AU in the News

Showcasing AU programs, professors, students and alumni in the news
Week of December 6 - 12

This week's top story...

AU Alum takes the helm
American University alumnus David Gregory was named the new moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, replacing Tim Russert, who died in June of 2008. “There's a core to the show: accountability -- tough, smart, fair interviews -- that will remain,” he said. “It's the mission of the program. I am not Tim, but I can do my best, with this team, to make him proud.” Gregory joins fellow alumnus Betsy Fischer, whose contract was extended by NBC to remain the program’s executive producer. Gregory’s appointment was mentioned in more than 12 news outlets, including the Washington Post, Politico, New York Times and USA Today. (12/7/08)

With the presidential transition underway, AU's politically-active community was part of the national discussion:

New administration, more lobbying ties?
James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, was quoted in a Bloomberg News story about the increasing amounts of fundraising in political races for the House of Representatives, many topping the $1 million mark. “It is a new era of fundraising that raises the bar for non-incumbents,” he said. “The real election is the race for money.” Thurber was also a guest on American Public Media’s Marketplace to discuss President-elect Barack Obama’s role in the automobile industry bailout. “I think that his preference would be to make the decisions about how that $350 billion should be spent,” he said. “He's already said that it should be spent for infrastructure and other issues, not just on banks. And there's not much more that he can do without acting like he's the president of the United States at this point.” (12/6/08) (12/9/08)

U.S.-Caribbean relations
David Lublin, a professor of government, was quoted in a Jamaica Observer story about the Caribbean countries’ future relations with the U.S. under the leadership of President-elect Barack Obama. “The problems in the Caribbean will have to be solved by people in the Caribbean, and to the extent that Jamaica wants to continue to grow and develop it needs to be addressed primarily by Jamaicans and to the extent that you make progress, it's being done by Jamaicans, not because of anything that America does,” he said. Lublin was a guest panelist with the State Department on a three-country tour to Jamaica, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago to discuss the U.S. presidential election results and the Obama administration. He was also mentioned as part of the highlights for the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas. (12/5/08)

Lifting the embargo
William LeoGrande, a veteran Cuba specialist who is dean of the School of Public Affairs, was quoted in an Inter Press Service story about President-elect Barack Obama possibly ending the embargo between the United States and Cuba. “Given all the other things that Obama has on his plate, he probably won’t want to wage a big political battle in Congress to end the embargo,” he said. “It would be much easier to dismantle the commercial embargo little by little, piece by piece, in sectors beyond food and medicine.” (12/7/08)

Not an easier road
Peter M. Beck, North Korea specialist, was quoted in a Bloomberg News story about the unlikelihood of a deal between North Korea leader Kim Jong Il and President-elect Barack Obama over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. “If Kim Jong Il assumes that America’s new president will go to Pyongyang at the drop of a hat to fulfill a campaign promise to talk to the world’s dictators, he’s in for a surprise,” he said. “Under a best-case scenario, future negotiations will be long and difficult.” (12/8/08)

The financial crisis remains in the media spotlight, and our experts were on the money shedding light on the problem:

Factory job turmoil
Mark Clark, an associate professor at the Kogod School of Business, was quoted in an MSNBC.com story about the declining image of manufacturing jobs in the midst of the auto industry crisis. “The idea is you go out, develop yourself, educate yourself and basically become a white-collar worker,” he said, adding that the democratization of education has put a stigma on manufacturing sector jobs. “We want to send our kids to college, to get computer skills. That doesn’t seem to coincide with manufacturing. If we’re too good for manufacturing, then pretty soon everyone is too good to do manufacturing, and that will create difficulties.” (12/9/08)

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

Study abroad: taking the plunge
In an opinion piece for the U.S. News and World Report’s Professors’ Guide, Sara Dumont, director of the Study Abroad Program, wrote about the 10 most common myths about studying abroad. “Be realistic about your goals. If you aren't, you will become frustrated and not make the most of your experience,” she said. “Having experiences is great, but collecting experiences without the intellectual/analytical underpinnings is a very superficial thing, and study abroad is meant to be profound.”(12/10/08)

More jobs in education?
Jacob Choi, an AU student in the School of Education, Teaching and Health, appeared in an Associated Press television news segment about the Obama administration’s plans to spend more time on education efforts. “I think that demonstrates his priority in wanting to make the teachers better,” he said, “and hopefully, in turn, I think his intent is that it’ll make students better, too.” (12/5/08)

Mugshot madness
John Watson, an associate professor of journalism and expert on journalism ethics, was quoted in a CNN.com story about the public fascination with mugshots. "We like being frightened without being in actual peril,” he said. "These are pictures of monsters who actually exist, and we can look at them from the safety of wherever we are, and they disappear when we close the book.” (12/8/08)

Military anthropology?
Robert Albro, was quoted in a USA Today story about anthropologists working alongside the military while in combat and counterterrorism research. “The idea of militarization of anthropology alarms people,” he said, noting that anthropologists don’t wish to be viewed as spies and the field's purpose could be away from the study of cultures because of military financing. (12/8/08)

A big leap for art
Allison Remus, a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, was featured in a Saginaw News story about her global "Jumping in Art Museums" movement, which hosted an event at the famed Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Started as a small blog, the movement now consists of hundreds of photographs of individuals jumping in front of artwork at museums around the world. "I just think it's great that so many people are having fun jumping inside art museums," she said. "Art Jumping is a way for people to express their joy while looking at a piece of art. It is also a way to lighten the mood inside of a stuffy, institutional-feeling museum." (12/8/08)

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