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on march 8 the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the bush school of government & public service conducted a webinar to share how nonprofit organizations can leverage corporate philanthropic resources to inspire change dr kenneth anderson taylor director of outreach and professional development at the center for nonprofits & philanthropy moderated a discussion with lisa huddleson ceo and founder of citizen philanthropy advisors huddleson shared examples of successful nonprofit corporate partnerships from her experience working at the dell foundation the walt disney company foundation and titos handmade vodka video: leveraging corporate philanthropic resources to inspire change(slides from the presentation) the discussion began by revealing how much money americans had donated to charities in 2021 participants were surprised to hear that in total americans gave $48485 billion to nonprofit organizations which was a 4% increase from the year 2020 specifically corporate giving increased by 183% between 2020 and 2021 (giving usa 2022) huddleson continued to share three successful models and methods of corporate giving participants left the webinar understanding that corporate giving is available in many forms from celebrity spokespeople to employee giving when asked how nonprofit organizations can impress and reach corporations huddleson said proposing a mutually beneficial partnership and presenting a clear mission will be a great way to get a giving officers attention it is all about networking and getting out there to understand the needs in our communitieslisa huddleson ceo and founder of citizen philanthropy advisors corporate philanthropy is not necessarily a quick transaction for the corporation and the nonprofit but spending time understanding each others goals is worth it huddleson added it is all about networking and getting out there to understand the needs in our communities the center for nonprofits & philanthropy will host one more webinar this semester on april 11 register online to attend to view past webinars from the center visit the cnp resources website
lingering questions about the virus origins have sparked debates among scientists and lawmakers while also fueling concerns about risky biological research texas a&m biosecurity expert dr gerald parker explains the national discussion about the origins of the covid-19 pandemic has continued to evolve in recent weeks with the fbi and us department of energy both determining that the sars-cov-2 virus most likely originated from a chinese lab leak meanwhile other agencies continue to assert the virus originated in nature and some do not know as the us house of representatives kicks off a series of hearings to assess the competing explanations concerns about a possible lab leak have also heightened public concern about potentially risky pathogen research carried out in both international and us laboratories texas a&m today spoke about these developments with biosecurity expert dr gerald parker associate dean for global one health and director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at the bush schools scowcroft institute of international affairs parker serves as chair of the national science advisory board for biosecurity (nsabb) which recently issued a series of oversight recommendations aimed at balancing the risks and benefits of this crucial category of research the nsabbs report proposed biosecurity oversight framework for the future of science was endorsed by the american society for microbiology and has since been submitted to the us department of health and human services what do you make of the fbi and department of energys assessments that covid-19 most likely emerged from a lab leak i think those assessments are significant most people dont realize the fbi is a member of the intelligence community nor the department of energy but they have important intelligence components the doe is at a low confidence level and the fbi is at a moderate confidence level that moderate confidence is actually very significant but whats most important about those agencies and particularly the doe is the national labs that are a part of the doe enterprise theyre known for weapons research of course but their life science research is also very powerful i dont know what prompted the change in does findings but i think its significant because of the scientific expertise they have at their disposal as an example after the anthrax letter attacks of 2001 in the subsequent amerithrax investigation it was the fbis expertise coupled with the scientific expertise coming out of the national labs that were key components in cracking the case why has it been so difficult to trace where this particular virus came from first and foremost i have a lot of empathy for the chinese people and the chinese scientists we in the us have had a lot of collaborations with chinese scientists over the years and international scientific collaboration is essential as we think into the future but unfortunately the chinese communist party has silenced chinese scientist and the party is not a friend of ours from the very start the chinese communist party has engaged in an active campaign of deflection denial and obstruction and that has really hindered our ability to determine what happened and probably hindered our ability to rapidly respond as well and so here we are three years later we dont know how sars-cov-2 emerged to cause the worst pandemic in over 100 years and thats too bad what evidence exists to support the two competing hypotheses there is no definitive evidence we dont have from either natural or laboratory settings the progenitor or parents of the sars-cov-2 virus to determine which one of those it could be maybe the best evidence we have for a natural origin is thats historically the way most disease outbreaks epidemics or a pandemic happens through zoonotic spillover events (animal-to-human transmission) however for sars-cov-2 an intermediate animal has not been found and horseshoe bats known to harbor sars-related coronaviruses are found over a thousand miles away in southern china and southeast asia absence of evidence is not evidence necessarily but after three years its significant that we havent been able to find evidence in animals or animal trade on the research-associated side we know that laboratories in wuhan were doing risky research they were generating novel chimeric viruses not found in nature meaning they were taking backbones of sars-related viruses and putting in spike proteins from other viruses to gauge infectivity and try to predict pandemic potential all seemingly worthy goals but we also know that some of those experiments were done in inappropriately low biosafety levels which means it was unnecessarily dangerous thats all we know a bill was recently passed unanimously in the senate and the house trying to force the intelligence community to declassify the information they have the president hasnt signed it yet but im sure he will its important i think for all of us to see what they made their determinations on the possibility that covid emerged from a lab leak has sparked renewed public interest and concern regarding risky research how has the nsabb been working to address these concerns and prevent future pandemics of this kind in 2022 nih gave the nsabb a charge to reexamine the potential pandemic pathogen care and oversight framework (p3co) and dual use research of concern (durc) policies and thats what the recent nsabb report made recommendations on one of the major recommendations is to expand the scope of what might constitute an enhanced potential pandemic pathogen incorporating pathogens that are highly transmissible but may only have moderate virulence or lethality like sars-cov-2 with this pandemic you had a very highly transmissible virus and it had a relatively low infection-fatality rate but nonetheless that modest virulence with high transmissibility had a major impact on society and a major impact on our healthcare systems we dont want to be creating a virus like sars-cov-2 that if accidentally escapes the lab could have huge impacts on our healthcare system economy and society we need to work with dangerous pathogens but the small subset of research that could generate an enhanced potential pandemic pathogen requires a comprehensive risk-benefit analysis risk mitigation plan and a demonstrated benefit to society there must be strong oversight high containment laboratories where research that might generate enhanced potential pandemic pathogens are the foundation of our preparedness and response enterprise these labs are essential but we must demonstrate that theres benefit if we ever engage in research that could generate a potential pandemic pathogen and that risks can be mitigated we need to be very careful about that and the public needs to have a voice in these decisions bottom line we need to make sure that we can continue to innovate without stifling necessary research and where we need additional governance and oversight we had better put it in place why is it important to keep searching for the origins of covid-19 and where should our government go from here whenever the next virus emerges you have to know the origin so you can mitigate future spread and prevent ongoing case transmission so i think its essential that we understand where sars-cov-2 came from and i think we have a moral obligation to all those who died and those who lost loved ones whats most important now is that our congress and administration come together to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate to the best of our ability though even that may not give us definitive evidence and its got to be apolitical i testified on feb 1 to the house oversight investigation committee and i made some strong statements that we must stop politicizing this the american people and the international community need some answers and we cant get there if we keep politicizing this by luke henkhaus texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on march 16 2023
mikayla slaydon class of 2024 master of public service & administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school mikayla is in the public management track with an individually designed concentration in education social justice interviewer: introduce yourself mikayla: hi my name is mikayla slayton im on the sa (public service & administration) side i have a public management track and i have an individually designed concentration of educational social justice you should ask me about it i went to undergrad here at texas a&m i started in the fall of 2018 so ive been here quite a bit i graduated this past may with a degree in child professional services with a couple of minors in sociology and creative studies interviewer: why did you choose the bush school mikayla: i was choosing between a student affairs degree this policy degree and then i also applied to a phd in sociology i amazingly got accepted into all three it truly shocked me but i thought about it up until the last day the thing that decided it all for me is that the bush school felt like home the faculty and the staff and the students at the bush school were so welcoming i felt so welcome from day one at my interview conference weekend and i was really nervous but i had a lot of really really cool first years now second years talk me through all the nerves i would say if you are a prospective student considering this program it truly does feel like home it is the best value of any program youll find in the state of texas if not the country in my opinion and the quality of education here is like no other interviewer: what did you appreciate most about your first semester mikayla: i loved my first semester because of of a wide variety of reasons as i mentioned i studied child professional services its quite different from policy work i was really nervous about getting into the classes and just learning something that was so different from anything that id ever learned before but the professors made it so easy to acclimate we started off really slow and we did increase in pace but everything worked out great i also found a great group of friends that i love so much which i wasnt expecting to do because i still have quite a few of my friends here from undergrad but i still found those people anyways and that was beyond my wildest dreams interviewer: tell me about an experience that inspired you to choose public service mikayla: i went to fish camp when i came in as an incoming freshman which is texas a&m universitys extended orientation program it was a four day three night program i went off into the woods had a lot of fun but i was kind of exposed to a lot of different people that i had never been around i went to a predominantly black high school and so i didnt feel like i quite fit in into the kind of group that i was put into because of that experience i easily could have washed my hands of the program and not chosen to go back and go into leadership but i did just because i wanted to make it better for the people that came after me i moved up throughout the leadership and then i just finished up my term as head director this past year i cant say the amount of times that i had women black people and other people of color come up to me and tell me how much they were excited that i was the person leading the charge and how i took their questions seriously i took their experience seriously and i wanted to make it better for them that taught me that public service is something that you choose over and over again and you choose to do that every day right you wake up and you choose to serve the people around you and you do that altruistically i wasnt expecting anything in return if a single person hadnt stopped me and told me that i changed their experience it would not have mattered to me that was the cherry on top public service is a noble calling
albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) student affiliate ben giltner recently published an article in the daily caller giltners piece no more tanks and jets to ukraine theres a better strategy examines the problems with western countries sending ukraine tanks and aircraft giltner also points out that attrition warfare would take advantage of another important asset the ukrainians already possess: the will to fight read the entire piece on the daily caller website the cgs student affiliate program is an opportunity for students at the bush school of government and public service to apply their work from the international politics and grand strategy concentration coursework the program gives students opportunities to connect with cgs speakers as well
the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host a panel discussion about the extent of chinese and russian involvement in a region commonly referred to as the unites states backyard as china and russia creep further into the western hemisphere and many latin american nations reject president bidens regional strategy the bush schools mosbacher institute will host a panel discussion on thursday march 30 to unpack the nature of this threat and to recommend the best public policy responses latin american countries were once reliable us allies but security issues downturns in the economy covid-19 and a host of other issues have swayed leaders in the region toward expanding their relations with china russia and iran this comes amidst increased competition and sometimes hostility in the united states own relations with these countries the mosbacher institutes lecture assessing chinese and russian influence in latin america and the caribbean will feature latin american experts dr evan ellis latin american research professor at the us army war college strategic studies institute and mr juan cruz senior advisor to the americas program at the center for strategic and international studies bush school assistant professor aileen teague will moderate the discussion about the current state of superpower rivalries in the western hemisphere and what steps washington should be taking to remedy the challenge register to attend: assessing chinese and russian influence in latin america and the caribbean the march 30 event is part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by dr teague the series invites practitioners and policymakers working on the border and in mexico and latin america to share their expertise and experiences a reception will begin at 5:15 pm with the panel discussion starting at 6:00 pm the reception and lecture are open to the public but reservations are requested by wednesday march 29 at bushtamuedu/mosbacher with china and russia increasingly interested in spreading their influence in latin america the united states should be looking at building alliances that strengthen american influence in a region with which it has a long and rocky relationship teague said if not the united states runs the risk of having its strategy for the region resemble its actions during the cold war we need to understand this issue better and propose new and different solutions the program is sponsored by the border & migration program of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and the carlos h cantu hispanic education and opportunity endowment
the 2022-23 international social innovation partnership capstone led by the center for nonprofits & philanthropy director dr will brown recently had the opportunity to travel to oaxaca mexico to meet with their two clients vida nueva and dava during their trip the bush school capstone students learned about the history and culture of the zapotecans of the oaxaca region and the unique circumstances in which both of their clients operate to better understand their clients the students visited their clients homes to learn more about their missions personal backgrounds and goals for building a sense of community while in oaxaca the capstone students had the opportunity to visit local attractions and experience the local flare of the region the group visited monte albán a pre-columbian archaeological site watched a mariachi performance and explored the city of oaxaca the capstone team thoroughly enjoys working with vida nueva and dava and looks forward to bringing dava to texas a&m and college station texas to engage with the bryan-college station community later this month dava will bring its unique artisan footwear designs to the brazos valley for purchase at multiple pop-up locations additionally on march 21 2023 from 5-7:30 pm ct there will be an opportunity to meet and hear from the dava artisans during the fostering partnerships with international social enterprises event at the annenberg presidential conference center on the campus of texas a&m the event is open to the public – register online to attend follow the capstone groups facebook page for the most up-to-date information on the artisan market experience and pop-up locations
dr laron williams a 2008 graduate of the bush school‘s department of political science phd program was recently named professor of the year in the college of arts and science at the university of missouri williams joined the political science department which is now a part of the truman school of government and public affairs in 2011 laron was an outstanding student in our phd program and its been a great pleasure to watch him progress throughout his career interim head of the political science department at the bush school dr guy whitten said this award is a nice recognition of all of his hard work and dedication to his students williams serves as a professor and the director of phd programs at the truman school
dr fritz bartel assistant professor at the bush school of government & public service and an albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) faculty member has been named the inaugural winner of the 2023 smu center for presidential history (cph) book prize bartels book the triumph of broken promises: the end of the cold war and the rise of neoliberalism (harvard university press) was named the inaugural winner by the smu cph on march 3 2023 the triumph of broken promises was one of three books named as finalists for the award the other two finalists were euromissiles (cornell university press) by susan colbourn; and a great and rising nation (university of chicago press) by michael verney bartel is a member of the bush school international affairs department faculty his research interests lie in us foreign relations the global cold war grand strategy and the history of capitalism
dr ki eun kang institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) postdoctoral research associate has recently published a co-authored paper with kyungha lee phd candidate at yonsei university in economic development quarterly in their article collaboration and public participation for municipal growth in land economic development projects they examine the impacts of collaboration and public participation on municipal growth in mid-size us municipalities they specifically look at the cases of land economic development projects across the nation and how local governments population and employment growth are associated with public participation and collaboration their study employs two methodsa survey of planners and officials and gpt-3 semantic search the findings show that informal collaboration pushes population and employment growth but the value of citizen participation is more contentious
a new issue of the takeaway explores the role manufacturing can play in boosting productivity growth and job creation in sub-saharan africa the most recent issue of the takeaway reports on a fundamental development challenge in sub-saharan africaproductivity growth and job creationa challenge highlighted by the regions high underemployment and informal employment and growing population the policy brief describes why manufacturing should be a focal point and the most effective policies to support it manufacturing productivity growth and job creation in sub-saharan africa you can read about it in manufacturing productivity growth and job creation in sub-saharan africa the author dr kaleb abreha is a post-doctoral researcher at the mosbacher institute who studies industrialization and economic transformation the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the bush school of government & public service is kicking off our month-long celebration of womens history month! this month we will be highlighting women who have had an immeasurable impact on the bush school follow along! we are grateful for the leadership impact and legacy of women here at the bush school latest spotlights | whm texas a&m calendar latest spotlights march 22: dr kelly tzoumis dr kelly tzoumis was the first woman to receive a phd in political science from texas a&m in 1992 tzoumis is currently a professor at depaul university in the school of public service we are honored to have her and the political science department as part of the bush school story! march 14: sarah jackson sarah jackson mpsa 11 served as the 2022 president of the texas lyceum and continues to serve as a chair member she was the first woman of color and only the fourth individual from dallas to serve in the position since the organizations inception in 1980 the daughter of sierra leonean immigrants jackson was born in the lone star state and feels a deep connection to its future her career took her through washington dc and houston before she resettled in dallas almost eight years ago here at the bush school we are honored to call her a former student! read more about her time at the bush school and her appointment march 10: international day of women judges march 10 is international day of women judges and we are so proud to live in the legacy of female trailblazers in the judicial branch some powerful women who have been public servants for decades protecting the rights and liberties of americans esther hobart morris was the first american woman to become a justice of the peace an overseer of local courts in south pass city wyoming wyoming was the first state to guarantee womens suffrage in 1869 paving the way for women like morris to become appointed to judicial positions ketanji brown jackson became the first black woman to become an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states in 2022 throughout her career she has prioritized defending marginalized people the first former public defender to serve on the supreme court ruth bader ginsberg was the longest serving female associate supreme court justice serving from 1993 until 2020 during her career rbg championed gender equality and womens rights sandra day oconnor was the first woman to become an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states nominated in 1981 she served until 2006 sonia sotomayor is the first hispanic and latina to serve on the supreme court of the united states nominated in 2009 since her time on the bench she has advocated for criminal justice reform including upholding miranda rights and the rights of defendants each of these women are worthy of celebration today and everyday! march 6: barbara bush barbara bush made an immeasurable impact on the bush school through her advocacy for education here at the bush school and beyond she served as the first lady from 1989 until 1993 and stood as a fierce advocate of both literacy and civil rights while first lady mrs bush established family literacy as one of her most important efforts she inspired the national literacy act which would ensure that adults have greater access to extended education programs mrs bushs interest in literacy was fueled by her sons dyslexia and the fact that she felt many social problems were a result of illiteracy she wrote her first story titled c freds story in 1984 and donated all the earnings to literacy charities doing the same thing with her second book titled millies story the barbara bush foundation was established in 1989 and supports literacy as fundamental to the success of both families and the us economy mrs bush displayed her support by serving on the board of the morehouse school of medicine in the schools earliest years one of only three hbcus to have a medical school at the time her time on the board paved the way for major growth to happen on campus the bush school would not be what it is today without the leadership and investment of barbara bush
cailey young class of 2023 master of public service & administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school cailey is in the nonprofit management track with a concentration in international nongovernmental organizations (ingo) interviewer: introduce yourself cailey: my name is cailey young and i am a second-year here at the bush school of government and public service im receiving my masters in public service and administration focusing in nonprofit management and im getting a concentration in international nongovernmental organizations i originally got my undergrad degree in social innovation and entrepreneurship from texas lutheran university in seguin texas i went to school all four years there for undergrad and i was just looking to further my knowledge into the nonprofit sector and originally i thought i was going to have to go out of state for that but then i stumbled across the bush school website and found out that they had a nonprofit program here and it was very esteemed very prestigious and i thought why not apply why not see if i can make it into this program and sure enough i made it interviewer: what was your favorite part of your first year at the bush school cailey: my favorite part about my first year here at the bush school was getting involved with the community that was the bush school and it was a combination of amazingly welcoming professors and amazingly humble students coming into the program it felt very intimidating to be surrounded by so many individuals that were successful in their respective field and have come from such a huge variety of backgrounds and they were all on the same level as one another when we came into the bush school and i dont think any single person wanted to see another person fail or stumble and it was an amazing relief to have such an amazing community interviewer: what are your favorite classes at the bush school cailey: because im in the concentration of international nongovernmental organizations ive had the privilege of being able to take international affairs classes as well im currently taking women in international development and economic conflict and that is something i never expected myself to take i never expected myself to be interested in international development but that class has been so eye-opening and it has sparked a lot of passion in me and i could definitely see myself going into a career in that sector another class that i really have enjoyed was dr (deborah) kerrs public policy formation while it is one of the harder courses here on campus it is also one of the most gratifying it gave me a lot of skills including public speaking skills and professional writing skills that will hold value for me whenever i go into the workforce interviewer: what did you do over the summer cailey: this summer i had the amazing opportunity to work with a nonprofit here in bryan/college station called our terminal a very small startup nonprofit theyve only been around three or four years and the founder of the organization is actually getting her certificate in nonprofit management here at the bush school i got to work with her as a grant writer over the summer were still waiting to hear back on a couple of grants for her and her organization fingers crossed in august interviewer: what is the most challenging part of the bush school cailey: one of the most challenging parts of being here at the bush school was probably initially coming in and not expecting the workload the workload was very heavy but also at the same time the career fields that were going into are going to be rigorous as well and so it only makes you better by going through what we go through and it also shows you that youve made it through a various esteemed and rigorous program so that makes you a better person as well when entering the workforce interviewer: what advice would you give your younger self before coming to the bush school cailey: something i would probably say to my younger self is that you made it through the application process you made it through the process of being admitted into the bush school and the feelings of self-doubt that you may feel whenever you come into the program and you are around all these amazing people is just setting the bar for something that you are also going to achieve you wouldnt have made it into this program if you werent smart and if you werent brilliant and you deserve to be where you are at this point in your life youre gonna flourish interviewer: tell me about your capstone cailey: as a second year im going through the process of completing my capstone we are working with a nonprofit based out of austin called allies against slavery they partner with the state of texas and they also partner with other nonprofits throughout texas in an effort to collect data on human trafficking and that data is then processed and created into reports so that the texas legislature can implement policy to better serve the individuals that are being trafficked one of their goals is to scale out into other states currently they have partnered with the state of louisiana which is outstanding; its an amazing next step but they are trying to develop a tool to help them determine when and where and how to scale sustainably into other states so that is what our capstone has been tasked with it has been very challenging just because each state has its own different policies they have their own legislative processes that are different from one another and functioning as a nonprofit it can be very difficult in identifying okay who do i need to contact; who do i need to get in touch with in order to build relationships to make it a successful transition and also what capacities do you need to scale properly so those are some of the questions were trying to help them answer so that they can continue to fulfill their mission interviewer: how are you involved at the bush school cailey: since coming to the bush school ive had the amazing opportunity to be a part of two student organizations here on campus i am the vice president of the association of fundraising professionals here at the bush school the association of fundraising professionals or afp is a global organization our collegiate chapter is funded by the houston chapter and we offer students insight into a world of fundraising and philanthropy we also give them insights into potential job opportunities for them and afp in general is an amazing networking opportunity for students in order to find a job that would best fit their skill sets im also an ambassador for the bush school the bush school ambassadors is an amazing organization here on campus and basically we are fulfilling the legacy of george bush we are acting as those liaisons between donors stakeholders and other individuals who come and speak at the bush school and we really show the excellence of what the bush school is for those who are curious
by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on feb 24 2023 its been a year since the full-scale invasion of ukraine by russian forces texas a&m today spoke to associate professor of international affairs john schuessler on the wars impacts schuessler is a professor at the bush school of government and public service and co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy what are your observations on the war now that its been a year since it began first is that for many people even the notion that a war like this could be fought in europe again was rather unthinkable certainly after the end of the cold war there was this expectation that we had found a better way of conducting international relations revolving around trade and cooperation i think too many people considered power politics (politics based on the threat of force) a thing of the past this is a reminder that power politics is hard to extinguish another observation is how important miscalculation is in events like this this war never wouldve happened if the russian regime had appreciated the full scope of the invasion the initial expectation was that kyiv would fall quickly that the zelenskyy government would be replaced by a more pliant one and that ukraine would be firmly in the russian orbit going forward instead it was a botched invasion and the ukrainians held firm; now theyre in a grinding war of attrition it resembles world war i in terms of trench warfare on a long front with artillery each side pounding the other this is not something we expect in this day and age and the third point is that wars are easier to start than to end the russians initial plan was foiled but rarely do countries that start wars say ‘oops my plan didnt work im going to stop fighting no the stakes are too high so if theyre able they double down and keep pouring resources in which russia is certainly doing now theres no sign of any give the ukrainians are not interested in negotiating; if anything their aims have escalated they want to retake territory that russian-backed separatists (and russia itself) have held for several years theres really no end in sight what is the current state of the russian military the losses have been staggering; the estimates are around 100 000 or more casualties to put it in context the united states suffered 58 000 deaths throughout the duration of the vietnam war these were the russians best units the heart of the russian army they sent their professional forces forward and were decimated now the soldiers who are replacing them are less experienced and less capable clearly the russian military was less formidable than many people thought before the war including a number of american officials who were concerned that if the russians were to launch a surprise attack on one of the baltic states of estonia or latvia – slice off a piece of territory – that there wasnt a lot nato could do but now you have to wonder if the russian army is facing this amount of trouble right next door in ukraine how potent of an offensive weapon were they to begin with how did vladimir putin so overestimate his military capabilities these are the kinds of problems dictatorships have first of all dictators dont welcome bad news so they tend to be poorly informed their militaries can develop problems that are hard to see from the outside oftentimes capable generals are dismissed and lackeys are put in their place training is short-changed and corruption sets in its hard to see these things until the fighting begins dictators fiddle around with their militaries because they dont want them to have too much independent power which might lead to a coup i will say this is a bit of conceit on our part because a lot of militaries suffer from versions of these problems american presidents are often poorly informed before they start wars the american military has its own share of problems in terms of competence but i think theyre much more exaggerated here in the russian case and it probably does have something to do with the nature of the russian regime although its impossible to know for sure whats going to happen based on the history of russian conflicts and the current state of the war what might we expect to see in coming months yes it is very difficult to make concrete predictions but the fact that the ukrainians held off the russians in the first year and if anything made gains with these counteroffensives in the fall retaking some territory is quite remarkable that said now the russians have mobilized more forces partly to disrupt the ability of the ukrainians to launch any more offensives you have to expect that this will turn into a frozen conflict i read a good piece comparing what were seeing to the korean war which was never ultimately resolved in terms of a peace agreement what happened is the north gave up its attempt to conquer the south a ceasefire was called and then the south develops successfully behind the shield of that peace but the war remains unresolved to this day so whatever happens with ukraine is it going to be satisfying for everyone most likely no but the alternatives might either be infeasible or too costly for example if the ukrainians try to retake crimea the russians could escalate in horrible ways like nuclear weapons but thats international politics these are the hard realities on the ground so bottom line: the ukrainians have done much better than we expected but i am not convinced ‘victory is in the cards
on february 15 2023 the center for nonprofits and philanthropy at the bush school of government & public service in partnership with the texas a&m university office of fraternity and sorority life hosted a salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities the event was held in the stark gallery at the memorial student center (msc) on the main campus of texas a&m across the room nine quilts with the emblems of the nine historically african american fraternities and sororities were proudly displayed members of the various organizations donned jackets with their black greek organizations letters currently texas a&m has six of the nine national pan-hellenic councils fraternities and sororities dr kenneth taylor began the event by welcoming the audience and giving a shout-out to his own greek organization omega psi phi fraternity he explained how black greek organizations function as public service organizations focused on keeping fellow members in school and doing well attendees listen to a speaker at the salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities event on feb 15 black greek organizations were founded beginning in 1906 as a response to blatant discrimination with african american students not being allowed to join organizations with their white peers eight of the nine black greek organizations were formed at historically black colleges and universities (hbcu) which were also founded as a response to discrimination and segregation at higher education institutions brigadier general joe ramirez vice president for student affairs at texas a&m spoke about a&ms commitment to promoting black fraternities and sororities and what they do for the community he reflected on his own life and the impact of black greek organizations had on his military career seeing black officers with deep connections who were committed to mentoring others following general ramirez the nights guest speaker rasheed ali cromwell described the history of black greek organizations and what the future could look like cromwell emphasized the importance of service was critical to early black greek organizations because services were denied to african americans so they turned to each other for support after noting that currently 19% of all african-american students are first-generation college students he emphasized the important role black greek organizations can play for students cromwell is currently the president of the harbor institute in washington dc dr kenneth taylor is interviewed by kags-tv during the event cromwell concluded his speech discussing the future of black greek organizations especially at texas a&m he emphasized the necessity for greater recognition of the impact black greek organizations make both on and off campus as well as the need to increase recruitment to these organizations this is a wonderful event that will continue to be an annual tradition for the center for nonprofits and philanthropy and the a&m office of fraternity and sorority life dr taylor said we will continue to celebrate the divine nine and its members for more information on black greek life visit the texas a&m national pan-hellenic council website video: salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities
amea thompson class of 2023 master of public service & administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school amea is in the nonprofit management track interviewer: please tell us a little bit about yourself amea: my name is amea thompson im a second-year student here at the bush school on the mpsa side my track is nonprofit management and i am in the class of 2023 im from savannah georgia born and raised i did my undergrad at valdosta state university and got my degree in communications and marketing i worked for a year doing some nonprofit work in valdosta and i felt a strong interest to learn more about the nonprofit sector and how to be equipped and well-managed and what that looks like in a nonprofit so that made me apply to graduate school and i ended up here at the bush school! interviewer: what is the most challenging thing about the bush school amea: for me the most challenging part has definitely been moving far away from home im currently 15 hours away and im very close with my family and so thats been definitely hard in trying to figure out a new state a new city and just a new environment interviewer: what is the best part of the bush school amea: my most challenging part connects to my favorite part because since coming here ive been able to find a sense of community among some of the other bush students here they feel like family to me; weve been able to make lifelong memories interviewer: what has been your favorite class at the bush school amea: my favorite class actually was a class that i took last semester! it was access and equity in higher education with dr ishara casellas connors in this class we talked a lot about different lack of resources that students may face or challenges they may face when they come to higher ed institutions and just in general practitioners and how we can provide better resources for these students so they can have better access to entering post-secondary institutions interviewer: what extracurriculars have you participated in here amea: ive had the neat opportunity to kind of put my knowledge to use i currently got to work with the big brothers big sisters of brazos valley here in college station and ive gotten to work with both youth and parents and volunteers which allowed me to learn about what its actually like to work internally in a nonprofit but also get to actually have a sense of volunteerism here in bryan-college station which has been nice interviewer what advice do you have for future students amea: my best advice for any future student that may come to the bush school is be open to change you may get here with something that you have in mind that you want to do that youre passionate about and it may change either a month or six months or a year down the road i would say hey be open to it because for me i came with the idea of what i want to do and its changed a little bit along the way
the bush school of government and public service is committed to public service two men who exemplify a life lived in service to others are ow sadberry sr and oliver wayne sadberry jr one year ago today february 21 2022 bryan isd announced its new intermediate school would be named the ow sadberry sr intermediate school this school is named after a true bryan texas hometown hero a man who worked for decades as an educator a mentor and a leader in bryans community ow sadberry sr known in the community as professor sadberry this school name could not have been possible without the leadership of his son oliver wayne sadberry jr (wayne) this father-son duo dedicated their lives to helping others through education and community building hundreds of students in bryan public schools can point back to professor sadberry as a mentor or teacher in their life thousands of people have knowledge of their family history because of waynes work at the brazos valley african american museum the sadberrys were really good people who lived valuable lives telling this american story is the new mission of the wayne sadberry committee sunny nashmember of ow sadberry sr intermediate school committee professor sadberry: an educator as a graduate of prairie view a&m university a public historically black land-grant university and a member of the texas a&m university system and the university of texas professor sadberry became passionate about education which eventually led to him becoming a teacher professor sadberry was a longtime teacher and administrator of booker t washington elementary school which was originally called the bryan public school for colored he worked there from 1949 – 1970 teaching classes as well as becoming principal overseeing all of the administrative functions of the school in 1971 booker t washington elementary school burned down the cause remains unknown ultimately this displaced hundreds of students and teachers professor sadberry spent hundreds of hours getting both students and teachers integrated into neighboring school this would be his last act of service dying of a stroke just a few months later ow sadberry sr and faculty 1968 booker t washington elementary school bryan texas joyce ellis newton seated far left beside principal ow sadberry sr who began integrating faculty in 1968 anticipating integrated student bodyphoto contributed by joyce ellis newton professor sadberry was also integral to texas a&ms desegregation serving as an advisor and on the admissions committee in 1963 many of his former booker t washington elementary students were part of the first cohort of black students to attend and graduate from texas a&m outside of the classroom professor sadberry was a leader of the bryan community at large during the 1950s many of the renowned tuskeegee airmen and other black military officers were stationed at bryan air force base due to the strict segregation laws in bryan/college station at that time many of these men were not able find housing in the area professor sadberry and many others gathered to help find these military families housing and other things they needed wayne sadberry jr at the brazos valley african american museumphoto courtesy of sunny nash wayne sadberry: a curator son of professor sadberry and texas a&m graduate (‘71) wayne initially left bryan to become part of the us air force strategic command for six years he wasnt gone for long coming back to the bryan to become the assistant executive director of the brazos valley development council and area agency on aging the same spot where booker t washington elementary once stood is now the brazos valley african american museum wayne followed in his fathers footsteps and began to serve the community through the museum beginning in 2006 wayne served as a curator oral historian and historical researcher for the museum he was critical to the museums opening the family history center a genealogical records site where people can access the history of their own families the school naming project in 2019 wayne began to pursue a way to honor his father and his contributions to education in bryan by naming a school in his honor the committee was comprised of those who could best speak to professor sadberrys impact as an educator his former students led by wayne the core of the team was comprised of two former students of professor sadberry; george vaults and sunny nash other partners were burl garrett jr joyce ellis newton johnnie moten-cunningham carl bisor and oswell person phd ambassadors are karan chavis (‘87) dr adolph johnson dr calvin phillips dr dawn lee wakefield (78) and patricia bradley professor sadberry was known for being an advocate and mentor to his students sometimes driving them to prairie view a&m to get them enrolled in classes settling them into a new place to live or helping them find a job as he did for george vaults and burl garrett the ow sadberry sr intermediate school committee was formed out of waynes desire to honor a lifelong public educator mentor and leader of the black community in bryan over the course of four years from 2019 – 2022 wayne and the rest of the committee worked towards the goal of making a name nomination to bryan isds board of trustees eventually 251 community members signed the petition to name the school after professor sadberry on february 21 2022 bryan isd finally announced the new name for the intermediate school ow sadberry sr intermediate school kags coverage of sadberry intermediate school topping off ceremony in march 2022 a legacy worth remembering on january 11 2022 oliver wayne sadberry jr passed away less than six weeks before bryan isd voted unanimously to choose the naming of the oliver wayne sadberry sr intermediate school when asked about what goals she has for the school committee member sunny nash remarked about how important it is to know the story of professor sadberry sr and wayne sadberry jr when interviewed she remarked they were really good people who lived valuable lives telling this american story is the new mission of the wayne sadberry committee by paige grande
on the evening of february 13 2023 the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service hosted us ambassador liliana ayalde (ret) at the annenberg presidential conference center ambassador ayalde discussed the recent elections in brazil based on her 38 years of service to the us bush school professor and director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs professor andrew natsios introduced the speaker and mediated the event ambassador (ret) ayalde began by explaining why brazil is important to monitor including its relationship to food security agricultural trade with the us and climate change she proceeded to provide a detailed account of the environment players and sentiments leading up to brazils 2022 elections the ambassador (ret) also discussed the conditions brazils new president luiz inácio lula da silva will inherit and predicted his actions to come she discussed the future of us-brazil relations examining us president joe biden and his administrations gestures toward the new brazilian president her talk ended with encouragement to audience members hoping to enter a career in the foreign service her discussion was followed by a forty-minute discussion session which provided an opportunity for audience members to ask questions video: us ambassador liliana ayalde (ret) discusses brazil today from the eyes of a former us ambassador by alexis hixson
william dirubbio a student affiliate with the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school of government & public service has published a new article countering kaliningrads threat to nato in the rusi journal in the article dirubbio argues that nato must develop a more effective strategy towards the kaliningrad oblast this involves a prioritisation of targets in kaliningrad and forward-placing nato capabilities near the oblast to facilitate a quick response countering kaliningrads threat to nato bush school students have the opportunity to join cgs as affiliates during their first year at the bush school the affiliate programs allows for the opportunity to attend small gatherings with guest speakers and career talks with bush school alumni
a study on an ethics-training program in ghana shows a positive impact on police officers values beliefs and propensity to engage in unethical behavior police officers are important service providers but are perceived as highly corrupt in ghana the most recent issue of the takeaway reports on the implementation and evaluation of a two-day training program for traffic police in ghana that attempted to both reactivate officers motivations to serve the public and create a new shared identity of agents of change the author dr danila serra is one of the researchers who designed and implemented the program she is also a faculty member in the texas a&m economics department and the bush school of government and public service the study found that the program improved officers values and beliefs and reduced their willingness to engage in unethical behavior nearly two years later you can read about it in police officers as service providers and agents of change: the impact of an ethics training program in ghana the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
on february 6 2023 the scowcroft institute of international affairs hosted sister rosemary nyirumbe to discuss sewing hope at the annenberg presidential conference center sister rosemary of the sisters of the sacred heart of jesus based in juba south sudan on the border of uganda and south sudan has lived at saint monicas in gulu uganda since 2002 she has resided in uganda with women and children affected by terror of the lords resistance army (lra) there she teaches women skills to become self-reliant through sewing growing food and learning trades additionally she has enrolled in school more than 2 000 girls who had been previously abducted by the lra a crucial part of the training she gives women at saint monicas is sewing training women how to make their own clothes with the goal of economic empowered throughout the event she spoke of the importance of embracing these women and children fully one of the ways through sewing women must have the dignity of work we are training women to become self-reliant and supportive of their children we need to teach women how to use a sewing machine to bring back their own lives sistery rosemary said sister rosemary spoke about the importance of students caring about the ongoing violence and civil wars in south sudan and uganda reminiscent of her punching steven colbert africa is part of humanity which you must care about so why should you not care sister rosemary said dont run away from hearing about these things because one day it might take you by surprise that it is happening on your doorstep video: sewing hope with sister rosemary nyirumbe those interested in learning more about sister rosemary and her work at saint monicas can learn more through the sewing hope foundation by paige grande
dr jasen castillo co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school of government & public service recently took part in a symposium presented by defense priorities (defp) titled lessons from russias invasion of ukraine the looming threat of nuclear escalation underscores why the united states should seek a diplomatic solution sooner rather than later dr castillos piece the looming threat of nuclear escalation underscores why the united states should seek a diplomatic solution sooner rather than later discusses what lessons us policymakers should take from russias war against ukraine after one year of bitter fighting the symposium was organized to stimulate thinking about the most important lessons learned from ukraine-russia war as the one-year mark of the conflict draws near dr castillo joined other top experts on the subject each writing from a range of perspectives sharing their insights in an effort to inform and improve us policy
by texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on february 10 2023 texas a&m university was recently named a 2022-23 fulbright top producing institution by the us department of states bureau of educational and cultural affairs this recognition is given to the colleges and universities that received the highest number of applicants selected for the 2022-23 fulbright us scholar program at the faculty level texas a&m has seven faculty members administrators or researchers who were selected for fulbright us scholar awards for the current academic year more than any other university in the state nationally the university is tied for no 8 among top producers in the doctoral category for the scholar program seven current (2022-23 academic year) graduate students at the bush school of government & public service are fulbright scholar recipients fulbright has been the federal governments flagship international educational exchange program since 1946 when president harry truman signed the fulbright act authorizing the program for the exchange of teachers students professors and research scholars between the us and participating countries since then over 400 000 participants from all backgrounds and fields have worked and studied in the us and more than 160 other countries this year the state of texas has the largest number of fulbright top producing institutions in the southwest region texas a&m has had at least one fulbright scholar every year since 1949 we are proud of our fulbright scholars and are pleased about our recognition as a top producer for one of the most prestigious academic honors worldwide said texas a&m president m katherine banks the opportunities for our scholars personal and professional growth and benefits gained through a broadened global mindset are immeasurable this program also aligns with our mission to develop leaders of character who are dedicated to service and making a difference in the world we are proud of our fulbright scholars and are pleased about our recognition as a top producer for one of the most prestigious academic honors worldwidetexas a&m president m katherine banks fulbright officials noted the success of the program saying alumni have returned to their home countries to make an impact on their communities thanks to their expanded worldview a deep appreciation for their host country and its people and a larger network of colleagues and friends on behalf of president biden and secretary of state blinken congratulations to the colleges and universities recognized as 2022-2023 fulbright top producing institutions and to all the applicants who were selected for the fulbright program this year said lee satterfield assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs thanks to the visionary leadership of these institutions administrators and advisors a new generation of fulbrighters changemakers as i like to say will catalyze lasting impact on their campus in their communities and around the world nk anand vice president for faculty affairs at texas a&m said we are pleased that the quality of our faculty continues to be recognized through the awarding of fulbright scholarships and other prestigious honors we are dedicated to elevating faculty excellence and the impact they make through teaching research and outreach fulbright alumni have included 41 heads of state or government 62 nobel laureates 89 pulitzer prize winners 78 macarthur fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the fulbright mission of enhancing mutual understanding for more information about the fulbright program visit fulbrightprogramorg and learn more about the program at texas a&m from the department of global engagement
dr frank ashley executive associate dean at the bush school of government & public service discusses his time at the bush school and what black history month means to him what does black history month mean to you i have been involved in diversity initiatives my whole life my whole career black history month gives us a chance to reflect on other people instead of looking inward we get to look at the accomplishments of other people im a firm believer the more you know about other people the better off you are what do you wish bush school students know about black history month when we look through the lense of diversity it changes your perspective on a lot of things the more we know about each other the more we appreciate each other specific months like black history month help us celebrate the accomplishments of individuals that help make america the great country that we are it also forces us to recognize our dark times and helps us remember we never want that to happen again what have you seen regarding diversity initiatives here at the bush school or a&m as director of admissions for texas a&m i looked at how we can be more diverse how we can look more like the state of texas as a state university the student body faculty and staff should reflect the state of texas its important here at the bush school because graduates will be public servants as i tell students in my class they may not be in a diverse organization however when they look at the people they are serving they will be of a diverse background how have you seen the response to diversity initiatives change at texas a&m it is cyclical it gets better and then gets worse gets better and then worse again i dont know where we are right now the more we know about history the less likely we are to repeat the same mistakes in 50 years what do you hope the bush school or texas a&m will look like like president george hw bushs quote in a hundred years i would like to look back and have historians say ‘from that school came generation after generation of people who were committed to public service for the right reasons – they believed they could make a difference – president george hw bush i believe our students will embody this public servants who are in it for the right reasons
deshae wise class of 2023 master of public service & administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school deshae is in the public management track with a concentration in state and local government interviewer: please tell us a little bit about yourself deshae: my name is deshae wise im a second-year student at the bush school doing the mpsa program ill be graduating in 2023 im doing the public management track with a concentration in state and local government before the bush school i went to uc berkeley and i graduated there in 2021 studying business administration interview: why did you choose the bush school deshae: like i said my undergrad was in business administration and i have some experience doing some marketing and administrative work with a small nonprofit and i also have had experience working at a large finance firm doing commercial banking and those experiences both work together to really show how much interest i had in doing social impact work and so because of track i had the opportunity to do a graduate transfer and i found that the masters program here was the perfect fit interviewer: what does black history month mean to you deshae: black history month to me means honoring the legacy of black people black activists all the people that have come before me and who are currently working to improve the culture interviewer: what are you hoping to do in the future deshae: this past summer i interned at a company called baker tilly doing public sector consulting and i love the firm i love the work really being able to explore a lot of different avenues and just learn about so many different things and so after my career as a professional track athlete i am hoping to continue on with that same line of work interviewer: what does black history month mean for the bush school/ for texas a&m and what would you like your peers to know/hear deshae: black history month to both the bush school and texas a&m means recognizing the contributions that black people have made to the school i would really encourage my peers to learn about noteworthy black people who have impacted both society and our school and really just be open and willing to learn from those around you interviewer: what are the highlights of your time at the bush school deshae: i would say my best memories at the bush school has really just been getting to know my peers texas a&m is a huge university my undergrad was a huge university and so being in this really small intimate cohort with people who have a really similar mindset has been super enjoyable and its really exciting to see all the different passions and interests that relate to the public sector and the public service that everybody is getting involved in
a texas a&m study predicts the extent to which health insurance enrollment gains will be lost when covid-19 related marketplace subsidies and expanded eligibility criteria expire texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation despite gains from temporary pandemic-era aca marketplace and medicaid federal policies two texas a&m faculty members benjamin ukert from the school of public health and laura dague from the bush school have estimated the policy-related gains and expected losses in caseload in texas when the policies expire the latest issue of the takeaway marketplace health insurance & the public health emergency: implications for texas describes what their research shows about the effect of the american rescue plan act and its increased premium subsidies and expanded eligibility criteria for private marketplace health insurance plans the authors estimate that the policies led to a 70% increase in texas marketplace enrollment representing 750 000 people they also conclude unless additional steps to encourage health plan enrollment are taken gains in insurance coverage will be lost when the enhanced subsidies end in 2025 leaving many more vulnerable texans without health coverage the december issue of the takeaway medicaid & the public health emergency: implications for texas drew conclusions from the same research but with a focus on medicaid to explore the implications for texas when the families first coronavirus recovery act provisions expire on april 1 2023 the episcopal health foundation a philanthropic organization focused on improving community health in texas sponsored the underlying research for the authors report what happens to texans insurance coverage when medicaid and marketplace pandemic-era policies end the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the albritton center for grand strategy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university presents the nuclear club: how america and the world policed the atom from hiroshima to vietnam with dr jonathan hunt register online to attend the talk will be held on thursday february 16 in the presidential orientation theater in the george hw bush presidential library and museum 1000 george bush dr w college station tx 77845 registration is required for the event which begins at 5:00 pm cst please register online to attend if guests are unable to attend in person a zoom link will be included in the rsvp confirmation email the nuclear club (stanford up 2022) reveals how a coalition of powerful and developing states embraced global governance in hopes of a bright and peaceful tomorrow while fears of nuclear war were ever-present it was the perceived threat to their preeminence that drove washington moscow and london to throw their weight behind the 1963 limited test ban treaty (ltbt) banishing nuclear testing underground the 1967 treaty of tlatelolco banning atomic armaments from latin america and the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty (npt) forbidding more countries from joining the most exclusive club on earth international society the cold war and the imperial us presidency were reformed from 1945 to 1970 when a global nuclear order was inaugurated averting conflict in the industrial north and yielding what george orwell styled a peace that is no peace everywhere else today the nuclear order legitimizes foreign intervention worldwide empowering the nuclear club and above all the united states to push sanctions and even preventive war against atomic outlaws all in humanitys name about the speaker jonathan r hunt is a historian of us foreign relations with a focus on great-power competition with russia and china from 1912 through the present he is currently an assistant professor of strategy at the us air war college
lindsey garner was drawn to the bush school of government and public service because of the schools emphasis on leadership service ethics and management having a career that allowed her to serve the community was very important for lindsey ive always had a deep desire to serve others lindsey garner said this desire led her to study nonprofit management at the bush school where she learned tools that aided her career after graduating from the bush school in 2006 with her mpsa degree and a focus in nonprofit management lindsey began working in development to learn how to cultivate and steward donors and volunteers garner currently serves as the president and ceo of communities in schools of greater tarrant county her robust nonprofit experience has allowed her to shape her organization to embody innovation and empowerment at all levels of the organization as they work to ensure every student in the community has a bright future lindseys powerful advice to past and present bush school students is to take a holistic view of any job and its benefits to ensure your values and mission align with the companys additionally garner praised continuing education programs to continue learning about nonprofit resources and education throughout ones career in 2018 lindsey founded a local support group #momstrongfw to provide moms of autistic children in the fort worth area the opportunity to connect build community and share resources; they now connect with over 330 families outside of her career and acts of service lindsey is proud to be the mother of her two children nathan and ryan and a wife to her husband johny a tcu professor we are proud to spotlight her as one of our alumni embodying president bushs wish to serve others
on january 23 2023 the mosbacher institutes global value chains program joined the texas a&m energy institute in hosting a special joint seminar on transport and logistics entitled the footprint of e-commerce and the distribution network of amazon the event featured dr jean-paul rodrigue a professor in the department of global studies & geography at hofstra university and a distinguished fellow in the hagler institute for advanced study at texas a&m university dr jean-paul rodrigues research interests mainly cover the fields of transportation and economics as they relate to logistics and global freight distribution dr rodrigues presentation revolved around the association between the emerging e-commerce industry and the shift from commercial retail stores to distribution centers he claims forms of distribution-based consumption are emerging where the demand is contingent upon logistical capabilities his research and presentation focused on the commercial footprint of the company amazon and featured the geographical analysis of more than 900 amazon distribution facilities in the united states his presentation outlined how amazons efficient distribution network allows it to expand volumes and improve performance the presentation concluded with questions about the environmental sustainability of e-commerce and the potential policy implications shaping the e-commerce industry moving forward you can view the footprint of e-commerce and the distribution network of amazon on the energy institutes website
by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on feb 1 2023 before president george hw bush took the oath of office he sent his marching orders to every member of his staff among the long list of directives: think big challenge the system and adhere to the highest ethical standards thats what he sent out to all of us helping him building this administration that would make a difference and i can say that that commitment was truly infectious said andrew card bushs secretary of transportation from 1992 to 1993 during a conversation this week with former white house senior staffers who served during the 41st presidents term video of event hosted by the bush school of government and public services scowcroft institute of international affairs the event featured several former staff members who shared their experiences working in the bush white house as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the bush school card who also worked under president ronald reagan and would go on to serve as president george w bushs chief of staff said the elder bush had come to office fully prepared for the role after serving as vice president cia director and ambassador to china he knew what it meant to understand the burden of someone who works in the white house and he was empathetic to those who work in government to help make a difference card said several of the former staffers noted the one-term president came into office with a well-defined agenda and clear idea for how he wanted his white house to function his first chief of staff john sununu said the president insisted on a tone of collegiality he knew what it meant to understand the burden of someone who works in the white house and he was empathetic to those who work in government to help make a differenceandrew card establishing a process that magnified that collegiality allowed the president to have a staff that took the agenda he had and dealt with all the processes involved in a white house from defining the policy to communicating the policy to the public and to congress and then getting things put together sununu said george bush was a one-term president but he was a great president who had a lasting impact jim cicconi who served as the assistant to the president and as staff secretary from 1989-1990 shared a similar sentiment: theres a very strong case to be made that president bush accomplished more in four years than most presidents have accomplished to date much of this can be credited to the type of person bush was cicconi said: both incredibly smart and able to hold vast amounts of information in his head on a variety of subjects without becoming overwhelmed cicconi described bush as a conscientious worker and a clean desk guy youd send him paper and you would get it back with his comments and his instructions cicconi said i gave him homework to take with him to the residence every evening and id get buzzed at about 6:30 every morning to come up and collect the stuff that he stayed up working on if you go to camp david on the weekend he took a huge amount of files and paper with him and he brought it back it didnt disappear into some black hole or get scattered around the office panelists who also shared stories of their time in the white house included david bates a former personal aide during bushs first campaign; fred mcclure associate vice president for leadership and engagement at texas a&m university and bushs former assistant for legislative affairs; roger b porter the assistant to the president for economic and domestic policy from 1989 to 1993; and chase untermeyer bushs assistant as vice president from 1981-1983 and later assistant to the president and director of the office of presidential personnel from 1989-1991
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the bush school of government and public service in partnership with the office of fraternity & sorority life invite you to join us on february 15 2023 from 5:30-7:30 pm ct for the fourth annual salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities rasheed ali cromwell esq will serve as the guest speaker for the evening register online to attend rasheed ali cromwell esq is the founder and president of the harbor institute an educational consulting firm and is an active member of omega psi phi fraternity inc he is a fourth-generation historically black colleges and universities (hbcu) graduate from north carolina a & t state university where he was the president of the student government association cromwell now partners with college students nationwide to explore diversity/equity/inclusion efforts leadership development and cultural empowerment as the featured speaker mr cromwell will discuss the history of black sororities and fraternities and their members contributions to public service the bush school is a proud supporter of black history month at texas a&m university and recognizing black greek letter organization members and their commitment to public service is something we look forward to at our event bush school dean mark a welsh iii said black history month represents a momentary reminder of what everyone should be considering and including as we progress our story as a human race and we are proud to empower each other to do sojosh brown director of student activities in the office of student life at texas a&m salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities will be held at the stark gallery in the memorial student union on texas a&m universitys main campus black history month represents a momentary reminder of what everyone should be considering and including as we progress our story as a human race and we are proud to empower each other to do so josh brown director of student activities in the office of student life at texas a&m said the event is open to the public however interested parties must register to attend please contact the center for nonprofits & philanthropy with any questions
the bush school is kicking off our month-long celebration of black history month we are celebrating the rich history of black public servants who have devoted their lives to public service at the university local state national and international levels latest spotlights | feb 15 bush school event recap | bhm texas a&m calendar latest spotlights feb 27: colin powell secretary colin powell made history for his groundbreaking achievements in government service he served in the army during the vietnam war as national security advisor to president ronald reagan from 1987-1989 and eventually served as the chairman of the joint chiefs from 1989-1993 from 2001-2005 he served as secretary of state under president george w bush the first black secretary of state he played a critical role in stabilizing american foreign relations after 9/11 secretary powell was a leading voice in international affairs and national security for decades providing his insight to multiple presidents in a variety of roles feb 23: ruby bridges many remember the iconic photo of a little girl entering an elementary school the first african american student to attend an integrated elementary school in the south what many of us dont know is that ruby bridges has gone on to create the ruby bridges foundation committed to ending racism and other forms of bullying through education through her foundation and other volunteer efforts ruby bridges continues to be a voice for equity in education and continued civil right efforts feb 21: ow sadberry sr/oliver wayne sadberry jr on february 21 2022 bryan isd announced its new intermediate school would be named the ow sadberry sr intermediate school this school is named after a true bryan texas hometown hero a man who worked for decades as an educator a mentor and a leader in bryans community ow sadberry sr known in the community as professor sadberry this school name could not have been possible without the leadership of his son oliver wayne sadberry jr (wayne) this father-son duo dedicated their lives to helping others through education and community building feb 16: dr grace butler dr grace butler was the first black woman to earn the title of full professor at texas a&m university and later become an administrator she is also the founder of the nonprofit hope through grace which is committed to ending colon cancer through education and enhanced early detection dr butler continues to uplift others and live a life of public service feb 14: frank ashley dr frank ashley executive associate dean for the bush school is a pillar in the texas a&m community having served across campus in a variety of administrative roles read a full interview with dr ashley for more of his story and what he has seen of diversity initiatives at texas a&m feb 10: jane bolin the first black woman to serve as a judge in the united states was jane bolin she was also the first black woman to attend wellesley college and the first african american graduate from yale law school in 1939 she was appointed as judge of the domestic relations court in new york city while a judge she advanced civil rights and the rights of children one major accomplishment was abolishing segregationist policies regarding color-based assignments for probation officers jane bolin embodies black excellence as a trailblazer judge and as a public servant feb 8: fred mcclure fred mcclure embodies a life of public service that has spanned many decades as a student at texas a&m mr mcclure broke new ground for student leaders when he served as the first black student body president in 1976-1977 in the years after graduation mr mcclure served as associate deputy us attorney general a special assistant for legislative affairs under president ronald reagan and assistant for legislative affairs under president george hw bush for his achievements mr mcclure was honored as the 115th texas a&m distinguished alumnus in 1991 in 1995 mr mcclure was appointed to the texas a&m university system board of regents currently mr mcclure is associate vice president for leadership & engagement at texas a&m university he was previously the chief executive officer for the george bush presidential library foundation mr mcclure is a lifelong public servant and we are proud to have him as a friend of the bush school feb 3: matthew gaines key to the founding of the agricultural and mechanical college of texas now texas a&m was matthew gaines the former texas state senator was born into slavery and eventually became a leader of the black community in washington county he went onto represent washington county as one of the first african american state senators during his time as a state senator gaines was influential in the passage of the morrill act which granted the sale of federal lands to institutions of higher education including the agricultural and mechanical college of texas the bush school nor texas a&m would not be the same today without the leadership of matthew gaines and for that we are grateful
the center for nonprofits and philanthropy (cnp) recently hosted its annual bush board fellows pinning ceremony to thank outgoing board fellows and welcome new fellows this year the cnp celebrated the 15th anniversary of the bush board fellows program which was started by dr will brown to give students hands-on experience working with nonprofit organizations and their boards over the past 15 years the program has grown to host 32 bush school graduate students and 16 local nonprofit organizations some of the cnp partner nonprofit organizations include the american red cross united way habitat for humanity bcs public library and twin city mission at the ceremony royce hickman from the bcs chamber of commerce was recognized for his infallible support over the years that helped catalyze the programs expansion hickman and many others were thanked for their work in making the bush board fellows program as successful as it is today
dr leslie ruyle research scientist at the bush school of government & public service is featured in a new book women in field biology released in august of 2022 dr ruyle was one of 75 female field biologists interviewed in the book co-authored by martha l crump and michael j lannoo the book focuses primarily on the journeys of women field biologists in north america and the unique path each followed to their respective area of fieldwork the books spotlights dr ruyles past work on a community-based hippo conservation project in northern ghana her research at the smithsonian tropical research institute in panama and her phd dissertation work on iguanas in honduras dr ruyles segment goes on to highlight the creative solutions for conservation she continues to research at the bush school – bringing together minds of various disciplines to create space for new perspectives approaches and novel solutions that are breaking down barriers that stand in the way of solving the worlds most challenging conservation problems
on november 4 2022 the program on women peace and security at the bush school of government and public service hosted the 8th annual symposium on women peace and security the title of the event was national security and the global birth strike: new perspectives on rationalizing reproduction and caregiving symposium highlights | symposium videos | symposium agenda symposium highlights the bush schools dr valerie hudson welcomed guests to kick-off the event and was followed by dr jennifer sciubba associate professor at rhodes college and author of 8 billion and counting: how sex death and migration shape our world the honorable andras doncsev consul and trade counselor of hungary in houston followed dr sciubba the first of two keynote speakers followed doncsev – dr nancy folbre professor emerita of economics and director of the program on gender and care work at the political economy research institute at the university of massachusetts amherst and a senior fellow of the levy economics institute at bard college in the united states after a one-hour lunch break a virtual washington dc panel discussed recognizing gender apartheid in afghanistan the panelists included metra mehran human rights activist and fellow at nyu school of professional studies; karima bennoune professor of law at the uc davis school of law and previous un special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; and zubaida akbar womens rights and civil society activist ann crittendon author of the price of motherhood and if youve raised kids you can manage anything followed serving as the second keynote speaker of the day following a short break dr theresa morris professor of sociology at texas a&m and coordinator of the women and gender studies program spoke followed by an all texas-based panel discussion and closing remarks by dr hudson symposium videos video: 2022 wps introduction with dean welsh and dr valerie hudson video: dr jennifer sciubba video: the honorable andras doncsev video: dr nancy folbre video: dc virtual panel video: ann crittendon video: dr theresa morris video: in-person panel discussion video: conclusion with dr valerie hudson on behalf of the wps concentration and the bush school we would like to thank everyone who participated and we look forward to our next symposium in the fall of 2023
by alexis hixson since 2016 dr silva hamie an instructional associate professor in the department of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service has taken students in her post conflict recovery and development course on an annual class field experience video recap: new mexico high-impact evaluation field trip past field trips have included louisiana california florida and port aransas this year the students chose a new destination: new mexico why new mexico in 2022 the wildfire season was among the worst natural disasters the state has ever experienced in fact the year marked new mexicos largest wildfire in recorded history which burned over 300 000 acres and led to the evacuation of over 15 000 residences so on nov 8 dr hamie and 12 bush school students began the annual class field experience – to study reconstruction efforts after the 2022 fire and monsoon seasons in new mexico the purpose of the class is to acquaint students with principles of disaster management the phases of the responses what the challenges are who are the main actors and so on…to actually talk to people in the fielddr silva hamie when i first started teaching here i thought there was something missing not all students get to have the opportunity and chance to see things on the ground dr hamie said so i addressed the issue with the head of department to see if there was a way to take students on a field trip to complement what we learn in class the 2022 high impact evaluation field trip consisted of three days of field visits and interviews with disaster managers and responders at the federal state and local levels the purpose of the class is to acquaint students with principles of disaster management the phases of the responses what the challenges are who are the main actors and so on…to actually talk to people in the field stated dr hamie dr hamie and 12 bush school students began the annual class field experience – to study reconstruction efforts after the 2022 fire and monsoon seasons in new mexico on the first day the students visited the department of homeland security (dhs) headquarters for a tour and a series of talks about the fire from each of the five full-time workers at dhs at the time of the fire the dhs in new mexico is responsible for coordinating response and providing government resources to those fighting the fire the class also visited las vegas county headquarters and mora county two of the counties most heavily impacted by the fires visiting las vegas county provided the students with a local-level perspective highlighting the emotional challenges responders faced and how difficult it was for them to see the devastation to their community mora the students were informed is one of the poorest counties in the state in mora the class visited with the newly reelected county commissioner who described in detail the challenges that mora county endured in attempting to get funding to fight the fires and the challenges they expect to face as they rebuild many students have the belief that everything we do here in the us is the best dr hamie said it is interesting to see how shocked they are to learn of the miscommunication between the state and federal (government) thats always the part that i like the most a fema representative tasked the students with completing a series of puzzles and games to simulate the chaos that ensues in disaster scenarios oluchukwu lulu nkenke a nigerian master of international affairs bush school student from the class of 2023 was fascinated by what the trip uncovered this class has really opened my eyes when i was in nigeria i heard that the united states is the pinnacle of hope that they can handle everything they can do everything nkenke said so when i come here and i see the failure to take proper steps and proper management of natural disaster risk management even though they have the resources and the facilities to actually operate it it breaks my heart the group was also hosted by the sierra bonita fire department and a member of new mexico state forestry who provided a tour of the volunteer fire departments facilities and a series of lectures from the fire chief and other firefighters on the final day the students returned to the department of homeland security to hear a lecture from a fema representative about why disaster management matters the fema rep tasked the students with completing a series of puzzles and games to simulate the chaos that ensues in disaster scenarios for many students the most impactful part of the trip was a site visit to the forest impacted by the fires the department of homeland security took us literally into the forest we were able to walk through the trees and walk through the ashy surface of the ground…it was very disheartening nkenke said the annual experience in dr hamies class has led many students to look towards careers in disaster response and recovery many students have gone to work in the development field it is incredible to see how much damage that this natural disaster can cause no matter how small or big it was you can see how the response itself can make or break a town that this natural disaster took place in nkenke said i feel like it really impacted what i want to do in my life my main goal is to serve the community
by: jean becker thirty years ago today george and barbara bush woke up in the white house the president and first lady of the country they loved before he walked out of the oval office for the last time president bush left this note behind for william jefferson clinton the man who had deprived him of a coveted second term: january 20 1993 dear bill when i walked into this office just now i felt the same sense of wonder and respect that i felt four years ago i know you will feel that too i wish you great happiness here i never felt the loneliness some presidents have described there will be very tough times made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair im not a very good one to give advice; but just dont let the critics discourage you or push you off course you will be our president when you read this note i wish you well i wish your family well your success now is our countrys success i am rooting hard for you good luck george then after attending the new presidents inauguration they flew to houston they were home this is the first minute of the beginning of our new life and i cant think of any place better to begin president bush told the hundreds of supporters who showed up at ellington air force base to welcome them home thus continued the love affair that began between the bushes and houston when they moved here in 1959 from midland and which continued until their deaths in 2018 after years of being on the national stage it a took a while to settle back into houston and private life just a week after they came home president bush wrote a friend: [barbara] is writing away and even though she dropped a $300 jar of sauce and splattered it all across our tiny kitchenette she is proving once again to be a fine cook its far better than microwaving it i am the dish man i rinse the plates and put them in the washer almost simultaneously i load our coffee machine and then we walk the dogs and along the way we count our blessings gb mrs bush was indeed writing her memoirs while president bush went every day to his new office at 10 000 memorial drive they also started building a house on an empty lot they had owned for several years in the tanglewood neighborhood oh and they became frequent visitors of sams club a huge discovery for the former white house tenants despite the fact it was just the two of them they loved buying everything in bulk i am convinced there are still several large cannisters of cheetos floating around houston but it didnt take long for them to emerge from their self-imposed cocoon – president bush especially needed to lick his wounds just a bit – and become fully emerged in houston life on sunday mornings you could find them attending church services at st martins episcopal church often followed by lunch at molinas they were frequent patrons of the theater under the stars and when it was time for baseball you could easily spot them sitting behind home plate at the astros games and of course they were points of light president bush became an active member of md andersons board of visitors eventually becoming chairman of that board the two of them would help raise several hundred million dollars for cancer research over the next 20 years mrs bush would host every year a celebration of reading – a tradition her son neil and his wife maria continue today to raise money for her literacy foundation making sure a big chuck of the money raised stayed here it became a very popular event as the bushes brought to town best-selling authors and celebrities and enjoyed poking fun at themselves in their opening dialogue my favorite celebration story: the year president bush invited a pig to attend the event came just a month after mrs bushs open-heart surgery at methodist hospital where a pig heart valve was used to replace one of her defective ones president bush had the odd and yet brilliant idea that we needed to find a pig to come out on stage playing the part of the relative of the valve donor the pig was there in theory to protest we actually found a pig who after he walked on stage immediately defecated maybe he was mad … they were such frequent keynote speakers at fund-raising lunches and dinners that mrs bush once worried that between the two of them they had helped raised money for every single nonprofit in town why worry about that she was concerned everyone in town had heard all her jokes and when houston needed them most they were front and center in 2003 when the space shuttle columbia exploded over texas as it re- entered earths atmosphere president and mrs bush quietly and without fanfare went to the johnson space center to give support and hugs to everyone in mission control when hurricane katrina devastated the louisiana and mississippi coastlines in 2005 president bush brought his brand new disaster partner president clinton to town after houston opened its doors and hearts to katrina refugees the bushes and clintons spent hours at nrg center trying to touch and hug as many people as possible a few months later when houstons united way was running low on funds trying to support the displaced katrina residents the bushes volunteered to participate in a telethon hosted at kprc/channel 2 while president bush helped host the event mrs bush answered the phones sitting between zz top (im not sure which one but he had a long beard) and archbishop joseph fiorenza i still regret not snapping a photo when hurricane ike roared ashore in 2008 president bush president clinton and secretary james baker stood on the beach in galveston with local leaders pledging their help and support after being diagnosed with parkinsons president bush became less involved in large-scale events but when hurricane harvey devastated houston in 2017 – about a year before president bush died – he told me to suit up i gently told him i thought he was too frail to participate in any kind of fund-raising campaign his answer to me: its houston jean its home partnering with his son the two president bushes brought with them to a fund-raising concert at texas a&m with presidents obama clinton and carter and oh lady gaga among others raising a total of $44 million that night and in the next few weeks whether they were spotted on the kiss cam on astros game; cheering on the houston marathon runners; tossing the coin at a texans game; serving up thanksgiving dinner at star of hope; watching the golfers at the shell houston open; or taking in a concert or a play the lives of george and barbara bush and their hometown were happily intertwined in good times and bad after mrs bush died in april of 2018 president bush returned to that other hometown – kennebunkport maine for what we knew would be one last summer around labor day his maine-based doctors told president bushs medical aide evan sisley that they did not think he would survive the long trip back to texas and recommended he stay in maine for his final days so evan and i sat down with him to see what he wanted to do i guess i was being a little vague – prattling on about how maybe we should stay a little later this year and see the leaves turn colors president bush looked at us and said: are you asking where i want to die when we admitted that was the case his answer was quick simple and final take me home and home he was when he died a few months later on november 30th in the city george and barbara bush called home for 59 years what a love story it was
a team of institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) research fellowsdr ki eun kang dr ann bowman dr bryce hannibal dr sierra woodruff and the late dr kenty portney have published their study of resilience policies and programs adopted by the 101 largest us cities in their article ecological engineering and community resilience policy adoption in large us cities they developed clusters of policies related to three types of resilience: ecological engineering and community similar to earlier work on sustainability and climate change policy their results show that larger cities are more likely to adopt all three types of resilience policies wealthier and liberal cities adopt more ecological resilience policies cities that are members of city networks also adopt more policies but not all networks significantly influence policy adoption suggesting that network goals and connections are important they also find that among these large cities it is the smaller of them that appear to benefit most from membership in networks
update: due to the weather and campus being closed this event has been rescheduled to wednesday oct 4 2023 on wednesday october 4 2023 henry cisneros who served as the 10th us secretary of housing and urban development and former mayor of san antonio will speak at the 2023 conocophillips white house lecture about the impact of modernized infrastructure on the economy and on national security the conocophillips white house lecture series brings to public attention the various offices of the white house and executive branch that provide policy administrative and overall support to the president register online to attend this event the lecture is sponsored by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and the george and barbara bush foundation the event will be held at the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center at 5:30 pm for registration or additional information visit the mosbacher institutes website at bushtamuedu/mosbacher cisneros graduated from texas a&m university with a bachelor of arts in english and a masters degree in urban and regional planning during his senior year he was a ross volunteer and commander of the combined fightin texas aggie band early in his career he began community building at the local level as a san antonio city council member for three terms and then mayor from 1981 to 1989 he was the first hispanic-american mayor of a major us city during his four terms as mayor he helped rebuild the citys economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure and downtown improvements as president bill clintons secretary of the us department of housing and urban development from 1993 to 1997 cisneros has been credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nations public housing developments and with formulating policies that contributed to achieving the nations highest ever homeownership rate in his role as the presidents chief representative to the nations cities cisneros personally worked in more than 200 us cities in every one of the 50 states after leaving hud cisneros became president and ceo of univision communications until 2020 and he has served as president of the national league of cities deputy chair of the federal reserve bank of dallas vice-chairman of habitat for humanity and a number of leadership roles within the city of san antonio currently cisneros is chairman of american triple i an infrastructure investment firm with offices in new york and texas
dr ki eun kang postdoctoral research associate with the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government and public service presented a research paper at the annual southern political science association (spsa) conference that took place from january 11-14 2023 in st pete beach florida the paper becoming resilient: cities policies and governance is coauthored with dr ann bowman professor and istpp fellow at the bush school the researchers explore the answers to several research questions using data from a recent survey of large city governments in the us: how does a city become resilient what role does city government play in the quest for resilience how have cities organized their resilience efforts the results suggest that with exceptions cities have embraced what might be termed a nominal effort at increasing their resilience dr kang also chaired a panel theory methods and games to understand sustainability & environmental regulatory policies at spsa on january 14 2023
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) and the bush school of government and public service present alexander downes discussing his recent book catastrophic success: why foreign-imposed regime change goes wrong (cornell up 2021) the event will be held on thursday january 26 in the 10th floor theater at bush school dc 1620 l street nw washington dc 20036 registration is required for the lecture which begins at 5:30 pm et please register online to attend about the speaker alexander b downes (phd university of chicago 2004) is professor of political science and international affairs and co-director of the institute for security and conflict studies at the george washington university downess first book targeting civilians in war was published by cornell university press in 2008 and won the joseph lepgold prize for the best book in international relations his second book catastrophic success: why foreign-imposed regime change goes wrong was published also by cornell in november 2021 downes has written on a variety of subjects in international security including civilian victimization foreign-imposed regime change military effectiveness democracy coercion alliances and solutions to civil wars his work can be found in journals like the british journal of political science civil wars international organization international security journal of conflict resolution journal of strategic studies and security studies as well as multiple edited volumes in 2016 downes was named the winner of the inaugural emerging scholar award and has held fellowships at harvard universitys belfer center for science and international affairs (2007/08) and olin institute for strategic studies (2002/03) and the center for international security and cooperation (2003/04) at stanford university his work has been funded by the department of defense minerva initiative carnegie corporation of new york eisenhower institute harry frank guggenheim foundation smith richardson foundation and office of naval research downes teaches a variety of courses on ir and international security for undergraduates ma students at the elliott school and phd students in political science in recognition of his efforts in the classroom downes received the 2020 harry harding teaching prize from the elliott school before joining the gw faculty downes was assistant professor of political science at duke university from 2004-2011 he holds a ba in music (magna cum laude) from brown university and an ma in international relations (with honors) from the university of chicago
a bush school graduate students internship spawns appreciation for the importance of public-private partnerships in international development in the most recent issue of the takeaway bush school graduate student kurt sernett gives us an inside glimpse of the novel work of a global supply chain management firm his informative essay urges us to appreciate the vast network of private and non-profit entities that actively support public sector international development goals in leveraging private sector capabilities for sustainable economic development sernett describes how private actors are leveraging their advanced logistics and supply chain management capabilities to deliver crucial support for international development and how the firm where he worked is making an impact by providing big-data tools to help firms track whether their supply chains are sustainable safe and humane the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
two team members of the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school have recently published articles dr shahin berenji the 2022-23 cgs postdoctoral fellow recently published an article with security studies a leading journal in the field in the article berenji examines the bold conciliatory gestures that were made by mikhail gorbachev at the reykjavik summit dr gregory gause a professor at bush school dc and cgs faculty affiliate has published an article with foreign affairs a leading policy outlet in the article gause explains how to salvage the us-saudi relationship
a new study estimates the gains and expected losses related to pandemic-era medicaid policies scheduled to expire in april texas continues to have the highest uninsured rate in the nation but as a result of pandemic-era medicaid policies texas did make historic gains in health insurance coverage two texas a&m faculty members laura dague from the bush school and benjamin ukert from the school of public health have estimated the gains in medicaid coverage and the expected losses in caseload when the policies expire as well as the fiscal impacts for texas the latest issue of the takeaway medicaid & the public health emergency: implications for texas summarizes the results of their research and lists several policies and administrative actions that would help maintain texas health coverage gains as these temporary medicaid policies end unless action is taken they estimate that 700 000 texans could lose health insurance coverage increasing the uninsurance rate by at least 2 percentage points this issue follows up on a 2020 policy brief medicaid expansions impact in texas that explored the financial and health coverage impacts related to texas choice not to expand medicaid the episcopal health foundation a philanthropic organization focused on improving community health in texas sponsored the underlying research for both reports one of the authors of both studies laura dague notes that these results are especially important given that the bipartisan year-end omnibus bill ends medicaids continuous eligibility policy effective april 1 2023 so redeterminations will begin very soon and people could begin to lose coverage starting in april the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) team of dr rotem dvir carol goldsmith ian sevey and dr arnold vedlitz director of istpp have recently published a paper in environmental hazards in their article local-level managers attitudes towards natural hazards resilience: the case of texas they explore the views of professional stakeholders (public managers and leading executives in the private industry) with regard to natural hazards resilience in texas local-level managers attitudes towards natural hazards resilience: the case of texas the authors argue that while public opinion on natural hazard resilience is well known an under-explored area are the views of professional stakeholders – public and professional managers who play a role in the process of designing disaster relief and prevention policies based on survey data collected in 2020 funded through texas onegulf restore they map the views of these stakeholders to the causes and potential solutions for severe damages following extreme weather events like hurricane harvey (2017) the results show that while in some cases public mangers support long-term mitigation strategies for the most part they hold views that are fairly similar to the public and focus on immediate solutions we also find that stakeholders in government positions prefer less direct governmental involvement in disaster resilience the study offers important insights about the opinions of a less dominant group of stakeholders in disaster resilience the results complement existing research on individual perceptions and policy preferences facing natural hazards it also has concerning implications on the views of those who are central to decisions about the resources allocated towards future- oriented solutions to mitigate the growing risks from climate change
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) is now accepting enrollments for the spring 2023 continuing and professional education certificates cnp offers three non-credit-bearing certificates to fit your professional development goals and prepare you to better serve your community certificates include: nonprofit leadership social justice leadership and fundraising leadership for more information visit bushtamuedu/nonprofit/certificates all three certificates have been curated for current nonprofit professionals on-the-ground volunteers within the sector current or prospective board members or those considering a transition to the sector each certificate is exclusively offered online and takes only three months to complete all certificates are cfre and iacet accredited classes begin february 8th 2023
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy recently sponsored the fourth annual brazos valley gives celebration of community philanthropy at the annenberg presidential conference center this years award celebration represented the end of an 18-hour online giving campaign for nonprofit organizations in the 7-county service area of the community foundation of the brazos valley one hundred sixty-one participating nonprofit organizations were awarded $45 750 in incentive prizes provided by individual and corporate donors prizes included bonus prize drawings and golden ticket drawings for organization representatives present on the evening of the celebration in total the campaign surpassed its $1 000 000 goal and raised $1 176 760 for organizations in the area! the brazos valley gives team presents their donations to the nonprofit recipients the brazos valley gives campaign is powered by the community foundation of the brazos valley this years event is the third celebration that the center for nonprofits & philanthropy has sponsored the community foundation of the brazos valley raises and stewards assets to strengthen charities nonprofits faith communities civic efforts scholarships and community grants in brazos burleson grimes leon madison robertson and washington counties to learn more about the community foundation and the brazos valley gives campaign visit their website
on friday december 2 2022 the department of political science phd program at the bush school of government & public service celebrated its 30th anniversary at the annenberg presidential conference center with a full day of events alumni former faculty and current students and faculty attended the celebration that included three panelist discussions a lunch and group photos and end of the day reception the event opened with remarks from dr guy whitten interim head of the political science department followed by the first panel discussion titled the early years and moderated by current professor johanna dunaway the panel included political science alumni kelly tzoumis (‘92) lydia andrade (‘93) jeff talbert (‘95) and dottie carmichael (‘99) achieving my phd here at texas a&m was critical for the next steps in my actual profession it was really an important time for women to have their phd and so when i went into the national labs it was this phd that really propelled me into those policy-making roles kelly tzoumis said later i went on for a distinguished chair in environmental studies with fullbright and now im a visiting scholar in europe and so it really started with the phd program here at texas a&m the first panel discussion was followed by a lunch where mark welsh dean of the bush school discussed the political science department now being part of the bush school i think this is a phenomenal thing for us welsh said the great part for the bush school is that political science brings a very capable and accomplished department it strengthens the school instantly dr whitten who has been a part of the political science department at texas a&m since 1994 also shared his thoughts on the new and exciting transition we are really excited about joining the bush school whitten said we think that theres a lot of great synergies between our department and the two other departments in the bush school after lunch the second panel discussion titled an established brand included including claudia avellaneda (‘07) laron williams (‘08) ashley ross (‘10) cameron wimpy (‘14) and carla flink (‘14) dr kirby goidel from the bush school moderated the panel discussion panel three followed titled tamu and the future of political science and included panelists soren jordan (‘15) clayton webb (‘15) mallory compton (‘16) andrea junqueira (‘22) and jongwoo jeong (‘22) this final panel discussion of the day was moderated by dr todd kent director of undergraduate studies in the political science department who received his phd in political science from texas a&m in 2006 its just overwhelming to think about everything that our phd graduates have done in the last 30 years whitten said and to bring them all together here is just a great reminder to everybody about it and to take some time to reflect on it and enjoy it the celebration ended with a reception where faculty and students could reconnect and discuss their thoughts on the day and their time at texas a&m this is a great event to bring back people who came to texas a&m to study political science and have gone on to be successful in their field to change the discipline kent said its very exciting as you talk to people to hear not only their memories but also their vision for the future by alexis hixson
students wait in line to serve themselves many students are unable to go home and visit their families so students at the bush school of government & public service thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to bring graduate students together for a thanksgiving celebration crafting a reminder that there is a family presence at the bush school the event took place in the allen building on november 18 2022 attendees brought their favorite thanksgiving dish while the main dishes were provided by the bush schools student government association (sga) and public service organization (pso) students sga president michael pack began the evening issuing a moment of silence honoring those who wanted to share a prayer or meditation but the evening ended with students laughing sharing good conversation and enjoying some traditional thanksgiving dishes the assortment of foods included traditional baked turkey an assortment of side dishes and some dessert favorites like apple pie pumpkin pie and brownies terrance bailey throws up a gig em one thing i am very thankful for at the bush school is how people seem so willing to help one another when able to i am blessed by the opportunities i have had so far and the friendships i have made in such a short amount of time i cant even express how thankful i truly am for that mpsa candidate serena porter said the dinner transformed the student lounge on the second floor into a place where students could relax and feel a sense of comfort with their classmates as well as others who they typically do not interact with the holidays can be a lonely time for students who are far from their family and friends the dinner brought joy to all participants and reminded students of the things they are thankful for [this event] served as a mediating structure to bring people together and we definitely needed this mpsa candidate terrance bailey said it was very good to bring together international students both in international affairs and public administration bailey described how great it was to be able to be surrounded by people from different backgrounds and different departments but who all have a passion for serving i really appreciated when the sga president michael pack came over and sat down and talked with us bailey said while my friend and i were not in the main social circle pack went out of his way to sit with the two of us and initiated conversation to see him come out and be a servant leader even just in a social setting was very important for me i think that reflects what the bush school should be people that go out of their comfort zone to reach out and touch people who may not be in their sphere of influence after a challenging first semester lizette beltran mpsa 2024 candidate was thankful to be able to share the special day with people she enjoys spending time with sga president michael pack fills his plate with thanksgiving favorites i am thankful for many things within the bush school but my favorite part is being able to make new friends and having a strong support system throughout the semester beltran said the thanksgiving celebration was not only an opportunity to bring students together but also allowed bush school students to build a connection between both sga and pso who are relied on for representation in the bush school overall an event like this one goes on to reflects the strong sense of community that is present throughout the bush school by finley blair
josé antônio cheibub is a professor of political science at texas a&m university with the bush school of government and public service professor cheibubs research interests include comparative politics with a focus on the emergence and effects of democratic regimes and specific democratic institutions introduce yourself hi im josé antônio cheibub i am a professor of political science at the bush school i was born in brazil and i moved to the us i came here to study and then i got my phd here and then i met my wife and stayed here for the rest of my life what research are you currently working on i work on political institutions and i have a number of projects going i have one about political electoral competition in proportional representation systems that allow voters to choose a candidate and not only a political party i have another one with a student here on parliamentary democracies we are examining and producing some new data on government duration information in parliamentary democracies and i just finished a paper on presidential elections in the world since 1789 and so this is an interesting paper that we show that there has been sort of a hidden dimension to democratization when it comes to presidential elections that the weight that voters have had in their choice of presidents has increased considerably over the years so just to give you a little sense of what we do we have data for all presidential elections since 1789 for the whole world and one of the things we show is that you know at the beginning of these elections like in the us and then in many latin american countries that chose presidential systems they were indirect either with electors like we have here today or with congress choosing the president the problem with these kinds of elections is that the preferences of voters did not determine the result of the election so somebody could be elected that was not preferred by the voters then elections tend to move to what we call conditionally direct when the voters had a choice of the president but in order for their preferences to prevail they had to choose somebody with the majority of the vote with 50% plus one if this didnt happen the decision was going to be made by congress and finally we have direct elections for president in which the preferences of voters are decisive what the voters choose is whoever is going to be the president most elections today use this method in two rounds so they first vote for a set of candidates if nobody makes 50% of the votes then they have a second round in which only the top two candidates compete and in this way one candidate is assured to have a majority the interesting thing just to conclude this is that the us is the only country in the world today that still uses the system that all the other countries that ever used it have abandoned because it didnt work well and it doesnt look like its working well for the us either how does this research impact society it impacts society in the sense that it teaches us what kind of institutions may work for some purposes i mean institutions are something that we can design as a society so learning the facts that they have and how they came about is important because it informs us in thinking about the institutions for the future what do you like most about working at the bush school im new to the bush school the political science department just joining the school but i like very much the collegiality we have been very well received here it seems that most people are hospitable to our presence here so i like very much the people ive been meeting i like the fact that you know i like the students of course the few ones that i met who are already at the school i enjoy talking to them and i like the resources we have pretty much everything we need to do our research and do it well what experience do you have outside of the world of academia i never had an employment that was not either getting trained to become an academic or being an academic the closest to non-academic work ive done is when i consulted for teams of people who are writing constitutions i was brought in either alone or as a member of a team of people who were going to sometimes explain to the constitutional makers or to other people how some institutions worked or didnt work i did that recently for chile who just had the process of writing a constitution for kenya for south sudan so i mean that has been very interesting but i still see these as more or less part of my academic work what accomplishment are you most proud of thats a tricky one i mean im proud of everything that ive done i mean i will not say that everything was great but i enjoyed doing it writing every article that they wrote or every book and i enjoyed teaching but the thing im most proud of is when you were teaching and you can see that students kind of have that moment when they realize that something that they took for granted was the product of some history or something that could have been different i call that the aha moment when they go oh yeah i think that thats the nicest thing that you know and i really enjoy it im actually proud to have been the cause of that reaction what is your favorite class to teach honestly the one i like the most i recently started doing it is the introductory course in political science it is the basics course we offer called foundations of political science its interesting because we have mostly freshmen or sophomores or people who are not majors in political science and that is when those [aha] moments have tended to happen most frequently its really interesting to see when people realize that political science after all is not that boring and that there are some things that can be interesting so i like that one
earlier this month the california public employees retirement system (calpers) recognized california governor appointee administrator julian bond as the winner of the 2022 spotlight on excellence award bond is a former army fellow with the scowcroft institute of international affairs and currently employed by the california department of veterans affairs (calvet) the spotlight on excellence award is presented each year to one individual program or agency throughout public service in california (field of over 15 million calpers members) calperss executive leadership and board presented bond the award at its educational forum which is an annual gathering of hundreds of government representatives and others a video the calpers team put together to introduce the award and julian at yesterdays event can be found online bond credits his time at the bush school for his professional success after retiring from the army my experience at the bush school and at texas a&m is what propelled me into public service after i retired from the army the professors and students truly embraced the passion of lifelong learners expanding the brand and most importantly public service bond said i am passionate about the value that the us army war college fellows program at texas a&m cultivates in support of our national security and most importantly how it strengthens our community partnership i sincerely appreciate my experience at texas a&m and the bush school! a former colonel in the us army bond was recognized for his dedication to ensuring that residents of the calvet home lead active and fulfilling lives and for inspiring his colleagues bonds peers commended him for his dedication to the veteran community passion for serving without fail and decades of service as a decorated us army soldier his colleagues refer to him as a rockstar and an example of what service looks like in the past present and future the spotlight on excellence award honors those who go above and beyond in their duties and elevates the importance of public sector work the peer-nominated award gives employees of calpers contracting agencies the opportunity to recognize the shining stars in their own agencies who provide exemplary service for their communitieswhere energy flows attention goes as part of the united states army war colleges senior service college fellowship program the scowcroft institute hosts officers as army fellows for one academic year this program promotes cooperative academic exchanges between selected united states army officers and civilian educational and teaching facilities
dr leslie ruyle research scientist in the department of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service has been selected as one of 35 participants from universities and colleges across the country to take part in the 2022-23 winter – faculty fellowship program with the jewish national fund-usa following its mou signing with the university of arizona and israels arava region jewish national fund-usa is continuing to boost collaboration between israeli and us institutions by selecting the 35 individuals for the upcoming trip participants will take part in the trip (december 26 2022-january 8 2023) where they will travel throughout israel meeting israeli professors from their respective disciplines and with the same or similar research interests – all with the goal of developing collaborations research projects co-authoring articles and establishing exchange programs between faculty and students i am honored to be chosen for this wonderful program and want to thank the jewish national fund-usa for selecting me dr ruyle said i look forward to fostering collaborations to benefit my current research and expand student learning opportunities i am honored to be chosen for this wonderful program and want to thank the jewish national fund-usa for selecting me i look forward to fostering collaborations to benefit my current research and expand student learning opportunitiesdr leslie ruyle through the support of jewish national fund-usas boruchin fund and individual donors the tour in which more than 500 have already taken part is a fully paid intensive program to israel for full-time us-based academics from recognized universities/learning institutions jewish national fund-usa also runs the annual caravan for democracy student leadership mission to israel of which 80 college students will travel to israel in may/june a summer faculty fellowship program in israel and a host of other trips and missions the faculty fellowship program in israel is a life-changing experience that tantalizes all the senses said professor molina walters stem education arizona state university one hears the history of israel tastes the flavors of israel smells the aromas of israel and feels the heart of israel participating us-based schools for this trip include florida atlantic university university of south florida auburn university purdue university rowan university manhattan college arizona state university old dominion university ferrum college university of central florida emory university vanderbilt university pace university georgia institute of technology arizona university university of missouri northern arizona university lawrence university university of cincinnati university of puerto rico-mayageuz clemson university ohio university texas a&m university university of california-san diego george washington university and virginia commonwealth university it has been a while since ive been so deeply challenged physically academically and emotionally as the two weeks i spent experiencing israel with the jnf-usa faculty fellowship said recent participant and animal and poultry sciences virginia tech professor vitor mercadante this is a truly transformative program and i will forever cherish the people i met and the moments i experienced in israel during the trip the 35 participants will meet israelis from all walks of life and will hear from a variety of speakers they will also be exposed to contemporary israeli society culture historical sites and the way of life in israel the academics meet with professionals and experts in government education media and other sectors to understand the many facets of israels evolving national and international policies those participating will gain a deeper awareness of israel as a start-up nation its success in water innovation and how the country addresses regional and global challenges
on thursday november 10 2022 dr kenneth taylor director of outreach and professional development for the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) at the bush school of government and public service shared effective leadership techniques that enhance nonprofit performance with webinar participants current nonprofit directors nonprofit staff texas a&m students staff and faculty tuned in to learn about various nonprofit leadership theories styles and techniques as the former ceo of big brothers big sisters of central texas dr taylor shared valuable information about effective leadership styles and ways to ensure your employees needs are being met taylor summarized the information participants gained by sharing individuals can employ these various leadership practices to enhance performance at their nonprofit organizations tips included in the webinar were the importance of creating a structure for employees to enhance their confidence in completing tasks prioritizing high-quality one-on-one exchanges with employees to build trust and respect among one another and investing in employees to ensure they develop personally and professionally dr kenneth taylor is an assistant professor of the practice in the department of public service & administration a faculty fellow for the center for health systems & design and is the younger-carter practitioner-in-residence at the bush school the center for nonprofits & philanthropy will start its spring nonprofit webinar series in february 2023 visit the cnps resource page to view the recording and the powerpoint from this months webinar
mary ridenour bush school class of 2023 is a master of public service and administration candidate takes the time to discuss her experience at the bush school and the value shes gained introduce yourself hi im mary ridenour and im a second year mpsa student with a track in nonprofit management and a concentration in border and immigration policy tell me a little bit about your experience with your professors and your classes at the bush school two classes have been really impactful in my time so far and just really stuck with me the first is public policy formation with dr kerr dr kerr will teach you everything there is to know about public speaking and how to be a really good writer its almost like a rewiring of your brain of how to get up and talk in front of people and how to write really really well its a tough class but it is so worth it ive learned so much from dr kerr and then i would have to say my capstone project capstone is a year long and it feels like a very long process in there its different from all the other classes because its very much the students are interacting with their client and we are trying to just kind of figure out with our professor what it is that our clients are really looking for its been a very valuable experience and also a lot of growth in learning how to lead a team what did you do this summer this summer i did an internship at the heritage foundation which is a nonprofit thinktank in dc i worked in the development office so i did a little bit of data management data cleaning on their donor database and then i also worked with the plan giving department so i did estate planning and requests and large scale long term gifts that the heritage foundation takes from donors i learned a lot about just living and working in dc i think for anybody who is interested in working and living there its a great opportunity to get to know the city and just kind of see what its like what is your favorite thing about the bush school i think my favorite thing about the bush school are the students everyone comes from a different background theyre from all over the country and the world theyre interested in really really cool topics and i just have been really honored to meet and work with a lot of these people and i think the community that the students create with each other says a lot about george bushs legacy and who he was and what he wanted this school to be and the students really reflect that if you were to give advice to yourself as you were applying to the bush school what would you tell yourself if i was speaking to a younger version of myself about applying id definitely recommend that i applied before icw after seeing the in-person events and getting to meet the prospective students last year when they went back to being in-person i was like i really missed out on an opportunity to see the professors and see the students and really interact on a one on one level that is just such a cool opportunity to really get to know the school on a personal level and i wish i had applied early enough to do that
on nov 15 the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government & public service hosted a facebook live event discussing president george hw bush and his environmental accomplishments while serving as president of the united states the conversation featured joel d scheraga phd senior advisor for climate adaptation of the us environmental protection agency (epa) and was moderated by dr arnold vedlitz director of the istpp at the bush school after opening remarks from dr vedlitz dr scheraga discussed a wide-range of environmental and epa topics including recognizing the 32nd anniversary of the clean air act amendment being signed on nov 15 1990 by president bush scheraga discussed the major environmental challenges president bush tackled during his presidency including climate change acid rain and the exxon valdez oil spill in march of 1989 while commending the bush schools istpp collaboration with the epa during the past 22 years scheraga also highlighted some of the epas current developments and projects including the 2021 epa climate adaptation action plan the 2022-20226 epa strategic plan the 2021 infrastructure investment and jobs act and climate and energy provisions in the 2022 inflation reduction act watch the full video of president george hw bush and the environment online
on november 10 2022 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy hosted robert mosbacher jr 9th president and ceo of the overseas private investment corporation (opic) and nancy lee a senior policy fellow at the center for global development and a senior advisor at the center for strategic and international studies to discuss the important role development finance plays in us economic diplomacy this event at the bush school dc was the final lecture of the mosbacher institutes three-part economic diplomacy lecture series which aims to highlight tools of us economic diplomacy that are key to advancing the strategic and security interests of the united states the nights featured guest speakers robert mosbacher jr and nancy lee spoke to the importance of development finance in how it complements and extends us aid and trade policies that promote entrepreneurial capitalism and the free market rule of law approach to economic growth both speakers brought constructive insight as experienced development finance practitioners from 2005 to 2009 mosbacher oversaw operations at opic an independent us government agency that has facilitated over $25 billion in investments in developing countries around the world since then he played a leading role in creating the build act of 2018 which helped reform us development finance by creating the new us international development finance corporation (dfc) and granting it the tools needed to more effectively invest in developing countries nancy lee a senior policy fellow at the center for global development and a senior advisor at the center for strategic and international studies mosbacher spoke about how the un sustainable development goals and chinas belt and road initiative increasingly compel the need to strengthen us development finance capabilities the us dfc has contributed to this mission by raising the limit to how much money can be committed to development finance from $29 billion to $60 billion and reducing bureaucratic obstacles to us development finance project success the dfc focuses on stimulating sustainable economic growth by increasing access to financial services to advance small and medium-sized business propositions and financing critical infrastructure projects in regions of strategic importance lee who formerly served as ceo of the millennium challenge corporation and also ceo of the multilateral investment fund at the inter-american development bank shared her extensive experience with multilateral development banks (mdbs) and development finance institutions lee spoke to the strength of mdbs as they lend to governments and the private sector leverage capital and operate with technocratic credibility with records proving to be financially sustainable and generally profitable she also spoke about their weaknesses and the challenges both mdbs and the dfc face today mosbacher and lee answered questions from the audience regarding the repercussions of straddling the dfc with two sometimes conflicting challenges: advancing us strategic foreign policy objectives and implementing development goals in low-income countries they allayed these concerns with claims that increased development in middle-income countries brings positive benefits for neighboring countries when investment is strategically applied implying that the two do not always have to be mutually exclusive as the world continues to endure a host of global issues demanding development finance investments they encouraged the creation of a us agency that can successfully pipeline dfcs efforts with grant-making agencies and increased partnerships with regionally-focused mdbs worldwide this lecture on the role of development finance in economic diplomacy can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
michelle estes is a class of 2024 master of international affairs candidate with a concentration in national security & diplomacy in the european theater she is also a a former veteran who served 24 years in the air force before deciding to come to the bush school introduce yourself my name is michelle estes and i am a first-year student at the bush school studying international affairs with a concentration in national security & diplomacy in the european theater why did you decide to come to the bush school the reason why i decided to come to the bush school is because i wasnt done serving my country and after 24 years with the air force i knew i wanted to continue that service in another capacity i loved college station and ive always had the desire to attend texas a&m i actually went to the military admissions office and spoke to a counselor there and they recommended me for the bush school i love everything that the school stands for – all of its values i love that president bush said that ‘public service is a noble calling when i was younger i spent time in berlin when the wall was up so that connected with me the social issues that were going on in germany when they were divided and then later on when they were reunified so the horses that we have out in front of the bush school galloping over the berlin wall – that touches me i knew this was the right place for me it connects with my values its everything that i stand for so i hope to continue serving in this honorable school what does veterans day mean to you it means paying gratitude to people that were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice luckily we were in a position where we didnt however we were willing to thats the difference between memorial day and veterans day memorial day is when we recognize the fallen from the armed services whereas veterans day is all-encompassing of those veterans that are still living with us today and its nice to stand shoulder to shoulder with people that dealt with the same issues as you and were involved in some of the same endeavors as you as a military person its not easy its a complete honor its an important day for us and it makes us feel good there are many days out there and so i feel honored that the government has chosen a day to recognize when somebodys willing to say pick me here i am send me! that takes a lot its not easy to do we leave our families at times and a lot of times the unspoken heroes are our spouses and our families we didnt get here by ourselves we dont stand here by ourselves and when we retire hopefully you still have those people that held you up and cheered for you the loudest so im completely honored to be in the position that i am to have served but i didnt get here by myself and i had a lot of people behind me why did you decide to join the military ive always been since living in berlin as a young child i have been globally minded i will never forget the day that my dad came home and talked about a polish man who stole a plane to get out of poland because he was after freedom he wanted to escape the communist country that he was in and my dad came home and said youll never believe what happened to me today we had a guy come in unannounced in a plane and he wanted freedom and as a young 12-year-old at the time i was full of questions i wanted to know all about that – why did he do that what do you mean ‘communism even though i lived in west berlin and we had east berlin right there i dont think it fully connected with me what that meant and i did not fully understand the lesson of freedom until i watched it being denied to others and thats where that was the pivot in my life that changed me and my trajectory my decision to join the military was very easy i was third generation air force i grew up around my family listening to them talk about the part that they played i always tell people this but everyone has a part to play it doesnt matter if you are joining the military or doing some other profession you have a part to play and its for you to figure out what that is for yourself for me it was easy i was going to follow in the footsteps of my dad and my grandfather i am third-generation air force and extremely proud to have served my country honorably for 24 years and to be involved in some of the great feats that weve been involved in and some of efforts not only in the united states but across the world its been an amazing amazing ride i also joined because theres got to be something inside of you that wants to serve you want to give a little bit more of yourself and you want to stand by people that want to have that same commitment to do that alongside you and i have been honored to be part of some great associations not only with americans but also with our international partners serving with them has been an honor also when youre talking about public service and why you do something joining a bigger cause than yourself is really what its about how does the bush school align with military values the bush school is all about that public service its about building character i think theres a reason why the bush school is at texas a&m if you look at texas a&m and its values its aligned perfectly so i couldnt think of a better place to have the bush school at texas a&m it creates leaders and i want to be that i want to be that public servant and get out there and make a change in the world i want to have an impact whether it be small or large thats to be seen but i do want to make an effort i just want to be a good citizen of not only the us but of the world im just proud to be here im just getting started
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university presents new perspectives on president george hw bush and the end of the cold war with dr fritz bartel and dr susan colbourn as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the bush school the talk will be held on wednesday november 30thin hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center 1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77840 registration is required for the lecture which begins at 5:30 pm cst please register online to attendif guests are unable to attend in person a zoom link will be included in the rsvp confirmation email cgs will also host a book sale prior to the talk featuring colbourns euromissiles: the nuclear weapons that nearly destroyed nato (cornell up 2022) and bartels the triumph of broken promises: the end of the cold war and the rise of neoliberalism (harvard up 2022) the books will be available for purchase at 20% off the regular price in the lobby of the annenberg presidential conference center from 4:15 pm to 5:15 pm the authors will be available to sign books during that time about the speakers fritz bartel joined the department of international affairs as an assistant professor in 2019 he came to the school from yale university where he was associate director of international security studies and also held a postdoctoral fellowship bartels book the triumph of broken promises: the end of the cold war and the rise of neoliberalism was published with harvard university press in 2022 as a dissertation it won the 2018 oxford university press usa dissertation prize in international history from the society for historians of american foreign relations (shafr) along with nuno p monteiro he also co-edited before and after the fall: world politics and the end of the cold war (cambridge university press 2021) his work has been published in enterprise & society and diplomatic history and his research has been funded by the german academic exchange service (daad) and the miller center he received his phd in history from cornell university bartels research interests lie in us foreign relations the global cold war grand strategy and the history of capitalism susan colbourn is a diplomatic and international historian her research focuses on transatlantic relations the cold war and the role of nuclear weapons in international politics and society since 2018 she has been a henry chauncey jr 57 postdoctoral fellow at international security studies at yale university currently she is completing a history of nato and the intermediate-range nuclear force arms race in europe euromissiles: a transatlantic history explores how successive debates over the euromissiles be it those among adversaries among allies and among alarmed citizens tapped into broader anxieties about the existing international order and challenged the very foundations of the transatlantic bargain colbourn received her phd in history from the university of toronto in 2018 prior to her doctoral studies she received an ma in history of international relations from the london school of economics and political science and an honorary ba in history and international relations from trinity college at the university of toronto
matthew fuhrmann is professor of political science at texas a&m university his previous positions include visiting associate professor at stanford universitys center for international security and cooperation (2016-17) stanton nuclear security fellow at the council on foreign relations (2010-11) and pre-doctoral research fellow at harvard universitys belfer center for science and international affairs (2007-08) introduce yourself hi im matt fuhrman im a professor in the department of political science here in the bush school my teaching and research focuses on international security and conflict issues and i also teach classes on nuclear weapons-related issues i grew up in buffalo new york and spent a lot of time in the southeast of the united states this is my 12th year at texas a&m and my first year as part of the bush school as the department of political science recently joined the bush school as a third department what research are you currently working on im currently trying to better understand three main topics broadly related to international security the first deals with the role of nuclear weapons in world politics and here im trying to understand how nuclear technology affects peace and stability im finishing up a book right now that examines how having the technological foundations to make a nuclear bomb gives a country potentially greater international influence while also under some circumstances inviting more international conflict against it the second main thing that im trying to better understand are the role of military alliances for the united states the united states is in a unique position in that its now bound by treaty to defend approximately 70 countries what im trying to understand is what the benefits and the costs are for the united states of putting so many countries under its protection it turns out that doing this is very costly from a budgetary standpoint but at the same time the united states gains a lot in the security realm and the economic context as well so im trying to unpack all of this and better understand the net benefits for the united states the third thing im trying to better understand is the role that differences among individuals play in international conflict and security and what i mean by this is: unpacking how differences in the background experiences of individual leaders influences the way that they behave when theyre in office the main thing that im exploring in this context is the role of business experience and especially executive level business experience serving as a ceo of a company for example and looking at how coming from a business background causes individuals to behave differently than their non-business counterparts if they become head of a government in prior studies ive shown that leaders from business backgrounds tend to spend less on defense when they have a powerful country like the united states that they can rely on for their security and im now expanding on this work thinking about how business experience influences whether leaders use military force and also whether they use economic sanctions as tools to try and gain greater influence over other countries what do you like about working at texas a&m one thing i love about working here at texas a&m is its a great environment to pursue answers to the policy problems that im really interested in trying to better address ranging from nuclear war and nuclear weapons proliferation to questions related to military alliances and the costs and benefits of the united states i like to bring the tools of modern social science to bear on these really big policy questions facing the united states and the world what experience do you have outside of the world of academia i went right from being an undergraduate into graduate school so i didnt have a full-time job experience in between but while i was in graduate school i did some contract work for the us government and also unrelated to what i do now professionally worked as a bartender and a server in a fine dining restaurant in addition i have been visiting fellow at the council on foreign relations in washington dc what accomplishment are you most proud of i was named an andrew carnegie fellow by the carnegie corporation of new york and this is a program that they have instituted to help people in the humanities and social sciences address really big problems facing our society through this fellowship i wanted to better understand the role of nuclear technology in international relations and over the last few years ive been working on a big book project that brings together a lot of work ive been doing over the last decade looking at how nuclear technology shapes international peace and stability and its been a really challenging project but a rewarding one now that im very close to the end and hoping to wrap it up very soon what is your favorite class to teach my favorite class that i teach to undergraduates is a course on nuclear politics and one of the things i really like about this class is it allows students to better understand what i see as a really pressing issue affecting international peace and stability but also one that a lot of students coming into college dont necessarily know a lot about even though its something that we can see about in the news nearly every single day as far as graduate students go i really enjoy teaching a class that we call research and writing and political science which is designed to help our third-year phd students take a paper from beginning to end such that by the end of the course they can have a paper completed that could hopefully be sent out for peer review and ideally ultimately published in a journal and i find that really rewarding working with our graduate students to improve their research and to ideally get it into shape where it can potentially be published
kendrick kuo and robert ralston former pre-doctoral fellows with the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) have published articles in the two leading journals in the security studies field kuos article which appears in international security deals with when military innovation harms combat effectiveness ralstons article which appears in security studies deals with the causes of declinism in major powers kuo is now with the us naval war colleges strategic and operational research department ralston is with the department of political science and international studies at the university of birmingham the albritton center for grand strategy serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
dr jasen castillo co-director for the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) recently had his op-ed the nuclear risks in russias war with ukraine are real published in the chicago tribune castillos article discusses potential paths to nuclear escalation in russias war in ukraine using statements from president biden president putin and national security advisor sullivan castillo argues the risk of nuclear weapons use grows the closer ukraine comes to victory ultimately castillo advocates for us policymakers to seek way for the war in ukraine to end even if this means withdrawing support from ukraine dr castillo is the evelyn and ed f kruse 49 faculty fellow at the bush school prior to joining the bush school dr castillo worked in the department of defenses strategy and plans office
the scowcroft institute of international affairs and the economic statecraft program at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university invites you to join susan shirk as she discusses her book overreach: how china derailed its peaceful rise on november 14 2022 from 11:00–12:00 pm ct at the george bush presidential library & museum the event will be followed by a book signing in the lobby the event is in person only it will not be recorded or live-streamed registration is required there will be time for a q&a after if you have any questions for the speaker please submit them to bushschoolscowcroft@tamuedu by november 11 2022 register online to attend about the event for three decades after maos death in 1976 chinas leaders adopted a restrained approach to foreign policy to facilitate the countrys inexorable economic ascendence and to prevent a backlash they reassured the outside world of chinas peaceful intentions then as susan shirk shows in this illuminating sobering and utterly persuasive new book something changed china went from fragile superpower to global heavyweight muscling its way around the south china sea punishing countries that disagree with china intimidating taiwan tightening its grip on hong kong and openly challenging the united states for preeminence not just economically and technologically but militarily china began to overreach combining her decades of research and experience shirk author of the hugely influential china: fragile superpower argues that we are now fully embroiled in a new cold war prying open the black box of chinas political system shirk shows the shift toward confrontation began in the mid-2000s under the mild-mannered hu jintao as chinas economy boomed especially after the global financial crisis of 2008 hu and the other leaders lost restraint abetting aggression toward the outside world and unchecked domestic social control when xi jinping took power in 2012 he capitalized on widespread official corruption and open splits in the leadership to make the case for more concentrated power at the top in the decade following and to the present day xi has accumulated greater power than any leader since mao those who implement xis directives compete to outdo one another in fervor provoking an even greater global backlash and stoking jingoism within china on a scale not seen since the cultural revolution shirks extensive interviews and meticulous analysis reveal the dynamics driving overreach to counter it she argues the worst mistake the rest of the world and the united states in particular can make is to overreact understanding the domestic roots of chinas actions will enable us to avoid the mistakes that could lead to war susan shirk susan shirk is a research professor and chair of the 21st century china center at the school of global policy and strategy uc san diego shirk is the author of china: fragile superpower and the political logic of economic reform in china from 1997-2000 she served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of east asia and pacific affairs with responsibility for china taiwan hong kong and mongolia register to attend
on october 26 the mosbacher institute of trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service awarded arch beaver aplin iii founder of buc-ees the 2022 mclane leadership in business award in front of the sizable crowd who came out to hear him at the annenberg presidential conference center the annual award recognizes a prominent business leader for outstanding contributions in business public service or community service at the national level through a moderated discussion led by the mosbacher institutes director raymond robertson aplin shared his story of going from an avid dixie chicken fan and texas a&m graduate to the creator and owner of the successful buc-ees business phenomenon respected and enjoyed by so many americans today aplin described how after graduating from texas a&m university in 1980 with a construction science degree and working in the construction business for a short time he encountered an epiphany moment and decided to tap into his entrepreneurial spirit by opening a convenience store aplin stated it was an idea that came to him while working at his grandfathers small general store in louisiana although he always had the drive to run the best convenience store out there aplin reflected on the initial challenges he faced as a new business owner his first 3 000 square-foot buc-ees store named after his hunting labrador buck opened not too far from his hometown of lake jackson texas aplin said the business took some time to gain traction but with patience dedication and the mantra to just try to do the right thing every day his first few stores were successful he is now working on a new 74 000-square-foot location opening soon in tennessee his entrepreneurial endeavors dont stop with buc-eeshe recently awarded texas a&m a $50 million gift to assist in developing a new hospitality-focused academic center on texas a&ms campus mr alpin receiving the 2022 mclane leadership in business award proud and enthusiastic to be back at a&m aplin spent the day visiting the george h w bush library and chatting with various bush school students aplin expressed his admiration of president george hw bush and his dedication to public service and shared how he treasures being in a phase of life where he has the time to give back and serve others aplin has also found a way to give back through his business model by financially supporting non-profits in the local communities around the nation where they operate speaking highly of the service-oriented values at texas a&m and the nations entrepreneurial spirit he advised students and the crowd to pursue opportunity any chance they can maintaining that the united states is more than open for business aplin said if you have a passion chase it make a decision act on it work hard and youll go far you can view the 2022 mclane leadership in business award program on the bush school youtube channel
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) will host a facebook live event on tuesday nov 15 2022 titled george hw bush and the environment the virtual event will take place at 12:20 pm ct on the bush schools facebook page facebookcom/bushschool the conversation will feature joel d scheraga phd senior advisor for climate adaptation of the us environmental protection agency (epa) dr arnold vedlitz director of the istpp at the bush school will moderate the discussion as the two discuss the 32nd anniversary of the clean air act amendment being signed (nov 15 1990) by president george h w bush new developments within the epa and how istpp continues to bridge the critical gap between science and technology research and public policy research if time permits the duo will answer questions from those watching the live stream watch live on facebookcom/bushschool since january 2010 dr scheraga has led epas efforts to ensure the agency continues to fulfill its mission of protecting human health and the environment even as the climate changes a central focus of this effort is supporting states tribes territories local governments and businesses as they prepare for and increase their resilience to the impacts of climate change with a particular emphasis on advancing environmental justice dr scheraga led development of epas 2021 climate adaptation action plan and is now overseeing implementation of the plan a major goal is to integrate climate adaptation planning into epas programs policies rules and operations to ensure they are effective even as the climate changes the istpp was created by the board of regents in the fall of 2000 to fill a critical gap between science and technology research and public policy research through their research scientists detect emerging problems that require policy actions to address them for known social and environmental problems science and technology may help find solutions our policy research proactively identifies the public and stakeholders acceptability parameters for science and technology applications by connecting science and technology research to acceptable policy solutions istpp can help solve pressing public problems istpp also provides valuable interdisciplinary research experience for doctoral masters and undergraduate students to augment their training as future decision and policy makers and university faculty graduate students may also work with scholars as coauthors on manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government & public service has named four new researchers to its fellows program – dr nehemia geva dr i̇nci güneralp dr mendoza-sanchez and dr debalina sengupta dr nehemia geva is an associate professor in the department of political science at texas a&m university his research interests are in the areas of foreign policy decision-making and political cognition (perceptions information processing and images in politics) dr gevas current research projects address: he role of affect and emotions in political decision; international terrorism; reactions to military interventions and collateral damage and gender politics his research methodology emphasizes experiments and computer simulations dr i̇nci güneralp is an associate professor in geography in the college of arts and sciences at texas a&m university dr güneralp is a fluvial geomorphologist and hydrologist her research aims to develop creative and effective pathways for sustainable management of surface water within lowland landscapes where nature people and built environment interact and coevolve she is also interested in how public policies can impact these interactions and co-evolution and enhance the resilience of these landscapes dr mendoza-sanchez is an assistant professor in the department of environmental and occupation health in the school of public health at texas a&m university her research examines the transport transformation and persistence of contaminants in the environment her work covers the transport of antibiotics and associated development of antibiotic resistance in the soil environment dr mendoza-sanchez also researches the physical and biological factors that control bioremediation of contaminated groundwater she is also interested in how people perceive the effect of environmental pollutants on their health dr debalina sengupta is the coastal resilience program director for texas sea grant at texas a&m university she leads and manages extension activities that focus on building resilient communities and economies along the texas gulf coast dr sengupta works collaboratively with coastal communities to implement strategies that strengthen their resilience and sustainability through science and technology-based interventions her research interests span a plethora of topics fueled by her current and past experiences including process systems engineering sustainability analysis life cycle assessment technoeconomic analysis environmental justice resilient systems modeling for application areas such as energy transition gas processing and utilization sustainable manufacturing eco-industrial parks food energy water nexus and others
this month the center for nonprofits & philanthropy is celebrating nicole pompilio for our #alumnispotlight pompilio graduated from the bush school in 2018 with a masters in public service administration degree and a passion for helping future public servants find their desired career paths the bush school was a great fit for her graduate education because of the schools emphasis on service and volunteerism nicole added i loved that the bush school had volunteer opportunities built into the cultural thread of the school after graduating in 2018 she returned to the bush school in 2020 to complete her graduate certificate in nonprofit management and gain the knowledge and experience needed to work with nonprofit partners currently pompilio carries out her passion for helping future public servants as the assistant director of the university of southern californias dornsife center for the political future nicoles role allows her to work directly with students interested in public service and cultivate their desired career goals through internships and research opportunities additionally nicole utilizes her role to expose students to guest speakers and panels that exhibit positive civil dialogue her passion for helping others can be traced back to her involvement with the hugh obrian youth leadership foundation (hoby) where she was able to support high school-aged students find their career goals by organizing professional development seminars in closing nicole reminds alumni and current students that the bush school is a special place with incredibly generous people who will go above and beyond to help you further your career and find a path where you will thrive we are honored to call nicole pompilio one of our former students and are so proud she is working to continue president bushs wish to cultivate and educate future public servants
haley schneider class of 2023 master of public service & administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school haley is in the nonprofit management track introduce yourself howdy my name is haley schneider and im a second year master of public service and administration candidate im currently concentrating in nonprofit management specifically in ingos im from austin texas but i did choose to come to texas a&m for my undergraduate and i actually studied sports management business and communications so i have kind of an interesting route to get to the bush school but i realized in my undergraduate studies that i was really passionate about people so what i wanted to do was apply my love for people and my love for entrepreneurship so i applied to the bush school i graduated from texas a&m in 2020 and then i worked for a consulting group for a year why did you decide to apply to the bush school i decided to apply to the bush school because id just heard so many great things about the program: the robust staff experience and what really mattered to me is that the program focused on experiential learning and the capstone programs and so i applied and i was really nervous because i was a sports management major and i was like i have no business being here but i realized that anyone is called to public service if theyre passionate about it and so i applied to really understand what that means and what that was gonna look like for me what benefits are there to being an aggie being an aggie is the best gig anyone can have being an aggie just means family and thats something i immediately felt as soon as i walked onto campus here at texas a&m the network of people that youre gonna meet here are people that youre gonna keep with you for the rest of your life really defining moments of who i am have happened at this school you cant help but think of all the fun traditions we have here: texas a&m football getting your aggie ring; theres just so many ways to connect to the school and what i love the most is that no matter who you are theres a place for you theres thousands of organizations and it doesnt matter who you are you can find something that makes you feel known and valued and find where you belong what do you like most about the bush school coming to the bush school is going to change the trajectory of your life because the people you meet the classwork that you work on and the organizations that you get to experience here are unlike anything else and theres a reason its so highly ranked it just feels like home when you come to the bush school what i love is that i get to have such personal relationships with professors and they helped me get into my internship this past summer and other involvements around the community ive been involved in the bush board fellow program so im actually a nonvoting board member on the united way board which is a program only offered here because of the relationships that our staff has with the community so thats something really unique to the bush school what did you do this summer this summer i had the honor to be the intern for allies against slavery its a nonprofit organization that is based out of austin texas and whats really cool about allies against slavery is that theyre the head of their field of meeting data with finding human trafficking victims whats really cool about that is they find these victims and then we actually use the data to inform policy at the state level so its a really cool balance of a service organization and an advocacy organization which is exactly what i wanted to do here they are actually now my capstone so i get to keep working with them and continue those relationships what did you like about your first year at the bush school what the first year was to me was just getting involved and diving into all the different kinds of people at the bush school i was on the student government association the first year i served as the tailgate co-chair and i now serve as the chief of staff for sga why i love that is that i got to meet so many different people and also provide an opportunity for people to get involved and just build the schools camaraderie because although we have so many differences its really cool to see everyone unified under the cause of wanting to serve their country or serve their respective country what has been your favorite class my favorite class that ive taken at the bush school is dr kerrs public policy formation class it was my favorite class because she makes you a better public speaker and teaches you how to write in a manner that people can understand and really make you think about the root of problems its really easy when youre passionate to wanna go to the solutions but what i really like about the professors in general at the bush school is that they say ‘lets take a second and critically think about these wicked problems these are critical thinking skills that youre going to use for the rest of your life so whether you want to be in public policy or not i highly recommend taking dr kerrs class because it will rock your world what advice do you have for prospective students my advice is that everything is going to be okay if youre passionate about something and see a path to make that happen go for it dont be held back for me i was like im a sports management business person theres no way im going to find a place to be accepted into this program but its not true we all care about public service and youre going to find a place here if youre passionate about that that being said once you get here just know that theres so many people to support you theres so many people that have your back and want to make sure you find exactly the niche youre looking for so you can go out into the world and make a difference this is a safe place to do that so dont be afraid to get your knees dirty and fail a couple times just keep putting yourself out there and i promise your passion and grit will carry you through
a paper by bush school professor raymond robertson shows that a reinvigorated trade policy agenda can improve labor conditions in developing countries increased global trade has brought about a rising awareness of the poor working conditions found in developing countries in the latest mosbacher institute white paper improving labor compliance in developing countries raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute and a professor at the bush school of government at texas a&m university reviews existing research and adds new empirical results to evaluate the contributions of different stakeholders in improving labor compliance his findings suggest that programs that only target exporting firms will miss the poorest and most vulnerable worker populations in other sectors robertson proposes that regional trade agreements are a more effective way for foreign governments to encourage national governments in developing countries to effectively change and enforce labor legislation but also to strengthen their institutional capacity to do so mosbacher institute white papers are publications of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
dr robert shandley began his career at texas a&m in 2010 as a professor of german and film he later became the head of the department of international studies in 2012 and 2022 joined the bush school faculty working as the associate dean of undergraduate programs shandley graduated from university of minnesota with a phd in german and comparative literature after earning his bachelor of arts degree from simpson college and his master of arts in german with a minor in journalism introduce yourself hi im robert shandley im the associate dean for undergraduate programs here at the bush school i came to the bush school from the college of liberal arts where i was at one time head of the department of international studies which is the program that has moved here to the bush school what research project/s do you currently have underway or did you recently complete what did you/are you hoping to learn so my research in general has been how people use popular media television and film to work through political questions and the history of the moment my current project is about statelessness and the experience of statelessness and i started with postwar germany and the immediate aftermath of world war two and how germans narrated their own experience of being without the protections of the state how could this research impact society so we like to talk a lot of times in political discourse and talk about how we can reduce the size and scope of the state and how that is going to lead to freedoms in my research i hope to show that thats not always true that sometimes states are very much important to our own protection and well-being and that the stateless societies or people who live under the conditions of statelessness are often extremely vulnerable what do you like most about working at the bush school i really like how much people enjoy working at the bush school you know the people are really good and happy and positive and its a really enjoyable work environment because the people seem to enjoy their jobs have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how does it translate to your research and/or teaching when i first got out of college i worked in the newspaper industry circulation getting the newspapers out to people that wasnt as nearly as enjoyable work as being a college professor but it did teach me a lot about deadlines and i think that thats been helpful to me in my academic career we academics are sometimes a little lax about deadlines and youre never lax about deadlines in the newspaper industry what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of im most proud of what we did to build the program in international studies as a program it went from a relatively small program to quite a large one and one in fact that would be attractive to moving to the bush school so that was i feel like an important accomplishment what is your favorite class to teach and why i love to take students on study abroad trips so one of the most enjoyable things ive done is done dozens of abroad trips with students and its always an exciting and meaningful experience to them the way a lot of times its not only the first time theyve ever been abroad its the first time theyve ever been on an airplane its exciting and you see the change in students feelings and attitudes about the world almost immediately
on thursday october 20th the center for nonprofits & philanthropy facilitated a panel discussion with onestar initiative leaders dinorah lopez and veronica mozzo-wirr nicole collier cnp research associate moderated the panel discussion that covered proven ways to accelerate the impact of nonprofit organizations lopez and mozzo-wirr uncovered their organizations approach to strengthening the nonprofit sector in texas both onestar initiative leaders promoted the importance of digital capacity building event engagement and network collaboration to further promote this idea lopez highlighted a quote on the slide deck that read if you want to go fast go alone…if you want to go far go together lopez and mozzo- wirr summed up their panel experience by sharing participants learned how to accelerate nonprofit impact through four key takeaways: keeping it local partnership collaboration and capacity building dinorah lopez is the manager of nonprofit strong and veronica mozzo-wirr is the manager of volunteer texas onestar works to strengthen texas nonprofits through pathways for individuals and organizations to engage connect and accelerate their impact onestar continues to be a valued partner as we work together on nonprofit research capacity building and continued education initiatives and programs to learn more about onestars mission and initiatives click here
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university invites you to join gideon rose distinguished fellow in us foreign policy at the council on foreign relations as he talks about us power and the future of international politics the event will take place on monday november 7 2022 from 5:30-6:30 pm ct at the annenberg presidential conference center the event will be hybrid available in person and via zoom registration is required there will be time for a q&a after note: questions will not be accepted from the zoom chat during the discussion in-person attendees will be able to submit question cards for consideration during the event register online to attend about the event join gideon rose distinguished fellow in us foreign policy at the council on foreign relations as he talks about us power and the future of international politics at the turn of the millennium the united states bestrode the world like a colossus two decades later the unipolar moment is over is a post-american world looming what are the sources and trends of power in the contemporary international system and the implications for the future of american foreign policy gideon rose gideon rose is the mary and david boies distinguished fellow in us foreign policy at the council on foreign relations previously he was editor of foreign affairs from 2010 to 2021 prior to which he was managing editor from 2000 to 2010 he has also served as associate director for near east and south asian affairs on the staff of the national security council and deputy director of national security studies at the council on foreign relations and has taught american foreign policy at princeton and columbia he is the author of how wars end (simon & schuster october 2010)
by paige grande each year the bush school faculty and staff awards celebrates those who have been singled out by students peers and supervisors for excellence in teaching and accomplishments of our faculty and staff this years awards ceremony took place on october 7th at the annenberg presidential conference center dr ann bowman dr joanna lahey julia lawrence and jennifer moore were this years award recipients nominations from peers (and/or supervisors) and the selection committee selects winners based upon knowledge of job teamwork customer service enthusiasm and professionalism from the list of nominees im not sure how the selection committee chooses winners from everyone else here at the bush school who shows all those qualities every day bush school dean mark welsh said dr ann bowman was awarded the association of former students college-level teaching award for modeling texas a&ms core values of excellence integrity leadership loyalty respect and self-less service and sets a high bar for students and peers scott walker vice president of communications for the association presented the award to dr bowman dr joanna lahey was awarded the faculty award for excellence as a leading expert in age discrimination dr lahey has been published in numerous academic journals and major publications in addition to being a top scholar she embodies teaching with excellence a favorite of many students dean welsh presented dr lahey with her faculty award for excellence on stage julia lawrence was one of the two winners of the staff award for excellence a favorite among inta students lawrence is fully engaged with students and goes above and beyond to set them up for success dean welsh presented lawrence with her staff award for excellence on stage jennifer moore was also the recipient of the staff award for excellence whom her nominators called one of the brightest stars of the bush school for her work at the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy moore has served as the assistant director of the mosbacher institute since 2013 moore was attending a mosbacher event at bush school dc and was unable to attend the event congratulations to all the winners!
