AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
Week of October 4 - 10

This week's top stories...

Reaching out to students and families
An e-mail letter that American University sent to students and parents was cited by Businessweek as a good approach colleges are taking to communicate during these challenging economic times. "The nation's current financial climate has caused uncertainty for people across our country and around the world. With turmoil in the credit markets and the tightening of available credit and loans, we recognize the impact this could have on students and their families," says a letter from American University Provost Scott Bass. ” This article appeared in more than 40 news outlets. (10/7/08)

The race for the White House continued as the focus turned to the presidential debates. AU's politically active community was part of the national discussion:

Election reform
The Center for Democracy & Election Management hosted a conference to discuss the state of election reform and the recent recommendations of the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform. C-SPAN covered three panel discussions during the conference, which looked at the priorities for election reform, progress towards that reform, and the future of election reform. The discussion was featured LIVE on C-SPAN. (10/9/08).

The audience effect
Two School of Communication professors provided expert commentary in the same Hollywood Reporter story about the possible impact of the second presidential debate in comparison to past debates. “It's not the high drama of the YouTube debates,” said Dotty Lynch, a CBS News political analyst and a professor at American University. “I don't think we'll see any snowmen asking questions (as in the YouTube debates sponsored with CNN). But they are typically pretty interesting. Viewers at home can put themselves into the shoes of the questioners more than they can reporters.” Public communication professor Leonard Steinhorn said that the candidates’ confidence is what will win over voters. "They don't just listen to what they have to say, they'll listen to how they say it,” he said. “They look at the command, their mannerisms and their temperament." (10/6/08)

Glamour in politics
Karen O’Connor, director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University, was quoted in a Thomson Reuters story about the focus on looks when it comes to women running for office. “Since women started running in large numbers statewide or for the Senate, which was in 1992, studies show that all print media spent much more time talking about what a woman looked like and what she wore than they did about their male counterparts,” she said. (10/7/08)

An election tie?
Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University, was quoted in a Reuters story about the possibility of a tie in the upcoming elections. “This would be the seamy side of democracy, the lobbying and the money would be so intense,” he said. This article appeared in 20 news outlets. (10/5/08)

The price of prejudice
Gary Weaver, director of the Intercultural Management Institute at American University, was quoted in an Agence France-Presse story about the role of race in the presidential election. “I think that there are some white Americans who will not vote for a black person. It is unlikely they would admit this publicly, but they might admit this in anonymous surveys,” he said. “On the phone, racists will often deny that they are influenced by race because it is socially unacceptable. When they enter the poll booths, these people may very well vote against Obama.” (10/5/08)

The female vote
Barbara Palmer, assistant professor of government and interim director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University, was quoted in a Cleveland Plain Dealer story about the prominence of the female vote in the presidential elections. “Not only are more than half of all voters women, but also 'it is absolutely true that since the 1980s, women vote slightly more often than men,” she said. (10/9/08)

CampAignU continues...
This week, during professor Leonard Steinhorn's presidential election class, Inside the War Room and the News Room, students discussed the political polls of the presidential campaign, and the heated turn the race for the White House has taken. Steinhorn's class is Webcast live on WTTG-TV 's Web site, myfoxdc.com every Thursday from 9:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Online viewers can join in the discussion through the Web cast chat. Each Web cast will be previewed through interviews with Steinhorn and students during the 7 to 8 a.m. hour of the Fox 5 Morning News. Students from the class also chatted online during the second presidential debate at myfoxdc.com.

As the financial crisis took additional twists and turns, our experts were on the money shedding light on the problem:

Investment roller coaster
Gerald Martin, a finance professor at American University, was quoted in a Bloomberg News story about billionaire investor Warren Buffett's fluctuating profits as the stock market continues to lose points. “You've got to pick them and hold them,” he said. “He admits that he can't time markets, and he takes a very long time horizon.” (10/8/08)

Can they really afford it?
Heather Elms, a business professor at American University, was quoted in a Bloomberg News story about insurance and financial services company AIG planning another luxury retreat for top independent insurance agents after receiving criticism for holding a similar event less than a week after the U.S. government loaned the company $85 billion. “Whether the company's behavior is wrong on an absolute basis doesn't really matter right now,” she said. “It's become a question of perception, and it seems that they're being viewed as behaving unethically.'' (10/9/08)

Bank write-offs
Robert Losey, a professor of finance at American University, was quoted in an Associated Press story about how bank losses can count toward corporate tax deductions as a result of the recent $700 billion financial rescue plan approved by Congress on Oct. 3. “It's going to drain the Treasury, but I don't think it's going to be a giant drain. It will be significant,” he said. “But those losses would have been taken in the future, most likely, and the secondary effect of this all should help the economy, so you're going to get some more taxes collected.” This article appeared in more than 13 news outlets, including BusinessWeek.com, MSNBC.com, and Forbes.com. (10/03/08)

Thrifty times
Martha Starr, a professor of economics at American University, was quoted in an Agence France-Presse story about the dangers of frugality during an economic recession. "If we tighten our belts too much, we bring on that which we fear, which is a very severe economic downturn," she said. "If we all go back to penny-pinching, we destroy each others' jobs. If we stop going to restaurants, they have to lay off serving staff. We stop going to the mall, and shop staff get laid off.” (10/5/08)

And when we're not talking business or politics, we make news in other ways...

Art from different views
In her opinion piece for the Washington Post, American University professor emerita Mary Garrard talked about artist Raphael and his painting, Madonna Lactans. “What's being taken away from Mary is maternity -- maternity as an active enterprise,” she wrote. “But it's very hard to get at this, I have to confess -- because of Raphael's extraordinary ability to balance opposing ideas. Every time you try to say something is true about this image, Raphael comes back and says, ‘Well no, that's not so. Look at the opposite side of it. I'm showing you that, too.’” (10/5/08)

Sculpture in an in-between state
The works of Ledelle Moe, of whom two works are currently on display at the Katzen Arts Center at American University, were featured in a Washington Post story about the artist’s message in her sculptures. “In Moe's own words, her art is a "tangible way of dealing with those intangibles,’” wrote reporter Michael O’Sullivan. “Halfway between the solid and the insubstantial, her melting, monumental forms remind us of the sadness, and the beauty, of decay.” (10/10/08)

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