April 2013 Newsletter
SPExS @ American University
WHAT’S NEW AT SPExS
... with Dean Carola Weil
NEW SPEXS PROGRAMS!
Journalism Faculty Workshop
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We are in the middle of an exciting spring semester here
at SPExS. Our traveling students and faculty are on their
way to far-away destinations
ranging from Belgium, to
Turkey, to Ghana. Closer to
home, our classes have featured an array of impressive
speakers including Secretary
of State John Kerry, Justice
Suter, and Dr. Radwan Ziadah
of the Syrian National Council. Our faculty are actively
engaging students in servicelearning,research,critical
analyses, professional writing,
expert interviews, and much
more on a daily basis.
Building on the great strengths of our existing program, I am
pleased to announce that we have several new programs launching this summer in SPExS. Our Washington Access Internships
will provide opportunities for students from under-represented
and underserved populations to intern and take classes each
term, with financial support. For those of you concerned with
how to better integrate non-native English speaking foreign
students into your programs, you might think about our new
Summer English Language Program as well as our International Gateway programs which help students with writing and acculturation into an American education system and good study
habits while polishing their English further. Meanwhile, we look
forward to welcoming our Journalism colleagues this summer to
a Washington Workshop for Journalism Faculty led by our journalism professor Gil Klein. This is the first of a series of curriculum development workshops we will be offering to faculty in a
number of different disciplines. Stay tuned or contact us for more
information. And, we continue to enhance our alumni program,
following our successful Alumni Inauguration Event in January
and with an upcoming Alumni Nationals Park night this June.
Thanks to the entire SPExS Community for your continued support!
Carola Weil, PhD
Dean, School of Professional & Extended Studies
Journalism and mass communication professors are invited to a three-day intensive workshop that will introduce
them to leading innovators in Washington journalism and
communications. The workshop, from May 20-23, will be
led by Gil Klein, a Washington Semester Program journalism professor, a veteran of 22 years as a national correspondent and former president of the National Press
Club. He has created a schedule that includes sessions
in journalism and communications offices all over Washington as well as talks by leading professors at American
University's School of Communication. Participants will
learn about how to prepare their students for changes in
the news and communications businesses, and they will
make contacts in Washington that will help them in the
future. For more information and to register, visit www.
american.edu/spexs/Journalism.
The Washington Access
Internships program
The American University School of Professional & Extended Studies’ new Washington Access Internships
(WAI) program, launching in summer 2013, targets students from historically under-represented communities
for an opportunity to build leadership skills in Washington, DC. Students gain access to future career paths
through full-time internships, courses focused on crosscultural communication, as well as professional development, extracurricular activities, and linkages with peers
and mentors. WAI also connects employers in federal
agencies, private firms, and not-for-profit organizations
with a highly diverse and inclusive group of future leaders, such as first-generation, multi-lingual, and multicultural college students from a cross section of geographic
areas, socio-economic backgrounds, gender, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, and abilities.
202-895-4900 (phone) l 1-800-424-2600 (toll-free) l spexs@american.edu (email) l www.american.edu/spexs (website)
COURSE UPDATES
Professor Leroy Miller:
Global Economics and Business
Our seminar has been focusing on global, regional, and country economic structures so far
this semester. We have had very useful meetings at the World Bank, IMF (pictured right),
and the EU Delegation office in Washington,
DC. We are now in the process of examining all
of the eight country economies represented in
our class: Colombia, France, Germany, Korea,
Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US.
Recently we met with the Dutch Ambassador
to the US and investment agencies from Colombia and Germany. We plan to visit all of the embassies in our class before the mid-term exam.
Our students are engaging in a once in a lifetime opportunity, not only
to learn about global economics first hand in Washington, DC, but also
to learn from each other in multinational teams. After the mid-term,
each of the teams will develop strategic business plans for a product
or service, which they will be able to market in each of their countries.
GRADUATE GATEWAY:
The International Affairs Program
This has been a busy semester so far with the Graduate Gateway International Affairs program. In addition to visits with the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund, the class has had opportunities to
discuss the current state of international organizations with the Swiss Ambassador, and transparency
and democratic development with the Permanent
Representatives to the Organization of American
States from Mexico and Brazil. We have also visited
the US Department of Defense, pictured here.
In studying the interrelated aspects of finance, trade,
development, and security the program exposes students to a wide variety of views on the roles of the
state in the international system, and the fundamental structure of that system. We are all looking forward to our upcoming trip to New York City to visit
the United Nations and other global organizations.
Tranforming Communities and
Public Policy
The Transforming Communities and Public Policy class
began the semester with a focus on the civic, economic,
and cultural forces that impact communities, kicked off
by the inspirational John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises and a leading advisor to Presidents George W.
Bush and Barack Obama. We combined visits to many corners of Washington, DC with seminars on such topics as
racial segregation, immigration, and economic inequality. We are now beginning our study of ways to promote
healthy communities with policies on affordable housing,
public safety, employment and training, safety nets, asset development, and education. As part of that study we
will combine visits to transformational programs like DC
Central Kitchen with speakers such as labor expert Harry
Holzer, who explain what policies and programs our communities should pursue. We will conclude the semester
with our exploration of how communities transform. The
students are totally engaged, asking thoughtful questions, and making great observations. Shortly we're going to create (or reach a stalemate on) an immigration
reform bill!