the albritton center for grand strategy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host dr renanah joyce on wednesday november 9 2022 joyce plans to discuss security cooperation and competition for influence a chapter from her current book project exporting might and right: security assistance and liberal international order the talk will be held in room 2068 of the allen building on the west campus of texas a&m university in college station tx registration is required for the lecture which begins at 5:00 pm cst please register online to attend if guests are unable to attend in person a zoom link will be included in the rsvp confirmation email register online to attend about the speaker renanah joyce is an assistant professor of politics at brandeis university she specializes in international security with an emphasis on us foreign policy security cooperation and military and economic statecraft joyces book project exporting might and right: security assistance and liberal international order examines how great powers use security assistance to shape military norms and behavior and compete for influence in smaller states joyces work is published in international security journal of conflict resolution journal of the middle east and africa political science quarterly and policy outlets including the washington quarterly the national interest lawfare and prism joyce is a research affiliate of the mit security studies program a non-resident fellow at the irregular warfare initiative and an adjunct researcher at the rand corporation she was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the harvard kennedy schools international security program and mits security studies program and a predoctoral fellow at george washington universitys institute for security and conflict studies joyce received a phd in political science from columbia university in 2020 before academia she was an analyst in the department of defense about albritton cgs the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
dr johanna dunaway is a professor in the department of political science at the bush school dr dunaway‘s areas of interest include news media and politics and political communication with an emphasis on how the changing media environment is shaping news consumption and political knowledge attitudes and behavior introduce yourself my name is johanna dunaway i am a professor and ive been in the political science department since 2020 after completing my phd program at rice university my first job was at sam houston state university in huntsville texas my second job was at lsu (louisiana state university) a rival in the sec i was there for nearly eight years and i was appointed in both the mass communication department and the political science department when i first came to a&m i worked in the department of communication for four years before switching over to political science which is my field of training what research projects are you currently working on i guess i should probably talk about the book i just finished because its about to come out it is based on a long-term project with multiple studies trying to see whether there are effects from reading about or watching the news on your mobile phone compared to doing so on a computer we had all these reasons to expect that reading or watching on your mobile phone would make the information harder to retain even though more and more people use their phones that way to access content and that means a lot more people can access the news but they do so for shorter periods of time even when they read or watch stories – and it matters regardless of whether its video or print – they still dont learn as much or pay attention when on a mobile device – they cant focus on the content as long so they come away with less information it was fun because we studied it with eye-tracking and with physiological data where we measured heart rate variability and changes in rates of skin conductance to see how engaged people were with the content these are newer ways of measuring attention and engagement with news which was kind of fun what are you hoping to learn through your research the biggest thing that drove my original interest was that people were talking a lot about how mobile phones were bridging the digital divide and they are in terms of access because mobile phones make it possible for more people to have access to information but really mobile phones just putting up a different kind of divide one thats more about the quality of internet access you have rather than simply whether you have it more and more people – those who are younger or have fewer resources are relying completely on their phones for internet access they use a smartphone instead of having a wired-up computer which means theyre kind of mobile dependent for internet access and lower quality access to news so even though more people have that access its not as good and in the us there are several groups – typically those with lower resources who are mobile dependent but across the world there are many countries where many people only have access through their phone and if that results in lower-quality news consumption its something we need to know also in some places schools are swapping out tablets for computers in libraries its a problem because it is not as comprehensive a learning tool for children – or other people using the library – as a computer would be thats due to the screen size as well as for reasons having to do with connection speeds but even just the screen size alone means that you cant retain as much of the information what do you like most about working here i really enjoy working in the political science department at texas a&m its always engaging and never boring the students at a&m are good the graduate students that im working with now and get to teach regularly are better than at any other institution ive ever worked in it makes a huge difference for teaching but also for research because the students work with us on our research projects so all around it makes for a really good experience have you ever worked outside of academia and how does that inform your research or teaching i was one of the people who took one year off between undergrad and graduate school and when i graduated with a political science degree i was basically not qualified for a whole lot of things (at least that were at least immediately obvious) so i ended up working at a temp firm which meant i was a secretary or receptionist at several different law firms part of me was doing that to see if i wanted to go to law school but i was quickly told by every single attorney with whom i worked that i did not want to do that i also learned quickly how terrible working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year and having to get dressed up and basically do someone elses bidding while not using your brain was terrible so it helped me realize how much i wanted to go back to school and then once i got back to school and started working in my first graduate program i realized how much i loved it and i think it improved my performance because it affected my appreciation for being able to go back to school and now i get to read and write and think all day long im grateful for that year because it taught me no no no this is not for you – go back what is your favorite class to teach and why it is probably the grad seminar that i teach in this department the american politics sub-field class we call it a pro-seminar but its a class thats basically supposed to touch on multiple areas of research in that american politics field and that just means i get to pick all the cutting edge super interesting research in a bunch of different areas in that big subfield and help guide students through that work since theyre at the grad level its mainly discussion we get to talk about the research we read and tear it apart but we also discuss everything we learn from it and think about what it means for what researchers should do next so probably that one because its peer discussion-based and also involves getting to read lots of cool studies what else do you work on i do work on lots of other things too i say im kind of a jack of all trades master of none but i mainly study lots of stuff relating to different kinds of news media some of my work examines polarization media bias partisanship and public opinion so i do research on those kinds of things too it is all fun so if anyone is interested in those things they should come see me and come take my classes
professor says misperceptions of iranians empower the countrys oppressive regime but ‘tiktok generation and women activists may be key the iranian people want to cast off unjust laws enforced by the countrys religious dictators and so called morality police who use their version of islam as a weapon to oppress women and maintain power but recent protests are showing the tiktok generation and iranian civil rights activists who have been resisting for decades are banding together to fight for civil liberties thats according to texas a&m universitys mohammad ayatollahi tabaar a professor of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service and former bbc reporter whose political commentaries have appeared in the new york times the washington post foreign affairs and other national outlets tabaar who was born in iran said recent protests following the killing of 22-year-old mahsa amini for the crime of showing her hair in public should serve as a wake-up call against common misperceptions like that iranian citizens including women – and muslim women in general – have been made to be submissive tabaar says iranian women may or may not want to cover their hair – what they really want is the freedom to choose and their efforts over the past four decades are proof of that in the wake of the revolution iranians – women and men alike – have been resisting autocracy in large and small ways both before and after the iranian revolution in 1979 when it was believed a more democratic society would emerge instead the islamic republic of iran rose to power and imposed a set of rules under the banner of sharia law sharia laws include mandatory hijab but also other discriminatory practices including restrictions for women on marriage and divorce child custody inheritance and travel tabaar who teaches a graduate seminar on religion and politics in iran says those laws have nothing to do with the actual tenets of islam and everything to do with political power many of those who are protesting today may not even remember that when the revolution happened 43 years ago it was not about religion but to bring independence from foreign interventions and freedom to iranians he said but as the revolution succeeded those who came to power needed to establish an identity to form an exclusive government so if youre ruling in the name of religion – in this case islam or so they say – instead of bringing about justice equality and economic prosperity all of which are difficult to do they claimed they were implementing islamic law iranian women may or may not want to cover their hair – what they really want is the freedom to choose the first step for a religious dictatorship like the islamic republic to maintain power is to control women tabaar said the way you show you have an islamic state is to force women to veil he said initially they were very cautious saying women should just be modest the women would get lax on veiling and the regime would let it go for a while but would eventually crack down again and it would go back and forth then the regime started sending these thugs basically to enforce their rules and then institutionalized them into the ‘morality police but this proved to be a formidable battle for the state he added as women showed resistance both in professional settings and as ordinary citizens on the streets on a daily basis in mandating hijab the regime was also trying to silence the non-islamist clerics who were apolitical and saw the islamist regime as heresy the traditional clergy could pose a serious legitimacy crisis to the islamic republic tabaar said that was one of the reasons the new state enforced these rules so it could increase the cost of dissidence in religious circles by saying ‘whats your issue were forcing women to veil so were islamic it was about regime survival and consolidation not necessarily about religion he continued what the quran says about veiling is open to interpretation but even if we agree that coverings should be worn based on the quran there is nothing that says the state has to enforce it according to many religious scholars thats actually undermining the basic tenets of islam by forcing people to do things they do not want to do and in fact about 70 percent of iranian women do not veil according the states strict dress code tabaar said so that gives you an idea of what women actually want ironically this trend is the opposite of the pre-revolutionary era in which many women would veil to protest against the secular monarch whose father had forced women to unveil almost a century ago as part of his grand plan to establish a modern nation-state in iran womens bodies are often a marker of the state identity tabaar said a new generation of freedom fighters tabaar said abuses by the morality police have ranged from harassment on the street to beatings and killings most of which have not been as highly publicized as the killing of amini her case has been so well publicized he said for two reasons: one is that aminis family came forward which many iranian families fear to do when a loved one is killed by the morality police and second: social media could todays social media-savvy youth gain the freedoms their parents and grandparents have not the younger generations especially young women have witnessed their mothers and grandmothers suffer tabaar said they know this could go on for another 40-50 years so theyre rebelling theyre angry and they dont want to put up with it as with other civil rights movements such as the arab spring #metoo and black lives matter social media is playing a huge role this is the ‘tiktok generation they have the power literally in the palm of their hands to form their own views and gain worldwide support for iranian civil rights tabaar said and it already seems to be working videos of women taking off and sometimes burning their hijabs are being viewed millions of times worldwide artists inside and outside of iran are creating graphics videos and photos that are going viral and women around the world are showing solidarity by cutting their hair nevertheless tabaar warns that states have shown remarkable capacities to use social media to their advantage too by spreading misinformation and sowing discord among the protesters very cautious optimism tabaar would love to say this latest wave of protests is going to succeed in winning the people of iran their civil rights but he knows how much stands in their way in previous social and political movements the state usually cracked down – quickly immediately brutally and then when things calmed down it started making minor concessions tabaar said at least 200 people have been killed so far in the past they would show tolerance for partially veiled women as long as it was not politicized he continued but now it has become politicized where women are taking off their hijab as a display of rebellion so it wont be as easy for the regime to make formal concessions to reduce tensions and hope the protests fizzle out although there are reports that the morality police have been removed from the streets now in order not to further provoke the population another factor in the protestors favor is that even women who choose to wear hijab are supporting those who dont a lot of veiled women are on the forefront of this because they want it to be a matter of choice tabaar said with both veiled and unveiled women banding together with irans youth population and gaining worldwide support tabaar said he is hopeful but cautious these public unveilings are expanding and iranians abroad are organizing so it is a hopeful scenario he said but the government cant let this go on forever and it could become even more violent what they are hoping is it just blows over and they can go back to the way things were last week irans supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei spoke for the first time about the amini killing criticizing the protesters and blaming the united states and israel for planning the uprisings what i think is most important for americans and the rest of the world to know is that iran is a country whose people want to live normal lives tabaar said but they are caught between internal repressions and external pressures they are fighting a viciously oppressive regime and have been for over four decades and they are doing so not because of the us sanctions against iran but despite these inhumane collective punishments the rest of the world is just catching up by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article first appeared in texas a&m today on oct 13 2022
photo caption (l-r): andrew breest ann marie hauser gen tod wolters matthew szuster lt gen (ret) jay silveria yuval weber by alexis hixson at the height of the russian invasion of ukraine in may of 2022 four bush school dc students seized the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the supreme allied commander of nato four-star air force general tod d wolters for a group of students with military and security backgrounds the opportunity to chat with nato‘s allied commander at the height of one of the greatest transatlantic security crises of the decade was invaluable the opportunity presented itself thanks to a summer trip to belgium for bush school dc students the meeting with general wolters was the highlight of the trip for bush school student and air force officer matthew szuster being an air force officer meeting someone whos at the top of their career… just talking to him generally for about a half hour or so about what he thinks about the security situation in europe was pretty cool szuster stated dr yuval weber research assistant professor at the bush school dc and executive director of the bush school dc lieutenant general (ret) jay b silveria were the masterminds of the summer trip to belgium which dr weber dubbed the transatlantic security program the duo was a perfect pair to lead the bush school dc contingent lt general silveria a retired three-star air force lt general is a practical expert in transatlantic security while dr weber has studied and lectured on russian and eurasian security for years if we can create this transatlantic network we can create a lot of people who know each other so that as they meet each other later in their career they have some sort of common language and common experiences between themdr yuval weber dr weber brokered a partnership between the bush school dc and ghent universitys international studies school in belgium his vision for the program was to hold a non-credit fully extracurricular programdevoted to the idea of transatlantic security dr webers goals included providing educational opportunities for the bush school dc students bringing together two institutions representing different sides of the transatlantic partnership and creating a knowledge community of people with a shared interest in security affairs the goal was to create long-lasting relationships to benefit students from both sides of the program in their careers if we can create this transatlantic network we can create a lot of people who know each other so that as they meet each other later in their career they have some sort of common language and common experiences between them dr weber said before the trip the bush school dc students conducted virtual meetings with european experts in the field to foster thought about transatlantic security before engaging with institutions of transatlantic security in person and attending classes at ghent university with belgian students dr weber stressed the importance of the belgian perspective on the trip the key question was whats going on in the world and how do the belgians and the europeans understand the things that were very familiar with from our perspective dr weber stated meeting the supreme allied commander was just one of many rare opportunities the students had to engage with important figures and institutions in transatlantic security the trip included a visit to the nato military headquarters where lt general silveria was stationed twice during his air force career the group also visited the political headquarters of nato the european external action service the flemish parliament and the american chamber of commerce to the european union before continuing the trip to berlin in the german capital the group visited the german parliament and several think tanks as part of the trans-national exchange similar visits were reciprocated for the students from ghent university a couple of weeks later when they came to visit washington dc dr weber provided personal tours for the group to the pentagon congress and dc-based think tanks throughout the trip the bush school group honored the legacy of the schools namesake president george hw bush one of the architects of post-cold war security the president cared deeply about the transatlantic community dr weber wanted to ensure that the students were leveraging his legacy as an individual by preparing students for a life of public service in a transatlantic world for future bush school-ghent university opportunities please email weber@tamuedu
on october 6 2022 the eve of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the north american free trade agreement the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy hosted ambassador carla hills former us trade representative and chief us negotiator for nafta hills spoke about the positive impact trade can have and the prospect for future trade arrangements the lecture was held at the bush school dc and was the second lecture in a three-part economic diplomacy lecture series after mosbacher institute director raymond robertson enthusiastically welcomed the crowd robert mosbacher jr introduced hills describing her wealth of knowledge and distinguished career as the us trade representative from 1989 to 1993 she served as president george hw bushs chief nafta negotiator and top adviser on international trade policy in a time of increasing global pessimism over the value of trade hills reminded the audience that trade is a vital avenue for economic growth and strengthening international relationships recognizing naftas 30th anniversary hills referred to its achievements in increasing economic productivity and growth in the united states canada and mexico expanding export opportunities for american businesses and bolstering diplomatic relations and opportunities for cooperation across the north american continent while reflecting on naftas success hills stated it is now vital for the us government to once again make trade policy a priority she stated that the united states should act as a leading nation in revamping trade enthusiasm hills believes this can be done by rejoining the trans-pacific partnership (tpp) improving trade relations with china working with allies to update the world trade organization (wto) and reminding the american public of the vast and numerous benefits of trade the audience followed hills talk with questions focused on the current challenges facing existing trade agreements and the future of trade itself specifically there were questions about how demographic changes and emerging technologies will impact trade relations and what the united states should do when approaching current challenges to naftas successor the usmca a common thread throughout hills answers was the complementary relationship between trade agreements and diplomatic relations for example she referred to the possibility of the united states rejoining the tpp and how this would allow the united states to build stronger ties with tpp-member nations while also placing economic and political pressure on china to abide by the rules laid out in the tpp trade agreement hills stated a law-abiding china would benefit the chinese people and chinas vast number of trading partners including the united states this example amongst many others served as a prominent reminder of trades importance as a tool in economic diplomacy to advance the strategic and security interests of the united states the economic diplomacy series continues on thursday november 10 with robert a mosbacher jr 9th president and ceo of the overseas private investment corporation speaking about the importance of development finance in facilitating investment in middle and low-income countries and in extending a rule-of-law free-market approach to economic growth and opportunity hills lecture on the role of trade in economic diplomacy can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
the bush school is fully committed to its mission of educating and training principled leaders as well as performing service learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as christopher weech class of 2023 master of international affairs candidate discusses his experience at the bush school chriss main focus is international economics and trade policy introduce yourself my name is chris and im a second-year international affairs student my main focus here at the bush school is international economics and trade policy why did you choose to come to the bush school there are a lot of different reasons why i picked the bush school so originally im from the dc area im sure a lot of you are already looking at programs or have looked at programs that are in the dc area and i think i just wanted to experience something a little bit different the bush school is definitely a departure from a lot of the programs that are in the dc area something that i really liked and enjoyed about this program is the practitioner focus i think thats really special and unique about this program and i figured if im going to someday be an international development worker i think its best to learn from people who have actually done it as opposed to just academics so i think the practitioner focus is special if were being really honest you cant beat the economics they offer such generous scholarships and the cost of living is so much cheaper here than in dc that you just cant beat what youre getting for the price that youre getting what is one of your favorite things about the bush school one of the most fruitful things about my experience at the bush school has been developing really strong relationships with a couple of professors in particular i can think of dr robertson hes been a professor – ive had him for two classes – but hes also been a mentor he offered me a job working as a student researcher i think that opportunity has been unique and im not sure i would have gotten that somewhere else so i think developing these really strong relationships with professors has been special and its not just him i think almost all the professors here have been so welcoming that you can go to their offices at any point theyre always here which is really nice i think professors in dc do work full time but professors who are here in college station are here in college station for the students and i think thats a focus thats really special what activities do you engage in at the bush school ive been involved in a lot of different extracurricular activities here at the bush school so one is being a student researcher i was employed as a student researcher for dr robertson so he essentially had an external client – the us consul for international business – and they had a research project and he needed somebody to help him get that project over the line so working with dr robertson i was able to practice my quantitative analysis skills practice my writing skills and really work with an external client which is an invaluable experience to have i am also a bush board fellow so i am getting a nonprofit management certificate and as part of that its really helpful to me to serve on a local board so as a bush board fellow you get to apply to work on any of the local boards for nonprofits that are in the area i serve on the board for the local library system which has been a fun experience just to see how boards operate at a local level as well as get more in touch with our local community because they do so much community work thats really important this year im working as a gar so ive been a student researcher and now im a gar for dr teague and that has just started but it looks like itll be an amazing experience where im helping dr teague get her manuscript across the line and help her with a few other research projects as well what is life like in college station life in college station it is if youre from a big city like me it is a bit of a departure from that so its a small town it seems small to me for some people im sure its big but it is a little bit different being isolated were not necessarily close to major cities but that being said there are still plenty of things to do game days are a special experience so if you like college football or other college sports this is the place to get involved with that college station itself i think being isolated is both a bit of a blessing and a curse we arent necessarily close to major cities but with that being said we still do get visits from highly qualified speakers and visitors and people that come to college station even though were not necessarily part of a major city this is a place that still attracts the people that ou want to meet with and you want to speak to it is a fun group of students i think one of the things thats nice about college station is it attracts people from all over the place so you have students from all types of backgrounds we have a really healthy – especially in the international development and economic policy program – really healthy international population so it is fun to get all of these really diverse ideas and as a student in college station and especially at the bush school there are so many fun ways to get involved so students are always doing fun things outside of the bush school we have a pretty dedicated intramural sports team for volleyball soccer theres dillo cup there are always opportunities students are always going out and supporting each other being a student here its like being a part of a community youre not an individual whos competing against another one were all here working as a community to support each other what was the most challenging part of your first year at the bush school i think the most challenging thing at the bush school was when i came in in my first year i was actually working full-time for the department of public health in georgia and i think managing a full-time job as well as being a full-time student at the same time got a little bit hectic i think it worked out in the end in that it really helped my time management skills and i was able to deal with everything that was on my plate all at once but at the same time if i had to do it again i dont think thats necessarily the path i would take because i wasnt able to spend as much time with my fellow students meeting with professors and getting the most out of the opportunities at the bush school because i was so focused on work so i think finding that balance and actually forcing myself to take advantage of the opportunities that are here at the bush school has been a bit of a challenge what did you do this summer my summer experience was actually amazing i was the econ intern at the us embassy in quito so my daily responsibilities were essentially just doing daily economic reporting so i was able to write cables as varied as: there was new mining and oil policy that came out so i had to write a cable on what are the effects of this policy how is that going to affect equador in the long term as well as potential investors – to things like i had to write a cable cacao sector so how are women involved in the cacao sector at a grassroots level in equador so it was really varied and dynamic the work that i did it was fun in that i got to receive trade delegations so i received the governors delegation from nebraska to try and help build future partnerships between equador and nebraska so the work itself was amazing ecuador is such an amazing and beautiful country that it was fun to be there even if the work wasnt so engaging so i was able to do work that was really meaningful and interesting kind of at the highest level id never worked with ambassadors and governors and ministers of different departments before so i thought it was an amazing experience getting some practical experience as well as kind of getting to see what a career in the state department might look like what advice do you have for prospective or incoming students for students considering the bush school i think the thing that tipped me over the line really were the scholarships i think just considering the costs of other programs relative to the cost of this program cause were getting just as good of an education if not better than some of the other programs that cost 10 15 20 times as much so i think just being aware of the benefits of coming to texas even though it seems a little bit out of the way just being aware of the benefits that youre getting by coming here is definitely something you should take into consideration while applying if i had to go back and do my first year again i think there are a lot of opportunities that i just didnt take advantage of there are always speakers there are always career presentations i dont think i did enough of those as a first-year now as a second year im more into the routine im more aware of whats going on but i think in the first year just coming to the career presentations – lunch is almost always free – so coming to those can be really beneficial as you get to network and see what potential opportunities are out there also its my first year taking a class outside of the bush school so im able to take a class in the agricultural economics department i think being aware of the opportunities that are at texas a&m generally as opposed to just kind of within our own little bubble here at the bush school is something that you should definitely think about as a first-year student
texas a&m university press has published the berlin airlift and the making of the cold war (available for sale online) the volume comes out of a conference that the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) co-hosted in the spring of 2019 the volume is edited by john schuessler co-director of the cgs at the bush school adam seipp associate dean for graduate studies college of arts and sciences at texas a&m and the late thomas sullivan of texas a&m libraries the berlin airlift and the making of the cold war brings together historians and political scientists to explore the origins course and impacts of the berlin airlift after seventy years here scholars and authorities on the airlift its logistics the great power competition involved and the position of berlin within a divided and occupied central europe discuss not only the airlift itself but also the critical role the operation played in shaping the physical and mental landscape of cold war confrontation in europe
cherrelle duncan bush school class of 2013 was honored last week as the 2022 recipient of the bush schools outstanding alumni award she was recognized on october 6 2022 in the annenberg presidential conference center dining room in front of an audience that included many family friends mentors bush school faculty alumni and students im truly honored its a great honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks of those who have been awarded this honor before and to have walked the halls of the bush school alongside them duncan said joy monroe assistant dean for development alumni relations and strategic initiatives at the bush school opened the ceremony by introducing a few special guests before dean mark welsh recognized duncan highlighting some of her major accomplishments in a career as a public servant the reputation of the bush school is directly the result of the impact and the effect that our former students have on the people they meet they serve and they interact with for the rest of their career dean welsh asserted our students are different they choose the bush school because they want to serve dean mark welsh duncan currently is the chief of staff for houston city council district f council member tiffany d thomas her jobs include project management strategic planning and the management of funding for special projects like youth engagement city beautification public safety and economic development she also coordinates pandemic relief efforts emergency food distribution town halls citywide youth conferences and employment fairs throughout her district along with many other meaningful projects i think it gives you a sense when we talk about service of what service means to someone like cherrelle dean welsh stated duncan also serves as the leadership training and development chair of the national urban league of young professionals and as an entrepreneur founding both duncan impact solutions a nonprofit consulting firm and soa co books a mobile bookstore that supports minority readers and authors cherrelle duncan accepting her award from dean mark welsh cherrelle youre not receiving this award because of all the job titles and the things you sign up to do it is the way you do it the way you connect the way you interact the heart behind all this dean welsh said dean welsh invited the two individuals to the stage who nominated duncan for the bush school outstanding alumni award megan alvear bush school class of ‘21 and current assistant director of development for the bush school explained how she met duncan at an association of fundraising professionals (afp) meeting where duncan delivered a speech that inspired her cherrelle is one of the best bush school students i have ever met i appreciated her as an alumna taking the time to get involved with the afp chapter i have felt inspired to be a better public servant because of cherrelle and i am so grateful to call her my friend alvear stated joey roberts bush school class of 14 and one of duncans close friends also spoke on why he nominated duncan for the outstanding alumni award she always takes the challenging route and faces those challenges head-on – making so many impossible situations become possible roberts said duncan then took the stage and thanked those in attendance recognizing her former classmates colleagues mentors and previous professors cherrelle duncan delivering her speech this honor is because of the individuals in this room who have encouraged and supported me to achieve duncan said duncan continued sharing the accomplishments of her family in their careers in public service and how she grew up observing their work it was never a question of if i would go into public service making a career out of public service was a no-brainer because i do not know how to do anything else duncan said through teary eyes duncan took a special moment to honor those who have an irreplaceable place in her heart – her mother her sister and her brother-in-law she recognized each individual and the role they have played in her life contributing to her career as a public servant leaving the entire audience emotional duncan concluded her speech with the words public service is a noble calling it is my calling i will continue to stay in the fight less than ten years after graduating from the bush school duncan returned to the place that prepared her for a leadership role in public service now being celebrated for her amazing work and example of what it means to be a true career public servant public service is a noble calling it is my calling i will continue to stay in the fight cherrelle duncan 2022 bush school outstanding alumni
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) at the bush school of government & public service recently held a panel discussion titled toward fundraising effectiveness with current members of the fundraising effectiveness project (fep) fep is a project sponsored by the association of fundraising professionals (afp) foundation for philanthropy that helps nonprofits increase the pace of their giving by providing critical tools for tracking and evaluating their annual giving growth dr angela seaworth acfre director of philanthropic initiatives and capacity building at cnp facilitated an engaging discussion with fep members who focus on using data to make decisions about fundraising investments jim greenfield acfre one of the first members of fep and a founder in the fundraising field michael buckley cfre and kirk schmidt discussed fundraising best practices and ways to utilize metrics to increase fundraising efforts at organizations each panelist emphasized feps focus on effectiveness (maximizing growth in giving) rather than efficiency (minimizing costs) they introduced participants to tools like the fundraising fitness test and fundraising net analyzer so they can measure fundraising effectiveness and justify further investment in fundraising at their organizations dr seaworth serves with the panelists on the fep steering committee and she recently assumed the role of communications chair for the organization in october the bush school will host the fep annual meeting at our washington dc teaching site watch toward fundraising effectiveness online
on september 22 2022 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy hosted ambassador mark green the 18th administrator of the us agency for international development (usaid) at the bush school dc to speak on the vital role foreign assistance plays in us economic diplomacy this event was the first of the mosbacher institutes three-part economic diplomacy lecture series that aim to highlight the tools of us economic diplomacy that are key to advancing the strategic and security interests of the united states following a welcome by mosbacher director raymond robertson robert mosbacher jr introduced ambassador mark green emphasizing his distinguished career serving in the us public and private sectors ambassador green led usaids international humanitarian efforts with a clear mission to reduce development dependency and promote the journey to self-reliance in his speech the ambassador focused on three broad foreign assistance principles required to fulfill this purpose including acknowledging the power of private enterprise understanding the governments role in building state capacity and recognizing the youths eagerness to harness innovations through private investment and emerging technologies by prioritizing reform-oriented foreign assistance that works to produce hand-ups versus handouts green stated there is no limit to what can be achieved ambassador green featured the millennium challenge corporation (mcc) and several usaid public-private partnerships as prominent examples of initiatives executing the principles of converging development goals with business interests to solve real-time global development issues he followed up his speech by answering questions from the audience focused on the purpose of metric-oriented development goals building self-resiliency through localization efforts and how the actions of usaid build and advance us economic diplomatic goals in his responses the ambassador focused heavily on the issue of internal displacement in the trajectory of economic development and the importance of the us maintaining strong supportive allies as the growing demands for humanitarian assistance are directing resources away from long-term development projects finally ambassador green proudly reminded the audience that the united states must not remain shy about what it brings to the table in comparing the foreign assistance given by the united states to that given by authoritarian-led countries he stated the latter can always produce money but they cannot compete with the united states currency of values while proud of what the united states offers he acknowledged the importance of being open about past shortcomings he stated there is no replacement for candidness and humility when fostering cooperation in international relationships and advancing economic diplomacy the economic diplomacy series continues on october 6 with ambassador carla hills us trade representative from 1989 to 1993 and chief nafta negotiator speaking about the importance of trade in improving economic opportunities and diplomatic relations greens lecture on the role of foreign assistance in economic diplomacy can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
a paper by bush school professor raymond robertson looks at the emotional toll covid-19 had on working women in pakistan the latest mosbacher institute white paper working women in pakistan during covid-19 presents survey results that reveal the effects covid-19 had on women in pakistan while women around the world shouldered a disproportionately large burden during the covid-19 crisis the report is a new take on the emotional toll of covid-19 the author raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute and a professor at the bush school of government at texas a&m university says that the report helps us understand similar effects on working women in other developing countries the report was launched in pakistan in september as part of a pakistan future of women and work initiative and was covered in the pakistani press in outlets such as dawn the pakistan observer dnd and propakistani
note new date below the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university invites you to join michael j green as he discusses his book line of advantage: japans grand strategy in the era of abe shinzō on november 1 2022 from 5-6 pm ct via zoom the event will be virtual only registration is required there will be time for a q&a after this lecture will be recorded so please ensure your mics and cameras are off event updatewatch the talk line of advantage: japans grand strategy in the era of abe shinzō about the event no other country has devised a grand strategy for managing chinas rising economic and military power as deliberately or successfully as japan seeking to counter chinese ambitions toward regional hegemony japan has taken an increasingly assertive role in east asia and the world during the tenure of prime minister abe shinzo the country pursued closer security cooperation with the united states and other democracies established a more centralized national defense system and advanced rules and norms to preserve the open regional order in the indo-pacific that is crucial to its prosperity and survival―all while managing an important economic relationship with china in line of advantage michael j green provides a groundbreaking and comprehensive account of japans strategic thinking under abe he explains the foundational logic and the worldview behind this approach from key precedents in japanese history to the specific economic defense and diplomatic priorities shaping contemporary policy toward china the united states the two koreas and the indo-pacific region drawing on two decades of access to abe and other japanese political military and business leaders green provides an insiders perspective on subjects such as how japan pursued competition with china without losing the benefits of economic cooperation assessing the strengths and weaknesses of japans new active role line of advantage sheds new light on a period with profound implications for the future of us competition with china and international affairs in asia more broadly michael j green michael j green is director of asian studies and chair in modern and contemporary japanese politics and foreign policy at the edmund a walsh school of foreign service at georgetown university as well as senior vice president for asia and japan chair at the center for strategic and international studies he has served at senior levels of the national security council and his books include by more than providence: grand strategy and american power in the asiapacific since 1783 (columbia 2017) abe shinzō shinzo abe was a japanese politician who served as prime minister of japan and president of the liberal democratic party (ldp) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020 he was the longest-serving prime minister in japanese history abe also served as chief cabinet secretary from 2005 to 2006 under junichiro koizumi and was briefly the opposition leader in 2012 on july 8 2022 abe was assassinated while delivering a campaign speech in nara two days before the july 10 upper house elections the suspect who was arrested at the scene confessed to targeting the former prime minister because of abes ties with the unification church abes assassination was the first assassination of a former japanese prime minister since 1936
dawa sherpa class of 2023 master of international affairs candidate discusses how her experience at the bush school shaped her summer experience with women advocacy project in harare zimbabwe dawa is on the international development and economic policy track her concentrations are in women peace & security and conflict and development tells us a little bit about yourself hi my name is dawa sherpa i am a second-year mia student in international development and economic policy track my concentration is in women peace and security and conflict and development tells us more about your summer this summer i had the opportunity to work with women advocacy project in zimbabwe their primary goal is to abolish child marriage and basically help women have financial independence and young girls to go back to school and complete secondary school the project was ten weeks long i worked full-time every week for 35 hours a week probably more the project that i worked with had two leaders a husband and wife who were basically in charge of the project they work in 3 communities on the outskirts of harare zimbabwe which are very vulnerable and prone to early marriage issues for girls currently theyre serving around 60-70 girls and single mothers in those communities and the project theyre working on is a business that develops liquid dish soap and sells it in those communities as a local handmade product how did you hear about this project i got this opportunity to work with women advocacy project through a dc-based non-profit organization called advocacy project that sends peace fellows every summer to its partner organization to assist with their initiatives in many countries dawa working with children why did you choose this project i was really excited for this opportunity because of my passion to advocate for womens empowerment and education since this project focused on economic empowerment it gave me a very immersive experience where i could utilize both my business background and the analytical skills i learned in my classes here at the bush school to make the project more efficient and since i hope to create my own womens entrepreneurship and education project in the future getting to work on a grassroots project in a challenging environment was a great learning experience what was the most rewarding part of this project i think for me the most rewarding part of this project was being able to see what i want to do in the future actually being able to do that right now as one of my first projects like i said earlier i am a women peace and security concentration major and i hope that someday in the future ill be able to have a female entrepreneurship and education project that will empower women in nepal to have financial independence because i feel like thats where womens empowerment really stems from in a lot of relevant countries is from having financial decision making power so that was very rewarding to be able to actually start as my first project a womens advocacy project what was the hardest part the hardest thing for me was to be able to really learn and pivot when challenging things came my way especially being in a developing country the infrastructure is not there all the time and i was constantly facing challenges of power cuts and transportation challenges and water issues there were weeks when we didnt have water and electricity for the whole week so i really had to understand and be adaptable and agile about how to pivot my plan and because i only had a limited time of 10 weeks i couldnt afford to just lose my time like that so being able to just adapt and reconfigure was a very challenging but very rewarding kind of project it is very difficult in zimbabwe right now especially because of the economic turmoil that it constantly goes through in its history it constantly goes through hyperinflation so when i was there the prices were rising again and again now the inflation rate is again rising very high and i think 80-90% of the zimbabwean economy is an informal economy which means 80-90% of the population does not have a steady income generation place it was very tough to see how people are struggling to meet ends meet every day and being somebody who came from nepal i think those are issues that i am really familiar with but i think just seeing this in the context of africa also really resonated with a lot of the challenges i face actually in nepal too and thats something we studied in our international economic development class that was the class that really helped me to have that mindset built before i went to zimbabwe to at least know what to expect because a lot of the things we covered in that class were the sectors of development that need individual attention like health education and gender and i think going to zimbabwe after that class really helped me have that mindset of what im looking for and what i need to do tell me more about how your classes and how they prepared you i think a lot of the classes in the bush school are very good in the idep track but the things that really prepared me for this summer were the class that i took with dr serra called international economic development and the class with dr ruyle called women in development was also very insightful because a lot of the cases were focused on africa what are your next steps after doing this project ideally my next step would be to go to a similar project where i help grassroots projects that are focused on gender equality and womens empowerment to develop business development or entrepreneurship projects im also in the process of developing my own nonprofit its in a very early stage but hopefully in the near future ill have a scholarship chain that will give educational opportunities to girls in nepal zimbabwe community making soap what advice do you have i just think everybody who is studying idep (international development and economic policy) should have field experience only by going to a developing country and working there for a certain time you will get insight into the challenges setbacks and challenges that actually happen in development projects and those are sometimes really hard to know if you havent really seen it on the ground so i think by doing that youll be able to actually design and execute sustainable development projects
arch beaver aplin iii will receive the 2022 mclane leadership in business award arch beaver aplin iii a 1980 texas a&m university graduate earned a construction science degree and opened his first buc-ees in lake jackson texas two years after commencement he and his business partner don wasek built the iconic multi-million-dollar business on several promises: pristine restrooms scores of fuel pumps a vast selection of food and consumer items and well-paid employees on wednesday october 26 aplin will receive the 2022 mclane leadership in business award at the bush school of government and public service where he will also speak to the students and the public about his career and leadership experience register online to attend or call (979) 845-1927 bestowed annually by the bush schools mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy the award recognizes a prominent individual for outstanding contributions in the area of business and public service the event will take place in the annenberg presidential conference center from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on wednesday october 26 the program is open to the public but registration by monday october 24 is required guests may register either online at the bush school website or by calling (979) 845-1927 a noted philanthropist aplin recently announced a contribution of $50 million for the creation of a hospitality entrepreneurship program at texas a&m university that will serve as an immersive learning laboratory for students he is also known for his leadership in public service currently serving as chairman of the texas parks and wildlife commission board member of the association of former students of texas a&m member of the ercot board selection committee member of the houston methodist hospital presidents leadership council and lifetime member of the coastal conservation association and the 100 club he is the former board president of the brazosport independent school district and a former member of the state of texas small business council lieutenant governors transportation advisory board and the brazosport center for arts and sciences board of trustees the mosbacher institute was founded in october 2009 to produce policy-oriented research and education in trade economics and public policy the mclane leadership in business award was established by drayton mclane jr a noted entrepreneur and chairman of the mclane group a diversified collection of businesses that demonstrate a tradition of excellence and innovation
on sept 19 2022 dr gerald parker director of the pandemic & biosecurity policy program at the scowcroft institute at the bush school moderated a panel of experts including dr robert carpenter dr syra madad dr jennifer a shuford and dr bob kadlec as they explored the monkeypox outbreak the event was held at the hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center recently declared a public health crisis by the federal government the panel answered questions such as: are we making the same mistakes with monkeypox as we did with covid-19 how can we do better with this and future pandemic threats is this something we need to be concerned about and more watch the full video monkeypox: have we learned anything from covid-19 online
two texas a&m experts explain how ukrainian forces pulled off their recent string of victories against the russian military and discuss what this could mean for the overall course of the conflict this month has seen major new developments in the ongoing war in ukraine as the ukrainian armed forces launched a successful counteroffensive against russian troops retaking large swathes of territory and notching a surprise victory for morale among ukrainians and their international allies this week president volodymyr zelensky said ukrainian forces intend to continue to their push into russian-occupied areas of the country as western leaders like us president joe biden express renewed optimism about the ultimate outcome of the war for more on the success of the ukrainian counteroffensive and its impact on the broader conflict texas a&m today spoke with associate professors john schuessler and jasen castillo of texas a&ms bush school of government and public service schuessler and castillo are faculty members in the department of international affairs and co-directors of the albritton center for grand strategy what is the overall scope of this recent ukrainian counteroffensive schuessler: the counteroffensive has been concentrated in the northeast region of kharkiv liberating more than 2 300 square miles of territory with evidence that russian soldiers scrambled to retreat in the face of an unexpectedly rapid ukrainian advance this can only be described as a major success for ukraine and a loss for russia castillo: i agree and would add that ukraine telegraphed for weeks it would focus its efforts to the south the russians took the bait and ukraine achieved some tactical surprise around kharkiv what are some of the factors behind the apparent success of the counteroffensive schuessler: ukraine has certainly benefited from outside assistance both in terms of weapons and battlefield intelligence this has allowed ukraine to pound russian forces behind their front lines disrupting their operations there was also an element of surprise involved with russian forces seemingly anticipating more of a ukrainian effort in the south than in the north most importantly it is becoming clearer and clearer that russias army is battered it is estimated that russia has suffered as many as 80 000 casualties since february including more than 15 000 deaths the heavy toll can only exacerbate the manpower morale and logistics problems that russia is clearly suffering from castillo: a caution the quality of the information we get about this war is hard to evaluate that said i concur with johns description ukrainian forces possess a greater will to fight they are defending their homeland and have clearly benefited from the training provided by the us and our nato allies russian forces are less motivated they do well in exercises but not in war combined arms operations seem difficult for them to defend along a long frontier russian forces would need to respond quickly with mobile reserves plugging holes a mobile defense along such a long frontier requires good logistics my suspicion is that ukraine concentrated their breakthroughs against areas where russian forces were already taxing their supply lines how has russia responded to the gains made by the ukrainians schuessler: russia is reinforcing its defenses in the south around kherson the russian army cannot afford another collapse there so soon after the rout in the north the big question is whether russia can retain the territory it has occupied in the east and south short of a wartime mobilization barring a major change in fortunes we can expect russia to be on the defensive as opposed to the offensive going forward castillo: if i am russia i pray for an early winter prepare for a spring campaign and hope western europe suffers without russian natural gas should we expect to see similar gains for ukraine in the coming days schuessler: ukraine should have more difficulty retaking territory in the south around kherson than it did in the north that said we cannot rule out further advances most serious for russia would be a ukrainian offensive in the south that cuts off russias access to crimea it is generally expected that the fighting will stalemate again once winter sets in castillo: i think the future success of the ukrainian offensive will depend on their logistics ukraine has made gains in areas where russian forces have had trouble getting supplied which makes them ideal targets for an offensive us-supplied artillery has helped ukraine interdict russian logistics prior to the campaign unless the russian will to fight collapses utterly i anticipate the ukrainian offensive will stall what does this high-profile string of victories mean for the wider war schuessler: i remain skeptical that ukraine can fully eject russia from the territory in the east and south that it has occupied this means that neither side can ultimately dictate terms to the other a negotiated settlement seems unavoidable in the end my personal opinion is that an armed neutrality is the best ukraine can achieve that said from day one ukraine has consistently performed better than many of us expected so any predictions should be made with great humility castillo: this recent battlefield success will inspire more us support for ukraine which means more dollars and hardware president biden will want to balance this continued assistance with sparking a wider or longer war what else should people keep in mind about these recent developments and the conflict overall schuessler: escalation remains a serious risk if russia perceives itself as losing momentum desperation may set in and desperation can lead to rash behavior like nuclear threats or atrocities russia should certainly not be rewarded for aggression but humiliating it is not without risk from the beginning us policy has been to thwart russias offensive in ukraine while avoiding direct involvement in the war it is a fine line to straddle castillo: strongly strongly agree putin has a lot at stake in the conflict russia sees the war in ukraine as their cuban missile crisis imagine if russia offered membership in a military alliance to canada or mexico we would rightly not permit that since the stakes are high for him putin has an incentive to keep fighting if frustrated he might decide to escalate the level of violence to coerce ukraine and the us to capitulate my worry is that if the russian military collapses putin might find the temptation to use a low-yield nuclear weapon over ukraine too great to resist what does ukraines counteroffensive mean for the wider war
sign up for the 2023 trip today! opportunities for international engagement at the bush school expanded this summer with the addition of a new immersive course in may 2022 associate professor michael w howell former fbi agent and counterterrorism agent taught 34 bush school students and travelers a new class entitled understanding terrorism at the source the course included five days of class in college station followed by a trip to israel providing students an up-close understanding of the terrorist attack sites they had previously only discussed howell explained that he selected israel because he determined it to be a safe country for students to visit that has also uniquely experienced a large number of historical terror events and the counterterrorism strategies of the israeli government mimic the counterterrorism efforts of western countries in this regard the trip enriched the students worldview and professional understanding of international security my goal was to get the students to actually go to the sites theyve previously just read about in books said howell site of the maxim restaurant attack in haifa photo by tal carson classes in college station featured guest speakers author eric cline and dr peter tarlow formerly a rabbi in residence at texas a&m the guest speakers and professor howell emphasized the background of culture and religion as fuel for conflict adding context to better grasp the terror phenomenon in israel in preparation for the trip howell assigned the students texts documenting a history of religious conflict cultural dissonance specific battles in the region and the modern history of terrorism in israel the course included visits to over 20 sites of past terror attacks around the country the rationale behind visiting them is that when you see a site being there makes it come alive so youre not just reading about it in two dimensions howell said you can see how the subject arrived at the site what the site looked like and what the carnage was probably like studying past terror events and the context surrounding them allows students to develop mindsets to help prevent future attacks several sites made a powerful impression on the students one such site was the park hotel also known as the passover massacre site at the height of the second intifada terrorists launched a suicide attack at a passover meal hosted at the park just going there and seeing the site after reading about it really made it come alive and you could understand it a little bit better and empathize with the victims more howell said of the site the group experienced israeli hospitality over dinner at the maxim restaurant in haifa the site of a terror attack nineteen years ago a female suicide bomber wearing an explosive disguised as her pregnant belly killed 21 people in the middle of the restaurants dining room the restaurants owner gave the students a first-hand account of his recollections from the bombing that took the life of members of his family he believes terrorists targeted his restaurant because of its joint christian and muslim ownership the restaurant stood as a preeminent symbol in the community of working together despite religious differences we heard a moving and encouraging call for resilience and optimism from the maxim restaurant owner tal carson class of 2023 master of public service and administration candidate said seeing the willingness of the owner to continue running the family business and pursuing peace across religious and ethnic divides after what happened was powerful and will stick with me for the rest of my life students visited a tunnel built by a terrorist organization to help facilitate terror attacks and kidnapping operations in civilian areas a memorable experience for many students was visiting a tunnel built by a terrorist organization the tunnel was intended to facilitate terror attacks and kidnapping operations in civilian areas inside israels sovereign borders the idf (israel defense force) halted its completion in 2018 only after allowing the terrorists to expend vast energy and resources on the project the tunnel included electrical wiring communication devices handrails fuse boxes and lighting fixtures as one student stated for me this tunnel was surprisingly highly advanced and intricate for a terrorist organization…the tunnel displays the groups willingness to do whatever it takes to complete their mission the tunnel visit was an experience exclusive to bush school students this is likely the only group of students in the country which have ever – will ever – get to do this professor howell said another feature of the trip that students enjoyed was visiting historical and geographic sites such as roman ruins in caesarea national park beth-shean and the dead sea the experience is one katyln register a current class of 2023 master of international affairs student hopes future bush school students get to experience one of my favorite things about our trip to israel was going to the ruins of ancient civilizations just trying to visualize how much things have changed over time how it might have looked back then and really realizing just how advanced their cultures were such a long time ago register said the trip encompasses so many different aspects no matter what your interest is its going to be met if you like history like me everywhere you look is history if you like food they have great food religion hiking sports shopping you name it we experienced it all the students remarked that they observed the disputes and many opposing views that exist within the region firsthand over the course of the trip they encountered six flags: the israeli syrian lebanese jordanian and palestinian flags and the flag of hezbollah these flags are reflective of the many perspectives the students engaged with as well as the players that vie for control or crave peace in the region the seventh flag of the trip was the texas a&m flag which the students carried with them on all their trips bringing the aggie spirit to each corner of the country by alexis hixson
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university invites you to join the discussion trying nazi crimes in postwar france: the 1987 trial of klaus barbie for crimes against humanity on tuesday october 4 2022 from 5:30-6:30 pm ct the event will be at the hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843) registration is required; sign-in begins at 5:00 pm ct in the lobby and the lecture starts at 5:30 pm ct there will be time for a q&a after register online to attend about the event klaus barbie known as the butcher of lyon served as chief of the nazi gestapo in lyon in occupied france from 1942 until 1944 he was responsible for the torture murder and deportation of thousands of jews and resistance fighters alike after the war barbie worked for american intelligence in occupied germany before fleeing to south america in the early 1950s there he became wealthy and served as a security advisor to right-wing dictators discovered there in the 1970s he was eventually expelled and sent back to france in 1883 barbie stood trial in lyons palace of justice on charges of crimes against humanity for crimes committed in occupied lyon against resistance fighters and jews the trial was a national and international event attracting hundreds of journalists from around the world barbie was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison subsequently the barbie trial has had a powerful impact on international law where war crimes crimes against humanity and genocide are concerned the trial stood as a landmark moment in the french nations ongoing efforts to come to terms with the so-called dark years of world war ii and nazi occupation dr richard j golsan richard j golsan has been a texas &m university faculty member since 1986 he specializes in twentieth century french literature and culture the history of fascism and legal efforts to come to terms with crimes against humanity and genocide he taught at case western reserve university and université paris iiisorbonne nouvelle he has been awarded the palmes académiques by the french government and has been named to the ordina dell stella della solidarieta italiana by the italian government he is a university distinguished professor senior scowcroft fellow and director of the france/tamu institute a centre dexcellence of the french government
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host dr joshua schwartz on wednesday september 28 2022 schwartz plans to discuss his paper dovish reputation theory: when fighting to demonstrate resolve backfires the event will be held at the allen building room 1110 registration is required for the lecture which begins at 5:00 pm cst register online to attend if guests are unable to attend in person a zoom link will be included in their rsvp confirmation email register online to attend about the speaker joshua schwartz is currently a grand strategy security and statecraft postdoctoral fellow at the massachusetts institute of technology and a hans j morgenthau fellow at the university of notre dame he received his phd in political science in 2022 from the university of pennsylvania and was a predoctoral fellow at the harvard kennedy school from 2021 to 2022 his research focuses on questions related to reputation gender drones weapons of mass destruction coercion norms and climate change such as: should countries go to war in order to maintain or bolster their reputation for resolve what impact will greater female leadership in the us and around the world have on international politics why and how does military technology spread what factors impact support for the use of nuclear weapons do armed drones reduce or increase terrorism schwartzs academic research has been published or is forthcoming in international organization journal of conflict resolution international studies quarterly and conflict management and peace science you can also find his policy commentary in foreign affairs washington post bulletin of the atomic scientists defense one and political violence at a glance before starting the phd program at penn schwartz graduated from the george washington university summa cum laude with a double major in economics and political science during that time he interned with the state department and the united states senate about the paper according to hawkish reputation theory states inevitably harm their reputation for resolve by backing down and enhance or maintain it by choosing to stand firm and engage in military conflict this logic has been used at least in part to justify consequential interventions like the vietnam war however is it always true that states maximize their reputation for resolve by refusing to back down schwartz advances a new theory of reputationdovish reputation theorythat argues the answer is no in contrast to both hawkish reputation theory and a set of critics who argue that reputation is unimportant in international politics schwartz argues that reputation matters but that in crucial circumstances fighting can worsen ones reputation for resolve in particular fighting costly wars often produces war-weariness among a countrys public and leaders undermining a states actual resolve foreign powersobserving these signs of war-wearinessthen downgrade their assessments of the states resolve precisely because of its decision to fight schwartz provides evidence for this novel theory through an elite experiment conducted on members of the united kingdom parliament overall this project indicates that the benefits of using military force are lower than the conventional wisdom suggests the albritton center for grand strategy serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
dr rotem dvir institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) assistant research scientist has recently published a paper co-authored with dr arnold vedlitz director of the istpp and dr ali mostafavi istpp fellow and director of the urban resilience ai lab in the international journal of disaster risk reduction (ijdrr) in their article far from home: infrastructure access to essential services and risk perceptions about hazard weather events they explore the underlying role of limited access and local infrastructure conditions in shaping residents risk perceptions and behaviors concerning natural hazards the authors argue that access to essential services is a critical driver of variations in the publics perceptions of risk with regard to hazardous weather events the conditions of local infrastructure serve a complementary role that enables or impedes access in emergency scenarios using survey data collected in texas in 2021 as part of a national science foundation funded study they show that residents who face more restrictions on access given their local infrastructure are more concerned about different actions during disaster events including getting to essential services such as health care facilities or needing to evacuate to safety in a more extreme scenario an in-depth investigation of the more vulnerable at-risk population (facing more limitations on access) reveals that those individuals report risk perceptions that are more than 30% higher than the less vulnerable citizens the results of this study offer important insights about factors that usually become more significant when disaster has already struck the results also highlight the need to improve the conditions of local infrastructure in order to increase community resilience when facing extreme weather events and natural disasters
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university welcomes new army fellows col nate crow and col cody d workman to the 2022-2023 academic year as part of the united states army war colleges senior service college fellowship program the scowcroft institute hosts officers as fellows for one academic year this program promotes cooperative academic exchanges between selected united states army officers and civilian educational and teaching facilities the army fellowship program at the scowcroft institute is designed to promote research on topics of strategic relevance to the army and the scowcroft institute to increase the knowledge and awareness of military affairs among bush school and texas a&m university faculty and students to foster cooperation and intellectual exchange between the institute and the army and to enhance the strategic thinking and research skills of the mid-career army officers selected to take part in the institutes fellowship program while in residence at the scowcroft institute army fellows will complete a major research project on a topic of strategic relevance to the army and the institute; participate in formal coursework at the bush school and in other texas a&m university departments; attend lectures workshops and conferences hosted by the scowcroft institute; bring in outside experts to lecture on military affairs and strategy and engage students and faculty by giving talks and lectures about their research interests and career experiences they will in short become part of the scowcroft institutes burgeoning community of international relations scholars students and practitioners colonel nate crow is a united states army war college fellow at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university he received his commission from norwich university army rotc in 2001 he is a graduate of the armor officer basic and advanced courses airborne school scout leader course cavalry leader course and command and general staff college colonel workman received a direct appointment as a field artillery officer in 2003 after over nine years of exemplary enlisted service he is a graduate of the primary leadership development course non-commissioned officer basic course field artillery officer basic and captains career courses joint operational fires and effects course information operations qualification course and command and general staff college prior to his arrival at texas a&m for his usawc fellowship he was assigned to 65th field artillery brigade as deputy commanding officer previous non-command assignments include service as a field artillery platoon leader fire direction officer and battery xo during an 18-month deployment to ramadi iraq in support of operation iraqi freedom other non-command assignments include battalion intelligence officer (s2) battalion operations officer (s3) brigade liaison officer brigade psychological operations officer division liaison officer brigade xo and brigade deputy commander his command assignments include 36 months as commander a-battery 2nd battalion 222nd field artillery regiment he had the privilege of combining this unit with c-battery 2nd battalion 222nd field artillery regiment and leading the combined unit through a 9-month tour in iraq for operation new dawn he later had the honor of commanding 2nd battalion 222nd field artillery regiment for 24 months
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university invites you to join general in-bum chun as he discusses north korea china & how the us & south korea strategize for war on wednesday september 14th from 12:20-1:20 in allen building room 1110 the event will be at the allen building in room 1110 (4220 george bush dr w college station tx 77840) registration is required; sign-in begins at 12:00 pm outside of the room and the lecture starts at 12:20 pm there will be time for a q&a after register online to attend general chun will explain the vital importance of the rok-us alliance and the ever-increasing power of china – in particular how south korea and the us have and will support taiwan he will also give insights into the realities of the kim regime and how crucial decisions are believed to be made at the highest levels in north korea lastly general chun will review how domestic politics and generational differences may influence how the rok will broach any possible negotiations with north korea and china in the years to come arguably since wwii the us has had no closer military ally with shared sacrifice than the republic of korea rok – south korea after north korea invaded south korea with the support of china and russia the us-led un-backed forces to liberate south korea during the korean war over 36 000 american soldiers were killed and about 200 000 south korean soldiers died along with an estimated over one million south korean civilians register online to attend about the event for south koreans it has never been a ‘forgotten war south korea has lived with the looming threat of north korea; and it has dutifully supported and fought with the us in the decades since over 5 000 south koreans died fighting alongside the us and south vietnam during the vietnam war south korean soldiers also fought and died in support of us efforts in afghanistan and iraq where at one time they were the 2nd largest allied force after the uk in line with the us-rok alliance general in-bum chun has a unique and long connection with the us and the shared goal to defend against north korea and more broadly the threat of china he lived in the us as a young child with his mother who was the first female diplomat in south korean history as a young officer he rose quickly with an impressive array of experiences including saving the life of the roks highest ranking general who was wounded by a bombing orchestrated by north korea in an attempt to assassinate south koreas president in his long and distinguished career general chun served in many capacities within the rok/us combined forces command cfc he ultimately served as the deputy chief of staff for the cfc before being appointed the commander of the roks special warfare command and then deputy commander of the roks first army with his many years serving side-by-side with the us military general chun is very familiar with the multi-faceted threat of north korea and the joint planning and military capabilities of the us and the rok to fight north korea he will discuss how the south korean people its politicians and its military approach and live with the ongoing perils created by north korea and the kim regime general chun will also assess what is realistically possible regarding reducing north koreas nuclear coercion and its declared intent to reunify korea if necessary by force general chun will explain the vital importance of the rok-us alliance and the ever-increasing power of china – in particular how south korea and the us have and will support taiwan he will also give insights into the realities of the kim regime and how crucial decisions are believed to be made at the highest levels in north korea lastly general chun will review how domestic politics and generational differences may influence how the rok will broach any possible negotiations with north korea and china in the years to come in-bum chun lieutenant general (ret) republic of korea army in-bum chun is a retired lieutenant general in the south korean army and an experienced veteran in us-korean military relations a seoul native who spent part of his childhood in new york lt general chun quickly rose through the ranks of the korean army in 1983 he was awarded the national security medal (kwang-bok) for saving the life of general lee ki-baek during the rangoon bombing attack during his time in service ltg chun also helped to ensure the safe return of korean missionaries being held captive by the taliban in afghanistan for his work he was awarded the korean presidential citation ltg chun has served as the director of us affairs at the korean ministry of national defense was commander of the rok special warfare command and was the senior member of the un command military armistice commission ltg chun retired from active duty in 2016 and has continued his work as an expert in the field through fellowships at the brookings institute and the us-korea institute of the school of advanced international studies
the bush school of government & public service will host a 3-part lecture series on economic diplomacy tools that are critical for advancing us foreign policy goals the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service will host a fall lecture series to highlight tools of us economic diplomacy that are key to advancing the strategic and security interests of the united states chinas very aggressive and expansive strategy to gain influence throughout the developing world by financing critical infrastructure projects in developing countries is proof that global power is not just determined by diplomatic or military might but also by the capacity to enable and support economic development and growth the advancement of a free-market rule-of-law model is critical to countering chinas authoritarian capitalist approach please register online to attend in person or via zoom this three-part series is designed for those interested in developing a practical understanding of the various economic levers used to support us goals at home and abroad including foreign assistance trade and development finance the lectures scheduled for september 22 october 6 and november 10 will all be held from 5:30–6:30 pm eastern time at the bush school dc located at 1620 l street nw in washington dc and also livestreamed on zoom to participate either in-person or via livestream please sign up at bushtamuedu/mosbacher the september 22 lecture will feature ambassador mark green 18th administrator of the us agency for international development (usaid) speaking about the role of foreign assistance at usaid green led the agencys international humanitarian efforts to save lives improve economic prosperity strengthen democratic governance and advance us national security he now serves as the president director and ceo of the woodrow wilson international center for scholars on october 6 ambassador carla hills us trade representative from 1989 to 1993 will speak about the importance of trade to improving economic opportunities and diplomatic relations as a member of president george hw bushs cabinet hills was the nations chief trade negotiator representing american interests in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations throughout the world hills negotiated and concluded the north american free trade agreement and also led the us negotiations on the uruguay round of the world trade organization at the concluding lecture on november 10 robert mosbacher jr the 9th president & ceo of the overseas private investment corporation and current chair of the development advisory council of the us international development finance corporation (dfc) will speak about development finance dfc partners with the private sector to finance solutions to consequential challenges in the developing world such as energy and infrastructure deficiencies the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to addressing the most pressing challenges confronting the united states and world economies by conducting policy-relevant research; providing education; and engaging stakeholders in the areas of trade economics and public policy please register online to attend in person or via zoom
texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service kicks off a week of special events and programs in celebration of its 25th anniversary the celebration week takes place september 6th-10th on the bush schools college station campus register to attend one highlight of the celebration week will feature an evening with dr ray m bowen 21st president of texas a&m university mr neil bush son of president george hw bush and chair of the bush school advisory board and mr rc slocum former head coach of texas a&m football the three will discuss their relationship with president george hw bush in an engaging evening of the 41 i knew moderated by mark welsh dean of the bush school the discussion takes place on wednesday september 7 2022 at 6:00 pm central time in the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center in college station texas we are just thrilled to welcome students to the bush school this semester with events and programs that demonstrate what we do best said mark welsh the bush school has spent the past 25 years educating tomorrows public servants and well be able to showcase that with some events that highlight the noble calling of public service our students will have the opportunity to hear first-hand from some well-known leaders and others who are making a difference in their own ways its a great way to start off the fall semester launched in april 2022 at the bush schools washington dc teaching site the bush schools 25th anniversary celebration is taking place during the 2022-2023 academic year other highlights of the celebration in college station include lunchtime talks with students on the 41 i knew by some of the people who worked closely with president bush in various capacities speakers for this series include lieutenant general (ret) michael gould former military aid to president bush and author jean becker who served as president bushs chief of staff during his post-white house years the bush school has spent the past 25 years educating tomorrows public servants and well be able to showcase that with some events that highlight the noble calling of public service our students will have the opportunity to hear first-hand from some well-known leaders and others who are making a difference in their own ways its a great way to start off the fall semestermark welsh dean of the bush school a dedication of the mural the ride home by nationally renowned artist benjamin knox will take place in the bush schools allen building on wednesday september 7th a watch party of the george & barbara bush foundation documentary film 41 on 41 will be held in the annenberg presidential conference center on thursday september 8th additionally the bush school in partnership with the universitys marketing team and the george hw bush presidential library and museum have launched three unique sock designs to celebrate the bush schools 25th anniversary the socks are produced by johns crazy socks founders john cronin and his father mark cronin will give a talk on thursday september 8th about their encounter with president bush who wore a pair of the companys socks to the funeral of barbara bush johns crazy socks hires people of differing abilities and donates five percent of the proceeds to special olympics texas a&m university mascot reveille and president bushs service dog sully will make an appearance in the bush library on thursday september 8th both beloved canines are featured in one of the sock designs to learn more about the bush school of government & public service please visit bushtamuedu
texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service is pleased to welcome john cronin and his father mark x cronin founders of johns crazy socks to the college station campus on thursday september 8 2022 the pair will deliver a talk about their encounter and subsequent friendship with president george hw bush and the impact that the americans with disabilities act has on their lives the talk which is free and open to the public takes place from 12:20 pm to 1:20 pm central time in the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center pre-registration is required register online to attendmeet sully & miss rev prior to the event in celebration of the bush schools 25th anniversary johns crazy socks has created three unique sock designs to honor president bush these socks will be available for purchase in the george hw bush presidential library and museum located on the texas a&m university college station campus in the fall of 2016 a then 22-year-old john cronin asked his father if they could open a business selling socks his father mark agreed he and john who has down syndrome started johns crazy socks in december 2016 one of their goals was to show what people with differing abilities like john could do a year later after reading a story about president bill clinton giving a pair of colorful socks to president bush john cronin decided to send a box of his companys socks to president bushs office in houston that prompted president bushs office to reach out in 2017 for additional socks john sent a pair of down syndrome superhero socks which he designed president bush then sent john cronin a pair of socks and a letter saying we knew that people with disabilities like down syndrome are capable of doing amazing things if they are given the opportunity you are a wonderful example of what americans can do despite the challenges that they face we are proud of all that you have accomplished the president also wore johns down syndrome super hero socks on world down syndrome day and tweeted about it he later wore a pair of johns crazy socks to the funeral of his wife barbara bush john then created socks to honor the president and mrs bush and raised money for the barbara bush family literacy foundation built on a mission to spread happiness johns crazy socks provides inspiration and hope by employing people with differing abilities to showcase what they can do over half of their employees have a differing ability the company gives five percent of its earnings to special olympics; many of its products raise money for charity partners such as the national down syndrome society and the autism society of america to learn more about the bush school or to register for john and mark cronins lunchtime talk please visit bushtamuedu about johns crazy socks johns crazy socks was inspired by john lee cronin a young man with down syndrome and his love of colorful and fun sockswhat he calls his crazy socks he and his father mark x cronin started the company as a social enterprise with a mission of spreading happiness™ with more than 4 000 socks johns crazy socks is now the worlds largest sock store more than half their employees have a differing ability and their giving back program has raised over $525 000 for charity partners like the special olympics the national down syndrome society and the autism society of america most of all they are spreading happiness™ for more information about johns crazy socks visit the companys webpage facebook page instagram account or youtube channel meet & greet with miss rev & sully the service dog prior to the lunchtime talk join us at the george bush presidential library museum store at texas a&m university at 11:30 am before the event to meet sully the inspiration for one of of john cronins special sock designs for the bush schools 25th anniversary sully george hw bushs former service dog will be there along with texas a&ms very own reveille along with sock designer john cronin after the lunchtime talk americas vetdogs & sully will make a second appearance this time at the texas a&m veterans center at 2:30 pm
dr william west dr raul medina and dr leah buchman all istpp research fellows at the bush school of government & public service have recently published a paper based on a project funded by usda-nifa in science and public policy in their article public deliberation and the regulation of gene drive in the usa they examine how the current system of biotechnology regulation limits participation by stakeholders representing environmental economic cultural religious and ethical concerns long a source of criticism these limitations will be especially problematic with regard to the possible use of gene drive for purposes such as vector control and the enhancement of agricultural productivity yet although the authors feel that reform is desirable creating a more inclusive system of regulatory decision-making faces daunting challenges that have not been given their due these include the practical difficulties of designing administrative processes that allow for viable participation by a broad range of interests as well as political obstacles that are grounded in a current regime in the us that favors the commercial application of biotechnology at the expense of other values the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) was created by the board of regents in the fall of 2000 to fill a critical gap between science and technology research and public policy research through their research scientists detect emerging problems that require policy actions to address them for known social and environmental problems science and technology may help find solutions our policy research proactively identifies the public and stakeholders acceptability parameters for science and technology applications
a new issue of the takeaway describes how in addition to violent conflict armed rebel groups also engage in a wide range of non-violent political projects including holding popular elections rebel elections have become a common feature of contemporary civil wars in the latest issue of the takeaway democracy on the battlefield why armed groups hold elections bush school of government & public service faculty member reyko huang helps answer the question of why armed groups devote time effort and resources to organizing elections and mobilizing ordinary people to vote when they could concentrate on the battlefield based on a recently published research article on rebel elections in civil war huangs policy brief describes how rebels use elections to assert their authority and increase their legitimacy she also notes that external states need to understand and consider local legitimacy politics before calibrating their intervention policies for example with ample external aid and little need for local support rebels are likely to move their focus toward the battlefield and maintaining relations with their external sponsors and away from meeting local civilians needs the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host a panel discussion entitled monkeypox: have we learned anything from covid-19 featuring moderator dr gerald parker and panelists drs robert carpenter syra madad jennifer a shuford and bob kadlec event recap: scowcroft institute hosts expert panel exploring the monkeypox outbreak the event will be at hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843) registration is required; sign-in begins at 5:00 pm ct in the lobby and the lecture starts at 5:30 pm ct there will be time for a q&a after register online to attend panel information dr gerald parker will moderate a panel of experts including drs robert carpenter syra madad jennifer a shuford and bob kadlec as they explore the monkeypox outbreak recently declared a public health crisis by the federal government monkeypox is the thing on everyones mind the panel will answer questions such as: are we making the same mistakes with monkeypox as we did with covid-19 how can we do better with this and future pandemic threats is this something we need to be concerned about and more date: monday september 19 2022time: 5:30–7:30 pm ct (check-in at 5:00 pm ct)location (in person): hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843)online: register at bushtamuedu/scowcroft/events/ this will be a hybrid event it will take place in person in hagler auditorium in the annenberg presidential conference center and virtually via zoom (link available upon registration) and will start promptly at 5:30 pm ct check-in will begin at 5:00 pm ct register online to attend moderator dr gerald parker dr gerald w parker jr is the associate dean for global one health at the texas a&m college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciences simultaneously he holds an appointment at the bush school of government & public service as director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at the scowcroft institute for international affairs before taking up his current challenge in 2017 dr parker spent 36 years in federal public service his responsibilities varied over his 26 years in the united states army with numerous years as commander and deputy commander of the us army medical research institute of infectious diseases to the senior executive service coordinating federal medical/public health responses to hurricanes katrina through ike (2005–2008) to the 2009 h1n1 influenza pandemic and to the 70 magnitude earthquake in haiti in 2010 among other things he remains active in policy advising and strategic forums such as his seconding to the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the department of health and human services as senior advisor from august 2020 to february 2021 in february 2022 he testified before the united states senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs regarding all-hazards preparedness and the infrastructure needs of the country dr parkers service has earned him several distinctions such as the distinguished executive presidential rank award (2009) dr parker earned a bachelors degree and a doctorate in veterinary medicine at texas a&m university a doctorate from baylor college of medicine graduate school of biomedical sciences and a masters at the industrial college of the armed forces panelists dr syra madad dr syra madad is an internationally recognized public health leader and epidemiologist in infectious disease and special pathogens preparedness and response she serves as the senior director of the system-wide special pathogens program at nyc health + hospitals and co-principal investigator at the institute for diseases and disaster management her work focuses on the prevention and preparedness for response to and recovery from infectious disease outbreaks with an emphasis on healthcare and public health biopreparedness in addition dr madad is a fellow at the harvard kennedy school belfer center for science and international affairs where she regularly publishes on the latest public health guidance epidemiological concepts and scientific literature to help the public understand complex topics using infographics and simplified science communication shes core faculty in the national emerging special pathogens training and education center (netec) affiliate faculty at the center for emerging infectious diseases policy & research at boston university and member of the federal national science advisory board for biosecurity (nsabb) dr madad is prominently featured in the emmy-nominated netflix docuseries pandemic: how to prevent an outbreak and the discovery channel documentary the vaccine: conquering covid twitter: @syramadad dr jennifer a shuford dr shuford graduated from colorado college in colorado springs with a bachelors degree in chemistry she received her doctor of medicine degree from the university of texas southwestern medical school she completed an internal medicine residency at presbyterian hospital of dallas where she served as chief resident dr shuford completed an infectious disease fellowship at the mayo clinic in rochester minnesota she earned her master of public health degree from harvard school of public health dr shuford practiced medicine in austin texas as an infectious disease physician prior to joining the texas department of state health services in 2017 she is currently the chief state epidemiologist for dshs where she uses epidemiologic and medical data to inform public health activities and policies including those surrounding the states covid-19 response dr shuford serves on the faculty of the dshs preventive medicine and public health residency program she is a member of travis county medical society and infectious disease society of america she is also a member of texas medical association where she serves as a consultant to their committee on infectious diseases dr robert carpenter robert owens carpenter md mph facs fasmbs hails from bastrop county in central texas after completing undergraduate work in biochemistry at texas a&m university he attended baylor college of medicine where he was awarded an md in 1999 thereafter he accepted a two-year non-clinical faculty appointment within the departments of cell biology and allied health education at baylor during this period he completed post-graduate coursework within the clinical scientist training program taught on the gross anatomy faculty and developed curriculum to better integrate application of basic science information into the clinical education environment dr carpenter completed an mph with special focus on quality improvement and graduate medical education policy during a seven year general surgery residency at vanderbilt university medical center thereafter he completed a one year clinical fellowship in advanced laparoscopy endoscopy and bariatric surgery in nashville tn dr carpenter remained on staff at vanderbilt before returning to central texas in october 2009 where he serves on the clinical faculty at the baylor scott & white memorial hospital and clinic he serves as director of bariatric and minimally invasive surgery education associate director of the general surgery residency in temple and was recently promoted to clinical associate professor of surgery for the texas a&m university health science center he briefly assumed the role of interim medical director of metabolic and bariatric surgery within the central division of baylor scott and white health dr carpenter has been recognized for his passionate dedication as a medical educator with the 2017 outstanding surgical faculty teaching award induction as a fellow of the academy of distinguished medical educators at texas a&m university health science center where he continues to teach on the medical gross anatomy faculty and more recently receiving the award as most inspiring professor by the com class of 2022 in june 2020 dr carpenter was recognized by the general surgery residents at baylor scott & white medical center – temple with the brindley outstanding faculty of the year award dr bob kadlec dr robert kadlec is a senior policy advisor for the us senate committee on health education labor and pensions he previously served as the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the us department of health and human services (hhs) where he oversaw critical response operations during the covid-19 pandemic including operation warp speed dr kadlec spent more than 25 years as a career officer and physician in the united states air force before retiring as a colonel over the course of his career he has held numerous senior positions in the white house the senate hhs and the department of defense dr kadlec holds a bachelors degree from the united states air force academy a doctorate of medicine and a masters degree in tropical medicine and hygiene from the uniformed services university of the health sciences and a masters degree in national security studies from georgetown university
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) 2022-23 postdoctoral fellow shahin berenji has published a new article with the national interest arms alone cannot win the peace in ukraine in the article berenji argues that the united states needs to play a central role rather than a peripheral one in future negotiations between russia and ukraine the cgs fellows program has previously hosted one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response
a recent article on cnncom titled china endures summer of extreme weather as record rainfall and scorching heat wave cause havoc has cited 2019 research completed by members of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) the cnn article looks at the summer heat wave scorching china currently and cited the istpp research when discussing the reality that many chinese are just beginning to realize the effects of climate change the 2019 istpp cited research was titled examining public concern about global warming and climate change in china and studied to what degree chinese citizens are concerned about the seriousness of global warming and climate change (gwcc) and looked at the key factors that shape their concern the research project included dr xinsheng liu senior research scholar and research scientist at the bush school and the late dr kent portney former director of the istpp the istpp was formed to fill a critical gap between science and technology research and public policy research through their research scientists detect emerging problems that require policy actions to address them
texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service is pleased to announce the appointment of david h bearce phd as head of the department of international affairs dr bearce joins the bush school faculty from the university of colorado boulder where he was a faculty member he previously was a faculty member at the university of pittsburgh and worked for several years in washington dc before earning his phd in political science from ohio state university he replaces dr f gregory gause iii who will remain a bush school faculty member and will teach courses at the bush schools washington dc teaching site known as the bush school dc we are tremendously excited to welcome dr david bearce to the bush school said mark welsh dean of the bush school having an international affairs department head with his energy broad expertise and experience positions us exceptionally well for success as we add undergraduate degree programs to the curriculum for the first time ever we are tremendously excited to welcome dr david bearce to the bush school having an international affairs department head with his energy broad expertise and experience positions us exceptionally well for success as we add undergraduate degree programs to the curriculum for the first time everbush school dean mark welsh of dr gause dean welsh said dr gause served superbly in this position for the past eight years it is wonderful to know we have a new leader who is more than capable of maintaining the momentum greg and his department faculty generated during that time the department of international affairs is part of a newly expanded bush school of government & public service the texas a&m department of political science is becoming a part of the bush school in the upcoming academic year plans are in development to add undergraduate degree programs in both the existing bush school departments – public service and administration and international affairs to learn more about the bush school and its academic programs visit our website at bushtamuedu
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) is now accepting fall 2022 enrollment for the centers continuing and professional education certificates the cnp offers three non-credit-bearing certificates to fit your professional development goals and prepare you to better serve your community certificates include: nonprofit leadership social justice leadership and fundraising leadership the certificates are completed in four months are an cfre and iacet accredited each certificate is earned by completing five continuing & professional education courses which are exclusively offered online and take only three weeks at a time to complete participants may also take courses individually based on their interests enroll now to attend
texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service is pleased to announce the appointment of ambassador john t hennessey-niland to professor of the practice in the department of international affairs hennessey-niland is retiring from the us department of state where he most recently served as the us ambassador to palau with a diplomatic career spanning more than 35 years he is considered one of the most experienced pacific hands in the us department of state he will be teaching courses in american diplomacy and other diplomacy-related courses hennessey-niland replaces ambassador (ret) larry napper who will be retiring from the bush school at the end of this falls semester we are so fortunate to have ambassador hennessey-niland join the bush school said mark welsh dean of the bush school his expertise in diplomacy coupled with his first-hand experience in the pacific will provide our international affairs students with an exceptional educational opportunity dean welsh added we are grateful to ambassador napper for the past 12 years hes spent with the bush school under his guidance our masters program in international affairs and the scowcroft institute of international affairs both made terrific strides our students have benefitted greatly from ambassador nappers expertise in russia and central europe hennessey-nilands previous roles include white house national security council united nations war crimes investigator in the former yugoslavia and rwanda and at a number of posts in europe and the pacific he also was the polad foreign policy advisor to the commander of us marine corps forces pacific (marforpac) in hawaii hennessey-niland is retiring from the us foreign service after 35 years he was entrusted by the white house to be the first us ambassador to visit taiwan since 1979 and is an advocate for expanding us engagement with taipei his work with special presidential envoy for climate secretary kerry helped ensure the annual our ocean conference (ooc) was held in 2022 for the first time in the pacific and in an island nation the department of international affairs is part of a newly expanded bush school of government & public service the texas a&m department of political science is becoming a part of the bush school in the upcoming academic year plans are in development to add undergraduate degree programs in both the existing bush school departments – public service and administration and international affairs to learn more about the bush school and its academic programs visit bushtamuedu
by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on july 5 2022 texas a&m university professor jim olson says he had a strained relationship with his father-in-law for several decades after studying math and economics in his home state at the university of iowa olson served in the navy and earned a law degree planning to become a small-town attorney but that never happened over the years olsons father-in-law himself an attorney in washington state noticed the family moved around a lot and his daughters husband seemed unable to hold a job for very long he was worried about my ability to support his daughter and three grandchildren; he thought i was a loser olson said one day he pulled me aside and said ‘i dont want to interfere with your business but i just want you to know if you ever need a job you have one here in our law firm i thanked him but declined the offer it was a true double life there wasnt much time left for anything elsejim olson explaining how he performed his cover job by day and spied at night what his father-in-law didnt know was that olson and his wife meredith both worked for the central intelligence agency (cia) when he finally found out he was very relieved olson recalled and we were great friends after that as a husband-and-wife spy team the olsons raised their children mostly overseas conducting espionage and covert action missions for more than 30 years including on russian soil during the cold war after many missions they decided it was time to move on to other careers meredith became a registered nurse and for jim it was on to texas a&ms bush school of government and public service where he spent 25 years educating the next generation of intelligence officers as a professor of practice and director of the intelligence studies program olson who retired from a&m in may discussed his undercover cia career his love of teaching aggies and what he tells aspiring intelligence officers the first big phone call jim olson during his government service sometimes just one phone call can change a persons life in olsons case it happened twice as a naval officer based out of charleston south carolina olson was on active duty from 1963 to 1967 and later achieved the rank of lieutenant commander in the navy reserve he spent much of his military career on ships overseas i was constantly on the move he said noting he was a bachelor at the time making more money than he needed and he thought about staying in the service but he saw the family lives of his fellow officers – away from their spouses and children for months on end – and decided he wanted a more traditional family life so the plan was to leave the navy return to iowa and practice law but before he could embark on a law career the phone rang it was the cia apparently an agency spotter had recommended olson for an interview spotters are people whove been vetted by the cia and asked to identify others in their radius as good candidates for service; they are often professors he has no idea who spotted him the agency was interested in olson for a career in the national clandestine service he said the screening process was beyond rigorous: incredibly intensive interviews aptitude testing of every possible kind physical fitness tests foreign language testing psychological screening background investigations a whole series of polygraph exams – it just went on forever his proficiency in foreign languages surely weighed in his favor throughout his career – he knows six: french russian german spanish swedish and latin after he passed the initial interviews and testing olson was sent to the cias undercover training base in virginia called the farm i went to the farm and learned all about weapons hand-to-hand combat explosives covert action the whole thing he said then of course the tradecraft that goes with being a spy – things like dead drops car tosses and brush passes it seemed unreal he said today he and meredith laugh that i left the navy because i wanted a traditional family and then joined the cia spy team olson met meredith at the cia where she was already working and they became a husband-and-wife spy team we enjoyed being able to go off on missions together and dedicating our lives to serving our country he said most of their more than three decades in the cia were spent overseas; all three of their children were born in paris he became the agencys chief of counterintelligence in 1991 jim olson in moscow with his wife meredith and their three children – jeremy joshua and hillary it was a true double life he said explaining that he did his cover job by day and spied at night there wasnt much time left for anything else and no one knew – not their kids not their friends and family not the aforementioned father-in-law the two operated around the world first in paris then in moscow where they spied on the soviets they were under constant surveillance by the kgb they had three shifts of kgb surveillance teams watching us around the clock olson said the stakes were incredibly high our job was to handle courageous russians who were secretly cooperating with the cia and passing us their secrets on russian soil olson said they did it because they hated communism… it was life and death olson can give few specifics of his missions however hes able to talk about when he climbed down through a manhole underneath moscow to tap into top secret communications cables i had to break kgb surveillance he said its called ‘getting black its an art form and quite often involves disguise so id have to look like a russian with slavic features dress appropriately have russian documentation he was on his own no mission impossible–esque voice in his ear guiding him its really advisable not to get caught he said with a laugh the tapped line provided intelligence to us for five years until former cia officer edward lee howard who defected to russia in 1985 told the soviets about it after their tour in moscow the family moved to vienna which during the cold war was a real battleground in the intelligence wars olson said he was asked by the cia director to build a counterintelligence program there and to make life difficult for the russians which he did the olsons next stop was mexico city their main targets there were counterintelligence and counternarcotics it was in mexico that meredith began her work as a volunteer at mother teresas home for abandoned children the second big phone call by the mid 90s the olsons were considering retirement from the clandestine service usually when spies retire they go back to their normal lives without anyone ever knowing what theyd done this was not the case for jim olson the reason for that was president george hw bush and texas a&m jim and meredith olson with bush school dean mark welsh in april 2022 when jim was awarded the named the inaugural recipient of the the 41 award meredith and i never wanted to come out from undercover olson said like most of our colleagues we wanted to retire and never come clean never reveal wed been living a lie all those years then once again the phone rang it was 1997 and cia director george tenet was on the line with a message from the 41st president bush had chosen texas a&m for his presidential library and museum and a school of government and public service bearing his name he also wanted olson to come teach intelligence studies to aggie grad students prior to his presidency bush was the cias 11th director (1976-77) taking the job at a&m meant he and meredith would have to reveal their secret life; cia officers cannot be undercover on college campuses they decided to make the move with olson arriving when school officials were just beginning to build its programs he and fellow professor chuck hermann started from scratch and eventually created a selective program that attracts students from around the country who are interested in intelligence careers olson said as rewarding as his prior cia career was for him personally by far the more fulfilling second career has been teaching at the bush school he said noting that the values of bush and texas a&m align with his values especially the commitment to public service i never could have worked in corporate america he said its fine for other people but for me public service is my calling its as president bush said ‘public service is a noble calling olson said he tells students that if theyre interested in working in intelligence they must do it for the right reasons if they think its about the travel the money or thrills they need to reevaluate he said what its really about is risking your life and the lives of those you care about if necessary to keep our nation safe the next mission these days olson can still be found at the bush school meeting with students and helping out in whatever way he can he has written two books on his experiences in the cia: fair play: the moral dilemmas of spying (2006) and to catch a spy: the art of counterintelligence (2021) the agency of course reviewed the books prior to publication it took longer for the cia to review my books than it took for me to write them he said meredith and i have found our forever home at texas a&m and in college station we love it here and cant imagine living anywhere else jim olson aside from spending more time with his family which now includes 11 grandchildren olson said hes not sure whats next but hopes to stay involved with the bush school in some capacity meredith and i have found our forever home at texas a&m and in college station he said we love it here and cant imagine living anywhere else the two can be spotted regularly at aggie athletic events olson said hes grateful to many at a&m for their support and encouragement including hermann dean mark welsh professor gregory gause and texas a&m foundation president tyson voelkel he said hes confident handing the reins of the intelligence studies program to professor gregory vogle a former marine and 30-year veteran of the cia vogle headed the cias directorate of operations overseeing thousands of personnel in intelligence gathering and covert operations it was an honor to teach the next generation of us intelligence officers olson noted it gives me a warm feeling to know that so many of our graduates are doing exciting and important work for the us intelligence community public service is indescribably fulfilling i wish i could do it all over again
dr ki eun kang institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) postdoctoral research associate has recently published a co-authored paper with dr george homsy director of environmental studies; associate professor at binghamton university state university of new york in the journal of american planning association (japa) in their article zoning incentives: exploring a market-based land use planning tool they examine: a) the adoption rate of incentive zoning across the united states; b) the bonuses offered to developers and the amenities sought by governments; c) whether municipalities conduct a cost-benefit analysis between bonuses and amenities; and d) the relationship between local autonomy growth public participation and incentive zoning based on their survey and interview data from local officials they find that forty-one percent of surveyed communities reported having incentive zoning the most common bonus offered to developers was density the most common amenities sought by municipalities were mixed-use development open space conservation walkability affordable housing and public parks most communities did not conduct a cost-benefit analysis while developing or applying incentive zoning which they found was correlated to lower utilization some communities used incentive zoning to entice developers to provide benefits (eg affordable housing or green buildings) that state legislation prohibited them from requiring homsy george c and ki eun kang 2022 zoning incentives: exploring a market-based land use planning tool journal of american planning association (early view available online) doi: 101080/0194436320222050935
by alexis hixson now 77 years old bush school of government & public service alumnus john anderson has survived 38 potentially fatal situations after six active duty and 16 reserve years of us army service with 1 year in vietnam this is a notable accomplishment mr andersons life is a testament to the men and women of character bush school namesake president george hw bush described as the ideal student for his new school of government and public service if youve had even one or no potentially fatal situations in your life you ought to ask yourself: why am i here what am i supposed to do for others how am i going to be of service to other people andersons commitment to service has been the driving factor over the course of his life and his experience at the bush school he graduated in may 2022 at the age of 77 from the bush school of government & public service with a master of international policy an army brat john anderson anderson was born in long beach california a few days after his father departed for the philippines in world war ii john anderson srs deployment meant that he would not meet his son for 18 months johns father was the first and best example of service in his life he was a remarkable man absolutely remarkable and the people that knew him loved him someone once told me the word ‘integrity in the dictionary should have his picture next to the definition anderson said mr anderson srs commitment to service in the army caused johns childhood to span continents his family moved eight times before he reached the age of 18 john lived in alaska california georgia germany new jersey texas and even taiwan inspiring his adaptability adventurous spirit and unique worldview the lifestyle was not without its challenges if youre an army brat or some other branch of the service you learn how to meet people and make friends and i made some friends but i was very shy so it wasnt until after my sophomore year of college that my personality changed to the point that im considered by a lot of people to be obnoxious anderson joked after years of nomadic life john arrived in el paso and attended school at texas western college where he joined the rotc met his wife ann and set his feet on a path that would take him towards a career in the military in college i was in rotc and someone said ‘hey if youd like to consider flying for the army you can take this written test so i took the test passed and went to rotc summer camp where i took the flight physical my first crash was during rotc flight training that was the first of three plane crashes but that wasnt one of the five times ive actually been scared i was embarrassed but not scared anderson said one of the five scares occurred when anderson used the wrong gun target line on an artillery mission which could have endangered us troops in the area mr anderson explained that the remaining four times he has been truly afraid were for anns health four of them were because of her its not because she threatened me he joked before turning somber its because her health has not been good its been scary she has supported me in everything ive ever done whether it impinged on her activities and her life or just anything no matter how stupid it was she would find a way to support me she even proofs my papers and will for anybody else that needs help shes wonderful that way a vietnam veteran andersons time in vietnam was with the 2nd flight platoon of the 183rd recon aviation company flying an o-1 birddog observation plane for the us army many of the missions supported charlie company 75th rangers he believed in serving the american people o-1 birddog observation plane i take pleasure in that my most important job was helping to get americans out of trouble that was more important than fighting the enemy more than hurting anybody anderson said though rewarding this was not an easy task john often flew over the thick triple canopy jungle which distinguished much of the terrain of binh thuan province vietnam this location consisted of a 20-30 mile coastal plain then mountains of up to 5 000 feet and triple canopy jungle you get to know the terrain pretty well andersons experiences in the war gave rise to several other close calls including a depleted gas tank a fire on a wing and a night in a valley below the clouds with no radio aid to navigation and no artificial horizon anderson also supported charlie companys long range reconnaissance patrols (lrrps) as they searched for north vietnamese there was a lrrp team that had been jumped by a large body of north vietnamese in the jungle with triple canopy theres very little vegetation at ground level since not much light gets through i never saw the patrol team and i never saw the north vietnamese but i fired artillery to keep the north vietnamese off their backs until they reached an lz (landing zone) and were picked up that was a very important event to me anderson said a new beginning john anderson with international affairs department head dr gregory gause in the background after anderson left active duty he moved to houston texas to work with merrill lynch for what would become a 45-year long career while with merrill he joined the us army reserves 75th maneuver area command anderson was promoted to major and assigned to the armored cavalry regiment exercise group as the operations officer (s-3) anderson would serve in this unit for 12 years before moving to bryan/college station (b/cs) texas after accepting the position of merrill lynch office manager continuing to live a life of service before john arrived the bryan office was ranked near the bottom of all merrill lynch offices in texas john was informed when he accepted the position that if he couldnt turn the office around within a short period it would be closed in september of 1985 i went to my first managers meeting in dallas and someone actually said at least well beat bryan by 1989 john and the team of financial advisors and staff had worked a miracle elevating the office to the number four office in the nation in a key measurement and was greatly improved in many others an adopted aggie and bush school student the andersons have been fans of texas a&m and the aggie community since 1976 attending football games for years before moving to b/cs he chose to pursue certificates in nonprofit management and advanced international affairs after his friend an aggie and a retired army colonel encouraged him to attend the bush school the advanced international affairs certificate goal became that of a masters of international policy when it was pointed out how few additional hours were needed bush school dean mark welsh with john anderson during his tenure at the bush school mr anderson met multiple outstanding faculty members and he especially appreciated dean mark welsh professor gregory gause and professor jim olson john explained that jim olsons intelligence and counterintelligence classes were two of the most impactful classes at the bush school he appreciated dr gauses knowledge and sense of humor and dean welshs exceptional public speaking abilities his professors were always willing to help as were his fellow students my professors were very considerate; not just of me; but of the students in general they often asked ‘how can we make this a more valuable experience for the students professor olsons intelligence class just blew the doors off for me every now and then hed say put down your pencils and he would tell a story im not the kind of person who gets on the edge of my seat but if i were i would have been a couple of them were pretty emotional john was able to share his own unique experiences with bush school students offering a valuable first-hand perspective on the events in vietnam while emphasizing that no one knows everything about it in one of olsons classes we were talking about the role the cia played in vietnam they hadnt mentioned a program i knew a little about i asked have you considered covering the phoenix program professor olson requested that john share information about the phoenix program and his experiences with it he has also shared his own story in professor greg vogles class a wise advice imparter andersons commitment to service is matched by his humility many people praise his wisdom but john says im not so sure about that i have had a lot of experiences and it is said that from experience comes wisdom but i dont think im all that wise his advice to bush school students to heed the calling to serve wherever possible rings true for most of my life but especially the last years here in bryan-college station many people have come into our lives as a friendship or needing some kind of help it can be minor or it can be major but you must try one of the songs that was played when i was flying in vietnam was bridge over troubled water having those experiences and having people come into my life where theres a little something i can do…i have to try and its a pleasure to do! look for opportunities to be someones bridge over troubled water remembering that someday you may need one
experts say russias war on ukrainian agriculture sets the stage for political destabilization and a transformation of global trade patterns by luke henkhaus texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on june 28 2022 with the war in ukraine decimating that nations ability to feed both its own citizens and its global trading partners texas a&m experts say the world will be living with the consequences of this disruption in the global food supply for a long time since launching their invasion in late february russian forces have continued to target ukraines agricultural sector attacking farms damaging infrastructure and stymying food exports by blockading the countrys ports almost overnight a country which last year produced around 13% of global corn exports more than 8% of wheat exports and nearly half of the worlds sunflower oil exports was largely cut off from the outside world as the russia-ukraine conflict grinds on ukrainians themselves and those who depend on exports of certain staple foods from that part of the world are starting to feel the squeeze the un food and agriculture organization has estimated this kind of sudden and prolonged reduction in food shipments resulting from the conflict could plunge more than 10 million additional people into undernourishment in 2022 and 2023 russia is weaponizing food said andrew natsios executive professor and director of the bush schools scowcroft institute of international affairs this is not an accident who is affected according to agricultural economics professor edwin price who leads texas a&ms center on conflict and development the use of hunger as a weapon during wartime is anything but new and as historical precedent shows the effects of this tactic on the target countrys population are often devastating thats a tried-and-true method of warfare to lay siege to consumer food supplies and to civilian communities in order to put pressure on the leadership to come to terms price said russians themselves were subject to that during world war ii there was massive starvation in russia due to the siege of leningrad in this case the impact has been global as the sudden kneecapping of such a major producer of agricultural commodities has driven food prices up and created serious food security concerns particularly in the developing world natsios noted that roughly half the wheat distributed by the uns world food programme which feeds the worlds poorest populations normally comes from ukraine given the circumstances its unlikely that the country will return to its important role in the global food system any time soon he said: i think theyve disrupted the system for years to come this war is not going to be over in a few months the russians are going to try to grind down ukrainians outside ukraine the nations likely to suffer the most are those where reliance on grain imports is high and incomes are low said mark welch an agricultural economics professor and extension economist with the texas a&m agrilife extension service its creating a lot of stress its adding to food insecurity and areas where persons have a limited ability to pay for higher food prices are often those very countries that are more dependent on those imports welch said compounding the problem is the fact that russia remains a leading supplier of fuel and fertilizer both key components for agriculture whose prices have also risen steeply as many nations cut trade ties with russia in response to the invasion when we think about the role that russia plays specifically and the black sea region more generally it really matters a lot in terms of food supply directly but also then in the resources that support food production welch said russias invasion of ukraine places so much of that at risk complicating matters further are lingering supply chain issues caused by the covid-19 pandemic and extreme weather patterns expected to disrupt agricultural production in many parts of the world when you get all these at the same time the system begins to break down natsios said warning that the resulting rise in global food insecurity will lead to significant political destabilization in countries that can no longer adequately feed their populations he pointed to the revolutions of the arab spring during the early 2010s as one recent example of this phenomenon in action the real thing that caused the revolution in libya that overthrew gaddafi the revolutions in tunisia in egypt and in yemen were massive food price increases steep prices over a short chronology will lead to political revolutionsandrew natsios the real thing that caused the revolution in libya that overthrew gaddafi the revolutions in tunisia in egypt and in yemen were massive food price increases natsios said steep prices over a short chronology will lead to political revolutions within the last decade natsios said russia itself has taken steps to become more agriculturally self-sufficient relying far less on foreign imports to feed its own population and now that the fallout from its invasion has combined with other factors to upend the global food system price notes that russia is well-positioned to turn the resulting chaos to its own political and economic advantage i think well be seeing a total restructuring of world agriculture and patterns of trade price said russia will try to take advantage of this opportunity to become the benefactor for african countries and southeast asian countries any way that they can first endanger the communitys food supply and then find ways to hold that over their head to restore their food supplies what can be done as recent examples demonstrate producers in war-torn countries tend to show a high degree of adaptability price said so while the russian invasion has made large-scale agriculture largely unfeasible for the time being ukrainians can turn to smaller more localized operations to feed themselves going forward farmers always want to farm no matter how bad it is he said everybody wants to feed their families and they want to do what they know how to do so they make adjustments they try to find ways one of the things we found in iraq and afghanistan was that small-scale labor-intensive enterprises tended to grow up and fill part of the gap for example large-scale cattle and sheep enterprises tend to suffer during conflict but small-scale poultry meat production and egg production often grows and prospers during conflict similar trends have been observed for crop enterprises price said in ukraine the presence of russian landmines and other ordinance will make many large tracts of farmland unusable until they can be cleared but the use of greenhouses and similar smaller-scale production techniques may offer ukrainians some relief from a global standpoint price said the world food programme and other international aid organizations like the howard g buffett foundation are stepping up to address the immediate food security concerns this conflict has created helping direct existing food supplies to the affected areas in order to mitigate overall human costs in addition the rise in prices has created significant incentives for agricultural producers around the world to ramp up production of crops like corn and wheat across the us canada and australia in particular price said governments may want to consider putting land that was set aside for conservation back into production temporarily to address this growing demand still it takes time for crops to be planted grown and harvested and theres no guarantee that increased production efforts will yield the kind of success that producers and consumers are hoping for welch said with agricultural products its not just speeding up an assembly line or building another manufacturing facility he said there are limitations when it comes to agriculture that take more time to bring resources in line in the long term both price and natsios said that what is ultimately needed is more investment in agricultural technology and international development efforts with a strong focus on fostering agricultural self-sufficiency in developing nations in my opinion weve never really delivered a comprehensive package to assist developing countries in their food supply price said doing that effectively will take a serious commitment of time and resources but price and natsios said it will ultimately reduce conflict increase the worlds overall food supply and make these countries far less susceptible to the kinds of shocks that have led to this latest food crisis president bush increased our agriculture budget and so did president obama natsios said i think we need to do that again … and i would encourage other nations to do the same thing … weve neglected agriculture for too long dangerously so
dr adam seipp associate dean of texas a&ms graduate and professional school and albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) faculty affiliate in the department of history recently published fulda gap: a board game west german society and a battle that never happened in war & society dr seipps article discusses his research about the american-made board game fulda gap: the first battle of the next war in the federal republic of germany in the early 1980s and was funded in part by cgs the article explores the reception of the american-made board game fulda gap: the first battle of the next war in the federal republic of germany in the early 1980s the german peace movement used the game which depicted conventional chemical and nuclear war on german territory as a potent symbol of what they believed to be american and nato disregard for german lives and sovereignty the controversy over the game reflected the changing character of german-american relations during the ‘second cold war and increasing concerns among germans about the possible consequences of superpower conflict in central europe
dr rotem dvir assistant research scientist with the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government and public service presented a research paper in the methods innovation in public administration and management workshop at the annual public management research conference that took place from may 25-28 2022 in phoenix arizona the researchers use an advanced methodological tool – conjoint experiment to explore how different factors drive variations in peoples evaluations of government performance the results suggest an asymmetry in the effects of service information that people use to judge public services in particular the team finds that direct service information is more likely to lead to decreased satisfaction while performance comparisons have a more symmetric effect performance comparisons can either increase or decrease peoples satisfaction level from different services the paper the multidimensionality of citizen satisfaction: a conjoint experimental approach is coauthored with xinsheng liu istpp senior research scholar and research scientist; nehemia geva associate professor of political science at texas a&m university; and arnold vedlitz istpp director and public service and administration (psaa) professor at the bush school
dr sungdae lim assistant professor in the political science department at sam houston state university has been named to the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) fellows program at the bush school of government & public service the istpp fellows program recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of the istpp and to its mission aims and objectives participation as an istpp fellow is by invitation from the institute fellows are selected based upon current and past collaboration with the institute on interdisciplinary proposals projects and scholarship as well as distinguished accomplishments within the individuals discipline dr lims research focuses on public- and nonprofit-sector innovation leadership and partnerships with particular agendas on coproduction social equity community engagement and social construction in public service governance istpp policy research proactively identifies the public and stakeholders acceptability parameters for science and technology applications by connecting science and technology research to acceptable policy solutions istpp can help solve pressing public problems
a recent bush school capstone project titled technological threats: how online harassment of female political figures undermines democracy has been cited in a june 16 presidential memorandum from the white house the citation was part of the announcement that president joe biden will sign a presidential memorandum establishing the white house task force to address online harassment and abuse responding to the need for government leadership to address online harms which disproportionately affect women girls people of color and lgbtqi+ individuals vice president kamala harris will lead the task force the new bush school capstone project was completed in spring of 2022 by the bush school student team of madeleine songy madeleine pelton olivia cretella areala mendoza kathryn hopp olivia jackson and ailyah banks dr valerie hudson university distinguished professor george hw bush chair – professor of international affairs and director of the bush schools program on women peace and security served as the teams supervising faculty member in partnership with the state departments office of global womens issues the report highlights research and policy on the intersection between online harassment technology womens political participation and democracy congratulations to our wps capstone team dr hudson said this recognition is a reflection of the fine job this team did on the report wps capstone research projects the concentration in women peace & security symposium (wps) in the department of international affairs allows bush school students and other interested tamu graduate students to take courses and develop an emphasis in gender analysis as it relates to international affairs during their final semester master of international affairs (mia) students participate in a capstone research course these courses allow students to tackle a problem or project in the real world often working in conjunction with a government agency or nonprofit organization designed to test the knowledge and abilities students have developed through their previous classes and experiences capstones necessitate strong teamwork careful research writing ability and often a large amount of ingenuity in identifying ways to approach an issue or find a solution
dr arnold vedlitz professor bob bullock chair in government and public policy and director and distinguished research scholar in the institute for science technology and public policy at the bush school of government & public service has been named a top 1 000 scientists in the area of law and political science by researchcom dr vedlitz was ranked no 632 in the world ranking and no 376 in the united states researchcom is a prominent academic platform for scientists the site serves as one of the major websites for law and political science research offering credible data on scientific contributions since 2014 the ranking system is constructed using the h-index data gathered by microsoft academic and includes only prominent scientists with an h-index of at least 20 for scientific papers published in the field of law and political science in addition to his work at the bush school dr vedlitz serves as division head for the science technology and public policy division at the texas engineering experiment station he serves as a member of the executive committee for the institute for a disaster resilient texas the advisory council for the center for transportation safety and as a member of the advisory board of the center for atmospheric chemistry and the environment he has served in a number of positions at texas a&m university since 1973 including associate dean of the college of liberal arts associate provost for external affairs and executive associate dean of the bush school
supply chain resilience has become a united states policy priority the latest issue of the takeaway offers some promising ideas to meet that challenge in the latest issue of the takeaway dr eleftherios lefteris iakovou the harvey hubbell professor of industrial distribution at texas a&m university and a co-director of the mosbacher institutes global value chains program argues that new tradeoffs are necessary for rebalancing cost efficiency resilience sustainability and security in us supply chains he describes a new framework for next-generation supply chains based on data sharing and data monetization that could act as a guide for future research policy-making and industrial practices to address the emerging issues that the united states and global supply chains are facing under the new normal you can read about it in data-driven next-gen resilient and sustainable us supply chains: at the front lines of the geopolitical new normal the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
the bush school is fully committed to its mission of educating and training principled leaders as well as performing service learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as alexis benedict class of 2023 master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school alexis is in the public management track introduce yourself hi my name is alexis benedict i am a first year masters student of public service and administration on the public management track im originally from greenville south carolina and lived in san antonio texas for about 5 years before moving down to college station so i got my undergrad at sewanee the university of the south located in tennessee and while i was there i got my bachelors degree in anthropology with a minor in education after i graduated from undergraduate i thought that maybe i wanted to be a teacher which led me to joining an americorps program called city year its in san antonio and essentially youre placed at a title 1 high school while i was there i realized i did not want to be a teacher but i was still very interested in education and being behind the scenes so then i started working for various nonprofits and spent 3 years working for an education-based nonprofit in san antonio and then after about 3 years of working there i realized that i would like to be in a position where i was helping make decisions that affect nonprofits which is what drew me to the bush school why did you choose the bush school what initially drew me to the bush school was their mission statement they really emphasized developing ethical thoughtful public servants and that really aligned personally with my values and then after exploring and learning more about the program i was really drawn to their capstone programs and projects that you complete as a second year student what i liked about those is that it really showed to me as someone who would be coming back to school with work experience how much the bush school really values hands-on experience what did you appreciate most about your first year at the bush school the thing that i appreciated the most about my first year at the bush school is the sense of community that i found here you know its a little intimidating moving to a new place not knowing anyone and when i first moved here i was worried that id only be focused on school that there wouldnt be very many extracurriculars and a sense of community but i have not found that to be the case at all at the bush school and thats been one of my favorite parts of being a student here it just feels like everyone really wants to support each other and build you up for example before i came as a first year mpsa student you have to take economics and a quantitative methods course which having been out of school for a little bit i was extremely nervous about but i found that my classmates – everyone was just so willing to help me and make sure i understood the material and honestly i would not have passed without my friends and the people supporting me coming from a small undergrad university of just about 14 000 students the texas a&m experience is something completely new ive really enjoyed diving into aggie culture i was a part of the tailgate committee last year and i really got to experience that sec football first-hand which was amazing theres just so many different opportunities within the campus and community to get involved what are you most looking forward to this semester what im most looking forward to in my second year is really getting started on the capstones as i initially mentioned that was something that really drew me to the program itself and so im really excited to get started and start applying these things ive been learning in class for these past two semesters onto a real project with real clients what advice would you give to a younger version of yourself applying to the bush school some advice that i would give to my younger self when applying to the bush school is just to enjoy the journey and try not to be so anxious about coming back to school everyone here is so supportive from the students the faculty and the staff they all really want to see you succeed and i just would want to reassure myself that its gonna be okay and you know youre not the only one that isnt coming straight out of undergrad youre gonna have other people too who are going through the same things
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government & public services welcomes dr leah buchman as a research fellow dr buchman is a senior research analyst in the north american crop division with kynetec a global market research company dr buchmans interests include plant-insect-microbe interactions and their role in integrated pest management (ipm) agricultural systems as well as public perception and public policy of emerging biotechnologies in agriculture dr buchman brings strong scientific acumen and analytical skills through collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches prior to joining kynetec dr buchman was a pre-doctoral fellow in the institute who participated in a variety of research activities as part of a multidisciplinary project gene drive applications to agriculture in texas funded by the usda
on march 31 2022 dr mark lopez director of race and ethnicity research at the pew research center presented an education policy workshop on the topic latinos and colorism: survey evidence on how skin color impacts opportunity and shapes daily life at the george hw bush presidential library the pew research center is a nonprofit nonpartisan and nonadvocacy fact tank that provides data to the us public on relevant and topical issues of the day the center does not take policy positions or make recommendations lopez started his talk with a review of some of the differences between the 2010 and 2020 us census data he noted that the hispanic population is the main source of the nations population growth and described other population demographic changes he also observed that the census changed both the way it asked about race and identity in 2020 and how it coded responses which may also be behind some of the demographic shifts he showed several examples of census and other survey data to illustrate the important point that the way you ask survey questions can make a big difference in the responses you receive dr mark lopez with the bush schools dr lori taylor lopez went on to talk about a march 2021 pew research center bilingual survey of us latino adults particularly the data related to colorism and how people perceive that skin color impacts their life experiences and opportunities he pointed out some of the interesting nuances and patterns in the data that point to the importance of both skin color and the role of colorism in the lives of latinos for example across all the different response categories in the survey hispanics with darker skin were more likely to have experienced discrimination incidents than those with lighter skin more positively those with darker skin also were more likely to have encountered expressions of support from the public many of the questions following his talk delved into the challenges of collecting good representative survey data and the pew research centers efforts to overcome those challenges other questions probed how pew research center data could provide insights on other topics mark hugo lopez is director of race and ethnicity research at the pew research center where he leads planning of the centers research agenda focused on chronicling the diverse ever-changing racial and ethnic landscape of the united states he is an expert on issues of racial and ethnic identity latino politics and culture the us hispanic and asian american populations global and domestic immigration and the us demographic landscape the event was hosted by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university the institutes education policy workshop series brings in noted academics who are invited to discuss their current research to increase the understanding of the research underlying current education policy latinos and colorism: survey evidence on how skin color impacts opportunity and shapes daily life can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
