AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
Weeks of August 16 - 22 and 23 - 29

CampAign U: inside the classroom
Every Thursday morning through November 11, WTTG Fox 5 will take its audience inside the classroom with AU professor Leonard Steinhorn as he teaches his acclaimed presidential election course, Inside the War Room and the News Room. The course will be streamed LIVE from 9:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays on WTTG’s Web site, myfoxdc.com. As a preview to each class, the station will also broadcast live interviews with Steinhorn and students during its morning news show. The Web casts and interviews are part of Campaign U, an initiative between Fox 5 and AU. “You’ve got the best and the brightest students in the country talking politics,” Steinhorn said live on camera as he stood outside the model classroom in Hurst. “It’s like kitchen-table talk in a university classroom!” The Campaign U Web site features student bios, a link to the syllabus and will feature topics as they are covered in the classroom. (8/28/08)

Still believe'n
American University extended the contract of men’s basketball coach Jeff Jones. Jones led the Eagles to their first NCAA Division I tournament appearance. The announcement was picked up by more than 70 news outlets, including the Washington Post, Washington Examiner, WRC-TV and WUSA-9. (8/21/08)

Bringing the small town to the big city
Nick Clooney, who joins the faculty at the School of Communication this fall, was featured in a Cincinnati Enquirer interview about how his life in Augusta, KY, will inspire him as a professor. “Maybe if we dig around with one another, I can give them the view from Augusta, and they can give me the view from Washington,” he said. “So, I expect to learn, and I expect to teach. And Augusta's gonna help me do both.” (8/21/08)

Raising taxes lowers productivity
Robert Carroll, an executive in residence in AU’s School of Public Affairs, appeared on Fox Business Network to discuss his new study about how President Bush’s tax cuts might affect business in America if made permanent. He found that the more people are taxed, the less they want to work. “High tax rates can affect people's behavior in a wide variety of ways,” Carroll said. “They affect how much an individual works …Whether they choose to work. They affect whether an individual chooses to become an entrepreneur.” (8/28/08)

RNC reporting reward
American University student Michael Monrroy was spotlighted in the Washington Post’s “Loudon Extra” for being chosen out of 200 young Hispanic Americans to report for Si TV at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Monrroy, one of two winners of Si TV’s nationwide contest Crash the Parties, will blog live from the convention. “Learning about American history sparked my interest [in politics],” Monrroy said. “I see myself, as a first-generation Latino American, with a true inherent desire and interest to better my community and nation, as adding to this and continuing the American dream.” (8/26/08)

Freshman volunteer frenzy
Roughly 600 American University freshmen performed more than 13,000 hours of community service through the Freshman Service Experience, a three-day AU program designed to engage new students with each other and the D.C. community. WAMU took notice of the students’ volunteerism and hard work. “If we didn’t have to be home by five, we would probably be here all night,” said American University freshman Michael Flynn. (8/19/08)

Political party patriotism
Leonard Steinhorn, a professor of politics and media at American University, was quoted in an Associated Press story about the Republican view of patriotism and its effect in winning the presidential election. “The Republicans have taken that first type of patriotism, that muscular, military, 'rockets' red glare' type of patriotism, and driven that as a wedge against people they see — Democrats, liberals — as weak on national security issues,” he said. This article was picked up by more than 30 news outlets. (8/20/08)

Does marketing contribute to obesity in African-Americans?
Sonya Grier, associate professor of marketing at American University's Kogod School of Business, was featured in an Advertising Age story about her recent study on the disparities in marketing healthy foods to the African American community. “Companies are constantly changing marketing strategies over social concerns about healthy eating,” she said. “We don't see with the same frequency or fanfare in terms of targeted marketing to African-Americans, and all we're suggesting is there needs to be a more balanced approach to create a healthier food environment for African-Americans.” (8/27/08)

Earth–quaking elections
Allan Lichtman, a professor at American University, was quoted in a Washington Post story about his and geophysicist Vladimir Keilis-Borok’s comparison of White House predictions to forecasting earthquakes, resulting in his 13 Keys to Keeping the White House . “We reconceptualized presidential politics in geophysical terms,” said Lichtman. “We didn't look at it as Reagan versus Carter or Republicans versus Democrats or liberals versus conservatives. Rather, we looked at elections as stability versus upheavals.” (8/25/08)

Mid-year matriculation
American University was mentioned in a Los Angeles Times story about admitted students being allowed to arrive a semester late for classes to fill slots left empty by graduating, interning, and studying-abroad students. The policy is a growing trend among colleges and universities across the nation. (8/21/08)

Korea’s or not?
Dr. Youngshik Bong, a professor in American University’s School of International Service, was quoted in a Dynamic Korea story about the island of Dokdo, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names’s classification of the island from Korean territory to “undesignated,” a decision that was later reversed. “The BGN designation of Dokdo as undesignated sovereignty reflects this concern to further declare the official position of the United States concerning East Asian island disputes: that first, the United States has no authority to make any [decision] on sovereignty claims laid by various parties to the islands, and second, American forces would not be used in the event of conflict near the islands,” he said. (8/18/08)

Civil service
Robert M. Tobias, director of Public Sector Executive Education at American University, was quoted in a Washington Post story about Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain’s different views on civil service and working with private sectors. "Obama cast it as a strategic decision," Tobias said, "whereas McCain has the assumption that the private sector would do things better. I don't think that's true." (8/21/08)

Addicted to being ‘always on’
Naomi S. Baron, professor of linguistics at American University and author of Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, was quoted in a Washington Post story about the addiction to “text-walking,” walking while sending text messages and becoming distracted. “It has to do with insecurity about friendships,” she said, adding that people also get bored with their surroundings. “You can change behavior patterns. It's not that hard to do.” (8/25/08)

2009
Mar	6	13	20	27
Feb	6	13	20	27
Jan	4	9	16	23	30
2008
Dec	5	12	19
Nov	7	14	21
Oct	3	10	17	24	31
Sept	5	12	19	26
Aug	1	8	15	29
July	4	11	18	25
June	6	13	20	27
May	2	9	16	23
Apr	4	11	18	25
Mar	7	21	28
Feb	1	8	15	22	29
Jan	4	11	18	25
2007
Dec	7	14	21
Nov	2	9	16		30
Oct	5	12	19	26
Sept	7	14	21	28
Aug	3	10	17	24	31
July	31
June	30
Feb	2	9
Jan	5	12	19	26