage of Capital Hill's passage of theFDARA bill. (9/20/07)

Environmental Filmmaking
‘‘Green isn’t enough. It has to have a great story, great characters and visuals. It must grab a viewer’s attention and knock people’s socks off,” professor Chris Palmer told the Gaithersburg Gazette. Palmer established the Center for Environment Filmmaking at American University, it’s goal being to help students produce professional films, bring established moviemakers to the university and provide students with innovative programs including Classroom in the Wild, in which students travel to locations like the Florida Everglades to produce films. Palmer has produced around 300 hours of original programming, including IMAX productions and feature films. (09/17/07)

Honesty is always the best policy
“It is not and never will be OK to make things up in the name of burnishing an image,” Wendy Melillo, assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University, wrote in an opinion piece for AdWeek. “As a practicing journalist who now teaches strategic communications to university students, the most important lesson I can convey to emerging public relations professionals is the need to be truthful. Yes, even in a profession steeped in the art of persuasion and spin, the truth is still our best approach.”
(09/17/07)

All-Day Kindergarten
In a study on full-day kindergarten, Alison Jacknowitz, American University public administration and policy assistant professor, said that some of the results showed that while there were initial academic benefits for students, they eroded by the time the children entered the third grade. "Educators like full-day kindergarten because it prepares children for later grades and parents often prefer it because it serves as a form of child care,” she told The Morning Sun. “However, one has to ask whether this is money well spent.” (09/19/07)

High-Definition Bluegrass
Washington's WAMU (88.5 FM) is dropping all of its acoustic Americana and bluegrass music programming from its regular FM schedule, moving it to the Internet and a new digital channel, which will require a special receiver, reports The Washington Post. “We've been searching for a way to do right by bluegrass,” says Caryn Mathes, general manager of the station, which has steadily whittled away at its once-dominant musical programming over the past two decades. "We believe in HD Radio, and it allows us to give bluegrass lovers not just one shelf in a very big store that specializes in something else, but their own store."(09/16/07)

AU in the News Archives