on wednesday march 23 launch held a panel at the memorial student center featuring students who participated in the innovationx program each year the innovationx program awards grants of up to 20 thousand dollars to support faculty who form research teams of students from different majors and disciplines emily finbow assistant director of launch said this experience is invaluable for many students who may not have had the opportunity to meet students outside of their own majors its a program where faculty and students from all sorts of different majors and disciplines work together on teams finbow said we want you to work with faculty and students you otherwise would not have gotten to meet learn more about the innovation[x] program dr leslie ruyle research scientist at the bush school of government and public service and an innovationx team leader has been a proponent of multidisciplinary research for years so when she partnered with cheetah conservation botswana to help farmers and ranchers in botswana protect their livestock from lions leopards wild dogs jackals and cheetah; forming a diverse team of students was the first goal dr ruyle professor rodney boehm director of engineering entrepreneurship and associate professor of practice at the college of engineering and dr catharina laporte instructional associate professor from anthropology applied for an innovationx grant for this project members of the innovationx team project ‘farmers fight! farmers fight! creating solutions for human-wildlife conflict in botswana in 2020 they received the grant for their farmers fight! farmers fight! creating solutions for human-wildlife conflict in botswana project jack bolick a junior supply chain management major and a speaker on launchs panel was one of 18 students from six colleges across the university whose applications were accepted to participate on this team the 18 students were split into three teams to work on three different solutions these solutions were proposed by the students: a device to track livestock and two devices using sound and light to deter predators jack described his experience working on a tracking device i came into this project wanting to work on international problems jack said what this program gave me is a real look into a world of people who are actually doing that and in all different disciplines such as conservation and policy the traveling team was me an aerospace engineer phd and a bush school master who had gotten her undergrad in animal science here at a&m dr ruyle and professor boehms team began work in fall 2020 dr ruyle coordinated meetings for the entire innovationx team to gather via zoom every other week throughout the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters and jacks team continued to work outside of those scheduled times to advance the projects progress it is real work jack said its the kind of work where its on your plate you have freedom you have creativity this is innovationx right the innovation comes down to the students you have all these resources like your team and your professor but it comes down to you team predator worked to develop a gps-tracking ear tag for cattle it is designed to send the tags location directly to an app on the ranchers phone his team developed the idea and continued work on it for over a year we started working on this throughout an entire year and we got pretty far along jack said then we found an australian company that had created this idea during the same span of time but with venture capital from a bank so its like wow we really were onto something there after partnering with the company moovement jack said he and his team worked with cheetah conservation botswana and a rancher in botswana to create a plan for the ear tags although there were many delays due to the covid-19 pandemic dr ruyle jack and three additional team members finally traveled to botswana in march 2022 to deploy their prototypes i came into this project wanting to work on international problems what this program gave me is a real look into a world of people who are actually doing that and in all different disciplines such as conservation and policyjack bolick after a lot of brainstorming we went and applied this and worked with a rancher and came up with a solution to help them track their pregnant cows and when they give birth find those vulnerable calves out in this massive expanse of bush jack said there is no line of sight anywhere so this is a solution thats helping them out and as far as we know were the first people who have done this for conservation and thats something that we were only able to do thanks to all these different points of view coming together in addition to jack and his two team members the group also delivered predator eyes a solar-powered light designed to mimic eyes to deter other predators from coming near them the team is developing monitoring and evaluation plans to measure the success of both projects innovationx has sponsored many successful multidisciplinary projects and dr ruyle is a leader in many of these projects faculty members who get into it play well with others finbow said dr ruyles name is on three or four applications right now dr ruyle plans to continue her work with cheetah conservation botswana and has submitted another proposal with innovationx to continue work on this project
on may 4 2022 the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university partnered with the international labour organization office for the united states and canada (ilo-usac) to host a hybrid (in-person and online) symposium on improving working conditions in supply chains the symposium brought together policymakers representatives of inter-government organizations and academics to discuss the latest advances in understanding of the persistent supply chain challenges and possible policy solutions headlining the symposium was a conversation between us trade representative katherine tai and ilo-usac director kevin cassidy moderated by mosbacher institute director raymond robertson on advancing equitable economic growth and worker voice tai explained her new worker-centered trade policy which seeks to bring tri-partism to the formulation of trade policy thus giving a voice to the government business and workers tai also highlighted the bi-partisan supported usmca rapid response mechanism which has experienced some success in improving working conditions in supply chains by focusing at the facility level mosbacher institute director raymond robertson with katherine tai us trade representative the symposiums keynote speaker thea lee deputy under secretary for international labor affairs at the us department of labor spoke about the work of her bureau to combat international child labor and forced labor and the challenges of labor compliance in global value chains she maintained that the framing is wrong when combatting child labor is seen as only being achieved at the expense of cheap goods she discussed their use of new technology such as supply chain tracing and advocated for further tools to improve global labor standards and compliance the first session of the symposium examined current challenges and responses to improving working conditions and compliance and featured the following panelists: gabriela inchauste (moderator) lead economist poverty and equity global practice world bank; fabiola mieres technical officer labour migration ilo; kelly pike school of human resource management york university; gale raj-reichert associate professor of politics at bard college berlin; and raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government & public service texas a&m university closing out the symposium the second session focused on new approaches and opportunities comprising that panel were anna pienaar (moderator) executive director of the responsible labor initiative responsible business alliance; josh kagan assistant us trade representative for labor office of the united states trade representative; scott nova executive director worker rights consortium; arianna rossi senior research and policy specialist better work ilo; jodi short associate dean for research & professor of law uc hastings law; and peter young deputy head of the trade and agriculture section delegation of the european union to the united states the entire symposium improving working conditions in supply chains can be viewed online the agenda and the speakers biographies are also available online
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as eddys gonzalez class of 2023 master of international affairs candidate on the international development & economic policy track discusses his time at the bush school introduce yourself my name is eddys gonzalez im a first year in the master of international affairs im concentrating in international development and economic policy before coming to the bush school i used to work in the private sector; i was working in a financial institution i also have experience in international organizations i think something that was really special and that influenced me a lot to make the decision to come to the bush school was my volunteer work that i did during college why did you choose the bush school working in the private sector sometimes you may think that it is kind of difficult to transition your career in the for-profit sector to the nonprofit sector and i think the bush school is the perfect platform for professional skills and abilities that you can use for a better purpose i think thats why i chose the bush school for prospective students i would say keep doing what youre doing maybe you have some projects right now that you think may help in the future in your career and i think you should keep doing that keep committed and stay focused what did you appreciate most about your first semester as an international student i would say that we have two challenges the rigorosity of the academic curriculum here at the bush school but also coming to a country where you havent been before or just coming and living in the united states is another challenge so for me something that i really appreciate through my first semester is the support that i got from all my professors i think the class size here at the bush school is perfect for you to follow up certain things that you didnt understand so you can go to office hours and i think thats really helpful what are you most looking forward to this semester for next semester im excited about some of my classes im taking classes related to women and development and i think thats really an important topic for all the regions in the world i think women play an important role in the economy im also taking classes in data analysis which i think are really important for a career in international development so im pretty excited about that what advice would you give to a younger version of yourself applying to the bush school the advice that i would have for a younger version of myself would be keep practicing your french i think at those projects that we sometimes have are really important and languages are really important in a school where you get to learn about diplomacy politics or international development
the bush school of government and public service celebrated the class of 2022 graduates on friday may 13 recognizing their achievements during a unique time in higher education two celebration events took place: one at 9 am for students matriculating from the department of international affairs (inta) and one at 11 am for students matriculating from the department of public service and administration (psaa) many students came to the bush school in the fall of 2020 when the covid-19 pandemic introduced significant changes in the structure of graduate education they successfully adjusted both to the rigors of a bush school masters program and the added challenges brought on by the pandemic transforming into a well-rounded cohort of public servants equipped to overcome whatever adversity and opportunity the future holds for them bush school dean gen (r) mark a welsh iii provided opening and closing remarks for each event he encouraged the graduates dont be afraid to be really good at whatever you do this world needs your talent we need your energy your commitment your ideas your smile in the morning it needs you; each of you in all your glory at the 9 am celebration international affairs department head dr f gregory gause iii recognized two us army fellows in the cohort: ltc tony fears and col travis mills dr gause then presented certificates to 77 master of international affairs and 10 master of international policy graduates elvira kalmurzaeva kalmuerzza from kyrgyzstan was the class speaker most of you will become policymakers and make decisions at various levels i hope that you never forget that your choice will impact many lives and the burden is real said elvira dont be afraid to be really good at whatever you do this world needs your talent we need your energy your commitment your ideas your smile in the morning it needs you; each of you in all your glory dean mark welsh public service and administration department head dr lori taylor presented certificates to 79 master of public service and administration and executive master of public service and administration graduates at the 11 am celebration jake bronson served as class speaker in addition dr ann om bowman professor and hazel davis and robert kennedy endowed chair presented the vedlitz award for excellence in science and technology policy studies to student claude christensen the award recognizes a student whose performance in the field of science and technology policy as part of work completed for classes a capstone project individual papers or as a graduate assistant researcher merits special distinction institute for science technology and public policy director arnold vedlitz selected the recipient based on the nominations at each ceremony the bush school class of 2022 honored distinguished faculty and staff members with silver star awards students recognized the positive impact faculty members dr reyko huang (inta) and dr mallory compton (psaa) and staff members julia lawrence and sherry smith made in their lives and academic careers every year each graduating student at the bush school nominates three faculty and three staff members to be awarded the silver star from the pool of nominees the graduation chair also a student identifies the employees who receive the most nominations in each category separated by department: psaa faculty and staff and inta faculty and staff graduates from each department then vote on winners in their respective categories
the latest issue of the takeaway examines the drivers behind productivity changes during warfare the link between civil war and economic activity is an area of past and current active study the latest issue of the takeaway by dr andres f jola-sanchez shares research that helps explain why some vulnerable industries experience production losses during war while others increase their output it also explores what war-vulnerable sectors can do to reduce their operational risk the article notes that some of the conditions created by war like poor living conditions and economic downturn are also factors known to incite conflict jola-sanchez observes that changes in war may cause production changes; however simultaneously production changes may alter conflict intensity understanding the causes and consequences of civil war and how warfare affects industries but not all in the same fashion are important and interesting subjects ripe for more research you can read about it in ‘productivity and war vulnerability: how warfare creates productivity gaps between service and nonservice firms jola-sanchez is an assistant professor of information and operations management at the mays business school at texas a&m university and a mosbacher institute research fellow the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
on march 23 2022 the mosbacher institutes global value chains program hosted a talk by dr kei-mu yi senior vice president of the federal reserve bank of dallas and the md anderson professor of economics at the university of houston the talk global value chains in the macroeconomy discussed big picture questions about global value chains from the perspective of data and theories yi addressed questions such as how do we measure the extent of global value chains (gvcs) what impact have gvcs had on globalization and long-run economic growth why has the growth of gvcs slowed over the past decade and what do pandemics imply about gvcs going forward event video: global value chains in the macroeconomy: dr kei-mu yi the first part of the presentation introduced the concept of gvcs and their role in enhancing and complementing growth and development yi argued that gvcs can magnify the impact of trade agreements and improvements in transportation technology as such he added gvcs can help spur greater increases in international trade than there would be if gvcs did not exist additionally they provide countries with a bigger opportunity to specialize in particular stages of a goods production thus allowing for more gains from trade including higher gdp per capita and living standards he then discussed how gvcs are measured particularly using the share of foreign value-added embodied in a countrys exports as an indicator for gvc participation the second part of yis presentation covered recent trends in gvc growth the value-added in exports data shows that gvc participation was increasing between 1970 and 2008 following the 2008 financial crisis however most major economies including the united states decreased their gvc participation and increased their domestic value-added while there is no clear-cut explanation for why this has been the case yi presented three possible hypotheses the first explanation was that this trend is the result of a lack of new major trade agreements or improvements in transportation technology the second is that chinas economic growth meant that many chinese products are now made for domestic consumption and that the higher wages in china made it less attractive for production sourcing the final possible explanation is that services rather than goods have been taking a larger share of the global economy and that it is more difficult to measure gvcs in services the final part of the presentation discussed the role of gvcs in four major shocks that faced the world in recent years: the us-china tariff war the covid-19 pandemic post-pandemic supply chain disruptions and inflation and the russia-ukraine conflict in all these instances he argued gvcs are essential for understanding the impact of these global shocks on the economy after the presentation yi opened the floor for a q&a session moderated by the mosbacher institute director dr raymond robertson global value chains in the macroeconomy can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as evan lee class of 2023 master of international affairs candidate discusses his experience at the bush school evan is in the national security & diplomacy track introduce yourself my name is evan lee i am doing a masters in international affairs with focus on intelligence and the middle east on the national security and diplomacy track before coming here i graduated from indiana university getting my bachelors then i worked as a defense contractor for raytheon technologies why did you choose the bush school i chose bush school because i actually read professor james olsons book fair play i was so impressed with his writing and everything that he had to say in it that i looked up where he worked and saw he teaches here at the bush school i actually put in my application on the last day which was the day after i finished the book why would you tell prospective students to apply to the bush school i think that the bush school does a really good job of balancing the practitioners with the academics and those who have experience everywhere in between that really comes out in the classroom every professor has some sort of real-life experience to pull on and some sort of academic knowledge that theyre able to implement into the coursework what did you appreciate most about your first semester i really was impressed with how well everything blended together it seemed like what i was learning in one class was just as applicable next day the next day when i went to a different class it caught me by surprise how well i was able to implement everything i learned one day into the next day what are you looking most looking forward to this semester i would say that im really looking forward to getting to know my professors better in your first semester youre hesitant about everything but after going into your second semester youre a little bit more comfortable with everything i just feel like ive established better relationships with my professors and im a little more comfortable in knowing what it is i want to be doing so i can start looking forward to who im going to want to do my capstone with or who i need to be talking to in order to kind of establish my uh establish my foundations for a future career field a lot of people are looking forward to internships and just getting things solidified over the summer but im working full time while here so i dont have anything new really to be looking forward to over the summer but i am excited about the possibility of going to israel on a class trip with professor howell what advice would you give a younger version of yourself applying to the bush school i would say apply earlier i waited a few years between my bachelors and masters to apply to this program and i really wish i would have taken the step earlier it took me a few years to realize that a masters in international affairs and this career field was actually what i wanted to get myself into if you know this is what you want to do then its worth pursuing now you learn so much here you learn so much about yourself and it opens up so many doors into the future and future career prospects if i were to do it all over again id probably apply earlier a few years earlier
michael w howell joined the faculty as an associate professor of the practice in the department of international affairs in the fall of 2019 howell graduated from texas a&m university with a bachelors degree in business administration and earned a masters degree in national security and strategic studies at the naval war college graduating with distinction introduce yourself im michael howell im a professor of the practice at the bush school of government and public service i teach counterterrorism courses and ive been here for about three years what research project/s do you currently have underway in addition to teaching my core classes i have established a new class where im going to be taking students to israel to tour actual terrorism sites additionally i teach classes to help the students learn a little bit more about the intelligence community such as a dignitary protection class and a surveillance class occasionally well go and do some rappelling off of the building i like the dignitary protection class a lot it gives the students a sense of what its like when they see some of the big names that come to the bush school who have their own protection details ill take about eight students a semester and well go over what it takes to do a protection detail theyll get to see firsthand what its like i think its advantageous to them because it gets their interest piqued into the intelligence community jobs that are out there thats the main focus of it it also lets them see some of the things they might do if theyre in certain intelligence community jobs what do you like most about working at the bush school i love the students i think thats been the best thing so far theyre all graduate students so they want to be in the classes they want to learn theyre highly intelligent i really enjoy that aspect of the job what is your favorite aspect of teaching i think my favorite aspect of teaching is the back and forth interaction with the students in class and outside of class have you ever worked outside of academia and if so what did you do and how does that inform your teaching today i was with the fbi for twenty-three and a half years as a special agent before i was in the fbi i worked in a job as an operations manager for a company i learned a lot about businesses business practices and things like that i think that helped me in the fbi it has also helped me a little bit in academia too to be better rounded and to teach the students more about whats out there in the real world although i did do some teaching in the fbi as an adjunct professor at quantico our training academy half of my career was focused on violent crime investigationsmostly bank robberiesand the other half was on counterterrorism with that i did a lot of travel overseas and had a lot of good cases what career research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of i know i made a difference in my career with some of the cases i workedtaking terrorists off the battlefield was probably some of the biggest i responded to some very big events in my career; the columbine high school attack was one the space shuttle crash was another those were two that stand out immediately in my mind but the day-to-day everyday work that i did with other special agents of my squad thats really what stands out to me at the bush school im most proud of teaching the students and helping them get jobs in the intelligence community i also really like working with other professors here that were in the same line of work as me i find that to be pretty fascinating what is your favorite class to teach and why my favorite class to teach is an interview and interrogations class called collection systems i like talking to people and thats a good way to learn how to have a conversation with someone else using psychology and other things that are backed by academic studies and experience i teach the students some of the skills that theyll need to do that out in the real world we also use theater students and trained actors as our role players when we do mock scenarios
texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service hosted its first graduation celebration in its new washington dc teaching site known as the bush school dc the celebration held on may 6 2022 was attended by graduate candidates current and former students their families and friends along with the diana davis spencer foundation ceo and president abby spencer moffat and founder diana davis spencer funded through the generous support of the diana davis spencer foundation bush school dc began classes in january 2021 with a master of international policy graduate degree additionally graduate degrees and certificate programs offered include the master of national security and intelligence and the certificate in advanced international affairs jay silveria executive director of the bush school kicked off the evening with personal remarks about the launch of the bush school dc and its importance in providing an educational experience for graduate students preparing for leadership roles in public service make no mistake were going to change the world and its going to take some time because were going to do it one student at a time but make no mistake were going to change the world said silveria make no mistake were going to change the world and its going to take some time because were going to do it one student at a time but make no mistake were going to change the world jay silveria executive director of the bush school dc roman napoli named 2020 bush school outstanding alumnus also addressed those in attendance describing how the educational experience he received at the bush school prepared him for his current role as managing director for policy in the us state departments office of foreign assistance after hearing pre-recorded remarks from the bush schools dean mark welsh iii and dr f gregory gause iii head of the bush schools department of international affairs students were recognized for their accomplishments with a certificate of completion and a commemorative numbered coin featuring the image of former president george hw bush for whom the bush school was named founded in 1997 on texas a&ms college station campus under the 41st presidents philosophy that public service is a noble calling the bush school has since endeavored to carry on the late presidents legacy with curriculum research and student experiences that are focused on public service graduate candidate bill christian echoed that sentiment since i technically started on that graduate degree path in 1989 as a freshly minted political appointee in the administration of president george herbert walker bush – or bush 41 as we like to say – serving as a speechwriter for the secretary and under secretary of the navy and thus eligible to enroll in the navy war college said christian i guess that is only fitting that i should complete my masters curriculum essentially right back where i started from – with our beloved bush 41! to learn more about the bush school dc and its graduate degree programs visit bushtamuedu/dc
by the time i graduated from the bush school i had lived in six different countries and nine different cities said cristina candia lopez reminiscing about her early years in learning to develop a sense of belonging and connection in different places lopez built a foundation for her future career in corporate diversity equity & inclusion (dei) i always knew wanted to do something in the space of making the world a better place and i really felt like i was called to do that through public service said lopez she imagined herself working in the government or nonprofit sectors lopez said she only accidentally ended up working in the corporate realm focusing not on national security but organizational security – preserving the physical mental and emotional welfare of individuals within an organization through periods of upheaval in december 2021 lopez was named vice president diversity equity & inclusion at villagemd living through change the daughter of a puerto rican mother and a bolivian father lopez grew up with exposure to a variety of social environments that enabled her to manage organizational tumult throughout her career lopez lived in bolivia argentina venezuela and mexico prior to beginning her undergraduate studies at texas a&m with each move she felt at home developing a deep appreciation for the different people histories cultures and perspectives in each country witnessing the effects of military coups wars and political corruption impressed upon lopez the importance of security she was convinced she would someday work in the national security sector when the classical music came on the radio you knew it was time to get home because there was a military coup it was everyday normal stuff to know how to operate in that environment said lopez it impacted peoples understandings and expectations of safety i see what an example the united states is and what impact the united states can have when it comes to foreign policy i always knew wanted to do something in the space of making the world a better place and i really felt like i was called to do that through public servicecristina lopez interest in national security and attraction to former president george hw bushs emphasis on public service as a core principle led lopez to the bush school at the bush school lopez came to realize that her passion for global security could be applied not only in federal government work but in many different contexts in the public and private sectors to hear president bush talk about public service – it changed my perspective to look at what are all the ways i can contribute to a better world i was inspired by his commitment to public service and bringing people of goodwill together to create better outcomes lopez husband decided to pursue an mba so he and lopez made a deal: after he graduated they would each apply to their dream job whoever got the cooler offer would take it and the other person would work around that position in the meantime lopez took what she called a for now job with accenture an it consulting firm focusing on dei in recruitment managing complexity lopez never left the corporate realm i fell in love with the idea of being able to drive corporate values and make an impact on the world through a corporate lens said lopez she has focused on diversity equity & inclusion and corporate social responsibility at several companies including jcpenny and mckesson during her now more than 20-year career i was at jcpenny pre-bankruptcy trying to deliver business results as a short term piece but lay the foundation for future growth – to see both the forest and the trees said lopez while her responsibilities encompassed organizational and bureaucratic rather than geopolitical challenges lopez said her professors at the bush school broadened the scope of elements she had the capacity to manage within a given crisis the critical outcome that youre driving (in dei) is to help people be in a place where they can deliver their best and create sustainable environments where you as a corporation can live that out its about enabling people and enabling the organization to deliver on outcomescristina lopez the bush school gave lopez an approach to looking at things that were complex with so many different dependencies and being able to break it down into immediate next steps and long term impact bush school professors demonstrated how to navigate nuanced problems and balance short and long-term implications in intelligence diplomacy the military and elsewhere in each environment similar principles emerged that lopez then could apply to her work in corporate settings lopez took lessons from hearing leaders talk about how they worked through that complexity and seeing our professors manage across a diversity of perspectives a life of devotion to dei lopez now realizes she has been preparing all her life to concentrate in dei issues her migratory childhood provided an appreciation for cultural diversity and the universal human need for inclusion then in between her undergraduate and graduate programs she worked in the office of admissions for dr frank ashley who was then director of admissions at texas a&m ashley now serves as senior associate dean for academic affairs at the bush school and the universitys director of diversity initiatives under dr ashley lopez worked on the century scholars program which aimed to recruit and support students from underrepresented high schools that started giving me my first inkling of maybe dei is the space im going to go into said lopez her childhood experiences and years at the bush school also helped shape her approach to corporate dei the critical outcome that youre driving is to help people be in a place where they can deliver their best and create sustainable environments where you as a corporation can live that out said lopez its about enabling people and enabling the organization to deliver on outcomes at villagemd that means ensuring greater and more equitable health outcomes for customers i really like doing that work with corporations that are in a state of change said lopez changes she has managed include rapid growth and acute hardship at the beginning of 2021 villagemd and village medical had more than 1 200 employees today it has more than 5 000 employees and providers according to lopez the greatest challenge is maintaining corporate focus on the principles and mission that reside at the core of the organization preserving organizational culture through that growth because of her contribution to public service lopez was named in 2021 as one of 25 latinas to watch through most powerful latinas a program of the association of latino professionals for america she also serves as the psaa alumni representative on the bush schools diversity equity and inclusion committee is on the executive committee for the girl scouts of northeast texas and is a member of the dfw hispanic 100 by micaela burrow
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as lauren lathon 22 master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school introduce yourself my name is lauren lathon im a second-year in the public service and administration program at the bush school im focused on state and local government in the public management track prior to coming to the bush school i earned a bachelors in government from the university of texas at austin how would you describe your bush school experience thus far my experience here so far has been absolutely amazing especially coming into our second year we [students] have full access now to events programming and facilities in a way that we didnt our first year because of covid it has really enriched our second year we get the full experience here at the bush school what did you do in the summer between your first and second years and how did it supplement your education and/or career search my summer internship experience was with the office of emergency management for the city of wharton in that experience i did a lot of work on the citys emergency plans making sure they were up to date with recent legislation i managed enrollment and recruitment for our emergency alert systems those experiences were really valuable both in the classroom setting and in the professional world it helped to be able to apply real world experience to my assignments and class discussions that offered new perspectives i found that to be true for a lot of classmates who got to do a really great internship over the summer they were able to add to class more than in the first year as far as internships and professional value its been great to have emergency management experience and real world skills to apply in the job search since i want to go into local government they find it really helpful theyre looking for people with those skills to be essential employees during times of emergency what is a challenge that youve encountered related to your bush school education and how did you overcome it when i first got to the bush school i experienced some imposter syndromenot knowing if i was supposed to be here if i was smart enough to be here if i had the skills to be here throughout my first semester you get to know people and realize that everyone feels that way at some point it becomes really helpful to have those conversations and realize we all have different backgrounds experiences and skills that work together to create an environment where we can all add something different we can all belong here in different ways what advice would you give to first-years i have a few pieces of advice the first is to make connections within your cohort there are going to be times where you feel challenged exhausted or overwhelmed by bush school courses and graduate school your cohort are the only ones that know exactly what that feels like and exactly what youre going through its always nice to be able to have those conversations with someone who really gets it also i would advise that you take advantage of all the opportunities and resources the bush school offers go to the career talks and the job presentations use the career center to tweak your resume and help with cover letters and applications theyre giving us all these resources and they want us to succeed after the bush school thats the best way to do so
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as pal brahmbhatt 22 master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school introduce yourself my name is pal brahmbhatt and im a second-year master of public service and administration (mpsa) student here at the bush school im on the nonprofit management track i have mixed concentrations in international nongovernmental organizations with women peace and security i was born in india but grew up in tanzania while growing up in dar es salaam i invested a lot of time volunteering with different nonprofits its something i always liked doing after completing my schooling i moved back to india and completed a bachelors in international relations and mass communications during those four years i was interning and working with different non-profits it gave me an idea of how nonprofits function and work in developing nations then i took an initiative to start a non-profit of my own we started with four children and now are a class of 418 or 19 it made a lot more sense to then start a masters in public service and administration especially on the non-profit management track how would you describe your bush school experience so far my bush school experience thus far has been incredible honestly i just love the bush school the people here are amazing it doesnt matter who it is it could be people i study with or other people from other different classes or first-year students or whoever it has been a great experience to meet so many people from different walks of life everyones interested in serving the public at large and thats what keeps all of us together here at the bush school i also love the fact that the mpsa [program] is flexible in terms of what courses i can pursue or designing a degree that suits my interest being an mpsa student i still have been taking a lot of courses in the international affairs (ia) program or sociology and other departments too lastly the capstone experience really has been great in terms of working with people working with real life clients and seeing how public policy issues are real and how difficult it is to navigate through them public service is a noble calling and there literally is no place like the bush school that reflects this better what did you do the summer between your first and second year and how does that translate to the way youre going to approach your studies and your work experience after you graduate last summer i interned as a program evaluation intern with catholic charities of central texas a non-profit organization based in austin that also has an office here in bryan i took a course in program evaluation in the first year during my second semester it made sense to complete that course and then intern with an organization and just see how program evaluation looks like on real grounds and also for a nonprofit organization that functions within the united states i do not have a lot of experience with how nonprofits function here it has been incredible understanding the challenges that these organizations face here in terms of funding or data collection and stuff like that ive always been interested in program evaluation monitoring and implementation and thats what ill be pursuing after completing my graduate school this was a good start whats a challenge that youve encountered and how did you overcome it trying to overcome the idea of how writing a perfect paper thats something i think thats very common for almost every single student here at the bush school youre always trying to write the best paper manage time as efficiently as possible you fail at least in the first semester because youre new and its overwhelming thats how my story was too i remember taking this workshop on time management that really helped me in terms of trying to understand how the perfect paper doesnt exist in the first place its just your mind trying to play around with you so you might as well just accept the fact that it doesnt exist and you put in your best work it was more about trying to overcome your own mind and thoughts what advice would you give to first-year students remember who you are and remember why you are here in the first place when you start your grad school program you will be overwhelmed at first i know well all have different commitments work or like different family commitments so it gets overwhelming whenever things feel like you cant do this just remember you can every single person who was here before us has done it too theres nothing you cant do and give yourself enough credit remember that youre okay and its not that difficult
dr xinsheng liu senior research scholar and research scientist with the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government and public service presented two research papers at the midwest political science association (mpsa) annual conference that took place from april 6-10 2022 in chicago the first paper general science-technology orientation specific benefit-risk assessment frame and public acceptance of gene drive biotechnology is coauthored with carol goldsmith istpp assistant director and research specialist; ki eun kang istpp postdoctoral research associate; arnold vedlitz istpp director and public service and administration (psaa) professor at the bush school; zach adelman istpp fellow and professor of entomology at texas a&m university; leah buchman istpp research assistant; elizabeth heitman istpp fellow and professor at the university of texas southwestern medical center; and raul medina istpp fellow and professor of entomology at texas a&m the second paper how focusing event affects public opinion: natural experimental evidence from the orlando mass shooting is coauthored with youlang zhang istpp fellow and assistant professor of public administration at renmin university of china
this issue of the takeaway reminds us that not all recessions are the same and that some respond more to government stimulus spending than others in the latest issue of the takeaway dr yoon jo an assistant professor in the texas a&m university department of economics and a research fellow with the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy examines the effectiveness of government stimulus spending jo observes that recession can result from either a lack of demand or a lack of supply using both economic theory and historical data she finds that we should expect government spending to be more effective in a low-inflation recession than in a high-inflation recession jo concludes that understanding the underlying forces driving the state of the economy is crucial for the design of effective economic policy you can read more about jos research in when is government spending more effective in stimulating the economy the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m
this past summer master of public service and administration (mpsa) candidates jake bronson ‘23 and carling repass 23 contributed to an audit report that earned an internationally-recognized award as part of an internship with the city of college stations internal audit office bronson and carling worked on a rigorous investigation of the citys payroll process their work provided foundational elements for a payroll audit report which the citys audit shop completed over the span of about five months that report merited a distinguished knighton award from the association of local government auditors (alga) in 2021 city of college station 2021 payroll audit report i was shocked i knew it was a good report the data was there to back up what wed said but it was always like if i go into internal auditing as a career thats a pipe dream said repass ty emailing us and saying ‘youve already contributed and won this was mind boggling local governments across the united states and canada compete for the knighton award in one of five categories based on the size of the audit office submissions are judged according their impact potential soundness of research and argumentation practicability and delivery organizations that submit the best performance audit reports earn either an exemplary or distinguished award with three total winners selected for each category audit team members moving from left to right and starting in the back are as follows: jacob bronson (intern) ty elliott (city internal auditor) tarek natsheh (intern ms candidate at tamus department of economics) carling repass (intern) ana mazmishvili ‘21 (assistant internal auditor) and rachel mayor (public communications multi-media coordinator) alga developed the knighton award in 1995 to recognize exceptional performance audit reports and incentivize audit shops to continually improve their performance audit programs the award is named after dr lennis m knighton known in the industry as the father of modern performance auditing dr knighton also served as college station city internal auditor ty elliotts mentor elliott created and runs the internship program my ultimate goal is that theyll consider this as a career elliott said of his interns its actually a very cool career our goal as auditors is to bring transparency to government and to make government more efficient and effective its really important to be in professions that provide that accountability as students progress through the internship they complete regular assignments to support the attainment of tailored learning objectives students will have worked through the full association of certified fraud examiners fraud-related internal controls manual by the time they have completed the internship quizzes at the end of each chapter in the manual test their comprehension of the material but its not all academic interns spend the majority of their time on the job working alongside professional auditors they contribute to the process from start to finish: completing preliminary planning and research developing a work plan and executing that plan in the field work stage bronson explained his and repass duties over the 10-week internship: we had the opportunity to participate on the ground level conducting interviews and doing data analysis and then writing up the report with ty i was shocked i knew it was a good report the data was there to back up what wed said but it was always like if i go into internal auditing as a career thats a pipe dream ty emailing us and saying ‘youve already contributed and won this was mind bogglingcarling repass bush school class of 2023 repasss first exposure to the interviewing process came without the usual background information auditors obtain about the office under investigation i must have been there about two hours and ty said ‘come into this interview with me i went in there knowing nothing about it or any people in the department and came back and wrote up this whole work paper about it … it was humbling but it made me a lot more comfortable asking questions she said we were looking for fraud waste and abuse this is just trying to find and see if there are ways they can increase the efficiency of the process put controls in place that would mitigate risks associated with the process said bronson during the internship bronson and repass held a major stake in auditing the payroll processes of college stations department of parks and recreation ty sent us alone into that interview said repass they were tasked with completing the background research and conducting the full interview in that process they learned that the departments mobile payroll system offered a capability that utilized front-facing cameras of employee devices to verify the identity of the individual clocking in they probed parks and rec to find out whether the department was taking advantage of the full array of capabilities the system offered we asked them ‘are yall using that and they said ‘no were not it was my personal recommendation that they do use it … they were paying for this system so they might use it to its fullest capabilities said repass bronson and repass created work papers documenting individual tasks and investigations sometimes they performed multiple tasks and wrote the required work papers in one day other times a single investigation stretched out over the course of a week they might spend hours scrolling through financial records before identifying an error or area of potential misalignment with best practices in total the pair authored 36 work papers i keep on hiring bush school students because theyre just excellent its kind of a tradition said elliott they have great analytical skills they are able to bring to bear critical thinking and verbal and written communication – all brought to bear in the work product i keep on hiring bush school students because theyre just excellent its kind of a tradition they have great analytical skills they are able to bring to bear critical thinking and verbal and written communication – all brought to bear in the work productty elliott college station city internal auditor both repass and bronson are in the public policy analysis track of the mpsa program they applied policy analysis skills learned during their first year at the bush school in the internship knowing what data analysis to use was really helpful dr laheys courses were good to have that background and feel confident and comfortable said bronson dr joanna lahey teaches quantitative methods at the bush school being able to jump off and learn more from that foundation was really helpful but the interns most impressive skill according to elliott was their ability to independently plan and execute tasks without requiring step-by-step instruction whats difficult is giving an objective and then saying ‘how you accomplish that objective is up to you carling and jake did an excellent job at that to illustrate elliott pulled up a work paper repass wrote for the audit walking through the purpose statement methodology and record of execution and findings described in the document elliotts mouth droppedeven though he had edited the work paper himself its analytically rich … im getting re-impressed he said skills obtained in bush school classes on program evaluation transfer to auditing according to elliott bush school students learn in their program how to look at the operations of an organization especially a government organization and figure out ways that it could be done better that is essentially what government auditors do since the citys internal audit office was established in 2007 it has won a total of four knighton awards the citys winning audit report is available online
albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) student affiliate ben giltner recently published an article in the chicago tribune giltners piece georgias desire to join western alliance could spark conflict with russia the us should step in examines how the us can help avoid a reignition of the georgia-russia conflict by following a grand strategy of restraint giltner also published a piece in the orange county register titled washingtons entanglement with allies makes the ukraine war much more dangerous the article discusses the dangers of entanglement with us allies and what this means for us involvement in the war in ukraine the cgs student affiliate program is an opportunity for students at the bush school of government and public service to apply their work from the international politics and grand strategy concentration coursework the program gives students opportunities to connect with cgs speakers as well
on april 12 2022 the mosbacher institute hosted the 2022 conocophillips white house lecture featuring ambassador robert b zoellick the 11th president of the world bank group and the 13th us trade representative to discuss the critical role of us economic diplomacy the conocophillips white house lecture series brings to public attention the various offices of the white house and executive branch that provide policy administrative and overall support to the president zoellick spoke about the ways in which economic diplomacy helps build american influence and powernot only to help the united states capitalize on its economic attraction but also to help connect the us private sectors dynamism and innovation with the world build coalitions and assist us allies and partners at the same time he argued it also strengthens the us economy by making it more open competitive and adaptive ambassador robert b zoellick talks to a bush school class to illustrate the importance of economic diplomacy for the united states zoellick talked about three historical examples that show that economic diplomacy has always been a pillar of us foreign policy zoellick argued that economic diplomacy was a major reason for the founding fathers neutral foreign policy helped shape the post-world war ii global system and helped strengthen the diplomatic ties between the united states and its closest neighbors particularly canada and mexico through trade agreements like nafta and usmca having talked about the historic role of economic diplomacy zoellick added that economic diplomacy still has important implications for us economic statecraft today us financial credit; the status of the us dollar as a global currency; and the influence of us trade and investment policies which create mutual benefits for both the united states and its allies are all major pillars of american foreign policy in addition to providing carrots that build and strength american alliances zoellick asserted that us economic diplomacy also allows for effectively applying sticks through us sanctions which in turn depend on us leadership of a committed international coalition ambassador carolina barco ambassador robert zoellick mr robert mosbacher jr and prof raymond robertson following his speech zoellick sat down with raymond robertson the director of the mosbacher institute for an on-stage discussion of various issues currently facing america the discussion covered domestic support among the american public for open and international trade the challenges of economically integrating the americas and the lessons learned from the ukraine conflict while in college station zoellick also met with bush school faculty and four classes ambassador larry nappers diplomatic negotiations students who have been reading zoellicks book america in the world: a history of us diplomacy and foreign policy as one of their assigned texts were delighted to get their books all signed by the author zoellicks lecture on us economic diplomacy can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
retired ambassador barbara bodine to moderate the roots of the middle east crisis join the bush school of government & public service for an engaging panel discussion on the roots of the middle east crisis on tuesday may 10 2022 at noon eastern time/11 am central the discussion will be held in person at the bush school dc located at 1620 l street nw washington dc participants many also join via zoom register to attend moderated by retired ambassador to the republic of yemen barbara bodine the panel features dr f gregory gause iii head of the bush school department of international affairs; dr lisa anderson special lecturer and james t shotwell professor of international relations emerita at columbia university school of international and public affairs; marc lynch professor of political science and international affairs as well as the director project on middle east political science (pomeps) at george washington universitys elliott school of international affairs; and professor vali nassr the majid khadduri professor of international affairs and middle east studies at the johns hopkins university school of advanced international studies (sais) and a non-resident senior fellow at atlantic councils south asia center about the panelists: f gregory gause iii dr f gregory gause iii joined the bush school in 2014 as the head of the department of international affairs and holds the john h lindsey 44 chair he was previously at the university of vermont where he was professor of political science from 1995 to 2014 and from 2010 to 2013 chair of its department of political science he served as director of the universitys middle east studies program from 1998 to 2008 he was a non-resident senior fellow at the brookings doha center from 2012-2015 dr gause received his phd in political science from harvard university (1987) and studied arabic at the american university in cairo (1982-83) and at middlebury college (1984) dr gause has focused his research on the international politics of the middle east with a particular interest in the arabian peninsula and the persian gulf he has published three books the most recent of which is the international relations of the persian gulf (cambridge university press 2010) his articles have appeared in foreign affairs foreign policy security studies middle east journal and the national interest as well as in other journals and edited volumes he has testified on persian gulf issues before the committee on international relations of the us house of representatives and the us senate foreign relations committee prior to his tenure at the university of vermont dr gause served on the faculty at columbia university (1987-1995) and was fellow for arab and islamic studies at the council on foreign relations in new york (1993-94) he was the kuwait foundation visiting professor of international affairs at the kennedy school of government harvard university (2009-10) and a fulbright scholar at the american university in kuwait (spring 2009) in spring 2010 he was a research fellow at the king faisal center for islamic studies and research in riyadh saudi arabia he recently authored an article in foreign affairs the price of order: settling for less in the middle east lisa anderson lisa anderson is a special lecturer and james t shotwell professor of international relations emerita at columbia university school of international and public affairs dr anderson served as president of the american university in cairo for five years from 2011-2016 prior to her appointment as president she was the universitys provost a position she had assumed in 2008 she is dean emerita of the school of international and public affairs at columbia where she led the school from 1997-2007 she was on the faculty of columbia since 1986; prior to her appointment as dean she served as chair of the political science department and director of columbias middle east institute she has also taught at princeton and harvard universities dr andersons scholarly research has included work on state formation in the middle east and north africa; on regime change and democratization in developing countries; and on social science academic research and public policy both in the united states and around the world among her books are the state and social transformation in tunisia and libya 1830-1980 (1986) and pursuing truth exercising power: social science and public policy in the twenty-first century (2003); she has also published numerous scholarly articles dr anderson is a trustee of the aga khan university tufts university and the hertie school of governance in berlin she is a member emerita of the board of directors of human rights watch served as elected president of the middle east studies association and as chair of the board of the social science research council a member of the american academy of arts and sciences and the council on foreign relations she has received honorary degrees from monmouth university and the american university in paris dr anderson is the author of an essay in the cairo review shifting patterns of arab politics marc lynch marc lynch is a professor of political science and international affairs as well as the director project on middle east political science (pomeps) at george washington universitys elliott school of international affairs professor lynch received his ba in political science from duke university and his ma and phd in government from cornell university he teaches courses on middle eastern politics and international relations he is the director of the project on middle east political science a contributing editor for the washington posts monkey cage political science page editor of the columbia university press series columbia studies on middle east politics and a nonresident senior associate at the carnegie endowment for international peace professor lynch authored the foreign affairs article the arab uprising never ended: the enduring struggle to remake the middle east vali r nasr vali nasr is the majid khadduri professor of international affairs and middle east studies at the johns hopkins university school of advanced international studies (sais) and a non-resident senior fellow at atlantic councils south asia center he served as the eighth dean of johns hopkins sais between 2012 and 2019 and served as senior advisor to us special representative for afghanistan and pakistan ambassador richard holbrooke between 2009 and 2011 nasr is the author of the dispensable nation: american foreign policy in retreat; forces of fortune: the rise of a new middle class and how it will change our world; the shia revival: how conflicts within islam will shape the future; democracy in iran: history and the quest for liberty; islamic leviathan islam and the making of state power; mawdudi and the making of islamic revivalism; and vanguard of islamic revolution: jamaat-i islami of pakistan; and numerous articles in scholarly journals he has advised senior american policymakers world leaders and businesses including the president secretary of state senior members of the congress and presidential campaigns he has written for new york times foreign affairs financial times wall street journal and the washington post among others he is a member of the international board of advisors of the blavatnik school of government at oxford university the international board of advisors at the american university of beirut and the board of advisors of rajaratnam school of international studies in singapore he has been the recipient of grants from the john d and catherine t macarthur foundation the harry frank guggenheim foundation and the social science research council and was named a 2006 carnegie scholar he received his ba from tufts university in international relations summa cum laude and was initiated into phi beta kappa in 1983 he earned his masters from the fletcher school of law in and diplomacy in international economics and middle east studies in 1984 and his phd from mit in political science in 1991 professor nasr is the author of the foreign affairs article: all against all: the sectarian resurgence in the post-american middle east ambassador (ret) barbara k bodine (moderator) barbara k bodine is distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy and concurrent director of the institute for the study of diplomacy at georgetown university prior to joining georgetown universitys school of foreign service she taught and directed policy task forces and policy workshops on us diplomacy in the persian gulf region including iraq and yemen for seven years at princeton universitys school of public and international affairs and served as director of the schools scholars in the nations service initiative a fellowship program for students pursuing careers in federal service ms bodines over 30 years in the us foreign service were spent primarily on arabian peninsula and greater persian gulf issues specifically us bilateral and regional policy strategic security issues counterterrorism and governance and reform her tour as ambassador to the republic of yemen 1997-2001 saw enhanced support for democratization and increased security and counterterrorism cooperation ms bodine also served in baghdad as deputy principal officer during the iran-iraq war kuwait as deputy chief of mission during the iraqi invasion and occupation of 1990-1991 and again seconded to the department of defense in iraq in 2003 as the senior state department official and the first coalition coordinator for reconstruction in baghdad and the central governorates her first assignment in the bureau of near eastern affairs was as country officer for the two yemens and security assistance coordinator for the peninsula she later returned to that office as deputy director in addition to several other assignments in the state departments bureau of near eastern affairs she was deputy for operations office of the coordinator for counterterrorism and subsequently acting overall coordinator for counterterrorism director of east african affairs dean of the school of professional studies at the foreign service institute and senior advisor for international security negotiations and agreements in the bureau of political-military affairs ambassador bodine is the recipient of a number of awards including the secretarys award for valor for her work in occupied kuwait she is a former member of the board of directors of the american academy of diplomacy co-chair of the international forum on diplomatic training an associate fellow of the geneva centre for security policy and a member of the council on foreign relations since leaving the government ambassador bodine has been founding director of the governance initiative in the middle east and senior fellow at the kennedy school of government and the robert wilhelm fellow at mits center for international studies she is a past president of the mine awareness group america a global ngo that provides technical expertise for the removal of remnants of conflict worldwide a native of st louis mo ms bodine is a phi beta kappa and magna cum laude graduate of the university of california santa barbara in political science and east asian studies and earned her masters at the fletcher school of law and diplomacy a recipient of distinguished alumni awards from both uc santa barbara and the fletcher school she is a regent emerita of the university of california she resides in alexandria va register to attend
on april 13 ambassador carolina barco former colombian foreign minister honored the george hw bush presidential library and museum with the donation of a three-volume set of books commemorating the life of her father past-president virgilio barco vargas over the past year as part of a time-honored tradition to honor former presidents during the year of their one hundredth birthday colombia honored barcos life of public service the commemorative events and projects commissioned by the current president iván duque márquez included conferences an exhibition podcasts a documentary and the three-volume set barcos presidential term 1986-1990 overlapped with the end of george hw bushs vice-presidency and beginning of his presidency during this time they developed a strong personal friendship and promoted a strong relationship between their countries out of appreciation for president bushs support for colombia during their fathers presidency ambassador barco and her siblings chose the bush library to receive the set of books and two additional biographies the three-volume series entitled virgilio barco: a tribute is a commemorative set of books edited by renowned political scientist and former minister and ambassador fernando cepeda ulloa the other two books that were donated are barco: life and events of a crucial president and the violent world he confronted written by an english historian from oxford university malcolm deas and virgilio barco the last liberal written by a colombian historian leopoldo villar borda the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service helped organize the event the presentation can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as david nixon 22 master of international affairs candidate discusses his experience at the bush school dave is in the national security & diplomacy track introduce yourself my name is david nixon im a second-year student im in the master of international affairs program and my concentrations are grand strategy and china prior to coming to the bush school i served for 10 years as an active-duty army officer upon graduation ill return to the army what are the top three things you appreciate most about the bush school the faculty theres a great mixture of both academics and practitioners at the bush school we get a great perspective from the academics whove studied certain subjects for their entire careers then you add in the practitioners whove actually applied whatever foreign policy or domestic policy issues that have been theorized by the academics and they can give their perspective of how its worked in the real world when you mix those two you come out with a great educational background that gives you a good view of the world both from a theoretical side and a practical side my fellow students come from a variety of different backgrounds a lot of them have come from undergrad some of them have practical experience like me when you bring a very diverse group of people together that have different ways of thinking about things different ways of looking at problems you get a really good rich discussion everyone here is very willing to share their opinions and what theyve learned as a result the class time that you spend with your classmates is in a very enriching discussion everyone leaves with a more holistic view of whatever problem youre trying to solve the last thing ive enjoyed at the bush school is that so many of the students are very passionate about public service thats what the namesake president george hw bush wanted the school to be: a foundational learning ground for future public servants it has absolutely lived up to that dream we have such a high number of students that go into public service even the students that are here many of them are just interested in giving back and helping people i think that has been really inspiring and a very good thing for me to get to see in an academic setting what did you do this summer between your first and second years and how did it supplements either your education or your continuing career i worked as an intern for the bush combat development complex which is a texas a&m program on the rellis campus its focus is applied research into future technologies specifically to have a department of defense application its given me a different perspectivelooking at a problem from a research side previously all my experience has been looking at it from the application side getting to learn the problems and the process they go through to make those technologies work has been really interesting its definitely something im taking forward that will give me a better look in the futureunderstanding how these technologies can help the united states deter future war what is a challenge that youve encountered dealing with the covid-19 pandemic when we did our interview conference weekend it was late february of 2020 and everything was normal then all of a sudden the world stops when we showed up all or most of our classes went to virtual which was a different learning dynamic it hurt the camaraderie that you would normally get from sitting in the same classroom with other students and being able to spend time with students outside of class however after as things continued to evolve we were able to bring back the in-person activities to help supplement that education you learn a lot from people inside the classroom but you probably learn more from just sitting around and talking to people outside the classroom what advice would you give to first-years by the time you leave here you should be an expert at something it doesnt matter what that something is–it could be a very niche piece of technology a way of doing things or a region of the world what you can gain heretalking to faculty finding someone to mentor you and then picking an area that youre extremely interested in and becoming an expert in that areawill absolutely help you in spades we have students here that are experts in underwater telecommunication cables the chinese economy taiwan different regions all around the world or a specific terror group those types of things will differentiate you and then youll be value added to an organization if youre the smartest person in the room in a specific subject and youre hired by a company they will absolutely want you to be in the room youll get to take part in a lot of different things at levels higher than you expected because you are the subject matter expert your employer will take advantage of that
the scholarship will support second-year psaa students pursuing research in the field of sustainability the bush school of government and public service is honored to announce the creation of the dr kent e portney endowed memorial scholarship in remembrance of the late dr kent portney marilyn santiesteban former assistant director for career programming at the bush school and portneys wife has generously provided initial backing for the scholarship as santiesteban prepared for her retirement on february 28 2022 she reflected on the best way to honor her late husband give to the dr kent e portney endowed memorial scholarship kent valued education above all things he knew that it was the ticket to a better life and security and he loved learning for learnings sake said santiesteban it made sense to help another bush school student who had the same level of interest and would do research in the areas kent was interested in the scholarship will support a second-year student in the bush schools department of public service and administration who demonstrates research interests in sustainability broadly defined portney passed away unexpectedly in june 2020 the bush school mourned his loss portney came to the bush school in 2014 after teaching at tufts university for over 30 years he was director of the water and research program at the center for international environment and resource policy (cierp) at tufts fletcher school of law and diplomacy he received his doctorate in political science from florida state university his masters from the university of connecticut and his bachelors from rutgers university over the course of his career portney served as author or co-author for more than 120 scholarly articles and his 1993 book with jeffrey m berry and ken thomson the rebirth of urban democracy earned two awards from the american political science association kent valued education above all things he knew that it was the ticket to a better life and security and he loved learning for learnings sake it made sense to help another bush school student who had the same level of interest and would do research in the areas kent was interested inmarilyn santiesteban while portneys research interests ranged widely he demonstrated a remarkable ability to integrate diverse research projects under a general theme of the politics of urban sustainability portney pioneered the field of urban sustainability leading to his appointment in 2016 as the director of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school bush school professor and current istpp director dr arnold vedlitz credited portney with incorporating issues of urban sustainability and the water-energy-food nexus into the istpps research scope as well as expanding istpps network of contacts across texas a&m university he was a wonderful director starting new initiatives and making connections across campus he was an expert at how urban areas work to maintain stability over time when theyre under threat by things like hurricanes how do you protect yourself how do you improve your infrastructure in order to keep your people safe and how to keep your economy going he was a pathbreaker in this regard said vedlitz in recognition of his accomplishments portney was named a texas a&m university presidential impact fellow in 2017 and the bob bullock chair in government and public policy at the bush school in 2018 dr portney played a role in integrating the diverse research at texas a&m university a tier 1 research institute and taking full advantage of its resources and high-caliber academicians he also lifted the careers of faculty and students at the bush school he helped to nurture and train our staff he had a lasting effect his techniques of research that he taught to our staff and student helped them think about complex ideas so we still benefit from that today said vedlitz he had great enthusiasm sense of humor and spirit and he was a great team person all of these things we still carry with us at the institute today a senior faculty member when he came to the bush school portney served as a mentor to younger faculty he took on as many student interns as he could and connected them to jobs at the eps and similar agencies he was a wonderful director starting new initiatives and making connections across campus he was an expert at how urban areas work to maintain stability over time when theyre under threat by things like hurricanes how do you protect yourself how do you improve your infrastructure in order to keep your people safe and how to keep your economy going he was a pathbreaker in this regard dr arnold vedlitz he was incredibly generous with his knowledge with his time with mentoring for any student said santiesteban he was so so dedicated to social equity and the things he wanted to do for the whole world to make sure that we would be safe that our future would be safe according to santiesteban portneys concern for equity stemmed from his own experience as an underserved youth the higher education act of 1965 made funds available for portney to realize his dream of higher education he really had to work hard to put himself through college said santiesteban he paid a lot of attention to any of our students who looked like they needed some extra help financially santiesteban hopes the scholarship will mitigate financial concerns for the recipients allowing them to devote more energy toward their studies anyone who wishes to honor portneys memory and legacy at texas a&m university can do so by making a gift to the endowment online
a bush school expert says the mechanisms are in place but the question is whether russian president vladimir putin or his associates will ever stand trial as the war in ukraine grinds on a growing number of world leaders have stated that russias actions amount to war crimes president joe biden has now described the war as genocide and a report published last week by the organization for security and co-operation in europe catalogs targeted attacks of civilians by russian forces it says are clear violations of international humanitarian law kremlin officials have categorically denied these claims but as the evidence mounts texas a&m university bush school expert ronald sievert says the public and officials should understand that despite misinformation russian president vladimir putin legally could be tried for committing war crimes by the international criminal court (icc) prosecuting those crimes and holding putin accountable would be complicated but possible he said sievert is an associate professor of the practice at the bush school of government and public service where he teaches national and homeland security law and international law he previously worked in the us department of justice where he tried several major violent crime corruption and fraud cases and worked on national security matters for 15 years he explains its a common misconception that because russia and ukraine are not parties to the icc ─ one of the main international legal bodies that considers crimes of war ─ the court does not have jurisdiction and because russia has veto power as a member of the united nations security council it can prevent that body from taking action despite this sievert said there are still options that could result in an icc trial first icc state parties can submit referrals supporting an investigation – 41 have already done so the icc prosecutor is also able to put the process in motion in a commentary piece recently published in the hill sievert describes how putin can be held responsible under article 28 of the icc which states that a commander is criminally responsible for crimes committed by forces under their control if they knew of our should have known of those actions its almost impossible to imagine him not knowing whats going on sievert said the veto has hampered the un for almost its whole existence for a country that is executing war crimes to use a veto to stop an investigation goes against what the entire un charter was all about that is a problemronald sievert because the icc doesnt try defendants if theyre not present at court putin could theoretically avoid trial – as long as he stays in power and remains in russia of course the practical question is ‘do you ever get putin in your hands sievert said he said putin is probably more exposed than he realizes: if theres a change of government in moscow he could be handed over to the icc otherwise the political pressure that will be put on him in russia would likely make it difficult for him to stay in the country western nations could also offer to lift sanctions in return for putin being turned over he said so while its currently unclear whether putin will be tried by the icc sievert points to the case of slobodan milošević president of the former yugoslavia as an example of whats possible sievert said no one had expected milošević would face charges for the war crimes committed in europe when he presided over the bosnian war croatian war of independence and the kosovo war but sure enough when the government changed in serbia they handed him over and he was tried by the icc milošević was charged with genocide crimes against humanity and war crimes but died in prison before a verdict could be issued in ukraine he said investigators will now be interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence to determine who is responsible for the killing of civilians in bucha mariupol and other occupied cities – a process that could take a year or longer sievert said theyll try to determine which military officials gave the orders and whether putin knew the crimes were being committed you cannot intentionally attack and kill civilians beyond a military necessity he said all of the information that has come out of bucha about people being tortured and executed thats obviously a war crime the total destruction of cities in the south such as mariupol if beyond military necessity is also a war crime the other potentially is genocide when you try to take out a population in whole or in part thats for a trial to determine but when you start massacring civilians it starts approaching genocide ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is among those who has denounced the killings as genocide as inquiries into possible war crimes across ukraine continue sievert said zelenskyys response is another important factor worth observing he points to the speech zelenskyy gave to the un security council last week after visiting bucha he urged the council to hold russia accountable or otherwise dissolve he basically told the un ‘if you cant do anything you might was well disband sievert said the veto has hampered the un for almost its whole existence for a country that is executing war crimes to use a veto to stop an investigation goes against what the entire un charter was all about that is a problem jennifer trahan from new york university and other scholars are seriously raising the question whether the veto should always be used to prevent action when the veto is utilized by a state committing war crimes by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on april 19 2022
dr ki eun kang institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) postdoctoral research associate and dr ann bowman bush school professor and istpp fellow presented their paper policy and governance for urban resilience at the 50th annual conference of the urban affairs association (uaa) in washington dc on april 13 2022 their research seeks to determine how cities approach the issue of resilience to answer this question they use an original data set developed from a survey of resilience policy and programs in the 101 largest us cities they develop and test three aspects of city resilience efforts: city engagement in disaster preparation activities coordination with other city departments and coordination with external organizations the analysis includes potentially influencing factors like organizational capacity problem severity political institutions and city characteristics the overall results show that cities with dedicated resilience staff and a commitment to becoming more resilient invested in more disaster preparation activities supportive leadership and dedicated resilience funding appear to be associated with both internal and external coordination importantly cities with various disaster experiences and high hazard threat tend to reach out to different external partners on resilience efforts
defense intelligence agency deputy director of global integration speaks about national security threats texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service hosted the first discussion in its gemini industries inc defense intelligence speaker series on thursday april 14 2022 in the schools washington teaching site known as the bush school dc the speaker series is made possible through a significant donation and the support of gemini industries inc of burlington massachusetts through the generous support of the diana davis spencer foundation bush school dc offers graduate programs in the fields of international policy diplomacy and national security after welcome remarks from lt general (ret) jay silveria executive director of the bush school in washington dc gemini ceo victoria bondoc spoke about her companys long-standing commitment to national security and her desire to support bush school students as they prepare to become the nations future leaders defense intelligence agency (dia) director of global integration greg ryckman served as the evenings keynote speaker stepping in for army lt general and dia director scott berrier in a conversation with bush school professor of the practice greg vogle ryckman talked about the threats china and russia pose to national security if youre coming into this business today china will define your entire career it just will russia will be there but china will define it said ryckman we are absolutely in a crisis and if we dont change the paradigm – take a look at a map someday – look at europe and how were postured against china and its just scary weve got until the end of this decade to change that paradigm completely so that we can actually compete with them over time that urgency is real and we need to think of it that way were seeing the challenge that russia poses to us russia is different than it was before nato is different than it was before and i think weve got to look at russia a little bit differently than we did but regardless its a proximate threat and its demonstrating that to us today professor vogle drew upon his distinguished 30-year career with the central intelligence agency (cia) to provide insight and advice for students pursuing a career in intelligence and national security for you students out there the worlds full of problem identifiers you dont want to be a problem identifier you want to be a solution to a problem ryckman pointed to the current ukraine-russia conflict noting that there are lessons to be learned from observing how the situation plays out strategically how the russians planned that campaign and executed i think it calls a lot of things into question he noted he told attendees youre in the middle of a case study quite frankly on escalation theory deterrence theory and probably a more dangerous environment than most of us actually realize it is dont miss that opportunity to learn from that students and guests were also able to mingle and speak with professor of the practice jim olson who served for over thirty years in the directorate of operations of the central intelligence agency and with gary ross director of intelligence studies at the bush school dc to learn more about the bush school dc and its graduate degree programs visit our website at bushtamuedu/dc about the bush school of government & public service the bush school of government and public service was founded in 1997 under president george h w bushs philosophy that public service is a noble calling since then the bush school has continued to reflect that notion in curriculum research and student experience and has become a leading public and international affairs graduate institution in january 2021 the bush school launched its washington dc teaching site to draw upon the wealth of resources in the nations capital the bush schools vision is to inspire excellence in the noble calling of public service the bush school prepares students to become principled leaders in their fields and to reflect the value of public service throughout their careers the washington dc faculty are an accomplished team who not only have expertise in their respective teaching areas but also in the global realm of government and public service about gemini industries inc geminis mission is to provide rapid response and innovative solutions to create the future of national security through a practice of no-fail no-excuses execution gemini helps leaders make critical decisions and achieve their goals by exploiting cutting-edge technology and innovative strategies for more than 35 years gemini has committed its resources to support national security projects they have supported us conventional and special forces improvised threat defeat counter terrorism initiatives and international programs about texas a&m university texas a&m university is a community of scholars dedicated to solving diverse real-world problems through determination innovation and above all fearlessness texas a&m opened its doors in 1876 as the states first public institution of higher education and is today a tier-one research institution holding the elite triple land- sea- and space-grant designations research conducted at texas a&m represented annual expenditures of almost $1 billion in fiscal year 2018 texas a&ms 71 000 students and half a million former students are known for their commitment to service as well as dedication to the universitys core values and rich traditions
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host former spanish foreign minister ana palacio on may 3 2022 to discuss the war in ukraine and its implications for the new international order the event will be held at the annenberg presidential conference center (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843) registration is required sign-in will begin at 5:30 pm in the lobby and the lecture will start at 6 pm there will be time for a q&a after the event register online to attend ana palacios biography ana palacio is an international lawyer specializing in international and european union law from 1994 to 2002 she was a member of the european parliament where she chaired the legal affairs and internal market as well as the citizens rights justice and home affairs committees palacio served as spains minister of foreign affairs (2002-2004) and was a member of the spanish parliament (2004-2006) where she chaired the joint committee of the two houses for european union affairs she has been senior vice president and general counsel of the world bank group and secretary general of icsid (2006-2008) palacio has been a member of the executive committee and senior vice president for international affairs of areva (2008-2009) and served on the council of state of spain (2012-2018) palacio serves on various advisory and executive boards she is a member of several think tanks and organizations such as the executive committee of the atlantic council of the united states the european council on foreign relations (ecfr) and the elcano royal institute among others palacio is a visiting professor at the edmund e walsh school of foreign service at georgetown university she maintains a monthly column at project syndicate and is a recurrent participant and speaker at international conferences and forums
dr jeehee han is a visiting assistant professor and an aces fellow in her first year at the bush school dr han teaches policy analysis and has a research focus on housing and education policy introduce yourself my name is jeehee han i am a visiting assistant professor and an accountability climate equity and scholarship (aces) fellow in the department of public service and administration at the bush school of government and public service i started last fall so this is my first year at the bush school i have taught one policy analysis class so far my research focuses on housing and education policy what research project/s do you currently have underway what are you hoping to learn through your research a lot of my research focuses on public housing and the educational implications of living in public housing or having to move out of public housing public housing while being the earliest housing assistance program by the federal government is probably the most unpopular one as well the federal government has been criticized for making public housing households live in high-poverty neighborhoods and having negative consequences for children through my research i want to understand what part of public housing is causing those negative consequences for many households public housing is the only assistance program they have access to hopefully through my research i can understand what about public housing we can improve and whether it is actually bad for children to live in public housing how could your research impact society i hope aside from politics and aside from popular beliefs to empirically answer the questions we could have about housing and education policies for example if my research shows that it is the neighborhood that public housing is in that has negative effects on children then we can focus on making community improvements to the neighborhoods that are surrounding public housing we could also focus on keeping public housing projects that are in very good neighborhoods but providing alternative housing options for families living in public housing that are in worse-off neighborhoods i wish my study results could provide empirical support for shaping the future of housing and education policies what do you like most about working at the bush school i am impressed every day by the resources available at the bush school including the people the faculty here are beyond collegial and supportive of each other including junior faculty like me they provide constructive feedback to my work also being able to see them and having exemplary scholars that i can try to emulate i believe is a huge resource also the students – they are very hard-working passionate and respectful i learn a lot from them too have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how does it translate to your research and/or teaching i worked at the us department of education and the new york city department of housing preservation and development where i got to actually have access to administrative data on schools and districts and also households that were eligible for affordable housing being able to experience how data can be used to shape education and housing policy sparked my interest to study housing and education policy what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of i am most proud of my dissertation work one of my dissertation chapters is published in the regional science and urban economics journal for another chapter i received a dissertation grant from the horowitz foundation for social policy as a junior faculty i wish to make more research and teaching accomplishments while being at the bush school what is your favorite class to teach and why policy analysis is the only class i have taught at the bush school so far and is also my favorite i loved learning my students policy interests including education human trafficking parks and recreation mental health and women empowerment to name some i enjoyed having diverse interests and perspectives in the classroom and being able to discuss them together
an albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) student affiliate ben giltner has recently published articles in three outlets in business insider giltner published biden cant back putin down but he can still cut a deal in asia times giltner published a piece titled us-china rivalry and the ‘security dilemma giltner also published a piece in newsweek titled the follies of defending american credibility in ukraine all three columns deal with recent developments involving russia and china giltner is the incoming leader of the john quincy adams society chapter at the bush school the student affiliate program is an opportunity for bush school students to apply their work from the international politics and grand strategy concentration coursework the program connects and gives students opportunities to meet with cgs speakers as well
learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as yuliana galarza soto 22 master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school she is also receiving a certificate in nonprofit management and social justice introduce yourself my name is yuliana galarza soto im from houston texas i received my bachelors degree here at texas a&m from 2016-2019 i graduated in december i received my bachelors in english and sociology and then i decided to stay here for a little bit longer after working a few months remote in dallas doing legal work for a nonprofit im in the sa side of the program and im in the public management track and im also receiving a certificate in nonprofit management and social justice what do you like about the bush school i heard about the bush school here at a&m actually working another job on campus and so one of my colleagues was getting their ia degree here and you could just hear the enthusiasm in her voice and the way she spoke about professors and spoke about how there was that balance between the theory the phds that were more on the theoretical side and the practitioners and that really drew my attention because sometimes its good to know that contrast between how things are on paper and what theyre actually like when you get into the field what did you do in the summer between your first and second year how did it supplement your education and/or career search so over the summer my first year here at the bush school i did an internship for the organization i was already working for but in a different department so i went from the legal side to the development side and i worked as their corporate relations intern who was working with organizations like lulu lemon nike all that looking at kind of their relationship to us and whether our missions as an organization aligned with their mission and what kind of partnerships could exist in the future and that opportunity was great because it helped me kind of put together what i had in the classroom and classes like grants management and foundations of the nonprofit sector and really apply it and provide a different perspective than some of the people who were already there working and had different experiences i was happy to provide that insight and that outsider perspective it is exciting youll hear this a lot – you either learn or confirm that what you want to do is what you want to do what is a challenge you encountered related to your bush school education up to this point and how did you overcome it i think that probably the biggest thing for any grad school program but i think especially at the bush school is the course load in terms of how to balance your time how to maintain a healthy balance between you have to read you have to write you have to do all these things for school and then remembering that youre also a person outside of school but thats been really helpful because as you learn the bush school kind of provides you that holistic opportunity so i was in sga and there i was able to meet students who were also stressed out and also trying to complete these things but needed that time and sanity what advice would you give to first-years attend all the events that everybody sends because a lot of them are really cool and they lead to a lot of opportunities if you want them to i have a business card from somebody from the bush family and thats super cool were connected on linkedin and thats cool what class did you enjoy the most the class that i have enjoyed the most up to this point is one that i took last semester with dr ashley and i liked him so much that im taking another class with him this semester it was managing diversity in the workplace and i think its a really important topic especially when youre going into the public sector because you want to be able to serve and understand the backgrounds of various groups of people and holistically it makes you a more well rounded person to understand the challenges that some people have to go through that really informs them and informs your interactions with them
former albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) postdoctoral fellow dr jeongseok lee recently published south koreas aircraft-carrier debate in survival lees article summarizes the key points in the debate about the practicality and desirability of south koreas carrier program lee is currently a visiting scholar in the department of political science at james madison university the cgs fellows program has previously hosted one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response
the bush school of government and public service is excited to congratulate dahlia taha 23 for her election on april 11th as the texas a&m university graduate and professional student government (gpsg) student body president for the 2022-23 academic year election results were announced on april 11th at 3:00 pm taha won by a margin of 35 votes its very exciting to be able to not only represent and serve graduate and professional students at texas a&m but also to represent the bush school this is not just my victory but my cohorts victory and the bush schools victory said taha a student in the public service and administration program taha said she initially doubted her chances of success as the candidates drew closer in the race after a month of intense campaigning taha learned on april 5th that the elections would enter a runoff phase when no candidate received a majority of the votes taha leaned on her colleagues as she embarked on a final weeklong campaign the most intense yet its very exciting to be able to not only represent and serve graduate and professional students at texas a&m but also to represent the bush school this is not just my victory but my cohorts victory and the bush schools victorydahlia taha im grateful to my fellow bushies for their support in helping me campaign whether it was through going to graduate lounges in schools across campus talking about my candidacy to others or running my instagram the bush school community came forth and supported me she said tahas tenure as president will focus on enhancing affordability innovation and accessibility for graduate and professional students at texas a&m university a desire to make graduate and professional students voices heard combined with the encouragement of her community gave taha the confidence to pursue the position of gpsg president classes taught by bush school professors including dr mallory compton and dr deborah kerr equipped taha with the public speaking and administration skills she needed to succeed in her campaign as president taha believes she will continue to apply valuable lessons from her bush school education towards improving the environment for graduate and professional students the confidence and knowledge ive gained from being in these classes has reaffirmed everything i want to do going into the future said taha ive been taught that if you set your mind to something and you have faith in what youre working for you should never be afraid and can truly accomplish anything i knew i had the ability to do this because of the faith of my family my friends and the bush school i was scared of losing but i thought i can do this in my year as president i can create change thats something i know ill excel in: creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and heard taha said she is proud to exemplify the bush schools focus on public service as a noble calling to the wider graduate and professional community noting that several years have passed since a full time bush school student held the highest gpsg office one of texas a&ms core values is selfless service coming from the bush school and going into this role i want to ensure that public service is a part of it it is such an opportunity and above all i am so grateful and honored to be elected into this role the graduate and professional student government exists to work in cooperation with the texas a&m university administration to ensure that the needs of graduate and professional students are understood and considered when campus policies concerning academic excellence tuition and finance and research are made
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service hosted the 20th anniversary of the bank of america program on volunteerism on april 7 2022 the bank of america program on volunteerism was held at the holocaust museum houston located in houstons museum district this years event highlighted and recognized the houston livestock show and rodeo and their amazing volunteers who without would be no such show program was moderated by: sharleen walkoviak 77 development council bush school of government & public service panelist: chris boleman 96 phd president & ceo houston livestock show & rodeofred mcclure 76 jd associate vice president for leadership and engagement texas a&m universitymelinda guerra-reeves chief volunteer and hr officer houston livestock show & rodeo general (ret) mark a welsh iii dean of the bush school of government & public service opened the evening welcoming everyone to the 20th anniversary of the bank of america program on volunteerism endowed in 2000 by bank of america in an effort to educate individuals and corporation on the importance of volunteerism in society the program on volunteerism has been presented annually on the texas a&m campus we feel honored to celebrate 20 years of the bank of america program said dr william a brown professor and director of the center for nonprofits & philanthropy hosting the event in houston for the first time in its history along-side our friends at bank of america made the event even more special this year watch the full event video online the center for nonprofits and philanthropy supports a vibrant nonprofit and philanthropic sector in texas and beyond through high quality research professional outreach and engaged learning
former florida gov jeb bush speaker of the house nancy pelosi and texas congressman michael mccaul joined a&m and system officials to recognize 25 years of carrying the bush legacy of public service texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service kicked off its 25th anniversary celebration at its new location in washington dc this week with republican and democratic officials recognizing the school and its namesake – president george hw bush – for their enduring commitment to public service bush school dc is a new teaching site for the bush school of government and public service which was founded in 1997 on texas a&ms college station campus under the 41st presidents philosophy that public service is a noble calling the bush school has since endeavored to carry on bushs legacy with curriculum research and student experiences that are focused on public service faculty began teaching courses at the dc site in january 2021 first in its master of international policy program then adding graduate degrees and certificate programs in national security and intelligence and advanced international affairs one of the distinguished guests at tuesday evenings event at the teaching site located just blocks from white house was texas a&m university system chancellor john sharp this new facility honors the absolutely impressive legacy of george hw bush and barbara bush – and especially their commitment to public service nobody did it better than george bush sharp said president and mrs bushs values align perfectly with the core values of a&m their commitment to public service is found all across our campus from our faculty to our students to our general staff the evenings keynote speaker was jeb bush former florida governor and son of the schools namesake i had a mom and a dad that loved me with their heart and soul and loved my brothers and sister you think about the blessing of being brought into the world in a hospital in midland texas and little eyes open up and theres barbara bush i mean i won the lottery bush said for 25 years this first-string institution has been a beacon of education and inspiration to many students and former students equipping them with deep knowledge practical skills and strong ethics all of you are preparing the next generation of leaders for a lifetime of public service – a noble callingspeaker of the us house of representatives nancy pelosi as governor of florida bush said he learned how to manage crises as well as how to anticipate them which is something that in public life is really important he added that problems should be solved at the local and state level noting that people seem to default to washington first and i think that should be the last kind of place that we focus on even with public service there are so many ways to get involved bush said its time in politics to return to treating one another with respect and compassion its such a weird thing to talk about people with integrity and compassion and civility – like now thats almost a sign of weakness how could that be weak to treat people as youd want to be treated yourself – to treat everybody with dignity and respect to care about the guy thats been left behind to show compassion for people you may not ever have met and then to have the courage to do the right thing speaker of the us house of representatives nancy pelosi was also at the event and noted the bush schools success in preparing ethical future leaders for 25 years this first-string institution has been a beacon of education and inspiration to many students and former students equipping them with deep knowledge practical skills and strong ethics pelosi said all of you are preparing the next generation of leaders for a lifetime of public service – a noble calling bush school dc executive director jay silveria former florida gov jeb bush and bush school dean mark welsh your new footprint here in dc – you are preparing more aggies to be capably and faithfully serving our nation she continued with democracy under great threat at home and abroad we need more men and women of character in our politics pelosi spoke also of the 41st presidents own service to his nation as well as his passing on nov 30 2018 he was buried on the texas a&m campus behind the bush presidential library and museum on dec 6 2018 beside his wife barbara and daughter robin he had a profound vision of something kinder and gentler this spirit was captured by the private note president bush wrote to his electoral rival bill clinton on inauguration day 1993 typical of his immense patriotism and grace president bush wrote ‘your success is now our countrys success i am rooting hard for you his vision and values are now proudly instilled in this wonderful bush school and to the students in the bush school pelosi said representing texas a&m were a number of officials including lt gen (ret) jay silveria executive director of bush school dc who provided opening remarks and gen (ret) mark welsh iii dean of the bush school the first thing were celebrating is the vision of an incredible public servant welsh said when president bush allowed his name to be used on this college he actually had some clear guidelines he gave us things like were going to have a founding principle of nonpartisanship… if we can produce 30 percent of those undergraduates going into public service – imagine if we can get that train rolling – the state of texas wins the nation wins everybody wins of welsh us congressman michael mccaul who represents texas 10th district said: under the leadership of mark welsh bush school students continue to have the opportunity to learn from the best of the best this new facility honors the absolutely impressive legacy of george hw bush and barbara bush – and especially their commitment to public service nobody did it better than george bush president and mrs bushs values align perfectly with the core values of a&m their commitment to public service is found all across our campus from our faculty to our students to our general stafftexas a&m university system chancellor john sharp mccaul said bush faculty at both locations are of the highest caliber that includes larry napper who served at our embassy in moscow and later as our ambassador to latvia and kazakhstan and jim olson who served over 30 years as director of operations at the cia mccaul said thanks to these professors – legends really – and those like them students graduate from the bush school with the knowledge and skills to make a difference on day one of the service to the nation additional speakers included abby spencer moffat ceo of the diana davis spencer foundation which provides philanthropic support in variety of areas including education to those who might have the us rest on its laurels i remind you of president reagans warning: ‘freedom is a fragile thing and its never more than one generation away from extinction moffat said defending the freedoms that our founders fought to secure is our sacred duty that duty begins with education with issues of national security more complex than any time in history we may just defeat the next threat to freedom not on the battlefield but in the classroom the bush school of government & public service is celebrating its 25th anniversary throughout the 2022-23 academic year with a host of programs and events learn more about the bush school at bushtamuedu by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on april 8 2022
the albritton center for grand strategy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host renowned historian dr paul kennedy thursday april 28 2022 dr kennedy will discuss his newest book victory at sea: naval power and the transformation of the global order (yale university press 2022) the event will be held at the george hw bush presidential library & museum in the presidential orientation theatre & rotunda (1000 george bush dr w college station tx 77845) dr kennedy will be signing books from 4:00 – 5:00 pm cst in the rotunda; books will be available for purchase onsite with a 20% discount off list price registration is required for the lecture which begins at 5:00 pm cst register online to attend dr paul kennedys biography paul kennedy the j richardson dilworth professor of history director of international security studies at yale and distinguished fellow of the brady-johnson program in grand strategy coordinates the iss programs funded by the smith richardson foundation he is internationally known for his writings and commentaries on global political economic and strategic issues he is the author of grand strategies in war and peace from war to peace and engineers of victory: the problem solvers who turned the tide in the second world war about the book in this engaging narrative brought to life by marine artist ian marshalls beautiful full‑color paintings kennedy grapples with the rise and fall of the great powers during world war ii tracking the movements of the six major navies of the second world warthe allied navies of britain france and the united states and the axis navies of germany italy and japankennedy tells a story of naval battles maritime campaigns convoys amphibious landings and strikes from the sea from the elimination of the italian german and japanese fleets and almost all of the french fleet to the end of the era of the big‑gunned surface vessel the advent of the atomic bomb and the rise of an american economic and military power larger than anything the world had ever seen kennedy shows how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered between 1936 and 1946 the scowcroft institute of international affairs (siia) is a research institute housed in the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university the institute is named in honor of lt gen brent scowcroft usaf (ret) whose long and distinguished career in public service included serving as national security advisor for presidents gerald ford and george hw bush the institutes core mission is to foster and disseminate policy-oriented research on international affairs by supporting faculty and student research hosting international speakers and major scholarly conferences and providing grants to outside researchers to use the holdings of the bush library the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
annie joy williams is a class of 2022 master of international affairs candidate at the bush school in the national security & diplomacy track tell us about yourself my name is annie joy williams i am a second-year master of international affairs student here at the bush school of government and public service where i have concentrations in middle eastern studies topics in terrorism and international media engagement prior to my time here i was a student at the university of mississippi in the lott leadership institute i studied public policy leadership and journalism during my time in undergrad i had the privilege to conduct a self-designed research study in riyadh saudi arabia where i focused on womens rights and saudi-american relations i also had a chance to study at hebrew university in jerusalem where i took classes in conflict resolution and city planning both of those experiences opened my eyes to the world of international affairs and piqued my interest specifically in middle east studies which is what led me to apply to the bush school how would you describe your bush school experience thus far my experience at the bush school has far surpassed my expectations coming in i have particularly enjoyed the relationships ive built with my professors and academic advisor its very clear they have a vested interest in us as students in our success not just within the classroom but also starting our careers my professors have connected me with experts in the field of middle eastern journalism where i want to work and have gone far beyond the call of the professor to help serve their students better i have also been shocked by how much camaraderie ive found with my colleagues here at the bush school i didnt expect to find the level of community ive found here everyone has a common interest that bonds them but also very different lived experience which gives them important insight on the topics were discussing what did you do in the summer between your first and second year my summer internship was one of my favorite things ive done at the bush school it was definitely an unconventional one i had applied to 87 internships around march of last year id either gotten rejected not heard from them or id had three interviews and not gotten the position i reached out to my academic advisor dr gregory gause and this is an example of him going above and beyond and he connected me with a former student who was working in dubai as a business journalist she offered me an internship and i thought ‘why not lets do it so i went to dubai it was the biggest growth experience of my life i learned a ton about the world of journalism business journalism which was completely foreign to me and also the middle east it was very interesting to live and work with in a [persian] gulf state which is my region of interest if i had gone straight form undergrad into the internship i wouldve been completely lost studying about the region for a year prior to going from experts who have lived within the gulf definitely opened my eyes to what i would be dealing with there and the differences and the ways of life it was also really neat to work with a former bush student across the globe because she had been right where i had been she had lived in my bush school shoes and navigated the career search it has connected me with tons of resources for finding a job come may and boosted my resume i wouldnt be getting this far in the job search if i hadnt had that internship what is a challenge you encountered related to your bush school education up to this point and how did you overcome it i came fresh out of undergrad and didnt have the lived experience of a lot of my colleagues who had spent years working in international affairs in the classroom i was quickly humbled with my opinions the classes are extremely rigorous it pushed me to become a better thinker and young professional the way that i overcame the feeling that i was behind was by investing in the readings talking with professors going to office hours reading on my own time and being up to date with the news all those things helped me have a better bush school experience what advice would you give to first-years show up that is the best advice for life especially at the bush school im already realizing that as im entering my last semester this is a very rare place with very important experts in the field and a very impressive cohort of colleagues so show up socially academically in clubs any way that you are able the time is fleeting but it can be a fruitful journey for everyone as it was for me
dr ishara casellas connors joined the bush schools department of public service and administration in 2021 dr casellas connors has an extensive background in higher education administration and in diversity and equity policy introduce yourself im dr ishara casellas connors this is my first year here at the bush school i teach a range of classes around education and education policy as well as courses related to qualitative research what research projects are you currently working on im a higher education researcher so my research really focuses on questions of state and institutional policy and their implications for higher education institutions one area of my work is related to hispanic-serving institutions and the ways in which state and institutional practice and policy implementation shape those institutions the work that im most recently doing around diversity equity and inclusion (dei) implementation at hispanic-serving institutions talks about the ways in which we need to empower stakeholders who are doing this work to use policy implementation as it relates to dei topics not just as a thing to check the box but actually an opportunity to deeply reflect on the practices at their institution another strand of my work is related to refugee access to higher education how can state policy and the institutions enrolling refugee students provide the structures needed to support student access and success underpinning all of my research are questions related to equity and higher education im interested in the ways in which institutions take up state policies the ways in which they implement them and the implications for students what are you hoping to learn through your research im interested in hispanic-serving institutions because they serve the largest number of latinx students there are about over 500 hispanic-serving institutions nationally and over 200 emerging hispanic-serving institutions those institutions are critical to our education for latinx students im interested in understanding is the ways in which these institutions take up dei policy and the implications for latinx students when it comes to refugee education particularly in this current moment as we think about the tens of thousands of afghan refugees that have come here to the us thinking about the ways in which we can support refugee access to higher education has become increasingly critical in a given year we have nearly 17 million students enrolled in higher education how those students are served by those institutions really matters to their successful outcomes going forward what do you like most about working at the bush school i love my classes because i really enjoy engaging with students i find that the students here are really interested in learning new topics and engaging in deep critical reflections of the research thats very interesting and exciting the other piece i really like about the bush school is that we have a really diverse group of faculty who bring a lot of different perspectives and experiences and for me thats really important for thinking about this work have you ever worked outside of academia and how does that inform your research or teaching i did fundraising and alumni relations at several higher education institutions before transitioning to work around policy and research following my work in alumni relations i did work for a community college association as well as an advocacy organization related to education access in those roles i sought to bridge research and practice and figure out how we can better support students across a host of different kind of statewide contexts i then moved on to doing work around civic and political learning in higher education at the institute for democracy and higher education most recently i was here at texas a&m as the assistant dean for diversity and climate in the college of geosciences that experience really grounds some of my work around dei research i see that trajectory and suite of professional roles as informing the research that i undertake the questions that im interested in and the framing that i bring to the work most importantly i really see that work as important to how i think about the implications: how do i use my research to inform practice within higher education and within state policy what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of and why i am committed to research examining hispanic serving institutions i am proud of research i have done in this space that includes institutions that often have gone overlooked in the hsi conversation this research includes institutions in florida and new york to expand our thinking about hsis i also wrapped up a project exploring how institutions support refugee students engaging with practitioners to help them critically reflect on what they have done and what they could do going forward supporting more participatory research projects is something thats important to me what is your favorite class to teach and why i enjoy teaching qualitative methods in part because i think it forces students to think a little bit differently about how we can construct research how do we bring peoples voices to the conversation how do we elevate and empower the voices of folks that may not be heard in these conversations to be the focal point of research students come into the class saying i dont know how to do qualitative research ive never done this i like reminding them that theyve done it in some way – allowing folks to leverage their unique skills and experiences maybe its experience interviewing folks for a newspaper or working to understand a needs assessment for an organization what our class allows them to do is understand a systematic and rigorous process for qualitative research for me thats really fun allowing them to see how they can use that in their professional world going forward
once a high school student experiencing homelessness levi bohanan ‘15 now advocates for homeless students and high-quality education within elementary and secondary education systems levi bohanan ‘15 experienced homelessness his senior year after coming out to his family as a member of the lgbtq+ community without a parent or guardian bohanan was uncertain about graduating from high school let alone going to college with the help of school staff he was able to attend texas a&m university with financial assistance from scholarships and pell grants now a special assistant in the office of elementary and secondary education in the us department of education bohanan advocates to make sure students experiencing homelessness have the same opportunities he did in pursuing his education there was a time when i didnt think id be able to graduate from high school much less be able to make it to college bohanan said my senior year in high school…i was couch-surfing staying with friends and bouncing around from place to place i was so fortunate to have some friends and educators in my life who connected me to the resources i needed to go to college bohanan earned a bachelors degree in political science at texas a&m and a masters degree in education policy analysis at the teachers college at columbia university throughout his time advocating for homeless students he has served in the us department of education in the office of legislation and congressional affairs and the office of the secretary during the obama administration while serving as a political appointee within the us department of education he used his personal experience as a homeless teen to help inform new federal guidelines for assisting homeless students he has also served as a policy entrepreneur at next100 a public policy think tank where he worked on issues related to progressive child care policy and high-quality early education at texas a&m bohanan found a welcoming community and environment that allowed him to be his true self bohanan said lgbtq aggies and the glbt resource center now known as the lgbtq+ pride center became his family im so grateful for my time at texas a&m when i think about the timid even scared teenager that i was when i enrolled i cant imagine that i could have had a better place for melevi bohanan im so grateful for my time at texas a&m bohanan shared when i think about the timid even scared teenager that i was when i enrolled i cant imagine that i could have had a better place for me my classes my friends the groups that i was a part of all shaped who i became the university still has some growing up to do though right now particularly as we deal with the long term impacts of the pandemic many institutions are taking a long hard look at the work being done around inclusivity i look forward to seeing how that work develops and continues at texas a&m in addition to finding a place where he belonged bohanan also learned vital skills he still uses today from the classes he took as a political science major he credits much of the initial success he had in his career to his experience within the department of political science its funny but i didnt really understand what political science was when i enrolled at texas a&m bohanan said i likely saw it in a movie or tv show somewhere and liked the sound of it however it worked out very well for me as i turned out to really enjoy the subject the foundation i got in my political science classes in statistical analysis in policy development in public opinion was so important as i began my career my degree set me on track to intern in washington dc my junior year and set the stage for me to return after graduation during his years of advocating informing and influencing policy bohanan has used both his experience with homelessness and his time at texas a&m as inspiration i have an opportunity to work on policy that would have impacted me as a student bohanan explained in some ways it feels surreal to think about federal policy problems through the lens of lived experience you have to use all your logical analytical skills to analyze data identify trends on policy that is very deeply personal for you because you see yourself in the policy that is a critical part of policy development: putting the experiences of folks impacted by policy first bohanan will return to the texas a&m campus for the annual lavender graduation celebration on april 9 2022 where he will also be a keynote speaker im looking forward to celebrating the hard work of the students graduating this year bohanan said there is so much to be proud of and i cant wait to share in the joy with the graduating students by tiarra drisker ‘25 on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
professor james jim olson was recently named the inaugural recipient of the inspiring the spirit of aggieland – the 41 award dean mark a welsh iii announced the recipient at the donor appreciation event held friday april 1 at 12 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center professor jim olsons enduring commitment to his nation texas a&m university faith and family epitomizes the kind of individual we are seeking to recognize with this award of the many well-deserved nominations we received from colleges and units across the university i could not be more proud that our own professor olson was selected said dean welsh i do not have the words to express how deeply honored and grateful i am to receive this award president bush personified what all of us in public service have tried to emulate professor jim olson the 41 award recognizes a texas a&m university faculty or administrator whose leadership example and character motivate others to share in their impact and exemplify the aggie core values and the values of president george hw bush jim and meredith olson with bush school dean mark welsh i do not have the words to express how deeply honored and grateful i am to receive this award said olson president bush personified what all of us in public service have tried to emulate it is in fact his spirit that guides us and that will live on forever at texas a&m and the bush school the character texas a&m university seeks to develop can best be defined by the aggie core valuesexcellence integrity leadership loyalty respect and selfless service because of these core values the aggie spirit and traditions president bush chose texas a&m to house his school his library and his and mrs barbara bushs final resting place he entrusted texas a&m with carrying on his legacy he believed very strongly that there can be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others and his words continue to inspire and challenge us all to make the world a better place texas a&m university faculty and administrators have a crucial role in developing leaders who will live out these core values daily to positively impact our world stephen 73 and linda vincent have generously provided the support for the award stephen and linda vincent with jim and meredith olson the spirit of aggieland lives on through the generations inspired by countless aggies who have ‘walked the walk of texas a&ms core values president george hw bush made texas a&m university his final home because he believed and lived his life with these high ideals as his guide said the vincents the 41 award honors and recognizes professors and administrators who instill our students with these values that make the world a better place professor olson is a perfect example of what the 41 award represents since formally joining the bush school faculty 22 years ago professor olson has guided hundreds of students seeking to enter careers of public service in the us intelligence community a former cia operations officer whose tours of duty included the ussr and other foreign assignments olson knows the pressure and immense privilege of risking ones life in service of ones country his legacy and devotion have inspired bush school students to do the same professor jim olson after serving in the us navy for several years olson earned his jd in international law from the university of iowa and intended to spend his litigation career in a small midwestern town instead a cia recruiter persuaded him to apply and olson entered what became an illustrious career in the cia directorate of operations olson went on to serve as chief of counterintelligence at cia headquarters in langley virginia he is the recipient of the intelligence medal of merit the distinguished career intelligence medal the counterintelligence excellence medal the donovan award and other distinguished achievement awards in 1997 at the direction of former cia director george tenet the cia assigned olson to a stint as officer-in-residence at the bush school when the bush school offered up a faculty position olson decided to retire from the cia now he provides an invaluable practitioner perspective to the bush school his courses have included the role of intelligence in security affairs and counterintelligence in addition olson played a key role in establishing the intelligence studies program the bush school congratulates professor olson on this well-deserved award to learn more about the inspiring the spirit of aggieland – the 41 award visit bushtamuedu/41award
bush school graduate student and texas lyceum research fellow rebekah barfield presented her research on infrastructure consequences of exurb growth in texas at the texas lyceums pubcon one of the morning sessions at the texas lyceum public conference (pubcon) meetings on friday april 1 in frisco featured bush school of government and public service graduate student rebekah barfield the theme of this years pubcon is texas in the 2020s: prospects pathways and power barfields presentation on infrastructure issues relating to the rapid growth of texas exurb communities was very well received and came from work that was supported by a research fellowship from the texas lyceum and supervised by dr mallory compton of the bush school barfields research findings are also available in a research paper titled infrastructure consequences of exurb growth in texas published in the mosbacher institute white paper series in the article she notes that texas has the largest exurbanite population in the united states relative to its size and explores some of the infrastructure consequences of such fast growth particularly in education transportation and flood management mosbacher institute white papers are publications of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university you can also read more about barfields research about the impact of exurb growth on rural roads and highways and on traffic fatalities in her op-ed piece published on april 1 in the dallas morning news the texas lyceum is the only nonprofit nonpartisan statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the states next generation of leaders and providing a forum for civil discourse the organization hosts meetings and conferences publishes a nationally-acclaimed annual poll and partners with higher education institutions to offer a statewide fellowship program that promotes research driven solutions at the highest levels of state government for more than 40 years the texas lyceum has focused on bringing together diverse opinions and expertise to emphasize constructive private sector public-sector and individual responses to the issues facing the state and the nation
the albritton center for grand strategy supported joshua alley postdoctoral research associate with the democratic statecraft lab and department of politics at the university of virginia and matthew fuhrmann professor of political science and presidential impact fellow at texas a&m university in publishing budget breaker the financial cost of us military alliances in security studies the research sought to examine how alliances directly impact us military spending alley and fuhrmann compare two perspectives: the ‘budget hawk perspective which views alliances as expensive and encourages free riding behavior and the ‘bargain hunter perspective which views alliances as a cheaper alternative to deterrence and costly military interventions the authors findings support the ‘budget hawk perspective
james rogers an associate professor in the department of political science discusses what the future may hold for the first black woman nominated to the supreme court by tiarra drisker ‘25 on february 25 president joe biden announced his intention to nominate ketanji brown jackson for the position of associate justice of the supreme court of the united states jackson is the first black woman to be nominated to the supreme court but thats not the only thing that sets her apart; she would also be the only supreme court justice to have served in a role where she could not pick who she represented due to her prior experience as a public defender james rogers an associate professor in the department of political science provides insight on possible changes jacksons nomination may bring to the supreme court in this q&a thats been condensed and edited for clarity how does jacksons history as a federal public defender prepare or not prepare her for a role as a supreme court justiceall legal experience prior to appointment as a supreme court justice serves as preparation for the office judge jacksons three years as a federal public defender provides her on-the-ground experience with criminal process and criminal law including most importantly with the informal back and forth of the plea-bargaining process that resolves most criminal cases before they go to trial how would jacksons identity as a black woman impact her possible role as a supreme court justiceunlike congress the us supreme court is not set up as a representative institution if nothing else with only nine seats on the court it is incapable of serving as a truly representative institution the idea is that supreme court justices read and apply statutes rules precedents and the constitution in a way that all people can understand even if they do not agree at the same time justices are people too and like the rest of us their backgrounds can lead them to highlight or underscore different aspects of what they perceive when they read and apply legal texts to real cases judge jacksons experiences as a black woman endows her with experiences unique to the current court in the courts deliberations judge jackson will naturally bring her experiences and unique insights prompted by those experiences to those deliberations as do the other justices what qualifications does jackson have that could help her as a supreme court justicejudge jackson has had a distinguished career as judge and attorney she served as a federal district judge from 2013 until 2021 judge jackson became a judge for the us court of appeals for the dc circuit last year before she became a judge judge jackson served as a vice chair on the us sentencing commission and earlier had served as assistant special counsel to the commission judge jackson also served for several years as a federal public defender and worked in private legal practice on and off between her governmental service all legal experience provides background on which supreme court justices draw most notably judge jacksons experience as a district judge and even her much shorter experience as an appellate judge gives her experience on which she will undoubtedly draw as a supreme court justice why have presidents previously avoided nominating public defenders for this positionall judicial appointments at the federal level including supreme court appointments come from the political branches of the us government: appointment by the president with the advice and consent of the us senate often ignored is that potential supreme court justices need to be visible to these politicians in order even to get on lists of potential nominees public defenders often simply do not have the visibility before national-level politicians that other lawyers have further their job defending people accused of crimes means their constituency does not have ready access to elected corridors of power what can and cant jackson do to change the courts balancethe us supreme court has a total of nine justices who decide cases as with any voting body it is the middle or median voter who controls the outcome of cases because it is the middle voter who controls the pivotal vote that can make a majority of five justices judge jackson will if confirmed replace justice breyer justice breyer is considered on the liberal or moderate liberal wing of the court justice breyer is not currently the median justice on the court (the median justice in most cases on the court today is either amy coney barrett or brett kavanaugh and occasionally john roberts) judge jackson is likely at least as liberal as justice breyer and perhaps more so as a result adding judge jackson to the court will not move the position of the median justice and so will likely have little systematic impact on the courts balance that said non-median justices can influence the median justice in cases as they deliberate on cases judge jacksons unique experience and background may prove occasionally decisive in cases what is significant about jacksons nominationwith only nine justices on the us supreme court and with the court being a court of final jurisdiction meaning it is the highest court in the us appellate process every appointment to the court is significant even if judge jackson is not a pivotal justice today given the vagaries of membership on the court membership continues to change over the years political scientists also talk about descriptive representation while the us supreme court is not intended as a representative body people still look at justices and see or do not see a justice who mirrors some of their demographic characteristics judge jacksons identity as a black woman adds to the diversity of the courts descriptive representation this can increase a sense of inclusion in government processes even when the institution like the supreme court is not a formally representative institution on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
durand dj huntley 23 master of public service and administration candidate discusses his time at the bush school introduce yourself my name is durand huntley im a first year mpsa student at the bush school and in my undergrad before i came here i was a mascot at my university which took me into lots of philanthropic and foundational experiences so here at the bush school im here to work in philanthropy and fundraising for nonprofits i think it would give me avenues to put my feet in a bunch of different things and improve the world why did you choose the bush school i choose the bush school because i got admitted to a public policy fellowship at the university of michigan through ppia and they gave me a scholarship to most of the public policy schools in the country i wanted to go to a school that was in the south for the warmth as well as had practitioners because im not a very theoretical person; i wanted people that not only knew about the experiences but lived them and the bush school attracted me for that reason also i love sports and being an aggie its a once in a lifetime experience i wanted to go to a presidential school because i thought itd be pretty cool but other schools werent as focused on your success and the bush school is a lot more intensive about who they let in and all the faculty are really involved with who you are especially if you talk to them and thats what i wanted because i came as a person who didnt have lots of work experience in what i did before and so i felt like these professors here would really sculpt me into the person i wanted to be what did you appreciate most about your first semester the thing i appreciated most about my first semester was the amount of programs at the bush school and the way it throws things at you and kind of sees what sticks i kind of took on a bunch of them and i felt like that was a great experience because i was able to meet tons of my peers i dont go into a class where i dont know at least half of the people in there also the events helped me find out who i am i run the tailgate committee for our bush school tailgate at the football games and while on the surface it just seems like im doing something for the bush school it gave me tons of event planning and philanthropic experience meeting people fundraising and thinking about how we use our specific dollars to get the most returns from it the bush school has lots of different clubs and stuff that gives you the experience you need once you leave here so going along with our internship experience i feel like there is no reason for any student to leave the bush school without experience in what they want to do what are you most looking forward to this semester this semester im most looking forward to getting into classes that are what i love im in an ethics course its about finding out who you are inside and helping to inform your policy decisions thats with dr bright and im also in a social justice course which is new and its taught by kenneth taylor its about bringing diversity into leadership roles and public service my public policy formation course is also interesting the classes move a lot from the theory into applications and thats more where i came from what advice would you give to a younger version of yourself applying to the bush school the advice that i would give to an incoming me coming into the bush school is not to harbor on what you think the reputation of the bush school is i think some people in our partisan environment get kind of turned off about having a republican president no matter who it is and i think i would tell a younger me to do the research on who hw bush was and the ideals that he had at this school and that he basically lived at the school and was involved in the classes and how service should transcend partisanship that was very important to a young me and should be important to people coming to the bush school
dr ki eun kang institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) postdoctoral research associate and dr ann bowman professor and istpp fellow presented their paper resilient cities: explaining policy adoption at the 75th annual conference of the western political science association (wpsa) in portland or on march 11 2022 the paper is coauthored with dr sierra woodruff and dr bryce hannibal istpp fellows their research seeks to determine which city characteristics influence the adoption of resilience policies to probe this question they used an original data set of policy adoptions in the 101 largest us cities they developed and tested models that included potential drivers of adoption such as problem severity political ideology city capacity local institutions and membership networks their analysis showed that cities enactment of resilience policies is largely a matter of capacity ideology and diffusion larger wealthier and liberal cities are more likely to adopt resilience policies cities that are members of city networks also adopt more policies but not all networks significantly influence policy adoption suggesting that network goals and connections are important
on march 9 2022 the mosbacher institutes borders and migration program hosted gloria i chavez chief patrol agent of the el paso sector of the us border patrol to give a talk entitled securing americas border in theory and practice the event was part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague who also served as moderator chief chavez started by briefly introducing the border patrol agency which as she illustrated is the largest federal law enforcement agency in the united states with around 19 000 agents the agency covers the northern coastal and southern borders of the united states with the mission to discover and stop the illicit movement of people and products across the borders chief chavez supplemented her introduction with a short video about the el pasto sector of the border patrol agency and its mission chief gloria chavez chief patrol agent el paso sector us border patrol having introduced the agency and its mission chief chavez spoke about the agencys efforts to enhance the ability of its personnel to fulfil their mission according to chavez the agency has consistently used state of the art technology particularly autonomous surveillance technology and automated computer systems to assist the agents in surveillance and in the processing of people more rapidly and efficiently similarly the agency has invested in various resources such as border barriers to prevent the entry of vehicles smuggling people or narcotics give the agents more time to respond and make arrests and increase the safety of the officers in addition to investing in technology and resources chavez argued that the agency considers its personnel to be its most valued asset thus the agency invests in constantly preparing and training its uniform agents on patrol its non-uniform personnel behind the scenes and its intelligence analysts moreover the agency partners with other law enforcement agencies at the federal state and local levels as well as non-governmental organizations faith-based groups and academia for training research and development purposes following her speech chavez sat down with bush school assistant professor aileen teague for an on-stage discussion of the various challenges facing her agency including the politicization of border issues particularly on the southern border with mexico which makes it difficult for the agents to effectively focus on performing their job chavez also spoke about the attention paid to the morale of her agents who are often subject to harsh media criticism that impacts them and in some cases their families too to address this issue chavez added the agency has expanded its support programs and behavioral health services including therapy for the agents moreover the agency has increased its work flexibility particularly during the covid-19 pandemic to allow civilian agents to work from home whenever possible finally chavez responded to questions from the audience about several topics including the challenge of identifying bad actors at the borders the adequacy of border barriers cooperation with state and federal agencies and the extra challenges of increasing migration flows earlier in the day chavez met with students and faculty and participated in a student-led discussion with a group of bush school students you can view chief chavezs talk on the bush school youtube channel
bryan-college station txthe bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university continues to move upward in the national rankings of schools of public affairs us news & world report advanced the bush school to the top 25 graduate schools for public affairs for 2023 placing it in the top 9 percent the bush school ranks 13th among public institutions and 23rd overall up from 16th among public institutions and 28th overall for 2022 the bush school also made significant strides in the rankings for homeland security which now ranks 6th overall and 5th among public institutions additionally the bush school ranked 21st among public institutions for the specialty field of local government management 15th for nonprofit management and 13th for public management and leadership us news ranked a total of 270 schools the bush school was founded in 1997 and has grown from a small program with fewer than twenty students to a reputable academic college with two departments and a student population of more than 400 representing diverse backgrounds and interests bush school programs on women peace and security; economic statecraft; intelligence studies; the middle east; and cyber policy strategy and security also received local and national recognition the bush school welcomed several new faculty last year including former cia deputy director for operations greg vogle dr jeehee han and dr ishara casellas connors the bush schools three research institutes the institute for science technology and public policy; the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy; and the scowcroft institute of international affairs continue to meaningfully influence key issues of policy facing the state nation and world the school is also home to the center for nonprofits and philanthropy (cnp) and the albritton center for grand strategy recently cnp rolled out a series of continuing education programs that provide valuable knowledge skills and credentialing for individuals in the nonprofit space in addition to offering the master of public service and administration the master of international affairs and the master of international policy the bush school offers an online executive master of public service and administration a master of international affairs and public health and graduate certificates in advanced international affairs homeland security public management nonprofit management geospatial intelligence national security affairs and cybersecurity policy
audrey kuhnle (class of 2022) master of international affairs candidate discusses her experience at the bush school she is in the national security & diplomacy track can you introduce yourself my name is audrey kuhnle im currently a second year in the mia program on the ns&d track my concentrations are intelligence and us military defense policy and grand strategy before coming to the bush school i was at john jay college of criminal justice in new york where i studied international criminal justice and had a minor in poli sci like a lot of people that come here i worked at the new york state assembly and i worked as a legislative aide there for a little bit then i went over to a political nonprofit where i became a program manager and i ran a lot of the program and events there and then i moved over to a public affairs lobbying firm where i did a lot of foreign policy related issues and a lot of lobbying assistance for clients so a lot of pr work a lot of fun research sometimes how would you describe your bush school experience thus far what are the top 3 reasons you love the bush school for me the main thing that i always point to when people are talking to me about coming to bush is the academic rigor; there is so much support to intellectually push yourself here and challenge yourself – not even just for yourself but its a big push that what youre going to do here is transferring out into the real world so you do well here you practice here you get what you need to get done here and you learn how to do it well – and not just well probably the best then you transfer that into a job and thats for me probably the top thing about what i love about being here and every single time someones like why bush thats part of the reason i get to practice what i want to do so that i dont mess up when its really important i get to get my errors out now what did you do in the summer between your first and second year how did it supplement your education and/or career search i was at the state department i was in the bureau of political and military affairs specifically in the trade control policy world so i was working on military technology and classifying that for export controls and a lot of that has to do with what arms control we have with people so this year we just saw aukus go through so nuclear submarine stuff used to be highly controlled and now navigating new protocols in how to export and trade nuclear technology on submarines was the realm i was living in i currently work at state in a different bureau right now so i can backtrack a little i think that experience in that bureau i was like alright this is stuff thats interesting to me but because its the state department theres so many other roles and different things that you could do so im currently working with a former bush school student who is an fso who is an original china officer which is a new program that the state department has going on where im doing chinese research on their business and trading so stuff with huawei and whatnot and collecting that information and keeping track of it in a spreadsheet and doing some data work for them and then sending it off to the state department what is a challenge you encountered related to your bush school education up to this point and how did you overcome it the challenge of moving from new york to texas that was an interesting one and there was definitely culture shock but – and i dont think anyone can understand this until youre here – you can read about it you can hear about it – but the community of bush school and how that goes with a&m – you dont feel alone when youre here ever and i really did think moving from new york to texas that i was going to feel alone but theres this amazing sense of community here that you constantly feel like you have someone to turn to or a place to go if you are feeling overwhelmed or x y and z on that day so specifically with bush i did make friends although in a covid year it was a little different my friend groups were definitely smaller but they were still supportive it was not just a bush school student its someone whos going to be your friend 10 years down the road that who knows you might be sharing an office with because you guys want to do the same thing what advice would you give to first-years i wish someone would have told me to hang out at school more im gonna be honest thats the best way to meet people the networking that youre capable of here – take advantage of it its the best thing and its not networking for the sense of getting a job its networking for support in your future life because depending on the track that youre on here youre going into a weird weird world that not many people understand if youre going into the intelligence world theres only so many people that you can talk to about it and a lot of them are going to be your friends from here and the people that youve networked with here and even if youre not in that ns&d/ intel track its the same thing on the sa side if youre in education policy if youre in health policy youre gonna be in the same circles and knowing ‘ok my specialtys not this but my friend does know this it can really help me navigate whatever issue im having today your peers are here to help you be it first year second year alum incoming you dont know whos around you until you surround yourself and immerse yourself with the place
ambassador robert zoellick will speak at the annual conocophillips white house lecture at texas a&ms bush school of government & public service about us economic diplomacy on tuesday april 12 ambassador robert b zoellick who served as the 11th president of the world bank group and the 13th us trade representative will speak about us economic diplomacy at the 2022 conocophillips white house lecture the conocophillips white house lecture series brings to public attention the various offices of the white house and executive branch that provide policy administrative and overall support to the president rsvp to attend the lecture is sponsored by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and the george and barbara bush foundation the event will be held at the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center beginning with a reception at 5:15 pm and followed by the program at 6 pm for registration or additional information visit the mosbacher institutes website at bushtamuedu/mosbacher ambassador zoellicks talk will be a wonderful opportunity for our students and the community to learn about economic diplomacy particularly in light of what is going on in ukraine stated dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute during the george w bush administration zoellick served as us trade representative from 2001 to 2005 and deputy secretary of state from 2005 to 2006 zoellick previously served in the george hw bush administration as under secretary of state and as white house deputy chief of staff and for the reagan administration as counselor to the secretary of the treasury from 2007 to 2012 he was the president of the world bank group currently zoellick is senior counselor at brunswick geopolitical an advisory service of brunswick group and a senior fellow at the belfer center for science and international affairs at harvard universitys kennedy school of government he recently authored the book america in the world: a history of us diplomacy and foreign policy