202-895-4900 (phone) l 1-800-424-2600 (toll-free) l spexs@american.edu (email) l www.american.edu/spexs (website)
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Washington
Semester Program
Alumni
Next Steps: Will Cusey
Will Cusey
In the fall of 2008, I had the fortunate
pleasure of attending the Washington
Semester Program (WSP) at American
University (AU) in Washington, DC. As
part of WSP, I attended Congressional
hearings, heard from prominent speakers, engaged in political discussions,
analyzed our governmental structure,
and discovered the complex nature of
DC’s political process. WSP opened my
eyes to all of the myriad career paths
available to politically-minded people
living in DC. After finishing WSP, I knew
I had to come back to DC.
Following graduation from Skidmore
College in May 2009, I immediately returned to DC and began working for the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In June 2010, I began working in
the Office of Legislative Affairs at the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Now, I am seeking a Master’s
of Political Communication from AU’s
School of Public Affairs. Going forward,
I would like to continue working in the
field of political and legislative advocacy, either in or out of government.
The bottom line is this -- without WSP, I
wouldn’t be where I am today. So, thank
you! I wouldn’t trade my time with WSP
for anything.
Washington Semester Program Alumni
Next Steps: Jena Barjenbruch
Having grown up in a small town in rural
Nebraska, I sought to capitalize on my
opportunity to select a university that
would fulfill my desire to see the world
in its reality. I chose Bradley University,
a midsized private university in central
Illinois, offering a wide variety of study
abroad programs and a reputable Institute of International Studies. From
there, I was afforded the opportunity to
participate in the International Environment and Development section of the
Washington Semester Program (WSP)
at American University in Washington,
DC. Through this semester of hands-on
education, I was able to visit and speak
first-hand with many organizations that
work directly in the field of international development (Save the Children,
USAID, International Monetary Fund).
In addition, I transferred the knowledge
gained in the classroom and in DC to
the field as I traveled to Ghana, Africa
for a three-week study abroad experience. My class visited small non-profit
organizations started by local community members, spent time in remote
villages speaking with villagers about
their struggles and their triumphs, and
we explored Ghana’s natural habitats
and wildlife in its national parks and nature conservancies.
“My unforgettable
experiences
throughout my
semester with
WSP turned my
desire to help
the people of
the world into
reality.”
After graduating from Bradley in 2010,
I began researching international volunteer opportunities and decided to
apply to the Peace Corps. I became a
Peace Corps Volunteer placed in Guyana, South America in February 2011.
Following my move to my permanent
site, a midsized semi-urban community
on the coast, I started developing a literacy program for the remedial students
in Grades 1-4 at my primary school. The
goal of the program is to pull out those
students who struggle the most in reading and writing and teach them at their
current learning level in order to bring
their performance up to their actual
grade level.
Jena Barjenbruch‘s Camp
Another primary project I have organized with the help of teachers, the
PTA, community members, and local
businesses is a weeklong summer camp
for 80-100 Grade 1-6 children from my
primary school. The camp focuses on
fun and motivational learning to keep
the children occupied during summer
break. The past two summer camps
have been extremely successful and
have brought domestic and international news coverage to my small primary school in Guyana. After almost
two years serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I cannot imagine myself doing
anything else. I have grown to not only
learn about Guyanese culture but truly
become a part of it. Without my Bradley University education and my initial
international experiences through WSP,
I would have never seen the world the
way I do now – as a place filled with opportunities to experience, to learn, to
appreciate, and to give.
202-895-4900 (phone) l 1-800-424-2600 (toll-free) l spexs@american.edu (email) l www.american.edu/spexs (website)
3
SPExS Alumni Network
Faculty Author Profile
Dr. Jeffrey Crouch
On January 20, 2013, the SPExS Alumni Network held a champagne inauguration brunch in
Capital Auditorium. This event enabled nearly
100 alumni to meet each other and our new
Dean, Carola Weil.
We hope to schedule several alumni events this
year including a SPExS night at the Nationals
and happy hours. If you are interested in helping to plan one of these events in Washington,
DC or any metropolitan area, please email
spexsalumninetwork@american.edu.
SPExS On-Line
Join Our Community!
Dr. Jeffrey Crouch teaches in the Washington Mentorship and
Washington Semester Programs in SPExS. He has been an assistant professor of American Politics at American University since
Fall 2005 and also serves as the Reviews and Book Editor for
AU’s Congress & the Presidency journal. Recent journal reviewers include member school representative Janet Martin of Bowdoin College among other well-respected scholars. Dr. Crouch’s
first book, The Presidential Pardon Power, was published by the
University Press of Kansas in 2009, and he is currently co-authoring a new book on the “unitary executive” theory. He is also
working on journal articles and book chapters focusing on Presidents Carter and Ford, the relationship between the media and
politics, and the president’s ability to award clemency and issue
signing statements. He regularly draws upon this research to
teach two presidency courses: one to undergraduates in SPExS,
and the other to M.A. students in the School of Public Affairs.
Interested in a SPExS Program?
FACEBOOK
facebook.com/AmericanUniversitySPExS
Stop by our Virtual Open Houses!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Topic: Washington Semester Summer Program
TWITTER
twitter.com/au_spexs
Monday, April 8, 2013 - 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Topic: Washington Semester
Fall & Spring Programs
TUMBLR
spexs.tumblr.com
FLICKR
flickr.com/photos/washingtonsemester
To sign up for one or both of the sessions, visit
http://www.american.edu/spexs/voh.cfm.
A member of our staff will
confirm your participation by email and
send instructions for logging in.
An equal opportunity, affirmative action university. For information regarding the accreditation and licensing
of American University, please visit http://www.american.edu/academics UP 13-353