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host distinguished humanitarian robert gersony on march 28 2022 he will talk about his field work experience and how listening to ordinary people has changed the course of the world the event will be held at the annenberg presidential conference center (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843) registration is required; sign-in begins at 5:30 pm in the lobby and the lecture starts at 6 pm there will be time for a q&a after register online to attend robert gersonys biography robert (bob) gersony is a field worker who for over forty years has conducted more than 50 in-depth assessments of civil conflicts and emergencies in as many countries throughout the world his work has taken him to guatemala rwanda bosnia mozambique somalia uganda nepal iraq colombia nicaragua the north korean border gaza and the west bank and scores of other international flashpoints it is the subject of a recent biography by robert kaplan entitled the good american: the epic life of bob gersony the us governments greatest humanitarian his methodology involves in-depth listening to hundreds of ordinary people the victims of conflict in scores of locations for each study his briefings have influenced the highest level policymakers often changing their perceptions and altering or strengthened us policy to the advantage of humanitarian as well as us national interests register online to attend robert gersony: an inspiration to robert kaplan gersonys work is the inspiration behind new york times bestselling author robert kaplans the good american: the epic life of bob gersony the us governments greatest humanitarian the following is the books description as seen in the penguin random house edition: in his long career as an acclaimed journalist covering the hot moments of the cold war and its aftermath bestselling author robert d kaplan often found himself crossing paths with bob gersony a consultant for the us state department whose quiet dedication and consequential work made a deep impression on kaplan gersony a high school dropout later awarded a bronze star for his service in vietnam conducted on-the-ground research for the us government in virtually every war and natural-disaster zone in the world in thailand central and south america sudan chad mozambique rwanda gaza bosnia north korea iraq and beyond gersony never flinched from entering dangerous areas that diplomats could not reach sometimes risking his own life gersonys behind-the scenes fact-finding which included interviews with hundreds of refugees and displaced persons from each war zone and natural-disaster area often challenged the assumptions and received wisdom of the powers that be on both the left and the right in nearly every case his advice and recommendations made american policy at once smarter and more humaneoften dramatically so in gersony kaplan saw a powerful example of how american diplomacy should be conducted in a work that exhibits kaplans signature talent for combining travel and geography with sharp political analysis the good american tells gersonys powerful life story set during the state departments golden age this is a story about the loneliness sweat and tears and the genuine courage that characterized gersonys work in far-flung places it is also a celebration of ground-level reporting: a page-turning demonstration by one of our finest geopolitical thinkers of how getting an up-close worms-eye view of crises and applying sound reason can elicit world-changing results
texas a&m bush school dean gen mark a welsh iii will serve as the keynote speaker for the campus muster ceremony thursday april 21 the aggie muster committee has announced general (ret) mark a welsh iii usaf as the keynote speaker for the 2022 campus muster ceremony the ceremony will be held thursday april 21 at 7 pm in reed arena aggie muster is a texas a&m university tradition in which aggies worldwide gather to remember their time at texas a&m together and honor those who died during the past year welsh will speak at the campus muster ceremony the largest of more than 300 muster ceremonies held across the nation and around the world welsh has served as dean of the bush school of government and public service since he retired from the us air force in august 2016 during his 40-year military career he led an f-16 fighter squadron in combat served as the commandant of the us air force academy worked as the associate director of military affairs at the cia commanded natos air forces as well as us air forces in europe and served as the 20th us air force chief of staff here at texas a&m welsh said he and the faculty and staff of the bush school work with the entire aggie family to help dedicated men and women prepare for lives of service to their fellow citizens welsh is the son of an aggie brother to five aggies father of four aggies and grandfather of a soon-to-be member of the class of 26 at each muster ceremony around the world the speaker will be followed by the roll call for the absent which is a reading of the names of those from that area who have died in the past year along with those of other classmates or friends as each name is called a family member or friend will answer here and a candle will be lit in honor of their loved one for more information about muster including a list of the roll call for the absent and off-campus muster sites visit the association of former students website for more information about welsh the campus muster ceremony and surrounding events visit mustertamuedu by erin nugent texas a&m university muster committeenote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on march 15 2022
as the world watches russian president vladimir putins next moves in ukraine a former ambassador to the country offered a variety of scenarios for the weeks ahead during a virtual discussion on march 8 hosted by texas a&m universitys scowcroft institute of international affairs william b taylor a former senior us career diplomat served as ambassador to ukraine from 2006 to 2009 previously in his career taylor was coordinator of us assistance to the former soviet union and eastern europe ukraine is on the front lines not by choice but the russians have brought this unprovoked war its defending itself and its also defending europe in some sense taylor said the russians want a sphere of influence that starts with ukraine and it doesnt stop in ukraine for this reason he said its important that ukraine succeeds nato and europe are unified in their hatred for putin whose ultimate goal taylor said is likely to reestablish the soviet union or the russian empire starting with the domination of ukraine its an important fight and i believe that we should support them he said taylor sketched out the status of russian troops assembled at ukraines borders taking control of kyiv is the goal of the military action taylor said with russian forces approaching from multiple directions when he returned to ukraine in 2019 as acting ambassador taylor met with president volodymyr zelenskyy who had just been elected overwhelmingly zelenskyy has emerged as a national hero in ukraine taylor said and has unified the country and ukrainian military through his bravery and in his courage to stay in kyiv as russian forces continue to attack the city militarily the odds are still 100-to-one in russias favor in terms of numbers weapons budget and many other measures taylor said the original expectation for the david-versus-goliath battle was that russian forces would overwhelm kyiv within a day or two he said but ukrainian forces have managed to stall russias advance on several fronts the ukrainian military is tough… theyre really committed to defending their land and theyre defending their freedom literally taylor said theyve got that motivation he said sooner than later though kyiv will be overwhelmed and then it will be decision time taylor presented three possible scenarios for how the conflict could play out in the first russian troops will finally overwhelm the ukrainian military and take kyiv either by starving citizens of supplies preventing people from evacuating or continuing airstrikes as they did in aleppo in 2016 in this scenario putin would take over one way or another and in the worst case would put a puppet regime in place taylor said ukrainians would reject this as they already have two other times in the past two decades they will stay in the streets and they will shut the place down he said if (russia) thinks theyre going to occupy the country and suppress all of this protest they dont have the military or the soldiers to do that a more optimistic scenario would have the ukrainian military managing to hold off the russian forces or in some cases push them back officials in the kremlin feeling that putin is not making rational decisions could also conclude that we could do it better he said a negotiation or settlement could be prompted by such a change in moscow or in combination with the success of the ukrainian military the last option taylor predicted is one in which zelenskyy is forced to leave kyiv and the ukrainian government is moved to a location where russian troops have yet to reach such as the mountainous region in the southwest that government (would be) a legitimate government that the world recognizes and we will continue to support it provide weapons funding security and political support he said this democracy could join nato and the european union comparing it to the division of germany during the cold war he said the tens of millions of ukrainians taking to the streets under the first scenario would continue to resist in russian-occupied regions currently theres not much support for putin among his citizens either taylor said the growing number of protests and arrests in russia are a sign that by and large the citizens of russia are not in support of the war he said putin has not been able to give a justification for the unprovoked attacks taylor said and russian families are going to ask ‘why as more of their soldiers die and the economy is hammered by economic sanctions the russian people are suffering because of what president putin is doing taylor said hes paying that price by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on march 16 2022
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host ambassador hank crumpton on march 22 2022 to discuss us intelligence and the risks the us currently faces the event titled the intelligence discipline and global risk will be held at the annenberg presidential conference center (1002 george bush dr w college station tx 77843) registration is required sign-in begins at 5:30 pm in the lobby and the lecture starts at 6 pm there will be time for a q&a after the lecture register online to attend register online to attend ambassador crumptons biography before founding crumpton group ambassador crumpton spent 24 years in the central intelligence agencys clandestine service operating mostly in the foreign field including tours as chief of station from 2003-2005 he was the chief of the cias national resource division responsible for all clandestine service operations in the us amb crumpton was sworn in as coordinator for counterterrorism at the department of state with the rank of ambassador-at-large on august 2 2005 he joined the cia in 1981 and served as an operations officer both at headquarters and abroad he has served in several foreign field assignments including two as chief of station in washington amb crumpton held senior management positions including an assignment at the federal bureau of investigation as deputy chief of the international terrorism operations section from 1998-1999 amb crumpton was also deputy chief (operations) of the cias counterterrorist center from 1999-2001 and led the cias afghan campaign from 2001-2002 amb crumpton served as chief of the national resources division from august 2003 until june 2005 amb crumpton was born in athens georgia he received a bachelors in political science from the university of new mexico and a masters in international public policy with honors from john hopkins universitys school of advanced international studies he is a contributing author to transforming us intelligence (2005) he serves as an advisory board member to the department of homeland securitys study of terrorism and responses to terrorism (start) a national consortium of universities amb crumpton is the recipient of numerous awards including the intelligence commendation medal; the george h w bush award for excellence in counterterrorism; the sherman kent award in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the literature of intelligence; the donovan award; and the distinguished intelligence medal the cias highest award for achievement
in the face of russias ongoing invasion of ukraine many within ukraine and around the world have called for the us and its nato allies to turn ukrainian airspace into a no-fly zone to shed light on what this action would mean and explain why nato leaders have been resistant to these calls texas a&m today spoke with associate professors john schuessler and jasen castillo of the bush school of government and public service schuessler and castillo are members of the department of international affairs and co-directors of the albritton center for grand strategy why have ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy and others called for the us/nato to impose a no-fly zone over ukraine schuessler: ukraine is heavily outgunned by russia while russia is primarily relying on artillery to shell ukrainian cities it holds an advantage in the air as well so ukraine would benefit militarily from a no-fly zone that kept russian planes from bombing ukrainian cities more importantly a no-fly zone would pull the us and nato into the war between ukraine and russia increasing ukraines chances of averting defeat castillo: the interesting thing about a no-fly zone is that the russian air force has largely not been a big factor in the war in fact many of us are puzzled about why they havent achieved air supremacy they simply havent been flying many sorties or missions what is a no-fly zone and what would the imposition of one actually mean schuessler: a no-fly zone would start with an announcement by nato that russian planes are not permitted to fly over ukraine the trick would be in enforcing it to enforce a no-fly zone nato would have to achieve air superiority over ukraine which would involve suppressing russias extensive air defenses in the area and then shooting down any russian aircraft that chose to defy the no-fly zone perhaps the most common misconception about a no-fly zone is that it is a measure short of war when in fact it would bring nato into direct combat with russian forces castillo: for nato to shut down the russian air defense and gain air supremacy the alliance (read: the us) would need to generate several sorties with aircraft not already in europe and it would take several days if not weeks russia would also use its array of ballistic and land-attack cruise missiles to strike nato airfields which would result in civilian casualties in other words this would not be fighting saddam hussein nato pilots will die and nato likely achieves its objectives through attrition and the reward for achieving this no-fly zone is that russia might then use nuclear weapons to prevent it how likely is it that the us and its allies would actually move to create a no-fly zone over ukraine schuessler: exactly because a no-fly zone could easily lead to war between nato and russia it is quite unlikely that the alliance will impose one instead nato will continue to look for indirect ways to aid the ukrainian military while punishing russia diplomatically and economically what has the us been doing to support ukrainians and oppose the russian invasion while still avoiding direct military confrontation with russia schuessler: the us and its european allies have been supplying ukraine with weapons such as anti-tank missiles they have also imposed punishing sanctions on the russian economy especially the financial sector the goal has been to increase the cost that russia is paying for the invasion of ukraine it is an open question whether such measures will be sufficient to save ukraine in the event ukraines government falls and is forced into exile the us and its allies will have to decide how extensively to support any insurgency against russias occupation they will also have to decide whether even more drastic sanctions – such as an embargo of russian oil and gas exports – are in order as importantly the us and its allies need to consider what the diplomatic endgame in ukraine will look like so that the war does not drag on endlessly or escalate dangerously what else should the average person know about the situation in ukraine especially where calls for a no-fly zone are concerned schuessler: outrage at russian behavior is perfectly understandable as is a desire to help the people of ukraine however direct combat with a nuclear-armed russia is exceedingly dangerous indeed the cold war stayed cold exactly because the us and the soviet union avoided such run-ins whatever the surface appeal of a no-fly zone it is an act of war and should be ruled out for that reason castillo: rightly or wrongly russia sees this as their cuban missile crisis keep in mind that crisis did not end in war because both sides not only threatened one another but also provided off ramps in the form of concessions the longer this war goes forward the more dangerous it is for everyone for this reason all sides need to figure out what they are willing to concede in a bargain this war will not end because sanctions cause the russian people to overthrow putin by luke henkhaus texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this story originally appeared in tamu today on march 15 2022
in a virtual discussion wednesday march 9 texas a&m university professors explored a variety of topics related to russias invasion of ukraine offering analysis on the roots of the conflict how things have played out since the invasion began and where things may be headed in the future the hour-long discussion hosted by the msc wiley lecture series featured political science lecturer dwight roblyer and associate professor of international affairs at the bush school john schuessler who also serves as co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy their conversation was moderated by david koepsell a lecturer in the department of philosophy according to msc wiley lecture series chair madison baugh around 150 people tuned in to watch the program as explained by schuessler russian president vladimir putins decision to take drastic measures in ukraine can be broadly understood as an attempt to maintain some kind of grip on neighboring countries which have begun to associate more with western nations both militarily and in terms of their economic and political structures putin or russia is threatened in two ways: in encroachments on its traditional sphere of influence and by the spread of liberalism which is a threat to its regime schuessler said so in a way russian paranoia and lashing out that would be fairly overdetermined still the russian leaders decision to launch a full-scale invasion came as a shock to many schuessler said it will take some time to get a complete understanding of what putin and his government specifically hoped to achieve with this action and what degree of success they expected to find we know that deterrence tends to fail when the aggressor thinks it can win a quick and decisive victory schuessler said sometimes these expectations are sound think france and may 1940 and sometimes these expectations are unsound referencing recent comments by former russian minister of foreign affairs andrei kozyrev roblyer explained that putin may have been operating under mistaken assumptions about the condition of the russian military as large sums of money meant to modernize russian forces have been siphoned off by corrupt officials we know that deterrence tends to fail when the aggressor thinks it can win a quick and decisive victory sometimes these expectations are sound think france and may 1940 and sometimes these expectations are unsounddr john schuessler certainly theres this issue that the expected might of the russian military machine seems to be something of a potemkin village roblyer said however roblyer noted that despite the apparent underperformance of the russian military and the impressive ferocity of ukrainian resistance during the initial weeks of the conflict it is important to keep in mind that russia still has the capacity to do tremendous damage russia has the capability to be able to turn kyiv into an aleppo to literally raze it to the ground with just their artillery and their thermobaric weapons and the other things that they have roblyer said thats what kyiv faces right now unless we can find some way to be able to turn the tide on this conflict but as both roblyer and schuessler explained the capacity of the us and its nato allies to intervene is severely limited by russias status as a nuclear power thats why ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyys calls for the west to close the skies and remove russian airpower from the picture by establishing a no-fly zone over ukraine have as yet gone unheeded i do think its fairly irresponsible to be calling for a no-fly zone because its the one thing that would ensure direct combat between nato-american forces and russian forces which is the quickest route to nuclear war schuessler said despite russias strong strategic position in this respect the west appears to have found some success in targeting the already-weak russian economy with aggressive sanctions however the long-term feasibility and effectiveness of this approach remains in question roblyer said just because these financial restrictions and sanctions are holding at week two doesnt mean that they will hold at week four or week six or at month 10 roblyer said and so what we may see as being very successful now we may have a very different assessment in the future looking ahead schuessler said that even if russia manages to drive the current ukrainian government into exile and take the country over it is likely that some form of nato-backed insurgency will remain this would in turn create additional possibilities for escalation as russia may attempt to tighten its grip on the country by going after nations that choose to aid the ukrainian insurgents thats where things i think could get dangerous schuessler said theyll be dangerous for ukrainians regardless thats the true tragedy but where you could see escalation is in this process of grinding insurgency and then the russians grasping for increasingly desperate means to kind of stamp it out and thats going to be a hard problem for nato to manage by luke henkhaus texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this story originally appeared in tamu today on march 10 2022
dahlia taha (class of 2023) master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school introduce yourself my name is dahlia taha i am a first year master of public service and administration candidate at the bush school i am originally from los angeles california prior to coming to the bush school i went to the university of california-irvine where i got a double major in political science and education sciences after i graduated i went into the workforce into managerial positions i would also volunteer and intern for non-profit organizations and ingos like palestinian childrens relief fund i dedicated the last summer before coming here to campaigning and fundraising for children in the middle east who are victims of war this last summer alone i raised over $115 000 for them why did you choose the bush school i chose the bush school because im a public servant public service is something i have been devoted to since i was a teenager volunteering and working with my community the bush schools emphasis on creating public servants and sending them out into society to help their local state federal and international communities is something that resonated with me i wanted to be around people who had similar goals and ambitions i wanted to have a very intense curriculum with the best faculty and the best administrators but i also wanted to be part of a community where at the end of the day were all here to help our communities and be public servants once i graduate i can proudly say that im an alum and a bush school aggie what did you appreciate most about your first semester i appreciated how much support i received from the faculty the administration and my fellow students coming from california there was major culture shock and i was really worried about it but right when i got to the school i started making friends very easily everyone was just really really nice here i felt myself forming a second family like a home away from home even dean welsh would see me in the hallway and immediately know my name what are you most looking forward to this semester im looking forward to serving the bush school last semester i was elected academic affairs liaison so i will be representing the mpsa students i also applied for the bush board fellows which is a program that allows you to work with nonprofit organizations and serve as a non-voting board member i actually get to work with the international american red cross throughout the semester which is really cool im also excited to be taking a class with dr kerr – public policy formation dr kerr is a thought-provoking challenging professor who has you questioning everything you say and do within minutes of walking into the class on the first day of school she was teaching us how to be better public speakers and better writers what advice would you give to a younger version of yourself applying to or entering the bush school as a grad student its very intense and its not like undergrad its challenging but the bush school isnt just an academic institutionits a community whether youre an mpsa student or youre in the master of international affairs program everyone knows each other everyone cares about each other here dean welsh is taking time to make sure every single one of the students is going to succeed and is getting that education they deserve while feeling welcomed here thats something that should stick out to people looking to get their masters: am i going to feel comfortable in my environment is it going to be a welcoming environment is it competitive but do the people who im competing with want me to succeed youll get that at the bush school before i moved here i was scared im a muslim american-palestinian student so moving to college station was a huge transition but its been one of the most welcoming transitions dont be so afraid and just walk into the allen building on the first day be excited youre going to meet so many great people so many great faculty members and so many great administrators who are rooting for your success so get rid of that fear its going to be okay
the co-directors for the albritton center for grand strategy dr jasen castillo and dr john schuessler have made multiple media appearances over the past few weeks discussing the russia/ukraine crisis the duo was included in an opinion piece that was published in politico and the guardian incoming cgs colleague alexandra chinchilla was also in the piece schuessler was also a guest panelist on the msc wiley lecture series event on march 9 the event emergency in eastern europe discussed the ongoing military conflict between ukraine and russia exploring a variety of topics related to the subject offering analysis on the roots of the conflict how things have played out since the invasion began and where things may be headed in the future on march 14 castillo joined the fox news rundown to discuss ukraine and the risks of nuclear war castillo discussed the possibility of nuclear war on march 11 as well in a featured piece in salon on march 10 castillo appeared in a segment on cbn news titled ‘things could get out of control: how a threatened putin may unleash nukes in ukraine castillo was a guest on the march 9 edition of the john quincy adams society podcast titled military effectiveness in ukraine and beyond castillo was also a two-time guest on the will cain podcast over the past few weeks appearing on war games: playing out wwiii & the russian strategy on feb 28 and russias nuclear arsenal: how the us can avoid the worst case scenario on march 7 castillo appeared on the march 4 edition of the mitch albom show as well discussing russian military strategy on february 28 castillo also appeared in an interview with asahi shinbun cgs serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
kyle cox mpsa 20 was born with muscular dystrophy now he will advise texas legislators on disability issues kyle cox 20 a graduate of the master of public service and administration (mpsa) program at the bush school of government and public service earned a position on the texas council for developmental disabilities appointed by texas governor greg abbott in january cox will advise state legislators on disability issues until his term expires in february 2027 this has been my passion all my life having a severe disability myself ive seen the flaws in the system my philosophy is to have an all-inclusive community of people who have disabilities and people without disabilities said cox cox 24 was born with a hearing impairment and duchenne muscular dystrophy (dmd) a genetic disorder that causes muscles to progressively break down researchers estimate that dmd affects every 6 per 100 000 individuals in north america and europe those affected by dmd experience systemic physical weakness that grows more severe over time this has been my passion all my life having a severe disability myself ive seen the flaws in the system my philosophy is to have an all-inclusive community of people who have disabilities and people without disabilitieskyle cox for cox physical obstacles gives him an advantage in advocacy for others with disability cox draws on his own experiences and to infuse the concept of diversity into his advocacy for persons with disabilities his goals for his tenure on the council include increasing employment rates for persons with disability and creating a more accessible means of public transportation my biggest challenge will be to make lawmakers and policymakers see things in the same way i do on why we need these changes growing up around it i can definitely see the reasons said cox but theyre having to figure out whats the best way to get what people with disabilities need while at the same time weighing the needs of other constituents i have to find a middle ground to do this cox says he will use tools acquired from his bush school education especially dr frank ashleys course on workplace diversity his approach draws on the parallel between people with disabilities and others facing societal hurdles that class helped me figure out how to talk to people how to show them my view without putting other views down said cox i learned how disability plays a role in diversity and how to better advocate for people with disabilities he [dr ashley] opened my eyes to things about race that i had not considered using those things i was able to figure out a different way to describe to people how disability fits into diversity cox did not always see himself in the advocacy space he originally planned to major in engineering at texas a&m university and design products for people with disabilities when that didnt work out the way he hoped he switched to political science taking classes at the robert h 50 and judy ley allen building led him to the bush school my biggest challenge will be to make lawmakers and policymakers see things in the same way i do on why we need these changes growing up around it i can definitely see the reasonskyle cox ive always wanted to advocate for others with disabilities the best way to do that was by going to the bush school and getting my masters in public administration i use that to influence policy and help other people with disabilities to pursue a life i was blessed to have after graduating from the bush school cox began his own consulting firm cox consultants so far cox has helped a client improve their hiring rate for people with disabilities he gathered data on disability hires and analyzed it for changes in hiring practices over time from there he could apply his own knowledge of disability to make recommendations to the company on how to improve their language and hiring processes in a way that encouraged people with disabilities to apply for jobs data analytics is something i definitely took from the bush school said cox other skills developed under bush school professors like policy writing have enhanced his ability to communicate his message to clients and the public now his audience includes the texas legislature it is a big honor to be able to have that direct connection to the policy makers in the house to be one of the bigger voices for people with disabilities in the state of texas if anything i hope to inspire other people to go out advocate for themselves and others making the community better not just for people with disabilities but all people when you have people with disabilities out in the community making a difference it makes the world better for everyone by micaela burrow
note: this event was canceled due to inclement weather the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) and the bush school of government and public service will host an event featuring general anthony zinni at 5:30 pm on march 21 2022 at the annenberg presidential conference center at texas a&m university in college station tx gen zinni will speak on the future of military power with a focus on building foreign militaries followed by a moderated discussion with cgs co-director dr jasen castillo the talk is free and open to the public there will be an option to attend via zoom for guests who cannot attend in person please visit the cgs website for more details and to register for the event register to attend gen anthony (tony) c zinni is a retired four star united states marine corps general he served his country in numerous diplomatic roles as the us special envoy to israel and the palestinian authority and in missions to pakistan somalia eritrea and ethiopia general zinni retired from the us marine corps in 2000 after a distinguished 39-year career that took him to over 70 countries in many command assignments in his final tour of duty from 1997 to 2000 he was commander-in-chief of the us central command in his military career general zinni earned 23 personal awards and 37 unit service and campaign awards general zinni joined the us marine corps in 1961 and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant in 1965 after completing his undergraduate degree in economics at villanova university he earned graduate degrees in international relations from salve regina university and in management and supervision from central michigan university general zinni has been awarded honorary doctorates from villanova university; the college of william and mary and the maine maritime academy he has held academic positions that include the stanley chair in ethics at the virginia military institute the nimitz chair at the university of california berkeley the hofheimer chair at the joint forces staff college and the harriman professorship of government at the reves center for international studies at the college of william and mary he has worked with the university of californias institute on global conflict and cooperation and the henry dunant centre for humanitarian dialogue in geneva he was chairman of the board of bae systems inc and a member of the board of dyncorp international before being appointed an executive vice president he also served as president of international operations for mic industries inc general zinni is the author of two best-selling books on his military career and foreign affairs: battle ready and the battle for peace his most recent book leading the charge was published in 2009 the albritton center for grand strategy at the bush school of government and public service serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
the bush school is fully committed to its mission of educating and training principled leaders as well as performing service learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as alyssa duany (class of 2022) master of public service and administration candidate discusses her experience at the bush school she is in the public policy analysis track with a certificate in nonprofit management introduce yourself my name is alyssa duany i am currently a second-year master of public service and administration (mpsa) student on the public policy analysis track and im getting the certificate in nonprofit management before i came to the bush school i worked in nonprofits for a couple years i was a volunteer coordinator and i worked as an americorps team leader for about a year in the north central region then i came to the bush school to get more experience and learn more about policy and nonprofits what three words would you use to describe your bush school experience flexibility i started during covid-19 so we had to be flexible with some class settings and that kind of thing hard work its a hard program but theres so much value that you get from it community is the third one theres really a sense of community among the faculty the staff and the students as well theres a sense of we want to help you be better and we want to build a sense of belonging for new students when i started here i didnt know anybody and i was able to make great friendships with people in my classes what did you do between the summer in the summer between your first and second year how did it supplement your education and/or career search i worked at the government accountability office (gao) as a program and management analyst intern i worked with a team to look at a federal agencys procurement and acquisitions a big part of what i had to do was fine tune my writing to make it more succinct and appropriate for what we had to eventually turn into a report through that experience i got a good understanding of the federal writing style that helped me with a lot of my classes i really want to focus the intersection of policy and non-profits having a federal job really helped me understand the government process a little bit more and give me hands-on experience the first year of my bush school experience i actually found out about the gao without my first year at the bush school i would not have had that opportunity to learn about the gao it actually helped me land the internship i went to a career information session [that] had people come from the gao who were former bush school students they talked about their experience in the organization and talked highly of it it sounded like a great opportunity to work for a federal agency that essentially creates accountability for the rest of the government my first year [at the bush school] prepared me for that through writing skills policy analysis exercises and access to the gao what is a challenge that you encountered during your first year and how did you overcome it the biggest challenge my first year was coming back into the school environment i graduated from undergrad in 2017 so when i started at the bush school i had to remind myself how to manage reading every night and how to do papers all over again id say the writing was probably the most difficult for me because the writing style at the bush school is very direct the policy analysis papers and memos that we have to write are just different from anything that ive ever had to write before i worked with my professors to get their feedback on my papers and with other students in my class to check each others papers that helped a lot what advice would you give to first years to first-years use your classmates to create reading groups and working groups so you guys can learn together and succeed in your classes your classes are at times really challenging and if you have people to support you work with and talk about questions then its going to be a lot easier down the road ask questions in class and go to professors office hours most likely people in your class have the same questions as you but no ones asking so raise your hand those professors are really here for youthey want to help you succeed and learn the material by using them and learning as much as you can in and outside of class itll really help you in the long run
as chief patrol agent of the el paso sector gloria chavez leads all border patrol enforcement operations along 264 border miles with mexico that cover west texas and southern new mexico she has management oversight of 11 stations six permanent immigration checkpoints and three forward operating bases encompassing approximately 125 500 square miles on wednesday march 9 2022 she will give a talk on securing americas border in theory and practice at the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center register online to attend the event is part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague the series invites practitioners and policymakers working on the border and in mexico and latin america to share their expertise and experiences a reception will begin at 5:15 pm with chief chavez speaking at 6 pm the reception and lecture are open to the public but reservations are requested by tuesday march 8 the us border patrol is at the forefront of us immigration and national security issues today what we see in the media does not always reflect the realities of border security we are incredibly lucky to be able to learn from chief chavez about the challenging work of her organization stated teague the program is sponsored by the border & migration program of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university as well as the carlos h cantu hispanic education and opportunity endowment for registration or additional information visit the mosbacher institutes website at bushtamuedu/mosbacher
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university will host ambassador william taylor former senior us career diplomat and former ambassador to ukraine to discuss the ukraine/russia crisis on tuesday march 8th 2022 the event will be held on zoom there will be time for a q&a following the lecture register online to attend ambassador taylors biography ambassador william b taylor is vice president russia and europe at the us institute of peace in 2019 he served as chargé daffaires at the us embassy in kyiv during the arab spring he oversaw us assistance and support to egypt tunisia libya and syria he served as the us ambassador to ukraine from 2006 to 2009 ambassador taylor served as the us governments representative to the mideast quartet which facilitated the israeli disengagement from gaza and parts of the west bank he served in baghdad as the first director of the iraq reconstruction management office from 2004 to 2005 and in kabul as coordinator of international and us assistance to afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 ambassador taylor was also coordinator of us assistance to the former soviet union and eastern europe he earlier served on the staff of senator bill bradley he is a graduate of west point and harvard universitys kennedy school of government and served as an infantry platoon leader and combat company commander in the us army in vietnam and germany
on february 23 2022 the mosbacher institutes borders and migration program hosted us congressman kevin brady representative of the 8th district of texas and the republican leader of the house ways and means committee to talk about the domestic and international challenges related to the negotiations of the united states-mexico-canada agreement (usmca) that updated the north american free trade agreement (nafta) the event was part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague who also served as moderator us congressman kevin brady and dr aileen teague congressman brady opened his talk by talking about the important role president george hw bush played in establishing the path for nafta and usmca he also emphasized the mentorship role that president bush played by guiding him on the ways and means congressional committee and advising him to prioritize international trade brady talked about the importance of free trade and his complete belief in its necessity he argued that free trade is essential for preserving the individual and collective rights of americans to buy sell and compete anywhere in the world equally important he added is that free trade ensures that decision-making power rests with consumers rather than governments or special interests groups moreover brady argued that free trade has the power to lift individuals communities and entire countries out of poverty and leads to higher incomes more economic growth improved human rights and stronger environmental protections brady then talked about the success that nafta had after its inception in 1992 the agreement quadrupled trade among its parties increased the production and sale of made-in-america products and led to more integrated supply chains that combined the strength of the three countries helping them to compete globally further he added that nafta played a positive role in strengthening mexicos democracy and human rights and helped make the country more stable and prosperous nonetheless he argued that the agreement could not keep up with the constant developments in the world economy as more countries around the world signed trade agreements and as economies technologies and consumer demands continued to evolve he argued it was necessary to forge a new agreement with mexico and canada dr raymond robertson dr aileen teague us congressman kevin brady and dr frank ashley brady explained that the usmca maintained the successful aspects of nafta including zero tariffs on all us exports to mexico and nearly all the products exported to canada he illustrated that usmca was not only about increasing the quantity of trade among the three countries but also the quality of the provisions governing trade among them he added that the agreement aimed at locking-in key mexican reforms in energy and telecommunication created a level playing field for financial services and investments and established better digital trade rules to give the parties the edge in the global digital economy furthermore the agreement addressed barriers beyond the borders which was not a feature of older agreements including nafta as a result the three countries are removing barriers that discriminated against each others products and services modernizing their customs procedures and preventing government-owned enterprises from distorting competition with private businesses finally brady talked about the significance of the agreement for the united states in particular the agreement benefited the american auto industry which had been affected by the artificially low wages in mexico changes that the usmca brought about however have helped the industry to generate over $34 billion in investments create 67 000 jobs and provide higher wages for the workers he concluded his speech by talking about the significance of the bipartisan support for the agreement in the united states which had not been seen in years earlier in the day brady met with bush school students with a concentration in latin america to discuss domestic and foreign policy issues more broadly the students were extremely appreciative of the congressmans time you can view congressman kevin bradys talk on the bush school youtube channel
bush school experts will discuss whats next for the future of ukraine and how it will impact the united states watch live | submit questions join us on friday february 25 2022 at 12 pm ct/1 pm et for a panel discussion about the russia-ukraine conflict and how it impacts the united states bush school panelists are ambassador (ret) larry napper professor of the practice at the bush school professor andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs and dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute of trade economics and public policy the event will be moderated by dr yuval weber research assistant professor at bush school dc this event will be held live on the bush schools facebook page facebookcom/bushschool live questions can be submitted during the event questions can be submitted online prior to the event at bushtamuedu/question
the bush school is fully committed to its mission of educating and training principled leaders as well as performing service learn more about why students have chosen the bush school of government & public service as robyn battles (class of 2022) master of international affairs candidate discusses her experience at the bush school robyn is in the national security and diplomacy track tell us about yourself my name is robyn battles i did my undergrad at texas a&m university at galveston where i studied maritime public policy and communication im currently enrolled in the masters of international affairs program here at the bush school how would you describe your bush school experience thus far educational but not in the way that im just taking classes and gaining new information ive gotten a lot of practical experience that will help me in the future its eye-opening ive learned so many new areas of study that i wouldnt have been exposed to before i came in thinking i knew exactly what i wanted and i have not totally changed it but have had my horizons expanded its been a rewarding process what did you do in the summer between your first and second year and how did it supplement your education and/or career search i interned as a research fellow for us indopacom i got to spend my summer in hawaii doing research on climate security issues that was a new field of study for me but it was great to be able to use the research skills i had learned in school apply them to real world issues and create a product that could be used for the department of defense that was really coolto be able to come away with that experience and having something tangible i can point to it was cool to see how some of the concepts that we learn in classabout grand strategy and partnerships and alliances with other countrieshow that actually works in the real world and the nitty-gritty of how the interagency liaisons with each other all that stuff was really interesting to watch in real time and not just learn about it or read about it in class the bush school gave me the vocabulary know-how and background information i used doing my internship but i think the internship gave me a broader perspective being able to see how these things actually interact what is a challenge you encountered related to your bush school education up to this point and how did you overcome it the biggest thing was imposter syndrome i didnt have a strong background in international affairs or world politics when i came in it felt like a lot of my peers did know a lot about these subjects that was difficult to work through im still working through it and realizing that just because my strengths arent the same as my peers strengths it doesnt mean that im any more or less capable than they are having that awareness and understanding that we all are interested in different things are talented and have our strengths and weaknesses in different areasjust understanding each others humannesshelped me overcome feeling like im the only one in the room that doesnt know whats going on in reality some weeks a subject comes up that youre like ive been studying this since undergrad i know exactly whats going on your peers highly regard you for that then some weeks its just your turn to stop listen and absorb the information what advice would you give to first-years dont be afraid to step out of your comfort zone especially when it comes to doing your assignments my tendency was just to write on what i knew about because thats what i felt comfortable with and sometimes its the easiest i already felt insecure about how much i knew about international affairs in general but i would take this opportunity to just expand the breadth of your knowledge you can definitely specialize and if you want to get down into particular areas of the world you can but i would recommend you take the opportunity to push yourself into research about other areas in the world because ultimately that makes you more well-rounded being able to draw from different times in history in different places around the world makes you a better candidate for finding jobs and makes you a more cultured person in general i think theres probably a tendency to stick with what you know i would use some of my assignments as an opportunity to learn about something that i didnt know before
bush school graduate mason alexander-hawk learned of her relation to sen matthew gaines while advocating for his statue on the campus he helped establish story by caitlin clark video by char callawaynote: this story originally appeared in tamu today on feb 17 2022 theres a phone conversation from 2018 that mason alexander-hawk 24 remembers as a moment that reaffirmed her life choices up until that point on the call she caught up with her grandmother about her first semester of graduate school at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service you know her grandmother had said theyre trying to build a statue of your grandfather on campus alexander-hawk was well aware of the statue initiative – she had already spent months working with fellow aggies to recognize matthew gaines who twice escaped slavery before going on to serve in the texas legislature during reconstruction his advocacy was instrumental in legislation that helped establish us land-grant universities like texas a&m it wasnt until that phone call however that she knew gaines had any connection to her family i was already a few months into the initiative when i figured out i was his great great great granddaughter alexander-hawk said everything that happened in my life that brought me to a&m in that moment i knew was right and i was where i was supposed to be now a doctoral student in the college of architecture alexander-hawk was in attendance last november when a bronze statue of her ancestor was unveiled on campus when she stood behind a podium to speak at the ceremony and struggled to see where the crowd ended – more than 1 000 people attended – alexander-hawk realized how much the statue meant to others you could almost feel in the air that day that something historic was happening she said when they pulled the curtain off the statue it almost took the breath out of you a little bit matthew gaines legacy for alexander-hawk gaines is the embodiment of the aggie core value of selfless service born in 1840 on a plantation in pineville la gaines was enslaved for the first 25 years of his life he risked his life two times to escape enslavement but both times he was captured once emancipated gaines made his way to washington county not far from bryan-college station where he emerged as a community leader became a baptist preacher and was elected state senator alexander-hawk said gaines advocated fearlessly for access to education – he learned to read by candlelight using contraband books – as well as voting rights prison reform and rights for african-americans during his service in the 12th texas legislature he helped ensure the state took advantage of the federal morrill act of 1862 that legislation called for land to be granted to states to create higher education institutions like the agricultural and mechanical college of texas now known as texas a&m university the school did not accept black students until 1963 that was a university he couldnt go to his kids couldnt go to and his grandkids couldnt go to alexander-hawk said that to me is a perfect example of selfless service that had no impact on him but he could see his legacy in the future that his great great great granddaughter might be able to go to texas a&m that was education he could not have access to and yet he fiercely fought for the law the new statue of sen matthew gaines is located near the memorial student center and student services building in the middle of campus (photo by billy smith ii/texas a&m division of marketing & communications) becoming involved with the statue initiative as a graduate student was a natural fit for alexander-hawk even before she was aware of their connection she served on a diversity equity and inclusion committee at the bush school and felt the project forwarded a mission she already felt passionately about i thought that it was really amazing that they were trying to honor this black man who had such an important impact on a&ms campus that was not being recognized alexander-hawk said through the matthew gaines society – alexander-hawk serves as the groups vice president – she helped spread awareness of gaines contributions to gather support for the project from current and former students the effort began in the 1990s with the formation of the matthew gaines committee but finally picked up momentum after the death of george floyd in 2020 and the resulting civil unrest she said the student organization was instrumental in raising awareness and the $350 000 needed to build the statue on a personal level advocating for gaines to be recognized on campus also allowed alexander-hawk to reconnect with her fathers side of the family through which she is a descendant of gaines it connected me to tons of people i hadnt spoken to since i was about two she said it was a full-circle moment and theres people from all across the country who flew in for the statue unveiling because of this initiative and how big this movement was to get matthew gaines on campus for alexander-hawk the sculpture of gaines that now stands in the yolanda and jimmy 65 janacek plaza serves as a symbol of representation when you walk around campus as a person of color you can see somebody who looks like you a black person she said walking by and seeing that statue really shows that youre welcome here youre wanted here that you have a place here and you can make an impact a connection though public service texas a&m students and the matthew gaines society have pushed for a representation of gaines on campus since the 1990s (photo by billy smith ii/texas a&m division of marketing & communications) impact is a word thats often on alexander-hawks mind she was born in texas and grew up with her mother in portland ore after earning her bachelors degree from texas a&m international university alexander-hawk returned home to portland to work with high school students through a nonprofit this is where she saw the effects that a lack of stable housing had on students schoolwork and mental health my reason for leaving the nonprofit was because i wanted to make a bigger impact alexander-hawk said in 2018 she moved to college station to pursue a masters degree in public service and administration from the bush school of government and public service there she focused on nonprofit management and urban sustainability after earning her masters degree in 2020 alexander-hawk moved on to the college of architecture as part of her doctoral studies alexander-hawk researches the intersection of disaster recovery nonprofits and affordable housing her ultimate goal: consulting or research work that could change affordable housing policy in the us i almost have had this awakening that i want to do public service alexander-hawk said the second i started working in a nonprofit it shifted my perspective on what i wanted to do with my life now knowing shes the descendant of the epitome of a public servant alexander-hawk said she feels confident that texas a&m is where im supposed to be
the bush school of government and public service in partnership with the texas a&m university office of fraternity & sorority life invites the public to join us on tuesday february 22 2022 at 4:30 pm for our annual black history month event salute to the divine legacy of black sororities and fraternities program will take place on the texas a&m campus at the annenberg presidential conference center and parking is provided in lot 43 this years speaker dr walter kimbrough is the president of dillard university in new orleans and a well-known scholar of fraternities and sororities with specific expertise regarding historically black latin and asian groups dr kimbrough is figuratively and literally the best suited person in the us to have for an event which highlights the contributions of black greek letter organization members to the public service sector said professor kenneth taylor of the bush schools department of public service and administration dr kimbroughs tenure is one marked by achievements that have lifted his universitys national profile under president kimbroughs leadership dillard has risen to new heights in fundraising enrollment academics co-curricular programming and student support kimbrough has also become an engaged community voice as well a proud native of atlanta president kimbrough was his high schools salutatorian and student body president in 1985 he went on to earn his bachelors degree from the university of georgia his masters from miami university in ohio and his phd in higher education from georgia state university to register for this free event please visit the event page or contact denise parker
sarah palin sued the new york times for defamation the outcome of this case could determine how news organizations report political information in the future by tiarra drisker ‘25 sarah palin a former alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate sued the new york times for libel in reference to an editorial article that links the shooting of representative gabby giffords to palins campaign rhetoric in 2017 after an appeal of its initial dismissal the case was heard by a jury earlier this month then on monday feb 14 judge jed rakoff who was overseeing the lawsuit announced he will dismiss the suit the dismissal all but seals the fate of the suit reaching the second circuit and potentially the supreme court the new york times cited a map portraying giffords and other democrats under stylized cross hairs palins political action committee created the map to encourage voters to vote republican but the new york times claimed that this map inspired giffords shooter since the new york times v sullivan case of 1964 news outlets have received leeway when reporting on public figures the decision of the new york times v sullivan case held that freedom of speech protections in the first amendment prohibit the ability of american public officials to sue for defamation the supreme court recognized that it would be inherently problematic if they punished news outlets when they published news stories in good faith but got key facts incorrect without this ruling libel laws would become powerful tools for influential political and economic leaders to punish news outlets for publishing stories that are critical of them sarah palins case challenges this long-standing precedent kirby goidel a professor in the department of political science said should she be successful it will undermine an important protection underlying freedom of the press and will likely encourage future lawsuits in my view the case itself is an attempt to ‘punch back at the news media successful or not forcing a news outlet to defend its reporting in court is an effort to force news outlets to think twice about critical news coverage this is the first defamation case against a news publication that has gone through trial in roughly 50 years said tom burton an assistant professor in the department of communication the progress of palins case is very rare; usually cases against news publications are dismissed or settled out of court american news organizations mostly rely on profit and going to court is expensive if the court rules in favor of palin smaller news organizations may be forced to write whatever will prevent defamation and libel lawsuits the bigger question is whether individuals or political movements are weaponizing the courts burton shared theyre using tactics used by certain businesses especially big corporations to simply go to court and intimidate people into settling or going away because it costs a lot to go to court and afford attorneys i think thats the bigger thing: is this really about defamation or is it about trying to discredit the new york times which is perceived as an opponent of conservative right politics though news organizations have the right to inform the public they do not have the right to spread misinformation according to the first amendment in fact journalism is the only profession mentioned in the constitution with freedom of the press however freedom of speech does not come without consequence journalists have special rights but they also have special responsibilities burton explained their responsibilities are to find facts and to be fair and diligent about that and to report it to the citizenry the first amendment allows you to do that without restriction from the government or harassment from the government the sarah palin v the new york times case can have a variety of outcomes but the outcome may change the way news organizations handle certain topics however goidel says there is only one thing we as citizens should ensure about the future of journalism we should all be concerned about whether news organizations are doing due diligence in their reporting and working to get the story right goidel said we need journalism that does more than generates clicks and likes to be informed citizens we need accurate and truthful news content on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
a multidisciplinary team of researchers from texas a&ms institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) and agrilife research and from the university of texas southwestern medical center have published their research stakeholder views on engagement trust performance and risk considerations about the use for gene drive technology in agricultural pest management in health security using original survey data collected as part of a usda-funded project the research team examines the views of stakeholders about an emerging genetic technology called gene drive gene drive is being lab-tested to control mosquitoes that carry malaria under limited biological circumstances gene drive could potentially be used to manage agricultural insect pests and weeds gene drive should it work would change the normal passing down of genetic traits from parents to offspring so that certain traits are intentionally passed along to most or all of the offspring the study team investigates what texas stakeholders think about potentially using gene drive to manage agricultural pests people from organizations that have an interest in agriculture received some information about gene drive and then asked questions about what they think the majority of stakeholders trust regulatory agencies to oversee gene drive and are concerned about risks and scientific uncertainty the stakeholders think that both product safety and how well it works are very important but that safety is slightly more important even with the potential risks and the unknowns the majority of stakeholders considered gene drive to be a good idea for managing agricultural pests goldsmith carol l ki eun kang elizabeth heitman zach n adelman leah w buchman david kerns xinsheng liu raul f medina and arnold vedlitz 2021 stakeholder views on engagement trust performance and risk considerations about the use for gene drive technology in agricultural pest management health security 20(1) doi:101089/hs20210101
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government & public service has named two new members to its fellows program – dr xinyue ye and dr hyunseok hwang dr xinyue ye is a fellow of american association of geographers and the harold l adams endowed associate professor in the department of landscape architecture & urban planning college of architecture at texas a&m university he is also associate director of the center for housing and urban development his research focuses on developing and implementing new spatiotemporal and network methods in physical virtual and perceived spaces to better understand inequality mobility and diffusion his work connects people with technologies that improve health and safety such as social distancing and pandemic air pollution and massive movement analytics dr hyunseok hwang is an assistant professor for the department of sociology in the college of liberal arts and social sciences at the university of houston his academic interests include organization theory environmental sociology community resilience philanthropic studies and social entrepreneurship his research has an overarching theme of identifying how organizations respond to institutional heterogeneity grand societal challenges (ie massive social and environmental issues) and challenges to organizational sustainability prior to joining the faculty at the university of houston dr hwang worked at istpp as an assistant research scientist we are proud of his new appointment and grateful for continuing our research collaborations
former student ronnie mcdonald ‘93 continues to inspire the aggie spirit after serving as the first black yell leader in university history by tiarra drisker ‘25 ronnie mcdonald ‘93 knew very little about the culture in aggieland when he chose to attend texas a&m university learning about the university through his mothers manager mcdonald had only heard snippets of conversations about its traditions little did he know he would become a part of one of the most renowned traditions of texas a&m as its first black yell leader and later bastrop countys youngest and first black judge mcdonald got his first taste of aggie traditions at fish camp where he was introduced to other freshmen aggies learned yells and got his first glimpse of the yell leaders his interest in becoming yell leader began with an idea to use the position as a stepping stone for student body president however once he was in the position he knew he had found his place at texas a&m ronnie mcdonald 93 leading the crowd at midnight yell practice in 1992 photo courtesy of aggieland yearbook once i became a yell leader it was one of the best experiences i had mcdonald shared it was unique because there hadnt been an african american yell leader there hadnt been too many yell leaders that were not in the corps of cadets even getting elected was unique i didnt have a base and i wasnt in the corps i had to really learn what being a yell leader meant and learn the yells because when i ran i only knew two yells running for yell leader was a unique experience for mcdonald because of his race and his position as a non-reg (someone not in the corps) so he had to find a way to be even more unique he ran on a campaign that compared texas a&m to a rainbow mcdonald knew people would quickly spot his differences from other yell leader candidates so he set out to highlight those differences as a strength for the university his yell leader campaign made it clear that electing a black student who was not a member of the corps of cadets was an opportunity to change the worlds perception of texas a&m i wanted to change how texas a&m was embraced and what we think of when we think about texas a&m mcdonald said texas a&m is like a rainbow when you see a rainbow you dont see one color but an accumulation of colors coming together to enhance the beauty of that rainbow i came up with quotes like ‘why settle for fries when you could have a big mac i would come in with a little jingle: ‘jingle to the left and jingle to the right the whole thing i wanted them to catch was this is a guy with a personality and energy that went beyond anything we ever thought of as being a yell leader i didnt want to focus on the things that made us different but the things that united us and the thing that united us was our differences being the first black yell leader was not all rainbows though mcdonald sometimes received boos during games and phone calls expressing disapproval of him as a yell leader he struggled with the idea that he was either not aggie enough or not black enough despite the mixed reactions of crowds mcdonalds fellow aggies and family made him feel at home while serving his university my dad was in a wheelchair but my mom and dad always made it to every game mcdonald said the corps would always come and get my dad and make sure that he was settled in and taken care of even though i wasnt a part of the corps you can have a lot of things that try to come against you but that unity and spirit of aggieland that brings us together amazed me ive always appreciated that love ronnie mcdonald 93 is the youngest judge in texas history and bastrop countys first black judge after graduating with his bachelors in political science and government mcdonald became judge of bastrop county at the age of 27 mcdonald credits his experiences as yell leader with preparing him to serve as the youngest county judge in history of bastrop county running for county judge at 27-years-old was something entirely new mcdonald explained i was the youngest county judge in the state of texas i had all these idealistic thoughts about changing the world and putting all that pressure on myself to do it was tough at 27 people said i was too young and didnt know enough i think being a yell leader prepared me to deal with those situations i was a county judge for 14 years my time at texas a&m prepared me for those things as a judge mcdonalds success as the first black yell leader paved the way for students to follow his example and prepared him to set other firsts in american history his success as the youngest judge in bastrop county carved a path for future generations as we progress through black history month mcdonald emphasized the importance of learning black history for all races your history gives you a better sense of who you are mcdonald explained if we dont know who we are we cant move with confidence and authority because we dont know that we come from greatness its important for other individuals to know how african americans gave to the whole we have to embrace it because black people have overcome struggles and obstacles to reach greatness and we see that throughout our culture a lot of times we just get caught up in it being an african american holiday and not realizing the foundations african americans had for the country as a whole on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the texas lyceum made history on january 14 when it instated as president sarah jackson bush school 11 jackson serves as the first woman of color and only the fourth individual from dallas to serve in the position since the organizations inception in 1980 according to jackson the texas lyceum a statewide nonprofit organization focused on public policy and leadership will expand its reach into overlooked communities of texas i am proud to lead the texas lyceum in a celebration of our legacy and the states increasing diversity that will allow for various forums to promote discussions on the most significant issues impacting texas and civil discourse said jackson together with our directors and alumni im confident we will ensure our organization has the right infrastructure in place to serve todays texas especially in such a transformative election year the daughter of sierra leonean immigrants jackson was born in the lone star state and feels a deep connection to its future her career took her through washington dc and houston before she resettled in dallas almost eight years ago i am proud to lead the texas lyceum in a celebration of our legacy and the states increasing diversity that will allow for various forums to promote discussions on the most significant issues impacting texas and civil discoursesarah jackson after graduating from the university of missouri in 2004 with a bachelors degree in journalism jackson moved to capitol hill she worked successively in communications for two congressmen before accepting an appointment to the department of states office of media affairs under former president george w bush five years in washington left jackson feeling disconnected from her texas roots it was great working on things at a high level but texas is my home she said in the beltway its hard to connect to middle america and understand whats going on at the state and local level sarah jackson with a change in administrations and a candidate from an opposing political party holding the presidency jackson decided the time had come for her to pursue an advanced education she enrolled in the master of public service and administration (mpsa) program at the bush school of government and public service in 2009 breaking from the national issues that focused her preceding career she concentrated in state and local government and policy analysis the bush school was my opportunity to learn skills and gain academic knowledge about the inner workings of local and state government i didnt have that from working in washington and i didnt get that from undergrad jacksons experience at the bush school involved gaining perspective on public service in state and local government – and slogging through the technical training embedded into the bush school mpsa curriculum like public finance helping me understand public finance is the gift i didnt realize i needed and wanted it has been helpful in my large-scale policy discussions related to the financing for public entities school districts and cities that i now do at my job at the dallas citizens council the stuff i learned at the bush school has been critical for where ive ended up in my career said jackson at first living in dallas where jackson grew up did not present itself as her next career move she had worked for two years at a global company post-graduation although she loved the frequency of travel opportunities to far-away countries she began neglecting herself and community to accommodate a demanding travel schedule a call from the then-ceo of the dallas citizens council (dcc) opened up an opportunity for jackson to move into state and local government she became the organizations inaugural director of public affairs and has since been promoted to vice president jackson found herself thriving in the role life has a way of bringing about things when you least expect them said jackson the bush school was my opportunity to learn skills and gain academic knowledge about the inner workings of local and state government i didnt have that from working in washington and i didnt get that from undergradsarah jackson until then said jackson i didnt realize how much i loved working locally you get to see the impact so quickly today jacksons knowledge of local government ins-and-outs the interconnectedness of local and national government and opportunities for growth translate seamlessly into jacksons day-to-day work she does not have to remind herself each day of the difference between strong mayor and city management forms of government for example or how to evaluate policy proposals now its so operationalized that its knowledge i walk around with but really it was from the bush school classes like dr deborah kerrs performance management dr lori taylors public finance and dr ann om bowmans state and local government gave jackson the tools she needed to perform her job with excellence after eight years with the dcc jackson has accumulated a long list of successes these include city-wide initiatives like dallas forward a program launched during the onset of the covid-19 pandemic to assist small and medium-sized businesses with short-term economic recovery while promoting inclusive long-term prosperity dcc has also made a difference at the state level advocating in support of the transformative school finance reform bill that passed the texas legislature in 2019 president george hw bush received the texas lyceums highest honor the stewardship of texas values award in 2009 wearing her second hat as texas lyceum president for 2022 jackson hopes to expand the lyceums policy focus for statewide impact she previously contributed to founding the texas lyceum fellowship program in cooperation with the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy with the bush schools dr lori taylor in 2018 the bush school functioned as the pilot program my vision this year is to collaborate and work strategically to build bridges and bridge divides said jackson thats what we do at the texas lyceum: we bring people together from opposing sides to thoughtfully talk about the issues in 2009 the texas lyceum gave former president and bush school namesake george hw bush their highest honor the stewardship of texas values award jackson says she looks to bushs record of public service as she manages her responsibilities at both the dcc and texas lyceum you should never go into public service for the glamor she says it is something that you do for a higher call all that can sustain you when youre up at 2 am writing emails is the hope that youre contributing to a greater collective that will make the world a better place by micaela burrow
us congressman kevin brady will speak at texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service about the challenges of the us-mexico-canada agreement us congressman kevin brady who has served the eighth district of texas in the us house of representatives for the past 25 years will be on campus to discuss negotiating the usmca: domestic and international challenges at the bush schools annenberg presidential conference center the event will take place on wednesday february 23 2022 at 6 pm it is part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague the series invites practitioners and policymakers working on the us-mexico border and in mexico and latin america to share their expertise and experiences congressman bradys visit will be a wonderful opportunity for our students and community to hear firsthand the process of negotiating the usmca stated teague rsvp to attend congressman brady formerly chaired and currently serves as the republican leader of the house ways and means committee the committee exercises jurisdiction over revenue and related issues such as tariffs and reciprocal trade agreements as a recognized national leader on free trade congressman brady has helped successfully secure passage of 13 of americas 15 free trade agreements including the united states-mexico-canada agreement (usmca) that went into effect on july 1 2020 the program is sponsored by the border & migration program of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and by the carlos h cantu hispanic education and opportunity endowment for registration or additional information visit the mosbacher institutes website at bushtamuedu/mosbacher
this issue of the takeaway explores a practical strategy for transitioning consumers away from the inefficiency and overuse of fixed-rate electricity plans fixed-rate electricity plans lead to less environmentally sound outcomes because they have no incentives for consumers to limit usage during peak times when electricity generation is very expensive dynamic rate plans offer monetary incentives to limit usage during peak times but risk averse consumers tend not to choose them the takeaway: does price volatility information affect consumer choice dr anastasia shcherbakova an applied economist in the texas a&m department of agricultural economics and a research fellow with the mosbacher institute wondered if the way price volatility information is presented affects consumer choices she and her collaborators set up a discrete choice experiment that presented participants with different combinations of electricity plans with various attributes and asked them to choose which plan they prefer they found that for the same plan respondents were less likely to choose it when presented with hourly price volatility information than when shown a monthly price range it seems that highlighting the potential upside of variable rates can increase the willingness of consumers to choose variable rates and make electricity generation a little more efficient and environmentally friendly you can read about it in does price volatility information affect consumer choice the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
brittany alexander has successfully defended her dissertation and will soon be awarded her doctorate from the texas a&m university department of statistics during her graduate studies she worked with the bush schools institute for science technology and public policy applying her advanced statistical methods to multiple projects and presenting the results at academic conferences ms alexanders paper a bayesian model for inference on multiple panel public opinion surveys co-authored with istpp director dr arnold vedlitz won the james w prothro student paper competition at the southern association for public opinion research conference last october the paper used advanced methodological techniques to merge multiple surveys into an analysis of public support for specific policies to prevent terrorism ms alexander is now using her technical and problem-solving statistical skills as associate statistician in her work at ipsos a prestigious global market research and public opinion polling specialist
former student whitney coats ‘08 ‘10 (mia) embodies the aggie core value of selfless service by mia mercer ‘23 for former student whitney coats ‘08 ‘10 (mia) selfless service is more than an aggie core value; its her career since august 2015 coats and her husband charles coats have worked for bryan-college station habitat for humanity (bcs habitat) an affiliate of the global nonprofit housing organization habitat for humanity that seeks to provide homes for low-income families in the bcs community coats works as a technology specialist for the organizations website to promote their mission expand their reach and advocate for change within the bcs community you dont really understand whats going on in your community until you get involved and meet people that you wouldnt necessarily meet if you werent doing some sort of service project coats said when it comes to creating communities that are a good place to live we can come together to understand each other and that can probably impact a lot of local decisions if you understand where people are coming from its probably going to make for better policies in the long term although working for bcs habitat wasnt originally in coats professional career outline she is thankful to now be a part of an organization that allows her to serve the bcs community although coats always envisioned herself in a service oriented career working for bcs habitat wasnt a part of her original professional blueprint i was a sophomore in high school when 9/11 happened so i had a sudden interest in national security specifically in intelligence coats shared when i was 12 i attended the bush schools grand opening and decided thats where i wanted to go to grad school so i ended up going to a&m and studying political science because i knew i wanted to go to the bush school and study national security for a masters in 2010 coats fulfilled her childhood dream and graduated from the bush school with a masters in international affairs but because of a hiring freeze and the 2008 financial crisis neither coats nor her husband were able to immediately get jobs after staying in town a few years coats and her husband decided to join the peace corps in order to get the international experience they both wanted being in the peace corps kind of reoriented us coats said thats when we first learned public service doesnt have to be national security it can be other stuff too like working in your own local community a few months into their service with the peace corps coats and her husband became pregnant with their first child and were excused from their service so they could go home and have their baby in need of a new job coats and her husband applied for bcs habitat habitat does zero interest loans to low-income families some people think we give away the homes but we dont coats explained families in town who are having trouble affording a good home but cant get a mortgage from the bank can apply for a home and we will work with them to find a piece of land they can buy and we can work on it and they actually work on their home too its not just us while soon-to-be homeowners work on their new homes bcs habitat also offers classes where they can learn about proper home maintenance to help reduce all the future costs of owning a home they also provide financial counseling to make sure they know what a mortgage is and how they can best pay it off after habitat humanity encouraged their affiliates to get involved in more advocacy coats and her husband started a podcast called think brazos to educate the bcs community on policies and economic issues within the area a lot of our homeowners do pay off their mortgages quickly which is great because it helps when they get older if they may not have a job or if they want to pass it off to their kids; thats just a wonderful thing to be able to do coats shared what i do for habitat started off as just editing the website now i help with it problems marketing and communications ive written a lot of the stories that youll see on the websites for families communication and fundraising and the last thing ive started with my husband is a podcast after being encouraged to get involved in more advocacy coats and her husband created think brazos a podcast that advocates for the families bcs habitat cant help we recognize that we have limited capacity to help by building eight to 12 homes a year coats explained we cant help everybody so my husband and i started doing research a few years ago answering questions like ‘how can we help more people ‘how can we help more homes get built ‘what are other cities doing ‘why is housing getting more expensive for everybody everywhere we started learning everything we could about housing supply and economics and housing and urban economics topics i never thought id be learning about so basically we came up with the idea of ‘well since were already going to be having these discussions about policy with city councils with policy experts why dont we start recording it and sharing it with anybody else who wants to learn so thats what the podcast is about as were learning about these issues everybody else can learn too coats said she enjoys meeting the families learning about the struggles theyve been through and how much credit they give to god for anyone interested in volunteering with bcs habitat visit their website and sign up to build houses with the families i used to think that i had to have a certain job in dc: one of those really cool-sounding jobs in national security coats shared growing up i wanted to go to other places and see other things which is why i studied what i did but ive learned how to really enjoy the life that i have here in my own community being content with the life you have and enjoying it is something not a lot of people can do its wonderful to be able to recognize that even if your life didnt turn out the way that you wanted its still great on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
a texas a&m expert of state and local politics explains how the states newly-drawn political maps – which are being challenged by the us department of justice – will shape the next decade of texas politics by caitlin clarkthis article originally appeared in texas a&m today on dec 17 2021 every 10 years each state is required to redraw the boundaries of its congressional and state legislative districts in a process known as redistricting the district you live in determines who you can elect at the national statewide and local level and the way the maps are drawn often decides which party controls national and state legislative bodies this makes the outcome of redistricting tremendously important said ann bowman professor and the hazel davis and robert kennedy endowed chair and government and public service at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service state and congressional elected officials create policies and vote on laws that have a significant impact on many aspects of americans daily lives she said bowman explains what texans should know about why redistricting matters and resulting legal battles to watch for how the process works each state handles redistricting differently – about a third use a nonpartisan or bipartisan commission while the rest including texas allow their legislatures to decide how to draw districts the goal is to divide the state into districts of roughly equal populations bowman said all states must adhere to the voting rights act of 1965 and each district should be drawn to be contiguous and relatively compact a relevant example: an early version of texas maps split bryan and college station into two different congressional districts which would have given the adjacent twin cities separate representation while this didnt make it into the final map approved by gov greg abbott bowman said it reflects the importance of keeping communities and existing political subdivisions intact its an inherently political process she said and in states where the state legislature handles redistricting the way the maps are drawn usually reflects which party is in power in texas republicans definitely call the shots and drew a map that benefits them bowman said but in some instances historically blue districts were made even bluer she said the outcomes of the redistricting process can also affect whether incumbents choose to seek re-election depending on how the lines are drawn elected officials may determine their district will be less favorable to them which can result in a party flip – bowman points to a longtime democrat in south texas who switched parties in november another component in the process is the idea of preserving communities of interest like cultural or racial or ethnic communities bowman said thats where a lot of the conflict and different perspectives on this come in legal challenges earlier this month the us department of justice sued texas over the states redistricting plans saying they put latino and black voters at a disadvantage the lawsuit which was filed by the department in the western district of texas says the plans violate section 2 of the voting rights act which requires state voting laws to provide eligible voters with equal opportunity in the political process according to the dec 6 announcement of the lawsuit texas redistricting plan is in violation of section 2 because it deliberately minimizes the voting strength of minority communities and has the discriminatory purpose of denying or minimizing voters rights based on their race or ethnicity the maps were already facing several legal challenges and bowman said texans can expect to see more redistricting plans are regularly challenged in texas she said and in 2011 they were rejected by the federal government its really determining party strength in policymaking over the next 10 years so its something worth fighting over bowman said
on november 12 2021 the program on women peace and security at the bush school of government and public service hosted the 7th annual symposium on women peace and security the title of the event was women peace and security after the fall of kabul symposium highlights | symposium agenda symposium highlights full video of the event the event brought together a powerful set of speakers who focused on the meaning of the kabul fiasco for those who have worked to improve the situation of afghan women and for the larger endeavor of women peace and security during the event we heard from keynote speakers ayaan hirsi ali ambassador adela raz ambassador rahmani ambassador ryan crocker ret colonel cornelia weiss dr sima samar metra mehran and the bush schools dr valerie hudson all of these speakers provided their insight on the integral value of women and girls to strong stable peaceful societiesand why this matters here at home the symposium highlighted important perspectives and created awareness within texas and the nation on these issues on behalf of the wps concentration and the bush school we would like to thank everyone who participated and we look forward to our next symposium in the fall of 2022 symposium agenda symposium agenda
exports have contributed to rising incomes and falling poverty around the world but for egypt rising exports have not translated into better outcomes for workers which posed an interesting research question for dr raymond robertson an economist at the bush school of government & public service and director of the mosbacher institute in the latest issue of the takeaway broken link: egypts trade policy and local labor market outcomes robertson describes some of the surprising results from his work the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics & public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
dr william brown began a two-year appointment as president of the nonprofit academic centers council (nacc) in november 2021 a longtime participant in nacc through his role as director of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy (cnp) at the bush school of government and public service brown has a history of commitment to the organizations goal of supporting programs in nonprofit management studies under browns leadership cnp was designated nacc headquarters in 2019 i am honored to be a part of a group of esteemed individuals in the field who have served in this capacity before said brown i am excited to move forward in continuing to strengthen the council brown hopes to grow the organizations membership and reach continue his predecessors work of refining nacc programs and contribute to updating curricular guidelines a key part of what were doing is preparing leaders for the sector creating and sustaining high-quality programs benefits the people who go through those programs and the work they do in the nonprofit field they learn skills that help them make a difference in society said brown nacc was formed in 1991 as a support organization for centers and programs dedicated to nonprofit and philanthropic education nacc has over fifty-seven institutional members representing a diversity of sizes ages and locations that span six countries services offered by nacc include creating and updating curricular guidelines shaping nonprofit education at the graduate and undergraduate level providing accreditation services and supporting an international honor society (nu lambda mu) for students within its member programs dr renee irving of the university of oregon previously served as nacc president
dr gregory gause head of the international affairs department at the bush school and faculty affiliate with albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) published what does us withdrawal from the middle east mean in the arab gulf states institute in washington on dec 10 the piece discusses what middle east interests and threats justify us military forces tackling policy choices of withdrawal and commitment dr gause navigates the on-going policy debates on us intervention the cgs serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
the center for nonprofits and philanthropy has received approved provider status from the certified fund raising executive (cfre) international for its continuing education courses in 2022 cfre is the only accredited certification for fundraising professionals the cfre is a practice-based credential that assesses fundraising competence and is based on six different categories: current and prospective donor research; securing the gift; relationship building; volunteer involvement; leadership and management; and ethics accountability and professionalism fundraising professionals are only eligible to earn cfre certification after meeting educational professional practice and professional performance requirements and then candidates must pass a comprehensive exam on best practices in ethical fundraising the certification must be renewed every three years education is a key component of the cfre application and recertification process said dr angela seaworth advanced certified fund raising executive (acfre) fundraisers must earn eighty hours of education for initial certification and an additional forty-five hours each time they recertify our center wants to provide continuing education to support the fundraising professionals who are committed to working at the highest standard in their field each of our certificate programs qualifies for forty-five hours certificate in fundraising leadershipcertificate in nonprofit leadershipcertificate in social justice leadership currently there are more than 7 400 cfres in twenty-five countries as fundraising professionals continue to professionalize certification will become increasingly important to demonstrate proficiency in the profession the center for nonprofits and philanthropy identifies managing resources which includes fundraising as a key component to successfully lead nonprofit organizations
the bush school of government and public service will hold the 2021 fall graduation celebration for december graduates of both the college station main campus and the dc teaching site the celebration will take place in-person and remotely at 10 am on december 17 2021 in the annenberg presidential conference centers hagler auditorium dean mark a welsh iii will officiate at the celebration the bush school will recognize the achievements of twenty-four aspiring public servants who have sought to make a difference in their community through pursuit of a bush school education for the first time the school will see a graduating cohort of master of international policy (mip) candidates from the bush school dc to attend the celebration on december 17 in person or to obtain the zoom link to view it remotely email bushschoolonline@tamuedu graduates include the following: one candidate in the master of public service and administration (mpsa) residential college station program three mip candidates in the college station program two mip candidates from the bush school dc teaching site andeighteen candidates in the online executive master of public service and administration (empsa) program i cannot explain how excited i am to be graduating from the empsa program at the bush school said chuyone mcguire-ford a behavioral health case manager at anthem inc the program was intense but the learning experience was well worth it i chose the bush school because i wanted to make a career change into nonprofit management the program not only fit my needs but exceeded my expectations i feel well prepared to go into my new career path through my experience with the empsa program at the bush school in addition to celebrating december graduates students will award the silver star to a bush school faculty member who profoundly influenced their personal and academic careers every graduation celebration the bush school graduating class votes on a faculty member to honor with the silver star additionally students vote on a class speaker to represent the class and to speak during the celebration about their bush school experience commencement for all bush school december graduates will occur at 2 pm the same day in texas a&m universitys reed arena off olson boulevard to attend the celebration on december 17 in person or to obtain the zoom link to view it remotely email bushschoolonline@tamuedu the event will also be professionally recorded for future viewing
after enduring a competitive selection process eight bush school current and former students have been named finalists for the presidential management fellowship (pmf) class of 2022 each finalist has up to twelve months to secure a pmf position with a us federal agency bush school finalists include: michael callahan (mia ‘22)demetria charlifue (mia ‘22)autumn clouthier (mia ‘22)hunter malone (mia 21)shelby pence (mia 20)emilee pugh bell (mpsa ‘22)annalena robinson (mpsa ‘22)christella samuel (mia ‘22) the bush school put a reverence for selfless service at the center of my education preeminent to successfully leading others in the public sphere as a pmf im confident the professional experience i gain will be grounded in the foundational values imparted to me during my time in college station said malone the pmf program an initiative of the us office of personnel management provides leadership development and federal work opportunities to advanced degree candidates in a variety of disciplines pmf fellows receive formal interactive leadership training participate in a four to six month developmental assignment and move through a noncompetitive pipeline to permanent or term positions within the federal government in addition pmf fellows enjoy full compensation throughout the duration of the program as well as promotion potential my selection as a pmf finalist is only possible because of the invaluable lessons in leadership public service and international affairs i have learned at the bush school i am honored to be a finalist and i intend to use this opportunity to begin my public service career and uphold president george h w bushs legacy of service to the american people said samuel pmf fellows work in a variety of us government agencies including the department of state department of defense customs and border protection nasa and the national institutes of health by micaela burrow
mallory compton is in her third year teaching in the department of public service and administration and earned both her bachelors and doctoral degrees at texas a&m university she currently teaches foundations of public service public management and social welfare and health policy what research project are you currently working on there are two that are worth mentioning first im working with a coauthor at the university of colorado boulder to better understand why individuals support unemployment insurance policies and what goes into shaping those preferences for unemployment insurance im really excited about it because we can answer questions like these: does greater labor market risk or greater labor market insecurity motivate more support for these kinds of policies does it change the preferred design of these policies a second project is related im working with a group of coauthors including professor greer here at the bush school to better understand what shapes performance in the administration of unemployment insurance were using detailed data on administrative errors to answer questions about the contexts and cases in which state agencies make decisions with more or fewer errors what are you hoping to learn through your research and how could it benefit society my current research on unemployment insurance administration and individuals preferences for unemployment insurance policy can tell us more about policy responsiveness and government performance its important to know what contributes to the performance of public organizations in administering these programs with the aim of improving processes for better outcomes its also important to understand when and why citizens support those programs so we can evaluate whether their governments are providing services that people actually value in a paper thats currently under review [for the second project on administrative error] we find that clientele of color are more likely to experience an administrative error thats not their own fault but is the fault of the public organization these clients are more likely to be wrongfully denied access to program benefits or wrongfully underpaid technology reduces disparities in performance across individuals and groups but it doesnt totally eliminate them i hope my research can contribute to a better understanding of both quality of performance and equity of performance in public organizations and in unemployment insurance what do you like most about working at the bush school the people i am consistently impressed by the quality of students work their insight and their willingness to do hard work it makes teaching a joy it makes it a lot easier when students are engaged present respectful and professional also i mentioned that im working with professor greer so theres a community of scholars here that work on similar questions i feel very supported and engaged theoretically and research-wise have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how does that inform your teaching or research i have not worked outside of academia full time im a political scientist by training so my work tends to cross-cut both political science and public administration im really motivated by questions that deal with success in governance performance in public service and equity in public service im intrigued by policies that are aimed at ensuring individuals economic security i want to understand the political prerequisites of success in public policies and governance an experience that i found really formative was in my mpa program at the london school of economics we had a capstone project at the department of energy and climate and i really enjoyed the opportunity to work with my cohort on a project that meant something it happened to be a more research-oriented project and that was one of the dominoes that led to my wanting to contribute to research what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of and why last year the mpsa class of 2021 voted to award me the silver star faculty teaching award i did not expect that teaching and working with students is important to me and it meant a lot that students also appreciated being in my classroom it meant a lot that it was a student award and that was their voice what is your favorite class to teach and why i like teaching foundations of public service because we talk about some of the biggest issues problems and tensions in public administration in the us students inevitably have really insightful and thoughtful things to say about these big important questions i enjoy talking about these things and foundations of public service is a great context to do so in
on december 2 2021 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m university hosted a conversation in public policy with dr marc giannoni senior vice president and director of research at the federal reserve bank of dallas titled economic challenges in a post-covid world: inflation supply chains and labor markets giannonis presentation focused on three key points: that the current economic recovery is different from the post-great depression recovery that there is currently a robust demand and constrained supply of labor and that inflation is expected to remain moderately high next year giannoni began his presentation by demonstrating the uniqueness of the current economic recovery first the covid crisis brought about an unprecedented decline in economic activity however the recession was the shortest of its kind on record and the subsequent rebound was sharp moreover while demand is almost back to its pre-covid levels there are still supply constraints and production has not returned to its previous trends second thanks to government stimulus checks personal income remained high even when nominal salaries and wages dropped by the time of his presentation however salaries and wages had returned to their normal levels third overall consumption recovered from its initial sharp drop and went back to its pre-pandemic levels however the recovery was mainly in the consumption of goods which surpassed its trend levels meanwhile service consumption such as those within the hospitality and airlines industries has failed to recover to its pre-pandemic levels giannoni then shifted the discussion towards the labor market conditions after the pandemic he showed that similar to consumption and overall economic activity payroll employment fell sharply during the pandemic and quickly started to rebound although it has recovered significantly since the pandemic it is still below its pre-pandemic levels he attributed the slow recovery of employment not to the demand side but to the labor supply side as job openings have hit near record levels several factors have contributed to constraining the labor supply side including aging and retirements fear of covid-19 increases in family-care responsibilities unemployment benefits savings/asset appreciation and changes in career preferences the final part of giannonis presentation discussed current inflation trends he argued that a combination of supply shortages in various products such as semiconductors as well as an increase in aggregate demand which was boosted by government stimulus has led to supply/demand imbalances such imbalances include goods as diverse as energy goods food commodities metals and construction materials these imbalances have in turn created broadening price pressures which are expected to lessen over the next year hence the inflation rate is expected to fall to around 27 percent in 2022 which is still higher than the feds 2 percent target he concluded by discussing the monetary policy responses made during the crisis including maintaining a near zero federal funds rate following giannonis presentation dr lori taylor head of the bush schools department of public service and administration engaged giannoni with an exchange of her own and audience questions bush school students should note that giannoni made clear that they are always looking for new talent and encouraged students to consider pursuing internships and careers at the dallas federal reserve bank you can view giannonis talk on the bush school youtube channel
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the texas a&m university bush school of government and public service is launching a new certificate in fundraising leadership securing resources is a critical function for nonprofit organizations yet many nonprofit executives and board members with financial responsibility do not have direct experience with the fundraising profession this certificate is designed to prepare executive directors fundraisers and board members for success by offering a program that strengthens their fundraising skillset to complement their leadership certificate in fundraising leadershiplearn more | enroll today! the pandemic reinforced the importance of fundraising and we learned that nonprofit organizations struggled with sustainability over the past eighteen months we decided that one way to support the nonprofit sector across texas and beyond was to help organizations become more sustainable that begins with ensuring nonprofit executives understand how to strategically lead the full scope of the fundraising operation said dr angela seaworth acfre who led development of the program the online certificate program will be taught by a team of subject matter experts who have a combined century of fundraising experience the instructors are scholars and practitioners who hold the highest fundraising certifications and have led fundraising across nonprofit subsectors and different sizes of organizations so they will be able to relate to the participants varied fundraising environments the pandemic reinforced the importance of fundraising and we learned that nonprofit organizations struggled with sustainability over the past eighteen months we decided that one way to support the nonprofit sector across texas and beyond was to help organizations become more sustainable that begins with ensuring nonprofit executives understand how to strategically lead the full scope of the fundraising operationdr angela seaworth the importance of fundraising seems to increase every year said dr jason penry holder of the james aston chair in institutional development at texas a&m university dr angela seaworth is an outstanding teacher and one of the brightest minds in philanthropic studies this certificate will prepare leaders to make an even greater difference and better fulfill their organizations mission the online program is a non-credit-bearing professional education opportunity that uses an asynchronous design to offer flexibility for participants the certificate which can be completed in a semester consists of five three-week asynchronous courses that allow for weekly discussion with faculty and class peers for additional information or to enroll in the program please visit the bush school website or contact denise parker at parkerdj77@tamuedu or 979-862-3195
students in the empsa program may opt to complete the required residency weeks in college station dc or a combination of the two the online executive master of public service and administration (empsa) program will add an option for students to complete the in-residence component at the bush schools recently opened dc teaching site according to lisa brown director of extended education at the bush school of government and public service a residency experience at a place other than college station will give students another outstanding option to enhance their education and broaden their experience we hope this will attract more individuals from the dc area who are interested in more advanced education at the bush school especially with our emphasis on public service and collaborative learning environmentslisa brown director of extended education at the bush school of government and public service while the empsa is offered primarily online students must complete one week of in-house classes twice during their program for two weeks total each period known as a residency week consists of intense academic learning and an introduction to aggie traditions values and culture previously all residency weeks took place at the bush schools main campus in college station tx now students will have the opportunity to choose where they would like to complete their residency weeks the bush school dc teaching site will hold residency week in the fall semester of each academic year while the main campus will hold residency week during each spring and summer semester students may opt to complete the residency week requirements in college station in dc or in a combination of the two locations we hope this will attract more individuals from the dc area who are interested in more advanced education at the bush school especially with our emphasis on public service and collaborative learning environments said brown in addition this will give students who are interested in federal work or living in dc the opportunity to network applications for the summer 2022 empsa cohort close march 20 2022 for more information about the empsa program visit bushtamuedu/empsa
geraldine gassam griffith ‘09 received the linguist of the year award from the us department of state recognizing griffiths dedication to public service through study of the arabic language in addition the middle east policy council named griffith to their 40 under 40 list for 2021 ive been in language training throughout nearly a decade of working and serving in the middle east said griffith spending this much time in training meant that i didnt take a more conventional path however it did ensure that when unexpected opportunities arose that required a high level of arabic proficiency i was ready griffith graduated from the bush school of government and public service with a master of international affairs in 2009 she said the bush school prepared her for public service i chose the bush school because of its emphasis on the practical real-world skills needed to succeed as a public servant: concise writing persuasive public speaking and a commitment to the greater good to this day i still draw on the lessons i learned from the bush school in my work and i appreciate the guidance and mentorship of my professors along the way she said griffith went on to serve as a political advisor embedded with us special forces in syria supporting the counter-isis campaign she has also served in saudi arabia oman lebanon el salvador and the bureau of near eastern affairs in washington dc i chose the bush school because of its emphasis on the practical real-world skills needed to succeed as a public servant: concise writing persuasive public speaking and a commitment to the greater good to this day i still draw on the lessons i learned from the bush school in my work and i appreciate the guidance and mentorship of my professors along the waygeraldine gassam griffith ‘09 despite her demanding career in public service griffith has found a way to give back to the bush school she is currently an alumni representative on the bush school diversity equity and inclusion committee an important part of addressing discrimination and inequality in the united states is ensuring that the talent and potential of underrepresented students are supported and nurtured so i jumped at the opportunity to support the bush schools dei efforts it is heartening to see firsthand the work being done by the bush school to build a pipeline of talented students and instructors from all backgrounds who are committed to public service and bettering our world for those hoping to work in the federal government or overseas griffin said language proficiency confers a valuable advantage i hope that this recognition encourages others who have struggled with language acquisition to stick with it she said there is no substitute for time and it will eventually pay off disclaimer: the views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily those of the us government by micaela burrow
katherine weary ‘01 worked as a national security agency (nsa) analyst before coming to teach in the intelligence studies program at the bush school her course offerings include analytic tradecraft advanced analytic tradecraft and briefing tradecraft in addition weary runs a capstone each spring what research project do you currently have underway ever since the spring of 2020 i have been looking into disinformationhow it was being used abroad and against the american public in and around covid for example i started putting together a class on disinformation i am doing a directed study this semester with a student whos trying out the syllabus were basically going through case studies on russian disinformation to identify tradecraft tools and tactics that russia consistently used in each case which would help to identify patterns of russian disinformation further this could be used to anticipate where russia will go next and what tools and tactics might be used what do you like most about working at the bush school being surrounded by others who also believe in the nobility and importance of public service is what i like most about the bush school there is a mission that brings us all together here and that is helping to prepare those who will ultimately serve our country leaving the private classified and closed world of the intelligence community and stepping into an unclassified and open environment of teaching was a difficult transition i am not sure i would have been very comfortable making that transition anywhere other than the bush school what is your favorite aspect of teaching my favorite aspect of teaching is that electricity that only happens in the classroom when you are challenging students ways of thinking guiding them to become critical thinkers and then seeing the transformation you cannot always anticipate whats going to happen in the classroom the students are challenging the questions that they ask are probing and that keeps me learning what did you do prior to coming here and how does that translate to the way you pursue your teaching and research now when i was first asked to come here and teach i knew i could not teach what i had done for a living in the intelligence community i did find it somewhat challenging to come up with coursework that i thought would be relevant to the students and i didnt know if it would be interesting to them until i got into that first classroom in the spring of 2017 i ended up stripping away all of the classified aspects of my previous job and tried to get to the root of what an analyst functionally does thats when i came up with my basic course on analysis which gets into critical thinking the psychology of analysis and a step-by-step approach to analysis when you strip away all of that classified material analysis is analysis what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of i would say my capstones im most proud of their final products the quality of work and professionalism that is displayed by our students when theyre briefing and providing the written products to the agency is just phenomenal im so proud of the work that we have done not only representing the bush school and texas a&m but also just the growth that i see in my teams during that period of time one thing that i am personally proud of is winning teaching awards in 2020 and 2021 they really meant a lot to me because it was a challenging time for everyone maintaining the quality of teaching and information i wanted to convey to the students in this new environment was really challenging i was really grateful for receiving those awards what is your favorite class to teach and why the environment that is created in the classroom when people are confident and comfortable speaking and that exchange of ideas i just love that environment is epitomized in my capstones i see the capstones as an educational experience of the bush school i dont see them as just running a team of analysts and wanting to get a great product at the end i really care a lot about the analytic process which i hope my team members learn but also about how to collaborate and grow professionally with respect i never know exactly how its going to go with my teams but i frequently find myself pushing up my sleeves and jumping into the analysis with them sometimes its better to show rather than try to explain theres no better illustration of application-based learning than the capstones
dr robert ralston the 2020-21 albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) predoctoral fellow and co-author jen spindel published congress might require women to register for the draft where do republicans and democrats stand in the washington post ralston is a grand strategy security and statecraft fellow at the massachusetts institute of technology and the harvard kennedy school ralston also co-authored more deferential but also more political: how americans views of the military have changed over 20 years with ronald r krebs the article was published in war on the rocks the piece examines the complex relationship between the american civilians and the military and highlights the importance of the democratic civil-military relations
the report includes recommendations on how to address the root causes of migration the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university has released a report on migration and trade in central america focusing on apparel it addresses the root causes of central american emigration by harnessing market forces the report recommends modifying trade policy and making investments that would allow apparel exports to expand and create jobs at home for would-be migrants the full report is available on the mosbacher institutes website
the center for nonprofits and philanthropy (cnp) at the bush school of government and public service has developed a series of continuing education programs that improve the schools national profile and address a need in the nonprofit management space according to dr kenneth taylor director of outreach and professional development at cnp the certificate programs afford the center the capacity to take on new instructors and broaden its educational offerings if each program had a full cohort of 90 people per academic year a goal taylor said is well within cnps capability the certificates could generate enough revenue to grow the program expanding education opportunities for nonprofit professionals as challenges technologies and best practices continue to evolve taylor said the one thing nonprofit practitioners need is continued growth and learning professional certifications can provide valuable knowledge skills and credentialing for individuals operating in the nonprofit space cnp harnessed the need for continuing education in nonprofit management by creating a series of online certificate programs designed to address specific areas of growth in nonprofit leadership for early and mid-career professionals the certificate programs also ensure cnps long-term organizational sustainability each certificate utilizes knowledge and expertise that already exists at the bush school we werent trying to be something that we werent said taylor the structure of the certificate program ensures quality while guaranteeing customers a high return on their investment both instructors and course offerings undergo rigorous quality checks before the course is launched the center for nonprofits and philanthropy introduced the certificate in nonprofit leadership (cnl) in the academic year 2020 and following that a certificate in social justice leadership (csjl) in 2021 the sector has been homogenous for thirty years are nonprofit organizations truly doing the best job they can and delivering on their mission if they are so culturally or racially uniform in director or management rolesdr kenneth taylor director of outreach and professional development at the center for nonprofits & philanthropy each certificate consists of five courses offered sequentially and in an asynchronous online format in the third and final week of each course instructors guide students through producing an application-based deliverable relevant to current issues in nonprofit leadership for example students in the certificate in nonprofit leadership (cnl) last year created a crisis management shell that they could utilize in their organizations response to covid-19 taylor said feedback from students has been very consistent: projects are just what they needed to make meaningful improvements to their organization they share these customized tools with their board or staff addressing social justice in nonprofit leadership the certificate in social justice leadership attracted practitioners from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations as well as one current undergraduate student who hopes to make a career in the nonprofit sector we started out with a bang said taylor while cnls first run had seven students fifteen participated in the first csjl cohort thats about where we want to be in terms of size the csjl core course introduces students to the issues and explores strategies for diversifying nonprofit leadership in terms of not only race but other areas where nonprofits trend toward homogeneity subsequent courses address cultural competence and the parallels between leadership theory and diversity equity and inclusion (dei) theory according to taylor research has identified a lack of attention given in nonprofit organizations to internal inconsistencies regarding social justice taylor who is black said that when began working in the nonprofit space in the early 1990s few people of color served on the boards or in management positions of the organizations he served in the sector has been homogenous for thirty years he said are nonprofit organizations truly doing the best job they can and delivering on their mission if they are so culturally or racially uniform in director or management roles learn more about the degree & certificate programs with the center for nonprofits & philanthropy with students spanning the country from washington dc to seattle wa and representing various management levels taylor said discussion board conversations and weekly live sessions provide opportunities for students to share their diverse perspectives and experiences with other students providing new insights on how to solve problems the magic has been the way that they share amongst themselves with the discussion prompts he said as instructors were serving as facilitators of the conversations we set up in the online program limited cohort sizes ensure conversations have utility for each participant looking to the future cnp leadership has considered the strategic vision for the certificate venture including addressing issues such as class size maximums and whether to require instructors to hold terminal degrees or focus more on the individuals prominence within the nonprofit sphere we focus on maintaining high quality standards said taylor we have to make sure were adding the right people as instructors and students to ensure they are ready to actively engage with their cohorts and advocate of change within their respective organizations coming in spring 2022 the certificate in fundraising leadership (cfl) enters more competitive discipline in nonprofit-oriented continuing education taylor says cfl stands out from similar opportunities for its relative affordability and accessibility to students of a variety of experience levels at the same time it upholds the rigorous education standards set forth by texas a&m university and the bush school we have good people and will continue to attract people based on our good brand said taylor for more information about the certificate offerings at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy visit the website
with new proposed legislation and public backlash the future of the company is uncertain by tiarra drisker ‘25 in early october former facebook employee frances haugen testified before a senate commerce subcommittee her testimony included claims that facebook was prioritizing profit over making the platform safer and that facebook was withholding information that showed the harmful effects of facebook and instagram the companys other social media platform facebook has had its fair share of controversy in the past but the internal documents known as the facebook papers haugen leaked have shed new light on the damaging repercussions of social media within the information leaked there is data showing that facebook ranked profit above regulating hate speech and misinformation in some instances such as the civil war in ethiopia facebook amplified misinformation haugen also leaked information exposing facebooks study that revealed instagrams toxicity in regards to teenage girls as the us government proposes new legislation that would make facebook and other social media platforms become more responsible for managing their content the future of social media remains uncertain i think the publics attitude will continue to shift in the direction of wariness and mistrust johanna dunaway an associate professor in the department of political science said its already the case that trust in social media has declined among its users since the 2016 election cycle the bad pr from the facebook papers and all of its associated scandals certainly will not help the public also expresses mixed feelings on whether or not the government should intervene some citizens believe that because social media platforms are owned by private businesses the platforms should regulate content in ways that they see fit others believe that social media platforms need the government to enforce regulations because social media is so widely used there is an active debate whether there should be more government oversight or if social media can be self-regulating via user complaints and algorithms that detect abusive posts ragan petrie a professor in the department of economics said oversight is costly though even if done by one entity (the government) or by the efforts of a large community of users via complaints or comments limiting the actions of companies will likely have a first-order effect on their profits there is also the potential impact on freedom of expression if oversight limits healthy exchange of ideas facebook did a number of studies within the company and discovered that its platform as well as instagram can cause depression in users if not for haugens whistleblowing facebook would not have disclosed the results of the studies now that the results of the studies have been released to the public many are concerned about the effects of not only facebook but all social media from a randomized-controlled trial that i completed with some graduate students we found that while people value facebook using it makes people more depressed and less likely to engage in healthy behaviors petrie shared other social media companies also have algorithms and platform moderation that affect news feeds and user experience the whistleblowing might nudge other platforms to seek alternative ways to create a better experience for all users but not likely if it has a large effect on profits haugens leak of exposing data may change the publics view of social media and prompt the us government to intervene but petrie says social media as a whole is not going anywhere it provides a compelling platform for people to connect and share with others petrie explained there is a lot of potential good that can come from these platforms by facilitating healthy exchange of ideas social media will likely evolve and there may be more oversight by users as they demand a different experience on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
albritton center for grand strategy co-director john schuessler and co-authors joshua shifrinson and david blagden published revisiting insularity and expansion: a theory note in perspectives on politics shifrinson is an associate professor of international relations at boston university and former bush school faculty member blagden is a senior lecturer in international security at the strategy and security institute within the department of politics at the university of exeter
bush school students gathered on november 18 for a friendsgiving to celebrate successes achieved friendships formed milestones crossed and opportunities embraced during their tenure at the bush school friendsgiving word chart the friendsgiving event provided an opportunity for bush school students of all races religions and creeds to come together as a family and give thanks for all we have said matthew pickett one of the students who organized the potluck our fellow bushies come from all walks of life and come with thanksgiving traditions of their own our friendsgiving gave an opportunity for students to share traditions and foods from home and grow together because of it roughly fifty students attended according to pickett assistant dean for diversity and student affairs matthew upton provided the main meal students were encouraged to bring side dishes and desserts that reminded them of home they stacked the tables erected in the allen buildings recruiting and admissions lobby to overflowing with a combination of homemade and store-bought food while most of the food represented dishes traditionally prepared in the united states for the thanksgiving holiday students hailed from across the nation and world including india and macedonia pickett and classmate anna mccullough came up with the idea for a friendsgiving celebration and coordinated with upton to make it reality members of the bush school student government association (sga) social and traditions committee also contributed to recruitment and organization upton oversaw preparing the room for the event and cleaning up afterward displaying the kind of selfless service that permeates the bush school from the very top of the administration the friendsgiving event provided an opportunity for bush school students of all races religions and creeds to come together as a family and give thanks for all we havematthew pickett bush school student as students enjoyed each others fellowship over a shared meal pickett moved from table to table asking students what they were most thankful for this year he recorded their responses and later compiled each one into the word map featured below by micaela burrow
this months #alumnispotlight celebrates cindy alvarado who graduated from the bush school in 2015 with a focus in nonprofit management as a mission-oriented person she enjoys working with small grassroots organizations led by and for bipoc communities by disrupting the status quo she has been able to provide better access to opportunities and resources for underserved communities she has worked tirelessly to advance social justice in the houston area through her past work with the simmons foundation currently she leverages jpmorgan chases financial and nonfinancial resources to support local nonprofit organizations focused on economic mobility cindys courses at the bush school provided her with invaluable philanthropic and nonprofit knowledge which she still uses today when asked what advice she had for new nonprofit leaders she shared the importance of finding a mentor self-advocating and staying grounded in your ‘why for being in the work cindy works for jpmorgan chase as a relationship officer in houston texas
is overhead a tainted word for bush school of government and public service assistant professor dr ellie heng qu the answer is yes qu lectures in the department of public service and administration and studies nonprofit management and philanthropy her research covers a range of topics that have practical implications for capacity building and resource development of nonprofit organizations i look at individual prosocial behavior such as volunteering and charitable giving i look at for example under what circumstances people are becoming more prosocial said qu i also study strategies to help nonprofit organizations generate and manage their resources one of qus recent publications explores ways nonprofit organizations can reduce negative perceptions of the organization by donors who react negatively to the word overhead overhead includes all administrative expenses borne by the organization such as non-programmatic employee compensation and facilities when people donate to a charitable organization they usually dont like for it to spend too much on non-programmatic expenses said qu this leads to what nonprofit scholars term overhead aversion or a tendency among donors to restrain their giving toward organizations with perceived high levels of non-program expenditure yet overhead funds critical infrastructure that enables nonprofit organizations to continue functioning and have a social impact organizations are run by people unfortunately people are titled overhead by being able to cope with the misconception we can help nonprofit organizations mitigate the negative influence of overhead aversion and consequently the underinvestment in overhead and nonprofit infrastructuredr ellie heng qu its a vicious cycle in that organizations know donors are averse to overhead so they underspend on overhead said qu but nonprofit overhead is not necessarily a bad thing right for example we want to attract quality employees to work in the nonprofit sector when you want to hire quality people you do need to spend more overhead aversion doesnt just harm individual organizations sustained overhead aversion restricts organizational growth and can be destructive to the nonprofit sector as a whole organizations are facing this pressure to underinvest in their infrastructure which would hurt their long-term sustainable development said qu when organizations dont grow or when they size down they cannot have as much social impact to address this issue qu partnered with jamie levine daniel of the paul h oneill school of public and environmental affairs at indiana university–purdue university indianapolis to examine what techniques might influence donors perceptions of overhead performing a survey experiment on donors who have given to charitable organizations in the past five years qu and daniel evaluated two treatments for reducing overhead aversion: framing and omission of the word overhead study participants indicated less willingness to donate to organizations with higher percentages of overhead expenditure in the first treatment qu and daniel show that nonprofits can improve their communication strategies by framing overhead in terms of its necessity and application when provided an explanation on how overhead contributes to long-term organizational capacity respondents were more likely to support organizations with higher overhead costs qu and daniel saw a 14 percent decrease in donors indicating overhead aversion in the other treatment qu and daniel assessed donors willingness to give when the word overhead was not explicitly used in fundraising material the percentage of respondents indicating overhead aversion further decreased by 7 percent we saw that this simple technique actually increased peoples willingness to donate to organizations with comparatively high overhead compared to not providing any explanations about overhead said qu dr qu does important work to understand why and when people give this is of interest because understanding the psychological and social motivations of donors and volunteers could encourage more prosocial behavior which is the foundation of a healthy societydr william a brown director of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy at the bush school when asked to give an example of overhead nearly half of respondents could not think of one still others confused overhead with program-related expenses that speaks to peoples misconception about overhead they may not know what it means but decide to refute overhead spending anyway this says that nonprofit organizations need to communicate better in their fundraising materials with donors it was surprising to us because we didnt expect a large effect size that was surprising in a good way because it means explanations work its a simple effective and low-cost strategy to reduce overhead aversion the framing strategy did not completely overcome overhead aversion nevertheless it did serve to mitigate the influence of negative preconceptions donors may have about overhead qu said the word overhead sometimes obscures its true purpose organizations are run by people she said unfortunately people are titled overhead by being able to cope with the misconception we can help nonprofit organizations mitigate the negative influence of overhead aversion and consequently the underinvestment in overhead and nonprofit infrastructure qu and daniel have presented their research at numerous conferences where it has garnered significant scholar and practitioner interest they also discussed their findings on fresh research a podcast by the nonprofit times it is a good sign when research is relevant to the practice said qu dr william a brown director of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy at the bush school elaborated on the significance of qus research dr qu does important work to understand why and when people give this is of interest because understanding the psychological and social motivations of donors and volunteers could encourage more prosocial behavior which is the foundation of a healthy society more information about research at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy can be found online at bushtamuedu/nonprofit by micaela burrow
on november 10 2021 the mosbacher institutes borders and migration program hosted alfredo corchado a journalist and author with broad expertise covering us-mexico relations including the drug war border security and immigration the event was part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school of government and public service assistant professor aileen teague who also served as moderator the series features practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america who share their experience and expertise alfredo corchado the talk covered a wide range of issues including the security situation in mexico immigration issues at the southern us border the war on drugs and us policy on mexico corchado expressed his concerns that the security situation in mexico has been deteriorating in the past decade he argued that there has been a lack of clear planning with regard to strengthening security institutions and reinforcing the rule of law in the country which he attributes to a lack of continuity in national policies corchado was also concerned that the deterioration of security in the country allowed for the expansion of cartel operations he argued that not only has the number of operating cartels expanded exponentially but also they cover more geographical locations than before moreover they have widened their scope beyond drug trafficking to include smuggling human trafficking and other illicit activities as well this has had serious implications not only for policy makers but also for journalists who face high levels of risk while working on the ground in mexico similarly this has had negative consequences on the security of mexican women who have been targets of cartel violence dr aileen teague regarding migration corchado stressed the importance of cooperation between the united states and its southern neighbors he also highlighted that the recent massive flows of migration towards the united states were connected to us labor shortages as many migrants already have job offers from us-based employers before arriving at the us border he also talked about the need to change the negative narratives on latin and central american migrants which has played on peoples fears of demographic change he suggested that the hispanic-american community has a strong responsibility to challenge these narratives and the politicians who propagate them by participating directly and more strongly in local politics he also noted that anything that makes it more difficult for migrants to cross into the united states increases the profits of the cartels who increase what they charge to ferry people through despite his concerns corchado expressed optimism and hope in the ability of young americans at the bush school and beyond to bring about positive change in the western hemisphere he concluded by highlighting how his interactions with bush school students and listening to their stories and guiding purposes gave him hope that they can change many peoples minds in the country and the region earlier in the day corchado met with students and faculty and participated in a student-led discussion of his book homelands: four friends two countries and the fate of the great mexican-american migration you can view alfredo corchados talk on the bush school youtube channel if interested you can also follow corchado on twitter @ajcorchado or look for his latest stories at the dallas morning news
aileen teague is an assistant professor in the department of international affairs and a core faculty member at the albritton center for grand strategy she studies us-latin america relations works on the latin america concentration and serves as a coordinator for the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series what research projects do you currently have underway im writing a book right now on the origins and effects of us drug control policies and policing efforts in mexico from 1960 to 2000 it looks at the forces of militarization and drug enforcement and how they interact with us and mexican security objectives during that period im also looking at some other projects with respect to militarization and grand strategy in latin america i recently published a piece reimagining the revision to the mérida initiative also called the bicentennial framework which the united states and mexico have recently started to work on renegotiating im looking at what the possibilities of that might be for the future what do you like most about working at the bush school i like that the bush school values service as much as academic research and academic background i think that people here are motivated are passionate about service and want to live that bush legacy of public service and giving back it definitely radiates through students and the faculty and with the different types of initiatives we have here at the bush school what is your favorite aspect of teaching i love lecturing and i love talking students through difficult historical episodes i also really like helping students with their writing to clarify their argument helping students to think more in the abstract and finding ways for them to be able to do that in an easier manner the transition between undergrad to grad school hinges on being able to construct an argument and to be able to articulate your position a lot of what we do here at the bush school is helping students to do that better have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how do you apply that experience to your research and/or teaching i was a marine corps officer from 2006 to 2010 my experience in the military not only is resonant with working here at the bush school but also frames the way i look at the role of the military and the forces im looking at in latin america it shapes the way i look at how foreign policy appears at different levels of politics and society a lot of times we look at the high-level diplomatic narrative not realizing how much the story changes and can be influenced at the different levels at which we are operating my experience in the military really kind of made me appreciate those different levels of policy making what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of and why before i came to texas a&m i taught an experiential learning course on the opioid crisis that had students going out into the community to visit rehab facilities attend twelve-step meetings and that sort of thing the opioid crisis is an underlying cause of a lot of the drug issues that i explore overseas i was really happy with students being able to engage with the topic in a more hands-on way and look at some of the different views about addiction in society this is something i hope to work with others here at texas a&m to implement because theres a lot we still need to know about addiction in our society what is your favorite class to teach and why im still at the beginning of my career so i only have a handful of classes under my belt us-mexico relations is a class i enjoy teaching im going to be teaching a different version of a course that ive taught elsewhere called latin america and the war on drugs its probably my favorite course to teach its on the drug trade in mexico you get to look at different aspects of a very dynamic issue you get to look at policy makers in washington leaders from across latin america production societies the dynamics of peasant suppliers and the economics of the drug trade different aspects we explore in that course include drug culture the construction of the illicit market and the effects of the drug trade in some of these producing countries and how it makes more complex their foreign policies with the united states stay tuned because ill be offering it here at the bush school in the spring of 2023
the alexander hamilton society bloomington chapter at indiana university hosted a recent virtual talk with dr jaehan park the 2021-22 cgs postdoctoral fellow parks presentation was based on his article in orbis the korean peninsula: a geopolitical pivot of northeast asia which examines four regional wars (the imjin the sino-japanese the russo-japanese and the korean wars) surrounding the korean peninsula park previously was a nonresident james a kelly fellow at pacific forum he holds an ma in international relations from sais and a ba in business administration from yonsei university in seoul south korea
the bush school intelligence studies program established the ready room in the fall of 2021 realizing months of student-led effort and initiative to create a public forum for the intelligence work originating in and outside of the bush school featuring analytic pieces written by current and former bush school students as well as external subject-matter experts the ready room comprises a journal for open-source intelligence that is relevant thoughtful and representative of diverse viewpoints the ready room is meant to give our intelligence studies students a platform to voice their perspectives said audrey kuhnle a second-year mia student and current ready room treasurer by doing this we are hoping to bring the space in between academia and the intelligence community we look at this as us just playing our part for our country the ready room is a platform designed to showcase the work of bush school students and contribute innovative ideas and diverse analysis to the discipline of intelligence bush school professor of intelligence and former us army colonel matt gill said the idea for the ready room originated in april 2021 midway through last year i was sitting down with some of my students from my defense intelligence course and we were just talking about the intelligence studies program itself we all collectively said you know what we dont have an online presence that tells the world what we do so i gathered a team of about ten students all volunteers who wanted to be a part of it a student evaluation of professor gills defense intelligence course inspired the group of students to create something approximating what became the ready room there are many ways to get involved in other concentrations like the cyber club or the future grand strategists program but there is not much for the intelligence studies program said kuhnle taking mostly core classes as a first-year student and accommodating university social distancing policies left her feeling disconnected from the vision and personnel that comprise the bush schools intelligence studies program professor gill really took that and gave a group of us the opportunity to spearhead that and turn nothing into something gill became the budding organizations advisor guiding students through the arduous process of discovering the ideal way to establish a public-facing component to the intelligence studies program this was all student led he said dean mark welsh and department of international affairs head gregory gause backed the project according to gill the team found complete support from the faculty all the way up to the dean they thought it was a great student-led activity led by second-year mia student hilary godfrey the team devoted six months to researching ways of constructing a professional website that would attract readers and expert contributors from public and private institutions across the united states the ready room launched on september 11 2021 alongside a sponsored event featuring post-9/11 reflections by the intelligence studies program faculty at the bush school the ready room highlights the hard work done on the part of intelligence studies students to develop critical thinking skills and learn how to write with what gill terms powerful brevity students who succeed in these skills become prime recruits for government and private-sector intelligence positions we have a tremendous amount of unseen talent at the bush school said gill he discussed why the ready room might serve as a valuable asset to the aspiring intelligence producer: youre a graduate student so you are already writing why not take some of that writing and get it out in the world so the world can see the type of student we have here at the bush school the ready room is meant to give our intelligence studies students a platform to voice their perspectives by doing this we are hoping to bring the space in between academia and the intelligence community we look at this as us just playing our part for our countryaudrey kuhnle second-year mia student and current ready room treasurer just this morning i was able to virtually introduce one of our newest authors in the ready room to the us militarys senior-most researchers on russian military activities to be able to link a new graduate student up with somebody whos been looking at russia for over forty years is tremendous kuhnle says the ready room motivates her to strive for academic excellence acting as a crucible for refining her analytic products i would love for all of my intelligence pieces to get published on this platform but only when and if they are good enough [the ready room is] a driver to me because i want to make sure intelligence consumers are getting the best possible information she said at the same time the ready room informs a general audience on vital global matters providing analysis and assessments using open-source information on matters relevant to national security not only intelligence studies students but any bush school student who wants to test their analytic aptitude can contribute to the ready room gill described his primary contribution to the ready room moving forward as facilitating students professional development and participation in the real world of open-source intelligence as professors and academics we create human capital that needs to be hired into the workforce said gill we shouldnt be waiting until the spring semester their second year we should be starting the fall semester of their first year linking them up with our own professional network and highlighting the good work the students are doing kuhnle expressed a desire to hand the ready room to the next generation of bush school students: we are also really excited to get more first-year students involved and for them to tell us where they want this platform to go ultimately it will become the first-years project but i am excited for the platform to be flexible and buildable for our program ready room website by micaela burrow
the bush school of government and public service received a bronze quill award from the international association of business communicators (iabc) houston chapter on october 21 iabc houston presented the bush school an award of excellence for the launch of the new bushtamuedu site it is the highest-level award in its category web administrator grant hawkins and student worker erin sylve did an outstanding job conducting research for the new site and implementing its launch said bush school director of communications susan robertson the houston market offers steep competition for the bronze quill awards recognition at this level is a testament to the teams outstanding work in the redesign of the schools website the bush school communications team successfully relaunched the bush school website in august of 2020 completing an overhaul of the entire site sylve an undergraduate student worker began the project in september 2019 she operated without full-time web support until the hire of hawkins in november 2019 the duo worked tirelessly on moving the website to a new platform facing the added challenge of the covid-19 pandemic that required hawkins and sylve to coordinate their efforts remotely by moving the website from a hard-coded server-based site to a robust wordpress-based content management system (cms) hawkins and sylve increased usability for school administrators in addition they created a better experience for the approximately 2 000 new visitors per day the iabc award is the second award the bush school communication office has received for the website in 2021 in january the bush school won the council for advancement and support of education (case) district iv gold award in the category of digital communications > website (institutional)
robbie waters robichau teaches public service and administration in the nonprofit sector with courses touching on foundations of the nonprofit sector human relations and social entrepreneurship and innovation she is a bush school alumna studying nonprofit management and accountability capacity and evaluation and meaningfulness in public service work what research project are you currently working on the project im most excited about right now is with anti-human trafficking organizations here in texas im trying to understand the experience of nonprofit and public workers who do trauma-informed care to help trafficked victims and survivors in texas im examining how meaningfulness-making emotional labor and secondary work-trauma all connect in positive and negative ways to affect workers and their organizations the goal is to figure out best practices for those public servants who are doing personally meaningful and socially impactful work but are struggling to stay in their jobs because emotionally its hard what are you hoping to learn through your research in nonprofits when you do your work and you enjoy your work you do it better and therefore the clients youre serving are better off how do we create organizations whether through management or human-resource retention practices that better empower people to make decisions about how to do their job my research is focused on whether youre more satisfied in life because of the work youre doing workers who are more engaged and committed to their work may perform better helping organizations and clients alike there are a lot of practical implications and its not just about the organizational outcomes public servants are workers but they are also citizens if we want to improve our citizenry and even our democracy we must treat people better in the workplace we have to encourage public servants to consider how their work affects their beneficiaries who are equally a part of democracy in jobs where people can enjoy and find meaning in their work by serving others everyone wins what do you like most about working at the bush school the culture is public service-focused ive been in other institutions and they dont have the same culture our faculty our staff and definitely our students really believe that public service is a noble calling i love the idea that here at the bush school we get to be part of a community of people who are public servants and who want to make society better in their own unique ways have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how does that experience inform your research and teaching ive always really been engaged in the nonprofit community from a volunteer perspective i get my practical experience recruiting and managing volunteers i have worked for a nonprofit called teen reach adventure camp for over a decade we do summer camps for youth in foster care ages twelve to fifteen years old i get the opportunity to recruit and manage a couple hundred volunteers then i also work with the kids in foster care who come to camp through facilitating challenge course and team-building activities i have also spent time raising funds and doing programming i know what its like to be a volunteer and feel underappreciated so i know how important it is to show appreciation for the volunteers you have what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of and why i am really excited that i have research that has been cited in the eu and in australian government reports but ill just be honestthis meaningfulness-in-public-service-work research im doing is currently one of my big projects near and dear to my heart when i talk to people in the field they get excited to hear that there are public servants out there who find their jobs highly meaningful and who stay in those jobs because they think theyre going to impact beneficiaries my most exciting accomplishment right now is being able to engage with people and help them see that just talking about what makes your work meaningful helps you find more meaning in your work what is your favorite class to teach and why my favorite class is social innovation and entrepreneurship whats great about this class is that students from across the university take it the idea is to create a social business plan around a social issue its one of those last semester classes for most students where everything theyve been learning across the bush school whether its grant writing or program evaluation or even policy implementation comes together how do you do all that if you start from scratch the goal here is not necessarily that everyones going to go start a nonprofit but they could innovate in the programs theyre in students really like the idea that you can develop innovation and creativity in your workplace
on october 28 2021 ambassador carolina barco former colombian minister of foreign affairs and ambassador to the us spoke to a group of bush school students and faculty about plan colombia the joint us-colombian initiative to address violence and insecurity in the region and ongoing us-colombian relations ambassador barco began her presentation by highlighting the strong relationship between the united states and colombia which has lasted for more than 200 years the united states barco explained inspired the colombian independence efforts and constitution moreover the two countries worked together to defend democracy across the globe colombia was the only latin american country to join the us in its war in korea colombia also played a role in resolving the cuban missile crisis according to barco us-colombian relations were particularly strong under president george h w bush whose presidency coincided with the presidency of barcos father president virgilio barco vargas ambassador barco explained that both presidents understood the threat drug traffickers posed in both the producing and consuming countries and fostered cooperation between the two countries on the war on drugs barco then discussed the context in which plan colombia was conceived colombias unique geography has made it difficult to connect the country through roads this limited connectivity and limited state resources hindered the states ability to exert control in all parts of the country which drug traffickers took advantage of to enhance their activities drug trafficking provided guerilla militants in the revolutionary armed forces of columbia (farc) with the needed resources to recruit more people and have more access to advanced weapons and technologies far exceeding the governments capabilities plan colombia was thus essential as it provided the colombian military with intelligence and mobility capabilities including helicopters thus reinforcing national colombian efforts to strengthen the military ambassador carolina barco speaks to a group of bush school students and faculty barco stressed the bipartisan aspect of plan colombia as ambassador to the us she had around 1 600 meetings with congress members both democrats and republicans it was important she emphasized to maintain constant communication to update them on the plans progress and address any concern they had moreover as ambassador barco organized a trip for ninety-one congress members to visit colombia see the situation firsthand and talk to former farc members so that they could develop a better understanding of the situation because of the mutual cooperation between the two countries plan colombia which started with $1 billion in us aid to colombia in 2000 continues today plan colombia has adapted to the changing conditions in the country its scope expanded from only fighting drug production to fighting narco-guerrillas the plan also included attempts to strengthen colombias institutions particularly its justice system similarly it included economic development programs including crop substitution programs as barco illustrated plan colombia has been a major success farc-controlled areas were radically reduced between 2002 and 2013 by then farcs senior leaders with ideological loyalty towards communism were either killed off arrested or no longer in leadership positions only then was it possible for the colombian government to negotiate with the new generation of farc leaders in the meantime colombia managed to increase security reduce homicide rates improve growth rates radically reduce poverty and extreme poverty and foster the growth of its middle class this progress was complemented with the signing of a peace agreement with farc which was approved by parliament in 2017 plan colombia was then renamed peace colombia barco concluded her presentation by reiterating the lessons learned from plan colombia particularly the importance of communication and bipartisan cooperation she also discussed challenges that the government is still facing in regaining control of former farc-controlled areas and efforts to prevent illegal activities from re-emerging while visiting the bush school barco also spoke to dr leslie ruyles women and development class about environmental issues and dr aileen teagues american foreign policy class about us foreign policy post-world war ii you can view us-colombian relations: reflections by a former colombian foreign minister on the bush school youtube channel
the robertson foundation for government named three students at the bush school of government and public service to the class of 2023 robertson fellows cohort for thirteen years the robertson foundation has nominated fellows from top international affairs graduate institutions in the nation the robertson foundation supports future leaders in public service through academic fellowships funding for government internships and professional development and networking opportunities in return fellows commit to working for the federal government for a minimum of three of their first seven years after graduation robertson fellows are highly qualified committed and globally aware individuals who will serve the public as national leaders in roles that relate to international issues foreign policy and national security this years bush school fellows are: emily ashbridge christina baker andchase burciaga emily ashbridge emily ashbridge most recently served as a program specialist at the us institute of peace working on the afghanistan and south asia portfolios and she supported the congressionally mandated afghanistan study group that identified policy recommendations in afghanistan for the biden administration emily has traveled extensively in the region and lived in pakistan from 2015 to 2017 while serving as a babar ali fellow at the lahore university of management sciences she graduated from the university of chicago (il) in 2015 with a ba in psychology emily comes to the bush school as a robertson fellow where she will further explore us grand strategy in asia with particular focus on economics and security christina baker christina baker graduated with honors from the university of louisville (ky) in august 2016 she received a ba in political science and a minor in russian studies concentrating on conflict and national security she studied abroad in ireland and in the czech republic studying the ethnic conflicts in each country following graduation christina received a fulbright grant to narva estonia where she taught english and assisted with research on estonian-russian tensions since then she has worked in public policy on the federal and local levels most recently as a legislative aide to a city councilwoman in lexington kentucky at the bush school christina will concentrate in both international politics/grand strategy and intelligence chase burciaga chase burciaga graduated in 2021 from texas a&m university with a bs in mechatronics and two minors one in embedded systems integration and one in cybersecurity he has interned at houston mechatronics designing robots for the oil and gas industry; sentry technology researching internet of things applications for smart bridge structures; and the department of defense fortifying cyber defense he has also designed and constructed an underwater unmanned vessel created for undersea research investigations additionally chase has worked at the security operations center as a student network security analyst and built robotic rovers for research applications in the mechatronics intelligence solutions laboratory chase will focus on cybersecurity diplomacy or nuclear proliferation to prepare for a future in federal government
the bush schools mosbacher institute will host marc giannoni of the dallas fed in an online conversation in public policy about the economic challenges created by the covid-19 pandemic the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will hold an online event in the series conversations in public policy with marc p giannoni senior vice president and director of research for the federal reserve bank of dallas giannoni will discuss the economic challenges of a post-covid world such as its effects on inflation supply chains and labor markets the event will be held via zoom on thursday december 2 2021 at 6 pm the bush school and the mosbacher institute are pleased to host mr giannoni said raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute the covid-19 crisis disrupted markets in an unprecedented way mr giannoni is uniquely qualified to provide especially valuable insights for a post-covid-19 world giannoni joined the federal reserve bank of dallas in september 2017 previously he was research economist and assistant vice president in the macroeconomic and monetary studies function of the new york fed he is a native of switzerland and began his career as an economist with the swiss national bank in zurich in 1992 in 2000 giannoni began working at the new york fed as an economist before leaving to begin an academic career at the columbia university graduate school of business in 2002 he rejoined the new york fed in 2011 while continuing as an adjunct professor of finance and economics at columbia he holds ba and ma degrees in economics from the university of geneva in switzerland and ma and phd degrees in economics from princeton university each event in the conversations in public policy lecture series brings a prominent policymaker and a subject-matter expert together on stage for an informative public discussion of their common interests the mosbacher institute endeavors to produce innovative policy research and top-quality education and training and is named for robert mosbacher sr who served as secretary of commerce under president george h w bush from 1989 to 1992 the event is open to the public but registration is required to register visit the mosbacher events page or call (979) 845-1927
the bush schools dr joanna n lahey has earned the distinguished presidential impact fellows award becoming one of twenty texas a&m university faculty members to join the 2021 cohort created in 2017 by former president young the award recognizes accomplished faculty who hold promise of becoming world-changers in their respective fields and demonstrate texas a&ms commitment to advancing knowledge through transformational learning discovery and innovation dr lahey is one of the worlds leading experts on age discrimination and an innovator in the measurement of labor market discrimination more broadly said dr lori taylor head of the department of public service and administration i couldnt be more pleased that texas a&m university has recognized her contributions to the academic community and the potential of her work to affect meaningful social change dr joanna lahey came to the bush school in 2006 after receiving her doctorate in economics from the massachusetts institute of technology (mit) as the resident expert on the economics of aging she has published groundbreaking work on the subject and received attention from leading media outlets for her research dr lahey also strives to give students the skills necessary to critically understand quantitative research and to separate their opinions from empirical evidence or theory she is the recipient of the 2006 w e upjohn dissertation award for best dissertation on an employment-related issue and is a research associate at the national bureau of economic research (nber) dr lahey is one of the worlds leading experts on age discrimination and an innovator in the measurement of labor market discrimination more broadly i couldnt be more pleased that texas a&m university has recognized her contributions to the academic community and the potential of her work to affect meaningful social changedr lori taylor head of the department of public service and administration presidential impact fellows receive a stipend of $25 000 annually for three years and retain the title as long as they remain upstanding faculty members at texas a&m each college selects nominees for the fellowship through an internal process and a provost review committee evaluates candidates for adherence to the selection criteria seventy-five faculty members over the past five years have been designated presidential impact fellows i am grateful that the university supports the important research being done in the bush school and i look forward to broadening our understanding of labor markets said lahey by micaela burrow
home to the bush school of government & public service the newly renovated allen building offers numerous legacy naming opportunities by bec morris 23note: this article originally appeared on the texas a&m foundation website on oct 11 2021 nestled neatly in the heart of west campus the robert h 50 and judy ley allen building stands as the iconic home of the bush school of government and public service within its walls the allen building has seen over 2 300 bush school graduates grow into dedicated public servants the building has also welcomed numerous government officials former heads of state and distinguished visitors in recent years the highly competitive program has blossomed from its original 17 students to more than 340 in residence at the allen building causing the bush schools educational needs to outgrow its home of 24 years the allen building has played host to the bush school of government & public service since the schools founding in 1997 during spring 2020 the first and second floors of the allen building were enhanced to accommodate the bush school as it continues to expand now the allen building campaign will provide funding to keep the new spaces operating for years to come we are at an exciting time in our history as we prepare to celebrate 25 years of the bush school at texas a&m and more importantly 25 years of preparing exceptional public servants who make our country and our world a better place said gen mark welsh iii usaf (ret) dean of the bush school the renovations for the first time in the bush schools history it is the only academic entity occupying the allen building with plenty of rooms customized to meet the needs of graduate students in the various degree and certificate programs housed therein these improved spaces include: student learning and collaboration centers;graduate assistant research centers for the department of public service & administration and the department of international affairs;expanded space for career and student services; dedicated spaces for all of the bush school centers and institutes;faculty and student breakrooms;a student mailroom;new classrooms and lecture halls;dedicated capstone and interview spaces;increased office space; andadditional conference rooms along with the new additions came extensive rebranding and interior design changes including quotes from president george hw bush accompanied by patriotic imagery which can be found in the lobby atrium and hallways of the allen building these murals craft an atmosphere fitting for the bush schoola living memorial to the president whose mission it carries out each gift honors the legacy of our remarkable namesake by encouraging those who walk our halls to believe that they too can make a difference in our worldgeneral mark welsh iii dean the allen building campaign is more than just a capital project to renovate our space the renovations will foster learning personal growth team building collaboration and create memories for generations of bush school students as they prepare to answer the call to serve welsh said whats in a name with the newly updated areas open and ready for use theres just one step left: to inspire friends of the bush school to make an impact on future aggie public servants and share in the bush family legacy with the naming of each space in keeping with the bush schools mission to honor its namesake 41 legacy naming opportunities are available these begin at $25 000 for smaller rooms and collaboration spaces and up to $1 million for lobbies and student learning centers gifts will support current and future renovations as well as provide long-term impact for the bush school through enhancement of the deans endowed excellence fund photo gallery: allen building your generosity creates both immediate and perpetual impact for our incredible faculty staff and students welsh said each gift honors the legacy of our remarkable namesake by encouraging those who walk our halls to believe that they too can make a difference in their communities and in our world for more information about naming opportunities and supporting the bush school contact cara collins 08 senior director of development
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the bush school of government and public service invites you to a talk given by mr john boerstler titled leveraging private sector practices to improve customer experiences and service delivery in the public sector on tuesday november 9 2021 at 12:15 pm cst mr boerstler will present the material from his office in washington dc john boerstler was sworn-in on february 16 2021 as chief veterans experience officer at the department of veterans affairs (va) prior to his current positions john served as chief executive officer of combined arms a collaborative organization whose purpose is to unite collaborative methodology and technology in order to more effectively connect veterans to thousands of government and nonprofit services john is a native texan who served honorably in the us marine corps from 1999 to 2007 as a non-commissioned officer and infantry unit leader john served as the executive director of nextop program manager with the wounded warrior project mayor of houstons office of veterans affairs and a policy and district staffer for a member of the u s house of representatives in 2009 john helped found the lone star veterans association which became the largest network of post-9/11 veterans in texas and successfully merged with combined arms in march 2019 john holds a bachelors degree from texas a&m university and a masters of public service administration from the university of houston register online for the virtual session
greg vogle joined the intelligence studies program at the bush school after spending the majority of his career in the cia he talks about his new career turn and plans to teach a course on covert action what attracted you to come teach at the bush school right after i retired i had the opportunity to speak with students and the faculty here i was immensely impressed by the caliber of young people here that are going forward to obtain their graduate degrees and also i was tremendously impressed by the bush schoolwhat it stands for what its all aboutservice above self service to the nation it really renews my faith in the future of our country when i was given the opportunity to come here and contribute to the future leaders of the united states i jumped right on board what has been your favorite aspect of working and teaching here so far interacting with the students herethats the secret sauce for me having the opportunity to interface with those who want to serve our nation and offer them a little help advice and scar tissue that ive acquired over a lifetime of service its all about watching them go forward and do the things that need to be done to pay rent for this country if youre asking me what really gets me fired up to get out of the bed in the morning and roll in here its the students how does your work outside of academia inform your research and teaching this is my first experience in academia i spent a little over thirty years in the central intelligence agency and before that i spent five years in the marine corps as a professor of the practice that experience is the foundation for my entrance into academia and my entrance into the bush school what project are you currently working on right now im focusing on developing the syllabus for a covert action class that will be offered in the spring semester here at the bush school its basically a review of covert action since 1947 with a historical aspect to it including the oss and how that developed into the cia after the national security act was signed it will also examine how covert action one of the foundational elements of the agency has impacted national security from 1947 up to the present day been implemented both for good and for bad and continues to influence policymakers decisions well be covering every administration since 1947 starting with president truman up till today and well cover all aspects of how covert action has been utilized in the past and how covert action may be utilized in the future what are you looking forward to the most about your future at the bush school my days of running around the field are somewhat limited i probably could do it if i had to do it but now i think im in a stage where im able to tell the younger generation of potential intelligence officers this is the way that i see things i can offer you up ideas offer you up experiences offer you up things that maybe will help you make decisions when youre in a situation where you may be faced with some of the things that i was faced with you have a voice of experience and different views on a problem to help make the right decision
dr ashley will manage a budget of $247 million devoted toward improving diversity equity and inclusion at texas a&m by micaela burrow bush school associate dean dr frank ashley reaches his office at 7 am wearing his bush school hat he responds to his emails (within twenty-four hours) and works on his latest projects including conducting a department head search and teaching a class then he takes a break and puts on what he referred to as his diversity equity and inclusion (dei) hat in june texas a&m university president m katherine banks appointed ashley to serve as director of diversity initiatives ashley will oversee the universitys efforts to foster diversity and an inclusive environment in class and out of it it was an honor being asked to do this role said ashley but its a daunting task here at the bush school we believe in public service and thats really what im doing im serving the university ashley said his professional history in higher education and personal activism for diversity-related causes prepared him well for his new role he has held eleven different positions in the texas a&m university system i know this place pretty much in and out i have a totally different perspective on what to do said ashley i like to think thats why i was selected for this position ashley has held the position of senior associate dean for academic affairs at the bush school of government and public service since 2016 he remains in charge of graduate education and research activities along with strategic planning faculty affairs student affairs and program development at the bush school previously ashley served as vice chancellor for recruitment and diversity vice chancellor for academic affairs and director of admissions at texas a&m as well as holding various offices at texas a&m university-commerce it was an honor being asked to do this role but its a daunting task here at the bush school we believe in public service and thats really what im doing im serving the universitydr frank ashley with all of its warts and everything else i love this university said ashley if i didnt love or believe in this university i never wouldve been director of admissions i believe that the university wants to do a better job and i think its my role to call out things that we can do and can improve on improvement is defined in terms of proposals derived from the findings of texas a&ms january 2021 diversity equity and inclusion (dei) commission report texas a&m has tasked ashley with executing the following initiatives as outlined in the report: expand the student pipeline increase the regents scholar program to ninety-three recipients per year for four years increase national recognition scholarships to eighty-nine students per year for four years establish a pathways-to-doctorate fellowship for ten students per year for four years grow the aces faculty program by nine faculty per year for four years recognize outstanding aggies andestablish a task force to study a&ms history through displays and iconography over his thirty-three-year career at texas a&m university he has witnessed moments that tested the universitys integrity i was in the admissions office during the time that a&m decided we wouldnt use race in admissions i was in the admissions office when the university made the decision that we wouldnt use legacy in admissions i was here during those turbulent times said ashley when dr gates made that decision he also said that wed see one of the largest increases in minority enrollment and we did texas a&m has had its share of growing pains as ashley puts it changes in university admissions became not only more inclusive of race but of all people by allowing women to enroll and making participation in the corps optional on the other side we came out even better he said ashley believes texas a&m is more emblematic of its core values than it was when he began his career however i do not think we do a good job at celebrating our successes said ashley he hopes to change that as director of diversity initiatives i think that we are doing good things can we do better yes is there room for improvement yes ashleys new appointment involves a 50 percent stake with the office of the president for selecting implementing budgeting and assessing the recommended initiatives the university has already begun to effect many of these changes appropriating $247 million received from the a&m system for their completion with ashleys guidance some of the seven dei commission initiatives have seen progress for example ashely served under dr annie mcgowan interim vice president for diversity to double the number of accountability climate equity and scholarship (aces) fellowship recipients from the 2020-2021 cohort aces a faculty pipeline program awards scholars who show a commitment to campus diversity ashley has also attended several meetings focused on reevaluating the way the university distributes scholarships and financial aid to students of color although texas a&m admits large numbers of minority students ashley said convincing them to enroll represents a great challenge in part this is due to the competitive dynamics that influence a persons decision on where to attend college texas a&m university competes with other top institutions for the most promising students but ashley suspects that undercurrents of subtle discrimination may also play a role most students i talk tothey would say thats the elephant in the room and you dont get students to talk about it that much little incidents happen here and there where students question ‘do the people really want me here said ashley according to ashley retention presents an additional hurdle to dei at texas a&m even if we throw a ton of money at students and faculty to come to a&m if they dont feel welcome they will not stay he said the biggest nut we all have to crack is taking a hard look at climate as the only person of color in his undergraduate classes ashley endured ostracism and stereotyping throughout his university career and hes seen it happen to current and prospective students at texas a&m but he recognizes that its not just persons of color who may struggle there are a lot of other things that are important to diversity said ashley regardless of a persons color religion gender ability age nationality or generation of texas a&m attendees ashley wants all students and faculty to feel part of the aggie family the aggie family is just like any other family he said the question is: how do we welcome everyone i think that we are doing good things can we do better yes is there room for improvement yesdr frank ashley ashley hopes to see more prospective students visit campus and experience the aggie spirit for ashley maintaining texas a&ms diverse and unified body of students faculty and staff depends on what he calls the platinum rule: treating others better than you want to be treated yourself my faith teaches me that we should take care of each other and that we should love each other and thats what public service is said ashley its hard to say bad things to someone if you really love them that means everyone at the university has to contribute it cant just be a taskforce or a committee doing these things its going to take the whole aggie community it also means patience is required to see lasting change when ashley testified before the texas legislature as director of admissions he likened texas a&m to an aircraft carrier a large and powerful warship made for carrying and deploying aircraft it cant turn on a dime i just hope that during my tenure i can turn the direction at least five ten fifteen degrees ashley says outside observers should be able to look at texas a&m and say [texas] a&m isnt there but theyre moving that way theyre working really hard
the bush school celebrated shanon miller and roman napoli the 2021 and 2020 winners of the bush school outstanding alumni award at a ceremony on october 7 2021 in the annenberg presidential conference center dean mark welsh greeted attendees of the ceremony including members of the bush school advisory board bush school department heads family of the award winners and present and former students roman napoli of all the things that we do here in terms of honoring students i think this one would be president [george hw] bushs favorite the students honored in this award fulfilled his hope for graduates to perform public service spectacularly well said welsh former students nominate one of their colleagues to receive the outstanding alumni award roman napoli managing director for policy in the state departments office of foreign assistance was nominated to receive the 2020 award concerns related to covid-19 prevented the bush school from holding an in-person ceremony instead the bush school honored napoli in the 2021 ceremony alongside miller andy paloumpis nominated napoli every time i come to roman with any news hes always so happy to hear these things hes so proud of us his ability to take joy in others happiness makes him such a wonderful person said paloumpis in a pre-recorded video paloumpis said to napoli you exemplify everything that i have been taught an aggie and bush school alum should be and represent napoli graduated from the bush school in 2003 before program split between international affairs and public administration winning this award was an amazing opportunity to reflect on some of the fun and exciting things that i have done in my career to date but it also spurred to make sure that the next part of my career is just as action-packed i also got to see how public service refined in me at the bush school can be a powerful tool for good said napoli napoli reflected on his experience enduring criticism after he joined fema a few months after hurricane katrine decimated his home state of louisiana recalling how president bush shared his own response to personal criticism napoli determined to do his best regardless of how some responded of all the things that we do here in terms of honoring students i think this one would be president [george hw] bushs favorite the students honored in this award fulfilled his hope for graduates to perform public service spectacularly wellbush school dean mark welsh that was who i wasi was the public servant what was said about me on some website didnt matter to me we cannot lose the noble thoughtful reflective yet bulletproof desire to do good that president bush instilled in this school napoli noted that he and miller the 2021 awardee were blessed to attend the bush school near its inception when the first family maintained a strong presence shanon miller wow shanon and i were probably a perfect pair to share the stage this year said napoli we both attended and got to interact with the president and first lady up close we could tell first hand stories about what things were like and how they shaped our experiences it was great that a couple of old timers like us could share [the experience of receiving the awards together] it seemed especially poignant in a year where the first family wasnt with us the stories are great but the lessons will keep living another senior bush alum john curran 00 nominated miller also class of 2000 for the award shanon has found her passion shes leading others along the way in pursing it and has really made a difference said curran miller currently works as the historic preservation officer for the city of san antonio after serving in franklin tennessee and fort worth texas in the same capacity throughout her career she has successfully tied preservation of the historic built environment to issues facing americans in the present day such as affordable housing climate and cultural conservation i am honored to have been selected for this years award i so appreciate my time at the bush school and the influence that foundation has had on my career in public service said miller my background at the bush school has made me uniquely suited not only to administer the largest perseveration program in the state of texas and one of the largest in the country but to grow it from a typical regulatory-type agency to a robust department thats focused on significant policy initiatives miller and napoli will be featured in a display to be installed in the atrium of the allen building the display will continue to highlight future award winners
brittany alexander istpp predoctoral fellow and doctoral student in statistics presented her paper a bayesian model for inference on multiple panel public opinion surveys at the southern association for public opinion research conference on october 14 2021 istpp director arnold vedlitz coauthored this study the paper won the james w prothro student paper competition their research uses a two-wave panel survey conducted by istpp in 2016 with funding from the national science foundation and a six-wave panel survey led by istpp and conducted by decision research the surveys measured a variety of issues and attitudes including perceived likelihood of terrorism different concerns about terrorism support for federal and local spending and support for specific policies to prevent terrorism a bayesian model was fit to the data and used both surveys to create estimates of public support for a list of policies to prevent terrorism the support was averaged across the policies in the survey the model was able to show that there was no statistically significant change in policy support at the population level across the seven months in the study this finding is far more conclusive than previous work as the model was capable of detecting change at the level of movement of one unit change on a single item in the seven item scale used to measure policy support
texas a&m bush school and college of liberal arts faculty members remember the late former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff secretary of state and national security advisor by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today on oct 19 2021 colin l powell who died monday at the age of 84 of covid-19 complications leaves behind a legacy that experts in politics and international affairs describe as celebrated and at the same time complicated powell broke racial barriers serving as the countrys first black national security advisor chair of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state a four-star general who began his career with 35 years in the army powell joined the george w bush administration in 2001 two years later he made the case before the united nations security council for the invasion of iraq based on faulty information that saddam hussein was in possession of weapons of mass destruction in interviews with texas a&m today faculty members from texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service and college of liberal arts reflected on powells life his role in the united states invasion of iraq and how hell ultimately be remembered gen (ret) mark welsh dean of the bush school of government and public service colin powell was a great man he was a great soldier he was a great leader i think he was a great role model for everybody in this country while it was noted at the time nobody really remembers that he was the first black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff he was just a great chairman and nobody ever questioned whether he was capable of doing the job he has been remarkable at every step of his career in the army and everybody was excited to see his success i think people who worked for him in the military people who worked for him later in government in the state department they all saw why he was so well thought of he was just a really impressive guy i worked on the joint staff while he was the chairman i was the division chief there and i met him on a couple of issues that we had to go fill the chairman in on he was exactly what you would expect him to be very smart very engaging very well read very well informed and very committed to getting the right answer he was a real presence both personally and intellectually one of the things that he did when he retired – some gave him a hard time about it in the press at the time – was schedule photo sessions for anybody on the joint staff who wanted to have their photo taken with him i remember there was an article insinuating that it was an ego thing because he wanted people to line up to have their pictures taken with him but the reality was almost all of us had asked if he would do it because we all wanted our pictures taken with him we all lined up in the hallways and he spent hours giving everybody the chance ive still got mine i treasure it i think people kind of forget as the years have gone by just how significant of an impact he had on our military and on our nation just a remarkable american several years after he was secretary of state i ran into him in dc and asked him so why didnt you run for president we were all hoping you would and he said its just not me he said you have to know where your skill set fits and mine didnt fit in the white house thats not the way i could contribute best he was exactly what you would expect him to be very smart very engaging very well read very well informed and very committed to getting the right answer he was a real presence both personally and intellectuallybush school dean mark welsh he was a very introspective smart man very honest both with himself and others i think all of the things that happened around the weapons of mass destruction in iraq and the fact that he was the spokesperson convincing the country there was a problem we had to go take care of will rightly or wrongly color historys view of him but he was a great great success long before any of that happened and remains one in my mind gregory gause department head and professor department of international affairs it was president george hw bush who appointed gen powell to being chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and it was really in some ways during the gulf war that he became the very prominent public figure that he was the gulf war highlighted his ability to organize a major military operation and his political and communication skills in pulling it off and explaining it to the american public so it was really under president bush that colin powell became the public figure that he would be for the rest of his career i think president bush had a great eye for talent and in many ways i think his foreign policy team was among the most talented weve seen since world war ii and the roosevelt and truman administrations colin powell was a major part of that general colin powell just because of who he was hes a first first black national security advisor first black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff first black secretary of state and in that sense hes a trailblazer i think his overall career is a testament to the way that our military has worked to get beyond the consequences of institutional racism to promote based on merit colin powell was a trailblazer in that regard i think when hes evaluated in terms of his overall career he cant escape the problems of the iraq war he was secretary of state when the us invaded iraq he made the case most publicly at the united nations for the united states going into iraq militarily he made it based on suspected weapons of mass destruction there when it became clear that there were no such weapons it certainly was a low point in what had been a very successful career up until then we know from the subsequent accounts of decision making about the iraq war that in many cases he urged a more measured and diplomatic response toward iraq and he lost out on these internal bureaucratic fights being a good soldier in more ways than one both literally and figuratively he fell in line and supported the decision and made the case for going to war that turned out not to be accurate that was his last major public action in his government life as successful as he was as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in the gulf war i think the iraq war is seen as a big failure and he is implicated in it without a doubt its interesting how many people on the other side of the aisle democrats have spoken very highly of him he obviously was someone who saw the military and the foreign policy world as an area where you had to reach across the aisle he seemed to be a person who was extremely decent and open and didnt bear grudges kirby goidel professor department of political science colin powell transcended partisan politics remained uniquely independent and contributed significantly to democratic and republican presidential administrations in an age of polarized politics this loss feels even larger how many statesmen are there left in contemporary politics if colin powell can be criticized for some of his policy decisions no one ever questioned his integrity or his consistent desire to put the safety and security of his country ahead of partisan politics at one point it looked as though he might run for president like another famous general dwight eisenhower it was possible that he could have run as a democrat or a republican and had a realistic chance of winning either way john schuessler associate professor department of international affairs albritton center for grand strategy co-director one of colin powells great regrets was his role in the process leading up to the iraq war and i think that captures part of his legacy i think he considered himself a public servant first and so in that period i think he felt honor-bound or duty-bound to support the policy of his administration in this case that meant making some rather weak arguments in front of the un security council about the threat that iraq posed he knew they were weak he did his best to sharpen the case when he worked through the intelligence but i think theres a reason he regrets that part of his career and why people continue to fixate on it i think he felt like he was doing the right thing but the result was ultimately bad for some of us the iraq war is the cardinal failure of the post-cold war period an unnecessary war of choice that had very damaging consequences especially in iraq and for the people in the region and more broadly for american foreign policy so in that respect he bears some culpability although he was not the leading decision maker by the same token this is someone who did serve honorably in multiple roles across a long career so should that be the only thing hes remembered for of course not he could be a bit aggressive at pushing back against the administrations he was serving this is someone who unavoidably had to navigate how do you be a military officer and wade properly into very political issues which is something our chairs of the joint chiefs have struggled with for some time he provided a model in some ways for staking out a military position in these debates while ultimately respecting higher authority the thing i really appreciated about him was his willingness to go against his party to support barack obama i think this was a highly noble person but he was associated with some highly problematic policies dwight roblyer senior lecturer department of political science there are some people who never attended a&m but who we know must be aggies at heart because they share our core values colin powell was definitely one of those individuals i was serving as an air force officer during his tenures as chairman of the joint chiefs and then as secretary of state and i watched with great interest and admiration as he navigated the challenges we as a military and a nation faced during those times when i think of an ideal example of a senior military officer or a statesman gen powell always comes to mind we owe him a debt of gratitude that we must now pay forward by living out the standards of political decency and selfless service that he held just because of who he was hes a first first black national security advisor first black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff first black secretary of state and in that sense hes a trailblazer i think his overall career is a testament to the way that our military has worked to get beyond the consequences of institutional racism to promote based on merit colin powell was a trailblazer in that regardgregory gause jasen castillo associate professor and co-director albritton center for grand strategy i think overall his legacy is going to be extremely positive when i heard he had died the first thing i remembered was he was not just the first african american chairman of the joint chiefs of staff but he was the first african american national security advisor to president ronald reagan he came in in the wake of the iran contra affair and represented a return to normalcy on the national security council then of course we all know colin powell and his role in the gulf war and the powell doctrine which is interesting because the powell doctrine states you should use overwhelming force to fight and win wars his view was that we should try to be effective as opposed to efficient in war i think that reflected his experience in the vietnam war in the 80s before the gulf war there wasnt much confidence in the us military and powell was part of that team along with george hw bush that helped americans shake off the vietnam syndrome the way they fought that war was much better than the way we fought the subsequent war operation iraqi freedom there is the one big blight on his record and even he admitted that in his interview with barbara walters in 2005 that he was devastated that he had gone in front of the un and relayed information that was shoddy at best to his credit he admitted that and in an era when no one admit mistakes that goes a long way his endorsement of president barack obama was really important because it created a permission structure for people to gravitate toward the first african american president powell represented this force for moderation middle of the road so a lot of people took their cues from him in later years his criticism of the republican party becoming highly radicalized very populous helped many of us understand what was going on fritz bartel assistant professor department of international affairs he lived a life that reflects the ideals of the bush school he was committed to nonpartisan and bipartisan public service so as a role model for our students at the bush school his life epitomized many of the ideals that we try to instill in our students he also had a complicated legacy in terms of american foreign policy and americas role in the world his appearance before the united nations in 2003 in the buildup to the iraq war still remains one of the most controversial appearances by a us official and he was conflicted about it for the rest of his life hes famous for the powell doctrine which is the idea that the us military shouldnt begin a military engagement unless it meets a certain set of criteria: massive public support clear and definite objectives to be achieved a clear exit strategy and then you should go in with overwhelming military force this was at the end of the 20th century at the height of the united states power in the world it was viewed as a way to keep the us out of military conflicts that we wouldnt otherwise want to be in he was reacting to his own service in the vietnam war the ironic tragic thing is he dies 20 years into what many people now refer to as the forever war of the united states weve lost the sense that the powell doctrine tried to instill of having short military conflicts that achieve their goals very quickly and we then extract ourselves from that conflict relatively quickly his own service in the bush administration failed to live up to that standard because he was part of the administration that launched these wars in the first place its a complicated legacy
no matter which side of the abortion debate youre on experts say its important to know the legal implications of the texas heartbeat act by mia mercer ‘23 since roe v wade passed in 1973 americans right to abortion has been protected against state action under the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment the state of texas is taking action to change that on sept 1 the texas legislature passed the texas heartbeat act the legislation prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy or after the detection of a fetal cardiac activity making texas home to the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the united states faculty from the college of liberal arts further explain the legal implications of this decision as well as the effects the law will have on womens health in the state of texas now and in the future using their research and expertise the supreme court refused to take action on a request to block the texas heartbeat act in october in doing so abortion clinics throughout texas have been forced to deny women access to safe abortions causing many women seeking such medical help to resort to other methods of terminating their pregnancy its important to understand the way the world works which would of course include what happens when certain types of laws are passed department of economics professor jason lindo explained understanding the effects of this law should be useful for anyone and everyone no matter what side of the isle you are on ultimately whether you might be saddened by the outcome or think its a positive thing we should all hopefully want to know what the truth is because when we know how policies work and what they do we are better informed to vote and support policies that are actually consistent with our own personal values according to lindo the texas heartbeat act is the countrys most restrictive law because it leaves the state of texas with virtually no access to abortion putting texas women seeking abortion through a legal obstacle course that includes driving great distances to access abortions out of state although it is too early to tell how this law will affect the abortion rate lindo said we can look at texas recent history with the passage of texas house bill 2 (hb2) which shut down nearly half of the clinics in the state for an example of how the texas heartbeat act may influence abortion rates historically when access to abortion clinics is substantially impaired including when people have to travel further to reach an abortion clinic it substantially reduces the number who get abortions lindo shared just to give you some numbers having a clinic 25 miles away versus zero reduces the abortion rate by 10 percent thats a very large effect theres also evidence about mandatory waiting periods that require two trips to an abortion clinic (as opposed to one) also substantially affects abortion access based on a wealth of research that already exists on prior laws that have been passed we can anticipate that this law is going to delay abortions and reduce the overall number not only does this law affect the abortion rate but it also affects womens rights and health we have a constitutional right to abortion but its being overturned through this particular law associate professor from the department of communication tasha dubriwny said there is a good deal of discourse coming from reproductive rights advocates to suggest that reproductive rights are human rights and abortion care is part of that spectrum denying women access to abortion is a form of gender discrimination so a law like the one that has been offered up in texas violates womens fundamental human rights because it restricts their access to what is an important part of their reproductive healthcare according to doctors without borders unsafe abortion is a main cause of maternal death globally its also one that is almost entirely preventable when abortion access is restricted women turn to unsafe means to end pregnancies there is substantial evidence that abortion is a very safe procedure lindo said there is also clear evidence that childbirth or continuing a pregnancy entails risks for women and carrying a fetus to childbirth is something that involves more health risks than does an abortion theres a lot of research on the effects of having children on long-term outcomes including educational attainment and financial circumstances those are additional things which may be important to pay attention to when we think of the effects of this law dubriwny also explained that the restrictions imposed by the texas heartbeat act disproportionately affect women of color and women who are of lower socioeconomic status this bill amplifies already existing health disparities in terms of mental health and health overall in the state of texas as well as across the nation dubriwny said looking at texas specifically we have a number of restrictions on abortion already in place these make it difficult to have an abortion in the state to begin with that difficulty will increase for all women of underrepresented groups and of lower socioeconomic status who may not have the resources to travel out of state to access abortion care despite the law being halted by a federal court judge on oct 6 dubriwny said this is likely the first step in a long series of legal maneuvers and we can expect the state of texas to appeal to the united states court of appeals for the fifth circuit although this current ruling allows clinics to move forward with abortions past the cardiac activity mark if the fifth court of appeals reverses the federal judges ruling the clinics and other participants who aided those seeking abortions could be sued under the law for their past acts since the federal judge has blocked the laws enforcement not overturned the law entirely its important to note that from a legal standpoint the law is problematic because of the precedent that it sets in terms of how to undermine constitutionally upheld rights dubriwny shared it has made very real the stakes of current legal challenges to roe v wade this has made the possibility of a world without legal safe and accessible abortion care a reality and i think making that reality clear has spurred forth a lot of necessary and productive conversations and hopefully made all of us more aware of the threats to womens rights and reproductive autonomy on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
a november referendum will determine whether the woodlands continues to be the only township government in texas a report by the bush school outlines some of the reasons communities incorporate and how they apply in the case of the woodlands while most of the debate on whether the woodlands township should incorporate as a city has centered around the tax implications the authors of the takeaway local government control: the case of municipal incorporation in the woodlands township texas provide some less appreciated background relevant to the proposed change in governance the woodlands current complex intergovernmental arrangements provide unique benefits that allow it to be flexible in providing services but the woodlands status as a special district also has limitations the authors describe how municipal incorporation could provide the woodlands with more authority in regional and emergency planning and allow it to access more federal funds the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
dr brian nakamura teaches public management and public policy program evaluation at the bush school he spoke about his research on state and local government in the context of us policy responses to the covid-19 pandemic what research project/s do you currently have underway im working on what we call coproduction of services at the local government level essentially coproduction of services for a local government is how do we engage the citizens to be active and to participate within the environment in the community in which they live we want citizens to engage within the community beyond volunteering and participating in public meetings we want them to engage in the production and implementation of essential public services for example citizens tend to engage in neighborhood watch or community-oriented policing and we want to take this one step further by having citizens truly engage in a safe manner of course in providing services related to economic development social justice and environmental protection lets put the gloves on get the shovels and trimmers out and rid our parks and natural areas of invasive tree and plant species as an example what are you hoping to learn through your research a lot of individuals want to participate [in local government] but they dont know how or when it is appropriate we hope to educate individuals on how they can become a more participatory person in the community to coproduce public services and we want to better understand why theres hesitancy and limited participation but we also need to understand what methods of civic engagement and public participation will incentivize the community to become coproducers how could your research impact society what we learned over the last year and a half has really helped advance my research on coproduction if you think about the pandemic we continue to rely upon all levels of government to guide decision making on safety jobs housing and all facets of life now were starting to look at how our citizens have reacted to governments role throughout the pandemic and what were finding is that the local level offers a more stable political environment which favorably impacts a community people concerned with government actions and activities at the national and state levels are more comfortable within the nonpartisan local government environment as they navigate modified and new norms attributed to public health safety and welfare where the rules stay pretty consistent we find that citizens rely upon local government because of stability during uncertain times have you ever worked outside of academia if so what did you do and how does it translate to your research and/or teaching i spent the first twenty-five years of my career working in local government it goes back to what i dealt with serving at the local level which is the frustration of making policy decisions for our community with very little input and participation from the community its always been a goal of mine to determine what [the] underpinnings that prevent or limit people from actively participating in government are what research or teaching accomplishment are you most proud of presenting the work that ive been doing at the american society for public administration was most enjoyable not necessarily for me but for all the people ive engaged with throughout the yearspolicymakers fellow colleagues and citizens its been a great opportunity to draw upon their knowledge and experiences and put [those] into writing presenting information and data to encourage and embrace efforts to construct a better society what do you like most about working at the bush school the people i always view intergenerational learning and thinking as most important and we embrace this concept here at the bush school we have educators who want to build our quality of life at the international federal state and local levels to do so we must think generationally and we have brilliant intergenerational thinkers here at the bush school what is your favorite class that you teach and why public management public management embraces critical thinking and we need to be critical thinkers ask why be willing to share opinions but not be opinionated and use good judgment without being judgmental its the difficult conversations we need to have that facilitate growth and lifelong learning thus allowing for adaptation and adjustment to our everchanging political economic and social environment if were intergenerational critical thinkers we learn from those before us grow from todays experiences and use our knowledge and experiences to improve our future we think globally and act locallygreat opportunities and advancements in the quality of life have roots locally grow nationally and blossom globally
on october 13 2021 ryan m lance chairman and ceo of conocophillips the worlds largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company received the 2021 mclane leadership in business award from the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university bestowed annually the award recognizes a prominent individual for outstanding contributions in the area of business and public service ryan m lance and raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute the mclane program began with a welcome by mark welsh dean of the bush school followed by a video about the mclane awards purpose and history max angerholzer ceo of the george and barbara bush foundation then introduced ryan lance and raymond robertson the director of the mosbacher institute and moderator for the program robertson engaged lance in an on-stage conversation on topics ranging from changes in the oil industry to lances leadership philosophy when asked about an energy transition to lower-carbon sources lance stated that he believes in solar and wind energy and that nuclear energy should not be shut down he also expressed that oil and gas should definitely be a part of the equation since solar and wind cannot be relied upon exclusively especially in colder regions he indicated that the goal is to transition responsibly so that everyone has access to affordable reliable and sustainable energy when robertson asked about the companys efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions lance stated that the company is committed to getting to net-zero by 2050 in accordance with the paris climate accords emphasizing the importance of improving carbon offsets to achieve this when asked about the current political conditions lance expressed his concern about polarization and specifically how new policies juxtapose energy with climate he stated that this will lead to spending more money as a country and hurting the economy without making any climate improvements he encouraged policymakers to work with the industry instead of treating them like the bad guys he also advised that solutions should target not only the supply side but also the demand side dean mark welsh drayton mclane jr ryan m lance and raymond robertson in response to robertsons request for advice for bush school students lance encouraged them to find their passion maintain a work/life balance embrace change and surround themselves with smarter and better people since collaborative brains are more powerful the evening concluded with drayton mclane jr chairman of the mclane group and founder of the award presenting lance with the 2021 mclane award you can view the 2021 mclane leadership in business award program on the bush school youtube channel
dr aileen teague an albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) faculty member in the department of international affairs and dr robert ralston the 2019-20 cgs predoctoral fellow joined the non-resident fellows program at the quincy institute for responsible statecraft the quincy institute non-resident fellows program connects academics advocates and former officials across the country and gives them a voice in the policymaking world the new fellows are each leading scholars in their respective fields they bring expertise in regions from africa to latin america to east asia and in issue areas from grand strategy to nuclear non-proliferation and human rights the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
join the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service for beyond 13 days: the soviet withdrawal from cuba and the fall of nikita khrushchev given by dr serhii plokhii plokhii will discuss the history of the cuban missile crisis and its aftermath as seen through the lens of recently declassified kgb documents the event will be held on thursday november 4 2021 at 6 pm via zoom it is open to the public but registration is required rsvp for the zoom information plokhii is the mykhailo hruschevsky professor of ukrainian history and the director of the ukranian research institute at harvard university a prolific author historian and researcher plokhii has written many books on the politics of eastern europe his most recent book nuclear folly: a history of the cuban missile crisis (2021) details the mutual distrust second-guessing and misinformation on the part of the united states the soviet union and cuba that pushed each nations principals toward dangerous brinkmanship plokhii demonstrates how the world narrowly escaped nuclear disaster other notable works by plokhii include chernobyl: the history of a nuclear catastrophe (2018) which received the baillie gifford prize for nonfiction and the last empire: the final days of the soviet union (2015) which was awarded the lionel gelber prize for the best book on international relations and offers a daring revisionist interpretation of the soviet unions final months plokhii obtained his undergraduate degree in history and social sciences from the university of dnipropetrovsk and his graduate degree from the russian university of the friendship of peoples with specializations in historiography and source studies in 1990 he received his habilitation degree in history from taras shevchenko national university of kyiv
alfredo corchado whose expertise spans the gamut of important topics in us-mexico relationsthe drug war border security immigration and morewill give a talk at the annenberg presidential conference center titled reporting crime violence and narcotrafficking in mexico: challenges insights and the road ahead on wednesday november 10 2021 corchado will describe issues he has encountered with press freedom in mexico speak candidly about the current state of the drug war and its intersections with central american migration and reflect on what policymakers on both sides of the border can do to best move forward given the lack of transparency in crime and drug issues in mexico corchado is the border-mexico correspondent for the dallas morning news and author of two books: midnight in mexico: a reporters journey through a countrys descent into darkness (2013) and homelands: four friends two countries and the fate of the great mexican-american migration (2018) he is also the director of the borderlands program at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university the talk is hosted by the border & migration program of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university it is part of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague the series invites practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america to share their expertise and experiences
the symposium will address the future of afghani women after the fall of kabul a powerful set of speakers will discuss women peace and security after the fall of kabul at the 7th annual texas women peace and security symposium please join us virtually on friday november 12 2021 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm to hear from ms ayaan hirsi ali of the hoover institution; the honorable adela raz afghanistan ambassador to the us; the honorable roya rahmani former afghanistan ambassador to the us; the honorable ryan crocker former us ambassador to afghanistan; dr sima samar former chair of the afghan independent human rights commission; ret us air force colonel judge advocate cornelia weiss; metra mehran of the borlaug institute; and dr valerie hudson of the bush school of government and public service as they focus on the meaning of the kabul fiasco for those who have worked to improve the situation of afghan women and for the larger endeavor of women peace and security register | agenda | event page were efforts to improve the situation of afghan women just useless just a performative joke did they place a big target on these women thereby endangering them what now what lessons should those in the wps field take away what is next for afghan women is there any way to meaningfully help afghan women now these questions are both timely and urgent policymakers have increasingly come to see how the situation status and security of women affect national security this one-day virtual symposium will highlight the integral value of women and girls to strong stable peaceful societiesand why this matters here at home the goal is to spotlight important perspectives and create awareness within texas and the nation on these issues we also hope this event will contribute to the bush schools goal of fostering discussions on pressing global issues amongst individuals of a variety of political and ideological persuasions register online to attend
dr jaehan park the 2021-22 albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) postdoctoral fellow presented the united states in the asia-pacific 1895-1905: the limits of a rising power at the 117th annual meeting and exhibition of the american political science association (apsa) recently the paper park presented examines the record of american diplomacy during the critical decade demarcated by the sino-japanese war (1894-95) and the russo-japanese war (1904-05) by focusing on how geography logistics and path-dependence limited policymakers options the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
shanon miller got her first glimpse into the hands-on work of historic preservation while on a field trip dr david woodcock professor of architecture at texas a&m university organized for his course introduction to historic preservation dr woodcock introduced the class to san antonios historic preservation officer miller recalled telling her classmate after the meeting i want that job eight years later miller began work as director of the city of san antonio office of historic preservation now i have it said miller i didnt know i meant it quite so literally at the time yet here i am millers work to preserve the citys rich architectural heritage and role in pioneering community-focused preservation initiatives convinced the bush school to designate miller the 2021 outstanding alumnus from law to lightbulbs miller enrolled in dr woodcocks class to fulfill an elective requirement while studying for her master of public service and administration degree with a concentration in advanced public management at the bush school after graduating from the western kentucky university in december 1997 miller was accepted by several prestigious law schools she said she applied to the bush school just to have options miller had planned to obtain a joint jd/masters degree in law and history with the objective of teaching legal history then i decided at the last minute that law school was not the right path i wasnt as excited about it as you should be before starting out on something like that she said miller enrolled at the bush school in the fall of 1998 there a colleague recommended dr woodcocks historic preservation course miller decided to take a chance on an experience outside her program of study during the first week of class dr woodcock engaged in an exercise with the students to help them explore their relationship to historic buildings a lightbulb went off said miller i didnt even know this was a job people who work in government sometimes get the bureaucrat reputation and not always in a positive way its important that we give people the resources experiences and knowledge they need to be good stewards of their houses and their buildingsshanon miller historic preservation married millers love of history and drive to serve her local community regardless of which city miller worked for she found a way to enhance its unique historical and cultural profile miller first went to work as the historic preservation officer for the city of fort worth texas in some ways i dont really know why they hired me initially but i think it worked out well for them and me said miller with millers input and support the city adopted its first historic preservation plan after three years in fort worth miller accepted a position as the historic preservation officer in franklin tennessee around the time i moved there there was an election for the franklin board of mayor and aldermen that was largely based on historic preservation principles and wanting to control growth so we had a lot of opportunity to do some innovative things miller said for example miller helped to purchase a 200-acre horse farm and convert it into a public park it was a place the community loved and it was very iconic preserving that for the community which now is a gathering place that the community lovesits why i got into historic preservation said miller another initiative involved restoring the eastern flank of the field where parts of the battle of franklin occurred during the civil war the eastern flank purchase was innovative because it was already developed land often the battles that happened in the civil war were in more rural areas in franklin it was already a community we were able to develop public education and outreach opportunities that hadnt existed before preserving san antonios history through its people in 2008 miller moved to san antonio to take up the position as director of the office of historic preservation (ohp) whats unique about this role is that its a standalone department as a department director i report directly to the city managers office it elevates the visibility of historic preservation work in san antonio said miller having a seat at the table with other city directors allows miller to exercise greater sway in the policy-making process it also exposes the ohp to increased public pressure people who work in government sometimes get the bureaucrat reputation and not always in a positive way said miller we do have to follow the rules we have to issue approvals for work in historic districts and sometimes that means we have to tell people no but if were going to do that its important that we give people the resources experiences and knowledge they need to be good stewards of their houses and their buildings miller has overcome the problem of local buy-in by implementing community-based development programs she hopes that community members who participate in these programs will become more in touch with their local heritage theres no way to get anything done at the local level without community support said miller one way the san antonio ohp engages the population is through students together achieving revitalization (star) participants gain trade experience in building rehabilitation and maintenance while improving the condition of san antonios historic architecture under the star program volunteers revitalized over one hundred and fifty properties many of these properties house san antonios lower income residents according to miller houses constructed prior to 1960 provide a disproportionate number of affordable housing opportunities historic preservation is not only cultural sustainability its environmental and economic sustainability as wellshanon miller its important that we reinvest in them and improve them versus tearing them down and replacing them and that also ties into our trades training our apprentices are not just doing theoretical work in a shop theyre actually working on affordable housing units in our city not even miller can salvage every historic building but demolition spews dust and debris into the air and contributes to landfill waste representing a threat to public health to counter this san antonio became the first city to sanction a deconstruction initiative out of the ohp instead of having [the houses] mechanically demolished and put into a landfill theyre deconstructed so the material can be used in others like an organ donor said miller building materials will supplement the ohps various preservation programs the ohp is also creating partnerships with local universities to research material innovation utilizing old materials other cities have similar deconstruction ordinances but according to miller the thing that sets the san antonio initiative apart is that its being directed by the historic preservation office often they come from an environmental or sustainability-type office or even solid waste and all of those people are involved in ours but really its the historic preservation that is pushing it because it is a cultural heritage issue in addition to all those other things preservation as public service in every city where miller served in historic preservation she has transformed its historical architecture into functional places of community building and sustainability her success is due in part to principles she learned at the bush school former bush school professor dr robert durant introduced one of these concepts called backward mapping instead of looking at the tools in the toolkit we take the problem and work backwards miller explained were trying to get at the root causes of situations and address them rather than just doing the obvious short-term solutions when it came to the problem of vacant buildings in san antonio miller used backward mapping to determine how to approach the owner of each property every tool doesnt work in every situation she said shanon miller – 2021 bush school outstanding alumnus award winner as a result the city developed a program that facilitates moving vacant and underutilized properties back on to the tax rolls since the program started over 700 properties no longer fall under the vacant building ordinance because they have come into compliance or are no longer vacant miller also found ways to apply her bush school education in nonprofit management to support preservation now she serves on the board of power of preservation foundation (pop) a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting hands-on workforce-driven preservation programs and developing future preservation advocates in 2018 pop acquired a 1906 mansion and transformed it into a learning lab for university students and tradespeople the house is set to earn san antonios first-ever residential zero carbon certification from the international living future institute historic preservation is not only cultural sustainability said miller its environmental and economic sustainability as well san antonios historic sites drive tourism and industry contributing to a large part of the citys economy sometimes cultural heritage clashes with the push toward modernity historic preservation helps mitigate the negative effects of this shift its not that historic preservation is about freezing in time its really about managing change in those neighborhoods said miller if somebody who lived in a house when it was first built came back today we will have been successful if they can still recognize their house miller remembers her reason for working in historic preservation when she deals with the variety of interestsfrom neighborhood communities who resist change to developers who seek to expand it has to be about what the community wants said miller i often joke that if everybody is a little bit unhappy then youre probably doing something right because it means youre not too far on either side
the bush school congratulates colonel ronald d sullivan lecturer in the department of public service and administration on his promotion to brigadier general in the us army reserve on october 1 2021 sullivan will serve in the us army judge advocate generals (jag) corps as chief judge of the us army court of criminal appeals (ima) sullivan said his promotion indicates recognition of his twenty-eight years in military service ive gained the confidence of not only my subordinates but the leaders who have watched me lead practice law and serve up to this point they can trust me with leading in the next phase of my career and contributing positively to the army mission said sullivan colonel ronald d sullivan is a lecturer in the department of public service and administration at the bush school sullivan attended the university of kansas school of law and graduated with a juris doctorate in 1996 he also holds a masters in strategic studies from the us army war college and a bachelors in business administration from howard university to compliment years of legal practice experience in all aspects of government contract law sullivan has a record of success in first-chair litigation of over seventy criminal trials including high-profile war crimes cases he is licensed as an attorney in texas and kansas and is admitted to practice before the united states supreme court the us court of federal claims and the us court of appeals for the armed forces formerly sullivan served as staff judge advocate of the 37th theater sustainment command currently he serves in a civilian capacity in the us army futures commands legal office where he is chief of acquisition personnel and ethics law in 2015 bush school professor william west recruited sullivan to teach contract management a critical component of the psaa curriculum i really like presenting something new and wrestling with it with students as they get over the hurdles of something that might have seemed very difficult and complex to start with i love watching students when they see a challenging concept turn into small and simple building blocks said sullivan i know that my course provides an additional tool in the toolkit for future public servant leaders they also keep me on my toes!
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) is pleased to welcome dr jaehan park as our postdoctoral fellow and leyla tiglay as our predoctoral fellow for the 2021-22 academic year park completed his phd at johns hopkins university in august 2021 and tiglay joins us from the ohio state university park previously was a nonresident james a kelly fellow at pacific forum he holds an ma in international relations from sais and a ba in business administration from yonsei university in seoul south korea tiglay is a phd student at ohio state university focusing on the international history of the cold war and decolonization she is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in political science and history previously she held several fellowships including global arts + humanities discovery theme graduate research fellowship (2020-2021) and mershon center international security studies fellowship (2020-2021) prior to that she worked as a diplomat in the turkish ministry of foreign affairs and lived in various countries including belgium cameroon and the united kingdom the cgs fellows program supports one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response we invite scholars of political science history and other relevant disciplines to apply for the fellowships visit the cgs fellowships page for more information about their work
we are excited to highlight another alumnus who is making a difference in the nonprofit sector phil york graduated from the bush school in 2012 he studied nonprofit management and public administration because he believes nonprofits are uniquely positioned to bring about positive change through the disciplined studied approaches he learned while attending the bush school yorks nonprofit career was greatly shaped by his fundraising work with three different habitat for humanity affiliates these positions showed him the value and power of engaging donors through unique experiences such as having them work alongside a future homeowner to build a house that will soon become a home yorks advice to newer nonprofit leaders is not to fear discomfort he believes that having a plan for your career is valuable but if the path changes or varies you must trust your instincts and listen for the noble call of public service york is currently the development manager for the national community reinvestment coalition in washington dc whoop! name: phil yorkorganization: national community reinvestment coalitiontitle: development manager whats one of the more rewarding things about your job i connect donors to positive community-changing programs on a daily basis why did you choose to study nonprofit management or get a certificate i decided to study nonprofit management because i believed nonprofits are uniquely positioned in american communities to bring about positive change that other sectors cannot however this change can only happen through a disciplined studied and thoughtful approach that can be taught through a program such as the bush school what nonprofit have you worked or volunteered with that impacted your academic or professional career habitat for humanity greatly shaped my nonprofit career i served as a fundraiser at three habitat affiliates and had the joy to see hard working families earn the american dream of homeownership at habitat i learned that donor engagement is most powerful through experiences there is no experience like watching a donor and future homeowner working on a house that will become a home with a different chapter of my career another organization that impacted my career growth was my time at the kennedy center while there i worked with multi-million dollar corporate donors foundations and individuals during the organizations first capital campaign similar to my habitat days it was a great experience to see some of americas most influential philanthropist enjoy the arts…to see their gift in action…to see a childs face light up during a theatre production…or to see their name become a permanent part of a marbled donor wall attention to detail to know a donors preference and to anticipate that preference before it is said was a critical skill i learned there what is one piece of advice youd give to incoming students or recent graduates have a plan but be at peace if your career does not go to plan my career spans across the country i worked in small nonprofits as one of few staff members i also worked in one of the largest nonprofits in the united states did i plan that career path no but i had a compass that i built at the bush school…which steered me in the path to answer that noble call of public service wherever i heard it todays position may not be a dream job but it may be the ideal position to learn skills gain experience network and deploy programs that make your community a better place do not be afraid to be uncomfortable to accept that job across the country to apply for that job that scares you or to compete for a promotion you are trained at one of the best schools in the country and able to do great things trust your instincts and be ok if you look up and find yourself in a role you never dreamed of what kind of professional development would be helpful in advancing your career these days any webinars or 4 week certificate programs in crisis management or emergency management would be helpful how to message and fundraise in a pandemic…how to lead teams during a pandemic…how to show appreciation and remain engaged in the lives of supporters during a pandemic could all be useful topics
leah buchman a phd candidate in the department of entomology and a predoctoral research associate in the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school was one of five people selected as a science policy fellow for the entomological society of america (esa) class of 2021 this honor offers ms buchman professional development while she completes her doctorate at texas a&m university as a science policy fellow ms buchman will be collaborating with lawmakers public/private stakeholders and federal agency leaders in washington dc to contribute to agricultural initiatives she will engage in educational events on science policy and funding to promote and advocate for entomology as well as science on a broader scale her commitment to translate science into policy is evident in her work with istpp and the usda-funded gene drive project research team ms buchman is dedicated to the scientific community and wants to foster relationships among policymakers scientists and the public to benefit society
in august the national interest organized a symposium on american foreign policy in the middle east under the biden administration that posed the question given joe bidens recent decisions in afghanistan and iraq is the president right to be reducing the us military presence in the middle east in leaving afghanistan doesnt mean a total middle east withdrawal albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) faculty affiliate dr gregory gause notes that afghanistan was always tangential to the long-term american interest in the persian gulf and the us military presence in other middle east countries including iraq remains largely unchanged the albritton center for grand strategy serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
ryan crocker former ambassador to afghanistan and former dean of the bush school and andrew natsios professor at the bush school and director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs will speak on the history and consequences of us state building in afghanistan the scowcroft institute will host the talk titled state building in afghanistan: did anything work the event will be held via zoom on thursday october 21 at 6 pm it is open to the public but registration is required crocker served in the foreign service for thirty-seven years and after retiring was recalled to active duty by former president obama in 2011 to serve as us ambassador to afghanistan ambassador crockers previous ambassadorial appointments include syria iraq pakistan kuwait afghanistan and lebanon in january 2002 former president bush assigned him to afghanistan to reopen the american embassy in kabul because of his service he received the robert c frasure memorial award for exceptional courage and leadership in afghanistan crocker also served as the dean of the bush school of government and public service from 2010 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2016 crocker has received many of the nations highest honors including the presidential medal of freedom the presidential distinguished service award the state department secretarys distinguished service award the department of defense distinguished civilian service award the state department distinguished honor award the award for valor three superior honor awards and the american foreign service associations rivkin award natsios served as the usaid administrator from 2001 to 2006 and oversaw infrastructure development reconstruction emergency and crisis response policy reform global health democracy and governance and humanitarian relief programs across the world with particular emphasis in iraq afghanistan and sudan he is also an executive professor at the bush school of government and public service and the director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs
dr robert ralston the 2020-21 albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) predoctoral fellow and coauthor dr ronald r krebs recently published why conservatives turned on the us military: right-wing attacks are eroding trust in the armed forces in foreign affairs ralston is a grand strategy security and statecraft fellow at the massachusetts institute of technology and the harvard kennedy school the cgs fellows program supports one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response we invite scholars of political science history and other relevant disciplines to apply for the fellowships
on september 28 2021 jhanisse vaca daza cofounder of ríos de pie (standing rivers) a nonviolent citizens movement focused on human rights and environmental rights in bolivia spoke about politics and the environment in the bolivian amazon vaca daza began her talk with images and descriptions of volunteer firefighters working with little or no equipment to illustrate how numerous under-resourced communities are fighting fires in the bolivian amazon she also detailed the huge ecological and human loss caused by the fires and stressed that those losses continue to mount as the fires continue to burn even up to today while fires have spanned across the amazon in countries such as brazil the unique aspect of the bolivian case as outlined by vaca daza is that in most cases the fires are intentionally started and the penalties for starting illegal fires are very small with bolivia ranked as the second poorest country in latin america the government and private industry use the fires to clear the land for economic uses for example in 2019 the bolivian government made a deal to sell beef to china more beef than had ever been exported before but then didnt have the resources to control or contain the fires that were set to expand the cattle industry vaca daza spoke candidly about the challenges of utilizing international aid amidst the political tumult and corruption in bolivia observing that there are a lot of people in bolivia who profit from the international aid inspired by crisis situations help given directly to the firefighters for their immediate requirements is much needed but even better vaca daza said would be assistance in building the institutions and the civil society that can help get bolivia out of its dependence loop she also illuminated the danger in being an environmental activist (or any type of activist) in a place with an underdeveloped civil society such as bolivia and closed by emphasizing her honor and respect for the volunteer firefighters who continue to go to the burning areas whether or not help is received if interested you can follow ríos do pie at @standingrivers (english) or @ríosdepie (spanish) on twitter you can also follow vaca daza at @jhanissevdaza the talk was the first for this year in the bush schools the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide speaker series which features practitioners working on the border mexico and latin america and is sponsored by the borders and migration program of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy the next talk in the series will be on november 10 2021 when border correspondent and author alfredo corchado will give a talk titled reporting crime violence and narcotrafficking in mexico: challenges insights and the road ahead you can view politics and the environment in the bolivian amazon on the bush school youtube channel
dr celeste ward gventer the 2020-21 albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) postdoctoral fellow has been named the president of the defense security cooperation university (dscu) in washington dc gventer joined the advising and consulting division of the institute for security governance at dscu in august 2021 as a senior lecturer and regional program lead for europe cgs is thrilled to congratulate gventer on this well-deserved appointment! the cgs fellows program supports one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response we invite scholars of political science history and other relevant disciplines to apply for the fellowships
demetria charlifues work on the us state departments afghanistan taskforce reflects a desire to serve the vulnerable in crisis situations by micaela burrow demetria charlifue a second-year master of international affairs (mia) student at the bush school of government and public service begins her shift as an intern at the us state departments bureau of consular affairs by skimming through hundreds of field reports from the ground in afghanistan in the best case scenario charlifue overlooks information a congressman or interest group might need for satisfying constituents interests in the worst case a policymaker fails to receive critical intelligence that would support decision making on issues involving the lives of american citizens she has thirty minutes i felt very prepared she said referring to the technical demands of her appointment professors at the bush school had assigned stacks of complicated reading to students each week reflective of the real demands placed on individuals in public service careers im grateful to have had two semesters of that reading load under my belt the bush school requires that all students in the international affairs program pursue either an internship or language immersion in the summer between their first and second year but for charlifue beginning a virtual pathways internship with the us state department in summer 2021 meant more than just fulfilling a degree requirement a desire to serve the vulnerable through diplomacy has motivated her since long before beginning her graduate studies she worked the visa window at the us consulate in frankfurt during the peak of the syrian refugee crisis in 2016 we would always get emails whenever those children had landed in dulles airport or wed get pictures of them sometimes and youd recognize certain cases you had seen and youd see those kids get reunited with family overseas or be at dulles airport with caregivers who would assist them now in moving forward those tugged at your heart strings and made all the other twelve-hour shifts feel really importantdemetria charlifue i got to see the plight of these people coming to the us embassy at their most vulnerable moments charlifue said that image remained with charlifue as she applied and was accepted into the program which allows participants to transition into a civil service appointment upon fulfilling a yearlong internship initially the bureau stationed her in the office of childrens issues where she assisted in policymaking and implementation to support the departments interests regarding childrens welfare issues such as intercountry adoption and parental abduction her duties involved providing communications services to mediate between the office and other stakeholders such as congress the department of homeland security and other consular offices overseas when the opportunity arose to participate on the afghanistan taskforce to facilitate the us withdrawal of troops from afghanistan charlifue put the skills she learned at the bush school to the test the afghanistan mission was deeply personal to me it was something that i wanted to give back to support our afghan allies and american citizens abroad said charlifue her parents both career foreign service officers previously served at the us embassy in kabul for anyone in the foreign service community assisting in lifesaving missions is not a requirement but an expectation according to charlifue nearly the entire office of childrens issues consisting of roughly 100 people stepped up charlifue said she volunteered not knowing that it would mobilize into the huge conglomerate that it did after the united states withdrew its forward military presence in afghanistan and shut down its embassy afghanistans capital city the taliban overcame the afghan armed forces and swept into kabul thousands of american citizens and afghan special immigrant visa (siv) holders were endangered according to charlifue the afghanistan taskforce had begun making arrangements for potential mass mobilization of personnel and qualified individuals from afghanistan since the taskforce was created in mid-july before the first provincial afghan capital fell to the taliban the stepping stones were in place she said people forget that the department did a mass repatriation during covid to help repatriate american citizens who were abroad so a lot of my colleagues were very well versed in what crisis management looked like from that effort we were ready to step in two weeks before charlifue shared her experience on august 14 the bureau issued the mandate to commence emergency evacuations from afghanistan charlifue explained that the taskforce anticipated a chaotic unpredictable and at times dangerous exit and they were right the security situation was so fluid that we had to redirect at a moments notice she said and when the circumstances on the ground shifted guidance from top officials about how to conduct the evacuation would change along with it the information coordination channels had to be almost picture perfect to manage that really fluid timeline for example charlifue described how the taskforce had issued guidance to approved individuals regarding which airport gate was safe to pass through the information leaked within hours to the throngs of afghans who had fled to the airport in hopes of escaping people were crowding the gates and then nobody could get through we had to quickly reconnect and issue new guidance she said working twelve-hour shifts through the night charlifue supported the congressional team of the taskforce much like in her function in the office of childrens issues charlifue was charged with liaising between the taskforce and congress relaying critical information minute-by-minute i felt like because im young and dont have childcare responsibilities that i could serve the mission best if i took the graveyard shifts i dont think its something i would do again though others in her office coordinated with embassies in other countries to organize and staff call centers for evacuating endangered individuals and expedite processing to get them into the united states or lily-pads temporary sanctuaries in third countries it was a mass effort said charlifue it was a huge commendable effort and a testimony to how quickly we had to mobilize once the situation really gained momentum the stepping stones were in place people forget that the department did a mass repatriation during covid to help repatriate american citizens who were abroad so a lot of my colleagues were very well versed in what crisis management looked like from that effort we were ready to step indemetria charlifue charlifue recalled photos of unaccompanied afghan children that circulated on news and social media platforms while most americans could only watch events transpire from afar charlifue had the opportunity to influence the fate of many afghan refugees including some of those children we would always get emails whenever those children had landed in dulles airport or wed get pictures of them sometimes and youd recognize certain cases you had seen and youd see those kids get reunited with family overseas or be at dulles airport with caregivers who would assist them now in moving forward those tugged at your heart strings and made all the other twelve-hour shifts feel really important not only was the world watching afghanistan but it was also watchingand often criticizingthe actions of the us state department where charlifue served demetria charlifues desk at the department of statein washington dc the workload was really intense and the expectations were really highthe expectations for career folks to rise to that occasion and to do so at a very high-profile level said charlifue youre talking to people who are at their most vulnerable moments it was very difficult to separate yourself from the chaos in kabul in order to do the work and to continue doing the work so i think everybody who has had to serve in a crisis has a crisis mentalitya front they put up she said she and her colleagues will have to learn how to build resiliency and to process the pressure that comes from high-stakes assignments charlifues participation on the afghanistan taskforce ended on september 3 2021 but her internship extends until may 2022 she plans to move to washington dc in december so she can work at her internship full-time in the spring while taking evening classes at the bush schools dc campus crisis moments are what define diplomats said charlifue i am just so in awe of our consular officers who were working out of an embassy in kabul one moment and then were working out of an airfield i am constantly thinking back to the resiliency they must have had and how i can mirror that in my own way at the end of her shift charlifue takes just five minutes to compose a shift report preparing the person who occupies the post next for whatever the day requires
dr valerie hudson university distinguished professor of international affairs and george h w bush chair at the bush school of government and public service is one of two texas a&m university faculty members to receive the 2021 eminent scholar award the award is given jointly by the aggie women network and the texas a&m office of the president i am very grateful for this award and grateful for the opportunity ive had to work with so many fine bush school students in our program on women peace and security said dr hudson an award ceremony will take place on october 29 from 12 to 2 pm in the memorial student center bethancourt ballroom visit the awn website to purchase tickets for the event early bird and student discounts apply hudson is an internationally recognized expert on international security and foreign policy analysis as well as gender and security she has coauthored several books examining the political uses and implications of womens role in society and the connection between a nations security and that of its female population most recently she published the first political order: how sex shapes governance and national security worldwide (columbia university press 2020) in support of her research hudson has developed a nation-by-nation database on women the womanstats database which includes the largest compilation of data on the status of women in the world today and has triggered both academic and policy interest using this data hudson and her co-principal investigators from the womanstats project have published a wide variety of empirical work linking the security of women to the security of states she has helped create the gender-lens curricula for development for the teaching of international development funded by the usda i am very grateful for this award and grateful for the opportunity ive had to work with so many fine bush school students in our program on women peace and securitydr valerie hudson hudson has received numerous honors and fellowships including the inaugural andrew carnegie fellowship in 2015 she is also a member of the council on foreign relations and previously serves as an advisor at the national intelligence council foreign policy magazine named her one of the top 100 global thinkers in 2009 dr hudson is eminently deserving of this award her research on women peace and security is groundbreaking she has been an inspiration to students and faculty members alike in her study of the impact of gender issues on international security said dean mark a welsh iii from aggie womens network: women faculty at texas a&m by their outstanding achievements in teaching and research and opportunities for student engagement and mentorship are in a unique position to influence the educational experience of current women students successful women faculty are inspirational and their distinguished careers are aspirational to young women who are still choosing the future direction of their lives and careers the eminent scholar award serves to recognize a woman on the texas a&m faculty for both extraordinary achievement in original research or scholarship and a clear record of actively contributing to the success of women students through teaching mentoring service and exceptional achievements in 2011 aggie women network proposed creating an award specifically for the dedicated women faculty of texas a&m the first award was given in 2012 it was established to honor the extraordinary women faculty who serve as role models for all aggie students each recipient receives campus recognition jointly awarded by the office of the president and aggie women network
the bush school has changed since march of 2020 but its core values and the students and faculty that exemplify them remain the same by micaela burrow students cluster around study tables in the common areas of the allen building for the first time since the building underwent renovations in spring of 2020 hallways echo with clanking heels and clear voices filling space that during the first eighteen months of the covid-19 pandemic held only silence were experiencing it for the first time said robyn battles referring to her fellow masters students in their second and final year at the bush school academically were second-years but in some aspects it feels like were first-years were getting to enjoy the space for the first time see professors plan events and hang out with each other same faces new places texas a&m university transitioned to virtual education in march 2020 to accommodate safety protocols required for the prevention of covid-19 spread while the university implemented hybrid education for the 2020-2021 academic year social distancing measures and lack of in-person extracurricular activities meant even students who physically attended class did not linger in the allen building academically were second-years but in some aspects it feels like were first-years were getting to enjoy the space for the first time see professors plan events and hang out with each other -robyn battles second-year mia student others like abdel taha then a first-year student in the master of international affairs (mia) program never set foot in the building at all the time difference was the biggest challenge said taha i was up until 3:30 am sometimes attending bush school classes via zoom from his home in egypt was difficult according to taha it upset his daily schedule and zoom fatigue compounded with the early-morning-induced mental haze diminished the quality of his participation but the bush school made it work according to taha i appreciate how flexible the school was and how professors tried their best he continued college station residents also felt a change in how they went about their studies battles compared in-person and virtual experiences working on class projects the other day we needed to talk about an assignment and we were able to just meet after class and talk if we had the same kind of discussion last year we had to send out a zoom link and find time in everyones schedule the virtual format did create avenues of participation for some who might not have been able to manage graduate studies alongside their personal and/or work commitments and for those who could zoom still made certain things easier emilee pugh bell a master of public service and administration (mpsa) student explained: it helped me focus it made study groups more accessible when we did have themyou just had to send a link it was pretty inclusive that way for example her professors would hold open office hours with everyone in the class you were able to hear questions from everyone else to learn from them it was a more collaborative form of learning she said spectacular online options as faculty and students adjusted to remote learning the bush school continued to expand its options for students of all backgrounds and education needs in 2021 the bush school created the certificate in geospatial intelligence jointly with the college of geosciences as well as the certificate in cybersecurity policy each program offers both asynchronous/online and in-residence delivery formats the time difference was the biggest challenge i appreciate how flexible the school was and how professors tried their best -abdel taha second-year mia student chris cutrone completed the certificate in advanced international affairs online in 2018 after accumulating twenty years of professional experience in public affairs cutrone decided a career change was in order he now wants to work in geopolitical intelligence encouraged by his wife and professors he enrolled in the full mia program at first i was disappointed the whole program wasnt offered online he said as a mid-career professional with a family a full masters program strained his time and energy but now i see the real value of actually being here in person cutrone says he doesnt regret completing the certificate since he knocked out twelve of his required hours for the full mia degree he now only has to take nine hours each semester the online program is structured great but you dont get that live interaction of the in-residence masters program he said last week the executive master of public service and administration (empsa) a self-paced online degree program for mid-career professionals who want to advance their public service leadership skills while maintaining their professional careers held a residency week students take a break from online coursework to complete a week of intensive class activity at the bush school xavier hancock a police lieutenant in galveston and empsa student described his experience in the program as spectacular according to hancock one of the best aspects of the program is the opportunity for interacting with world-class faculty and an incredibly talented group of peers even online he says the program does an excellent job of fostering collaboration among students and faculty why the bush school those on traditional degree routes have transitioned back into in-person learning neutralizing many of the obstacles to engagement associated with learning in a virtual environment but classroom climate remains a priority for students i really appreciate how respectful classmates are in discussions said battles its easy to argue the points walk away and still be friends with people even though you have different beliefs thats good practice for going into the workforce battles chose to attend the bush school because of its commitment to public service: thats something thats really important to me so it was important to have a school that represented my values as well bell concurred i love our founding principles i came because they emphasized service thats something ive seen among the students and staff here and thats something i really appreciate she said whether taking time away from their professional careers like cutrone who commutes three hours each day to class or attending class online while the rest of their family sleeps students are making sacrifices to invest in a bush school education all of the professors have been great said cutrone theyve been very accommodating to me as a mid-career professional im lucky to have professor olson as my academic advisor he really is excited that somebody like me is willing to take the plunge i love our founding principles i came (to the bush school) because they emphasized service thats something ive seen among the students and staff here and thats something i really appreciate -emilee pugh bell second-year mpsa student several students cited the bush schools unique blend of academics and practitioners on the faculty that exposes learners to a holistic educational experience as naval lieutenant zack callahan mia put it studying at the bush school involves applying the academic lens to what it means to learn to be a professional according to kali mueller mia student and former linguist for the us army if you really want to understand as much about the job youre getting into as possible this is the school to come to for bell it was the possibility of cross-disciplinary course options that enabled her to marry her passion for womens causes and need to improve her data analysis skills both callahan and stephen chang an empsa student and communications director for the texas general land office under commissioner george p bush relayed a desire to have the knowledge to explain to employees and subordinates why their work matters its my hope that as a leader who is attending the bush school what i learn here will help me to instill in my team the importance of public service said chang making the most of this semester covid-19 continues to infect people across the united states students recognize that back-to-normal may not happen linearly and normal may look different when it arrives nevertheless they want to incorporate the lessons of the past year and a half into their participation today at the bush school i worry that weve been siloed for so long that its easy to stay that way said bell even though there are still steps we need to take to keep everyone safe there are still opportunities to connect with each other and we should take those mueller said this years cohort at the bush school is making the most of those opportunities in terms of the little weve been able to do everyone is inclusive and wants to do things as a group they just want everyone to feel like theyre part of a little family when asked if the bush school feels like a family to her mueller responded yes it does
ryan m lance 2021 mclane leadership award recipient and conocophillips chairman and chief executive officer will discuss the energy transition and its emerging challenges and opportunities on wednesday october 13 ryan m lance chairman and ceo of conocophillips the worlds largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company will receive the 2021 mclane leadership award he will also speak at the bush school of government and public service about the energy transition and its emerging challenges and opportunities the award will be presented by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university bestowed annually the award recognizes a prominent individual for outstanding contributions in the area of business and public service lance is noted for his inspiring leadership of conocophillips in building a global reputation for safely locating and delivering energy to the world and for giving back to the communities where it operates the event will take place in the annenberg presidential conference center from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on wednesday october 13 the program is open to the public but registration by monday october 11 is required guests may register either online at the bush school website or by calling (979) 845-1927 lance is a petroleum engineer with thirty-six years of oil and natural gas industry experience in senior management and technical positions with conocophillips predecessor phillips petroleum and various divisions of arco his past conocophillips executive assignments included responsibility for international exploration and production; regional responsibility at various times for asia africa the middle east and north america; and responsibility for technology major projects downstream strategy integration and specialty functions externally lance is a board member of the national fish and wildlife foundation and a trustee of both the george h w bush library foundation and pga reach he is also an advocate for charities benefiting youth through his service on the boards of spindletop international and the montana tech foundation and on the advisory council of the university of texas energy institute he is a former chairman of the american petroleum institute currently serving on its executive committee and he chairs the national petroleum councils agenda committee the mosbacher institute was founded in october 2009 to produce policy-oriented research in trade energy and governance the mclane leadership in business award was established by drayton mclane jr a noted entrepreneur and chairman of the mclane group a diversified collection of businesses that demonstrate a tradition of excellence and innovation
civil wars are the most common form of warfare today yet we have little systematic information on the leaders of rebel organizations a new research tool helps fill that gap civil wars are the dominant form of warfare today and while some information is known about the more colorful or violent rebel leaders many leaders of non-state militant groups remain obscure in the latest issue of the takeaway the elitism of armed rebellion bush school of government faculty member reyko huang reveals a new dataset the first of its kind containing biographical information on 425 top leaders of rebel organizations that fought in civil wars between 1980 and 2011 the issue also describes why this information is important huang writes that [leader biographies] offer interesting insights in their own right but once systematically arranged in a cross-national dataset they can also help explain important political outcomes in international politics one insight that emerges from the data is that rebel leaders constitute a rather elite and well-educated group many of whom have international and family connections that they can target for support the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communications note: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today the career ambassador and former dean of texas a&ms bush school said lack of strategic patience by us will boost islamic militancy worldwide speaking to thousands in what was described as the george & barbara foundations largest-ever virtual event this week former ambassador to afghanistan ryan crocker gave his strategic insights on recent developments following the us withdrawal from the country crocker described his assessment of the situation as simple but tough saying weve done grave damage to our friends and allies inside of afghanistan to our own national security interests and to some of our most cherished values as americans he is a former dean of texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service crocker led the us embassy in kabul from 2011-2012 and also was ambassador to iraq pakistan kuwait lebanon and syria in wednesdays discussion moderated by bush foundation ceo max angerholzer he criticized what he called a lack of strategic patience in the decision to withdraw all us forces from afghanistan allies in the north atlantic treaty organization (nato) were not informed which crocker called a stunning unfolding of events under a president who had promised the country would regain the global leadership role that former president donald trump wanted very little to do with these guys are tougher harder meaner more effective than the taliban government of the 90s now taking the positions of leadership are in essence the worst of the worstformer ambassador to afghanistan and former bush school dean ryan crocker in doing so the us has betrayed its promises to afghan interpreters women and children and others who have helped during times of crisis crocker said and we are presenting ourselves as a country you dont really want to do business with crocker said its a horrific blow that will be a boost for islamic militancy around the world the first location to watch will likely be pakistan he said where the pakistani taliban and kashmiri militant groups could be emboldened whats true for pakistan is broadly true elsewhere around the world he said: anywhere there are at least the seeds of islamic militancy is a huge win for the taliban and its al qaeda partners and now he said this version of the taliban is much worse than the one that ruled in the 1990s these guys are tougher harder meaner more effective than the taliban government of the 90s crocker said now taking the positions of leadership are in essence the worst of the worst the us has written the next chapter in afghanistan – a pretty ugly one he said and while trump bears large responsibility after initiating peace talks with the taliban crocker said biden played an even worse hand than he was dealt still crocker offered some next steps that he would recommend be taken in afghanistan us officials will want to improve relationships with nato allies after doing major damage to the countrys credibility as a reliable partner by showing international solidarity the more likely some of the talibans worst behavior can be blunted crocker said there also needs to be strategic dialogue with pakistan to avoid destabilization of a country with almost 220 million people nuclear weapons and the seventh-largest standing army our adversaries have come to count on our impatience and our allies have come to fear it crocker said what we have to do is find a way to communicate a different narrative thousands of afghans entering the country will also need financial and social support he said but funding for refugee resettlement is sparse much of that money will likely need to be raised privately crocker said when asked what lessons from afghanistan he would teach to students at the bush school crocker said he would return to his mantra of careful in careful out we went in for the right reasons… we knew we were there to make sure another 9-11 could not be prepared and instituted from afghan soil crocker said now what weve just done we actually put the band back together again with the taliban and al qaeda al qaeda will come back… the steps that we have now created have heightened the threat to the homeland
dean welsh related the status of diversity and inclusivity at the bush school to students faculty and affiliates from college station and locations across the globe the first-ever bush school of government and public service diversity town hall was held monday september 6 in the annenberg presidential conference center dean mark a welsh iii discussed demographics at the bush school and steps the bush school has taken recently to address gaps in diversity and inclusion that exist in various dimensions of the college the town hall was intended to be an honest look in the mirror said dean welsh it examined who we are what we worked on last year what mistakes we have made how we are trying to improve and what we need to focus on during the next steps of our journey the powerpoint for the town hall is available to download online in 2020 a former student suggested that the bush school host a college-wide town hall on issues of diversity equity and inclusion (dei) the bush school approved the idea for may 2021 but the event was rescheduled to allow incoming students to participate powerpoint presentation | video of town hall were not going to stop the conversation we cant afford to and things cant stay the same i dont care if its just one person who feels frustrated thats unacceptable lets make it better thats what public service is about its about improving your community your organization your city your state your world said dean welsh at the town hall dean welsh noted that the percentage of women among faculty and the student body has increased while it has decreased among a staff that has historically been at least 70 percent women underrepresented minorities (urm) which include african-americans american-indians/alaska natives and hispanics have increased although their numbers remain lower than at some peer colleges and fail to reflect texas high school demographics the bush school 2021 diversity report is awaiting publication but you can find the 2020 diversity report online according to dean welsh the bush school aims to reach 35 percent urm students across all bush school programs and locations the bush school also transformed the existing diversity equity & inclusion (dei) committee by adding eleven new positions to make it more representative and adding the equity element to the name the separate student equity diversity and inclusion (edi) committee was also redefined as an independent committee under the student government association giving it functional independence from other bush school college and student organizations were not going to stop the conversation we cant afford to and things cant stay the same i dont care if its just one person who feels frustrated thats unacceptable lets make it better thats what public service is about its about improving your community your organization your city your state your worlddean mark welsh other changes include the addition of mandatory dei trainings for students additional mandatory training for faculty and staff and creation of a new internal incident reporting mechanism for behavior that doesnt rise to the level of the universitys existing stop hate program the bush school also designated a temporary multicultural space in room 2089 of the allen building dean welsh recapped topics discussed during summer 2020 dei zoom sessions and expressed hope that attendance will increase in future sessions the student edi committee led by co-chairs alyssa duany and valeria hinojosa is working to determine the best format and topics for speaker events and workshops to be held throughout the fall and spring semesters in addition the student edi committee distributes monthly newsletters highlighting diversity issues for bush school students finally dean welsh outlined five focus areas for the academic year 2021-2022 in matters of diversity and inclusion be open to ideas and recommendations from bush school faculty students and staffbetter incorporate the bush schools washington dc campussolicit student input and involvement in the dialogueencourage both positive and negative reportingimprove data collection dean welsh compared pursuing dialogue around diversity and fairness to the kind of public service taught at the bush school the tools are the same it starts with listening and understanding he said in my world diversity is strength equity builds trust and inclusion is an imperative and so thats where we need to go to learn more about diversity equity and inclusivity at the bush school visit the diversity page
the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) is pleased to announce the addition of dr rotem dvir to our staff as an assistant research scientist dr dvir will expand the institutes research to examine the intersection of political psychology decision making and public policy in particular his work explores how interactions between behavioral and structural factors shape the political choices of policymakers and members of the public in the context of foreign policy terrorism and international security dr dvir also studies public opinion and policymaking in the domestic context with research on technological innovations in health care as well as coastal infrastructure resilience in the face of natural disasters he has extensive experience in quantitative methodology in particular experimental research designs; public opinion surveys; conjoint experiments; and statistical analysis of large datasets dr dvir received his phd from the department of political science at texas a&m university he also has a masters degree in international relations and a bachelors in political science and economics from the university of haifa israel
by texas a&m university system communicationsnote: this article originally appeared in texas a&m today thirteen distinguished faculty members from across texas a&m university have been honored as 2021 chancellors enhancing development and generating excellence in scholarship (edges) fellows dr kalena cortes verlin and howard kruse 52 founders associate professor at the bush school of government & public service was one of the award recipients the fellowships which come with more than $77 million in funding are just the latest investment the texas a&m university system has made to recruit and retain world-class faculty said chancellor john sharp the a&m system is making unprecedented investments in top scholars and i could not be more proud about it sharp said over the past eight years weve invested a total of $230 million to recruit and retain top academic talent since 2013 the chancellors research initiative has provided one-time funds to recruit and hire faculty who will have a transformational impact upon the academic and research missions of their schools sharp launched the edges fellowship in 2019 to honor incentivize and boost mid-career faculty at the associate or early full professor ranks who are making significant marks in their disciplines the recognition highlights the texas a&m systems focus on supporting retaining and recognizing faculty with significant and sustained accomplishments and the promise of continued high-impact scholarship chancellor john sharps support for edges recognizes our outstanding faculty members who are earning national and international acclaim said mark h weichold associate vice chancellor of academic affairs for the texas a&m university system edges fellows retain the right to use the title throughout their tenure as faculty members in good standing at texas a&m university the awards pair with endeavors like the presidential impact fellowships and other faculty investment programs to empower and advance the careers of faculty at every level the 2021 edges fellows are: muthukumar bagavathiannan associate professor of soil and crop science college of agriculture and life sciences;kalena cortes associate professor of public service and administration bush school of government & public service;scott v dindot associate professor of veterinary pathobiology college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciences;arum han professor of electrical engineering college of engineering;wendy jepson professor of geography college of geosciences;jeffrey liew associate dean for research college of education & human development;wenshe ray liu professor of chemistry college of science;michelle meyer associate professor of landscape architecture and urban planning college of architecture;huyen pham professor school of law;tiffany radcliff professor & associate dean for research school of public health;shrihari sridhar professor of marketing mays business school; pete van hengstum associate professor texas a&m university at galveston;sarah zubairy associate professor of economics college of liberal arts
although warfare is a pervasive geopolitical risk its effects on firms day-to-day operations are poorly understood in the latest issue of the takeaway warfare is a ‘train wreck for global supply chains: what can governments do to mitigate its ill effects andres jola-sanchez assistant professor of information and operations management at the texas a&m mays business school presents recent evidence on how war influences firms operations and suggests public policy measures to address those effects the article details how warfare makes keeping inventories dangerous leading firms to replace inventory with cash which leaves those firms less able to respond to incoming orders jola-sanchez not only explains the problem but also outlines policies that can help prevent conflict-country suppliers from turning into global production bottlenecks the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service is pleased to announce the continuation of the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide a speaker series organized by bush school assistant professor aileen teague as part of the institutes borders & migration program the series will host two events this fall with practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america on september 28 at 6:00 pm central time jhanisse vaca daza will present politics and the environment in the bolivian amazon via zoom jhanisse vaca daza cofounder of ríos de pie (standing rivers) a nonviolent citizen movement focused on human rights and environmental rights in bolivia was one of many volunteers working on the ground in the 2019 and 2020 bolivian amazon fires vaca daza is a native of chuquisaca bolivia and her story illuminates the challenges of administering international aid amidst a complicated political situation she will also speak about the contradictions in environmental policy implementation often unknown to the international community the local picture in bolivia the progress that has been made in fighting rainforest fires and what environmental policymakers must know for confronting similar challenges in the future then on november 10 at 6:00 pm alfredo corchado the border-mexico correspondent for the dallas morning news will join us to present reporting crime violence and narcotrafficking in mexico: challenges insights and the road ahead it is planned to be an in-person event at the bush centers annenberg presidential conference center corchado will describe issues he has encountered with press freedom in mexico speak candidly about the current state of the drug war and its intersections with central american migration and reflect on what policymakers on both sides of the border can do to best move forward given the lack of transparency in crime and drug issues in mexico
two faculty and two staff members each received a silver star award from the bush school class of 2021 the bush school class of 2021 honored distinguished faculty and staff members with silver star awards at a recent bush school ceremony students recognized the positive impact faculty members dr mallory compton and professor katherine weary and staff members holly kasperbauer and michael cochran made in their lives and academic careers receiving the silver star award this past may was truly an honor said professor weary all winners expressed a similar sense of gratitude to the students who voted for them i am honored that the class of 2021 selected me to receive the faculty silver star award said dr compton kasperbauer echoed her sentiment receiving the class of 2021 psaa silver star award is a great honor she said every year each graduating student at the bush school nominates three faculty and three staff members to be awarded the silver star from the pool of nominees the graduation chair also a student identifies the employees who receive the most nominations in each category separated by department: public service and administration (psaa) faculty psaa staff international affairs (inta) faculty and inta staff graduates from each department then vote on winners in their respective categories compton joined the psaa faculty in the fall of 2019 having already established a stellar reputation lecturing on public service and management we all know what a challenging year this has been for our students and i hope that i was able to provide them some support during this difficult time im very proud of what our students have accomplished and i look forward to seeing what they achieve in the future she said weary also joined the faculty in 2019 to teach in the inta intelligence concentration drawing on her experience as a senior analyst for the federal government she instills in her students practical knowledge and competence in analysis and writing for the intelligence community while the bush class of ‘21 had many obstacles there were also many amazing shared experiences i will always look on this award and be flooded with unforgettable memories from my zoom classes and capstone team said weary students appreciation for bush school employees extends beyond the classroom staff members also invest heavily in the futures of students according to kasperbauer the most rewarding work that i get to do at the bush school is the work i do with students and i love getting to be part of their journey kasperbauer became assistant director of the bush school public service leadership program in 2012 she works with faculty and staff to inspire students to become principled leaders encouraging them to identify and use strategies to continue developing their leadership identity i can never thank them enough for recognizing me with this award said kasperbauer michael cochran has served as assistant director of employer relations at the bush school department of career services since 2011 where he coordinates employer development and facilitates job or internship placement for students the class of 2021 was faced with unique internship and job search challenges but these students were consistently optimistic and professional throughout their time here ill remember them with a particular fondness and am appreciative to them for the silver star award said cochran for more information about the bush school of government and public service visit bushtamuedu
in his commencement address at the class of 2021 graduation ceremony john whitehead bush school 21 spoke about his long career in public service and how he came to the bush school of government and public service whitehead had just obtained an executive master of public service and administration (empsa) from the bush school of government and public service an online mpsa program for full-time working professionals when i first looked at the bush school after a colleague told me about it i felt excited to continue my education and gain further insight into the public service sector in which i was involved every day said whitehead who currently lives in st louis missouri john whitehead and the bush schools dr frank ashley coming from a family with a long history of employment in the emergency services sector whitehead felt it only natural that he dedicate his life to public service since volunteering in the local fire department at thirteen dealing with emergency events has become a part of whiteheads life mission he is vice president of sales at hexagon a global software provider to public sector emergency management agencies one advantage of the empsa program was that he could maintain his professional service while earning his masters degree the degree gave me more insight into the people and work i do every day stated whitehead i gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be a public servant whitehead appreciated the empsa program so much that he encouraged some of his colleagues to join the program as well whitehead was selected to give the commencement address after answering the call sent by the tamu student government association and submitting a draft of the speech he was chosen by the public partnership & outreach office in the office of the provost the empsa program at the bush school is designed for executives who want to pursue their masters degree online while remaining employed john whitehead commencement speech
andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs and executive professor at the bush school of government & public service co-wrote an op-ed published recently in devex titled how the us can combat hidden hunger in the article professor natsios along with co-author arun baral discuss the form of malnutrition known as hidden hunger caused by diets lacking in essential vitamins and minerals or micronutrients needed to maintain good health mental and physical performance and brain and body development in children the full article is available on devexcom
melanie taylor has spent her entire career working for a nonprofit mental health provider she currently works as the ceo of the burke center which provides an array of community services to people with mental health issues intellectual disabilities and substance use concerns taylor attended texas a&m university for a brief period as an undergraduate and returned to the university to pursue the executive master of public service and administration (empsa) program through the bush school as an adult she said pursuing the empsa program was the ideal way to simultaneously enhance her education and check off her bucket list item of securing an aggie ring when she began the empsa program at the bush school taylor was serving as the burke centers chief administrative officer and was chosen as the deputy ceo during her time in the program she was then selected as the fulltime ceo and credits her studies in the empsa program for enhancing her resume and preparing her for that role one of the challenges she has faced in her new position has been attempting to navigate the covid pandemic despite the difficulties of trying to serve the public during a pandemic she feels rewarded by the fact that the burke centers board and staff truly believe in the mission and have demonstrated a deep caring for each other and their consumers the compassion shown has created a culture willing to do what is necessary to ensure that work is accomplished when asked about advice for current students taylor tells them not to give up she said there were times when work home life and school seemed overwhelming but the internal sense of accomplishment she felt putting on an aggie ring and hanging up her empsa degree in her office made it worthwhile she struggled to pick just one faculty member or staff at the bush school who stood out to her because throughout her time in the program she had never felt so welcomed nor experienced such an overall sense of purpose and dedication to honor president bushs passion for public service taylor chose a career in public service because she believes that we have a civil moral and ethical obligation to help others in need who do not have the resources or other abilities to access basic necessities that most of us take for granted this belief drove her to the bush school and has been the force behind her extensive career serving the public
brittany alexander istpp predoctoral fellow and doctoral student in statistics presented her paper understanding terrorism policy preferences through bayesian model averaging and multiple imputation at the joint statistical meetings on august 12 2021 istpp director arnold vedlitz coauthored this study their research uses a two-wave panel survey conducted by istpp in 2016 with funding from the national science foundation and a six-wave panel survey conducted by decision research the surveys measured a variety of issues and attitudes including perceived likelihood of terrorism different concerns about terrorism support for federal and local spending and support for specific policies to prevent terrorism a bayesian model was fit to the data and used both surveys to create estimates of public support for a list of policies to prevent terrorism the support was averaged across the policies in the survey the model was able to show that there was no statistically significant change in policy support at the population level across the seven months in the study this finding is far more conclusive than previous work as the model was capable of detecting change at the level of movement of one unit change on a single item in the seven item scale used to measure policy support
dr john schuessler and dr jasen castillo co-directors for the albritton center for grand strategy recently published an opinion piece with newsweek addressing the ongoing withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan castillo and schuessler identify lessons that can be learned from the current situation and implications for american foreign policy in the article the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communications:the bush schools gregory gause says no one will protect women and girls at risk in the region this article was originally published in texas a&m today after more than 20 years and billions of dollars of support from the united states the afghan national security forces have collapsed to taliban fighters just days after president joe biden withdrew troops texas a&m today spoke with gregory gause professor of international affairs at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service about the collapse of the afghanistan government to the taliban gause is an expert on the international politics of the middle east the us trained and equipped 300 000 afghan soldiers to defend their country why did the country fall to the taliban so fast armies do not collapse on an arithmetic timeline collapse is geometric once units see that other units have collapsed and that nothing is being done to try to stem the enemy tide they tend to give up pretty quickly a fighting retreat might be the most difficult thing an army has to do moreover if the government for which the army is fighting does not have the support of the army the incentives to fight are reduced even more this is clearly the case in afghanistan is this the same taliban as 20 years ago this is the big question all we can do now is speculate; the tests of taliban intentions will come very shortly it is possible that the leadership will be less likely to harbor jihadi islamist groups with international goals like al-qaeda given the experience of 2001 (the us invasion to oust the taliban from afghanistan) however we do not know that with any certainty likewise we have no idea if the taliban leadership has drawn any lessons from its previous experience regarding the enforcement of their extremely strict notions of islamic law on social issues they ruled the country from 1996 until our invasion in 2001 and i think that they will be as powerful now as they were then what is going to happen to the women and girls of the region who will help them we do not know but we can be certain that the social gains for women and girls in major afghan cities will be reversed how much they will be reversed remains to be seen who will help them no one did biden do the wrong thing by pulling out or was it the right thing to do but executed poorly we can distinguish between the overall strategy of withdrawal and how it was accomplished there are some who argue that the us should have stayed in afghanistan with force levels in the thousands but not the tens of thousands indefinitely they are clearly a minority in our political class both the last republican president and the last democratic president talked about withdrawal from afghanistan the last republican president negotiated a withdrawal timetable with the taliban the current president is implementing the withdrawal which is fairly bipartisan the issue of how it was done will be the matter of criticism for most i think clearly the biden administration thought it had months to wind down the diplomatic presence and evacuate americans and afghanis who worked for the united states it turned out that it only had days the finger pointing has already begun in the government with the military blaming the state department and the cia the state department questioning the military and the cia leaking to reporters that it was not listened to the knives are out in washington what are your predictions for the next few weeks and months the taliban will entrench themselves in power there will be reprisals against afghani citizens who worked with the us and the previous government russia and china will reach out to the new taliban government though the path ahead for them is complicated as both worry about sunni islamists in their own borders if the taliban open afghanistan to be a base for other sunni islamist groups relations with russia and china will deteriorate pakistan will be the new governments best international partner as it was when the taliban ruled afghanistan previously what if anything does this mean for israel in the short term really nothing will it embolden iran and islamist groups like hizballah to further challenge israel probably not because shia muslims (iran is overwhelmingly shia and hizballah is a lebanese shia organization allied with iran) have had real problems with the version of sunni islam to which the taliban adhere in 1998 iran almost went to war with the taliban government in afghanistan over their treatment of the shia minority in afghanistan will sunni groups like isis and al-qaeda be emboldened against israel i doubt any short-term change there but if the taliban allow these groups to develop bases in afghanistan that might change the equation how would you recommend people best learn the history related to these current events two books to read on this: steven coll ghost wars (penguin books 2004) a great account of the fight against the soviets in afghanistan the us role in that and the lead up to the us invasion of 2001ahmed rashid taliban (yale university press 2000) rashid is a pakistani journalist who covered the war against the soviets in afghanistan and the rise of the taliban
by caitlin clark experts on vaccines infectious diseases and global health describe the latest stage of the pandemic the highly contagious delta variant has caused a surge in covid-19 infections and hospitalizations largely among the unvaccinated this latest development in the coronavirus pandemic has renewed debates about masking vaccines and public health protocols as americans continue to return to offices and schools texas a&m today spoke about the current state of the pandemic with dr gerald w parker director of the pandemic & biosecurity policy program within the bush school of government and public service and associate dean of global one health at the college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciences and dr peter hotez dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine and co-director of the center for vaccine development at texas childrens hospital at texas a&m university hotez was a 2019-2020 faculty fellow with the hagler institute for advanced study and is a senior fellow emeritus at the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school whats your assessment of where we are at this stage of the pandemic in the united states given the percentage of the population that is fully vaccinated and the surge in covid-19 infections parker: the sars-cov-2 virus continues to move through the population worldwide adapting with new variants to favor its own survival and continued transmission to vulnerable individuals the good news: the biomedical research enterprise and vaccine industry were able to accelerate the development of safe and effective covid vaccines – without cutting quality safety and efficacy corners – in only 11 months after the first genomic sequence of sars-cov-2 was published that was a remarkable public health achievement that was followed by the largest and most complex mass vaccination campaign in public health history the vaccination campaign was understandably bumpy at first until vaccine production stabilized healthcare systems vaccinated front-line health care providers at highest risk of exposure and state and local authorities geared up mass vaccination sites in urban centers and other means to reach underserved communities and rural areas across texas and the united states as vaccine coverage increased from january to may new daily covid cases hospitalizations and deaths dropped precipitously from their january 2021 highs notes written by caregivers are visible on the window of converted negative pressure room for covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit (icu) at lake charles memorial hospital on aug 10 2021 in lake charles la the floor was a medical icu but has been converted into an icu strictly for covid patientsmario tama/getty images as of aug 9 there are have been 407 560 705 vaccines delivered and 351 933 175 vaccine doses administered fifty percent of the united states population is fully vaccinated with over 80 percent of the most vulnerable 65 years of age and older fully vaccinated the bad news: vaccination uptake slowed significantly from may through july 50 percent of the united states population remains unvaccinated and a new highly contagious sars-cov-2 variant delta emerged in india last spring spreading globally delta became the predominate strain circulating in the united states and texas during the summer of 2021 during july the incidence of daily new cases and hospitalizations coinciding with deltas emergence have increased rapidly covid hospitalizations and icu cases in texas are surging as of aug 9 we are 66 percent (9 546) of the peak 14 218 hospitalized patients that occurred in january 2021 across the united states hospitalizations are 43 percent of the january peak hotez: weve underachieved terribly in vaccinating the south especially among younger people when you look at the difference (in vaccination rates) in the north and the south among those over the age of 65 its not that much different: its maybe 80 percent versus 95-99 percent (in the north) where the bottom falls out is among young people were looking at maybe 20 to 25 percent of adolescents in many southern counties who are vaccinated compared to over 70 percent in massachusetts and vermont and similar although somewhat higher percentages among young adults so the big vulnerability in the south right now are all the unvaccinated young people and thats what were seeing – covid-19 is just ripping through the southern states and were seeing lots of young people going into the hospital now the cdc now advises that people in high-transmission areas wear masks in indoor public spaces even if theyve been vaccinated why has the delta variant prompted this change in mask guidance parker: cdc changed their mask guidance because of the evolving nature of sars-cov-2 and the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant new data show there are increasing breakthrough covid-19 cases in fully vaccinated individuals even though breakthrough cases leading to hospitalization or death are rare new data also show that fully vaccinated individuals who become infected could be contagious and a source of transmission putting immune compromised and unvaccinated people at risk hotez: it has to do with the fact that the amount of virus in the nasal passages and the mouth appear to be higher from delta compared to previous lineages and that even if youre vaccinated and you have some virus-neutralizing antibodies you could still be asymptomatically shedding virus but the truth is theres some new numbers saying even if thats true the amount of time you spread the virus may still be very limited so that you might be shedding viruses for a shorter period of time but all of this information is still very preliminary and mostly unpublished ultimately i still think the vast majority of virus transmission is coming from unvaccinated individuals and thats why youre not seeing a big surge in the north essentially most or in some cases almost all the adolescents and adults are vaccinated and this has the collateral benefit whereas with the low vaccination rates among young people in the south theres a lot of virus transmission going on under what circumstances would you advise people to wear a mask parker: the cdc guidance advises individuals unvaccinated and vaccinated to wear a mask while indoors around other people and where there is high community sars-cov-2 transmission cases and hospitalizations are surging in many texas communities if you live in a community with high transmission particularly with a surge in hospitalization and icu cases i recommend you follow cdc guidance if you are unvaccinated you should consider getting vaccinated vaccines are readily available and are by far the most effective tool we have in our toolkit to limit community transmission and reduce the risk of severe disease and death hotez: clearly if youre unvaccinated you should be wearing a mask at all times in indoor settings and if youre vaccinated: im still avoiding big indoor crowds and in which case im wearing a mask if i have to be indoors i dont go to stores a lot im basically going from work to home most of the time the only difference now is on the weekends we would take our youngest son and his girlfriend out to dinner and i wouldnt wear a mask inside the restaurant now with this level of virus transmission im thinking twice about that and starting to go back to doordash again what do breakthrough infections tell us about the effectiveness of the currently available vaccines parker: to date the covid vaccines authorized by the fda for use in the united states continue to work well but no vaccine is 100 percent effective reports of vaccine breakthrough cases are increasing as new variants emerge and time duration increases from the initial date of completing the vaccination series for many people the phase 3 clinical trial results for pfizer biontech and moderna vaccines showed 95 percent and 94 percent efficacy against symptomatic covid-19 illness caused by the original sars-cov-2 strains in circulation during the fall of 2020 after two shots johnson & johnsons vaccine showed 66 percent efficacy against moderate covid-19 illness and 85 percent efficacy against severe illness after one shot the clinical trials did not measure protection against asymptomatic infection or potential to transmit sars-cov-2 after vaccination nonetheless the phase 3 clinical trial results were extraordinary far exceeded the fda efficacy threshold of 50 percent and gave hope that vaccines could control the most severe outcomes of the pandemic as of aug 9 more than 350 million vaccine doses have been administered and 166 million people were fully vaccinated 50 percent of the united states population cdc has received reports of 7 525 hospitalizations or deaths in vaccinated people diagnosed with sars-cov-2 infection compared to over 35 million confirmed covid-19 cases in about 25 percent of the breakthrough cases patients were asymptomatic or their diagnosis appeared secondary to primary cause of hospitalization this indicates what we knew when the vaccination campaign started and what we know now: vaccine breakthrough cases are expected to date available data show vaccine breakthrough cases leading to hospitalization or death appear rare and only represent a small percentage of covid cases vaccine breakthroughs are more likely to occur in congregate settings such as nursing homes and in populations at risk of vaccine failure (immune compromised elderly and others) but cdcs data has limitations because they are dependent on passive reporting from states on vaccine breakthroughs that led to hospitalization or death and does not include asymptomatic or symptomatic mild to moderate infections population-based studies are needed to gain an understanding of estimated rates of breakthrough cases against mild to moderate infection vaccine effectiveness against emergency variants and durability of immunity clinical trials and real-world studies confirm the safety and effectiveness of the moderna and pfizer biontech covid vaccines through the end of july the data tells us pfizer biontech and moderna covid vaccines remain remarkably effective at reducing risk of hospitalization severe disease and death for individuals even for the delta variant hotez: the vaccines are still really robust they still give high levels of protection theyre keeping you out of the hospital and preventing you from symptomatic illness but theres increasing information regarding breakthrough cases and new information in a preprint publication from the mayo clinic that protection from non-hospitalized covid infection may have decreased to the 40-50 percent range for the pfizer-biontech vaccine with similar data from israel moreover when the breakthrough cases happen theyre associated with higher virus loads but thats new information we dont know if this represents true waning immunity versus decreased virus neutralizing antibody against the delta variant its also important to remember the way the vaccines were designed was they were tested on their ability to stop symptomatic infection hospitalization and death and that mostly still holds we havent lost that so we should be very mindful that the vaccines still work well what challenges are officials seeing with vaccination rates are there methods that could be implemented to reach more people parker: vaccine rates have increased as cases and hospitalizations surge due to delta but not enough vaccines are readily available and continue to work remarkably well to reduce risk of hospitalization severe disease and death public health authorities and community leaders should approach the importance of vaccination with more reasoned calm and reassuring discussions about vaccine safety and effectiveness to gain public confidence in vaccines for those who remain undecided the recent change in the cdc mask guidance was prudent and in line with good public health action but the way the message was delivered caused confusion controversy and unnecessary arguments largely because the data underlying the mask guidance change was not made publicly available and discussed in a reasoned approach until several days later unfortunately the ensuing controversy lost focus on the reassuring message about vaccine safety and effectiveness i encourage everyone to talk with their health care provider family physician or other trusted people in your community to obtain the best information available from trusted sources when trying to reach a decision to get vaccinated data on covid vaccine safety and effectiveness is reassuring compared to not being vaccinated sars-cov-2 can take a life away in mysterious and sometimes unpredictable ways covid vaccines authorized for use in the united states remain remarkably effective against the most severe clinical outcomes from sars-cov-2 infection including delta covid vaccination is the best way to protect yourself your family and colleagues finally i think it essential that the fda expedite their final review and grant full biologics license approvals for the covid vaccines hotez: im quite worried about the schools because theres so much transmission now in the southern region and the vaccination rates among adolescents are really low everyones talking about mask mandates for schools but i think we need to move toward vaccination mandates and thats going to be really important if were going to have a successful school year otherwise were already seeing so many kids getting covid as schools start to open – its just going to shut everything down i think we need to reprioritize getting kids safely through the school year and in-person classes and thats going to mean both vaccine and mask mandates even though thats not popular i dont see another way around it the anti-vaccine aggression is still pretty high we still need to address the disinformation that still dominates the media and social media has the delta variant affected the threshold for herd immunity is that still the goal parker: unfortunately i do not have a good answer for herd immunity nor do i believe anyone has a good answer beyond predictive modeling or predictive speculation i do not believe the sars-cov-2 virus is going away anytime soon we cannot eliminate sars-cov-2 by human interventions but human interventions can reduce the viruss impact we should anticipate that the virus will become endemic with new variants emerging beyond delta but that does not mean the pandemic will go on forever the pandemic will not go on forever if we can mitigate the most severe clinical outcomes even if sars-cov-2 becomes endemic other viruses like influenza are endemic and we learn how to manage risk – that includes annual vaccinations the current covid vaccines remain remarkably effective in reducing the risk of severe disease and death even against the highly contagious delta variant more people should take advantage of this life saving measure the united states and other high-income countries must take more action to increase global vaccine access the who reports that less than 2 percent of people living in low-middle income countries are fully vaccinated finally pfizer moderna and johnson & johnson are conducting new clinical trials with vaccine candidates designed against new variants and are prepared to pivot manufacturing boosters against specific new variants like we do every year for seasonal influenza national public health authorities must likewise be prepared to make timely and decisive decisions for the pivot to be effective hotez: i dont even use the term herd immunity anymore because its been so twisted by people with political agendas what i say is once vaccination coverage gets to about 75 percent among the whole population we start to see a slowing in transmission and thats the goal based on the reproductive numbers of this virus if were serious about stopping transmission ultimately we have to get 85 percent of the population vaccinated thats all of the adults and adolescents its a pretty high bar but i think we could do it this article was originally published in texas a&m today
emily hall payne m‘19 currently works as an administrative associate for the lyndon b johnson (lbj) school of public affairs at the university of texas at austin there shes part of a grant-funded research project thats working with performing arts organizations across the nation to study audience sustainability through the research they hope to advance the arts sector by helping to establish and reinforce these organizations as long-standing cultural institutions within our society she finds this to be an extremely rewarding aspect of her position as she sees the positive impact that the arts can have on an individual and community as an undergraduate student at texas a&m university ms payne worked closely with msc opas an arts nonprofit organization that serves the public by bringing arts and entertainment to the community ms payne credits the opportunity to spend a summer interning with the national endowment for the arts to her experience with msc opas as well as the graduate education she was receiving at the bush school she said that serving this organization was invaluable as her experience gave [her] a unique perspective that [she] was able to utilize in [her] academic and professional career as she applied for jobs her time at texas a&m provided her with actual arts-nonprofit experience research experience and the educational background that helped her land the position she has today ms payne wanted to enhance her education at the bush school by obtaining a certificate in nonprofit management to bolster her skills and gain knowledge concerning the critical and expansive role that the nonprofit sector plays in our society she believes that through nonprofit work we have the unique ability to be creative and truly make a lasting impact on an individual in a personal and meaningful way her passion for the work she does has inspired her to continue honing her skills whether its through her daily work or her volunteerism
by amber francis 22art by angelyn wiley 17 aggies often talk about the spirit can neer be told the spirit of aggieland while many of us struggle to explain it to friends outside the aggie family three alumni are attempting to bottle and share it with the world duke meadows ‘96 mike nance ‘96 and zachary huyge ‘97 are giving aggies and non-aggies alike the chance to uncork the spirit of aggieland one bottle of texas wine at a time we spoke to one of the entrepreneurs political science grad meadows to learn more about their foray into the winemaking industry aggie brotherhood occasionally you can catch meadows at aggieland outfitters introducing fellow aggies to 12 fires wines meadows was afforded the chance to join the aggie family by his father an aggie eager for his son to discover the joys of student life at texas a&m university uninhibited by the worries and stress of juggling a part-time job his fathers generosity empowered meadows to fully indulge in the aggie experience he and his friends are now sharing with the world for many the years we spend attending college are just that: time spent working towards a diploma to meadows and his partners at 12 fires winery texas a&m university isnt simply a place where they pursued a higher education; its the place that forged their aggie brotherhood as a political science major and cadet in the corps meadows met his lifelong friends and future business partners (as well as his best friend and college roommate chris breen 96) the four became heavily involved with the annual aggie bonfire the tradition quickly became more than a pile of burning logs to this set of friends; it forged a bond between them and ignited the aggie spirit within them that still blazes brightly today it has an impact on you; it influences you meadows remarked at texas a&m you can create something bigger than just yourself those core bonding moments whether found through the corps aggie bonfire or university football games form friendships for life its years of your life that can never be duplicated discovering the sommelier within meadows was eager to become an independent business owner he explored many possibilities before settling on starting a winery with his aggie friends after graduation the group of men went their separate ways meadows followed in his fathers footsteps and took up commission as an officer in the air force he began his military career stateside and was stationed in afghanistan shortly after 9/11 meadows moved from base to base for a time after serving in the middle east he even lived in las vegas and took on the role of texas a&m club president for a couple of years after seven years of military service meadows made the tough decision to retire from the air force leaving the military behind and returning to texas to join corporate america i still remember the day i came home and took off my uniform for the last time meadows remarked theres always a handful of significant memories in ones life and that was mine: taking off that uniform for the last time service men and women often expect the adjustment to civilian life to be rough because theres a lack of belonging to a group that serves a greater purpose thankfully the bond between aggies and our shared core values helped make this adjustment easier for meadows in houston where he landed after leaving the air force one is all but bound to reconnect with aggies meadows credits his aggie ring and the alumni network with creating many opportunities for him within the corporate world his aggie connections even played a role in landing his current job as a capital project sourcing director in industrial gas in the thrall of corporate america and eager to own his own business meadows excitedly began researching business opportunities sipping countless glasses of wine he pondered over everything from fitness to food but nothing felt quite right one fateful evening on the drive home to houston from a texas a&m football game in college station meadows dropped by bernhardt winery to see his buddy nance nance was volunteering and learning to make wine there meadows had always been passionate about wine from a consumer perspective and something clicked that night meadows returned to bernhardt to volunteer alongside nance during harvest together they slowly learned more about the art of winemaking eventually they brought in huyge and started exchanging spreadsheets powerpoints and ideas centered around founding a winery starting a business together felt as natural as breathing we aggies have a brotherhood and sisterhood thats hard to find meadows said fondly it only makes sense that im going to build a winery with my aggie buddies the group of friends spent a while looking for suitable land to build their winery on and though it took some time meadows eventually found and purchased a plot in johnson city during 2017 this purchase strengthened their resolve and determination to fully realize their business idea their first two years of owning the land were spent clearing it and planting the vineyard finally in 2019 they began selling their first wines out of a cooler igniting the aggie spirit through wine each aggie uses his talents and expertise in their role at 12 fires huyge oversees the company website as well as the social media accounts marketing and it for the company as 12 fires resident technology-savvy salesman nance serves as winemaker traveling year-round to vineyards across the state to find aggie grapes to make their aggie wine meadows a man with a keen sense for numbers works primarily behind the scenes of the operation handling the bulk of the administrative work including spreadsheets accounting and contract negotiations twelve fires logo is rich with aggie symbolism the ring of fire around the number 12 represents the aggie family rising like a phoenix after the tragic collapse of the 1999 aggie bonfire as a political science major-turned businessman meadows accredits his degree with teaching him the importance of keeping a close watch on presidential administrations and their economic policy those policies can have massive repercussions for business owners who he champions as the backbone of america he also asserts that his political science background encouraged him to be more cognizant of how government decision-making impacts businesses political scientists often look back at historical decisions tactics and practices to make sense of the current political climate looking back to the early days of the winery meadows reminisced on what he stressed to be the most difficult task of all: finding a name its one of the hardest things to do believe it or not everything else is color-by-numbers; you buy the land clear the land plant the vineyard get with architects to design the buildings the name is different meadows explained it dictates what your brand is going to be what your marketing will be like its everything despite the initial difficulty as time went on the direction that the company was taking became more and more clear the number 12 kept coming up we bought 12 acres of land for the winery with texas a&m theres the 12th man and i was in squadron 12 meadows goes quiet for a moment and when the bonfire fell in 1999 thats how many souls passed away one of them was my best friend and roommate in squadron 12 chris breen naming their winery 12 fires was a way to make breen part of the process of bottling the aggie spirit it gives the aggie business partners at 12 fires a chance to share the story and legacy of the 12 students who passed anytime someone asks about the companys name symbolism is important to the alumni at 12 fires which is why their logo resembles the bonfire memorial on campus the ring of fire around the number 12 represents the aggie family rising like a phoenix after the tragic collapse of the 1999 aggie bonfire it depicts the 12 portals at the memorial one for each aggies life claimed by the collapse each portal is alight with the aggie spirit symbolizing that the aggie spirit connects us to the aggie family even after we are departed yes were trying to sell good wine but we also want to have a good story a respectful story its a fine line of naming something after a tragedy you never want to come across as capitalizing off of peoples deaths meadows asserted but its a legacy and you want their memory to live on in its own odd way 12 fires is a tribute to those twelve souls who passed that evening the aggie spirit at 12 fires doesnt stop at names and branding its an ideal embedded within the very fibers of the business itself texas a&m alumni are involved in nearly every step of the process as a relatively fresh startup the business operates in phases the aggie winos are currently in talks with investors to expand their facilities and construction projects they hope to have a formal tasting room completed in 2021 thanks again to the aggie network 12 fires wines are available for purchase in bryan-college station at aggieland outfitters the republic steakhouse and gate 12 on the weekends 12 fires holds its wine tasting nights with all three owners traveling to johnson city and conversing with guests one-on-one in a makeshift tasting room what 12 fires winery currently lacks in multimillion-dollar buildings it makes up for with great wine an overwhelming sense of sincerity and a great story often gaining them customers for life on their tasting nights the three men make sure to greet every guest personally before pouring them a glass of their bestseller a texas-grown tempranillo and sitting down with them to talk meadows remarked that he and his business partners relish the opportunity to meet people and ignite their aggie spirit with 12 fires wine we embrace them get to know them and tell them our story just as meadows father uncorked the aggie spirit for his son the spirit of aggieland for other aggies can be uncorked by funding scholarships learn how to fund a scholarship in the college of liberal arts by contacting andrew millar at amillar@txamfoundationcom or by calling (979) 845-5192 on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the institute of science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university is proud to announce a new featured research project titled gene drive applications to agriculture gene drive is a new genetic-based technology in the early stages of research among other potential applications gene drive is being considered for managing agricultural pests however little is known about stakeholders and the publics views on this technology the multidisciplinary research team funded by the us department of agriculture seeks to understand the social impacts perceived risks underlying values and behavioral responses of stakeholders and the public to gene drive technologies in agriculture the fundamental objective of the project is to assess the conditions for public and stakeholder engagement concerning the potential research development and use of gene drive technology in the management of agricultural pests in order to inform appropriate policy responses to gene drive in agriculture the study team has devised a four-pronged approach to achieve its primary objective this project included multiple outreach and feedback activities that we are currently using to identify whether people think gene drive research should be pursued or not and what people think matters in deciding this stated dr arnold vedlitz the project principal investigator and director of istpp he added this information is important for helping scientists decision makers and policy makers make informed and acceptable choices about the possible use of gene drive in agriculture the success of agricultural productivity in the united states is essential to us and international markets various pest species and harmful weeds jeopardize us agriculture many pest species have developed resistance to conventional pest management strategies while others are developing this resistance some agricultural and natural science researchers are beginning to explore whether gene drive technology can be used to help manage certain pest species that cause critical losses in agricultural yields reduced yield generates massive economic losses for producers and increased costs for consumers it is important that the potential outcomes of using gene drive are identified evaluated and carefully considered in any decisions made about this new technology istpp conducts nonpartisan interdisciplinary scholarly examination of public policy issues and communicates research-based knowledge to academics and practitioners and to the public and decision makers
the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university is pleased to announce that its master of public service and administration (mpsa) program has been reaccredited by the network of schools of public policy affairs and administration (naspaa) naspaa accreditation recognizes that a masters degree in public policy affairs or administration has undertaken a rigorous process of peer review conducted by the commission on peer review and accreditation (copra) the commission bases its conclusion on the overall quality of the program its performance of its mission consideration of substantial conformance with the standards and assessment of overall program quality given the unique mission of that program the bush schools mpsa program has been naspaa accredited since 2007 and is now accredited through august 2028 the reaccreditation of our mpsa program is a tribute to the bush schools outstanding faculty staff and students said dean mark welsh i am so pleased that our mpsa program has been recognized for its efforts to inspire excellence in the noble calling of public service the reaccreditation of our mpsa program is a tribute to the bush schools outstanding faculty staff and students i am so pleased that our mpsa program has been recognized for its efforts to inspire excellence in the noble calling of public servicedean mark welsh the bush school is ranked in the top 10 percent of all public affairs schools in the country by us news and world report it offers a variety of online and in-residence graduate programs and certificates the mpsa degree is offered in residence or online through the bush schools executive master of public service and administration (empsa) program for more information about the bush school visit the website at bushtamuedu
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the texas a&m bush school of government and public service is pleased to announce a new certificate in social justice leadership the certificate is designed for nonprofit leaders committed to accelerating racial equity within nonprofit organizations the goal of this innovative offering is to support public service professionals interested in addressing inequities within leadership roles at nonprofits equip them to identify and advocate regarding systemic and structural barriers within and positively contribute to the health of the sector this online program is a non-credit-bearing professional education opportunity for nonprofit practitioners that uses an asynchronous design to offer the flexibility required by todays professionals and consists of five (5) three-week courses that can be completed in approximately four (4) months todays leaders and those in the future need to be ready and willing to address equity issues for the continued vibrancy of the sector at-large especially when one considers the economic uncertainties and general fragility these organizations face the center for nonprofits and philanthropy at the bush school is proud to offer this program for those across the world who are ready to take action-oriented steps towards increasing the quality of services provided by nonprofits via enhanced diversity of thought by an array of leaders though the racial events of 2020 may have focused a shining light on the lack of people of color who lead nonprofits whether executive or board member leader demographics within remain and have steadily been homogenous for decadesdr kenneth anderson taylor assistant professor of the practice director of outreach and professional development within the center for nonprofits & philanthropy nonprofit and community-based organizations have a rich history of being resilient but will likely face steep challenges to advancing their missions without higher levels of cultural diversity in decision-making roles according to dr kenneth anderson taylor who led development of the program though the racial events of 2020 may have focused a shining light on the lack of people of color who lead nonprofits whether executive or board member leader demographics within remain and have steadily been homogenous for decades though this educational offering is primarily designed for nonprofit professionals it will also attract leaders in the for-profit sector who serve on charitable boards or work in corporate social responsibility foundation leaders and donors and a variety of educators who may seek to generally incorporate social justice pedagogy into their instruction course topics include an introduction to social justice leading social and racial justice within public service organizations cultural competency diversity in the workplace to benefit justice issues within and a social justice policy and advocacy course designed to prepare learners to lead an issue-based social justice campaign we are very excited about the certificate in social justice leadership program said lori taylor professor and head of the bush schools department of public service and administration this new program perfectly aligns with the bush schools vision to inspire excellence in the noble calling of public service with the facultys longstanding interest in equity issues and with the centers mission to support a vibrant nonprofit and philanthropic sector in texas and beyond for additional information or to enroll in the program please visit the certificate in social justice leadership website or contact jasmine walia program coordinator
the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) congratulates former cgs predoctoral fellow robert ralston who will be joining the department of political science and international studies at the university of birmingham as a lecturer this coming academic year ralston is currently a grand strategy security and statecraft fellow jointly appointed to the international security program at the belfer center for science and international affairs harvard kennedy school and the security studies program at mit the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) at the bush school of government & public service serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
a team of istpp research fellowsdrs woodruff bowman hannibal and sansomand istpp director in memoriam dr portney have published their comparative study of resilience policies and programs adopted by the 101 largest us cities the team established a list of 109 resilience policies and programs based on existing research and evolving theories the list covered land use transportation resource conservation and public health among other substantive categories they then perused government websites for indications that a city had adopted any of the targeted policies and programs in addition to the number of policies adopted the team analyzed the collected data for common groupings among adopted policies they found that cities tended to adopt resilience policies based on local issues such as levels of stakeholder commitment and available budget rather than adopting substantive sets of programs as the effects of climate change continue to emphasize emerging and increasing community vulnerabilities the resilience policy agenda should gain momentum woodruff sierra ann om bowman bryce hannibal garett sansom and kent portney 2021 urban resilience: analyzing the policies of us cities cities 115 103239 doi: 101016/jcities2021103239
by anna cairns 20 originally published on june 14 2021 on the texas a&m foundation website the bush school of government and public services teaching site in washington dc is celebrating an endowed gift made by gemini industries inc as the first endowed gift for the new site which welcomed its inaugural cohort ofin true aggie fashion12 students in january 2021 gemini industries inc is supporting the intelligence community of tomorrow just four blocks from the white house in bustling washington dc the bush school dc is rapidly developing after the bush school announced plans for the site on may 4 2020 the space underwent a lightning-fast transformation to open its doors only three months later today the site is still growing both physically and as a leader in the field of public service while it currently offers a master of international policy geared toward working professionals with four or more years of experience in international affairs there are plans to add a resident masters degree program in national security and intelligence in 2022 its prime location in the heart of the nations capital gives students unparalleled access to engage with the political issues discussed in the classroom to help students grow their understanding of the nuanced intelligence field private sector intelligence company gemini industries inc established an endowed lecture series on defense intelligence the new series hopes to address contemporary issues in the field such as biases in computer processing privacy issues in data sourcing and strategies for analyzing the sheer amount of information made available via the internet the future generation of intelligence operatives analysts and other government workers will be exposed to pressing issues in the intelligence field said greg hicks director of communications for gemini industries they will need to gain the tools to address those questions for our country gemini industries inc established an endowed lecture series on defense intelligence to address contemporary issues in the field such as biases in computer processing privacy issues in data sourcing and strategies for analyzing the sheer amount of information made available via the internet gemini industries inc recently celebrated its 35th anniversary built from the ground up by ceo victoria bondoc who has trailblazed a path for women in the national security sector the company has established itself as a leader in its field today after enjoying hard-earned success the company is poised to give back of all the causes they could support the bush schools focus on intelligence studies rose above the rest due to their shared values in the power of education and national security this partnership between gemini industries and the bush school brings together two groups of people that have shared life experiences values and goals said hicks this is the cornerstone of a partnership that we hope to grow were partnering with the bush school to build the future of americas national security and intelligence community learning by example the lecture series hopes to attract presenters from top government leadership positions academia the private sector the military government analysts and more the hope is to have an annual major lecture event from a senior speaker who works in defense or intelligence at the national level supplemented by smaller events throughout the year i want students to learn about intelligence topics from both scholars and practitioners said jay silveria executive director of the bush schools dc teaching site and former superintendent of the us air force academy we expect lecturers in this series to be senior-level speakers who will share their experiences with students the bush school is already known for its important scholarly work and this lecture series will help bring in practitioner experience being in washington dc we have so many opportunities to share that experience with students the bush school and gemini industries hope that such early exposure to contemporary intelligence issues will aid students in their journeys to becoming professionals capable of tackling complex intelligence problems in their careers as the bush school already offers one of the nations most renowned intelligence programs the new dc teaching site is well-poised to build upon that strength and reputation speaking from my career experience in the military intelligence is absolutely foundational added silveria its what we base our decisions on and its how we know weve made the right decisions intelligence studies are critical to decision-making without them wed be lost in a lot of ways these students are the future to support the bush school washington dc teaching site contact director of development alice gonzález yates 99 at (202) 773-0030 or ayates@txamfoundationcom
dr jasen castillo co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy and associate professor in international affairs at the bush school recently published the cold comfort of mutually assured destruction a book review of the revolution that failed by brendan rittenhouse green castillos essay appears in a book review roundtable in texas national security review and as a stand-alone piece with war on the rocks dr castillo is the evelyn and ed f kruse 49 faculty fellow at the bush school prior to joining the bush school dr castillo worked in the department of defenses strategy and plans office
dr fritz bartel assistant professor in international affairs and core faculty member with the albritton center for grand strategy wrote the introduction for the h-diplo teaching roundtable on the cold war and history the roundtable features essays from four scholars from around the world that explore different approaches to presenting the cold war not as a definitive narrative (least of all as one of simple bipolar competition) but rather as a set of questions the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) serves as an intellectual hub for the critical examination of american grand strategy specifically the center supports research that takes a fresh look at americas grand strategic choices; fosters dialogue between scholars and practitioners; and helps prepare a new generation of public servants who will be grand strategic thinkers
professor johanna dunaway explains how editorials opinion columns and letters to the editor that fill the op-ed pages could help bridge political divides in the us by johanna dunaway associate professor of communication & political science at texas a&m university; joshua p darr assistant professor of political communications at louisiana state university; and matthew p hitt assistant professor of political science at colorado state university if youre confused about opinion journalism and what it is youre not alone many americans are but even so the editorials opinion columns and letters to the editor that fill the op-ed pages could help bridge political divides in the us and offer some help to struggling local news outlets two-thirds of americans polled by gallup in 2017 said that the news media do not distinguish between fact and opinion an increase from 42 percent in 1984 only 43 percent of people in another poll said that they can easily tell the difference between news and opinion online half of americans are unfamiliar with the stock opinion journalism term op-ed which is shorthand for an opinion column as the lines between opinion and news blur in many americans minds trust in media is falling local news sources – daily newspapers and local television news programs – are seen as more trusted caring and unbiased than national news sources but even that trust is fraying like nearly everything else in american politics trust in the media is polarized along party lines: democrats trust the media far more than republicans do and the most ideological members of each party have the most different ideas about medias trustworthiness given this confusion and disagreement it might seem unlikely that opinion journalism could be a positive influence but our research shows that it can we are scholars who study politics and the media we have found that local newspapers – and local opinion journalism in particular – can bridge political divisions and attract more readers vibrant community forum opinion journalism is not news reporting; it is distinguished by its stated point of view it has three basic formats: editorials; opinion columns or op-eds; and letters to the editor editorials are written in the newspapers voice by the editorial board often composed of editors owners and community members op-eds are typically written by professional columnists or community leaders letters are written by regular readers op-eds ensure that perspectives from nonjournalists appear in the newspaper help the general public interpret major events and can change readers minds on the issues the best op-ed pages operate almost like a town square allowing readers to discuss and debate issues important both to their communities and beyond but the economic crisis in local news is making it harder for the opinion page to realize its potential as a vibrant community forum falling revenues and diminished numbers of staff have forced local newspapers to use more syndicated columnists from outside of the papers community and whose work usually has a national focus some papers have cut the position of opinion editor completely without a dedicated staffer to seek out community writers and edit their work newspapers reliance on syndicated columns means more opinion columns focused on right versus left ideological conflicts between the two national political extremes not local issues no more national politics our book shows how doing the opposite – getting rid of national politics on the opinion page and reinvesting in local opinion content – can help newspapers attract readers and cool tensions in their community the desert sun of palm springs california tried this for the month of july 2019: no syndicated columns no cartoons about national politics no letters about then-president donald trump we measured the ways this experiment changed the material that was published and the attitudes of the people in the community it was a major shift in june the month prior to this change half of the desert suns op-ed page was nationally syndicated columns and one-third of all columns referenced trump in july national syndication disappeared as did all stories mentioning the president california topics were the focus of less than half of all columns in june but 96 percent focused on california in july mentions of the democratic and republican parties dropped by more than half from 25 percent of all columns to 10 percent local issues filled the page: issues like artistic and cultural preservation traffic and downtown development and education and the environment got much more attention the unique character of palm springs shone through once given a chance we surveyed readers before and after the desert suns experiment in palm springs and a different city ventura whose local newspaper the ventura county sun didnt change its opinion page we wanted to see if the change in opinion journalism shifted how people think and feel about their political opponents political polarization which is when people feel far apart from the opposing party slowed significantly in palm springs compared to ventura among certain groups: those who read the newspaper;those who know a lot about politics; andpeople who participate most in politics these groups are the people most likely to share their views and inform others potentially spreading the newspapers influence into the broader community even if only a fraction of the community reads the newspaper regularly – the desert suns total circulation is just over 26 000 – a change like this could have larger spillover effects the desert suns readers enjoyed the change: online readership of opinion pieces nearly doubled in july and in reader surveys we fielded after the experiment almost five times as many readers said they approved as said they disapproved of the experiment the experiment helped the newspaper recruit more opinion writers who then continued to write in the months that followed reinvesting in opinion supporters of local news could follow the lessons of this research by raising money to pay for opinion editor positions and funding creative thinking like the desert suns experiment the alternative is that opinion pages will wither and cease to reflect their communities a local-only opinion page wont restore the economic model that supported newspapers in decades past but our research shows it can bring back some readers and bridge some of the political divides that can drive american communities apart by keeping the focus local the opinion page could play a small part in restoring trust and helping local newspapers survive these trying times originally published by the conversation on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
we are pleased to announce that the george & barbara bush foundation the george hw bush presidential library & museum the bush school of government & public service the barbara bush foundation for family literacy the points of light foundation and the barbara bush houston literacy foundation will come together on a joint initiative george & barbara bush day of service to be held annually in june to commemorate the bushes birthdays and celebrate their lifelong commitment to public service each legacy group including their staff volunteers and friends will honor president and mrs bush in their own way through a day of volunteer service that will highlight the bushes deep belief in education literacy volunteerism leadership character diversity and inclusion note: this article originally was posted on the george & barbara bush foundation website background the george & barbara bush legacy organizations are comprised of six bush namesake groups: the george & barbara bush foundation the george hw bush presidential library & museum the bush school of government & public service the barbara bush foundation for family literacy the points of light foundation and the barbara bush houston literacy foundation these legacy organizations are committed to fostering the ideals and values that were driving forces in the lives of george & barbara bush the bushes left a blueprint on how to make a difference in the lives of all americans through education public service literacy volunteerism and acts of character and inclusion
dr bryce hannibal and dr sierra woodruff istpp research fellows and coauthor dr matthew malecha have published their research the overlap of collaboration and planning networks: a post-harvey study in the journal of planning education and research using original survey data collected from houston organizations involved in planning and mitigation the research team examines the extent to which organizations involved in planning are also involved in hazard mitigation this research is part of two projects related to hurricane harvey funded by the national science foundation the study team investigates the multiple organizational connections using social network analysis (sna) sna identifies the total number of ties each organization has to the others and how directly and densely organizations are bound by these connections two networks are of focus: organizations involved in the planning process of houstons regional plans and organizations involved in hazard mitigation in the houston area the study identifies and elaborates on the characteristics of organizations involvement in both mitigation and planning networks they find that the number of organizations involved in both planning and mitigation is relatively low the two relatively independent networks may create challenges in planning for and mitigating hazards and disasters in a holistic manner conversely increasing the integration of these two networks could improve planning and mitigation preparations in houston and potentially reduce the impacts caused by future floods hannibal bryce sierra woodruff and matthew malecha 2021 the overlap of collaboration and planning networks: a post-harvey study journal of planning education and research (early view available online) doi: 101177%2f0739456x21995899
the department of international affairs in the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university invites applications and nominations for a tenure-track assistant professor position in the area of grand strategy by grand strategy we mean the use of statecraft by great powers to achieve foreign policy goals broadly defined we seek candidates whose work applies the very best scholarship to the most pressing issues facing the united states in the twenty-first century and does so in a way that broadens the intellectual and practical discussion of grand strategy in addition to having first-rate scholarly credentials the ideal candidate will also have an interest in applying scholarly work to some aspect of the formulation and implementation of grand strategy view job announcement | apply online
using examples from energy and agriculture the latest issue of the takeaway explores lobbying strategies of us firms lobbying plays an important role in us politics and policy-making which has not gone unnoticed by us firms the latest issue of the takeaway looks at how political strategy has become an important complement to firms market activities to improve profitability the article was written by dr anastasia shcherbakova an applied economist in the texas a&m department of agricultural economics and a research fellow with the mosbacher institute and helen wakefield a texas a&m doctoral student in agricultural economics they note that lobbying can be expensive and not surprisingly large firms with more resources tend to lobby more they also note however that regardless of size firms find ways to lobby for political returns when the competitive market presents low profit opportunities you can read about it in lobbying in good times and in bad the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
nathalie mendez 21 was empowered to continue her nearly decade-long career in the public sector when she received a fulbright scholarship to pursue a phd in political science by amber francis ‘22 native columbian nathalie mendez ‘21 is a keen advocate for social change an ideal the service-driven fifth-year political science phd student has no qualms with backing up through action prior to her time at texas a&m university mendez had already engaged in activities that contributed to social problem solutions in her home country in addition to being a graduate student mendez is the co-principal investigator for the world values survey in colombia an organization that seeks to explore human values throughout the application of the largest survey in social sciences in the world nathalie mendez was empowered to further her career and advocate for social change by a fulbright scholarship i believe that public servants and citizens are key actors for social change mendez asserted i am interested in understanding how their attitudes and behaviors shape policy outcomes and also how public and private interventions promote behavioral changes driven to enter the public sector out of a love for service and for her country mendez utilized her passion and drive to assemble an impressive resume with more than eight years of real-world experience to back it up having worked as coordinator of the national center for historical memory in colombia and as an advisor for the national planning department both of which are no small feat perhaps most notably mendez was also involved in the design of instrumental policies needed for the transition from war to peace in colombia throughout this process mendez did everything from designing programs and indicators to having meetings with governors mayors and even the columbian president all these efforts were necessary for implementing the peace agreement in colombia after six decades of civil war i love to serve people so the public sector has always been a meaningful way to do it mendez shared eventually mendez came to be at texas a&m through one of her advisors whom she had initially met back in colombia about six years ago upon seeing her potential as a researcher he informed her about the opportunities texas a&m offers mendez realized a phd from texas a&m in political science was the perfect setting to further explore her interests and the rest was history my experience has been incredible mendez said coming here was the best decision i could ever make both at the personal and professional level mendezs phd in political science will allow her to be part of a top-level academic institution back in her country she is confident all the knowledge and skills she earned throughout her doctoral program will help accomplish her teaching and research goals in the future thus enabling her to contribute even more to the field of academia both in columbia and latin america as a whole throughout her academic journey at texas a&m mendez pointed to the assistance offered to her through her fulbright scholarship as instrumental to both her research and academic careers offering her gratitude to donors who fund research at all levels i cannot be more thankful for all your support and help i received to conduct my fieldwork mendez proclaimed ive found very interesting results and donor funding was crucial to achieving my research goals your contribution to education is outstanding these projects are and will be very relevant for improving our disciplines and public policies on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
former albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) fellow dr robert ralston recently published no right to be wrong: what americans think about civil-military relations in perspectives on politics with coauthors ronald r krebs and aaron rapport cgs was happy to have the opportunity to support dr ralston and the research that went into the article much of which was conducted during ralstons fellowship with cgs in the 2019-20 academic year the cgs fellows program supports one predoctoral and one postdoctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response
over the past year dr f gregory gause iii head of the department of international affairs at the bush school and cgs faculty affiliate has published a number of articles including: the united states is the last check on mbss power and the end of saudi arabias ambitions in foreign affairs saudi arabia and regional leadership: the impossibility of hegemony in insight and saudi arabia and sectarianism in middle east international relations in sectarianism and international relations project on middle east political science (pomeps) studies the mission of the albritton center for grand strategy is to challenge the assumptions behind american grand strategy develop credible alternatives to primacy and to connect scholarly experts and us policymakers
dr ki eun kang istpp postdoctoral research associate recently presented a paper entitled understanding the relationship between collaboration and income inequality in land development at the annual conference of the american society for public administration (aspa) this paper was coauthored with kyungha lee a doctoral candidate at yonsei university their research specifically looks at cases of land economic development projects across the us and how level of income inequality is associated with the use of alternative dispute resolution (adr) processes public participation discussions and cooperative efforts a national survey of planners and elected officials was conducted to help elucidate the regional dynamics around issues of land development from the model of this study kang and lee found that municipalities with adr proceedings decrease the chance of income inequality among their residents municipalities with higher collaborative efforts and more discussion in development projects are less likely to face unequal distribution of income however the results show that public participation was not an important driver of income inequality kang ki eun (2021) understanding the relationship between collaboration and income inequality in land development paper presented at the annual conference of the american society for public administration april 10 paper coauthored with kyungha lee
congratulations to cgs faculty affiliate dr andrew l ross professor of international affairs and the brent scowcroft chair in international policy studies on his a joint appointment with los alamos national laboratory (lanl) under the joint appointment professor ross will work with the leadership of lanls national security and international studies office primarily to support the directors strategic resilience initiative (dsri) his work will be focused on nuclear weapons policy and strategy issues in a coup for the bush school professor ross is just the second tamu faculty member to have been awarded a joint appointment at lanl professor ross is pleased to have the opportunity to continue the long-standing academic tradition of serving as a scholar-analyst-practitioner
healthcare for texas seniors is addressed in a recent publication by the texas a&m bush school of government and public services mosbacher institute the article explores some of the central barriers to effective healthcare and outlines policy changes to address them the author notes that while texas is growing proportionately older the health challenges faced by many texas seniors are also rising particularly in rural areas the inability to pay for care hospital closures and distance from providers are discussed as the greatest obstacles to healthcare for rural seniors in the news on this research:health care for seniors in rural texas is in jeopardy the dallas morning news published in the current edition of the takeaway bush school graduate student and the texas lyceum research fellow sallie sherman authored the policy brief titled the senior healthcare divide in texas and presented it at the quarterly meeting of the texas lyceum in dallas the research was supported by a research fellowship from the texas lyceum and supervised by bush school professor dr joanna lahey the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university the texas lyceum is a nonprofit nonpartisan statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top texas leaders
washington dc – texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service recently welcomed the commander of the us army southern european task force (setaf) africa as part of its ongoing commitment to bring diverse perspectives of public service to students during a virtual event held april 27 2021 bush school executive director and lieutenant general (ret) jay silveria spoke with major general andrew m rohling about how the department of defense coordinates national defense security strategies and military activities in africa the two also shared experiences from their military careers with bush school students general rohling has had a fascinating career and we are thrilled that he was able to take the time to share a small snapshot of that distinguished career with our students said bush school executive director jay silveria bringing these real-world experiences to our students along with the opportunity to meet a diverse group of leaders who have had notable careers in public service is exactly what the bush school is all about theres no better way to prepare our students for a career in public service than to bring them insight from leaders who have already answered that noble calling theres no better way to prepare our students for a career in public service than to bring them insight from leaders who have already answered that noble callinglieutenant general (ret) jay b silveria executive director of the bush school of government & public service in washington dc i certainly didnt get into it (the military) for the money said rohling it was really the opportunity to do something every day that mattered its been an opportunity to do something that makes a difference globally he pointed out that the continent of africa has fifty-four countries each with political economic and security challenges as well as its own crises a safe and stable africa is my number one priority he remarked he stated all forces in the region must work together to resolve issues mentioning the rescue of an american missionary who had been captured in nigeria it took the ability to fly over algeria the ability to stage military in niger and to conduct operations in nigeria rohling also noted the importance of developing and maintaining economic opportunities citing the heavy presence of china on the african continent we are not in conflict with china but we are in competition he said when you step off the plane in many of africas countries the first thing you see is a sign in chinese china has an economic presence in africa they are there militarily not with tanks and troops but by buying and influencing ports china is absolutely in africa in a large way he stated the geographic location of the african continent makes it of interest to both china and russia as well as the united states and europe africa remains important people dont think about it but its important to the united states and europe for global security i think our students were very impressed with what general rohling had to say remarked jay silveria we are grateful he was able to speak with them and answer their questions in addition to providing insight to africas importance to the rest of the world from a military and economic perspective
working conditions and labor issues remain among the most pressing issues affecting us and european trade policies as illustrated by renewed and potentially ineffective government efforts to block imports that might be produced with forced labor on april 19 2021 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m university and the united states office of the international labor organization (ilo) addressed those issues in a cohosted solutions-oriented online webinar titled sustainability in global value chains: improving wages and working conditions the panel of speakers included desirée leclercq employment and labor law assistant professor in the school of industrial and labor relations at cornell university; klara helmbold a program manager for global social sustainability at h&m; and arianna rossi senior research and policy specialist for the ilo/ifc better work program raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute moderated the event and sarah morgan ilo-usa senior government relations officer gave a welcoming introduction the debate surrounding working conditions has taken on a particular focus on global value chains (gvcs) as offshoring and outsourcing production to developing countries have increased the workshop included dynamic discussions around these pressing issues and how they relate to global trade policies possible solutions were discussed such as labor provisions in trade agreements; the impactful better work program; and private sector initiatives which have been linked to improvements in working conditions leclercq explained labor provisions within trade agreements their evolving objectives and the implications of growing trade sanctions that may also punish foreign workers she stressed the need for empirical research to better understand the effects well-intentioned policies may have on workers helmbold discussed h&ms global wage strategy as a way to improve wages in h&m factories within its supply chains she explained the necessity for brand and firm collaboration in order to be more effective although h&m found that wages increase by 5 percent after implementation of certain wage structures in its factories those same structures must be agreed to by other brands sharing the factory to see real impact in increasing minimum wages rossi explained how the better work program has shown a significant impact in improving labor conditions while also promoting competitiveness the program covers nine countries 2 000 factories and over 25 million workers by using transparency measures to improve compliance with ilo labor standards the program has seen significant improvements in factory working conditions and enhanced productivity and profitability she cautioned that for the model to become scalable it must empower global supply chain actors to use the lessons learned through the program to implement them in their own operations during the moderated discussion robertson posed several questions from the audience about the shifting role of stakeholders the challenges of policy enforcement and shaping incentives for factories the panelists spoke very clearly about the strengths and limitations of the various approaches and their interest in learning from the others to inform their own work on the topic you can view sustainability in global value chains: improving wages and working conditions on the ilo-usa website
on april 13 2021 the mosbacher institutes borders and migration program hosted ms ginger jacobs a california immigration attorney who gave a talk titled myth-busting around immigration and asylum the event was the second in a new speaker series called the other side of the border – ties that bind and issues that divide which features practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america dr aileen teague assistant professor at the bush school of government and public service and organizer of the speaker series served as moderator one of the first common misconceptions jacobs explained is blurring the differences between immigrants refugees and asylum seekers immigrants are drawn to another country in response to pull factors that may include joining family school work or other reasons for voluntarily moving to a different country in contrast refugees and asylum seekers are motivated in response to push factors forcing them out of their home countries jacobs also explained the processes that asylum seekers and refugees experience upon entering the united states asylum seekers are first required to pass a credible fear interview before being assigned to appear at a court hearing at some probably much later future date refugees arrive first to a third country where they are vetted by the un before being sent to a safe country she offered data to dispute the claim that asylum seekers rarely show up to their hearings saying 92 percent of asylum seekers appear in court for their hearings and 98 percent show up when represented by an attorney other myths jacobs targeted were about the home countries of asylum seekers and the realities of the visa application process illustrating her remarks with examples from her clients histories she noted that asylum seekers at the border come from all over the world and that waiting in line for a visa is not as easy as it sounds because of us policies that limit the number of entrants by country the visa process can take more than twenty years for people from some countries and only a few years for entrants from other countries india china mexico and the philippines for instance have the longest visa lines because they have the greatest number of applicants the final myth jacobs busted was the myth that asylum seekers are dangerous and she suggested that asylum and immigration policies need significant reforming to match the reality that asylum seekers are not dangerous in response to the many questions from students jacobs and teague gamely allowed the talk to exceed its original timeframe jacobs ended the evening by offering her willingness to continue to engage in conversations with students and the bush school around immigration law policy and career advice you can view myth-busting around immigration and asylum on the bush school youtube channel
by cathy gordon 79 originally published on april 19 2021 on the texas a&m foundation website when jim olson goes to the mall or the park hes sometimes followed by a stealthy group of aggies discreetly watching his every move the tail comes with the territory when training a new generation for clandestine roles in the intelligence world professor jim olson uses his 31-year experience as a cia undercover operative to teach aggies at the bush school of government and public service we take our students out on the streets and teach them the hands-on operational skills that they need to knowsurveillance dead drops signal sites car tosses the tapping of phones and bugging of rooms all the nitty-gritty stuff said olson whose 31 years as an undercover operative with the cia uniquely qualifies him to teach intelligence studies at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service among the former spys accomplishments: tapping into russias top-secret communications cable its direct line to the kremlinduring the rivalrous years of the cold war he and his wife meredith also a cia officer worked secretly in tandem to turn russian nationals against their government gaining access to soviet secrets our students are here for the right reasons they want to serve said olson of the bush schools program taught by a faculty of four whose real-world intelligence experience covers the operational side law enforcement counterterrorism intelligence analysis and collection and military intelligence its by design that we made our program different our students learn from people who have done it while half of the schools intelligence studies graduates become operatives the other half enter careers as analysts and they hit the ground running olson said the cia fbi nsa and other agencies tell us that we are the premier intelligence program in the country currently the bush school offers a two-year master in international affairs curriculum with a concentration in intelligence studies the degree requires students to learn a foreign language often one of the big five national security languages: chinese russian arabic korean or farsi the foreign language requirement sets us apart olson added its a big difference maker in who gets hired since most programs dont require it leading the pack the intelligence studies program has been the bush schools largest student draw since the graduate school opened in 1997 and its becoming more popular with students competing for classes more faculty hires and courses are needed to keep up with demand said olson who would like to add courses in imagery intelligence geospatial intelligence and signals intelligence as well as more classes in covert action and counterintelligence we have many holes to fill andrea and david heath 76 gave $100 000 to establish the james m and meredith a olson bush school intelligence studies program endowment michael howell 91 an fbi agent for 23 years teaches counterterrorism at the bush school but would like to add a domestic terrorism course when budget allows and possibly a field study so students can visit the sites of terrorist attacks there are typically hundreds of applicants for each intelligence position he explained a field study would go a long way toward further setting our students apart from their competition feedback about aggie hires is impressive said katherine t weary 01 a former intelligence analyst with the nsa who teaches analytic tradecraft a body of critical thinking skills by the time students graduate theyve honed those skills and can write and brief in the style of the intelligence community she said i often hear about rapid advancements and promotions and its due to the techniques they learn here but were preparing our graduates to live their lives in the shadows not for accolades they have a drive to serve whatever the graduates career paths they are likely to work within one of the 18 different agencies that make up the intelligence community in the government and the us department of defense prior to graduating students also become familiar with the defense side and its terminology and practices its important no matter where students land said retired us army col matt gill who teaches military intelligence as a guest lecturer our aggie graduates are going to be at the tip of the spear keeping an eye on the world so that decision makers can keep the world a safer place donating to the cause former texas a&m president dr r bowen loftin 71 and his wife dr karin c loftin have pledged a donation to the bush school to support a fellowship for an intelligence studies professor its no surprise that olson a cia legend has morphed texas a&m into the premier institution for intelligence studies as individuals have begun to take notice many are lending their support to the program andrea and david heath 76 gave a $100 000 lead gift to establish the james m and meredith a olson bush school intelligence studies program endowment the programs first endowed gift the texas a&m foundation hopes to reach an endowment goal of $1 million this year with the support of additional donors jim olson is the glue that created this program and were proud to support it so that texas a&m faculty can train these students said andrea who audited an olson-taught class with david i traveled to china a lot and there are threats to the security of our country from china that the average american doesnt have any idea about added david a former executive with nike texas a&m has a great hand-picked faculty with the experience it takes to train the next generation of aggies about protecting our country former texas a&m president dr r bowen loftin 71 would like to see that faculty grow to that end he and his wife dr karin c loftin have pledged a specific donation to the bush school to support a fellowship for an intelligence studies professor the donation is part of the couples overall $1 million pledge to support various initiatives at texas a&m including a graduate fellowship for a bush school student in the hagler institute for advanced study a texas a&m umbrella organization that attracts world-class talent and research maria and rex grey 67 created a gift to ensure that the bush school continues to attract high-caliber faculty karin and i got to know former president george hw bush and his wife barbara when i was president at texas a&m he said we appreciated what he was trying to establish at the bush school and we know how important the intelligence studies program was to him as a former cia director wed like to see that program continue to blossom and grow and become even more impactful we think it is important to keep our country and those of our allies safe from attack both foreign and domestic added karin who is german born its important to recognize various cultures and work with them in a reasonable way we know the intelligence field is part of this goal rex grey 67 agrees teaching students the intelligence skills to navigate an increasingly complex world is of paramount importance he said he and his wife marias $100 000 gift recently helped secure needed support for short-term program operations the bush school is committed to a goal of increasing annual funding to relieve student waitlists enhance course offerings and subject matter support additional practitioners provide high impact learning experiences and more the greys commitment is inspired by their connection with practitioner and guest lecturer matt gill matt and i have something in common: we both went to high school in belgium grey recalled for me it was in the 60s during the cold war my dad worked for a company that actually gave fake jobs to cia agents as cover he told me just enough to get me interested but never enough to get anyone in trouble! my wife maria loved the way that margaret thatcher stood up to everybody he said of the former prime minister of the united kingdom she thinks its important that our country at least knows what the bad guys are doing so we can counter them any way we can thats what texas a&ms intelligence studies program is about learning from practitioners who have ‘been there done that is invaluable they are teaching aggies how to protect our country and our world it is noble work to support the bush schools intelligence studies program contact ale rainey 15 director of development at (979) 458-8035 or by email
how will the covid-19 variants impact vaccine efficacy join our panel of experts from the texas a&m univeristy bush school of government & public service scowcroft institute of international affairs and the division of research emergency management advisory group and college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciences as they discuss covid-19 vaccines and variants this panel a race against time covid-19 vaccines and sars cov2 variants will take place via zoom on april 22 2021 at 5 pm the event is open to the public and registration is required to receive the zoom link register online to attend at bushtamuedu/scowcroft/events the panel will address questions such as: how well do the current vaccines protect against new sars-cov2 variants how quickly can texas the us and the globe reach herd immunity does the global vaccine industry have the needed manufacturing capacity whats the likelihood that variants will become increasingly resistant to vaccines panelists include alan d t barrett phd director of the sealy institute for vaccine sciences at the university of texas medical branch galveston texas; mahesh kumar phd senior vice president of global biologics r&d zoetis inc; benjamin neuman phd professor of biology and chief virologist of the global health research complex at texas a&m university; and jennifer shuford md mph chief state epidemiologist at the texas department of state health services an introduction will be given by gerald w parker jr dvm phd associate dean for global one health at the texas a&m college of veterinary & biomedical sciences the panel will be moderated by allison ficht phd senior associate vice president for research regents professor and director of the center for microencapsulation and drug delivery at texas a&m college of medicine
dr vedlitz director of istpp dr rotem dvir and dr nehemia geva have published their article unpacking public perceptions of terrorism: does type of attack matter in studies in conflict & terrorism in their article the research team examines survey data regarding american citizens views of conventional and cyber-terrorism threats this research uses survey data collected by istpp from their nsf rapid grant #ses‐1624296 the team reviews how type of terror attack relates to peoples preferences for types of anti-terror policies they find that earlier terror research studies do not paint a clear picture of how the public understands one type of terror threat over another when comparing conventional terrorism threats to cyber-attacks dvir geva and vedlitz argue that conventional attacks are more understood and lead to more direct policy actions sought by the public this may change as awareness of cyber-attacks becomes more prevalent and better understood dvir rotem nehemia geva and arnold vedlitz 2021 unpacking public perceptions of terrorism: does type of attack matter studies in conflict & terrorism (early view available online)
with the impact of the pandemic and its disruptions to global supply chains making secure and resilient supply chains a top us priority a conversation on global value chains: china covid and resilience with dr gary gereffi and dr eleftherios lefteris iakovou was most timely the april 8 2021 policy talk was hosted by the newly created global value chains (gvc) program within the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service and was moderated by dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute gereffi is the founding director of the duke global value chains center iakovou is the harvey hubbell professor of industrial distribution at texas a&m university and the director of manufacturing and logistics innovation initiatives at the texas a&m engineering experiment station (tees) iakovou began by defining supply chains their history in globalization and how they have become vital to both economic and national security when speaking of globalization iakovou specifically referred to trading with transferring to and investing in technology in china he said in 1990 global trade was 39 percent of global gdp which jumped to 61 percent in 2008 and was 58 percent right before covid-19 iakovou explained that the reduction in trade percentage of global gdp was in large part a response to demands for more regionalized supply chains that are closer to the point of consumption and can respond quickly to customer demands the shock of covid-19 revealed the importance of supply chains and the risks they present to consumers us national security and global competitiveness supply chain resilience he said refers to the ability of a given supply chain to prepare for and adapt to unexpected events and to quickly adjust and function through disruptions taking a step back gereffi described the origins of the gvc framework and analysis in the early 2000s a group of researchers from various scholarly backgrounds came together to develop a common framework using a standard set of terms to describe the complex network relationships among firms that span wide geographic areas this marked the beginning of the global value chains initiative and a few years later the global value chains center (gvcc) at duke university was created to expand applied research using the framework gereffi stressed the importance of using the academic community to drive the work forward and inform global policy he specifically encouraged academia to bring together different multidisciplinary knowledge communities in order to understand the complexities of multinational companies down to local firms when asked about the critical relationship between supply chains and value chains gereffi said that value chains add the dimension of power and value to the supply chain base where industry and product differences matter a lot in this way it is no longer only about the rigidity and resilience of the supply chain gvcs change the focus from the shortage of a product like facemasks to providing all the key inputs for the demanded item in addition to that it is important to watch who like china can ramp up production at scale quickly which is why reshoring 100 percent of critical products may not be the correct answer according to gereffi the conversation concluded with both speakers reiterating that universities and institutions play a unique role in providing a meeting ground for a multi-stakeholder initiative of public and private organizations to use gvc analysis to develop forward-looking plans that will shape major policies watch a conversation on global value chains: china covid and resilience online
the latest issue of the takeaway looks at the use of public-private partnerships in large-scale water infrastructure projects such as desalination public-private partnerships (ppps) have grown in popularity as a method to leverage private-sector actors in the production of government services with the global challenge of water insecurity ppps are becoming more common for large-scale water infrastructure projects such as desalination desalination facilities are complex and expensive operations which means that understanding the appropriate context for ppps is increasingly important in public-private partnerships in the water sector dr robert greer and lindsey pressler describe differences in the financial risks and characteristics of different ppp arrangements they also identify regional trends in the types of ppp arrangements that are likely to be implemented for desalination projects globally greer is a bush school of government & public service faculty member and a mosbacher research fellow pressler is pursuing a master of public service and administration at the bush school the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
in his essay why does donald trump have so much trouble with the truth a brief update dr john schuessler co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy and associate professor of international affairs at the bush school revisits his article published with h-diplo in 2017 in the 2017 article schuessler discussed trumps troubled relationship with the truth and offered some predictions on how that might impact american foreign policy written in the wake of the trump presidency schuesslers second essay suggests that while partisan polarization allowed trump to manipulate the truth with some impunity it ultimately hindered his attempts to use misinformation to accomplish his administrations foreign policy goals
college station texas: the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university has moved higher in the national rankings of schools of public affairs according to a report published by us news & world report the bush school ranks 16th among public schools listed in the survey 28th overall dean mark welsh noted that this puts the bush school in the top 10 percent of the 285 public and private graduate schools ranked these latest rankings are a testament to the schools outstanding faculty reputation and to the quality of our students welsh said they are a key indicator of the progress the school has made and the growing impact of our graduates in the field of public service the school also ranked among the top 20 of public institutions in the fields of leadership nonprofit management public policy analysis and local government management the bush school was founded in 1997 and has grown from a small program with fewer than twenty students to a reputable academic college with two departments and a student population of more than 400 hailing from thirty-nine states and twenty-three countries the school continues to have a significant impact on key issues facing the state nation and world through its three research institutes: the institute for science technology and public policy; the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy; and the scowcroft institute of international affairs the school is also home to the center for nonprofits and philanthropy and the albritton center for grand strategy as well as programs on women peace and security; economic statecraft; intelligence studies; the middle east; and cyber policy strategy and security these latest rankings are a testament to the schools outstanding faculty reputation and to the quality of our students they are a key indicator of the progress the school has made and the growing impact of our graduates in the field of public servicedean mark welsh in addition to offering the master of public service and administration the master of international affairs and the master of international policy the bush school offers an online executive master of public service and administration a master of international affairs and public health and graduate certificates in advanced international affairs homeland security public management and nonprofit management as a further commitment to providing its students with stellar educational opportunities the bush school recently opened a teaching site in the heart of the nations capital the bush school dc is currently offering a master of international policy degree with additional degree and certificate programs slated to be offered in the future
in a policy talk titled regional economics divides in america dr gordon hanson a professor in urban policy at the harvard kennedy school spoke on march 25 2021 about the economic differences that divide us communities and what can be done to close those divisions the zoom webinar was hosted by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service hanson spoke primarily about joblessness saying that looking at the fraction of employed working-age adults tells us mostly what we need to know about the economic health of a place he used two maps to illustrate the steep increase in the extent of unemployment today compared with 1980 joblessness is significant because it is a sign that something is not working and correlates with other negative outcomes like separated families lower wages poorer health and high opioid abuse hanson went on to list four causes: technological changes such as the automation of jobs globalization and rising import competition from china energy transformation like the decline of coal and the long-term effects of recessions technology and automation brought large laborsaving changes that also altered the nature of work middle-skill jobs such as factory clerical administrative and sales positions disappeared while low-skill jobs that paid substantially less particularly for non-college-educated workers were created manufacturing jobs allowed non-college-educated workers to earn middle-class incomes the consequence of the loss of those jobs is wider income inequality where more workers without a college education are stuck in low-wage positions while high-wage positions are reserved for workers with college degrees the second contributing factor hanson described is globalization and the impact of chinas drastic increase in the export of labor-intensive products which created major competitive shocks in other global manufacturing companies in response us manufacturing declined causing massive increases in joblessness in manufacturing communities to the surprise of economists displaced workers did not migrate in search of work that joblessness among working-age adults led to social dislocation that hurt both workers and their communities hanson explained that interventions to help distressed communities such as tax incentives to attract large firms historically do not work he said what does work and at much less cost than bribing amazon to move to your town is investing in the capabilities of local firms and providing worker training programs that target the needs of local employers what may work is attracting college-educated workers and skilled immigrants to create a pool of high-skill workers who attract investments from firms because local companies are the engines of job growth during the question-and-answer portion of the talk hanson discussed the mobility characteristics of the american workforce federal incentives like universal basic income trade adjustment assistance and the role of mexico in us regional economic divides when asked about which of the four factors had the greatest impact on the united states hanson explained that automation is the most significant because it affects all aspects of the economy but that trade and energy shocks contribute to more concentrated pockets of pain the bush school is thankful for the dynamic and engaging discussion with hanson and looks forward to future policy discussions regional economics divides in america can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
in sustainability and resilience in cities: what cities are doing kent portney istpp director in memoriam and bryce hannibal istpp research fellow examine how cities are becoming more sustainable and building resilience through city policies and programs previous versions of this work focused solely on efforts cities are undertaking to become more sustainable this study however augments the sustainability approach with evidence from a recent empirical study on how cities are building resilience in the face of increasing severity and costs of hazards and disasters portney and hannibal highlight the efforts of eight major us cities and examine policies and programs in the sustainability and resilience areas they also describe city sustainability and resilience scores from portneys previous work on sustainability in cities (2013) and a more recent study carried out by texas a&m researchers and graduate students in 2019-2020 as building resilience through policies and programs is still an up-and-coming policy agenda portney and hannibal provide evidence of some best practice models that other large cities may replicate in order to face increasing environmental challenges while maintaining sustainable practices to preserve natural resources and build local economies portney kent e and bryce hannibal sustainability and resilience in cities: what cities are doing in environmental policy 11th ed ed n j vig m e craft and b g rabe thousand oaks ca: sage publications 2021
a statue of barbara johns whose efforts helped in the desegregation of the public school system is set to replace a statue of confederate gen robert e lee in representing virginia at the us capitol by amber francis ‘22 of 100 sculptures in the us capitols national statuary hall collection in which there are two statues from each state a new statue in the likeness of barbara johns will soon stand proudly with first president of the united states george washington as a fellow representative of virginia barbara johns was 16 when she led a two-week strike during which students refused to attend classes in protest of segregated schools johns statue will replace confederate gen robert e lees statue which was housed in the capitols crypt since 1909 next to 12 other works representing the 13 original colonies as of december 2020 lees statue has made way (by moving to the virginia museum of history and culture in richmond) for a civil rights leader johns was instrumental to the end of segregation in public schools in april of 1951 johns then 16 led 450 of her classmates in a walkout protesting substandard conditions at virginias all-black robert russa moton high school at the time the school lacked many of the basic features now viewed as essential such as a gym laboratories and even a cafeteria johns organized a strike in which the students boycotted school for two weeks only returning after threats against their families were made by the superintendent undeterred by the threats of the superintendent johns took legal action against the school to unsatisfactory results though she lost her initial case it was eventually consolidated with four others to form brown v board of education the historic case that led the united states supreme court to declare the segregation of public schools unconstitutional though johns and her fellow high school students role may appear relatively unimportant in comparison to the big-name activists of her time organizations ranging from johns student group to the naacp were essential for successful political activism says joseph ura a political science professor at texas a&m university even if many people agree with a political cause it can be difficult for them to connect with one another coordinate and share the costs of activism organizers and leaders essentially subsidize the transformation of a group of people who happen to agree with one another or share some interest into a political movement ura explained they help like-minded people find one another form social bonds and contribute their time and resources to help their cause groups like these give interest communities strategic form directing their members energies and resources into particular activities choosing litigation as a path to force school integration for example rather than relying solely on mass protests group organization allows communities and movements to have a focused path forward with certain goals in mind it makes them more effective agents for change more than 400 students followed johns out of robert russa moton high school and into history in certain cases well-organized and united organizations can help sway public opinion toward the cause something that can often play a key role in court case outcomes though it may come as a surprise the interactions between judicial decisions and public opinion are important ones due to its vulnerability as an institution the supreme court in particular is attuned to the political consequences of its actions congress has tremendous authority over the resources allocated to the court and the scope of its authority said ura as a result the courts justices must be mindful of the tenor of public opinion when they act in order to insulate their institution from backlash against their decisions by congress when examining past court cases like brown v board of education there is something important that people should keep in mind which is that in political science there are virtually no permanent or inevitable political choices though it may feel better on the conscience to believe the arc of history bends toward justice and the world must somehow become more fair or equitable in the future this isnt the case political change happens because people change things the jim crow system and segregated schools were taken apart through decades of conscious dedicated skillful political action by people like barbara johns ura declared our students and former students should be mindful that they can be agents of change in the world and that someone must bear the burdens of leadership and selfless service in order to galvanize others into action through her actions leadership and determination for change a high school student like johns proved to be just as instrumental in the fight for civil rights as her high-profile adult contemporaries and now her legacy of change is fittingly forever memorialized at the heart of the nation on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
dr arnold vedlitz professor and bob bullock chair in government and public policy and director and distinguished research scholar in the institute for science technology and public policy in the bush school of government and public service has been appointed to the executive advisory committee of the institute for a disaster resilient texas (idrt) the idrt established by the texas a&m board of regents in may 2020 grew out of a recommendation made by the governors commission to rebuild texas in its report eye of the storm the commission was formed after hurricane harvey wreaked havoc across large swaths of texas in august 2017 as described on its website the institutes mission is to facilitate the integration of analytical tools and state-level decisions related to disaster resiliency through collaborative efforts the institute aims to deliver critical research on disaster risk reduction support state agencies with data analytics and decision-making tools and generate evidence-based solutions that help texas communities become more resilient over the long term dr sam brody director of idrt extended a personal invitation to dr vedlitz to join the executive advisory committee as a member of this committee dr vedlitz will provide strategic guidance to the idrt executive team and identify ways istpp the bush school and other researchers at texas a&m can work with and benefit from idrt projects dr vedlitz and dr brody have a longstanding relationship of collaborating on research projects and publications focused on resilience especially related to climate change mitigation and adaptation dr brody has been an istpp research fellow since 2008 dr vedlitz said i am honored to be a member of the advisory committee and to represent istpp and the bush school in supporting the critical work of building a resilient texas sam is an expert in this field and an impressive scholar and is a good choice to lead this new institute
on march 4 2021 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m hosted an education policy workshop featuring dr matthew chingos discussing the policy implications of student loan debt chingos currently leads a team of scholars at the urban institute who undertake policy-relevant research on issues from prekindergarten through postsecondary education with $16 trillion in federally held student loan debt chingos described the complexities of the expanding student loan crisis and provided policy recommendations to deal it a key point chingos made is that student loans are not all the same they are not a single monolithic problem in need of a single one-size-fits-all solution for example the amount of borrowing by graduate students is more than five times higher than by undergraduates yet graduate default rates are much lower he also noted that while the overall amount of debt has gone up the amount of new loans being made each year has actually gone down signaling that students are repaying their loans more slowly than todays students are taking out new loans when asked about policy recommendations chingos indicated that the student loan system should be simple to navigate and administer have consistent forward- and backward-looking policies keep loans clearly differentiated from grants reduce delinquency and default and mitigate racially disparate impacts to achieve these principles chingos recommended income driven repayment withholding payments with taxes and tying the repayment period to the amount of money borrowed at one point chingos argued that policymakers should adopt forward-looking policies that affect future students and backward-looking policies that affect previous students and these should make sense together for example maybe we want to forgive the debt of students who attended low-value institutions and got ripped off at the same time if we are going to do that we should stop making loans to students to go to those same institutions we shouldnt do just one and not the other we shouldnt forgive debt with one hand and then go back to making the same loans on the same terms with the other hand during the question-and-answer segment facilitated by dr lori taylor chingos answered questions about president bidens student loan policies; the varying student debt implications for public for-profit and nonprofit institutions; covid-19s impact on student loan debt; and other fairness issues when asked which of all his policy recommendations he would implement first chingos said the most important recommendation is letting people pay their loans based on their income and having that happen automatically the mosbacher institute is grateful to dr chingos for taking the time to share his insights on a topic of great importance to the graduate students and faculty of the bush school you can view policy implications of student loan debt on the bush school youtube channel
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) and the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university are hosting the 19th annual program on volunteerism the role nonprofits and philanthropy have in fostering equity for all on march 30 2021 at 4:30 pm (cst) panelists dr ruth simmons president of prairie view a&m university; mr rick jaramillo houston market executive at bank of america; and the honorable margaret spellings president and ceo of texas 2036 will discuss the importance of equity and how organizations can work toward providing opportunities for all dr robbie waters robichau assistant professor at the bush school of government & public service will moderate the panel which will be followed by a brief question and answer period bank of america endowed the program on volunteerism in an effort to educate individuals and corporations on the importance of volunteer activities in todays modern society through civic responsibilities and community service americans strengthen our social fabric our participatory form of government and our free market economy additionally this dedication has enabled our nation to grow as a society and as an international leader it is vital for corporate america to be at the forefront of volunteerism said rick jaramillo houston market executive at bank of america by sharing human and material resources major corporations and small businesses alike are able to tackle some of the most challenging issues in our local communities to drive meaningful and lasting change the nonprofit sector through voluntary action has a long history of providing opportunity for the disenfranchised and the center recognizes the sectors important role as a mediating space where individuals work collectively to provide opportunities for all people in society the sectors continued growth creates more potential for nonprofits and philanthropy to influence civil society and meet the social challenges we currently face the center invites the public nonprofit and philanthropy leaders and scholars to join in this discussion and consider how organizations can provide opportunity and access to services that strengthen our communities this event is open to the public and will be hosted online in accordance with cdc guidelines and restrictions register online to attend the zoom link will be emailed immediately upon registration
jennifer harris mpsa ‘13 turned to the bush school not only to further her education through her masters program but also to earn a graduate certificate in nonprofit management today she works as the director of texas connected nations state program which serves to improve lives through expanding access to broadband (high-speed internet) and related technologies for all people before finding herself in this role she held a wide variety of positions including legislative public policy communications and government affairs work for the texas legislature and policy and communications work for the florida department of education in addition she has worked on several local and statewide political campaigns to jennifer public service has always been something she has felt called to do she finds herself happiest in her professional career when she is able to work on behalf of a mission and cause she believes in with the opportunity to help people daily jennifers time at the bush school provided and reinforced the skills she uses every day in her career through her education she came to the understanding that good data drives good decisions and communities are the ones who define themselves and their needs in her work to provide broadband access to communities she found that access to this technology touches every aspect of our lives now more than ever and is appreciative that my time at the bush school positioned me to serve in this role in a competent way
on february 22 2021 the mosbacher institutes borders and migration program hosted alan bersin a former commissioner of us customs and border protection and a former assistant secretary for the department of homeland security bersins talk entitled biden and the us-mexico border was the inaugural event in a new speaker series called the other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide which features practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america for bersin the main border policy question is how to build a fair equitable and humanitarian system open to migration that recognizes the extraordinary role that migrants have played in the building of this country but does not overwhelm the system at the border and respects the rule of law according to bersin the trump administration showed that punitive and restrictive policies do not work to prevent immigrants from heading to the united states he stated that in central america where the majority of migrants at the southern border now originate push factors such as violence poverty and lack of opportunity continue to send people north smugglers and migrants capitalize on a broken us asylum system in which the credible fear test does not function properly within an immigration court system that has over 1 million backlogged cases and wait times for court dates of two to three years in fact bersin noted the decrease in border arrivals observed after the peak in may 2019 was because the trump administration threatened mexico with trade consequences unless they controlled the movement of migrant flows bersin explained that the initial decision to parole people into the country to wait for their immigration hearings was made by the obama administration in response to the egregious conditions under which immigrants were being kept now president biden seems to be moving toward the same type of policy however the biden administration is facing the same challenge the obama administration did: allowing people to be paroled into the country under a humanitarian concern may create public opinion and political backlash which bersin claims helped trump win the election under a strong anti-immigrant message facing the worst economic crisis in decades a world pandemic and an immigration system that is not prepared to receive the large numbers of migrants likely to come given the dire conditions in sending countries we risk a humanitarian crisis that may adversely affect public perceptions moving forward according to bersin what he stated we need is time to fix the system bersin argued that we need comprehensive immigration reform including fixing the asylum system but also addressing daca and bringing 11 million undocumented people out of the shadows and incorporating them into american life to do that president biden needs to stop sending mixed messages saying that he is fixing policies but asking migrants to wait they will not wait the come but dont come message bersin said will lead us to a situation where the laudable efforts to reverse cruel inhumane and restrictive policies will result in an overwhelmed border in the resulting political contentiousness we will not get the reform we need and we will end up in the continuous impasse that we have had for years the message has to be clear for the next six months dont come to the border unless you have an extraordinary humanitarian parole case or you will be sent back home during those months the biden administration needs to work on procedures for either off-shore asylum processing or in-country asylum processing he will still address the cases of greatest humanitarian need but through application processes in sending countries and not at the borderline bersin concluded with the observation that if the biden administration buys that time it will have the opportunity to achieve what it is aiming for but if biden deals with an overwhelmed border that is then politicized as it surely will be he will not succeed you can view biden and the us-mexico border on the bush school youtube channel the next talk in the series will be on april 13 2021 when ms ginger jacobs a california immigration attorney will bust myths around immigration and asylum
dr kent portney istpp director in memoriam and dr jeryl mumpower bush school professor emeritus and istpp research fellow have coauthored a study recently published in environmental systems and decisions for this study supported by funding from the national science foundation the research team conducted a large representative us public survey to examine peoples reactions to soft-target terrorist attacks such as bomb explosions or mass shootings in public areas this survey gathered data from the same participants in both may and november 2016 during the months between the two surveys a handful of terrorist attacks took place the research team which included colleagues from the university of southern california and decision research compared peoples responses from the november survey to their responses in the may survey to identify changes in their reactions over time and the influence of additional terrorist attacks on their reactions in particular the researchers focused on responses to questions about perceptions of risk severity and likelihood of terrorist attacks and the degree to which people reported experiencing negative emotions when thinking about terrorist attacks their analyses indicated that peoples negative affect changed very little over time while higher amounts of change occurred in perceptions of likelihood and severity of terrorist attacks in other words peoples worry and anxiety about terrorist attacks do not appear to change much in response to changes in their risk perceptions of such attacks baucum matt richard s john william burns kent e portney and jeryl l mumpower 2020 modeling affective and cognitive responses to soft‑target terrorism over time environment systems and decisions (early view available online) doi: 101007/s10669-020-09789-6
college station tx – achieving an education in the poorest countries is difficult and girls may face traditional social norms that further limit their chances for education and the range of occupations to which they can aspire in somalia literacy rates and womens participation in the labor force are among the lowest in the world dr danila serra describes an intervention targeting school children in somalia where male and female college students visited elementary schools with the aim of increasing educational aspirations and reducing gender inequality in female role model impact on the gender attitudes of children: evidence from elementary schools in somalia while surveys after the role model intervention did not show an impact on the childrens education aspirations they did show that visits by female college students significantly shifted gender attitudes toward equality for both boys and girls serra is a bush school of government & public service and department of economics faculty member and a mosbacher research fellow the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
college station tx – the 87th session of the texas legislature is now in session and seven current second-year mpsa bush school students are working in the texas state capitol during the spring semester of 2021 this is part of a capstone project in the department of public service and administration at the bush school and is directed by bush school professor ann bowman started in 2011 this is the 6th session in which the bush school texas legislative capstone has sent students to austin to work in the legislature as part of their curriculum all bush school students study complex public policy issues during their capstone projects these high-energy and highly motivated students develop an understanding of real-world problems and address them with their clients throughout the 87th texas legislative capstone project graduate assistants from the bush school communication office rebekah chenelle and samantha gordon will visit with current and former bush school students about their experiences working in the legislature these interviews will be posted on the bush school website bushtamuedu/legislature and bush school social media channels on facebook twitter and linkedin during the spring the series is titled bush school in the texas legislature latest episode upcoming series schedule march 2nd: dr ann bowman professor and hazel davis and robert kennedy endowed chair in government and public servicemarch 4th: grace kelly legislative director for representative gary vandeaver at texas house of representativesmarch 9th: sydney cerza senior policy analyst for senator charles schwertner at texas senatemarch 11th: zachary cochran chief of staff for representative diego bernal at texas house of representativesmarch 16th: jorge borrego legislative director for representative jm lozano at texas house of representativesmarch 23rd: matthew mccormick policy fellow for senator eddie lucio jr at texas senatemarch 25th: joel chávez 2021 shrc luna fellow and support policy analyst for senator eddie lucio jr at texas senatemarch 30th: faith villareal legislative aide for senator charles schwertner at texas senateapril 6th: court manske policy analyst for senator brandon creighton at texas senateapril 22nd: daniel yguerabide legislative aide for senator bob hall at texas senateapril 29th: kenya robinson legislative aide for representative toni rose at texas house of representativesovertime edition (may 20th): jordan parr policy analyst for the texas senate health and human services committee
by dorian martin 06 originally published on february 22 2021 on the texas a&m foundation website william bill jentsch jr 80 believes in the power of uniting individuals with differing perspectives to achieve common goals deeply saddened by the unrest of todays political climate and concerned about misleading information on social media the tomball texas resident is committed to educating future policymakers and public servants who embrace a collaborative nonpartisan approach in addressing the worlds most pressing issues to reinforce this perspective jentsch created a planned gift in his will to endow a scholarship at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service the culture of texas a&m is based on the improvement of the individual in order to support the improvement of society as a whole he said the bush school takes this approach even further since its mission encompasses the world the school prepares its graduates to serve in a nonpartisan manner that touches the whole as the president of rocking j oil and gaswho dabbled in politics and worked in gubernatorial campaigns in california and texasjentsch had the opportunity to meet president george hw bush and his family ive always admired the bush family and their accomplishments he said the bush school was founded at texas a&m because president bush wanted it to be nonpartisan and focused on service jentschs bush school endowment is one of many scholarshipsincluding a presidents endowed scholarship and a regents scholarshipthat he has committed in a planned gift to the texas a&m foundation after i graduated i was presented with opportunities beyond my wildest dreams at that point i made a promise to myself to try in some small way to support future aggies so they can have similar opportunities he said jentsch also strives to lead by example through modeling selfless service in his daily life for many yearsin addition to his own current scholarships in engineering business leadership and sciencehe has helped the class of 1980 raise funds for numerous scholarships he recently helped spearhead the relocation of the e king gill statue to an area near rudder fountain and elevate its symbolism from selfless service in the athletic arena to selfless service for all aggies this led to the class of 1980 funding the first texas a&m core values award: the class of 80 e king gill selfless service awardthe 12th man is more than an athletic identity; its the core dna of what texas a&m is he said those traits embodied in current and former students are what sets this university above all others i hope my scholarships help future recipients serve our university state and nation with character and respect for our core values as well
chris court director of it for the bush school of government & public service and dr joshua kissee director of research academic & health it services have been named assistant chief information officers (acios) for texas a&m university court joined the bush school in 2019 tackling a major renovation to the allen building on campus and the opening of the bush school teaching site in washington dc he has over 15 years of experience in it administration and is a member of the strategic liaisons to the cio at texas a&m court is currently mayor of kurten texas dr kissee who has 19 years of it experience oversees the integration of critical texas a&m health research education and clinical systems he recently helped develop the secure technologies for aggie researchers (star) cloud environment and the covid-19 dashboard for the campus community court and kissee join chrissie cordray kris guye and darvis griffin in the division of its acio program under dee childs vice president for information technology and chief information officer at texas a&m university i am pleased to add chris and josh to the acio program childs said both provide exceptional leadership to their respective colleges and will collaborate with me to discover develop and implement innovative technology solutions for their colleges and the university as a whole note: this story originally appeared on the texas a&m division of information technology website
on tuesday february 22 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university hosted sir paul collier for a virtual discussion collier is a professor of economics and public policy at the blavatnik school of government at the university of oxford he also serves as a director of the international growth centre and the esrc research network social macroeconomics his research covers the transformation from poverty to prosperity state fragility the implications of group psychology for development migration and refugees urbanization in poor countries and the crisis in modern capitalism colliers most recent book greed is dead with john kay was published in july 2020 sir paul collier received a knighthood in 2014 for services promoting research and policy change in africa and has been listed as one of the hundred most influential public thinkers speaking on major themes from one of his books the future of capitalism: facing the new anxieties collier identified the two major societal divides that are shaping the global conversation around the future of capitalism countries are now divided between booming metropoles and the hinterlands as well as the highly educated and those with manual labor skills drawing from both personal experience and his extensive career in economics collier connects how these societal divergences have made two camps of extremes: those who champion unregulated capitalism and those who want to throw out capitalism altogether collier argues that we must work our way back towards the center harnessing the wonderful system of capitalism with good public policy to keep it from derailing with great historical illustration collier detailed how capitalism has derailed three times and has been corrected twice when the industrial revolution sprung out of england in the 1840s the industrial cities were not prepared for the stress that migration for increased labor would put on public health infrastructure when life expectancy dramatically dropped in factory towns at a time when productivity was increasing individuals both with and without much power identified their individual obligations to the public and created systems that benefited society as a whole the second derailment of capitalism came during the great depression and was corrected with the programs and growth of the wwii era the third derailment started in the 1980s with the rise of economic individualism and the demand for individual rights without individual obligations which collier said must be addressed by scholars policy-makers and citizens today today collier asserted individual rights are demanded while obligations to fulfill those demands are placed entirely on the state creating an impossible task for governments capitalism is at its best when each person is morally load-bearing realizing that they have to take responsibility for their own lives and those around them at the moment however some subsects of society are so far behind that they cannot effectively contribute the challenge to correct capitalism this time will be to rebuild the middle section of society between the individual and the government: civil society it is not enough for a society of individuals to work for money for capitalism to succeed collier stressed they must also work together to achieve worthwhile goals the covid-19 pandemic has been a litmus test of sorts for how well countries can do this as some countries have pulled together to save their health and economy while others have polarized and suffered during the q&a collier concluded by encouraging the audience to forge a common purpose through dialogue to rebuild the intellectual center his advice to everyone but especially students and young people is to work at what you want to do and not necessarily what you want to be to enact the most change watch the future of capitalism with sir paul collier on the bush school youtube channel
on tuesday february 22 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university hosted sir paul collier for a virtual discussion collier is a professor of economics and public policy at the blavatnik school of government at the university of oxford he also serves as a director of the international growth centre and the esrc research network social macroeconomics his research covers the transformation from poverty to prosperity state fragility the implications of group psychology for development migration and refugees urbanization in poor countries and the crisis in modern capitalism colliers most recent book greed is dead with john kay was published in july 2020 sir paul collier received a knighthood in 2014 for services promoting research and policy change in africa and has been listed as one of the hundred most influential public thinkers speaking on major themes from one of his books the future of capitalism: facing the new anxieties collier identified the two major societal divides that are shaping the global conversation around the future of capitalism countries are now divided between booming metropoles and the hinterlands as well as the highly educated and those with manual labor skills drawing from both personal experience and his extensive career in economics collier connects how these societal divergences have made two camps of extremes: those who champion unregulated capitalism and those who want to throw out capitalism altogether collier argues that we must work our way back towards the center harnessing the wonderful system of capitalism with good public policy to keep it from derailing with great historical illustration collier detailed how capitalism has derailed three times and has been corrected twice when the industrial revolution sprung out of england in the 1840s the industrial cities were not prepared for the stress that migration for increased labor would put on public health infrastructure when life expectancy dramatically dropped in factory towns at a time when productivity was increasing individuals both with and without much power identified their individual obligations to the public and created systems that benefited society as a whole the second derailment of capitalism came during the great depression and was corrected with the programs and growth of the wwii era the third derailment started in the 1980s with the rise of economic individualism and the demand for individual rights without individual obligations which collier said must be addressed by scholars policy-makers and citizens today today collier asserted individual rights are demanded while obligations to fulfill those demands are placed entirely on the state creating an impossible task for governments capitalism is at its best when each person is morally load-bearing realizing that they have to take responsibility for their own lives and those around them at the moment however some subsects of society are so far behind that they cannot effectively contribute the challenge to correct capitalism this time will be to rebuild the middle section of society between the individual and the government: civil society it is not enough for a society of individuals to work for money for capitalism to succeed collier stressed they must also work together to achieve worthwhile goals the covid-19 pandemic has been a litmus test of sorts for how well countries can do this as some countries have pulled together to save their health and economy while others have polarized and suffered during the q&a collier concluded by encouraging the audience to forge a common purpose through dialogue to rebuild the intellectual center his advice to everyone but especially students and young people is to work at what you want to do and not necessarily what you want to be to enact the most change watch the future of capitalism with sir paul collier on the bush school youtube channel
dr ki eun kang istpp postdoctoral research associate recently published her research article local-level economic development conflicts: factors that influence interactions with private land developers in urban affairs review using survey data from across the us dr kang investigates the kinds of threats developers make in an attempt to push local governments to compete against each other for projects and which factors make it more likely that those threats will succeed or fail this empirical research examines a specific subset of community economic developmentland development projects developers threaten communities almost half the time most commonly by threatening to relocate their project to a different community some developers even threaten to cancel the project rather than lose a development project local governments often give in to developers demands for tax breaks and thereby lose an important source of revenue for their municipality dr kangs study reveals that municipalities with inter-municipal cooperation and public participation in real estate development projects are more likely to decrease the chance that private developers threats will succeed kang ki eun 2021 local-level economic development conflicts: factors that influence interactions with private land developers urban affairs review doi: 101177/1078087421991240
on february 9 2021 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m university hosted the 2021 conocophillips white house lecture online featuring the mosbacher commerce department team wayne berman former senior counselor and assistant secretary moderated the evening and was joined by thomas j collamore former chief of staff and assistant secretary; ambassador susan schwab former director general of the us and foreign commercial service; bruce soll former counselor to the secretary; and wendell willkie ii former general counsel the evening was filled with laughter policy discussion and inspirational stories about working with secretary robert mosbacher the panelists described the glowing qualities of the former secretary including his ability to listen his transparency his talent for team building and most of all his integrity berman noted that secretary mosbachers years at the department were defined by his amazingly positive can-do attitude; his talent for team building; and his continual searching for bipartisan agreement bobs greatest attribute was that he was an amazingly good listener; he knew how to create consensus and he was a gentleman the conversation transitioned between stories about secretary mosbachers character and public policy ambassador susan schwab compared the current economic and political trade climate of china with the focus on japan during her time on the commerce department team noting the similarities and differences between both markets wendell and soll discussed secretary mosbachers respect for both science and policy in decision making using as an example his conduct of the census with its challenge of counting every person regardless of citizenship as willkie described secretary mosbacher led a very transparent process that looked at both the science for statistically adjusting for undercounted populations and its policy implications and in the end because the scientists didnt agree made the tough decision not to adjust that difficult census decision was later affirmed by a 9-0 decision by the supreme court the evening concluded with questions submitted from the audience about the lessons the panelists learned while serving at the commerce department the mosbacher institute was honored to host a reunion of the incredible mosbacher commerce department team and hear the inspirational remarks about secretary mosbacher and his career you can view together again: the mosbacher commerce department team on the bush school youtube channel
washington dc – texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service announces a virtual discussion titled the future of us relations with europe under biden on tuesday february 23 2021 at 12:00 pm central/1:00 pm eastern time rsvp for the event online piotr wilczek the ambassador of poland to the us will discuss the future of the relations between poland and the united states under the biden administration in a virtual discussion cohosted by the bush school of government & public service dc and the scowcroft institute of international affairs research assistant professor dr yuval weber will join the ambassador for a fireside chat about how the relationship between the united states and poland has transformed over the past four years and what will grow during the next four this engaging discussion will also touch on the global challenges both countries face during a pandemic as well as transnational relationships with countries like russia and china jay silveria executive director of the bush school in washington dc and andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute will provide special remarks for the event the bush school dc is very excited about hosting this event in partnership with the scowcroft institute said jay silveria executive director of the bush school in washington dc this is the first of many timely and informative discussions that will help our students and the public understand some of the policy security and diplomacy challenges that our country faces today and as we move into the future piotr wilczek ambassador of poland piotr wilczek has been extensively involved in promoting and strengthening transatlantic relations especially in the areas of defense energy and trade in 2020 he was awarded the amicus oeconomiae prize by the minister of foreign affairs of poland for his achievements in and commitment to supporting and protecting the economic interests of polish enterprises in foreign markets dr yuval weber research assistant professor bush school dc in addition to his role at the bush school yuval weber phd also serves as the bren chair of russian military and political strategy at the brute krulak center for innovation and creativity at marine corps university in quantico va prior to texas a&m dr weber served as the kennan institute associate professor of russian and eurasian studies at the daniel morgan graduate school rsvp for the event online
as a grade school student jeffery a szymanski ‘90 dreamed of joining the aggie network today hes not only part of the aggie network; hes a leader within it by rachel knight ‘18 some people have a role model who instills a strong work ethic within them jeffery a szymanski ‘90 has an entire family of hardworking role models he credits his familys work ethic a college of liberal arts education and the aggie network with setting him up for a successful career jefferey a szymanski 90 and his wife sarah empower students and help grow the aggie network one scholarship recipient at a time after graduating from texas a&m university with an undergraduate degree in political science szymanski joined the mortgage banking business six years later he changed careers and got into the insurance industry by 1999 hed officially found his professional stride as an agent for farmers insurance group in austin the austin district manager at farmers insurance group took notice of szymanskis success and asked if hed like to become a manager szymanski jumped at the opportunity and shortly found himself serving as district manager in dallas continued success took him to los angeles to work in an executive program with farmers insurance group once his service in la was over he and his family moved back to texas where he resumed his district manager duties in tyler for five and a half years now hes back home in houston serving as the head of district operations/registered principal there raising his family and spreading the aggie spirit every chance he gets this interview which has been condensed and edited for clarity may inspire you tell me about your childhoodi grew up in wallis a small town southwest of houston i had a wonderful childhood and time growing up i went to brazos high school and was very active in sports became an eagle scout and served in school politics as class president and things of that nature i grew up in a family with people who have strong work ethics my mom who is deceased owned her own business and later went back to college to become a schoolteacher my dad worked for the local power company houston lighting and power i always saw him get up early in the morning and then come home late but he always had time for us in the evenings i worked for my grandfather a local businessman whose store sold gas and food i worked there on weekends and during summers doing a little bit of everything the work ethic my family instilled in me early propelled me to be successful professionally that and of course attending texas a&m why did you decide to attend texas a&m universityi always knew i wanted to go to texas a&m i started going to aggie football games when i was really little my senior year in high school i went to the 1986 cotton bowl when we beat auburn and that pretty much solidified it for me i knew where i wanted to go why did you choose political science as your majorive always been interested in politics but i more specifically chose the college of liberal arts to get a broad background education getting a degree from the college of liberal arts allowed me to study not only political science but other things i was interested in like sociology philosophy spanish and economics really it was the broad overall background that interested me when you are exposed to more than one way of thinking or learning or when youre exposed to many subjects during the course of your time in college it allows you to open up your mind and think differently you bring those tools with you to your career a broad educational background has allowed me to relate to different situations throughout my career its helped me succeed what are your favorite aggie traditionsmidnight yell is one when you can amass 40 000 students to a yell practice the night before a game that says theres a lot of spirit you see how impressive midnight yell can be by the coverage it gets from espn and other sports networks midnight yell is also one of the first things i remember going to when i was younger the dedication and the passion that the students have in their support for the team really left an impression on me i love that it carries over into the support that the 12th man lends to the team on saturday the 12th man is also one of my favorite traditions i feel the tradition of standing for games is a true symbol of our readiness to help others when called upon and embodies what texas a&m is all about in fact my wifes late grandfather bill shuart was an attorney in corpus christi and was dear friends with e king gill! they golfed regularly at the country club and even attended an aggie football game with my wifes aunt tell me a little more about your wife and kidsi have been married for 23 years my wife sarah is as much of an aggie as i am although she went to the college of charleston she is a huge supporter of texas a&m not only as a spouse but also as an aggie parent she is a wonderful wife mother and converted aggie she came to love texas a&m through me by going to football games and visiting campus it opened her eyes to what texas a&m was all about her dad graduated from ut law her mom went to the university of texas her grandfather went to texas i thought it was going to be a hard sell but she fell in love with texas a&m shes a proud aggie mom i am very proud to say that our daughter elizabeth is a junior at texas a&m in the college of liberal arts so i have passed that tradition to her shes an english major in addition to our daughter we also have a senior in high school will so our fingers are crossed that hell go to texas a&m hes a die-hard aggie too how has your job or company been impacted by covid-19it has opened my mind and my eyes to a new way of doing business through mediums like zoom i have found that i can become more efficient by training agents and supporting my agents through zoom calls instead of having them drive to me sit in a class then go back to their own offices in traffic we can cut out the travel time and get the same content covered on zoom there is no substitute for one-on-one interaction and i miss that greatly but hopefully soon well be back in agents offices helping them grow their businesses for now if i had to summarize what covid has done to my business it has allowed me to think differently and perhaps become more efficient at the services i provide to the agents i support how have you used and experienced the power of the aggie networki have been out of school 31 years now and i am asked all the time about my ring whether im in texas or traveling abroad the aggie network is incredibly powerful i know that graduating from texas a&m has certainly given me an advantage you couple the education with a strong work ethic and that has allowed me to achieve some levels of success graduating from texas a&m has been a major blessing in my life theyve also given me the opportunity to connect unexpectedly with a couple of former university presidents when bob gates was our president my family and i were moving to dallas our kids were young and we spent the night before we closed on our house in dallas in a hotel i had on a texas a&m shirt and was trying to put our kids in the car appease them and finish loading the car all at the same time this gentleman taps me on the shoulder i turn around and see bob gates he said i just wanted to say good morning to this fine aggie i thought that it was very nice that the president of texas a&m would go out of his way to stop by and say hello after seeing me struggling to get my car loaded and my kids settled he made my day i also got to meet dr loftin we were traveling abroad my family and i were in the airport in greece i saw him in the airport waiting for a plane it was kind of in the same area as where my family was waiting so i walked over and introduced myself he and i talked about texas a&m and the sec move for about 15 minutes i thought he was very generous to spend that time with me here i am halfway around the world and in the same airport as a familiar face thats the power of the aggie network what books would you recommendall the best by george h w bush its a heartfelt book that included his life in letters i actually had the opportunity to meet him at a function years ago so he was able to autograph that book for me id also highly recommend isaacs storm by erik larson ive always been very interested in weather so i had a hard time putting down this book its an account of the great hurricane of 1900 that altered galveston forever prior to the storm galveston was quickly becoming the jewel of the gulf coast meteorologists at the time thought the storm would head to louisiana but galveston resident isaac cline felt differently after the storm destroyed galveston houston then became the important port that galveston once was the storm served as the catalyst for todays seawall in galveston what do you want your legacy to be at texas a&m universitythat i was a passionate die-hard aggie who gave back to the school that gave me so much on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
professor joseph ura talks to the conversation americans trust in the federal government has declined steadily in the last half-century polls show the 2020 presidential election did little to restore that confidence although democracy has prevailed as president joe biden said during his inauguration a recent marist college poll showed that one-third of the country believes the presidential election was not legitimate including 75% of republicans and 33% of independents moreover the us capitol insurrection by pro-trump rioters highlights a disaffection with the federal government that threatens the nations constitutional government its tempting to blame donald trump and his allies for this crisis when it served their interests they repeatedly manipulated or ignored the institutions and standard practices of american politics that includes filling senior executive roles with interim appointees such as chad wolf in the department of homeland security to evade the senates advice and consent on who should fill high-level roles; issuing executive orders like the travel ban from majority muslim countries without following lawful procedures; and refusing to keep official records of conversations with foreign leaders but trumps political appeal was fertilized by a preexisting distrust in the nations governmental institutions and the political establishment that operates them as political scientists who study the courts and congress we think reversing americans alienation from the political system requires a deeper understanding of some first principles what leads people to be loyal to political institutions even when they dont get what they want from them institutional legitimacy established rules and institutions project legitimacy americans generally accept outcomes of just institutions even if these results dont always match their preferences people for example might think taxes are too high or speed limits are too low but if the procedures used to set these laws are fair studies show that people tend to accept those policies when institutions are unfair the system breaks down citizens who are unfairly denied the right to vote for example or who are abused by police might take to the streets in protest people led to believe an election was decided by fraud might reject its conclusions and attack officials for certifying its results a fair amount of the declining trust in government rests with political elites who avoid rules or change them when they are inconvenient for their side the partisan battle over the appointment of federal judges during the last three presidential administrations is a case in point when senate democrats obstructed some of george w bushs judicial nominees republicans threatened to end the filibuster – the congressional procedure that attempts to block or delay senate action on a bill or a nomination by debating it at length senate democrats followed through on that threat – they got rid of the filibuster for all presidential nominees other than to the supreme court – when republicans blocked barack obamas judicial nominees republicans escalated the conflict over judicial appointments even more when they refused to hold a confirmation vote for merrick garland obamas pick to fill the election year supreme court vacancy created by antonin scalias death and they later confirmed president trumps nominee to fill the supreme court seat left open by justice ruth bader ginsburgs death within days of the 2020 election another norm-breaking move americans can reasonably mistrust institutions and rules that are frequently altered for political convenience its only a small step further to believe the entire constitutional system is without value healing the nation repairing this damage involves rebuilding the impartial cooperation that holds political institutions together in a healthy political system rules are consistent and consistently applied and political leaders defend the nations political institutions in both victory and defeat politicians committed to repairing american democracy are attuned to attacks on political institutions from within their own parties this promotes trust and confidence in government in congress heres what this would look like: calls to end the filibuster would be resisted colleagues who use the filibuster to stall executive and judicial appointments are rebuked significant challenges remain even after the capitol attack a majority of house republicans and more than a handful of senate republicans continued to back trumps false claims of a fraudulent election those stark numbers suggest there is a constituency for leaders who evade or undermine the nations governing rules and institutions for their own political purposes the situation is not hopeless though many republican leaders – including former vice president mike pence a minority of house republicans and a majority of senate republicans – joined house speaker nancy pelosi and her democratic colleagues to defeat baseless objections to accepting electoral college votes by breaking with trump and his congressional supporters these republicans took a first step toward rebuilding the legitimacy of americas core political institutions democrats could likewise take a step toward them by rebuilding the rules and institutions that trump disparaged instead of damaging them to suit their political desires these moves can start a shared process of recommitment to the institutions that once made the american political system the envy of the world on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
dr hyunseok hwang istpp assistant research scientist and dr young-joo lee at the university of central florida have published their research article loaded dice: pandemics and economic inequalities in international journal of policy studies in this article dr hwang and his coauthor empirically examine how the impacts of pandemics are intertwined with economic inequality using the case of the 2009 h1n1 pandemic they find that the number of hospitalizations per 1 000 people is positively associated with the degree of income inequality as measured by the gini coefficient at the us county level their findings suggest that epidemics and pandemics pose a greater threat to communities with a greater degree of income inequality dr hwang and dr lee point out some policy implications of their research they emphasize that managing the response to the covid-19 pandemic should be accompanied by a corresponding effort to reduce existing economic inequality and poverty lee young-joo and hwang hyunseok 2020 loaded dice: pandemics and economic inequalities international journal of policy studies 11(2): 201-218
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy celebrated the service of bush board fellows at a pinning ceremony on january 22 2021 virtually dr lori taylor head of the department of public service and administration welcomed the audience of students executive directors and board members from local nonprofit organizations as well as a few family members of students who were being recognized dr kenny taylor director of outreach and professional development served as master of ceremony for the evening dr taylor talked about the role of bush board fellows the program places graduate students as non-voting board members at local nonprofit organizations benefits include allowing the students to connect classroom learning to real-world engagement on topics such as fundraising fiscal and legal governance and strategic planning students overwhelmingly indicate they plan to serve on a board in the future so the board fellows program serves as a powerful tool for developing future public servants dr william brown director of the center for nonprofits & philanthropy provided a short historical background of the program approximately ten years ago students from the bush school started serving on local nonprofit boards as part of shadow boards now called bush board fellows the program has grown significantly for the 2021 calendar year sending twenty-nine masters students to serve fourteen organizations in the brazos valley with thirty-one returning students to serve a second year bush board fellows serving year one were presented a lapel pin by the leadership of each of the local nonprofit organizations acknowledging their commitment to public service students serving a second year wore their pins proudly to the ceremony and were presented a small gift of appreciation after the pinning ceremony the students and community leaders met in individual breakout rooms we were all reminded of the words of our former leader: public service is a noble calling and we need men and women of character to believe that they can make a difference in their communities in their states and in their country – president george h w bush september 1997
the institute for science technology and public policy is pleased to announce the addition of dr hyunseok (h s) hwang to our staff as an assistant research scientist dr hwang will expand the institutes research in the areas of organizational theory environmental sociology community resilience philanthropic studies and social entrepreneurship his research focuses on the nexus of organization theory and environmental sociology with an overarching theme of identifying how community-based organizations respond to institutional heterogeneity grand societal challenges (ie massive social environmental issues) and challenges to organizational sustainability dr hwang received his phd in sociology from texas a&m university his masters in public administration from the bush school at texas a&m and his bachelors degree in public administration from kyonggi university in south korea
faculty members like dr terry fernsler strive to enhance the foundational skills of bush school students as they work towards careers in public service since spring 2019 dr fernsler has taught management and leadership of nonprofit organizations (psaa 644) and tools for leadership in public service (psaa 602) both courses are integral building blocks within the nonprofit concentration of our master of public service and administration (mpsa) program dr fernsler says that teaching allows him to connect with the next generation that works to make our world a better place he has 38 years of experience within the nonprofit sector working at every level of an organization ranging from being a volunteer to an executive director his goal is to bring in this outside experience to the classroom and uses his knowledge across the decades to remind students that leadership is complex and always changing as hes held a variety of roles within the nonprofit sector and has had to adapt to numerous challenges surrounding his work within the classroom setting students originate from varied backgrounds and experiences therefore possessing nuanced perspectives this leads dr fernsler to help foster an environment where students learn from one anothers experiences through education rooted in discussion-based learning the evolving landscape of leadership practices require these dynamic skills that students learn through classes and discussions within classrooms like dr fernslers and provide the basis for lifelong learning that he believes is vital to educating the next generation of non-profit leaders recently dr fernsler was quoted in a recent article in wallet hub concerning the best charities to make a gift to in 2021 he spoke about his thoughts on some of the biggest challenges nonprofit organizations face today given the current economic environment as well as the organizations that he admires dr fernsler received his phd in strategic leadership studies nonprofit and community leadership from james madison university in 2017 in addition to teaching here at the bush school he also is an advisor and instructor in the nonprofit studies minor program at james madison university our faculty like dr fernsler are dedicated to furthering the education of bush school students as they gain the necessary skills in the classroom to succeed in the nonprofit world upon graduation from texas a&m university
inaugural classes and building renovations underway; faculty awarded two prestigious grants washington dc – texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service is pleased to announce its inaugural classes as part of the master of international policy (mip) program are underway after starting virtually on january 19 2021 due to the current coronavirus pandemic; recent violent protests in the downtown washington dc area and the us capitol; and inclement weather in-person classes began in the bush schools building at 16th and l streets nw the inaugural class represents a diverse group of professionals with international experience in over twelve countries including africa afghanistan china iraq jordan mexico south korea and venezuela they currently work in congressional offices federal agencies (dod dia dhs) research institutes nonprofit organizations and consulting firms the class includes veterans and active duty officers with the us army us air force us navy and national guard three are aggies (tx a&m undergrad) and three completed course work at the bush school in college station they hail from california to new york to texas their research interests include china russia intelligence national security space security and foreign policybush school dc faculty were recently awarded two prestigious grants research assistant professor dr yuval weber along with dr michael jojeim of prairie view a&m was awarded texas a&m universitys presidents excellence fund presidential transformational teaching grant plans for the two-year grant include co-teaching a class on race and international relations undergraduate students from prairie view a&m will then come to washington dc for meetings with diplomacy and policy professionals dr yuval weber and dr edward lemon along with principal investigator dr marlene laurelle of george washington university were recently awarded a three-year minerva research initiative grant by the department of defense to investigate hierarchy and resilience in great power politics their project will focus on how great powers build hierarchal orders in the world and how smaller powers carve out space in those orders i simply could not be more proud of the students and the team here in washington said executive director jay silveria their enthusiasm and drive have enabled us to get off to a great start despite a pandemic violent protests and a presidential electionall of which had an impact on our dc location i know this is only the beginning of some really great accomplishments and things to come and were moving the needle forward every day lt general (ret) silveria was recently interviewed by bush grandson sam leblond on the george and barbara bush podcast all the best bush school dc faculty also were interviewed by the bbc radio free europe and wusa-tv (cbs affiliate in washington dc) renovations on the existing downtown washington dc building began in early january and were only briefly interrupted by recent closures in the nations capital demolition and construction has since resumed and is on schedule for completion this spring once completed the 47 000 square foot building will include new classrooms conference rooms and student and faculty lounges as well as a state-of-the-art theater catering kitchen and ample event space for additional information on the bush school of government and public service in washington dc please contact communications director robyn small at 202-465-0333 or rsmall@tamuedu
the albritton center for grand strategy congratulates cgs faculty affiliate dr yuval weber for winning two prestigious funding awards weber with edward lemon and marlene laruelle was awarded the department of defenses minerva research initiative grant to investigate hierarchy and resilience in global power politics focusing on central asian countries such as kazakhstan tajikistan and uzbekistan weber with michael nojeim of prairie view a&m university also won a presidential transformational teaching grant from the presidential excellence fund on the subject of race and international relations the grant funds a course co-taught by pvamu and the bush school-dc providing both a workshop at pvamu and an opportunity for pvamu students to visit the dc campus of the bush school and engage with policy and diplomacy professionals
the mosbacher institutes border & migration program is pleased to announce a new speaker series organized by bush school of government and public policy assistant professor aileen teaguethe other side of the border: ties that bind and issues that divide the series will host two events this spring with practitioners working on the border and in mexico and latin america on february 16 at 6:00 pm central time mr alan bersin will join us for a talk titled us-mexico border under president biden mr bersin is the inaugural fellow of the homeland security project at harvard universitys belfer center for science and international affairs he served as assistant secretary for policy & international affairs and chief diplomatic officer in the us department of homeland security (dhs) as vice president of interpol for the americas region and as commissioner of us customs and border protection the next event will be on april 13 at 6:00 pm when ms ginger jacobs an immigration attorney from san diego and national speaker on the topic will join us for her talk myth-busting around immigration and asylum
dr jeryl mumpower bush school professor emeritus and istpp research fellow as part of the istpp terrorism team recently presented a study on the publics reaction to lone wolf terrorism activity this study is based on work supported by the national science foundation the bulk of the research teams analysis evaluates responses to a national public opinion survey they designed and conducted in which respondents are questioned on their anticipation of future terrorism activity following a single lone wolf terrorist event the research team evaluates responses to two main questions from the survey the first question asks individuals regarding a single terrorist event whether they individual believe that the likelihood of a similar future attack in the us is higher or lower than they thought it was before the incident occurred second given that some threats are more likely than other types of threats to occur individuals were asked how to rate the likelihood that a second attack will actually occur over the next 6 months twenty-five percent of respondents exhibited hindsight bias through anticipated greater likelihood of future terrorist activity whereas 60% of respondents anticipated little to no future attacks thus exhibiting recollection bias the research team explains these results in two ways first the chicken little bias refers to an individuals lack of conformity to the general publics increased fear of terrorism activity second the pollyana bias refers to an increased fear of terrorist activity when the general public is not concerned with eminent terrorist activity mumpower jeryl 2020 risk perceptions of the lone wolf terrorism events: accuracy the hindsight bias the recollection bias and the bias illusion paper presented at the annual meeting of the institute for operations research and the management sciences (informs) held virtually november 8-11 paper co-authored with xinsheng liu kent portney and arnold vedlitz
the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy signed a commitment to collaborate agreement on research education and programming with the international labour organization office for the united states the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university signed a commitment to collaborate (c2c) agreement with the united nations international labour organization office for the united states (ilo-usa) the joint effort will increase and standardize academic engagement between the two organizations through the c2c the mosbacher institute and the ilo-usa will create a series of core activities across several disciplines highlights of the agreement include provision of an annual summer ilo-usa internship for a bush school student organization of thematic and regional e-lectures given by ilo experts and increased research engagement on labor issues of mutual interest dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute stated through my research i have become increasingly impressed with the ground-breaking work that the ilo conducts to improve labor conditions in international supply chains we are honored to be able to partner with ilo-usa on labor policy projects the primary goal of the ilo is to leverage cooperation of business labor and governments to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom equity security and human dignity in 1920 the ilo established an office in washington one of the first four cities to have an ilo office along with paris london and rome the mission of the ilo-usa is to be a strong visible and proactive presence in the united states in order to effectively engage and build partnerships with members of government employers organizations workers groups and other international organizations for these purposes the mission of the mosbacher institute is to address the most pressing economic challenges confronting the united states and world economies by conducting non–partisan policy-relevant research; providing education; and engaging academia policymakers and business leaders in the areas of trade economics and public policy the institute it is committed to serving bush school students by incorporating them into its research activities and by providing high–impact learning experiences and professional development opportunities
a texas a&m political scientist says the transfer of power from president donald trump to the biden administration has been marked by a series of broken norms by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communications theres a traditional routine to the time between election day in november and inauguration day the following january privately the new president-elect and staffers prepare for their new roles in the white house while the outgoing administration wraps up work publicly the transition culminates with a day of genteel proceedings and celebration the transfer of power from president donald trump to president-elect joe biden however has been anything but traditional texas a&m university distinguished professor george c edwards iii is an expert on american politics edwards also serves on the board of the white house transition project which provides non-partisan expertise on democratic transitions symbolically a peaceful transition of power is extremely important edwards said without it you dont have a democracy this display of stability is especially important he said after trump supporters earlier this month stormed the capitol while congress certified bidens election the customs of transitions president barack obama gives his inaugural address as the 44th president of the united states on jan 20 2009courtesy of alex wong/getty images bidens transition had a late start normally one candidate concedes and the general services administration identifies a president-elect edwards said the biden team was put at a disadvantage when the gsa chief cited uncertain election results in her decision to delay signing off on funding and other federal resources to assist with the transition trump also held up the process by not authorizing personnel in various agencies and departments to meet with the new administration which is critical in an area like foreign policy trump still has stopped short of conceding his loss to biden but he eventually authorized the federal government to initiate the transition this allowed the biden administration to begin selecting key personnel and receive national security briefings and access to federal agencies i dont know president trumps motivation but i presume he didnt want to provide a symbol that he was giving up his effort to have the election go his way edwards said in pursuit of his own goal of re-election he put the nation at risk by not cooperating with people on the biden team theres nothing good for the nation in this inauguration day trump will be notably absent from the traditional inauguration day events on jan 20 inauguration day has more or less looked the same throughout modern history: the outgoing president and first lady welcome the president-elect and their spouse that morning at the white house edwards said they usually ride together to the capitol where the new president takes the oath of office and is sworn in by the chief justice trump will skip the ceremony the first president to do so since andrew johnson in 1869 in an earlier snub to tradition trump did not host the bidens at the white house shortly after the election trump will reportedly hold his own departure ceremony at joint base andrews i think that trump does not like other people to get attention edwards said it would not surprise me if he tries to draw attention away from the president on inauguration day it has also been a modern custom for the outgoing president to leave a handwritten letter in the oval office for his successor something edwards said probably wont happen bidens path forward president george w bush meets with president-elect barack obama in the oval office of the white house on nov 10 2008courtesy of eric draper/the white house via getty images in trumps final days in office edwards said to expect to see a large number of last-minute pardons it looks like hes going to follow his normal process of not going through the usual vetting procedure and pretty much abuse that pardon power he said i think we should expect probably [today] to get some announcement about that i think its also possible it could be on the 20th once biden is officially installed hell likely move rapidly on early legislative initiatives and executive orders that will be sending signals from the biden administration to the nation of ‘were going to do something about the pandemic were going to do something about the economy about racial strife were going to have a peaceful transition of power here and put this assault on the capitol behind us edwards said biden will probably also make moves of symbolic importance like rejoining the paris climate accord and issuing a face-covering mandate for federal property but biden will also receive immediate pushback from the opposition party edwards said theres not much the president-elect will be able to do about this beyond explaining his policies meeting with republicans and tempering the rhetoric of the last four years he said
the 2021 conocophillips white house lecture series will feature senior officials from the robert mosbacher commerce department (1989-1992) applying past lessons to todays challenges college station – former senior officials from secretary robert mosbachers commerce department will speak to the bush school of government and public service about the lessons they learned and how those lessons apply to todays challenges the event is an installment of the conocophillips white house lecture series which provides insights into the workings of the executive branch governmental processes and the particular functions and challenges of each office the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will host this event virtually via zoom on tuesday february 9 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm central time the late robert a mosbacher sr served as secretary of the us commerce department from 1989 to 1992 his central accomplishments while at the helm included helping to lay the foundation for the north american free trade agreement significantly closing americas trade deficit with key trading partners such as japan and south korea and prevailing in a unanimous supreme court decision following the 1990 census it is interesting how certain public policy issues circle back around and we are definitely seeing that with several key issues handled by secretary mosbachers commerce department it is important to recognize how experience improves our understanding of todays issues and so that is why we are hosting this event stated raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute wayne berman senior managing director and head of global government affairs at blackstone and former senior counselor and assistant secretary in the mosbacher commerce department will serve as moderator for the program the other panelists are thomas j collamore founder of collamore consulting group and former chief of staff and assistant secretary; ambassador susan schwab professor emerita at the university of maryland strategic advisor for mayer brown and former director general of the us and foreign commercial service; bruce soll counselor at soll advisors and former counselor to the secretary; and wendell l willkie ii adjunct fellow at american enterprise institute adjunct professor of law at new york university and former general counsel those wishing to attend together again: the mosbacher commerce department team must register online or call (979) 845-1927 in order to receive the zoom link
purchase online bryan-college station texas in a single term as president george hw bush led the western world through one its most consequential periods the fall of the soviet union and the reunification of germany that marked the peaceful end of the cold war as the 41st president from 1989 to 1993 bushs deft decision-making cemented the world order for a generation his foreign policy leadership is examined like never before in a newly published book transforming our world was edited by andrew s natsios and andrew h card jr two bush 41 administration officials associated with the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university it features first-hand accounts from 18 former bush 41 administration officials including his secretary of state james a baker iii and condoleeza rice who served on the bush 41 national security council before being secretary of state for president george w bush (2005-2009) the essays combine to provide unique behind-the-scenes perspective on bush 41s role in world events his style of diplomacy leadership and management skills and the generational consequences of his decisions there is no better nor more comprehensive examination of president george h w bushs extraordinary foreign policy record than ‘transforming our world said robert m gates former secretary of defense (2006-2001) and cia director (1991-1993) he also served as texas a&m president (2002-2006) and as dean of the bush school (2001-2002) it brings to life for the reader the remarkable team bush assembled how he made historic decisions and indeed how he transformed our world the current dean of the bush school retired air force general mark welsh said that transforming our world has vital lessons for present and future public officials as we try to make sense of todays strategic landscape said welsh a former air force chief of staff (2012-2016) the steady leadership and thoughtful decisions reflected in this book serve as wonderful examples of how leaders can best serve our nation and our world natsios served bush 41 as director of usaids office of us foreign disaster assistance where he oversaw the us relief effort in several humanitarian emergencies he is an executive professor at the bush school and director of its scowcroft institute of international affairs card served bush 41 as deputy chief of staff and later secretary of transportation he also has served as acting dean of the bush school and until last month was interim ceo of the george & barbara bush foundation about the bush school of government and public service the bush school of government and public service was founded in 1997 to honor the nations 41st president its mission is to prepare future leaders for careers in government and other forms of public service bush school offerings consistently rank among the best international affairs and public service graduate programs in the nation the school is located next to the george hw bush presidential library and museum in college station and offers degree programs and curriculum in-person online and through a teaching site in washington dc about the texas a&m university system the texas a&m university system is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $63 billion the texas a&m system is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies including the texas division of emergency management; and the rellis campus the texas a&m system educates more than 151 000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts each year systemwide research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in fy 2019 and helped drive the states economy
new student orientation for master of international policy degree program to take place january 14th at downtown location texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service is launching its first classes at its new washington dc teaching site more than a dozen students have enrolled in classes in the master of international policy (mip) degree program student orientation for the inaugural class takes place on thursday january 14 2021 at 6 pm at the bush school in washington dc classes begin on tuesday january 19 2021 due to current covid-19 public health concerns classrooms have been modified to promote social distancing during in-person learning students will be required to wear a face mask installation of protective shields will enable faculty to teach in-person classes while practicing current centers for disease control covid-19 health and safety recommendations we are thrilled to welcome this inaugural class said jay silveria executive director of the bush school in washington dc despite some modifications to keep the current coronavirus situation at bay we believe the bush schools new washington dc site will offer students an unparalleled learning experience our faculty members not only have stellar reputations as experts in their respective fields but also can provide our students with real-world hands-on experience in the areas of national security intelligence and diplomacy located in the heart of the nations capital and less than two blocks from the white house freedom plaza and black lives matter plaza the bush schools prime downtown location at 1620 l street nw washington dc serves as a symbol of a higher education experience that will draw on the many and varied resources available to students studying at the washington dc teaching site while remaining strongly connected to educational roots at texas a &m university and the bush school in college station tx we are thrilled to welcome this inaugural class our faculty members not only have stellar reputations as experts in their respective fields but also can provide our students with real-world hands-on experience in the areas of national security intelligence and diplomacyjay silveria executive director of the bush school in washington dc the bush school in washington dc will become the center of texas a&m universitys intellectual activity in the nations capital future plans include a full range of both public and private events including speakers of national and international prominence as well as seminars and conferences on the most important policy issues facing our country and our government students in the graduate program in washington dc have access to the vast and diverse resources of texas a&m university as well as the strength of the aggie network a worldwide support system of more than 500 000 alumni in over 165 countries renowned for its character and loyalty this network of texas a&m alumni is also known for its members desire to help fellow former students renovations on the current washington dc building are expected to begin this month to provide students former students and visitors with an optimal learning environment event and social gathering space construction is expected to last through april 2021 when completed the bush school in washington dc will feature 47 000 square feet of space across five floors the impressive new building will feature a state of the art 150-seat auditorium multiple classrooms collaborative spaces student lounges and study areas as well as conference and office space for faculty and staff
attempts to improve working conditions for workers in developing countries have had limited success recent mosbacher institute research shows that transparency could lead to better outcomes revelations about forced labor and other adverse working conditions in global value chains persist despite a variety of efforts to improve conditions for workers in developing countries the united nations ruggie principles provide a framework for incorporating human rights issues into supply chain regulations but regulations only tell corporations what to do not how to do it in improving working conditions in global value chains the latest issue of the takeaway an economist at the texas a&m university bush school of government & public service dr raymond robertson reports that transparency is one approach that shows promise of being effective at a relatively low cost robertsons recent research found that making factory-level working conditions publicly available changed factory incentives and led to improved working conditions in garment factories the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
associate professor hyeran jo was awarded a grant from the national science foundation for her project titled integrative international interventions: militant violence and human security in contemporary conflicts for two years 2021-2023 she plans to work with three graduate students and two undergraduates to discover what international policies work best to save lives in conflict zones on the globe the announcement of the award can be found online on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
on december 22 2020 the first cohort of nonprofit professionals completed the certificate in nonprofit leadership a continuing & professional education opportunity provided by the center for nonprofits & philanthropy this cohort included a range of professionals from nonprofit executive directors to emerging leaders in the field including a nonprofit founder according to dr william brown director of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy developing continuing education opportunities at the bush school are an important development of the school creating accessible high quality educational experiences for professionals in the field doing good work is fundamental to the founding principles of the school and president george hw bush each of the five courses in the certificate provided participants with lectures readings case studies and activities designed to apply learnings directly to their organizations participants engaged with bush school faculty and peers in weekly synchronous meetings on zoom one participant said the discussions provided me the opportunity to not only look at my organization through my eyes and thoughts but to see how i can improve and ensure active and productive communication within my staff board and supporters the next cohort begins on january 6 2021 and the cost to enroll is $1 49900 registration for the certificate and individual courses is now open at cnppcataloginstructurecom
istpp has named five new members to its fellows programdr robin murphy dr raul medina dr kirby goidel dr anthony knap and dr patrick bixler dr robin r murphy is the raytheon professor of computer science and engineering at texas a&m university and a director of the center for robot-assisted search and rescue she has deployed ground aerial and marine robots to over twenty-nine disasters in five countries including the 9/11 world trade center fukushima and hurricane harvey dr murphy conducts research in artificial intelligence robotics and human-robot interaction for emergency management dr raul medina is a professor in the department of entomology in the college of agriculture and life sciences at texas a&m university dr medinas research interests center on the role that ecological factors play in the population genetics of insects he is particularly interested in the incorporation of evolutionary ecology considerations into pest control practices his laboratory conducts research aimed to understand how species interactions among parasites and their hosts get modulated by their microbiota and by the structuring of their genetic variation dr medina is also interested in understanding the factors that modulate public perception of novel products of biotechnology dr kirby goidel is a professor in the department of political science at texas a&m university his research is motivated by questions of democratic governance including whether citizens are up to the task of self-governance the willingness and ability of elites to manipulate public opinion and the institutional mechanisms that translate democratic inputs into policy outcomes dr goidel has also studied the concerns risk perceptions and policy preferences of residents living in communities located along the gulf of mexico dr anthony knap is a professor and the james r whatley chair in geosciences in the department of oceanography in the college of geosciences at texas a&m university he is also the director of the geochemical & environmental research group (gerg) dr knaps research areas include oceanography environmental science effects of contaminants on the marine environment ocean health and human health interactions and multiple aspects of global environmental change dr r patrick bixler is an assistant professor in the lyndon b johnson school of public affairs at the university of texas at austin dr bixler has a joint appointment in the community and regional planning program in the school of architecture his current research focuses on climate and environmental governance urban sustainability and resilience hazard preparedness and response and network science he is particularly interested in how public private and nonprofit institutions collaborate to solve complex social and environmental problems and promote social innovation
on november 20 2020 the program on women peace and security at the bush school of government and public service hosted the 6th annual symposium on women peace and security the title of the event was 1325 + 20: celebrating the anniversary of unscr 1325 and looking towards the future symposium highlights | symposium agenda symposium highlights full video of the event the event brought together various academics practitioners military experts and politicians to discuss the progress that has been made in the past twenty years by unscr 1325 and the implications that its continued usage has for the future during the event we heard from keynote speakers ambassadors anwarul chowdhury kelley currie and roya rahmani along with dr james minnich and dr jeannette haynie all of these speakers provided their insight on the progression of unscr 1325 and its applicability in military and political settings both domestically and abroad the discussion was engaging and informative on behalf of the wps concentration and the bush school we would like to thank everyone who participated and we look forward to our next symposium in the fall of 2021 symposium agenda friday november 20 2020 8:30 – 8:35 amconference welcome addressdean mark welsh iii the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university 8:35 – 8:40 amconference orientation and logisticsdr valerie hudsondirector of women peace and security at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university 8:45 – 9:45 amdistinguished keynote speakerambassador anwarul k chowdhuryformer under-secretary -general of the united nationsformer permanent representative of bangladesh to the united nationsinitiator of the precursor decision leading to the unscr 1325 as the president of the un security council in march 2000 9:50 – 10:50 amambassador kelley currie us department of state office on global womens issuesambassador roya rahmani ambassador of afghanistan to the united states 10:55 – 11:45 amdr james minnichdaniel k inouye asia-pacific center for security studies 11:50 am – 12:40 pmdr jeannette hayniethe athena leadership project 12:45 – 1:00 pmwrap up and reflections – dr valerie hudsonthe bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
brittany alexander istpp predoc fellow and doctoral student in statistics presented her paper understanding terrorism policy preferences through bayesian model averaging and multiple imputation at the southern association for public opinion conference on october 1 2020 and at the midwest association for public opinion conference on november 20 2020 istpp director arnold vedlitz coauthored this study their research uses a two-wave panel survey conducted by istpp in 2016 with funding from the national science foundation the survey measured a variety of issues and attitudes including perceived likelihood of terrorism different concerns about terrorism support for federal and local spending and support for specific polices to prevent terrorism the researchers used bayesian model averaging to create linear models of the change in perceived likelihood of terrorist attacks support for policies and support for federal and local spending on counterterrorism measures they found that views on terrorism remained relatively stable across the two waves of the survey but the change could be predicted using psychometric variables in the survey additionally new policies for terrorism were generally supported and more people supported a very high or pretty high level of federal and local spending to prevent terrorism over a very low or somewhat low level of spending
initial nonprofit leadership response survey as covid-19 spread across the country and world nonprofits faced challenges to their everyday activities the bush schools center for nonprofits and philanthropy in collaboration with the university of san diego produced a survey to assess the needs of nonprofit leaders in the brazos valley conducted in late april the survey reviewed current operationsif the nonprofit was still operatingas well as plans to operate for the next four to eight weeks the survey also asked about anticipated financial hardships and the nonprofits most pressing concerns the survey responses from some ninety organizations were analyzed and a report of the responses was published online webinars continued programming and collaboration the survey also identified key areas of concern that face nonprofit leaders those areas of concern most cited in the survey were the basis of a series of webinars hosted by bush school professors and local nonprofit leaders to assist local organizations after the initial seminars the audience was surveyed to determine additional topics for webinars over the course of the summer all webinars were offered on a weekly basis free of charge and covered the following topics covid-19 finance and human resource policies and management implications dr angela seaworth leadership in crisis dr kenneth taylorboard leadership in turbulent times dr william brownfundraising strategies moving forward dr angela seaworthfunders perspectives on grant making dr william brown allison pennington alison prince and bree besssocial innovation in the midst of a crisis dr robbie robichaudesign your summer (and beyond) dr jenny morrison and gaby jordanthe new frontier: positioning your nonprofit post covid-19 dr tosha cantrell-brucekeeping employees close in a time of social distancing dr deborah kerradaptive leadership: leading an organization to face its tough challenges dr mary hilderbrandbuilding financial resilience through a crisis dr ellie heng qu a second survey in july of some eighty organizations examined how nonprofits are continuing to respond to covid-19 as well as what assistance and programs they have taken advantage of the center continued free online webinars for local nonprofit leaders throughout the fall semester it will continue collaboration with other centers and agencies conducting similar research including university of san diego arizona state university and the united ways of texas
lindsey brenner ‘20 came to aggieland her sophomore year in the hopes of pushing herself academically shes done just that while making lifelong friends in the process by mia mercer ‘23 while she was attending texas state university political science major lindsey brenner ‘20 was just going through the motions she would wake up go to class study go to sleep…but deep down she knew she wanted more hungry for a bigger challenge and craving firsthand field experience she found her way to aggieland to study political science in the college of liberal arts brenners classes at texas a&m university gifted her with more challenges than she had ever anticipated she eventually found her footing but realized she would receive her aggie ring late unless she found a way to catch up to the number of credit hours her peers had completed at texas a&m she viewed this as just one more challenge to take on and began piling on minimesters and summer courses now with her aggie ring in hand brenner is ready to graduate a semester early on december 9 2020 lindsey brenner 20 came to texas a&m university from texas state looking for a challenge now she is graduating a semester early after piling on courses in the hopes of getting her aggie ring at the same time as her peers im still shocked at how much ive excelled in my education especially in my political science classes brenner said political science is a critical-thinking world and here at texas a&m i am surrounded by people who also love political science and pushing themselves further thats what i find so special about the college of liberal arts brenner first realized that political science challenges critical thinkers in high school in fact it was her model organization of american states (moas) sponsor who pushed her to pursue political science as a career political science gives a voice to the people brenner said im outspoken and i talk all the time and i think its good to be able to do that for others who dont feel like they have a voice to gain experience outside of texas a&m brenner did an unpaid internship with us rep mike conaway during the summer of 2019 in doing so brenner gained hands-on experience in her field and sharpened her writing skills the aggie value of selfless service was invaluable to her work with the congressman her work with conaway and aggie values earned her an internship in dc this year which was an opportunity to apply her skills at a national level brenner said her education at texas a&m prepared her for these internships and her future career the college of liberal arts introduced her to phenomenal professors and surrounded her with other aggies who taught her to work at a professional level now brenner is ready for graduation and excited for what the future holds its funny how you see the aggie core values seep into your everyday life brenner said i am surrounded by people who uplift me and strive to help others thats what the texas a&m community is all about her impressive resume and passion for helping others inspired brenner to apply for the fulbright grant this grant is a highly prestigious and very competitive award that affords two individuals the opportunity to travel abroad for a year at no expense if she gets the grant she will use it to broaden her horizons as an english teaching assistant in south korea i love helping others its what made me want to go into political science its really rewarding to see the change you can make in a community she shared theres so many fields that you can go into too it doesnt have to be running for office it can be working for a campaign working for ngos or teaching south koreans english it can be almost anything and youre giving back which is also rewarding brenner will know whether or not she received the fulbright grant in the spring of 2021 if she does not receive the grant she will pursue a masters degree in international relations at the bush school of government and public service in the fall of 2021 being an aggie is awesome brenner said it makes me a little sad to graduate earlier than most of my peers but im excited to make new memories knowing ill always have a home here in aggieland on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
dr angela seaworth director of philanthropic initiatives and capacity building at the center for nonprofits & philanthropy shared her research on board diversity at the women of color in fundraising and philanthropy annual symposium on november 17 2020 co-presenting a session titled the power of the nonprofit board to move racial equity forward there were 300+ participants from around the country in attendance dr seaworth is also serving on the planning committee for wocs radiant leadership institute which is designed to prepare women of color leaders in fundraising and philanthropy for upward trajectory by expanding their knowledge base and providing a one-year fellowship for each participant
on december 3 2020 cgs co-director john schuessler participated in a panel hosted by the aronson center for international studies at johns hopkins university on reimagining us foreign policy in the middle east and north africa the panel hosted by adria lawrence also included vali nasr eugene finkel and calvert jones the panelists discussed the direction of us foreign policy in the middle east and north africa region under a new administration
every year the college of liberal arts superior service (class) awards program recognizes individuals who provide outstanding service to the college and demonstrate leadership ingenuity job excellence and support for diversity here are the winners for 2020 by heather rodriguez 04 every year the college of liberal arts superior service (class) awards program recognizes individuals who provide outstanding service to the college and demonstrate leadership ingenuity job excellence and support for diversity while the awards ceremony looks different this year what hasnt changed is the pride with which the college presents these awards to these deserving staff members each honoree receives a $750 cash award and an engraved plaque read on to meet this years winners while christi barrera has served as a senior administrative coordinator i for the department of sociology for almost 5 years she has worked with the department for almost 15 years and the college for over 20 years in her position she wears many hats including personal assistant to the department head administrative support to faculty members office manager and supervisor and mentor of student workers a quote from her nomination letter reads i believe it is no exaggeration to say that mx barrera is the backbone of our department an unparalleled source of stability and strength that helps us weather many storms barrera has also served in many leadership positions in the college and the university including chair of the liberal arts life enhancement committee; unit coordinator for the state employee charitable campaign; and step-in step-up facilitator an organization that is responsible for facilitating three workshops to the aggie community on stepping in to become active bystanders to prevent sexual harassment violence and to support survivors of trauma i am truly humbled and honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the 2020 college of liberal arts class award barrera said i love my job and i enjoy assisting those around me i am thankful im surrounded by such wonderful individuals that advocate for those that serve carrie kilpatrick carrie kilpatrick has served as executive assistant i to the head of the department of political science for almost six years but she has worked with the department almost 21 she has been described as keeping the trains running on-time which is another way to say she is essential her extensive job duties include helping conduct faculty searches maintaining the heads calendar and helping process high-level confidential information correspondence and files she also helps the assistant department head in coordinating the department heads action items prepares tenure and/or promotion dossiers and she serves as the departments record management coordinator and these are just a few of her duties it is important to recognize the incredibly valuable work carrie does all the time as it helps to make texas a&m the college of liberal arts and the department of political science a great place to work a quote from kilpatricks nomination letter said kilpatrick said i am extremely honored to receive the college of liberal arts superior service award rubi ruiz a business coordinator ii for the department of communication has been with the department for eight years while she has always stood out as an exemplary employee her nomination packet said that this year she took it to another level by overseeing two major projects the first began in may and was covid preparation for her department she took it upon herself to find creative ways to obtain and distribute supplies (including masks hand sanitizer face shields and plexiglass) to the department often coming to campus at the risk of her own health at the same time she served as project coordinator of the renovation of bolton hall which included updating three classrooms installing new flooring in all public hallways painting the interior of the building updating building signage and ordering new furniture for hallway seating and three conference rooms this required coordination across multiple units during a pandemic and while performing normal duties of administering transactions of department accounts it has been a pleasure to have rubi as a colleague and i believe she plays an irreplaceable role in our department a quote from her nomination letter said as if that wasnt enough this summer ruiz also received green dot bystander intervention training designed to help reduce violence and intolerance on campus of receiving the class award ruiz said i feel very grateful and appreciated by my department for being nominated for this prestigious award penny scott joined the public policy research institute (ppri) in 2018 where she serves as a business administrator her daily role includes assisting in management of financial transactions of ppri; preparing and auditing research contracts; assisting with complex financial and statistical analyses and summaries; and attending all necessary meetings however this year especially her role is so much more: ppri has been located off-campus for several years but according to the nomination packet scott was instrumental in the units recent move back during covid her primary focus is business operations but her positive attitude and the many visible improvements ripple through the department a quote from her nomination letter states …her efforts with the move being one of the few people providing support in the office during covid restrictions and the numerous employee development or social activities where she is an active planner/participant show her constant modeling the type of employee we want scott also expanded her support team who she gives partial credit to while she also feels grateful for the entire team at ppri i feel privileged to be nominated and honored to be chosen she said however i am so lucky to be able to work for and with two great directors and the best associate director at a&m and i couldnt do my job without my business coordinator who makes me look good i can not find the words to express my gratitude but thank you to everyone at ppri for allowing me the opportunity to work with them on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
four texas a&m university bush school of government and public service students were named to the class of 2022 robertson fellows each year the robertson foundation selects fellows from the top international affairs graduate schools in the nation as scholarship recipients robertson fellows agree to work for the federal government for a minimum of three of their first seven years after graduation this years robertson fellows are: robyn battles demetria charlifue clay parham andryan sullivan each of these students has an impressive resume whether they are coming to the bush school directly from their undergraduate institution or have been in the workforce robyn battles robyn battles graduated from texas a&m university in galveston focusing on maritime public policy anthropology and maritime studies robyn served as the first african american female student body president at the galveston campus and was active in several student organizations attending several conferences on foreign policy fostered her interest in international affairs she spent time in morocco studying arabic and hopes to pursue a career in the united states foreign service demetria charlifue demetria charlifue is a 2018 graduate of george mason university where she earned degrees in arabic and middle east area studies while an undergraduate demetria interned at the middle east institute; the us consulate in frankfurt; and the state departments bureau of population refugees and migration and its bureau of near eastern affairs since graduation demetria has worked with the department of state and the us agency for international development supporting policy objectives and development initiatives in the middle east clay parham clay parham graduated from baylor university where he was named the 2019 richard d huffman distinguished scholar in international studies clay also competed on baylors nationally recognized model un team consistently winning top awards with his teammate he served as a legislative aide to texas state senator kirk watson and won a grant to present and publish his undergraduate research on the modern german far-right at the european union center of california at scripps college clay plans to study us military policy and will serve in texas a&ms corps of cadets army rotc program ryan sullivan ryan sullivan graduated summa cum laude from texas a&m university in 2020 and received honors from the department of history and college of liberal arts ryan was active with the class councils and as a fish camp counselor and was a teaching assistant and a researcher for the debakey scholars program he spent a semester abroad in ukraine and has served for three years as an honors intern with the department of justice he plans to combine his government work experience and graduate studies to pursue a career in intelligence and foreign policy
when we talk about racial justice we talk about power and needing to have seats at the table californias governor said during a press conference about a new law requiring corporate boards to diversity their membership the new california requirements did not apply to nonprofit boards of directors and yet achieving diversity also remains a vexing challenge for nonprofit executives and volunteer leaders even today most nonprofit boards remain predominantly white and disproportionately male according to dr william brown director of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy who has been studying the effects of racial diversity on nonprofit boards for nearly 20 years this effort was undertaken to explore the experiences of people of color on nonprofit boards to understand the themes they narrate regarding their experiences and to set the stage for further research on the topic the challenge persists even though the benefits of such diversity are clear a growing body of research indicates that nonprofit organizations with demographically diverse boards are more adept at planning and strategy development especially in complex and challenging operating contexts increasing diverse representation can also improve resiliency in most cases the benefits of board diversity greatly outweigh the costs such as an increased need to build strong bonds among board members the center for nonprofits and philanthropy which was established in 2017 at the bush school of government and public service is committed to improving our understanding of the effects of racial diversity and the techniques and strategies utilized to increase diversity and inclusion in the nonprofit sector in 2019 dr kenneth anderson taylor the centers director of outreach and professional development began work on a study of people of color serving as board members at nonprofit organizations conducting research under covid-19 has posed some challenges but according to dr taylor the lopsidedness of how blacks and others of color continue to be impacted by coronavirus and racism served as additional motivation to dig back into my research and though many nonprofit scholars have addressed these issues maybe something will change this time around to date dr taylor has interviewed nearly fifty board members of color from charitable organizations primarily in the states of texas and colorado although the work is still ongoing some of the findings are so timely that he felt the need to share preliminary impressions: while board members at nonprofits tended to have few concerns about their ability to address strategic planning governance and fundraising they have found no comfort or routineness confronting inclusion diversity and equity;blacks and others of color experienced ill-treatment which felt like a confirmation of only being there due to the need to have at least one of us on the board;having a profound desire to serve on boards many people of color experienced the challenge of even getting in the room to be considered for such a role;in nonprofit board environments board members of color questioned their value to the organization which led to feelings of giving up on their commitment to service;people of color thought that the likelihood of enhanced cultural diversity on boards to any significant degree was unlikely in the foreseeable future;blacks and others of color felt nonprofit boards just didnt know where to start; in this particular instance the board intentionally recruited someone black to advise members in the direction of advancing equity and inclusion; andnegative treatment experienced by blacks and others of color on boards had to do with what was perceived as generational differences and keeping younger members at bay versus outright racism this effort was undertaken to explore the experiences of people of color on nonprofit boards to understand the themes they narrate regarding their experiences and to set the stage for further research on the topic this most recent data enhances the centers ability to support nonprofit organizations and guide subsequent research over the next twelve to eighteen months faculty at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy will continue a dual approach of grounded research and applied practice to help strengthen nonprofits in texas and beyond
dr adam seipp texas a&m professor of history and albritton cgs affiliate recently participated in the army war colleges war room podcast past visions of future wars to talk about military fiction and the techno-thrillers of the 1980s dr sieep was joined by dusty shelves editor tom bruscino and podcast editor ron granieri in the virtual studio listen to the podcast online
elizabeth alexander ‘01 will serve as first lady-elect jill bidens communications director alexander is making history as a member of the first all-female communications team appointed for the white house after graduating from texas a&m university with a bachelors degree in political science and a minor in communication alexander achieved a juris doctorate in law from georgetown university law centre since then shes developed an impressive resume which includes serving as press secretary for joe biden during his vice presidency and service in the senate shes also used her aggie core values of respect and integrity while working as a senior managing director for the strategic communications segment at fti consulting where she led the firms gender inclusion and workplace equality communications offering according to a nov 29 press release from the biden-harris presidential transition team alexander also served as a senior advisor to the biden-harris campaign in her new role she will inform the communication strategy for the first lady and oversee press releases and speeches in a tweet jill expressed her admiration from the college of liberal arts former student on twitter ive long admired elizabeths intellect grace and optimism during her many years on the biden team we know her as a consummate professional and manager with contagious enthusiasm jills tweet read alexander responded by saying she is honored to be on jills team and is excited for jill to make history leroy dorsey associate dean for inclusive excellence and strategic initiatives and faculty member taught alexander in two classes he wrote a letter of recommendation for alexander when she was applying to law school dorsey said her rise to prominence was visible from the beginning some of my most vivid memories of her were our debates over the rhetorical effectiveness of political speakers dorseys recommendation letter for alexander read while she has a powerful presence due to her intellectual abilities she also comes across as a delightful person with a warm personality such intellectual and interpersonal skills have undoubtedly served her well as a press secretary for politicians such as dick gephardt and chuck schumer and as the chairmans press secretary for the democratic national committee alexander is one of seven selected to serve on the all-female communications staff which the biden-harris presidential transition team said demonstrates their commitment to building an administration that looks like america communicating directly and truthfully to the american people is one of the most important duties of a president and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the american people to the white house joe said i am proud to announce today the first senior white house communications team comprised entirely of women these qualified experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
by justin bailey when doors have opened or opportunities arisen roman napoli has taken the opportunity put another way throughout his career napoli has answered the call to serve its that willingness that led the bush school to name him the 2020 outstanding alumnus this is absolutely a huge honor napoli said i learned so much during my years at the bush school and to be recognized for a career that frankly wouldnt have come to pass without what i learned thereits incredible napoli grew up in a small town in louisiana where his father was a country doctor in napolis words and his mother a teacher i remember as a kid my dad running for city council once on a single issue platform of increasing flood drainage napoli said he lost but we got the flood drainage fixed and so i think i always knew that you can impact the system if you get involved that formative experience would have an impact on napolis career trajectory but not immediately he enrolled at vanguard university in california to study psychology i assumed i would be a psychology professor working on cognitive issues napoli explained i mean my first published journal article i have ever had was in infant psychology and i actually came to texas a&m as a psychology phd candidate i didnt even know what public administration was at first i remember my advisor in the psychology department telling me that i was too good at running her lab and i should probably rethink my career i hated having to switch because i had an amazing office in the academic building that i had to give up! napoli tested the waters by taking an intelligence class taught by professor jim olson and knew almost immediately that a career change was in his future i didnt even know what public administration was at first napoli said but i felt at home at the bush school immediately i recently wrote about three leadership lessons i learned from president bush but there was this familiarity that is so hard to explain it was surreal you could walk out and talk to the president while he was fishing out back and meet the first lady i just dont know how to explain that to some of the students today the former president and first lady were fixtures at the bush school in those days: sitting in on classes socializing with students and even organizing gatherings i remember one time the president had asked if horseshoe pits could be added to the bush school grounds napoli recalled he wanted to do a horseshoe tournament and pair students and his friends the president had paired me up with former ambassador roman popadiuk honestly i was thrilled until i got the joke he had paired the two romans together all day at every chance he could get he would say hey roman and then laugh when both of us turned around i didnt see dc in my future when i was at the bush school but i was prepared when the opportunity presented itself because of my time at the schoolroman napoli being the butt of a former presidents joke was more than a surreal experience napoli said any time he was around him he soaked in the wisdom of a man whod dedicated his life to public service one time i asked how he felt about popular imitations of himself on snl and the simpsons napoli said i specifically asked about the negative representations he laughed and then said something offhand about how he tells everyone he never watches but he did he then shared something that i have always been struck by he said that being a public servant meant being in the public you cant control how the public will see you but you can control how you will serve it if serving the public means they make assumptions about who you are and think that is funny then fine that is the cost of service the jokes werent going to stop him from doing what was right napoli took those lessons and embarked on what has become a truly remarkable career i didnt see dc in my future when i was at the bush school but i was prepared when the opportunity presented itself because of my time at the school heading south napoli worked initially as a budget analyst at the drug enforcement agency he then moved on to the united states agency for international development (usaid) where he has spent the majority of his career i just kept saying yes to opportunities and that opened even more doors to me i mean now i see the tremendous privilege that i had in 2005 hurricane katrina slammed into napolis home state of louisiana the devastation was immense and napoli who was working on international disasters felt called to help domestically so after hurricanes katrina and rita i was crushed it felt so insane to be working on hurricane recovery projects in central america which is what i was doing in 2005 i remember watching kayne west and mike meyers on that red cross fundraiser right after katrina and just laughing and crying and needing to do more napoli and his wife left the nations capital and headed south roman has done an immense amount of good internationally through his work at usaid and incredibly he still has a huge chunk of his career ahead of him we couldnt be more proud to call him one of our ownbush school dean mark welsh i cant remember how it happened exactly but i got a job with fema in louisiana i didnt know if we would ever go back to dc my job was as the special assistant to the director of the louisiana transitional recovery office basically i was an all-purpose problem solver i understood international development a little but more importantly i was the most senior person on staff from louisiana i knew the people and the mentality fema was widely criticized at the time for its response napoli explains that he lived it there definitely was an undercurrent of racist classist attitude that i noted immediately napoli said i always thought wow some of these people swam for miles before being saved only to be treated like second-class citizens they were survivors twice overfirst from katrina and again from those that were supposed to help them in those early days we didnt have reasonable policies on rescuing people with pets before katrina we barely had policies on accepting offers of assistance from other countries louisiana never gave up they endured; they thrived how can i not be proud in time change did happenthanks in part to napolis work reforming usaid what for many would have been a career highlight was only a first act for napoli who returned to washington dc and ended up back at usaid where the current administration proved an opportunity to assess what the agency was and how prepared it was for the current global challenges it faces i can easily say that reforming an entire federal agency is definitely a career highlight it had been since andrew natsios was running the halls of the ronald reagan building that usaid had a top to bottom rationalization napoli explained he was able to be part of a years-long effort to reorient and reshape the agency for the 21st century we used the transformation to revalidate the value of an independent usaid we fought for development and staffing resources and we made lemonade out of lemons napoli explained i was able to work on rewriting the agency mission statement i did over forty town halls with our employees and dozens of engagements with our partners and stakeholders it was one of the most transparent and collaborative reforms ever the government accountability agency gave us the highest score of any agency doing a reform based on criteria they created a year after we had started we aced a test that was being written in real time napoli has not stopped saying yes over the past few months he agreed to be the lead on coordinating foreign assistance funding for covid-19 which includes providing over a billion dollars in humanitarian health and economic assistance to over 120 countriesa truly global response and recently was named to lead the state departments efforts to prepare for a covid-19 vaccine additionally napoli makes an effort to stay involved with the bush school roman is a busy man doing important things bush school assistant dean for diversity & student affairs matt upton said in spite of that he still makes a point to help us when hes able he recently flew to college station to serve on our alumni panel and hes a fixture at our annual deans reception in dc napoli also works to get other bush school alumni internships and career opportunities at usaid and is excited about any opportunities to help with the bush schools new washington dc teaching site for his willingness to stay involved and his many achievements the bush school faculty and staff were excited to honor napoli with the annual outstanding alumnus award each year we look at multiple alumni who are deserving of recognition bush school dean mark welsh said roman stands out for more reasons that i can list he answered the call when his home state needed him hes done an immense amount of good internationally through his work at usaid and incredibly he still has a huge chunk of his career ahead of him we couldnt be more proud to call him one of our own
for 65 years texas a&m university and the association of former students have recognized the most deserving faculty and staff members with one of the universitys highest professional honorsthe university-level distinguished achievement awards this years recipients were chosen for their stellar performances in teaching research student relations continuing education staff service and graduate student mentoring since the awards inception in 1955 it has been presented to 1 122 professionals (including this years recipients) who have exhibited the highest standards of excellence at texas a&m dr dwight a roblyer in recognition of their achievements honorees will receive a cash gift an engraved watch and a commemorative plaque the 2020 distinguished achievement awards ceremony planned for rudder theatre on the texas a&m university campus was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic through the generous support of former students and friends of texas a&m the association of former students is able to support a&m faculty and staff through programs like the distinguished achievement awards the distinguished achievement award is an award of excellence and each of the 24 recipients is more than worthy of the distinction please join us as we congratulate the recipients of the 2020 university-level distinguished achievement awards political science senior lecturer dr dwight a roblyer is one of the 25 recipients of this prestigious recognition and is being specifically awarded for his exceptional teaching this award is presented to superior classroom teachers: individuals whose command of their respective discipline teaching methodologies pervasive caring communication skills and commitment to the learning process exemplify the meaning of teacher in its highest sense dr roblyer graduated with a bachelors degree in physics in 1984 as a member of the corps of cadets a texas a&m presidents endowed scholar commander of the squadron nine hellcats and a distinguished graduate of texas a&ms air force reserve officer training corps he went on to serve in the us air force until 2011 where he earned the master space operations badge and reached the rank of colonel during his service roblyer earned a masters degree in space operations from the air force institute of technology and completed a doctorate in political science at texas a&m in 2013 he returned to texas a&m as a lecturer in the department of political science instructing more than 7 000 aggies in just six years roblyer now serves on the texas a&m honor council was a 2017 fish camp namesake was awarded a 2018 honoring excellence award from the office of residence life and also served as the keynote speaker for the 2019 campus muster ceremony one of the universities most well-respected traditions although the 2020 distinguished achievement awards ceremony was canceled the association of former students has 0rganized a virtual awards program video to honor the recipients we are proud to have dr roblyer as a member of our faculty and look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in the future! on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the bush school provides foundational skills for many of our former students careers students in our master of public service and administration (mpsa) program like nicole gabler 17 are able to deepen their passion for public service through coursework and opportunities outside the classroom nicole currently works as a donor relations advisor at the texas childrens hospital and was recently named a 40 under 40 honoree by the association of healthcare philanthropy the 40 under 40 award recognizes 40 young professionals that are shaping the future of the healthcare philanthropy community through their innovation and dedicated to the profession former students like nicole are committed to philanthropy through their careers in the nonprofit sector as a donor relations associate shes been able to transform an underperforming donor relations program at the largest childrens hospital in the nation into a thriving intentional structure that has seen a 200 percent increase in stewardship touches over the last two years nicole aims to create authentic stewardship as one of her core fundraising strategies and strives to show donors that they are truly appreciated by her organization this approach is influenced by her belief that we have a noble obligation to serve and give back to our communities and i am dedicated to that on a personal and professional level during the ongoing covid-19 pandemic that has changed the lives of so many around the globe nicoles commitment to philanthropy once again proved essential she helped her office of philanthropy explore new approaches to stay connected to donors while maintaining social distancing impactful appreciation videos digital reports and a family wellness activity kit were all developed and provided as touchpoints for stewardship additionally when harris countys face mask-mandate when into effect nicole dusted off her childhood sewing machine to create masks for her coworkers and their family members after seeing a colleagues social media post about struggling to hand-sew her own mask nicole traveled from door to door across houston delivering surprise gifts to her coworkers with masks and jars of homemade pickles in hand while at the bush school nicole served as the student government association (sga) vice president and public service organization treasurer and worked as a graduate assistant for the memorial student center she also volunteered with rmhc healing hearts garden replant habitat for humanity and the big event today she volunteers with the houston livestock show and rodeo; girl scouts of san jacinto council; the association of donor relations professionals; the association of fundraising professionals greater houston chapter; the junior league of galveston county; and the alzheimers association which is the organization her capstone at the bush school focused upon the staff at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy are exceptionally proud of the commitment our former students bring to their work and it is exciting to see them making a difference in the nonprofit sector
as the world around us continuously changes bush school students are offered pragmatic methods for engaging with their communities and serving our society on local regional national and global fronts our alumni from the master of public service and administration (mpsa) program are working in different capacities throughout the nonprofit world and continually draw upon the skills honed within their education at the bush school to support their estimable work which is positively impacting the lives of countless individuals we strive to prepare students for impactful careers in public service kendall rowden ‘17 is the development officer of corporate partnerships at childrens health which is the largest pediatric healthcare system in north texas she chose to study at the bush school because she believes that as human beings its our mission and responsibility to take care of one another a career in the nonprofit world allowed her to carry out this mission on a fulltime basis in her daily life rowden believes that as a nonprofit professional one of the most rewarding things for me is being able to help connect someone to a nonprofit with a mission that matches their passions and allows them the opportunity to serve their community in a meaningful way the staff at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy are exceptionally proud of the commitment our former students bring to their work and it is exciting to see them making a difference in the nonprofit sector
cultivating the next generation of nonprofit leaders is one of the goals in our master of public service and administration (mpsa) program at the bush school of government and public service our current and former students within the mpsa program are striving to make the world a better place through their daily work by focusing their education on the nonprofit sector they are able to access the most relevant information in their field and apply it to their organizations to create the most impact for their constituents the bush school provides the knowledge skills and abilities that students need to succeed in their careers as the systems coordinator at project unity patrick doucette ‘20 had always known that he wanted to work in the nonprofit industry and turned to the bush school for his education because he believed the program offered the best curriculum for nonprofit management in the state of texas while at the bush school patrick served as a graduate assistant non-teaching (gant) for the center for nonprofits and philanthropy where he helped manage the bush board fellows program and learned about the breadth of organizations in the nonprofit sector he also previously served as an americorps and peace corps volunteer patrick believes that the most worthwhile aspect of his career is working to help service providers work together to provide client-focused rather than agency-focused services meaning those in need feel more impact on their lives with the work thats being done in his community his involvement with organizations such as the vickery meadow after-school program (under catholic charities of dallas) jubilee park and community center project transformation communities in schools onestar foundation and project unity have continually impacted both his academic and professional career as a participant in the bush board fellows program patrick was placed as a non-voting board member at project unity during his year on the board the ceos unique vision for improving interagency collaboration within the brazos valley inspired him to write a grant for the organization as part of his grants and project management class with dr angela seaworth in the end the connections patrick made through his education at the bush school and his involvement with the board fellows program resulted in his securing a job with project unity after graduation the staff at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy are exceptionally proud of the commitment our former students bring to their work and it is exciting to see them making a difference in the nonprofit sector
on november 18 2020 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m university hosted a conversation in public policy talk with dr douglas holtz-eakin on the economic outlook for 2021 holtz-eakin has a distinguished record as an academic policy adviser and strategist he was formerly the 6th director of the nonpartisan congressional budget office from 2003 to 2005 and was director of domestic policy for the john mccain presidential campaign from 2007 to 2008 currently holtz-eakin serves as the president of the american action forum and recently was a commissioner on the congressionally chartered financial crisis inquiry commission after a welcome by dean mark welsh and an introduction by dr raymond robertson holtz-eakin began his remarks by first describing the unique context of the current recession which he maintains is different from other 21st century recessions that began with financial market events that spilled over to the mainstream economy in the current recession the us economy was growing by 25 percent until mid-may when virus cases spiked causing a dramatic change people from high-income zip codes stopped consuming services for growth to return holtz-eakin says we have to get americans comfortable with resuming their economic commerce holtz-eakin also stressed that the low-income workers who provided those services to high-income individuals were the most affected which created a phenomenal divergence in the labor market in march and april twenty-two million jobs were lostnearly ten times more than any single month of job losses before defeating the virus is the top priority but according to holtz-eakin we must also learn to operate the economy in the presence of the virus he noted that the federal government and congress responded well with the federal reserve printing cash and congress offering stimulus packages like the cares act however with 11 million workers still unemployed there could be a more typical income-driven recession coming out of the housing sector which is a big concern transitioning into 2021 holtz-eakin described the policy implications of a biden administration and a divided congress he noted that he thinks president-elect bidens promise to raise taxes would be a mistake that would likely cause significant damage and explained that spending programs should focus on long-term productivity infrastructure-building investments that could secure bipartisan agreement holtz-eakin also listed several areas where the united states needs to do better for the economy first he suggested a pause and relaunch of us trade policy which has had significant damage done to it second the united states must rethink its current immigration strategy because nothing is more important to the us economy than a pro-growth legal immigration system third the united states needs to assume leadership on the climate change challenge and consider reducing taxes elsewhere in exchange for a carbon tax that would force business innovations that would move us away from carbon lastly holtz-eakin mentioned two critical challengesthe federal debt which is at its highest level relative to gdp in us history and the state of the k-12 education system whose failure condemns a quarter to a third of future us workers to an inability to compete effectively during the conversation portion of the program that followed dr lori l taylor professor and head of the bush schools department of public service and administration engaged holtz-eakin further about the economic implications of biden policies rising interest rates in relation to the debt burden and the challenges of student loans bush school student samantha surface then had a chance to ask about his work experiences and advice for students interested in economic policy careers on the following day holtz-eakin joined dr laura dagues economic analysis classes where bush school students engaged him in further detail on the topics of student loans carbon tax and immigration in addition to the covid-19 financial crisis and economic recovery the mosbacher institute is very grateful to dr holtz-eakin for sharing his time and expertise and hopes to welcome him sometime in the future for a visit to the bush school of government and public service and more discussion you can view where do we go from here the economic outlook for 2021 on the bush school youtube channel
former istpp director the late kent portney and istpp research fellow bryce hannibal have published the impact of water scarcity on support for hydraulic fracturing regulation: a water-energy nexus study in energy policy in this paper they examine the relationship between awareness of the water-energy nexus and local water scarcity on an individuals support for regulating fracking dr portney and dr hannibal hypothesize that an individuals awareness of the nexus relationship between water and energy proximity to fracking activities and local water scarcity influence that persons level of support for regulating fracking fracking requires the injection of large volumes of water to fracture shale rock formations so that natural gas and petroleum can be extracted for energy use using the respondents zip codes they also investigated the influence of their proximity to fracking operations and local drought conditions on their support for fracking regulations based on the data available the authors found no relationship between these variables they also analyzed the survey responses from 621 texans to identify their water-energy nexus awareness and support for fracking regulations they found that most individuals who are aware of the connection between fracking and natural resources are more supportive of strict fracking regulations hannibal bryce and kent portney 2020 the impact of water scarcity on support for hydraulic fracturing regulation: a water-energy nexus study energy policy 146 (early view available online) doi: 101016/jenpol2020111718
bush school dean mark welsh has announced that three members of the schools faculty have been awarded academic professorships and a fellowship bryan/college station tx – bush school dean mark welsh has announced that three members of the schools faculty have been awarded academic professorships and a fellowship dr kalena cortes associate professor in the department of public service and administration has been named the verlin and howard kruse 52 founders professor associate professor ren mu has been named to the robert h and judy ley allen professorship and associate professor joanna lahey received the c boyden gray faculty fellowship dr lahey is a faculty member in the department of public service and administration and dr mu is a faculty member in the department of international affairs dr cortes joined the bush school in 2011 and has been widely recognized for her scholarship her work focuses on issues of equity and access in pk-12 and postsecondary education has been published in leading journals and is broadly cited she has been named a research associate of the prestigious national bureau of economic research (nber) in cambridge ma and a research fellow of the institute for the study of labor (iza) in bonn germany her work has also been highlighted in a variety of popular press outlets including the atlantic inside higher ed education week the houston chronicle and the washington post associate professor joanna lahey received the c boyden gray faculty fellowship dr lahey is known for her teaching abilities and supervision of capstone projects her well-designed core courses on quantitative methods have been recognized for their excellence by students and her peers in 2017 she received the womens progress faculty award which is given annually as part of the accountability climate and equity (ace) awards program to tamu faculty members dedicated to fostering an environment supportive to the needs of women and providing class content and lectures that are inclusive in their approach and sensitivity to womens issues in 2019 she was named an nber research associate by the prestigious national bureau of economic research (nber) dr ren mu has been named the robert h and judy l allen professor in recognition of her distinguished record in both teaching and research during her twelve years at the bush school dr mu has published extensively in peer-reviewed and other academic journals on development economics her work is truly multi-topical with publications in journals that span the field of development economicshealth economics population economics and agricultural economicsand also extend to other fields such as environmental science since coming to the bush school professor mu has received over $230 000 in funding from external sources including a $100 000 award from the world bank demonstrating that her significant work has considerable policy implications we congratulate these excellent faculty members on this success and for the important work they are doing in educating our students while also conducting research that has major application in the academic education and business communities said dean welsh
the bush school will host douglas holtz-eakin 6th cbo director and president of the american action forum for an economic outlook on 2021 college station tx – dr douglas holtz-eakin the 6th director of the congressional budget office (cbo) and the president of the american action forum will speak to the bush school of government and public service about the economic outlook for 2021 the event is an installment of the conversations in public policy series hosted by the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and will be held virtually via zoom on wednesday november 18 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm central time following holtz-eakins remarks dr lori l taylor professor and head of the bush schools department of public service and administration will engage holtz-eakin in a conversation dr holtz-eakin is one of the nations leading empirical economists im excited to hear his post-election insights on the prospects for economic growth stated taylor holtz-eakin has a distinguished record as an academic policy adviser and strategist currently he is the president of the american action forum and most recently was a commissioner on the congressionally chartered financial crisis inquiry commission he was the 6th director of the nonpartisan cbo from 2003 to 2005 during 2007 and 2008 he was director of domestic and economic policy for the john mccain presidential campaign holtz-eakin serves on the boards of the tax foundation and the national academy of social insurance those wishing to attend where do we go from here the economic outlook for 2021 must register on the bush school website or by calling (979) 845-1927 in order to receive the zoom link
note from dean welsh | 1991 veterans day message from president bushalumni & student veteran stories a note from dean welsh happy veterans day! at its core today is about service all of you are remarkable examples of that! many of you wore our nations cloth and this day specifically celebrates you i hope the rest of you will forgive me as i direct the remainder of this note to the veterans who are part of the bush school family for forty years betty and i served side-by-side while she never wore a uniform she suffered the same frustrations the same burdens the same sacrifice the same separation the same fears as i did and a few others i never had to worry about i know she is as proud of our service as i am and i know that your spouses feel exactly the same way we celebrate them today as well my grandfather served in the united states army in wwi after the war while serving as the state treasurer of massachusetts he gave a speech on 11 november 1920 that included this line: the day is not far distant when november 11 shall be a universal holiday throughout the width and breadth of our great land it should be one of the greatest of all american holidays i look forward to that day his voice joined with many many others… and here we are i think i know how much veterans day must have meant to him but im not real sure what most people today think about veterans dayso to find ground truth i googled it the first entry that came up said 35+ freebies and discounts for veterans day accompanied by a picture of a tray of doughnutsmy kind of celebration! the second entry said free makeovers for veterans something i should probably consider! the third entry was a picture of a memorial service in one of our national cemeteries captioned honoring our nations fallen on veterans day while i believe we should always honor those who fell in service to our nation … thats not what today is all about veterans day is not a solemn remembrance of tragic loss; its a celebration of proud service! it honors all americans who raised their right hand and said send me its about their pride their commitment their loyalty their courage their dedication their love of country and their love for each other today is about you! im not at all embarrassed to say that i love you and that it was the honor of my life to stand beside you happy veterans day president george hw bush: veterans day – 1991 students and alumni veteran stories we asked our current students and alumni veterans and active duty why did you choose to serve betty stanton 15 navy my commitment to serve comes from a deep feeling that pulls at my heart i joined the navy to escape poverty violence and hunger i believed that if i surrounded myself with positivity growth and opportunity i could overcome any situation i was determined to be successful and i had the drive and work ethic to be successful i reenlisted in the navy because i continued to grow and experience wonderful opportunitiesi admired 41 when i served in the navy during operation desert storm during a speech he delivered at the pentagon at the onset of operation desert shield (aug 1990) he said i am relying on you to shape the forces of the future during that speech i realized that i was not the victim anymore i was part of the solution i never forgot his words that day so when i had the opportunity to go to the bush school i knew it was where i belonged naomi mcgonagill 21 army i chose to serve because my parents instilled values of service to our country at a young age i was taught to give back to my community in some capacity and for me that was through the military as a logistician matthew weston 15 marine corps the opportunity to learn and practice leadership in the military is unparalleled a premium is placed on the ability to influence others in service of a greater good in addition the opportunity for travel and adventure was certainly a driving factor and the marine corps did not disappoint its a patchwork of outstanding americans from all backgrounds coming together to serve something greater than themselvesa concept the bush school is no stranger to john anderson 22 army my father was a career army officerserved in the philippines in wwii and in korea during that war a very strong man and a strong personality he once said he never regretted a single thing he did in his life but if he could change one thing it would be to have attended texas a&mit never occurred to me not to serve my fathers parents came to the us from armenia during wwi after fighting the turks during the armenian holocaust and seeing the russians taking over the rest of the country my family loves and appreciates this country and the freedom and opportunities it provides i wanted to fly and the army wanted me to fly major brandon maguire 19 army i have wanted to be in the military since i was in middle school my grandfathers were both in the us navy i had uncles that served and my older brother enlisted in the us army after high school i have been drawn to the us military ever since i was young initially i wanted the education benefits the opportunities to travel and the leadership exposure after 9/11 my desire to serve became more of a passion to help protect our way of life and be a part of something bigger than myself i continue to serve because of the people i servewith; they inspire me every day rebecca sinclair 15 army i enlisted right after 9/11 i had always felt the call to serve something greater than myself and this was the perfect opportunity to serve
director of istpp dr arnold vedlitz and istpp research fellows dr berke dr hannibal dr mostafavi and dr woodruff have recently been published in the international journal of disaster risk reduction in their article institutional congruence for resilience management in interdependent infrastructure systems the authors evaluate the congruence of or agreement across institutional coordination planning and responses to natural disasters the research team examines three significant factors of resilience management on the institutional and organizational level: involvement in hazard mitigation planning and use of hazard mitigation plans who is primarily responsible for hazard mitigation and the relative importance of various factors that contribute to hazards and policies for hazard risk mitigation in 2018 the research team surveyed harris county stakeholders involved in hazard mitigation including transportation flood control emergency response environmental conservation and community development organizations based on their analysis of the 198 survey responses the research team determined that although these institutions differ in approaches to flood risk mitigation there is agreement among survey respondents about the importance of sharing responsibility in hazard mitigation across multiple levels of government farahmand hamed shangjia dong ali mostafavi philip r berke sierra c woodruff bryce hannibal and arnold vedlitz 2020 institutional congruence for resilience management in interdependent infrastructure systems international journal of disaster risk reduction 46 (early view available online) doi: 101016/jijdrr2020101515
article written by erin sydney fox office of extended education matthew miller began working on his executive master of public service & administration (empsa) degree as a member of the charter class in summer 2016 when the program began it was not his first time as a student of the bush school of government & public service miller had already earned an online graduate certificate in homeland security while working at a previous job while attempting to branch out in his career miller discovered he was very intrigued by public service his previous experience with the professors at the bush school drew him towards the brand new empsa program as a member of the very first graduating empsa class miller noted that the willingness of the professors to understand the concerns of students while giving feedback made the program a success although the empsa program is almost entirely online students and faculty gather twice during the program for a week on campus called residency week where they meet face-to-face to work on academic coursework and capstone team projects students also discover aggie traditions and make lifelong friends during the week miller is a fan of residency week and says his second residency week was his favorite memory while studying at texas a&m university by year two the students had established relationships with each other and used that comradery to socialize outside the online classroom miller formed such strong friendships with some classmates that they shared an airbnb house for the second residency week and they have continued to stay connected past graduation now a little over two years since his graduation from the empsa program miller is a senior business continuity analyst for the federal reserve bank of dallas although he worked for the federal reserve throughout his time as a student he credits his experiences in the empsa program with providing a broader perspective and greater understanding regarding topics like economics managerial statistics and state and local policy which have continued to impact his career in public service the empsa program also sparked his appetite for more education he plans to pursue his doctoral degree in the future following his graduation from the bush school miller had the opportunity to sit on one of the deans committees concerning strategy and innovation for the schools extended and residential education miller views the bush schools interest in soliciting feedback and continuing communication with alumni as one of the main reasons the school and its programs are so successful the schools interest in the opinions and expertise of former graduates is a unique trait that he has yet to see replicated anywhere else each month the empsa program will highlight the experiences of one of its former students matthew miller is this months featured alumni stay tuned to see who we will feature next month!
in a recent npr podcast 1a instructional associate professor brittany n perry discusses the texas voter id laws (some of the strictest in the nation) and how they can lead to voter suppression in the 2020 election she explains how any photo id should suffice to allow someone to vote and adds that the argument that we are protecting against fraud is just not a very strong argument because before the law was passed this type of law was not prevalent and it remains not prevalent today listen to the full podcast on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
professor britanny perry chair of the climate & inclusion committee and director of the datalab @ tamu workshop writes a post for the american political science association explaining the datalab workshop and how it has helped underrepresented students become immersed in the world of political science research applications for the january 2021 datalab are still open! apply by november 13th 2020 read the full post
college station texas – dean mark welsh has announced that dr frank ashley has been selected as one of four outstanding educators to be inducted into the university of alabamas college of education hall of fame in 2021 the hall of fame is sponsored by the colleges board of advisors and inductees are chosen because of their contributions to the education profession each year up to four educators or education supporters may be inducted into the hall of fame all inductees are graduates of the universitys college of education or are a current faculty member they are selected because of their outstanding contributions to the field of education the bush school faculty and staff are pleased that dr ashleys extensive and productive service to higher education has been recognized by his alma mater said dean welsh we all appreciate his many contributions to the bush school and congratulate him on this well-deserved honor it is an honor to be recognized by my alma mater and their college of education i am truly humbled by the nomination and my family and i look forward to my induction into the hall of famedr frank ashley dr ashley is the bush schools senior associate dean for academic affairs where he oversees graduate education and research activities prior to joining the bush school he was senior vice president of membership and higher education engagement at the college board after earning a bachelors degree from louisiana college dr ashley obtained a masters and doctorate from the university of alabama and began his academic career as a science teacher and coach he has held numerous appointments with the texas a&m university system including vice chancellor for academic affairs for the system and vice chancellor for recruitment and diversity other prior positions include dean of the college of education and interim provost-vice president at texas a&m university-commerce associate dean and director of admissions in texas a&ms college of education and director of admissions and associate dean for undergraduate studies and teacher education in texas a&m universitys college of education an active community volunteer dr ashley also has served on boards and committees for numerous organizations including the community foundation of the brazos valley chi st joseph health the north american society for sport management the commerce independent school district and the development education subcommittee of the p–16 education council of the texas education agency it is an honor to be recognized by my alma mater and their college of education i am truly humbled by the nomination and my family and i look forward to my induction into the hall of fame said dr ashley
the 6th annual texas women peace and security symposium will bring together internationally recognized policymakers practitioners and academics who have worked alongside unscr 1325 to ensure the increased participation of women in matters of national security bryan/college station – the texas a&m bush school of government and public service will host the 6th annual texas women peace and security symposium on friday november 20 2020 from 8:30 am to 1 pm the symposium will bring together internationally recognized policy makers practitioners and academics who have worked alongside the un security council resolution 1325 (unscr 1325) to ensure the increased participation of women in matters of national security october 31 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of this landmark resolution the keynote speakers for the event are ambassador anwarul chowdhury known as the father of unscr 1325; ambassador kelley currie of the secretarys office on global womens issues; and afgan ambassador to the united states ambassador roya rahmani the women peace and security agenda suggests that national security and human security must proceed hand in hand for peace to be durable and just it includes issues that some might see as normally within the scope of national security such as education health and welfare womens perspectives and voice on issues of national security have been sorely lacking and this symposium is a contribution to the rectification of that deficiency the texas symposium on women peace and security also aspires to showcase texas-based scholarship philanthropy programming and policy on these important issues registration link and event agenda is available online
in a recent interview with the guardian george c edwards iii university distinguished professor emeritus and jordan chair in presidential studies as well as the editor of the presidential studies quarterly explains the electoral college and its possible impact on the 2020 presidential election read the full article on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
istpp research scientist xinsheng liu has published the research article social capital carbon dependency and public response to climate change in 22 european countries in environmental science and policy in this article dr liu and his coauthors drs feng hao and jay l michaels theoretically and empirically examine the impacts of personal social capital and national carbon dependency on citizens response to climate change in 22 european countries utilizing individual-level data from the 2016 european social survey and corresponding country-level data from multiple sources the authors conduct multilevel regression analyses to test their hypotheses derived from theoretical expectations the data analyses show that in the 22 european countries people with higher social capital are more likely to have climate-mitigation behavioral intention and show support for climate policy while greater national carbon dependency tends to inhibit public response to climate change in the conclusion the authors discuss this studys contributions to the literature and offer suggestions for future research hao feng xinsheng liu and jay l michaels 2020 social capital carbon dependency and public response to climate change in 22 european countries environmental science & policy 114: 64–72
dr mohammad tabaar associate professor in the department of international affairs at the bush school and cgs faculty affiliate recently published the article no matter who is us president iran will drive a harder bargain than before: washington doesnt have the leverage it imagines in foreign affairs tabaar notes that despite escalations on both sides since the us withdrew from the iran nuclear agreement in 2018 many expect a new round of shuttle diplomacy between tehran and washington to follow the us presidential election next month democratic candidate joe biden has said that if elected he would return to the nuclear deal which was negotiated while he was vice president meanwhile president trump has expressed confidence that he can cut a new deal with iran within weeks if he is reelected however tabaar argues changes in the iranian political landscape may lead to outcomes significantly different from these expectations
watch live | submit questions bryan/college station tx- bush school experts will discuss what happens next if election night does not yield a clear winner of the 2020 presidential race join us on monday november 2 2020 at 4 pm for a panel discussion about the electoral process regarding this election panelists will be professor ann bowman and professor brian nakamura from the bush school of government & public service and professor jonathan coopersmith from the department of history the event will be moderated by professor justin bullock from the bush school this event will be held live on the bush schools facebook page facebookcom/bushschool the series is open to the public and no registration is required questions for the panelists can be submitted online prior to the event at bushtamuedu/question for more information visit the event page
an unusual natural experiment in wyoming shows how regulations on state-owned land affect the likelihood of drilling on nearby federal-owned land evaluating the effects of federal versus state and private policies is challenging because the land that remains in federal ownership tends to be more remote rugged and aridmaking drilling more costly in wyoming however the land ordinance of 1785 mandated that certain regularly spaced plots of land be transferred to state ownership upon statehood the transfers resulted in a regular pattern of side-by-side state-owned and federal-owned land that persists today and provided the setting for a natural experiment that helps to understand the effects of land regulations in how us patchwork land ownership and regulation affects oil and gas drilling eric lewis an assistant professor at the bush school of government and public service and a mosbacher research fellow describes his work examining wyoming drilling data lewis finds that land ownership has a significant effect on drilling patterns in particular the drilling patterns show that state land seems to be preferred for drilling his findings suggest that regulations that make drilling cheaper on state land also result in reduced drilling on nearby federal land he also finds that federal land that is furthest from state land has the highest probability of drilling of all federal land the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
by justin bailey more than 200 childrens books and several monetary donations were collected by bush school students last week and donated to bryans henderson elementary school organized by the bush school ambassadors council the project came about as students were forced to re-think what service would look like in the midst of a pandemic as our executive team began to discuss what this crazy semester would look like for the bush school ambassadors we had to revisit our mission and brainstorm how we could shift priorities to represent the legacy of president and mrs bush student ambassador rachael mcbride said simple acts of service seemed like a perfect avenue by collecting these books the ambassadors council hopes to carry out this legacy by providing the opportunity for kids to fall in love with reading as barbara bush hoped every child wouldbush school student ambassador rachael mcbride dozens of students took turns sitting with appropriate social distancing around collection bins as students faculty and staff dropped off books and monetary donations for the project we decided an elementary school would be the best option as the recipient for the books we collected mcbride said and henderson in particular was very receptive to connecting with the legacy of former first lady barbara bush in this way the former first lady made literacy an important part of her personal mission throughout her life founding the barbara bush foundation for family literacy in 1989 and advocating for the national literacy act of 1991 by collecting these books the ambassadors council hopes to carry out this legacy by providing the opportunity for kids to fall in love with reading as barbara bush hoped every child would mcbride added the bush school is founded upon the idea that public service is a noble calling and bush school students work hard to make that a reality in both their academic and professional lives the pulse of the bush school truly is public service evident in both big and small ways mcbride said students pull together at a moments notice to be a part of simple acts of service that contribute to something outside of themselveslike this literacy event but even more impactful is the fact that our faculty staff and student body are composed of individuals who deeply desire to dedicate their life to selfless service of others
istpp researchers dr xinsheng liu and dr arnold vedlitz along with istpp research follow dr youlang zhang have published their paper political values and life satisfaction in china in the china quarterly in this paper the authors investigated the relationship between political values and life satisfaction of individual citizens governed under authoritarian regimes specifically the authors used data from a recent national public survey in china to empirically analyze how fundamental political values–authoritarianism and national attachment–affect life satisfaction of citizens in modern china they found that chinese citizens who held a stronger authoritarian ideology and national attachment reported having greater levels of life satisfaction indicating a connection between political values of citizens and their perceptions of life satisfaction they also found that political values explain the life satisfaction of citizens of authoritarian regimes more than socioeconomic or psychological indicators they argued that this study enhances the current understanding of sociopolitical stability in authoritarian governments like china where life satisfaction is viewed as a source or indicator of state legitimacy survival stability and political reform the authors recommended that further exploration of this topic would help evaluate the political implications of the link from citizens political values to their life satisfaction assessments liu xinsheng youlang zhang and arnold vedlitz 2020 political values and life satisfaction in china the china quarterly (early view doi: 101017/s0305741020000272)
by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communications texas a&m domestic terrorism expert danny davis explains the history of us militia groups and where they might be headed this article was originally published in texas a&m today a group of 13 men seven of whom are said to be affiliated with an extremist group called the wolverine watchmen were arrested thursday by federal and state officials in michigan on terrorism conspiracy and weapons charges their plans officials said included storming the michigan state capitol abducting gov gretchen whitmer and instigating a civil war authorities said the men had decided to unite others to take violent action against state governments that they thought were violating the constitution although an extreme example such organizations are not uncommon: there were 576 extreme antigovernment groups that were active in 2019 according to the southern poverty law center danny davis associate professor and director of the bush school of government and public services graduate certificate in homeland security has studied domestic terrorism for 30 years davis spoke with texas a&m today about the history of militia groups and what motivates them texas a&m today: what is a militia what actions do they take and what are their goals davis: the modern militia movement takes its origins from before the founding of our country from the first colony at jamestown forward each community had a local militia every citizen was expected to stand as a soldier when called upon he owed service to the community-controlled militia if you think about lexington and concord and the shot heard around the world the people who fell out to fight the british when they marched out of boston to seize stockpiles were american militia thats the origin of the militia concept today the concept of the citizen-soldier is embodied in the national guards of each state the difference today in these private militia groups is that they are just that a group of civilians banning together on their own recognizance they are not controlled by their communities or local government different militias have different goals and motivations some want to make sure the second amendment is upheld some can be construed similar to a shooting club a strict interpretation of the constitution is another important objective to some and then there are groups that believe the federal and or a state government have usurped the power that rightly belongs to the people granted under the constitution some groups like the wolverine watchmen are bent on the overthrow of the us government theres a whole spectrum of beliefs held by militia groups many commentaries are quick to lump all militia elements into the racially motivated violent extremists category while that can be the case with some groups it is certainly not the case with all it is important to read and or listen to what a particular militia organization says about itself what was your reaction to this plot in michigan particularly the goal to start a civil war thats the most outlandish or extreme view held by a militia-type group but it sounds like they were somewhat organized and had serious intentions as is often the case good law enforcement work identified the threat and was able to take down the perpetrators theres nothing wrong with going out and shooting and even conducting tactical maneuvers but when people tie such activities into a plan to storm the michigan state capitol and kidnap the governor the law has been violated and law enforcement is going to respond weve also seen armed individuals at anti-lockdown protests this year – what do state governments handling of the pandemic represent to groups like this to folks that hold to a strict interpretation of the constitution such actions by a government regardless of the jurisdictional level breed distrust and provides examples of government overreach they believe the authorities are overstepping their constitutional bounds there were peaceful protests in michigan over the past weeks supporting such ideas apparently the wolverine watchmen group decided were going to break the law were going to try to start the civil war and stop this and take us back where we need to be what kind of history do militia groups have in michigan michigan has always been a state with significant militia activity in 2010 there was a group called the hutaree nine members of the hutaree militia were arrested because they were conspiring to levy war against the united states the hutaree allegedly planned to murder a policeman and then assault the funeral the government charges stated that the conspirators goal was to inspire a revolution against the government they went to trial and in 2012 when it all was said and done seven of the nine charges were dismissed and they were convicted on two weapons charges michigans got a fair amount of militias operating up there some are extreme like this wolverine watchmen group and the hutaree but there are others holding the same convictions but living within the law the restrictions gov whitmer imposed in response to covid-19 particularly when she extended them as other states began to ease up i believe flew directly into the overstepping / anti-government theme that many in that state held including the men arrested this week the large issue is the domestic politics debate of a strong central government or more dispersed control to the states the wolverine watchmen stepped across the line breaking the law to forward their ideas how did the modern day america militia movement start its pretty extensive and goes back to the late 1980s in those years the anti-abortion movement got going and along with that you had extreme right wing-thinking people who began to believe that the federal government was out of control overbearing and was leaving the constitution behind that is when some of these militia groups started coming out of the woodwork during the clinton administration actions at ruby ridge the branch davidian compound in waco and other law enforcement actions caused an increased distrust of the federal government in some segments of american society one of the outcomes was an increase in the popularity of private militias and like todays militias motivations varied at the same time there grew up a concept of leaderless resistance this idea actually came out of the cold war and the fear that the soviet union would conquer the us after law enforcement successfully took down multiple resistance or terrorists cells louis beam a klansman modified the idea to enable resistors of the extreme right to continue to resist the corrupt federal government this concept is that each resistor works alone or in a very small cell of people the resistor keeps his own counsel not divulging plans or ideas to anyone some salafi-jihadist attacks and timothy mcveighs bombing of the murrah building in oklahoma city are examples of leaderless resistance in action how common is it for people with these views to move past private meetings and peaceful demonstrations and actually make plans to carry out acts of violence you can go back to timothy mcveigh in the early nineties you can go back even further before the war between the states with john brown in new england there was an abolition movement it was actually centered in protestant churches at the time john brown an ardent abolitionist stepped outside the law and organized a militia his goal was to start a slave revolt he conspired murdered and burned until he was captured tried and executed similar to brown and his anti-slavery stance today there are folks who feel so strongly against abortion that they will to set fire to an abortion clinic or shoot a doctor to try to stop what they consider murder how much of a threat are these anti-government groups i think that the federal government and law enforcement are pretty good at keeping a handle on whats going on with such groups the michigan arrests are a perfect example from all indications the feds are pretty good about deciding when to keep somebody or some group under surveillance and when to move in and make an arrest you mentioned changes in political administrations being a catalyst for this sort of activity with a highly contested election approaching in a few weeks what is that going to do to shift the landscape for these groups if biden and harris get in there a lot of folks are going to be very concerned with the direction they want to take america on the other hand if trump gets another four years there are a lot of people who are very concerned with that direction theres a great divide what both sides need to do is work in the political process within the law what else would you like to mention in these different political and societal movements there are honest people that honestly believe and there are others that may offer legitimate opposition to a position lawful activity for a cause is the way folks have got to work it is not useful to try to color a legitimate group or a movement by the illegal actions some might perpetrate to forward the cause when people cross the line and break the law and it happens on both sides of the spectrum they need to be prosecuted
kendrick kuo the 2020-21 cgs predoctoral fellow published the article military innovation and technological determinism: british and us ways of carrier warfare 1919–1945 in the journal of global security studies the central claim in the article is that theories of military innovation are often based on a form of technological determinism: an assumption that there is a predetermined performance trajectory embedded in new technology this has led innovation scholars to misinterpret critical cases kuo shows how the royal navys interwar carrier program a touchstone case consistently criticized as non-innovative and ineffective was in fact a creative solution for britains geostrategic challenges that proved effective for the first couple of years of world war ii
on october 1 2020 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy hosted a talk with daniel lederman deputy chief economist for the middle east and north africa at the world bank lederman gave an insightful presentation on the dual shock of covid-19 and the oil price collapse in the middle east and north africa (mena) lederman began his presentation by relating menas regional preexisting development challenges which contributed to the dual collapse he attributed some of the most significant challenges to the deterioration of transparency and accountability which contributed to a 7-14 percent loss in gdp lederman said he believed that a majority of the problems apparent before the crisis were linked to a lack of transparency which reduced public trust for numerous reasons lederman detailed how the lockdowns due to covid-19 around the world quickly caused a collapse in demand for global energy the massive decline in demand resulted in huge losses for oil importers and exporters of mena countries these losses would not have occurred otherwise in response to the impacts of covid-19 fiscal consequences should be expected such as large increases in public debt (as percent of gdp) lederman noted that the debt will have long lasting consequences it will need to be rolled over and restructured at a time when developing countries will be experiencing extreme repercussions from the crisis and financial institutions will have limited capital to leverage lederman also described the large social costs of the dual shock and its toll on global poverty unfortunately lederman explained current poverty estimations are conservative and underestimated and gdp losses do not translate into an equal distribution of household consumption losses in reality he said the most vulnerable poorest communities will experience the greatest effects one of those effects is food insecurity a major concern in places like djibouti lebanon and syria due to food price inflation the talk concluded with lederman answering a question from a student about the role global leaders such as the united states can play in the recovery process of mena countries lederman noted that international coordination and cooperation is needed in addition to medical equipment and established mechanisms to pull necessary resources such as future vaccines to areas that need it most lederman stressed that during a time of global turmoil international cooperation is more important than ever the dual shock of covid-19 and the oil price collapse in the middle east & north africa can be viewed in its entirety on the bush school youtube channel
resilience has become an important concept in urban governance but there is little understanding of the policies cities adopt to operationalize and build resilience to address this gap researchers from the institute for science technology and public policy conducted a survey of the 101 largest cities in the us in 2019 the survey included questions about how cities define resilience who is engaged in resilience efforts and the policies and programs cities are adopting to build resilience the team complemented the survey with a web-based analysis of adoption and implementation of 109 different resilience policies and programs based on the survey results only about half of the cities (46%) have a formal definition of resilience and city officials understanding of resilience is multi-faceted broad definitions of resilience may allow more organizations and individuals to engage in resilience efforts indeed we found resilience efforts are highly collaborative in most cities a large number of city agencies are engaged in resilience efforts and cities commonly coordinate with outside organizations there is large variation in adoption of resilience policies across cities the most prevalent policies align with the traditional sustainability agenda although cities consider reducing social vulnerability as a key attribute of resilience policies to reduce social vulnerability are not widely adopted in addition there is a need to increase adoption of policies and programs to prepare for the impacts of climate change woodruff sierra ann bowman richard feiock bryce hannibal ki eun kang jeongmin oh and garett sansom (2020) resilience in us cities: a survey of policies & programs 101 resilient cities policies and programs project available electronically from https://hdlhandlenet/19691/189324
believing conspiracy theories and superstitions can be both good and bad experts explain what they are and why we fall for them by rachel knight ‘18 in august the texas republican party unveiled a new slogan that came from what would have been considered an unthinkable source in previous election years qanon an internet-driven conspiracy theory the partys endorsement of the conspiracy theory marked the beginning of qanon shifting from an online conspiracy theory to an offline political movement throughout 2020 conspiracy theories about politicians and the coronavirus pandemic have quickly gained popularity online peoples belief in these conspiracy theories have led to the nomination of 24 qanon followers to the congressional races in the general election this year and have led to protests wearing masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus heather lench professor and department head of psychological and brain sciences said there are two main processes that cause people to latch on to conspiracy theories one would be that people naturally look for patterns lench explained its completely natural and its how we make sense of the world we do it automatically and based on our beliefs at the time the second i people have a motivation to maintain control over events when events are uncontrollable and particularly when they are threatening people will look for explanations that give control or a direction of blame lench said there is some evidence that when people are turned inward or experiencing boredom we become more prone to conspiracy beliefs examples of this have taken place through the covid-19 pandemic for example lu tang associate professor of communication whose research focuses on culture and health communication studied a conspiracy theory that said 5g cell phone towers help spread the covid-19 pandemic some people immediately believed it because if you put covid-19 infection in a map and 5g network in another map you can see that the places with the most 5g coverage are also the places with the most reported cases of covid tang said intriguing right furthermore most of us dont know much about either 5g or covid both are mysterious to us so people might think ‘hmm maybe 5g does cause covid this is a typical example of a conspiracy theory that becomes extremely popular in a very short period of time population density maps explain the correlation between 5g cell towers and covid-19 case numbers: people living close together in higher populations need more 5g towers and are more likely to spread contagious viruses tang argues that although conspiracy theories are as old as human society we are more susceptible to them today our societys constant questioning of science and fact as well as our access to the internet enable us to spread false information easier faster and to more people we choose to believe in things not because they are true but because they align with our beliefs and assumptions some scholars call it the ‘post-truth society tang said it is also much easier for conspiracy theorists to find like-minded people on the internet political conspiracy theories are a good example of like minded people spreading the same false information johanna dunaway associate professor of communication and political science said recent evidence suggests two main factors are key to predicting who is most likely to endorse political conspiracies: those who are highly politically knowledgeable and those who are low in trust are most likely to believe false information that supports their way of thinking when it comes to politics conspiracy beliefs are about predispositions as much as they are about the information itself dunaway explained so for example one of the things that will predict conspiracy belief or endorsement is whether it fits with partisanshippeople are more likely to endorse the ones that make the other party look bad though it seems counterintuitive for people with high levels of political knowledge to be the ones who often accept and endorse conspiracy theories they are also the people with the strongest political predispositions and convictions combine this knowledge with low levels of trust in the media and political institutions and you have the perfect problematic combination for conspiracy endorsement dunaway shared the internet allows these false conspiracy theories to spread rapidly the problem is that the digital media environment lacks the gatekeeping structures of traditional media and its affordances for peer-to-peer sharing allow for the rapid sharing of not very well vetted information dunaway said we know that lies spread faster than the truth online however what we know far less about is how much people actually pay attention to that information the fact that there are so many outlets willing to take one partys side over the other doesnt help because if partisans are listening to partisan media from their own side and those outlets are peddling these theories theyve an audience ready to receive them dunaway also said highly polarized periods in politics exacerbate conspiracy beliefs we know that highly polarized contexts encourage motivated reasoning in the evaluation of political information the same is true for false information including conspiracy theories misinformation and other forms she shared for example at times when elite partisans such as party members in congress are highly polarized like now – we are going to see more people endorse or accept conspiracy theories not all conspiracy theories are dangerous picking harmless conspiracy theories from dangerous ones is a matter of whether or not the actions we take because of our false beliefs will hurt ourselves or those around us according to lench the biggest danger is that our belief about how the world works causes us to behave in different ways in that world lench said its a cost-benefit issue lench said if its wearing dirty socks because you think that makes you more likely to win a game the risks are low so the benefits of feeling more control and more confident in the game probably outweigh the risks if your belief that a scientifically confirmed disease is fabricated is causing you not to protect yourself and others then the benefits of control are probably not worth that risk lench said its important to recognize conspiracy theories and superstitions for what they arenatural human cognitive processes she also said its important to understand the psychology behind these beliefs in order to find common ground with those whose inaccurate beliefs differ from our own we all do it lench shared understanding psychology helps you recognize that these are people who for different reasons have developed a set of inaccurate beliefs maybe you have a superstition about wearing dirty socks but other people believe that the chinese government released coronavirus its the exact same processes that led to both beliefs and i think that helps us feel empathy toward and connect with people who have different beliefs from ourselves
dr celeste ward gventer this years postdoctoral fellow at the albritton center for grand strategy was selected by the gilder lehrman institute of american history as a scholarly fellow for the 2020-2021 academic year the gilder lehrman institute provides short-term research fellowships each year to enable scholars and graduate students to conduct research in new york-based archives this years fellowships were awarded primarily to scholars working on issues related to the cold war gventer is writing a book on president dwight d eisenhowers defense reforms and how they related to the 34th presidents cold war grand strategy she plans to use her fellowship to conduct research at both the rockefeller archive center in sleepy hollow new york and the oral history archives at columbia university
dr robbie waters robichau assistant professor in the department of public service and administration at the bush school coauthored conducting and utilizing evaluation for multiple accountabilities: a study of nonprofit evaluation capacities with tara kolar bryan and gabrielle e lesperance in nonprofit management & leadership – wiley online library the research paper was published august 18 2020
throughout her career ruth bader ginsburg increased the legal rights of half the united states population her work and legacy will continue to be studied by liberal arts scholars for many years by rachel knight ‘18 on august 10 1993 ruth bader ginsburg became the second female us supreme court justice and a beacon of hope in the fight for gender equality on september 18 2020the eve of the jewish holiday of rosh hashanahshe lost her battle with pancreatic cancer her work and leadership will continue to shape society and be studied for many years by liberal arts scholars ruth bader ginsburg was the second female justice to serve on the supreme court she served on the supreme court for 27 years a quick look at the united states during a historical period of rapid change at texas a&m university highlights the significance of ginsburgs early career and creates a lens through which we can see the significance of her life-long dedication to educating a male-dominated society about gender equality while texas a&m started admitting women after the board of directors (now board of regents) opened the door for women to enroll at the formerly all-male predominantly military institution on april 27 1963 similar higher education institutions across the nation failed to do the same judith baer political science professor emerita at texas a&m can speak first-hand to the challenges women faced in higher education at that time as late as the 1960s law graduate and professional schools routinely rejected women applicants on the grounds that they would marry have babies drop out and waste their education baer explained this attitude was reflected in a 1961 supreme court decision that upheld a state law excusing women from jury duty because of their role as ‘the center of home and family life this was still going on when i was going to grad school in the late 60s and early 70s terry anderson history professor and a cornerstone faculty fellow said sex discrimination was also experienced by female faculty members and female professionals in the workplace one of my former colleagues was betty miller unterberger anderson shared earl rudder hired her as the first tenured female full professor in 1968 she had to suffer the same types of statements as the first two female supreme court jurists fielding questions like ‘why did you take a job away from a man she retired as a distinguished professor after experiencing discrimination in her own education and early career ginsburg became the first female professor at columbia to earn tenure in the 1970s she also directed the womens rights project of the american civil liberties union she successfully argued six landmark cases before the us supreme court in this role which made her a thought leader on gender equality and the lead fighter against gender discrimination her six landmark cases aimed to educate the supreme court on sex discrimination she said her audience in this task was not so much hostile as uncomprehending her goal was to make them comprehend the neutrality of gender discrimination she did this by taking cases like weinberger v wiesenfeld in which a man was hurt by gender discrimination (as well as cases in which women were hurt by gender discrimination) if a man died and left a widow and minor children the widow would get benefits as well as the child but if a woman died leaving her husband and minor children the husband got nothing baer explained a man named wiesenfeld whose wife had died in childbirth challenged this ruth ginsburg took the case and won it ginsburg also wrote a third-party brief for sharron frontiero who was a lieutenant in the united states air force frontiero was denied dependent status for her husband because of a federal law that stated all married male members of the service got full dependency benefits for their wives but women only received full dependency benefits for their husbands if they provided more than half their husbands support with ginsburgs brief frontiero won in an 8-1 decision from the all-male supreme court at the time jimmy carter appointed ginsburg to the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit in 1980 the appointment meant ginsburg could no longer take cases as an attorney or write briefs for gender equality cases still she made a big difference on the court ginsburg served on the court for thirteen years then in 1993 then-president bill clinton appointed her to the supreme court of the united states she once again picked up her role as an advocate fighting for womens rights but with a more neutral approach betty miller unterberger the first tenured female faculty member at texas a&m university was hired by earl rudder in 1968 rbg was a pioneer for womens rights and equality especially marked by the majority opinion she wrote for united states v virginia 1996 which ruled that the virginia military institute [vmi] could not exclude women anderson shared think about texas a&m before earl rudderhe let women and black students in after the 1964 civil rights act vmi did not baer also admires ginsburgs writing in the majority decision of united states v virginia which ruled that vmis male-only admissions policy was unconstitutional baer said ginsburgs leadership in such decisions made her an intellectual leader in gender equality however well this plan serves virginias sons it makes no provision whatever for her daughters ginsburg wrote in the vmi decision baer said ginsburgs language (like that used in the vmi decision) made clear that sex discrimination hurts everyone ginsburg often wrote majority opinions in a way that seemed to address america she really held peoples feet to the fire metaphorically speaking baer said after ginsburg was appointed to the supreme court she was occasionally described as the thurgood marshall of the womens rights movement marshall argued the 1954 brown v board of education case in front of the supreme court which resulted in the ruling that declared separate but equal schools inherently unequal and ordered school integration this case made marshall a pioneer in the civil rights rulings favoring virtually every one anderson explained marshall and ginsburg shared more than being a first appointed to the supreme court they both led america to take a deeper look at discrimination and continued to address the subject in the opinions they wrote after their appointments for this reason the two will likely go down in history in a similar manner we love her anderson said while explaining how ginsburgs service will be interpreted in future history books she is an inspiration to young women across the nation many will want to follow in her footsteps i imagine that thousands more women will be applying to law schoolwhere thanks to womens liberation they now are about half the students baer said ginsburgs legacy is her quick ability to see and explain gender discrimination in the law because of this her work will continue to be studied for many years shes probably the greatest constitutional theorist on gender equality that the court has ever seen baer shared her ideas will have a great deal of effect not only in political science but in law and history in all of these disciplines she will be studied by those of us who empathize law and empathize judicial politics when anderson came to texas a&m in 1979 most of the women working on campus were secretaries and most of the professors were white men the university has been improving its diversity in terms of students faculty and staff ever since thanks to pioneers like ginsburg whove provided the legal means to do so and thanks to trailblazers like unterberger who paved the way for female faculty members on campus what could be a better legacy than increasing the legal rights of half the population of the usa anderson said [ginsburg] was a magnificent brilliant little lady who was tougher than any texas wildcatter or ranch hand on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
by richard nira: after a natural disaster private aid groups spring into action helping americans recover from tornadoes floods and other calamities but could these groups help long-term post-disaster housing recovery more effectively this is one of the questions that michelle meyer director of the college of architectures hazard reduction and recovery center will investigate with a five-year $535k early career development program grant from the national science foundation the grant is part of an nsf program which offers the foundations most prestigious awards to support early career faculty who have the potential to lead advances in their respective organization as academic role models natural disasters are increasing in size and frequency and disaster-related housing recovery costs are on the rise because governmental assistance and private insurance often are inadequate to ensure full recovery for all affected people philanthropic resources if used effectively and efficiently also help disaster survivors however philanthropic response to disaster is understudied said meyer little is known about what makes these organizations operations more or less effective in promoting community recovery and resilience this will be the first investigation of its kind meyers project will include the development and analysis of a new dataset of nonprofit disaster housing recovery operations using data from recent disasters when the data is in hand and analyzed meyer will test a training program for local nonprofit recovery organizations and foundations aimed at improving their disaster recovery resource management the program will be developed as part of the study by the center for nonprofits and philanthropy at texas a&ms bush school of government and public service and the onestar foundation dr kenneth taylor director of outreach and professional development at the center for nonprofits and philanthropy was chosen to help develop and test a training program for nonprofit recovery organizations and foundations aimed at assisting them to improve and become more efficient at leveraging vital recovery resources aggie undergraduates from numerous disciplines will also have the opportunity to collect and analyze project-related data and present results while project-associated graduate students will focus on honing their data management skills in internships with disaster recovery nonprofit groups meyer also a texas a&m associate professor of urban planning also studies environmental and community sustainability and the interplay between environmental conditions and the ability of varying socioeconomic groups recoveries from disasters note: this article originally was posted on the coa news website
texas has more than twice the national average rate of uninsured residents but has chosen not to expand medicaid bush school faculty member laura dague estimated the impact medicaid expansion could have in texas at current funding rates medicaid expansion could bring in $54 billion in new federal dollars to texas and provide health insurance coverage to nearly one million low-income texans with little cost to the state thats according to a new detailed study on the impact of medicaid expansion in texas by laura dague an associate professor and health economist at the bush school of government and public service and bush school student constance hughes the authors also note that medicaid can serve as an automatic stabilizer providing federal dollars to states during economic downturns the results of their research are summarized in the latest issue of the takeaway medicaid expansions impact in texas the work was sponsored by the episcopal health foundation a philanthropic organization focused on improving community health in texas the full report county-level projections of medicaid expansions impact in texas includes county-level data interactive embeddable maps that show potential funding and health insurance coverage for every county in texas and complete details about the projects methods these new numbers show why texans have told us they support medicaid expansionbecause it means more than one million people could have access to affordable medical services including vital preventive care thats more important than ever said elena marks president and ceo of the episcopal health foundation but this report also demonstrates that the benefits go beyond the uninsured to impact doctors hospitals and state and local governments the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
the covid-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the global value chains on which many industries depend in a recent issue of the takeaway faculty member anupam agrawal urges steps be taken to add resilience to manufacturing capabilities in areas critical to national interest the covid-19 pandemic is causing both increased demand for essential health supplies and decreased supply capabilities many industries are experiencing demand and supply shocks and few countries have been resilient enough to cope well with the pace of transformed supply and demand requirements in the call of the pandemic: rethinking global value chains anupam agrawal associate professor at texas a&m universitys mays business school and a mosbacher research fellow describes how and why firms outsource and some of the disadvantages of black-box out-sourcing agrawal also explains that to help mitigate the effects of disasters firms and countries need to critically evaluate and map their upstream supply chains and public policy needs to support resilience in global value chains the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
istpps dr xinsheng liu and dr arnold vedlitz recently published a research article on the topic of citizen and public service co-production this article was coauthored with isttp research fellow dr youlang zhang how social capital shapes citizen willingness to co‐invest in public service: the case of flood control has appeared in the journal public administration in this research the authors examine one of the fundamental questions in co-production literature: why are citizens in some communities more willing to co‐invest in public services than citizens in other communities focusing on community contexts and using local flood control in the united states as an example the authors investigate how a communitys social capital affects citizen willingness to invest their personal resources in public services using data from three sources their study shows that citizens living in counties with more social capital are less willing to co‐invest in local flood control the authors discuss important public administration and public policy implications of their findings zhang youlang xinsheng liu and arnold vedlitz 2020 how social capital shapes citizen willingness to co‐invest in public service: the case of flood control public administration 98(3): 696−712
bush school dean mark welsh has announced the appointment of jay b silveria as the executive director of the recently established bush school of government and public service texas a&m university teaching site in washington dc silveria is the former superintendent (president) of the united states air force academy he graduated from the air force academy in 1985 and later earned master of arts degrees from the maxwell school at syracuse university and from the national defense university he was also a senior executive fellow at harvard university and later returned to complete the harvard seminar for new presidents silveria had a distinguished thirty-five-year career in the usaf serving in leadership positions in europe the middle east and the united states and retiring as a lieutenant general silveria will head the universitys new teaching site in washington dc located within a few blocks of the white house the first class will commence in january 2021 and pursue a graduate degree in international policy from the bush school jay has broad experience in education as well as a long track record of spectacular leadership in both military and civilian organizations said dean welsh his focus areas at the air force academy over the last three years make it clear that he is completely aligned with the values of the bush school and texas a&m university jays experience in the international arena and track record of developing partnerships with businesses and the community will be particularly important for the new bush schools future operations in our nations capital we are incredibly lucky to have him welsh added im honored to join the distinguished faculty and staff at the bush school and i share their commitment to the vision of its namesake the late president george h w bush said silveria its particularly appropriate that the school will now have a presence in our nations capital i am sure many aggies and other current and aspiring public servants already working in washington will choose to further their education and career here he added
by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communications leading authorities discussed the importance of global cooperation to end the covid-19 pandemic during a virtual event hosted by the george & barbara bush foundation and the bush school of government and public service this article was originally published in texas a&m today without multilateral action bold leadership and collaboration to develop and equitably distribute a vaccine the covid-19 pandemic could lead to a new cold war leading science and health authorities said thursday during a virtual discussion moderated by dr martin j murphy jr founding chief executive officer of the ceo roundtable on cancer the event hosted by the george & barbara bush foundation and texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service focused on the global challenge of producing a vaccine to end the pandemic murphy a friend of the bush family noted that former president george hw bush helped end the last cold war by working closely with allies and the novel coronavirus will similarly only be staunched with a coordinated worldwide effort in the last cold war the worlds superpowers controlled nuclear warheads atop intercontinental ballistic missiles martin said these powers then wielded influence on the rest of the less powerful world we are now faced with superpowers that may control life-sparing vaccines sir jeremy farrar director of the wellcome trust – one of the worlds leading foundations supporting biomedical research – said the world underestimates where we stand in the pandemic which runs the risk of leading to another polarized cold war the only solution he said will be through the application of science toward a vaccination and the equitable access to benefits of that science world health organization (who) chief scientist soumya swaminathan echoed that solidarity will be the only way out of the pandemic the novel coronavirus doesnt respect borders nationalities politics gender or age she said and spreads most effectively where there is division and discord swaminathan said theres been tremendous global cooperation collaboration and willingness to work together among scientists doctors health care workers researchers and others to develop diagnostics drugs and treatments and vaccines to end the pandemic its the best hope for us to end the acute phase of the pandemic she said whos access to covid-19 tools accelerator (act-accelerator) which launched in april brings together global health organizations scientists governments and others to accomplish this goal swaminathan said its imperative to ensure vaccines are delivered to people who need them regardless of whether they live in high- or low-income countries enlightened self-interest theres no way out of the pandemic for any country rich or poor until every country is safe farrar said making it an exemplar of enlightened self-interest this will define the sort of way we want the world to be in the 21st century and will reverberate through many other issues for many many years to come he said dr richard hatchett chief executive officer of the coalition for epidemic preparedness innovations (cepi) said the tools need to be provided to all countries simultaneously to prevent extending the pandemic and leading to greater loss of life and economic devastation hatchett who previously served in the white house administrations of former presidents george w bush and barack obama said cepi has provided funding for the development of several covid-19 vaccine candidates nine candidates supported by cepi are part of the covid-19 vaccine global access facility (covax) a global initiative working with governments and manufacturers to make sure vaccines are available worldwide to all countries more than 170 countries had expressed intent to participate in covax as of thursday he said this is not only the right thing to do from a moral perspective but its also the right thing to do from an efficiency perspective because it is only by sharing what will be a scarce resource for at least the next 18 months to two years and making sure we get the vaccine to those who need it most… that we will be able to take the edge off the pandemic hatchett said vaccine development hatchett estimates the cost to procure and distribute a vaccine globally would be more than $20 billion cepi has raised about $14 billion in addition to about $1 billion from its partners at gavi the vaccine alliance $20 billion is an enormous sum of money until you compare it with the damage of the global economy that is being done every single month he said swaminathan said the entire cost needed for the act-accelerator about $35 billion is equal to less than two days-worth of the economic damage caused by covid-19-related disruptions around the world in addition to a strong moral imperative she said theres also an economic argument in making a vaccine equally available to all people the sooner the pandemic ends swaminathan said the sooner economies can begin to recover children can go back to school employees can return to offices and life can return to a semblance of normality even for the high-income economies it is much better to bring everyone back at the same time than it is to let it linger on and drag on she said toward this effort the federal government in july reserved a high-tech bio-manufacturing facility in bryan-college station for mass production of a covid-19 vaccine the task order between the government and the texas a&m university systems center for innovation in advanced development and manufacturing (ciadm) is valued at $265 million three facilities built through the program are owned and operated by fujifilm diosynth biotechnologies texas a subcontractor of the texas a&m university system the college station facility has been tapped to produce the covid-19 vaccine candidate of novavax inc nvx-cov2372 greg hartman texas a&m health science center chief operating officer and senior vice president said during the discussion that manufacturing will be ready to begin in january 2021
on september 21 2020 the albritton center for grand strategy (cgs) and scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university are releasing a volume discussing russia policy under the next us president a perennial issue facing presidents is american policy towards russia specifically the next president will need to address some recent russian moves: interference in our elections intervention in syria support for taliban attacks against us forces in afghanistan assistance to insurgents in ukraine and difficult negotiations over a new start treaty with these challenges in mind cgs and the scowcroft institute hosted a conference on october 15-16 2019 that asked experts to advise the next us president on russia policy the gathering provided a forum for practitioners journalists and scholars to outline the issues they believed would shape the future relationship between the united states and russia the conference was organized around three panels that addressed the following questions what drives russian foreign policywhat is the future for the us-russia security relationshipwhat are the foundations of russias economy the subsequent volume russia policy under the next us president collects the answers to these questions from those experts cgs and the scowcroft institute will disseminate this volume throughout the policy community with the aim of contributing to the debate about what course the next us president should take on the countrys russia policy a pdf of the volume is available on the cgs website
on september 15 2020 laura chapman rubbo director of responsible governance and supply chains for the walt disney company was awarded the mclane leadership in business award by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy the award recognizes outstanding contributions in the areas of business and public service rubbo started the evening describing her introduction to the field of corporate social responsibility a field that did not exist when she began her career in the mid-1990s growing up in different countries she knew she wanted to seek a career that allowed her to engage with people from all over the world upon finishing graduate school rubbo began her first job working for a retailer where she helped create codes of conduct for suppliers that banned certain working conditions like child labor that was in the early days of what is now known as corporate social responsibility (csr) today twenty-six years later rubbo oversees efforts to improve labor standards in the global supply chain of the largest licensor of consumer products in the world the walt disney company she leads policy analysis strategy development and external stakeholder engagement for global human rights and other corporate social responsibility issues across all of disneys businesses rubbo shared the importance of recognizing business and trade as a force for good while also acknowledging the unintended consequences it can present she explained that working with policy makers federal government workers and nonprofit groups is vital in addressing the potential negative impacts of trade and in exchange advance better policies practices and responsibilities throughout her career rubbo has seen significant progress in global supply chain standards such as internationally accepted human rights principles like the 2011 un guiding principles to business and human rights which are acknowledged by over 187 countries and which have greatly enhanced global standards in response to a question about whether cultural differences cause difficulties with compliance rubbo explained that with the progress in internationally accepted standards most governments have adopted national labor laws and she can point to the very laws the nation has ratified and the behaviors it already prohibits to guide discussions with regard to career advice rubbo urged students interested in promoting ethical supply chains not only to pursue jobs in csr departments but even better to help mainstream csr principles by working within any of many business departments such as procurement finance technology and marketing dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute asked rubbo what she was most proud of in her career to which she answered i always feel like i have not done enough she went on to mention breakthrough moments of progress that have occurred in her and her peers careers she particularly acknowledged the creation of the supply chain investment program through the disney foundation that has set aside $20 million to contribute to innovation for understanding human rights issues in global supply chains rubbo concluded her remarks by quoting president george h w bush public service is a noble calling and we need men and women of character to believe that they can make a difference in their communities in their states and in their country the evening ended with drayton mclane jr presenting rubbo with the 2020 mclane leadership in business award watch the 2020 mclane leadership in business award event
the 18th annual bank of america program on volunteerism scheduled for april 2020 was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic the pandemic may have caused the cancelation of the ceremony honoring the texas a&m womens soccer team and coaching staff for their service volunteerism and philanthropy work but the center for nonprofits & philanthropy continues to celebrate these valued campus leaders texas a&m university is fortunate to have many dedicated students and athletes giving of their time talents and service to communities locally and worldwide aggie athletes changing the gamecoaches and players impacting lives through philanthropy highlights and celebrates the service of the texas a&m university womens soccer team the texas a&m university soccer team leads by following the example set by coach g guerrieri which extends through the entire coaching staff and student athletes the team actively participates in these community events: erins dream racesupporting coalition against childhood canceraggies turn it gold campaignsupporting pediatric cancer researchaggies for haiti mission tripselfless service by helping others with mission of home haitithe big eventlargest one-day student-run service project in the nationaggie can food drivesupporting brazos valley food bank and tamu 12th canaggie youth soccer campsvolunteer president for cavalry youth soccer clubannual fundraising for the cavalry charitable golf tournament the event marked the 18th year of the bank of america program on volunteerism it is very unfortunate the ceremony had to be cancelled but we continue to honor our soccer team student athletes and coaches for all their work the center hopes you will watch the five-minute video of several players discussing their mission and experiences with service to the community and the world
dr jasen castillo associate professor in the department of international affairs at the bush school and co-director of the albritton center for grand strategy coauthored loyalty hedging or exit: how weaker alliance partners respond to the rise of new threats with alexander b downes in the journal of strategic studies the article explores how weaker partners allied with great powers choose among loyalty (remaining allied to their great power patrons) hedging (improving political relations with the challenger or – in the nuclear age – pursuing nuclear weapons) and exit (leaving the alliance by declaring neutrality or defecting to the rising challenger) when new threats arise castillo and downes argue that in general as protégés come to doubt the ability or willingness of patrons to defend them they are likely to shift away from loyalty and towards exit where they end up on this alliance spectrum however depends on additional factors identified in the article including signals of commitment from patrons and the territorial claims of challengers against protégés the authors illustrate their argument and these conditions in three cases from interwar and early cold war europe and draw implications for us alliances today
anita mitić and vesa bashota are fulbright students studying at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university mitić is pursuing her master of international affairs degree in national security and diplomacy; and bashota also in the master of international affairs degree program is studying international development and economic policy by anita mitić and vesa bashota vesa bashota an albanian from kosovo and anita mitic a serb from serbia currently live in texas as fulbright students for most we make for an improbable duo but for us it was an instant connection that has weathered a pandemic the first year of graduate school two hurricane seasons and a meeting between our two countries in the white house soon after we first met at the fulbright students orientation in nevada we went on a trip to attend a texas-style oktoberfest near san antonio we took an uber along with our american friend tyler and we were enjoying the scenery in silence the ride was long and the full moon was shining out of nowhere vesa said i swear every time i look at the full moon from the car i remember the night my family and i fled kosovo during the war in 1999 i was only three years old but i vividly remember looking at the moon and thinking when will all this be over that sentence opened a difficult and sincere conversation about our experiences during the war with vesa being in kosovo at the onset and then escaping as a refugee while anita was in belgrade during the bombing there was something cathartic about this conversation which strangely made us feel more connected than divided understanding each others experiences and being able to empathize are at the heart of our unique friendship understanding each others experiences and being able to empathize are at the heart of our unique friendship when we arrived at the festival tyler was in awe and our uber driver confessed it was the most interesting conversation she had ever heard while driving bffs roommates with a twist having an instant connection and becoming best of friends instantly wasnt strange for us anita has many albanian friends and has been to prishtina several times vesa is open to new people regardless of their origins and has worked with the serbian community in kosovo now both of us are known in school as an inseparable duoor as our friends like to call us: double trouble for months we laughed at peoples reactions when wed tell them where were from some were shocked some laughed and some were visibly uncomfortable but the general response was surprise after that initial trip we began spending a lot of time together bonding over highly inappropriate jokes serious conversations about life and men and our shared outlook on the peaceful future of the region the problems we find ourselves in are so often similar and that serves as a good reminder that were both human beings at the end of the day we spent a month traveling throughout the southern us without an argument were convinced we jinxed 2020 because of all the fun we had on new years eve in miami now we are roommates and despite all the controversy surrounding our friendship we make it work we are living proof that friendship based on not just accepting differences but exploring them and having open and honest discussions about what has happened in the pastall with a good dose of mutual respectare possible sometimes we stay up late challenging each others opinions regarding politics between our countriesand those are not easy conversations to have at 2 am … or ever but being open-minded is key to understanding where those opinions are coming from on the lighter side we use a strange mix of english serbian and albanian words daily in our apartment its not unusual to hear something like: hey check fijoka for the scissors from the personal to the political we dont intend to draw parallels between our lives and the political situation between our countries clearly things are much more complicated than a serb and an albanian finding a way to live together 10 000 km away from their homes but wed like to emphasize that given our long history of hostilities the war in 1999 and todays tense relations the most likely scenario is that we would never meet the far less likely scenario would see us become such close friends our societies are so divided and disconnected that our story is worth telling it would be a shame if such a friendship never occurred and it wouldnt have if vesa werent open to befriending serbs or anita thought of albanians in the way many others do in her country none of this would exist and our lives would be denied this beautiful enriching friendship we are living proof that friendship based on not just accepting differences but exploring them and having open and honest discussions about what has happened in the pastall with a good dose of mutual respectare possible and maybe this is something our states should take into account when theyre sitting at the negotiating table in a sense our friendship represents what could be between our countries as another day in texas comes to a close vesa retires to her room saying laku noć and anita replies natën e mirë this article was originally published by kosovotwopointzerocom
on september 2 2020 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service hosted a talk by jane mosbacher morris founder and ceo of to the market and author of buy the change you want to see: use your purchasing power to make the world a better place to the market connects suppliers of ethically made products that have been overlooked in the traditional marketplace to large companies the company has created an avenue to provide women and communities access to capital and corporate retail buyers morris explained how she got her start working with communities she had visited in her previous career during that time she had noticed labor exploitation now to the market works with suppliers in over thirty countries around the world primarily in the retail industry clients range from companies providing luxury products such as bloomingdales to those offering price conscious apparel such as target to the market assists these companies in advancing their own sustainable development goals through the procurement process morris outlined her fascinating career path that started in national security and lead her to her current job in retail an industry where she never expected to work beginning her career in the state department morris specialized in engaging women on the issues of terrorism and counterterrorism her job provided the opportunity to visit afghanistan where morris said a critical seed was planted in me of wanting to focus on the creation and sustaining of jobs for women a similar experience in calcutta influenced morris as she realized the powerful impact meaningful work had on trafficking survivors and its ability to produce healing morris also expounded on her book buy the change you want to see the book explains how conscious consumerism is for everyone not just for people among a certain socioeconomic level or political ideology the book speaks to how consumers can leverage their own personal spending to advance the specific values they care about morris was asked to share a memory of her grandfather robert a mosbacher sr the namesake of the mosbacher institute morris described her grandfather as an extraordinary man and a great grandfather who modelled service she also talked about how her great-grandfather instilled in her grandfather an understanding that they had a responsibility to steward their life responsibly an understanding that has created a rich legacy buy the change you want to see can be viewed in its entirety on the bush school youtube channel
the woody jones award honors excellence in research by political science undergraduates in 1994 woodrow jones jr made history by becoming the dean of the college of liberal arts and first african american dean at texas a&m university woody was committed to the importance of a liberal arts education a commitment to diversity and a passion for undergraduate education this year produced three outstanding research papers that will share the award the winners are: yanairem moreno incentives to invest: the case of mexcio which examines the role of fdi on political violence taylor nicole torres latinx political engagement and the effects of executive level action which examines how the latinx population mobilizes in response to executive level action on immigration william black the effects of gender of a jury member on verdicts and punishment which examines how the sex of a jury member as well as the sex of the offender and victim affects the decision-making process in the sentencing phase of a crime on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
dr yuval weber a bush school faculty member at the dc teaching site and cgs affiliate coauthored hierarchy of membership and burden sharing in a military alliance with shlomo weber and hans wiesmeth in defence and peace economics the article examines and analyzes a military alliance with members of different economic and historical backgrounds that finance the production of the alliance good through their contributions the authors then apply their findings to nato to evaluate burden sharing across the alliance and the optimal fit between the data and an appropriate choice of the alliances hierarchical structure
dr reyko huangs research article voting for militants: rebel elections in civil war co-authored with drs kathleen cunningham and katherine sawyer has been published in the journal of conflict resolution as part of a special feature on rebel governance the article centers on rebel groups conducting popular elections in wartime asserting that these elections are a means through which rebels can strengthen local and international legitimacy
dean mark welsh has announced that cara collins has been named senior director of development for the bush school she currently works for the texas a&m foundation in support of the bush school we are tremendously excited to have cara collins join us as the bush schools senior development officer were also grateful to the texas a&m foundation for giving her this opportunity every member of our development team is totally committed to the success of our students faculty college and university its a joy to work with them cara brings talent experience proven leadership and a new perspective to that team along with a wonderful passion for the job were very lucky to have her! in 2008 collins earned a bachelor of science degree in animal science from the college of agriculture & life sciences at texas a&m with a minor in business administration from mays business school she also holds a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from the bush school while an undergraduate collins worked for st genetics assuming the role of sire coordinator and coordinator of export operations upon graduation serving both domestic and international clients in 2009 collins joined auxano corporation as operations manager eager to find a career dedicated to serving others collins joined the texas a&m foundation in 2010 at the texas a&m foundation our work has meaning and it is a pleasure to wake up every morning knowing that i have the opportunity to serve our team our donors and our academic partners said collins over her tenure she has developed and implemented several processes that have resulted in increased philanthropic impact for the foundation collins enthusiastically joins our team and brings knowledge leadership and dedication as a passionate professional dedicated to purposeful philanthropy the opportunity to serve the bush school and the legacy of president bush is a tremendous honor collins said i see this new role as another way i can help our dedicated donors and ensure greater public impact for the bush school and texas a&m university at home and abroad
by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communications it took decades of marches civil disobedience publications lectures and lobbying for american women to win the right to vote and two texas a&m university professors say modern social justice movements can model suffrage strategies in continuing fights for equality today after its first introduction to congress in 1878 the 19th amendment to the us constitution was finally ratified on aug 18 1920 todays activists can learn from the suffrage movement by focusing on single goals but should vary their strategies and not align with a certain political party while being patient and persistent said elizabeth cobbs a professor of american history in the texas a&m college of liberal arts cobbs who studies the historical rights and roles of women in american society points to carrie chapman catt a key figure in the womens suffrage movement who wrote in 1926 in woman suffrage and politics that to get the word male out of the constitution it cost the women of this country 52 years of pauseless campaign during that time activists conducted 56 campaigns of referenda to male voters 480 campaigns to get legislators to submit suffrage amendments to voters 47 campaigns to get state constitutional conventions to write woman suffrage into state constitutions 277 campaigns to get state party conventions to include woman suffrage planks 30 campaigns to get presidential party conventions to adopt woman suffrage planks in party platforms and 19 successive campaigns with 19 successive congresses cobbs said the earliest efforts to win the vote can be traced back to nations founding when the declaration of independence famously stated that all men are created equal – itself an untruth as black men were enslaved in america only one of the 13 colonies – new jersey – in 1776 gave the right to vote to single women who owned property but in 1807 rescinded that right racism and sexism both delayed the vote for women cobbs said black and white women were excluded from the expansion of the franchise that came with the 15th amendment [giving african-american men the right to vote] at the time in 1870 the idea of allowing females to vote was considered too controversial to promote and reformers prioritized giving the vote to men of color gender inequity in voting rights can be at least partially attributed to religion said valerie hudson a university distinguished professor of international affairs at the bush school of government & public service in anglo-saxon law derived from judeo-christian religious doctrine the concept of ‘coverture was adopted hudson said the book of genesis asserted that the first woman was formed from the rib of the first man thus she was actually ‘part of him and when reunited with her other half in marriage returned to being ‘part of him so the idea of giving women the right to vote was seen as nonsensical because he represented her in all things she was a part of him in a way that he was not part of her hudson who studies womens policy issues in the us and around the globe has long argued that the first political order in any nation is between men and women societies that are highly subordinative of women end up with far worse governments demographics economic performance environmental preservation and health outcomes she said looking at voting rights across the globe hudson said it can finally be said that wherever there is voting women have the right to vote but in some places barriers are purposely placed to discourage it even saudi arabia gave women the vote a few years ago she said but there are many places where women are actively discouraged from going to the polls a prime example is afghanistan where women have even been killed for daring to vote during the suffrage movement in the us activists were often verbally abused jailed and sometimes physically abused probably the most well-known suffragist susan b anthony was arrested for voting in the 1872 presidential election as she boarded the streetcar taking her to jail she said i am traveling at the expense of the government ask him for my fare after being tried and found guilty of voting illegally the judge fined anthony $100 of which she vowed never to pay a penny and she never did she devoted her life to democracy cobbs said of anthony adding that she died in 1906 without ever seeing her dream come true later activists catt and alice paul finished the campaign when anthony retired additionally cobbs said mary church terrell founder of the national association of colored women and a friend of anthony was one of the most passionate and effective lecturers on the right of black women to vote the fact that the womens suffrage movement was not tied to any particular political party and kept its focus on the right to vote was of great advantage cobbs said the movement worked hard to avoid identification with either major political party in order to attract support from both she said they limited the issue to the vote to avoid getting drawn into arguments over more controversial side issues like the right to divorce – then considered scandalous since winning the vote women have slowly outpaced men in voter turnout according to the center for american women and politics in every presidential election since 1980 the proportion of eligible female adults who voted has exceeded the proportion of eligible male adults who voted the number of female voters has exceeded the number of male voters in every presidential election since 1964 in the 2016 presidential election 728 million women voted compared to 63 million men regardless of womens increasing participation in voting men still outnumber women in elected and leadership positions and the gender gap in wages continues according to the us census bureau in 2018 the average full-time woman worker made 82 percent of what a full-time working man made women carry most of the weight of homemaking and childrearing cobbs said as long as this burden – and joy – are unevenly shared women will have a harder time than men in advancing both politically and economically countries that do more to help working women have seen far greater political participation by women than we have right now the united states ranks 53rd in gender equality worldwide while there is still much to be done both professors agree that in all great fights progress must be celebrated and the womens suffrage movement still stands today as one of the nations greatest victories for equality i hope women today feel great gratitude in their hearts for the women and their male allies who finally allowed women the vote 100 years ago hudson said it remains one of the most remarkable and praiseworthy achievements of our country note: this article was orginially published in texas a&m today
laura chapman rubbo director of global public policy for the walt disney company will receive the 2020 mclane leadership in business award on sept 15 the award will be presented by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university presented annually the award recognizes a prominent individual in the field of business for outstanding contributions in the area of business public service or community service at the national level rubbo is noted for her business leadership in global human rights and corporate social responsibility due to social distancing requirements this years mclane leadership in business award event will take place virtually over zoom from 5:30-6:30 pm on tuesday sept 15 the program is open to the public but registration is required by monday sept 14 guests may register online at the bush school website or by calling 979-845-1927 rubbo leads policy analysis strategy development and external engagement for global human rights international labor standards supply chain efforts and other corporate social responsibility issues across all of disneys businesses as the largest licensor of consumer products in the world particular attention is paid to labor standards in global supply chains and in that regard rubbo oversees the development of policy positions and partnerships with intergovernmental organizations industry associations and civil society in addition rubbo serves as chair of the corporate responsibility and labor affairs committee of the united states council for international business and chair of the steering committee of the international labor organizations (ilo) global business network on forced labor laura rubbo is a cutting-edge leader on global labor standards and corporate responsibility in sourcing said raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute she has successfully leveraged the disney brand to improve working conditions around the world by supporting innovative and successful approaches we are thrilled to be able to honor her with this years mclane award the mosbacher institute was founded in october 2009 to produce policy-oriented research in trade energy and good governance the mclane leadership in business award was established by drayton mclane jr a noted entrepreneur and chairman of the mclane group a diversified collection of businesses that demonstrate a tradition of excellence and innovation
professor mary e hilderbrands short article co-authored with mónica tapia of ruta cívica and profiling ruta cívicas effective approach to influencing public policy was recently recognized as an outstanding submission for the civil society policy impact research award 2020 by the international society of third-sector research ruta cívica is a small but influential civil society organization (cso) that carries out campaigns on various issues of importance for mexico city including anti-corruption and citizen participation in urban planning it takes on critically important issues that shape the quality of life for mexico citys citizens and neighborhoods it advocates for improved governance by talking with people in government conducting communication campaigns and bringing public pressure on government hilderbrand leads a multi-faceted relationship with ruta cívica – a centerpiece of the international engagements of the center for nonprofits and philanthropy (cnp) the bush school has been working with ruta cívica since mid-2017 and has supported two capstone teams that conducted research to help inform ruta civicas policy advocacy in both projects the bush school students conducted case studies of the institutional arrangements in four cities providing insights into options for mexico city and assessments of their relevance we are grateful for the high-impact learning opportunities this long-standing relationship provides students tackling governance of risk management: civil society impact in mexico city mary e hilderbrand texas a&m universitymónica tapia a ruta cívica mexico city on september 19 2017 a 71-magnitude earthquake struck mexico city killing over 200 people and causing the collapse of buildings and widespread structural damage despite having experienced a disastrous earthquake 32 years earlier the city was not well prepared to prevent damage respond in the immediate aftermath or undertake reconstruction many citizens and nonprofits helped with emergency relief in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake several organizationsruta cívica cartocrítica and othersalong with grassroots groups risk experts and citizens were working toward a longer-term goal: improved governance of the risk management system in the city overall they pushed for an approach that moved away from the traditional focus on disasters as relating only to natural hazards and emergency response toward a more comprehensive view of risk (and resilience) as a combination of natural social and human conditions in line with their understanding of risk and resilience as well as with their missions as civil society organizations (csos) they advocated for more citizen involvement and more accountability of government to citizens the csos identified inaccessibility of critical information on risk and vulnerability as a central problem underlying inadequate coordination inclusiveness and accountability they collectively led three major advocacy efforts: 1) a push to make the mexico city risk atlaswith data on natural hazards social vulnerabilities and resourcespublic and usable by citizens; 2) an open data campaign focusing on relevant government information especially on damage to and structural integrity of individual buildings; and 3) pressure for simplification better coordination and more transparency of mexico city governments reconstruction processes the main partners ruta cívica is a small backbone organization that carries out campaigns on various issues of importance for mexico city including anti-corruption and citizen participation in urban sustainable planning it advocates for improved governance by talking with people in government conducting communication campaigns and bringing public pressure on government cartocrítica uses mexicos transparency and access to information legal framework to produce openly available maps of energy natural resources government permits and urban planning its stated purpose is to support integrated management of mexican territory protection of cultural and biological diversity and protection of human rights ciudadanía19s formed within weeks of the 2017 earthquake became the coalition under which ruta cívica cartocrítica and other actors campaigned in favor of risk management and reconstruction that included civil society participation access to justice and respect for human rights anti-corruption and environmental justice the approach the coalition carried out a wide variety of activities across the three efforts communication campaigns in social and traditional media mobilized citizen support through #atlasderiesgosya (#riskatlasnow) interviews and press conferences and posters and signs in neighborhoods they lobbied government directly holding meetings and discussions with elected representatives and government officials they called upon the international commitments made by the mexican government as a member of the open government partnership they utilized the access to information law filing requests to local governments appealing to the national transparency agency (inai) to uphold those requests and making an amicus curiae filing to inai they worked to hold government accountable by reviewing reconstruction performance data they wrote and published reports and papers the partners went beyond putting pressure on government and have contributed more directly to the tools available to citizens and even to government ruta cívica produced a manual detailing the steps a citizen had to take to get government assistance for reconstruction and explaining how to identify and reduce risk in their own and neighbors properties it was designed as a practical manualnot just the official rules but what had to be done in practice in addition ruta cívica and cartocrítica launched a citizen-science geographical platform with information on urban development water management environmental conservation and risk ciudadanía19s carried out extensive neighborhood education through workshops and festivals to help people know how to use the risk atlas and other tools the impact ciudadanía19s has had significant impact on mexico citys risk management and reconstruction policies and implementation it has helped ensure the public availability of information that citizens need for recovering from earthquake damage and that all stakeholders need for planning for resilience and increasing accountability a major success came in getting mexico city to make the risk atlas public the atlas maps multiple levels of data from natural hazards to demographic information to social services and location of organizations all the data including the shape files are downloadable enabling otherswhether civil society organizations the private sector or individualsto produce maps or other tools that are directly useful for their own communities along with the risk atlas the citys open data portal and the ruta cívica-cartocrítica open portal on urban planning data have greatly expanded the tools that citizens and civil society can access on reconstruction the newly elected mexico city administration centralized the various procedures under the reconstruction commission and streamlined the property title accreditation process required to start construction the commission now posts its performance data on building reconstruction or repair beneficiaries and funding allocation on the open data portal and ruta cívica reviews and advises on the data and presentation as part of a scientific and transparency steering committee ongoing challenges along with the successes there are ongoing challenges there are still limits to the data that are openly available although a new risk management law with some mechanisms for civil society and private sector representation was recently approved by the mexico city congress it has not yet been implemented many decisions are made behind closed doors and access for csos to key decision-makers is difficult there are also challenges with regard to citizen utilization of the information in low-income neighborhoods most people do not have access to technology so need intermediaries who can translate the information into usable tools such as creating paper maps that bring together different types of information relevant for the community efforts towards relocating vulnerable groups to safer areas is yet to come even more significant is a strong distrust of government based on having received little or disappointing assistance from government in the first two years after the earthquake questions about fairness of who does receive aid and doubts about the fit of government approaches to the needs of the communities conclusion the experience of ruta cívica cartocrítica and ciudadanía19s is a story of csos working collectively to strengthen policy implementation and governance with an emphasis on openness to citizen involvement and accountability to citizens it demonstrates the effectiveness of a multifaceted advocacy strategy of working closely with government officials and agencies on one hand and organizing public campaigns of civil society organizations experts and citizens to put pressure on government from the outside in addition it shows the potential role of policy advocacy csos in serving as intermediaries between government and citizens or communities these efforts also underline the importance of information for citizen empowerment in disaster recovery and risk management as well as enabling an evolution of approaches toward prevention they demonstrate how civil society organizations can play a central role in helping to create an environment of information openness that supports more effective disaster response and greater urban resilience in the long run
the department of political science is excited to announce four new scholars joining our faculty this fall semester! we are proud to welcome the following members: kirby goidel was a professor in the department of communication and the public policy research institute at texas a&m university previously he was the scripps howard professor of mass communication in the department of political science at louisiana state university where he also served as director of the public policy research lab his research interests are motivated by questions of democratic governance including whether citizens are up to the task of democratic governance the willingness and ability of elites to manipulate public opinion and the institutional mechanisms which translate democratic inputs into policy outcomes johanna dunaway was an associate professor in the department of communication at texas a&m university before joining the faculty at texas a&m in fall 2016 she was at louisiana state university in the department of political science and the manship school of mass communication previously johanna was a joan shorenstein fellow in the shorenstein center for media politics and public policy at harvards kennedy school of government her research interests include news media and politics and political communication with an emphasis on how the changing media environment is shaping news consumption and political knowledge attitudes and behavior kristy pathakis recently received her phd in political science from the university of california san diego department of political science and school of global policy and strategy her research interests include the investigation of the psychological underpinnings of political non-participation by marginalized or otherwise underrepresented groups and the design of solutions to increase participation alicia cooperman received a phd in political science from columbia university in may 2019 and was a postdoctoral research associate at princeton university during 2019 – 2020 her research interests include local and global challenges in the political economy of development water and energy policy civil society and accountability and climate change on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
texas a&m university professors maria escobar-lemmon and mario torres have been selected by the hispanic association of colleges and universities as fellows for the second cohort of its leadership academy/la academia de liderazgo the program is designed to increase diverse representation in executive and senior-level positions in higher education la academia seeks to increase the number of talented individuals who aspire to leadership positions of hispanic-serving institutions (hsis) and emerging hsis fellows selected for the program participate in an array of leadership development activities that will not only prepare them for leadership roles in the full spectrum of institutions of higher learning but also within hsis and emerging hsis i am extremely honored to have been selected said escobar-lemmon a professor of political science in the college of liberal arts the individuals included in the first cohort have done some incredible things and im humbled to be counted in this company hacu has an impressive leadership team and i am excited to learn from those who are able and willing to share knowledge and experience escobar-lemmon studies political institutions with a regional focus on latin america with emphasis on the representation of women she is an active member of the departments program in the cross-national study of politics and the project for equity representation and governance her work has appeared in numerous journals including the american journal of political science the journal of politics and political research quarterly among others she has done field research in colombia costa rica and venezuela gathering data and conducting interviews to better understand the workings of governments in the region she said shes excited to join the hacu program because it offers mentorship from people with whom she would never otherwise come into contact the impressive faculty they have assembled (more than a dozen nationally recognized current and emeriti presidents and senior-level administrators with 100 plus years of combined experience) is an unprecedented opportunity she said adding that as texas a&m moves toward becoming an hsi it is important for the university to have leadership teams that reflect the student population i hope to bring back ideas and insights that will enable texas a&m to continue to fulfill its land- sea- and space grant mission to truly serve all the people of texas she said i hope that the project i work on during the course of la academia will help to further a climate of inclusive excellence original article by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communications on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
article written by erin sydney fox office of extended education most people wait until after they have finished their masters degree to switch careers or change jobs as a chronic overachiever schedir illoldi was not one of them while pursuing the executive master of public service and administration (empsa) degree from texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service schedir was working as a commercial space transportation safety inspector for the federal aviation administration office of commercial space transportation during her time in the program she had the opportunity to advance in her career and become the interim deputy manager of her division within the federal aviation administration for six months she took that opportunity and performed exceedingly well having demonstrated to her supervisors her success at juggling increased responsibility and graduate-level school work she continued to serve in a leadership role upon graduation currently as a commercial space transportation safety inspector she maintains a balance between protecting the safety health and property of the public while also promoting the american space industry schedirs path began at texas a&m university where she earned a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering after graduation she relocated to washington dc and began pursuing an online graduate certificate in advanced international affairs while working as an intern while completing her graduate certificate she started her career in federal service at the national science foundation waiting in earnest for the bush school to finalize its online masters program and begin accepting students schedir went on to become a member of the charter class of the empsa program pursuing a track in homeland security her emphasis on homeland security allowed her to focus on how to merge topics such as infrastructure with her preexisting knowledge of engineering and space launches schedir said the homeland security capstone project made a lasting impression on her as it provided a framework for how to approach tasks that continues to impact how she frames her own projects she credits the empsa program with allowing her to become more disciplined in her approach to presentations and proposals as well as providing the tools to mature as a professional overall schedir says the empsa program made her more well-rounded and enabled her to take the next step in her career with confidence while schedir admits she is relatively young compared to others in equivalent manager positions in her industry she credits her experience in the empsa program with providing training about what is expected of a manager and promoting the high standards that are required by the position in an online program professors are incredibly involved and engaged with their students through discussion boards says schedir in addition to the professors level of involvement schedir made a point to stress how supportive the staff and administrators of the empsa program were with any questions the students had from a functionality perspective the support from all levels of involvement made it easier to be away from campus because there was always someone checking in and providing support to the students says schedir as fulltime professionals being able to send an email and be met with a speedy response was incredibly beneficial to the students in the program she added overall it was the values of public service held by the bush school that resonated with schedir and impacted her time in the program and schedir made an impact on her fellow classmates too she was selected by her empsa peers to be the class of fall 2018 celebration speaker at the graduation ceremonies schedir said in her speech i encourage you graduating class to be men and women of character who drive progress in your communities she and the fall 2018 empsa graduating class are doing just thatleading and driving progress for the good of their communities! each month the empsa program will highlight the experiences of a former student schedir illoldi is this septembers featured alumni stay tuned to see who we will feature next month
dr arnold vedlitz istpp director led a study on the role of stakeholder organizations in local recovery and resilience efforts following hurricanes and strong storms relevant stakeholder organizations include government business and industry health providers advocacy groups and nonprofit organizations each stakeholder group plays an important role in creating support for policies and actions that can strengthen community resilience to natural disasters for this study the team conducted a survey of stakeholders in the coastal bend region of texas the area where hurricane harvey made landfall in 2017 this survey collected original data on stakeholders perceptions of the impact of different causes of flooding; the extent of damage and recovery; effects on community groups infrastructure and market sectors; and support for government policies and actions to strengthen resilience based on the survey results the study team found that a majority of respondents identified inadequate drainage of flood prone areas building in areas prone to flooding and degraded natural flood control areas as having a strong or very strong impact on flooding in the coastal bend area respondents perceived that multi-family and single family housing units sustained the most damage and recovered the least furthermore low-income residents and renters were considered to have been especially hard hit by hurricane harvey to improve local community resilience to severe storms survey participants expressed support for conserving natural flood protection areas fortifying infrastructure design and building construction standards and limiting renovation and development in flood-prone areas more than 80 percent of respondents also indicated that government efforts to create partnerships and prioritize occupations that are most essential to recovery work would be an effective or very effective approach for advancing community resilience for more information about the study and its results you can access the report here stephanie brown carol goldsmith lisa halperin kimberly winarksi and arnold vedlitzproject final report: role of coastal bend organizational stakeholders in regional recovery and resilience efforts project funded by the us department of treasury through the state of texas under award 1 rcegr480001-01-00 april 2020
while the health effects of covid-19 are being widely reported less is known about the economic social and security impacts of the pandemic particularly in the developing world bush school faculty member jessica gottlieb is helping to answer those questions backed by a grant from the abdul latif jameel poverty action lab (j-pal) one of the worlds foremost centers for experimental research on economic development and poverty bush school of government and public service associate professor jessica gottlieb is studying the effects of covid-19 on market vendors in africas largest city lagos nigeria some of the early research findings from gottliebs project are described in the latest issue of the takeaway identity resilience and risk in the informal sector: differential effects of covid-19 in lagos nigeria the policy brief reports on the risks of and resilience to the covid-19 pandemic learned from surveying a random sample of informal sector vendors the vendors experiences are indicative of those of a large and particularly vulnerable subset of the population in the developing worldactors in the urban informal economy who live day-to-day and whose economic activities are deeply impacted by the crisis gottlieb and her research partner adrienne lebas from american university were able to turn around a phone surveynecessary in the time of covidquickly because they already had the contact information for the vendors from a prior project looking ahead they are aiming to work with j-pal and the lagos state government to use lessons from these surveys to design a future randomized controlled study that would assess the effectiveness of different government policies to overcome some of the obstacles to service access that were uncovered in their survey the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
experts from the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university recently published a fall 2020 white paper covid-19 and seasonal influenza: preparing for a collision the white paper can be read on the scowcroft institute disease information platform authors of this publication are the institutes deputy director of the pandemic and biosecurity program dr christine crudo blackburn; public health epidemiology program research associate at the university of texas health san antonio anmol desai; and director of the scowcroft institute andrew natsios the authors delve into the current state of the world during the pandemic and examine the responses of different countries that successfully and unsuccessfully navigated through prevention and mitigation of outbreaks they also outline what a typical influenza season in the us looks like and how combined with covid-19 spikes it could easily overwhelm hospital systems some of their concluding recommendations include increasing the influenza vaccination rate implementing cardiovascular evaluations for athletes returning to practice after covid-19 infections and developing vaccine infrastructure for a covid-19 vaccine the pandemic and biosecurity policy program is an educational research and policy program targeting current challenges in pandemic and bioterrorism preparedness and response since the initiatives inception the program has grown to include an annual conference in college station tx as well as one in washington dc the program has developed course work and an academic concentration allowing bush school students to specialize in areas such as infectious disease pandemics and bioterrorism it manages an online platform titled scowcroft infectious disease information platform (sidip) with the goal of creating a high-quality centralized location for information on infectious disease that is accessible to scientists policymakers and the public
the lives of former president george hw bush and scowcroft are forever linked in aggieland by texas a&m university division of marketing & communicationsthis article originally was published on texas a&m today statement from bush school dean mark welshstatement from the scowcroft institute of international affairsgeorge & barbara bush foundation:a tribute to general brent scowcroft lt gen brent scowcroft who dedicated six decades to government service and whose namesake is on the international affairs institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university passed away thursday aug 6 the former national security advisor to both presidents gerald ford and george hw bush was regarded as an american patriot and public servant with an extraordinary military and government service career friends said his entire professional life was devoted to how best to protect america and advance its interests scowcroft served in president george hw bushs administration during a period of historic change admired for mentoring two generations of american public servants who revered him for his brilliance integrity humility and fundamental decency scowcroft is considered one of the most influential experts in international affairs he is the only man to have served two presidents as national security advisor given his role as advisor to us presidents richard nixon through barack obama no individual has provided as many commanders-in-chief as much national security advice – irrespective of party lines andrew h card jr interim ceo of the bush foundation said though many will mourn his passing we can take heart that his legacy lives on in the fantastic work of the scowcroft institute of international affairs within the george bush school of government and public service at texas a&m he was a public servant of the highest order always putting the good of the country ahead of other concerns card said nobody worked longer hours nobody knew more about working the levers of international power and in the end very few contributed more to the universal cause of freedom than brent scowcroft it is altogether fitting that while these two giants have left us the lifes work of george bush and brent scowcroft will be forever linked in aggieland card said from his distinguished career in the us air force to his many contributions to enhancing our national security under multiple us presidents brent scowcroft led a legendary life of service said texas a&m president michael k young as the namesake of the scowcroft institute of international affairs he helped bring some of the worlds leading minds to our campus to discuss and debate vital policies shaping the world of today and tomorrow his impact and his influence at texas a&m and around the world were immeasurable and he will be greatly missed informed by the philosophy he called enlightened realism scowcroft recognized the essential – though not limitless – role us power and leadership could play in making the world a safer and more prosperous place his legacy is set apart not just by his worldview but also by the way he operated in the world despite his military background scowcroft held the belief that although military force is an important tool of statecraft it is not a substitute for policy and diplomacy his thinking which placed a premium on strategy was guided by key principles including the importance of history in shaping international affairs the necessity of strong us international leadership to ensure that a world of national disorder does not become chaos the importance of gaining domestic and international support for us leadership and the utility of working through allies coalitions and international institutions former president george w bush and his wife laura were saddened to learn of his death this patriot had a long career of distinguished service to our country bush said as a retired air force general he gave sound and thoughtful advice to several presidents he was an especially important advisor to my father – and an important friend laura and i and my family send our condolences to brents daughter karen and the scowcroft family born in 1925 in ogden utah scowcroft was a 1947 graduate of west point where he was a distinguished graduate he received his masters degree in 1953 and a doctorate in 1967 in international relations from columbia university he attended lafayette college georgetown university school of language and linguistics the armed forces staff college and the national war college scowcroft passed away thursday aug 6 his air force service included professor of russian history at west point assistant air attaché in yugoslavia head of the political science department at the air force academy air force long range plans office of the secretary of defense international security affairs special assistant to the director of the joint chiefs of staff and military assistant to president nixon his military decorations and awards include the distinguished service medal (air force design) legion of merit with oak leaf cluster and the air force commendation medal he served through the rank of lieutenant general he retired from this position to serve as national security advisor to president ford following retirement from the military he continued in public policy serving numerous administrations scowcroft joined president george hw bushs administration as national security advisor during a period of historic change which included the end of the cold war german reunification and the first gulf war in response to iraqs invasion of kuwait he chaired or served on the presidents advisory committee on arms control the commission on strategic forces the presidents special review board (also known as the tower commission) the presidents foreign intelligence advisory board the secretary of states advisory board the secretary of defenses policy board and the secretary of energys advisory board he also served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards in 1991 scowcroft was awarded the presidential medal of freedom the nations highest civilian honor by president george hw bush and in 1993 was awarded an honorary knighthood – a knight commander of the order of the british empire (kbe) – by queen elizabeth ii in 2009 he was presented the grand cross of the order of merit of the federal republic of germany and in 2015 the grand cordon of the order of the rising sun in 1994 scowcroft founded the scowcroft group he is survived by his daughter karen scowcroft and his granddaughter meghan he was preceded in death by his wife marian and sisters janice hinckley and odette scowcroft cawley a private funeral service is being arranged in lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the atlantic councils scowcroft center for strategy and security the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service or the us military academys scowcroft cadet government internship endowment
longtime public servant brent scowcroft diesstatement from the scowcroft institute of international affairsgeorge & barbara bush foundation: a tribute to general brent scowcroft our world is a lesser place today after losing lieutenant general (retired) brent scowcroft i believe historians will characterize general scowcroft as one of the greatest national security strategists in american history and i know that anyone who knew him would also characterize him as one of the greatest gentlemen they ever met rest in peace sir; please say hi to 41 for us the bush school will ensure our nation never forgets either one of you mark welshdean bush school of government and public servicetexas a&m university
longtime public servant brent scowcroft diesstatement from bush school dean mark welshgeorge & barbara bush foundation: a tribute to general brent scowcroft brent scowcroft memorial programrobert m gates eulogyrichard n haass eulogystephen j hadley eulogyhenry a kissinger eulogyvirginia a mulberger eulogy we at the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university mourn the passing of general brent scowcroft he was a great american and a great public servant: a role model for bush school students who aspire to a career in public service general scowcroft is properly regarded as one of the greatest national security advisors since the position was created his national security council reforms after the iran-contra controversy – which remain in place to this day – strengthened the white house foreign policy management process he gave prudent and carefully thought out policy advice to president george hw bush during a turbulent and chaotic period in international affairs where one mistake could well have led to a conflagration general scowcroft displayed a keen understanding of the world as it was not as we dreamed it should be president george hw bushs historic record of achievement in foreign affairs was in no small measure a function of the high quality people he chose to run the foreign policy apparatus of the federal government brent scowcroft was foremost among them one of general scowcrofts legacies is the institute which carries his name here at the bush school which aspires to provide thoughtful research commentary and scholarship on issues facing the united states and the world andrew natsiosdirector of the scowcroft institute of international affairsthe bush school of government and public servicetexas a&m university
dr gregory gause head of international affairs department at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and an affiliate of the bush schools albritton center for grand strategy recently had an article published on the foreign affairs website titled the end of saudi arabias ambitions the article talks about how the covid-19 pandemic has been a triple whammy for the middle easts oil exporters and has been especially catastrophic for saudi arabias 34-year-old crown prince mohammed bin salman read the full article on the foreign affairs website
research shows that facial recognition software makes a lot of mistakes and is particularly inaccurate on darker-skinned faces those errors can turn innocent people into suspects when used by police to identify criminals the criminal justice system also uses risk assessment algorithms to assist in bail and sentencing recommendations that have been shown to overate the risk of black suspects and underrate the risk of white ones in the latest issue of the takeaway artificial intelligence: a double-edged sword bush school of government and public service faculty member justin bullock describes some of the more questionable applications of artificial intelligence (ai) tools and proposes a framework for evaluating them the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
by justin bailey as covid-19 swept through the united states and world this spring and summer wearing masks limiting group sizes and social distancing became a new normal for second year bush school romanian fulbright scholar olga bodrug – social distancing means more than just 6 feet – it means 6 000 miles bodrug a master of international affairs student from moldova made the decision to remain in texas through the spring and summer – a decision made even tougher because she was slated to finish and defend a thesis for a masters degree she was pursuing concurrently in romania i was supposed to go home this summer to take my exams to defend my master thesis and to graduate bodrug explained but because of travel restrictions and uncertainty it was highly recommended that i stay in texas for two months i didnt know if i would be able to take my romanian exams online or if i would be able to defend my masters thesis from the united states the problem was that if i had left the united states i risked not being able to return for the second year of my studies at the bush school eventually bodrug received permission to complete her masters degree from bucharest university of economic studies online which presented another problem: time zone differences bodrug defended her master thesis at 6 am and took some exams between 1-3 am (ct) bodrug credits her bush school family with helping her prepare the master thesis four bush school professors dr richard abel dr gabriela thornton dr christopher layne and dr michael bartel; our research librarian professor wendy kaspar; and two students brittany lauritzen patrice yaro helped me with feedback brodrug said and i did a part of my research at the policy sciences and economics library and george bush presidential library and museum bodrug said many other aggies provided me emotional support along the way this help from all sides convinced me once again that i am part of the most beautiful community and that there is no institution in the united states where i could have been better received than at texas a&m bodrug achieved many firsts throughout the process: the first member of her family to earn a masters degree the first student in the history of her university in romania to defend a thesis online from the united states and the first who graduated while in the usa unable to attend her graduation in romania bodrug came up with a unique way to celebrate her achievement with friends and family halfway around the world since i could not go home this summer because of travel restrictions and as i missed my graduation ceremony i thought the best solution was to take my graduation pictures at the bush school campus bodrug said i consider this a way to show my gratitude for all help received as half of my romanian masters was completed while being here in texas the unique fulbright experience at the bush school broaden my horizons and increased my level of expertise to inspire other students to follow dreams that may seem impossible i wrote a linkedin article about my experience up next bodrug plans to submit her completed thesis to a research competition she has previously competed in with her bachelors thesis and won complete her summer internship and finish the second year of her masters degree in international affairs its a full plate but bodrug feels her recent experiences have prepared her for another challenging year
by justin bailey in mid-march events across the country were cancelled schools and restaurants were shuttered and stay-at-home orders were issued in college station bush school public service & administration professor ann bowman was interested in a deeper question: could the responses of each of the states be quantified and if so what information could be gleaned from steps each governor took the coronavirus has been a disruptive event for state and local governments throughout the country and i wanted to explore how they reacted to this global pandemic bowman said i was especially interested in the role played by governors particularly their use of executive orders collecting the data bowman enlisted the help of her graduate assistant james mckenzie to gather and help analyze the data dr bowman asked me to record the number of covid-19 cases using data from the new york times in the months of march and april mckenzie said i was also tasked with collecting data on the states specifically how governors handled policies related to the pandemic: when they issued a state of emergency if they issued a stay-at-home order if they closed bars and restaurants if they closed down schools and if they issued a traveler quarantine as well as other policy decisions mckenzie said the most difficult part was the wide range of data that needed to be collected and the need to quantify some of the nuances of different governors executive orders stay-at-home orders for instance meant different things in different states mckenzie and bowman worked closely together throughout the project initially in identifying the various metrics they would collect then in discussing the data as it came in mckenzie who plans on a career in state or local government saw the discussions with bowman widely considered a leader in her field as particularly beneficial the opportunity to work with dr bowman on this project absolutely helped me hone my data analysis writing and research skills within her field of expertise mckenzie said i specifically benefited from the working discussions dr bowman and i shared about how federalism impacts power dynamics between state and local governments; this was a major focus of our paper topic after collecting data for two months mckenzies data analysis and visualization skills were put to the test james has a strong work ethic and excellent research skills bowman said he has learned a lot about state and local governments and he is adept at tracking down hard-to-find data james is quite skilled at data analysis and presentation; he produced scatterplots and maps for this project putting it all together the research and analysis complete the pair set about writing a paper detailing what theyd found media reports indicated that the coronavirus was not affecting all states with the same severity so i expected to find variation in governors reactions bowman said the data collected and analyzed for this research supported this expectation the results of our analysis showed that in the months of march and april 2020 governors played a prominent role initiating a rapidly changing policy environment predominantly through executive orders mckenzie added there were a number of complex factors governors may have considered when determining the timing and level of restrictiveness for their executive orders; for example the number of confirmed cases in the state political party identification and potential re-election decisions the level of cooperation with local governments and the level of cooperation with other states in the region mckenzie wrote a case study section of the paper focused on the policy differences between texas and pennsylvania texas and pennsylvania were identified as instructive for how the governors approached the eventual issuance of statewide stay-at-home orders mckenzie explained in texas the governor initially took more of a local-government-driven policy approach before issuing a sweeping statewide stay-at-home order the governor of pennsylvania took a gradual state-driven approach for specific counties before mandating a full statewide stay-at-home order the paper is titled managing a pandemic at a less than global scale: governors take the lead it will be published in a special issue of the american review of public administration (arpa) one of the leading journals in the public administration field its target audience is both scholars and practitioners arpas special issue focuses on covid-19
robert ralston cgs predoctoral fellow has a new article on the foreign affairs website in it ralston discusses how more than principles or ideology partisan politics explains how americans think military and civilian officials ought to interact the full article is available online on the foreign affairs website
congratulations to the bush school student chapter of the international city/county management association (icma)! the bush school chapter was recently awarded the best chapter event winning not only a highlight in the icmas newsletter but also a financial award the icma was founded in 1914 to advance professional local government through leadership management innovation and ethics bush school students visited the city of todd mission texas and spent time with bush school alumnus neal wendele the meeting enabled student chapter members to see firsthand rural governance in texas and todd missions unique relationship to the texas renaissance festival the students received a tour of city hall and the volunteer fire station as wendele discussed his journey from graduate student to city manager and answered questions from students about local government job searches after the visit bush school students stated we are incredibly grateful to neal and our other wonderful city managers mentors and leaders in this profession that invest time into helping build the next generation of public servants we found it incredibly fascinating to observe the day-to-day operation of a small town and see the charm and importance of rural america in our society this trip was a valuable learning experience trip for all those who participated and led members crayton brubaker abigail garcia alicia ortman austin bishop and kimberely winarski to write rural and fantastic governance: an afternoon in todd mission texas and submit it to the icma their write-up led to their success in receiving the best chapter event award congratulations to our students! we are always excited to see the recognition of our students hard work
by dorian martin 06 originally published on july 11 2021 on the texas a&m foundation website the memory of the late barbara bush is being honored by two foundationsthe robertson foundation for government (rfg) and the jack and carolyn little family foundationthat have created the women in public service fellowship in honor of barbara bush through the texas a&m foundation over the years barbara bush served as the consistent anchor that helped her familywell known for its long and extensive commitment to public serviceremain grounded as wife mother and grandmother to elected national and state officials and policymakers the former first lady was known for her no-nonsense caring and bipartisan approach as well as her commitment to the nation her family and causes that she cared about including adult and child literacy two years following her passing in 2018 bushs legacy still burns brightly her memory is being honored by two foundationsthe robertson foundation for government (rfg) and the jack and carolyn little family foundationthat have created the women in public service fellowship in honor of barbara bush through the texas a&m foundation this fellowship will support deserving students pursuing a masters degree with a focus on intelligence studies and public policy from texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service as a nonpartisan family foundation dedicated to educating future federal leaders honoring the bush matriarchs expansive influence was an easy decision rfg president cynthia robinson noted we felt that creating a fellowship in her honor for students interested in public service would be a wonderful way to celebrate her legacy and attract more students to careers in policy and government service the next generation of federal leaders the women in public service fellowship deepens rfgs partnership with the bush school which started in 2011 our foundation is focused on public service and leadership development with an emphasis on federal government service in the areas of foreign relations international relations and national security robinson said rfg funds three areas of activityeducation training and networking for career development for future federal leaders; enhancing the federal workforce; and promoting the value and importance of government service the nonprofit which was founded in 2010 supports graduate fellowships at five higher education institutions across the nation the organization already established four annual fellowships at the bush school prior to creating the women in public service fellowship every rfg fellowship requires recipients who are pursuing a masters degree to commit to working in the federal government for a three-year period within seven years of graduation cynthia robinson president of the robertson foundation for government rfgs latest gift to the bush school is also part of the foundations 10th anniversary initiatives were celebrating the fact that this spring marked the anniversary of 10 classes of robertson fellows robinson added as part of that were looking forward to other ways we can enhance our impact scale and scope since one of our primary areas of funding is individuals who will be future leaders we have been looking at ways to expand the number of fellowships we offer in addition to these fellowships the foundation offers extensive opportunities for rfg fellows to learn once they enter the workforce and develop a network of strong relationships that will span the course of their policy careers we help recipients throughout their careers to continue to build their capacity knowledge and circles of influence to make a difference in foreign policy international relations and national security robinson said were looking for people who will be future federal leaders with a global mindset creating opportunity the creation of this latest fellowship also opened the door for carolyn h and dr jack e little 60 to step into a new funding role with the bush school the couples foundation the jack and carolyn little family foundation already had displayed its commitment over a period of two decades to texas a&m by providing scholastic assistance each semester to five undergraduate students with strong academic backgrounds but limited financial capacity after attending a presentation last fall by bush school professor jim olson an internationally recognized counterintelligence expert the littles decided they wanted to support a graduate student who was focusing on national security knowing that four of their five scholarship recipients would graduate in spring 2020 the couple began to work with the texas a&m foundations staff to reallocate those funds to support a bush school fellowship soon rfgs interest in creating the fellowship in honor of barbara bush using matching funds came to the littles attention we knew the bushes for many years and had supported mrs bushs literacy foundation said carolyn she was a very special woman so we are tremendously happy to be involved in this fellowship the littles were also attracted to this fellowship because it aligned with president bushs belief that citizens want to give back to their country we admired his great commitment to service jack added we are honored to do something to help carry on his legacy creating more engaged citizens through their foundation carolyn h and dr jack e little 60 continued their support of texas a&m through matching funds to support this new fellowship at the bush school since its inception rfg has financially supported 170 past and current fellows from five us universities of those approximately 75 percent of the alumni are working in government others have completed their required service and moved into other sectors although some continue in government through serving on panels or as advisors later in their careers the fellowship brings people into the federal government early in their careers so they learn about many opportunities that are available robinson said then they can continue to be involved during their career even if they move outside of a direct-hire government position that experience not only creates future government leaders but also much better informed and more engaged citizens the joint gift is already making a difference at the bush school the importance of the fellowship cant be understated for me said autumn clouthier 20 22 its first recipient i would have had to take out several loans to put myself through graduate school with my determination to go into public service after graduation i would have had those loans burdening me for most of my adult life the fellowship was an unexpected gift; i am still dazed by the suddenness of it all the creators of the fellowship are providing me with the essential resources and support i need to be successful to learn how you can join in this important cause to provide fellowships or support for bush school graduate students contact alexandra gonzález rainey 15 director of development
by michele schevikhoven ‘21 under president george hw bushs philosophy that public service is a noble calling the bush school of government and public service is dedicated to producing leaders who reflect the value and importance of public service in the united states with the help of generous donors the school is educating tomorrows public servants for their future careers when it comes to service successful houston business owners maria and rex grey 67 believe they are called to serve their community and fellow aggies we think public service is an honorable act rex explained we are confident the bush school provides the best practices to ensure the next generations will serve our country well to prove this the greys committed a multimillion-dollar planned gift from their estate to support various areas at texas a&m university with more than 35% dedicated to scholarships and professorships at the bush school in addition to financially supporting students and faculty the greys have personally invested their time in the schools intelligence studies program a top-tier program for us intelligence agencies that relies on practitioner expertise from the cia fbi nsa and us military in the late 60s rex gained unique intelligence experience during his first career when he and his team developed the first espionage satellites using television cameras with his early knowledge of the intelligence industry rex began attending the bush schools manor house luncheon lecture series in the fall semesters to share his insight with former bush school dean ambassador ryan crocker and james olson a former cia undercover operative who now leads the bush schools intelligence studies program the greys now meet with bush school representatives to stay abreast of the schools programs and areas they can support i am proud that my experience has supported the bush school in its endeavors to produce capable and knowledgeable leaders managers and agents rex said the intelligence studies program at the bush school led by olson is a competitive program that has produced more than 300 graduates entering the intelligence field since 1997 olson said president bush had a special interest in ensuring that many bush school graduates would serve the intelligence community maria and rex clearly identify with president bushs vision to prepare young men and women for careers in public service olson said with their generosity bush school graduates are and will continue doing amazing things on the front lines of us intelligence around the world previously published on texas a&m foundation
for years the united states has been grappling unsuccessfully with what to do about undocumented immigrant youth brought to the united states as children efforts have included the 1986 immigration reform and control act (irca); the development relief and education for alien minors (dream) act first introduced in 2001 but not yet passed; and the 2012 deferred action for childhood arrival (daca) directive the daca of course is back in the news this month with the trump administrations most recent efforts to end it research done by bush school associate professor kalena cortes lends support to policies that ease restrictions on the aspiring undocumented immigrant youth often called dreamers her examination of the irca showed that immigrant youth who faced fewer legal and financial barriers were significantly more likely to enroll in higher education than those not granted protections other researchers have found that higher education correlates with lower crime rates higher salaries and employment rates and improved quality of life for entire communities the research is described in a recent issue of the takeaway achieving the dream: the effect of irca on immigrant youth post-secondary educational access written by bush school student tyler tidwell the article asks us to consider the potential cascade of positive effects that could result from educating immigrant populations the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
originally in texas a&m today as the us death toll surpasses 120 000 people two of the nations most influential voices in the covid-19 fight are calling for a bipartisan objective investigation into the nations initial outbreak response we must prevent this from happening again said dr gerald parker director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service this is not going to be our last pandemic dr peter hotez a hagler institute scholar at texas a&m and a vaccine researcher at baylor college of medicine in houston agreed with the need for a bipartisan inquiry the investigation needs to take place after the immediate ongoing crisis has waned they said it should be modeled after the 9/11 commission that followed the sept 11 2001 attacks particularly concerning in the us hotez said is that covid-19 transmission was allowed to go on for weeks without a major public health response even though the world had witnessed its devastating impact in parts of europe and china what hurt wuhan was what hurt new york city which is the virus transmission went on for six weeks before there was any public health intervention said hotez who is dean of baylors national school of tropical medicine parker and hotez spoke with john sharp chancellor of the texas a&m university system as part of the 12th and final episode of the series covid-19: the texas a&m university system responds if the field of scientific study had rock stars dr parker and dr hotez would be selling out stadiums sharp said the nation is blessed to have their leadership in the war against covid-19 the discussion will air 7 pm thursday on kamu-tv in college station and on other texas public television affiliates (check local listings in dallas san antonio austin waco and amarillo) it also will be uploaded this week to the systems youtube channel hotez a physician is one of the globes most influential people in health care through his work at baylor and as co-director of the texas childrens hospital center for vaccine development parker a veterinary scientist is one of the nations top experts on defending against emerging public health threats after serving in bio defense leadership positions at the us departments of defense homeland security and health and human services he also is associate dean for global one health at the texas a&m college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciences hotez told sharp he is worried that anti-science nationalism is creating global instability both scientists called for more global coordination for the development and equitable distribution of vaccines the virus doesnt really care if you are chinese or british or american or even texan hotez said the only way were going to solve this is if countries cooperate to make vaccines and work together to scale up vaccines hotez and parker discussed working together through the bush school in the coming months to help ensure that the nation and world learn the lessons of covid-19 in the past parker said government leadership has failed to invest enough in bio security between infectious outbreaks i am optimistic parker said that we may break through this boom-and-bust cycle and finally take pandemic preparedness seriously
h-diplos international security studies forum has published a roundtable review of austin carsons secret wars: covert conflict in international politics with contributions by the albritton center for grand strategy co-director john schuessler as well as stacie goddard dan reiter jessica weeks and carson the full review is available online at the h-diplo | isff website
the albritton center for grand strategy is excited to welcome celeste ward gventer and kendrick kuo to its fellowship program! the cgs fellows program supports one pre-doctoral and one post-doctoral fellow in residence at the bush school of government and public service the center is particularly interested in scholars who are engaging with the fundamental questions surrounding grand strategy: how should the national interest be defined what are the threats to the national interest how should the united states use its power in response we invite scholars of political science history and other relevant disciplines to apply for the fellowships celeste ward gventer the 2020-21 postdoctoral fellow at the albritton center for grand strategy most recently taught public policy and writing at the lbj school of public affairs at the university of texas (ut) in the preceding years she worked as a consultant on defense organization management and institution building in eastern europe and the middle east kendrick kuo the 2020-21 predoctoral fellow at the albritton center for grand strategy is a phd candidate in political science at the george washington university his research focuses on military effectiveness innovation and defense policy read more about the cgs fellows
it is with a heavy heart that the bush school of government and public service announces that professor kent portney passed away suddenly on saturday june 13 2020 dr portney came to the bush schools department of public service and administration in 2014 he was appointed director of the institute for science technology and public policy in september 2016 after serving two years as a senior fellow in the institute honored in 2017 as a texas a&m university presidential impact fellow in 2018 he was named to the bob bullock chair in government and public policy dr lori taylor head of the department of public service and administration noted that dr portneys scholarly drive and passion for environmental issues were evident in everything he did in his wide-ranging and distinguished professional career in the last year alone dr portney participated in several major environmental initiatives said dr taylor including the resilience and climate change cooperative project (rcccp) with the institute for sustainable coastal communities in tamus department of landscape architecture and planning the tamu institute for sustainable communities the tamu energy institutes interdisciplinary academic council the food-energy-water nexus initiative leadership team the water research group and the water management and hydrologic science program through tamus college of geosciences dr portney represented the bush school on the universitys council of principal investigators and was himself a principal investigator for multiple projects including the gene drive applications to agriculture in texas: knowledge perceptions and values program area priority: social implications of emerging technologies and the pathways to sustainable and socially equitable transitions to urban water security: desalination and water reuse challenges in the 21st century he also served as associate editor for climatic change and as a member of the editorial board for urban science prior to joining the bush school dr portney spent more than thirty years on the faculty at tufts university where he served as chair of the department of political science and directed the graduate program in public policy and citizen participation he was director of the water and research program at the center for international environment and resource policy (cierp) at tufts fletcher school of law and diplomacy he received his phd in political science from florida state university his masters from the university of connecticut and his bachelors from rutgers university where his studies focused on public administration and public policy his 1993 book with jeffrey m berry and ken thomson the rebirth of urban democracy earned two awards from the american political science association: the gladys kammerer award for best book in american national politics; and the urban politics sections best book in urban politics all of us at the school mourn the loss of our friend and colleague said dean mark welsh his commitment to excellence in public administration and his passion for the environment gave dr portney unique insights into how government can be a positive force for change he was a wonderful scholar and a tremendous teammate he will be greatly missed by his students and his colleagues our heart goes out to his family services are in the care of callaway-jones funeral and crematory bryan-college station dr portneys obituary
the albritton center for grand strategys incoming postdoctoral fellow celeste gventer co-authored an article in the upcoming issue of foreign affairs titled the rise of strategic corruption: how states weaponize graft it argues that weaponized corruption has become an important form of political warfare today
dr mcintyres obituary | rep flores recognizes david mcintyre on the house floor dr david mcintyre the founding director of the texas a&m bush school of government and public service graduate certificate in homeland security program passed away on monday june 8 2020 dr mcintyre had been writing teaching and presenting on national security and homeland security issues for more than thirty years and was integral to the development of the homeland security track in the schools executive master of public service and administration degree and the security policy concentration in the schools master of public service and administration degree he was a member of the executive committee and curriculum standards committee for the international society for preparedness resilience and security (insprs) and had recently served as a fellow at the center for cyber and homeland security at george washington university at the time of his passing he was working on the third and fourth volumes of a multi-volume set of essays entitled how to think about homeland security a graduate of the united states military academy where he earned a bachelors degree in engineering dr mcintyre later earned a masters in english and american literature from auburn university and a phd in government and political science (security studies) from the university of maryland in college park md dr mcintyre retired from the us army as a colonel after a distinguished thirty-year career that included duties in airborne and reconnaissance units as well as writing and teaching strategy he wrote congressional testimony and national strategic documents for the army chief of staff and the commander of us military forces in the pacific taught in the west point department of english and retired as the dean of faculty and academics at the national war collegedr mcintyre was appointed to the national security education board by president george w bush in june 2008 confirmed by the senate and served until 2012 from 2010 until 2014 he was a distinguished visiting fellow at the homeland security studies & analysis institute (hssai) in washington dc he also previously served on the national board of directors of the infragard national members alliance (a public-private partnership with the fbi) as academic advisor to the university and colleges committee of the international association of emergency managers (iaea) as board member of the homeland security/defense educational consortium and on the 2002-2003 defense science board summer study on homeland security dr lori l taylor head of the department of public service and administration noted that dr mcintyre was an award-winning teacher and valued colleague who was always ready to share his expertise and experience with faculty and students alike we will miss dave greatly and send our condolences to his family taylor added
by dean mark welsh howdy yesterday morning someone asked me what i thought about the events that have unfolded across our country since may 25th the full answer to that question is much too long for an email so let me just share the things that first sprang to mind in the moment after the question was posed first i believe mr george floyds murder was horrific … and inexcusable i believe the protests that have followed are a very clear statement by a remarkably broad demographic in our country that enough is enough each and every one of us should be listening to and endorsing that statement the violence that erupted around some of those protests is also inexcusable; it has to stop but we cant let ourselves be distracted by that violence … it is not the message we need to hear black lives matter – thats the message i stand firmly in defense of that message i hope that everyone associated with the bush school will do the same while all men and women may be created equal they are certainly not treated equally in every circumstance i believe racism clearly exists in this country and in some form or fashion in virtually every other country around the world until that changes it will be impossible for any community any city any state any nation or any citizen regardless of color to reach their full potential each of us is unique we are in this world together not taking advantage of the incredible opportunities that provides us would be an even greater tragedy than what we have witnessed across our nation over the past week and a half while we could argue over the definition of white privilege there is no question in my mind that it exists i should know i grew up with it not because i wanted it; not because i asked for it: not because my family or i agreed with it; not because i tried to take advantage of it; and not because i or anyone else i knew actively promoted it or even thought about it; but just because it was a reality in our country and i was white i can honestly say ive never felt the fear of authority expressed by so many over the past 10 days and in truth for many many years before ive never felt that when opportunity knocked i wasnt allowed to answer simply because my hand wasnt the right color to reach for the door the incredible thing about the last 10 days is that most americans can actually see the frustration sense the sadness begin to comprehend the anger and in a remarkable way actually feel at least some of the pain felt by so many of our own american family who have lived with these feelings their entire lives including members of our own bush school familyprofessors staff members students and former students this isnt a new issue … we just havent fixed it i believe its long past time for that to change i believe the bush school must be part of that change last night we started what i hope will be a long-running conversation with our student body roughly 60 of them chose to join us in a virtual event to share their thoughts on the events of the last couple of weeks and start to think about the challenges faced by policy and decision makers at the city state and federal levels whose job is to take our society from where it is today to a much better place in the future ill send out a note this weekend asking our faculty staff and former students to join in that discussion each will bring a different and valued perspective along the way we will undoubtedly learn things about ourselves that make us uncomfortable we will disagree probably often but we must communicate openly honestly and respectfully about the realities we see around us from the halls of the bush school to the protests roiling major cities across our country and most importantly we must be willing to change our own world if necessary in order to better prepare our students to change theirs in the future finally let me say this to our students faculty and staff of color the events of the past 10 days have undoubtedly impacted you in a more dramatic way than anyone else i want you to know that all of us stand with you when you are weary lean on us when you are rested help us understand our nation is better than this … its time for americans to prove itr/mark mark welshdeanbush school of government and public servicetexas a&m university
texas a&m university press has made available a free and downloadable ebook edition of preparing for pandemics in the modern worldthe book which will be formally published later this fall was already in development before the outbreak of the current covid-19 pandemic the press believes that the information contained in this book is time-sensitive urgently needed and will make a positive contribution toward navigating the current pandemic said jay dew director of texas a&m university press to that end we are pleased to make the book available to all by releasing it immediately as a free pre-publication edition download the book from the texas a&m university press website the books wide audience includes the general public policy makers and those in charge at the city county state and national levels for emergency response and preparedness university press officials said the book advocates the one health concept which is the focus on the interdependence of human animal and environmental health which helps us to prevent and prepare for pandemics in this regard the book is meant for everyoneto highlight and better understand the roles we all play in pandemic prevention and preparedness they said chapters include business planning for pandemics the impacts of supply chain disruption and lessons learned from the 1918 influenza pandemic and why they still matter today the editor of the book is christine crudo blackburn deputy director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service and an adjunct faculty member in the department of health promotion and community health sciences at the texas a&m university school of public health previously published on texas a&m today
if the recovering americas wildlife act (hr 3742) passes texas will need to come up with $20 million in non-federal funding in order to receive $60 million in federal funding at the request of the boone and crockett club a bush school of government and public service capstone team undertook to determine the best and most sustainable funding options to raise the funds needed to receive the federal match the team researched the options surveyed stakeholders and analyzed the feasibility of the preferred methods in terms of equity long-term viability and practicality the results of their research and the reasoning behind their recommendation to implement a $1 vehicle registration fee to expand conservation funding in texas is outlined in a new issue of the takeaway sustainable funding options for texas wildlife conservation the capstone team included taimoor alvi colton haffey mary huddleston emily parks bill prieto austin reed hamza sadiq carolyn smith matthew vatthauer and maheen zahid their faculty advisor was dr cole blease graham and their academic sponsor was dr peregrine barboza completing the capstone project was one of their last requirements before earning the master of public service and administration degree the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university the 2019-20 boone and crockett capstone team left to right: hamza sadiq colton haffey bill prieto emily parks austin reed maheen zahid carolyn smith matthew vatthauer taimoor alvi mary huddleston (absent)
while covid-19 has us all keenly aware of global supply chain challenges a new issue of the takeaway covid-19 no match for the forces of global trade: it is too early to declare the end of the current era of globalization explains the basic reasons why international trade has skyrocketed in recent years and why those forces are unlikely to be reversed the author richard metters is a mosbacher research fellow and professor and head of the department of information and operations management at mays business school at texas a&m university he reminds us that politics can cause tariffs to rise but containerized ships and the internet will not go away a us tariff on china will drive supply chains to source in vietnam or perhaps africa but not back to the united states the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
the research for the latest issue of the takeaway shell games: chinese reverse merger fraud was done by bush school and texas a&m students as part of a larger project led by dr will norris on chinese economic statecraft the lead author benjamin zimmer is a recent graduate of the bush school of government and public service with a master of international relations the other two authors joseph balmain rodgers and brian tripsa are business honors students at texas a&m university their policy brief explains that in reverse mergers a private company buys a public shell company in order to gain the shell companys listing on a major stock exchange thus bypassing the difficult regulatory path associated with an initial public offering (ipo) because chinese companies typically encounter difficulties when pursuing an ipo reverse mergers offer them an attractive alternative the authors warn us that not all chinese companies are what they seem when pursuing a reverse merger between 2007 and 2010 several chinese companies effectively used reverse mergers to defraud investors of close to $34 billion by misreporting their financial assets on official securities and exchange commission (sec) filings since then the sec has tightened regulations but criminal schemes to fraudulently inflate the stock value of reverse merger companies continue the authors urge congress to protect american exchange markets from reverse merger fraud by updating the sarbanes-oxley act of 2002 to add several specific comprehensive quality control regulations on reverse mergers and standardization of filing requirements across all american exchange markets the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
robert ralston cgs predoctoral fellow published an article on memorial day with war on the rocks titled this memorial day lets finally start having an honest national conversation about military service the article calls for a frank conversation about the nature of military service in modern america
josefa gonzález mariscal a 2018 graduate of the bush schools online executive master of public service and administration program (empsa) has been named executive director of the national hispanic cultural center (nhcc) in albuquerque new mexico the center showcases latinx and hispanic art and culture from across the world and is home to three performing arts theaters a dynamic art museum research library genealogy center restaurant and one of the largest concave murals in north america at the nhcc gonzález mariscal will work with staff directors to create develop and implement programs; manage a staff that works in the areas of administration history and literary arts performing arts and visual arts; advocate for funding of the centers programs and assist the nhcc foundation with fundraising initiatives; and raise the profile of the nhcc locally nationally and internationally the national hispanic cultural center has a great opportunity to become a leader in the culture sector as it pertains to the hispanic/latinx/latin american culture gonzález mariscal said im passionate about promoting and preserving latinx and latin american cultural heritage and even more so educating the community about it gonzález mariscal has developed her expertise in arts and culture through a career thats included work for national and international museums and corporate collections she previously worked for the mexican consulate in houston promoting hispanic culture by organizing concerts events lecture series and more most recently she owned her own fine arts appraisal and consulting firm in houston where she did work for or counted among her clients the metropolitan museum of art in new york the museum of fine arts in houston and the los angeles county museum of art she takes the helm of the nhcc during a time in which many museums and cultural institutions are facing uncertainty due to the continuing covid-19 pandemic as centers across the country including the nhcc remain closed to the public among her first tasks will be to safely reopen the facility and ensure its short- and long-term financial well-being gonzález mariscal credits the executive masters program at the bush school for helping to prepare her to face these challenges head-on the empsa degree from the bush school gave me the tools to professionally tackle these issues mariscal gonzalez said the financial situation created by the lockdown is a main concern in all cultural institutions worldwide and the nhcc is no exception but the empsa is a rigorous program and im grateful for that as budget adjustments are made the financial management training i received at the bush school prepared me to approach this with the idea that in addition to addressing these issues we can also find opportunities to reevaluate our various programs and come up with new ways to fulfill the organizations strategic plan the challenges are real but its an exciting time
congratulations to dr kalena cortes for being selected as a recipient of the southeastern conference (sec) faculty travel grant program award dr cortes is an associate professor in the department of public service and administration at the texas a&m university bush school of government and public service she is also is a research associate at the national bureau of economic research (nber) in the economics of education program a research fellow at the institute for the study of labor (iza) and most recently has been appointed a scholar in the mindset scholars network dr cortes was selected from a competitive pool of sec applicants by a selection committee made up of peer faculty this award gives faculty from the sec an opportunity to travel to another sec institution to exchange ideas develop grant proposals conduct research present lectures or carry out other academic activities dr cortes research interests are in the area of the economics of education her previous research focuses have been on issues of equity and access identifying educational policies that help disadvantaged students at the pk-12 and postsecondary levels dr cortes will visit the university of tennessee-knoxville to work with her coauthor dr celeste carruthers associate professor of economics dr cortes said celeste carruthers from ut- knoxville carolyn heinrich from vanderbilt university and i started working on evaluating an important policy intervention in the state of tennessee called tnachieves which is part of the tennessee promise program tennessee promise and its nonprofit partnering organization tnachieves launched an exciting large-scale mentoring program aiming to support student transition from high school to college we obtained a one-of-a-kind database on nearly 6 700 mentors and 33 000 student mentees from three graduating high school cohorts importantly the assignment of mentors to mentees by tnachieves is random! okay i should say very close to random; that is within high school and gender matches are assigned randomly dr cortes added that to date there has never been such a large-scale randomized mentorship-mentee program and that there is a wealth of anecdotal support for the importance of mentors in supporting aspiring college studentsparticularly those who would be the first in their families to enroll dean welsh noted dr cortes dedication to her work congratulations kalena! one more example of how people are appreciating your great work! dr cortes added im thankful for this opportunity and excited to visit the university of tennessee-knoxville to work on this unique ed-policy intervention
fifty-one bush school students received the deans leadership certificate following the 19-20 academic school year and fourteen of those earned the bush schools prestigious medal of excellence both the certificate and the medal are earned by students who put in extra work to hone their leadership communication and professional skills pursuing the medal of excellence and the deans leadership certificate has helped me realize my potential by encouraging me to dig deep and articulate the value of my life experiences international affairs graduate eric washington said working to attain the commendations allowed me to see my professional and academic experiences as more than just designations on a resume they are also moments in my life in which i was able to exercise specific skills that can be valuable in the job market in order to receive the deans leadership certificate students are required to develop an individual leadership plan examining their personal vision values knowledge skills and professional attributes each student must demonstrate a commitment to life-long learning and leadership development through experiential learning activities and a series of leadership workshops students receiving the medal of excellence completed the requirements for the deans leadership certificate and demonstrated higher-order thinking and writing skills including complex-problem solving critical thinking teamwork and leadership acquired through graduate-level coursework and field experiences and documented in a competency-based portfolio each portfolio has undergone rigorous reviews and revisions until it meets the high standards of writing and development expected for the award the workshops required for the leadership certificate taught me about my strengths and weaknesses based on my personality identifiers public service and administration graduate rayna willenbrink said concepts learned in a course such as how to write an effective memorandum have already proven to be useful skills as i begin to navigate my career in lieu of the ceremony usually held to honor their achievements and present their awards this year students were recognized at the schools virtual graduation held on may 7
michael migaud earning his master of public service and administration degree is this years recipient of the vedlitz award for excellence in science and technology policy studies this award is bestowed upon a graduating student who demonstrates particular excellence in science and technology studies as indicated by work completed as a graduate assistant researcher or for classes capstone course or an individual paper the award is open to both international affairs and public service and administration students in the bush school upon learning of the award migaud said this award means a lot to me as it reflects the hard work i have put into understanding the public policy implications of emerging science and technology during my time at the bush school i am especially appreciative of how much time and energy dr kent portney and the institute for science technology and public policy have committed to improving my research skills science and technology continue to play an increasingly important role in our economy and i look forward to studying these changes in the future professor robert greer noted that migaud has been an exceptionally productive scholar in the area of science and technology policy while at the bush school as a student michael solo-authored a paper on space debris that has been published in the journal space policy (protecting earths orbital environment: policy tools for combating space debris) having a solo-authored paper published in a peer-reviewed journal as a masters student puts him in a class of his own he is following up that accomplishment by working with greer and dr justin bullock on a paper applying the adaptive governance framework to space policy in addition migaud was a texas lyceum fellow during this school year as a lyceum fellow he researched texas home buyout programs after natural disasters he presented his work at the texas lyceums pubcon conference in waco tx and published it in an issue of the takeaway which may be read here professor brian nakamura stated michael is a distinguished researcher with developed analytical and critical thinking skills he approaches projects objectively with emphasis on detail and applicability dr arnold vedlitz established this award in 2016 by funding an endowment the awardee receives a check and commemorative plaque vedlitz director emeritus of the institute for science technology and public policy and holder of the bob bullock chair in government and public policy saw the award as a way to reinforce the growing importance of science and technology in identifying problems and finding solutions to a range of policy issues
college station may 4 2020 – texas a&m university announced today plans to open a new teaching site in washington dc featuring the bush school of government and public service a graduate program founded by the nations 41st president the location is expected to open in the fall of 2020 with classes commencing in early 2021 pending required approvals george h w bush started the school in college station texas four years after his term as president ended in 1993 giving it a mission to prepare future leaders for careers in government and other forms of public service bush school offerings consistently rank among the best international affairs and public service graduate programs in the nation we know that many aggies already working and leading at the forefront of government and industry in dc and around the world will be thrilled with this exciting news– michael k young president of texas a&m university we know that many aggies already working and leading at the forefront of government and industry in dc and around the world will be thrilled with this exciting news said michael k young president of texas a&m university which is home to the george h w bush presidential library the george & barbara bush foundation and the bush school we welcome interest from prospective graduate students who seek to further their careers and serve the nation and world with excellence respect integrity leadership loyalty and selfless service the expansion of texas a&m and the bush school into washington dc is consistent with the vision of the schools founder and namesake the late president george h w bush said bush school dean mark welsh former chief of staff of the us air force president bush believed that public service is a noble calling the opportunity to educate future leaders in our nations capital allows us to reach so many more students who are following or seeking to follow that noble calling the new site is located within several blocks of the white house and other key government buildings with ground floor access pending approval by the texas higher education coordinating board and the district of columbia higher education licensure commission texas a&ms bush school plans to begin offering courses toward its master of international policy degree in early 2021 additional programs from across the university such as law healthcare and food security also are being considered the expansion of texas a&m and the bush school into washington dc is consistent with the vision of the schools founder and namesake the late president george h w bush– bush school dean mark welsh i congratulate president young and dean welsh on this signature achievement said john sharp chancellor of the texas a&m university system it will pay great dividends to texas a&m with this enhanced presence in washington the master of international policy degree is geared toward working professionals who are hoping to broaden and deepen their knowledge of international affairs and national security while acquiring an advanced degree in the fields entrance into the degree program is limited to those with at least six years of work experience in the field of international affairs and/or national security broadly interpreted the bush school plans to offer a range of courses at times that will be convenient for those currently employed in the capital area washington dc is the perfect next site for texas a&m and the bush school said former florida governor jeb bush who in january 2017 taught a concentrated 10-day course on the role of governors at the bush school aggies are known as doers leaders and selfless servants our nation and indeed the world will benefit from these professionals who seek to serve for information about the initial program and deadline visit the bush school website or contact by email
the center for nonprofits & philanthropy (cnp) at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university announced its findings on how local brazos valley nonprofit organizations are responding to covid-19 in cooperation with the university of san diegos nonprofits management institute the cnp distributed a survey to nonprofit organizations in the brazos valley and approximately ninety organizations completed the survey the key findings are these: very few of the organizations are continuing to operate as normalorganizations not currently operating include arts culture and humanities organizations such as theaters orchestras and othersseventy-two percent of organizations feel they can fully fund payroll for four weeks while only 45 percent feel they can fund payroll for eight weeksleaders are more concerned about declines in donations and loss of fee revenue from programs and services the research collected reflects the business environment for brazos valley nonprofit organizations during the first three months of the covid-19 pandemic the full research report can be found on the center for nonprofits & philanthropy website
dr bryan d jones is a newly elected member to the social sciences class within the political science section of the american academy of arts and sciences he is one of approximately 250 new members to be recognized for excellence in the field and a record of continued accomplishments dr jones has been an isttp research fellow since the founding of the program the istpp fellows program recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development of the institute for science technology and public policy and to its mission aims and objectives dr jones holds the jj pickle regents chair in congressional studies and is a professor in the department of government at the university of texas in austin dr jones co-directs the policy agendas project currently housed at the university of texas he studies models of decision-making and choice fiscal policy agenda-setting and public policy processes
by katie gale i was lucky enough to earn my masters degree at a presidential library this alone was pretty amazing but the icing on the cake was that this librarys namesake was still living and very much involved in his school 41 (as we affectionally called him) walked our halls and participated in class discussions almost daily president bush mrs bush and their bevy of spaniels were familiar figures in my life and for those two years we all felt special one afternoon during a rather difficult econ lecture president bush walked in and sat down he always sat in the back with his secret service and his dog he often raised his hand like a regular student to ask if he might contribute (please um yes) and despite our differing political views personal opinions social or economic perspectives we would listen and on that particular day the gods loved me because they allowed 41 to interrupt and essentially kill the dreadful economics lesson to impart a much more important one and it went like this: we all know what its like to dump rocks into a bucket weve all done the experiment at some point in our lives where you have a gallon of water and a bunch of different sized rocks–some very big some tiny pebbles and the teacher tells you: if you put them in the bucket correctly they will all fit and when you pour the water in none will spill out people always dump the pebbles in first every time (looking at each of us in the eyeballs like he was our grandfather fussing) then they try to stuff the medium sized rubble in then finally they pray the big rocks will fit and let me assure you from experience they never do you must choose the big rocks first you must pick them up prioritize them place them in the container ahead of everything else then start filling in the leftover spaces with the little stuff only then will they all fit and hold the water only then will it make sense in life you have to know what your big rocks are you have to choose those first if you dont if you forget who they are or what they are and then try to stuff them into your day your week your heart last…they wont fit and all youll be left with is the rubble thats not important as you can imagine i think of this all the time when im loading the dishwasher (big pots first katie) when im thinking about my day and all that needs to happen (most important things first katie) when im in a conversation with steve and ive begun to feel angry or confused or discouraged (ok what was my point big ideas first katie) and then when im living this strange covid reality like all of you…what are my big rocks is it my kids writing assignment uploaded perfectly with the correct font is it all clothes picked up socks matched chalk put away counters wiped off is it the living list of wishes–toilet paper canned beans ham steak clorox wipes–that stays taped to my kitchen cabinet and doesnt change much only causing me stress and worry its not its none of those things those are all important for sure they cannot be denied or forgotten but they are not what id choose first to put in my bucket at least they better not be i better not get confused or distracted about my priorities for i think my sanity and my family depend on me choosing wisely mental health laughter sugar bike rides affection friends coffee compassion forgiveness support conversations these are my big rocks lately what are yours previously published on the authors blog
this is the second guest feature by manny teodoro professor in the department of political science originally posted here the ink is barely dry on the $2 trillion coronavirus response law but there are rumblings that a another relief bill will be at the top of the agenda when congress reconvenes later this month the latest noises out of speaker pelosis office indicate that the next bill will focus on immediate relief for families small businesses health systems and local governments when it comes to household water affordability relief the perennial favorite proposal is a federal means-tested assistance program for low-income families modeled after the low income home energy assistance program (liheap) a $15 billion liheap-style relief program for water was part of the house proposal for the last covid-19 relief bill but it was cut from the final bill and never enacted the proposal is likely to be resurrected in the next bill over the past week ive had several conversations with utility executives policy experts and government leaders about how congress might best provide water relief in this ongoing and rapidly-moving pandemic this post summarizes thoughts that have emerged from those conversations and explain why im sympathetic but lukewarm on the idea of a federal liheap-style program for water in this moment of crisis redistributive programs redistributive programs come in two basic flavors: means-tested and entitlements* means-tested programs provide benefits to individuals and households who demonstrate need and whose resources (income assets) fall below specific thresholds people must apply for these benefits and government bureaucrats evaluate applications to see that they meet program rules procedures for auditing and appeals accompany these processes those who receive benefits must reapply periodically in order to maintain eligibility benefits decline or disappear as incomes grow familiar means-tested assistance programs include tanf (welfare) snap (formerly food stamps) section 8 housing and liheap entitlement programs provide public benefits to qualifying individuals and households regardless of their need or resourcesrich middle-class and poor households all may receive assistance people are not required to demonstrate need or report income and assets to government agencies to get the benefits k-12 education is a great example at the state/local level school districts dont require families to demonstrate financial need before enrolling their children and millions of wealthy and middle-class kids attend school at the public expense across the country medicare and social security pensions are the two biggest federal examples: rich or poor the government provides these programs whether or not their recipients need them it should come as little surprise that means-tested programs often carry a social stigma and entitlement programs are perennially popular liheap for water many local utilities provide some kind of means-tested assistance with 50 000 community water systems operating across the country these programs vary widely in design and administration** no statewide water assistance programs exist although california is building one there is no federal low-income household assistance program for water or sewer bills the closest analog is liheap a liheap-style water program is a fine idea in theory: it targets the needy population and helps pay for an essential but often expensive service the program is familiar to the community advocacy crowd and a network of state and local social service organizations already exists to help administer the program but there are at least four big reasons to worry about federal liheap-for-water as a cornerstone of affordability policy first the extreme fragmentation of the water sector makes managing water bill assistance administratively costly in ways that it isnt for energy liheap coordinates with the 3 200 electrical utilities and 1 400 gas utilities across the united states there are 50 000 community water systems and roughly 40 000 of those are very small serving fewer than 3 300 people and employing just a handful of staff affordability is often most dire in these very small utilities in rural communities billing systems in these lightly-staffed utilities are often primitive and poorly-suited to coordinate with social service agencies making a liheap-type program work for water will take months and significant investments in administrative systems and organizational capacity on the utility-side ​second like all means-tested programs liheap puts an administrative burden on the very people that it seeks to help learning about the program applying demonstrating eligibility ensuring receipt appealing decisions and reapplying are time-consuming and sometimes humiliating processes these costs may be especially significant for people with low literacy or limited english proficiency potentially eligible people may forego benefits if the application process is too burdensome if they perceive a social stigma associated with public assistance or if they do not trust government ​third forty years of experience with liheap demonstrates the limits of the program historically liheap has reached an average of just 16% of eligible households thats not 16% of all households thats 16% of the population that qualifies for the program the all-time high-water mark for liheap outreach came during the 2009-2010 recession response when the program helped 22% of eligible households in other words at its very best liheap failed to reach 78% of the people who needed it fierce urgency finally it is unclear that a liheap-style program would address the immediate need to stop water shutoffs and reconnect every household during a public health crisis even assuming the most optimistic administrative scenario liheap-style assistance will take several weeks or months to work its way from the us treasury to state governments to social service organizations and finally into water billing systems after all that the programs impact on shutoffs and reconnections will still depend on local practices i dont hate the idea of federal low-income assistance for water a liheap-style program would surely help many people and could be an important part of a systemic strategy to improve the american water sector but such a program would do little to alleviate the immediate covid-19 crisis and could blunt political momentum for more comprehensive and meaningful reform ​last week i blogged about how the federal government could move swiftly to help keep water and sewer services flowing everywhere during the covid-19 crisis my idea is a one-time conditional formulaic grant program to support water utilities that agree to end residential shutoffs restore service universally forgive outstanding penalties and structure prices to meet affordability standards its an unorthodox and admittedly blunt instrument designed to tackle a short-term crisis as quickly as possible with the lowest management costs and least administrative burden on families sustainable solutions for the water sector will require more fundamental reforms to the way that we govern finance and manage these critical systems after the pandemic has passed ​ *tax expenditures are also redistributive but im trying to keep this post short so im leaving them aside **to my knowledge there has never been a systematic study of water assistance program effectiveness over a larger number of utilities on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
by justin bailey at 7 pm on a normal night in new york city its easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of americas largest and most dense metropolitan area people commute home from work after a long day or catch the subway to see a movie with friends esther larson a 2006 master of public service and administration graduate would usually be among them in april of 2020 an entirely new and surreal scene unfolds every night at 7 pm larsons apartment window opens wide in unison with thousands of others across the city and cheers and applause echo through the skyscrapersa heart-felt thank you to the citys beleaguered health care providers thinking back the bush school prepared me for working under tremendous pressure i remember times during my capstone project that taught me how to work collaboratively with a team to get the job done– esther larson her role as director of programs for hope for new york has thrust her into the middle of not only the worst pandemic in a century but also one of the largest mobilizations of nonprofit organizations in the citys history during normal times our team is responsible for implementing a three-pronged model: grant funding volunteer mobilization and network and capacity building larson explained i direct and work with my team to oversee our annual $2+ million in direct grant funding to support programs i direct volunteer engagement with our affiliate partners and develop the strategies that help our partners fulfill their missions addressing the pandemic as the virus swept through the city and the severity of the situation set in larson began to realize the important role hope for new york would play in helping the city through the crisis i started ‘sheltering in place and working remotely very early on larson said at first the city seemed somewhat like it was slowing down but schools were still in session and everyone was figuring out what to do including my organization and the organizations we partner with in mid-march as confirmed cases of covid-19 began to skyrocket and new york city was labeled an epicenter the importance of providing money for organizations doing the vital work on the ground became apparent larson says that being able not only to provide that but also to help organizations apply for grants has been one of the most important ways she and hope for new york have been able to help one of the most impactful things weve done so far has been opening up relief grants for our affiliates which help them cover both programmatic and organizational costs larson said its critical that they have access to the resources they need not just from us but from federal and private grants the work theyre doing is too important for them to have to dedicate a huge amount of time to looking for funds larson has also worked to provide volunteers to partner organizations in dire need of manpower one such mobilization sending volunteers to help set up the pop-up hospital in central park was one of the more surreal moments for larson in a month full of them we had a lot of hope for new york volunteers go out to central park for that larson said it was incredibly heart-warming to see the way the community supported that but also a very sobering realization that our city had come to thisan extension hospital in central park its unbelievable moments of realization like that can leave even the most battle-tested leaders feeling overwhelmed in part larson credits her time at the bush school for preparing her for the pressure shes working under now working under pressure its extremely intense larson confessed i have my moments of extreme peace knowing that this calling is an incredible blessing other moments im panicking and wondering if i should have left new york when i could thinking back the bush school prepared me for working under tremendous pressure i remember times during my capstone project that taught me how to work collaboratively with a team to get the job done; how to be resilient and have perseverance in the hard times or with limited resources; how to lean on team members and fellow students faculty and staff larson also sees value in her time as the chair of the bush schools public service organization which works intensely with nonprofits in the bryan/college station area we partnered with nonprofits mobilized volunteers and resources and sought to better the nonprofit sector in the community larson explained thats exactly what im doing nowjust on a larger scale and in a different context in moments when she feels overwhelmed larson makes a point to count her blessings and remember why her job is important through all of this i try to remember the many privileges i have larson said i have shelter to shelter in place; food and clothing and a shower; family friends and a church community to support me there are so many people that dont have these blessings i do what im doing at hope for new york to help those who are vulnerable isolated and alonethose who dont have resources or a support network this work is a noble calling because its not about me its about others and serving in whatever way i can
by samantha gordon bush school students faculty and staff came together last week to share some happiness amidst these difficult times this came in the form of their pets! with just around forty people joining the call including dean welsh the first bush school pet show proved a success the idea stemmed from the assistant director of the public service and leadership program holly kasperbauer who is known throughout the halls of the bush school for her love of all animals her dogs and her foster dogs often make welcomed trips to her office to greet students and provide stress relief holly understands the healing effects of animals whether felt by their owners or others can provide much-needed happiness during these times of uncertainty with many students and faculty struggling with the new norms of social distancing holly reached out to students to see if there would be interest in a pet show a time for students to introduce their furry family members to their classmates piquing the interest of several who liked and agreed she saw this as something for them to look forward to as many eagerly logged onto the zoom call the first bush school pet show became an hour of furry faces and smiles lighting up the computer screens the pet participants on the zoom call came in a variety of sizes from hamsters and chickens to cats and dogs and even horses each had the opportunity to be introduced and bragged on by their loving owners as many people continue to try to find some joy in this new normal it is the small things that really bring us together we hope furry faces are filling many screens and hearts during these times!
by justin bailey the bush school for kylie jackson reality set in on wednesday march 11th on that day the houston rodeo followed south by southwests lead and cancelled its many events after fourteen cases of covid-19 were found in the greater houston area it was the first time in its eighty-eight-year history that the show wouldnt go on jackson a 2017 master of public service and administration graduate is the performance and accountability manager for the city of sugar land a large suburb of houston like everyone else id heard talk about the virus spreading throughout china early on but didnt think much of it i knew it was going to be a big deal throughout the region when the houston rodeo was cancelled jackson said nothing cancels the rodeo! almost immediately the city of sugar land went to work preparing for a prolonged crisis jackson was tapped to play a series of vital roles in the citys emergency operations center i was told id be playing a role jackson said but i didnt realize that it would be consuming most of my work days for the foreseeable future like many essential employees jackson has become a jack-of-all-trades as the pandemic has escalated putting the knowledge and skills she learned at the bush school into practice primary among those is preparation of daily reports for the federal emergency management agency (fema) fema has strict guidelines for forms that must be completed in order for a city to be reimbursed by the federal government jackson explained the forms include information such as daily situation reports; daily tasks completed by each individual involved in the process; purchasing logs; incident logs; and reports for fire and police departments including which calls were covid-related what date and time they occurred which vehicles were involved and which people were assigned to that incident the data collected is useful not just for reimbursement purposes but also for longer-term modeling the city is working on as the economic shut-down is prolonged uncertainty for businesses has never been higher we want to be able to utilize the information at hand to predict possible outcomes down the road such as how many of our businesses will have to close permanently and what the impact will be on sales tax revenue jackson said the city has been very proactive in thinking ahead to what this event will mean for our current-year finances and our budget process for the next fiscal year; the more information and data we have the better another role involves serving the community indirectly by supporting city employees who are working from home and struggling with isolation most of our employees throughout the city are working from home jackson said that kind of isolation not to mention the financial stresses facing many families right now means people can feel kind of lost to help address that were mobilizing a group of sugar land employees who have been trained to help people manage stress in crisis eventsfrom school shootings to on-the-job fatalities the problem is that none of them have ever had to provide support during a prolonged event like this were all learning as we go while few if any were truly prepared for the extent of the impact the coronavirus would have on their personal and professional lives jackson credits courses she took while earning her masters degree as preparing her for emergency management more importantly however she cites the culture of public and selfless service that permeates the bush school as driving her to do her best my time at the bush school and the notion that public service is a noble calling has impacted how i approach my career not only right now but every day jackson said im here to do whatever needs to be done some days im sitting next to the city manager in a decision-making meeting and others im delivering hand sanitizer and helping clean city facilities selfless service jackson said isnt about how important the task youre assigned is its about the positive impact you make on your organization and serving the people of the community as well as you possibly can
albritton center for grand strategy team members kim field dr jasen castillo and dr john schuessler joined kbtx news for a three-part series analyzing the national and global response to covid-19 in part one the cgs team members discussed if us was ready for a pandemic like covid-19 part two analyzed the us militarys response to the pandemic and what kind of leadership role the us should take part three analyzed the effectiveness of national and international cooperation in slowing the spread
guest feature by manny teodoro professor in the department of political science originally posted here the covid-19 crisis has escalated americas water and sewer affordability challenge into a full-blown health emergency many low-income households struggle to pay for these essential services in the best of times and the specter of shutoffs for non-payment now threatens to worsen the pandemic its hard to wash hands cook at home and maintain adequate sanitation without water service in response to the fast-moving crisis scores of utilities are suspending shutoffs and restoring service for the duration of the pandemic that is a prudent move in this emergency but suspending shutoffs and restoring service carries significant financial risks for utilities and does not fundamentally solve the affordability problem even in the short-run an end to shutoffs does not mean an end to high prices late fees or penalties when the crisis passes many customers will still have outstanding balances running into the thousands of dollars and once again face the threat of shut-offs meanwhile in plenty of places shutoffs continue even as covid-19 rages federal water bill relief last week congress passed a monumental $2 trillion economic rescue packagein response to the covid-19 crisis sweeping the country during the helter-skelter capitol hill negotiations over the covid-19 bill house members proposed $15 billion in water assistance relief for low-income households modeled after liheap the federal low-income energy assistance program the proposal would have provided financial assistance to income-qualified households to help pay for water bills through existing liheap administrative processes the proposal didnt make it into the bill that finally reached president trumps desk although the water bill assistance would surely have helped many it would likely have made little difference in the big picture for starters while $15 billion is a lot of money means-tested assistance programs are costly to administer and burdensome for customers who need help this sort of relief can help but will take time to work its way through administrative processes and into consumers accounts to prevent shutoffs even at their best means-tested programs help a small fraction of the eligible populationhistorically liheap has reached only about 16% of those eligible for assistance complicating matters is the extreme fragmentation of the us water sector with 50 000 mostly small water systems operating across the country some of the poorest americans live in small communities where utilities and social service organizations have limited capacity to administer assistance the need for immediate relief in the face of a pandemic demands faster farther-reaching action bigger bolder faster action* so what might work better ive long argued that pricing not assistance programs is the best way to tackle water affordability with the pandemic upon us and a massive emergency need for universal in-home water and sanitation its worth considering a similarly massive emergency financial response heres an outline of a scheme that could quickly end shutoffs and maximize short-term affordability relief with the lowest management cost to utilities and zero administrative burdens on customers the federal government should provide formulaic conditional grants directly to water utilities grants would be awarded as a percentage of each utilitys budgeted 2020 annual rate revenue with the percentage equal to the communitys poverty rate for example seattle public utilities 2020 budget calls for $205 million in water revenue and about 12% of its population lives in poverty so its grant would be $246 million detroits budgeted water rate revenue for 2019-2020 is $131 million and its poverty rate is 33% so its grant would be $432 million in exchange for this cash injection utilities would have to meet simple conditions on pricing and customer administration specifically for the duration of the national covid-19 pandemic utilities would: end residential shutoffs for non-payment;restore service to all occupied residences currently shut off;end residential foreclosures and financial penalties for non-payment or service restoration;forgive all outstanding penalties fees and interest on residential water accounts;structure prices so that 6 000 gallons of monthly residential water and sewer service costs less than $58 (eight hours of labor at federal minimum wage) all community water systems that operate on a fee-for-service basis would qualify including municipal tribal special district and investor-owned systems utilities could use the money to offset revenue losses due to covid-19 crisis fund assistance programs or maintain and improve capital federal funds would be channeled from epa through existing state drinking water revolving funds directly into utility coffers requiring very little additional administrative capacity there would be no administrative burden at all on customers administration for very small systems could be managed through state or county governments with annual water utility revenue totaling something like $70 billion and a national poverty rate of 118% the program would end up costing around $85 billion dollars for another $10 billion we could extend the program to cover sewer revenue too until last week those would seem like absurdly large sums but theyre rounding errors in the $2 trillion-dollar package that congress just approved emergency & aftermath to be clear this isnt a carefully considered meticulously modeled planits an idea meant to get water flowing immediately in response to an urgent need these are big blunt policy instruments but the proposal outlined here could be introduced on monday​ signed into law by wednesday and water service restored in communities across the country by friday ​in a pandemic every moment matters ​lasting sustainable solutions for the water sector will require more fundamental reforms to the way that we govern finance and manage these critical systems i hope that once the covid-19 storm fades a renewed commitment to improving the american water sector is one of its silver linings *thanks to wendi wilkes for prompting and helping me think this through via twitter she deserves a share of the credit if you like this idea but no blame if you hate it on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
michael migaud a second-year master of public service and administration student and a graduate assistant researcher for the institute for science technology and public policy recently published a paper on space debris governance in the journal space policy migauds paper is titled protecting earths orbital environment: policy tools for combating space debris migaud begins by discussing the space debris situation in earths orbital environment he then maps existing federal orbital debris regulations based on their ability to prevent debris generation mitigate the effects of congested orbits and defend against space waste through active debris removal and recovery technology he also discusses international agreements treaties and conventions and their implications for space debris governance after mapping existing orbital debris policies migaud finds current regulations are heavily focused on prevention and mitigation efforts migaud recommends increased regulatory coordination and horizontal integration of space debris governance among the national aeronautics and space administration the federal communications commission the national oceanic and atmospheric administration the federal aviation administration and other agencies responsible for managing and regulating space operations he also suggests the need for an international convention for formalizing policy on orbital debris to address political economic and military concerns related to space situational awareness active debris removal and on-orbit servicing migaud michael r 2020 protecting earths orbital environment: policy tools for combating space debris space policy forthcoming doi: 101016/jspacepol2020101361
college station tx – in this time of unprecedented travel bans supply chain disruptions and business shutdowns the covid-19 pandemic is a threat that will cost the global economy trillions of dollars and exacerbate unrest and violence in developing nations in the latest issue of the takeaway an assistant professor of information and operations management makes the cases that covid-19 is primarily a humanitarian crisis and developing countries are at the most risk the author andres f jola-sanchez of the mays business school researchers war and urban crisis in the field of operations management in humanitarian response to covid-19: a discussion of challenges in disaster management for developing countries jola-sanchez discusses the challenges for developing countries throughout the disaster management lifecycle and makes several policy recommendations related to preparedness response mitigation and rehabilitation we hope developed nations are now learning how to deal with this disaster more efficiently and effectively and recognize that sharing that knowledge and collaborating with the countries in the most need is essential for their own relief and development strategy jola-sanchez writes the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
robert ralston cgs predoctoral fellow wrote the introduction for the h-diplo teaching roundtable on teaching grand strategy recently the roundtable featured essays from four strategy experts around the nation on their experiences teaching grand strategy to different kinds of students
college station tx – in the latest issue of the takeaway lobbying battles in the libyan war bush school of government & public service faculty member reyko huang uses the libyan war lobby to illustrate how and why both foreign governments and their armed opponents actively lobby the us government she points out that millions of dollars are spent each year on us law firms and pr companies by foreign governments and rebel groups huang also warns that although lobbyists must regularly disclose their work to the us justice department data on conflict lobbying are inadequately collected and difficult to analyze she makes the case that foreign lobbying is significant and deserving of more attention from academics and policymakers the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
what good is grand strategy a whiteboard was co-written by albritton center for grand strategy personnel jasen castillo kimberly field robert ralston john schuessler and boston university professor (and former gbs faculty) joshua shifrinson the group tackled a number of topics including: do we really need a grand strategyis the world too complex to be accounted for by one unifying plan of actions and interests the complete whiteboard is available on the united states army war college war room website
on march 3 2020 dr thomas dee professor of education at stanford university presented an education policy workshop titled my brothers keeper the effects of targeted education supports at the george h w bush presidential library in his talk dr dee argued that targeted educational programs can have an impact on the educational achievement of participants as shown by his research on the effectiveness of the african american male achievement (aama) program in oakland unified school district (ousd) whose centerpiece is the manhood development program (mdp) the program features trained instructors who deliver a culturally relevant curriculum to enrolled students during the school day and not as a pull-out program ousd grounded its establishment of the aama in the theory of targeted universalism which underscores the need for targeted means to achieve universally held social policy goals dr dees research study found that the aama program was highly effective in reducing the drop-out levels of its ousd students and increasing their on-time high school graduation rates an important and interesting part of the lecture was dr dees explanation of possible confounding effects and all the ways his research study worked to use methods that were valid while the program may be effective dr dee also highlighted a couple of caveats the aama program though encouraging likely benefited from the leadership and situation of the oakland school district therefore expansion into other school districts may be difficult second while the program is embedded within the curriculum of ousd it still requires specialized resources that other districts may lack dr dee concluded that his study and others show good evidence that targeted culturally relevant supports are effective but cautioned that the ability to promote both high-fidelity implementation at scale and political durability will be critical when trying to recreate like programs in greater numbers dr dees presentation was based on a 2019 stanford center for education policy analysis working paper by the same title while in college station dr dee had a full schedule in addition to presenting his evening lecture he visited the education policy class met with a group of bush school students with education policy interests and had meetings with a number of department of economics college of education and bush school faculty members with shared research interests the event was hosted by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university the institutes education policy workshop series brings in noted academics who are invited to discuss their current research to increase the understanding of the research underlying current education policy my brothers keeper the effects of targeted education supports can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
brig gen (ret) kimberly field professor of the practice and executive director of the albritton center for grand strategy at the bush school joined the podcast horns of a dilemma on march 13th for an episode titled allies and american foreign policy gen field discussed the notion of grand strategy in the context of alliance relationships specifically she drew on her experience serving as a us representative at the united nations and as a general officer deployed to afghanistan as part of the nato alliance to examine the role that allies play in supporting and enabling us grand strategic vision this talk took place at the university of texas at austin and was sponsored by the clements center the full podcast is available on the horns of dilemma website
see related video on coronavirus college station texas scientists from the texas a&m university system are helping the state the nation and the world better understand prepare for and respond to the outbreak of covid-19 they fight fear with facts they offer the calming context that comes from decades of study into pandemics and coronaviruses its no wonder that so many authorities turn to us said john sharp chancellor of the texas a&m system the scientists here are uniquely qualified to help policymakers and ordinary people understand this outbreak federal officials in washington dc and state leaders in austin have sought out the pandemic experts at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university where the scowcroft institute of international affairs offers policy guidance on prevention and responseamong the experts is dr gerald parker who also serves as associate dean of global one health at the university college of veterinary medicine & biomedical sciencesdr parker is a former deputy secretary for chemical and biological defense at the us defense department and a former assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the department of health and human servicesthis is a brand new virus dr parker said theres so much that we dont know that it is just naturally alarming to us as human beingsbut what were doing today is phenomenally much better today than it was 20 years ago parker said the scientific enterprise across the globe is responding with unprecedented speed read the full release on the texas a&m university system website
college station texas the texas a&m foundation hosted more than 600 of its top donors to campus thursday morning for its second annual exploration day a fully-immersive event showcasing high-impact research and academic initiatives by texas a&m university students and faculty the event was held on march 5 in the hall of champions on texas a&ms campus attendees were treated to four experiences from different disciplines each showcasing the wide variety of programs and research initiatives that benefit from their contributions the bush school of government and public service was one of four colleges highlighted at the event i dont think many of our donors were aware before today that the bush school is building an outstanding intelligence studies program– professor james olson attendees enjoyed a presentation from the bush school exhibiting its intelligence studies program which has placed approximately 300 graduates in intelligence careers guest speakers from the bush school stressed the public need for dedicated young americans to pursue intelligence careers in the interest of national security presenters also emphasized the schools evolving intelligence initiatives in the aftermath of 9/11 and the impact that educators with real-world experience have on students within the program professor james olson who was formerly chief of counterintelligence at the central intelligence agency participated in the presentation i dont think many of our donors were aware before today that the bush school is building an outstanding intelligence studies program olson said im proud that the bush school is doing its part in preparing aggies for exciting and important careers in keeping our country safer read the full release on the second annual texas a&m foundation exploration day
global history records an astonishing variety of forms of social organization yet almost universally males subordinate females how does the relationship between men and women shape the wider political order the first political order is a groundbreaking demonstration that the persistent and systematic subordination of women underlies all other institutions with wide-ranging implications for global security and development incorporating research findings spanning a variety of social science disciplines and comprehensive empirical data detailing the status of women around the globe the book shows that female subordination functions almost as a curse upon nations a societys choice to subjugate women has significant negative consequences: worse governance worse conflict worse stability worse economic performance worse food security worse health worse demographic problems worse environmental protection and worse social progress yet despite the pervasive power of social and political structures that subordinate women historyand the datareveal possibilities for progress the first political order shows that when steps are taken to reduce the hold of inequitable laws customs and practices outcomes for all improve it offers a new paradigm for understanding insecurity instability autocracy and violence explaining what the international community can do now to promote more equitable relations between men and women and thereby security and peace with comprehensive empirical evidence of the wide-ranging harm of subjugating women it is an important book for security scholars social scientists policy makers historians and advocates for women worldwide valerie m hudson is a university distinguished professor and george h w bush chair in the department of international affairs of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university where she directs the program on women peace and security she is a coauthor of sex and world peace (columbia 2012) and the hillary doctrine: sex and american foreign policy (columbia 2015) among others donna lee bowen is professor emerita of political science and middle east studies at brigham young university her publications include everyday life in the muslim middle east (third edition 2014) perpetua lynne nielsen is associate teaching professor of statistics at brigham young university the first political order: how sex shapes governance and national security worldwide is published by columbia university press
over the last year thirty-three bush school students have served brazos county through the bush board fellows program which allows students to work with fourteen nonprofit organizations the bush board fellows program aims to elevate and promote the community as students have the opportunity to work with and provide insight on the boards they are working with during the year additionally the program allows students to make connections throughout the community; many of them plan to serve on boards in the future through this program graduate students are placed in local nonprofit organizations as non-voting board members some of the benefits include allowing the students to connect classroom learning to real-world engagement on topics such as fundraising fiscal and legal governance and strategic planning students overwhelmingly indicate they plan to serve on a board in the future so the board fellows program serves as a powerful tool in developing future public servants understanding that boards play a crucial role in nonprofits i knew the exposure and experiences offered through the bush board fellows was an opportunity i couldnt pass up stated first-year master of public service and administration student samantha gordon in january 2020 the center for nonprofits & philanthropy at the bush school of government and public service celebrated the service of the bush board fellows at a pinning ceremony during the ceremony dr william brown director of the center for nonprofits & philanthropy provided a short history of the program he stated that approximately ten years ago students from the bush school started serving on local nonprofit boards as part of shadow boardsnow called bush board fellows the program has grown significantly since then allowing thirty-three masters students to serve fourteen organizations in the brazos valley in the 2020 year leaders of each of the local nonprofit organizations presented a lapel pin to bush board fellows serving in 2019 and 2020 acknowledging their commitment to public service as students mingled during the event hopes for the continued growth of the program were expressed and many felt the call to serve participants were reminded of the words of the schools former namesake: public service is a noble calling and we need men and women of character to believe that they can make a difference in their communities in their states and in their countrypresident george h w bush september 1997
albritton center for grand strategy academic director dr john schuessler was invited to give a talk at notre dames international security center on march 3 on the campus of notre dame dr schuesslers talk was titled offshore balancing: revisiting the world war ii case
this event has been canceled on monday march 23 bruce valentine former associate deputy director of the cia for operations (addo) will deliver a talk titled human intelligence operations in the age of ai the talk will take place at the annenberg presidential conference center on texas a&m universitys west campus valentine will cover the threats and challenges artificial intelligence poses to human intelligence operations as algorithms increasingly dominate the environment this free event hosted by the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university is open to the public doors will open at 5:30 pm with the talk beginning at 6:00 pm registration is strongly recommended as seating is limited and can be found at the bush schools event webpage previously a field artillery officer in the united states army valentine joined the cia in 1994 during the early stage of his career he held overseas assignments in central asia the caucuses and the balkans following september 11 2001 valentine served in senior front-office leadership assignments in a war zone station during two separate assignments later he was chief of station in two balkan locations; in one african location; and in one hostile denied area valentine also served as operational tradecraft instructor and within cia headquarters directed operational activities at the regional- hemispheric- and global-levels his last position within the directorate of operations was as the associate deputy director of the cia for operations (addo) he is a graduate of iowa state university with a bachelors degree in political science a graduate of georgetown university with a masters degree in international affairs and a certificate holder from the harvard business school advanced management program this event has been canceled
with rhetoric and policy positions moving further apart the 2020 presidential election comes at a time of extreme partisanship in american politics the leader of the republican party president donald trump has successfully remolded the gop in his image says diego von vacano a professor of political science at texas a&m university and current democratic front-runner bernie sanders is also an untraditional candidate – the democratic socialist long resisted calls to formally join the party trump and sanders rhetoric and positions represent the changing faces of the republican and democratic parties von vacano said and these ideological breaks from party norms are historically unprecedented the two-party system is at a breaking point he said in the case of the gop president trump has really broken the traditional backbone of the party by co-opting it von vacano said hes come out triumphant within the party i dont think theres anybody who can really challenge him sometimes the liberal critics say that hes not very intelligent or hes naïve but as a political activist hes very calculating and effective for the democratic party the surge of sanders has shown his popularity with young people people of color and others who feel they havent been heard by the party historically von vacano said and this is maybe their chance to be listened to thats definitely created a shift a break because of course sanders was a socialist he wasnt even a democrat for a long time he said hes an outsider coming in the same way that trump was an outsider coming into the gop but the shifts of both parties further to the left and the right respectively could be dangerous von vacano said as most americans are ideologically somewhere in the middle this is commonly seen in latin america where individuals become the leader of a movement and determine the course it takes in a way its not very healthy because then the political system depends on specific individuals rather than institutions so thats one danger he said based on the whims of individuals the country could see its institutions weakened to some extent von vacano said this can already be seen in the shrinking number of objective news sources social media too has become radicalized and less of a space for dialogue in some ways this reflects what people are looking for in both the left-wing and the right-wing von vacano said but theres still the danger that institutions like the judicial branch and supreme court could ultimately become weakened by the polarized views of individual leaders von vacano attributes the crisis of the two-party system to the countrys changing demographics and the question of who we are as a country immigration is really at the heart of these anxieties he said with trump von vacano said the president was smart in his presentation as a candidate in his appearance language and ability to talk directly to the people which is one of the traditional tenets of populism once he entered office trump used more dubious tactics like intimidation and retaliation he said which is also common in populist leadersi think the gop has been altered almost permanently by president trump von vacano said the substance of the rhetoric is very different from what it was for example compared to president bushs period so the party itself is now radically changed and for the democrats of course it depends on this election cycle if sanders keeps this momentum i think it could create a similar type of rift in the democratic party sanders similarly has focused on his persona and repetitive rhetoric like critiques of the one percent average people are donating small amounts of money to his campaign which von vacano said is a populist strategy of sanders populism may be on the rise because of a few factors he said president barack obamas administration polarized much of america and could have moved some groups further toward the right populism is generally more right-leaning von vacano said usually because the democratic party hasnt been able to convince a large part of the electorate that its policies will benefit the entire country former secretary of state hillary clinton was also a controversial candidate for the democratic party which then-candidate trump was able to capitalize on to gather momentum outside the traditional gop mechanism von vacano said he thinks sanders has gained momentum because he unlike the traditional democratic party appeals to voters who are younger and more diverse both parties in the us became a little too inflexible and unresponsive to demographic changes he said i think at the end of the day demographic changes in the us have created pressure for different types of leadership and different types of parties but parties in general tend to be really hard to change he said because of the recent historical past of the obama and clinton periods theres that reaction and kind of a need for something new while critics of the two party-system have called for a third party – a 2018 gallup poll showed that 57 percent of americans supported a third major political party – von vacano doesnt see this happening trump could have broken from the gop and formed his own party he said but instead co-opted the republican party and instead of running independently sanders chose to run for a second time as a democrat i dont think theres going to be a third party but what trump and sanders are doing theyre injecting almost completely new terms for the dialogue and language in politics which is really unprecedented he said i think its broken the gop and its possible it could break the traditional democratic party original article by by caitlin clark texas a&m university division of marketing & communications on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
on february 19 2020 dr michael woolcock lead social scientist at the world banks development research group gave a talk titled now for the hard part: alternative paths to building state capability for policy implementation the event was hosted by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university in his talk woolcock argued for the need to increase state capability for policy implementation when pursuing development for two critical reasons first development and state building is a complex issue that requires tailored solutions over one-size fits all approaches second the art of state building and development is constantly becoming more difficult as goals shift toward sustainable development and populations grow because of this complexity implementation of development policy is moving at a glacial pace throughout the world using world bank data woolcock calculates that only thirteen developing economies are on a path to strong capability by the end of the 21st century some nations such as kazakhstan and ukraine will take thousands of years to develop if there is no domestic shift in policy in others such as india systemic issues hinder the ability to implement sustainable development policy in various sectors such as education woolcock noted that many approaches to state building measure success based on appearance not actual achievement states can build fancy schools and courthouses without properly addressing the systemic policy issues plaguing their education and legal institutions similarly a high rate of school enrollment does not necessarily mean that the students are actually learning expensive and ineffective reforms put a high burden on states that they can ill afford and delegitimize the idea of the reforms woolcock concluded his talk by offering a new approach called problem-driven iterative adaption (pida) this approach seeks to address sub-national variation in development and provide solutions to building state capability by focusing on expanding local successes applying this approach to state building can result in more effective tailored solutions to development the world bank is already starting to apply the pida approach to various development programs woolcocks talk was based on his coauthored book titled building state capability: evidence analysis action now for the hard part: alternative paths to building state capability for policy implementation can be viewed on the bush school youtube channel
college station tx – on monday march 2 2020 a distinguished panel of experts from the tamu bush school of government and public service will discuss the current coronavirus situation and what to expect as part of the schools whats next series the panelists will share their perspectives of the current situation as well as what the next possible steps might be the panel will consist of dr gerald parker director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program; professor andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs and executive professor; and dr christine crudo blackburn deputy director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program the event will be held in rudder forum at texas a&m university from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm the timing and topics for the whats next series are driven by current events and public interest this type of rapid-response series is designed to address events in real time as they occur with faculty from the bush school discussing policy issues and options that are available to decision-makers bush school dean mark welsh noted that the bush school has experts in many areas of government policy who can help people understand what options are possible after a major news event the series is open to the public and no registration is required
note: following texas a&m university and bush school of government and public service guidelines for social distancing we are canceling all of our spring mosbacher institute events and working on rescheduling our march 26 event on boom or bust with douglas holtz-eakin has been postponed until wednesday november 18 2020 more information on this event will be available closer to the event date ======================================== dr douglas holtz-eakin has a distinguished record as an academic policy adviser and strategist currently he is the president of the american action forum and most recently was a commissioner on the congressionally chartered financial crisis inquiry commission he was the 6th director of the nonpartisan cbo from 2003 to 2005 during 2007 and 2008 he was director of domestic and economic policy for the john mccain presidential campaign holtz-eakin serves on the boards of the tax foundation and the national academy of social insurance
istpp researcher dr bryce hannibal recently coauthored a paper with dr laurie paarlberg of indiana university-purdue university indianapolis and dr jasmine mcginnis johnson of george washington university on the influence of board network connections on grant making in public foundations their work titled examining the mediating influence of interlocking board networks on grant making in public foundations was published in nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly their research examined the impact of board interlocks between public foundations and whether these relationships were associated with receiving larger grants to conduct their analysis paarlberg hannibal and mcginnis johnson collected data reported on the form 990 reports for the public foundations located in two metropolitan areas with over one million residents the authors then compared financial data from the form 990 with board membership connections paarlberg hannibal and mcginnis johnson find the size of an organization is not a predictor of grant allocation when controlling for network characteristics they also find larger organizations have larger well-connected boards of directors which is associated with larger grants they conclude their work by suggesting future research should examine relationships between board members of private foundations paarlberg laurie e bryce hannibal and jasmine mcginnis johnson 2020 examining the mediating influence of interlocking board networks on grant making in public foundations nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly 1−23 doi: 101177/0899764019897845
on february 6 2020 the texas a&m bush school of government and public service mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy hosted a talk by right honorable conor burns mp the current minister of state for international trade of the united kingdom he spoke to the bush school about the importance of us-uk trade particularly texas-uk trade minister burns remarks were the first given by a british minister following the united kingdoms formal exit from the european union minister burns covered two main topics in his speech first he discussed the role of government and stressed that the governments main role is to create the legal framework for enterprise that provides room for talent to grow he proclaimed that the role of politicians is to speak to every single person within their constituency and that it is the work of private individuals to push a country to succeed minister burns then shifted to discussing the role of britain following the separation of the united kingdom and the european union in his remarks he argued that leaving the european union created the opportunity for the united kingdom to become an independent self-governing state he maintained that this should not be seen as britain pulling up the drawbridge but rather as it entering a new stage of global interaction in which the british state enacts policy independent of the european union according to the minister the united states will play a key role in shaping the strategy britain uses to engage with the world in the new era the minister concluded so long as our two great nations stand together we need fear no one and we need fear nothing to hear the talk post-brexit britain: what does it mean for the uk-us trading relationship visit the bush school youtube channel
by caitlin clark – originally appeared in texas a&m today while progress is being made in preparedness efforts against emerging infectious diseases the united states and the international community remain dangerously vulnerable according to two texas a&m university experts dr gerald parker director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program at the bush school of government and public service spent more than 30 years in the eye of the storm preparing for global disease threats as a former top career official in the department of health and human services department of defense and the us army we dont know what the next threat will be we dont know when the threat will come but when it does arrive the risks could be high parker said pandemic preparedness is an extremely hard challenge and response requires coordinated multidisciplinary action emerging infectious diseases are not just the domain of public health infectious diseases can impact our economic and national security requiring strong leadership and political will at all levels the world health organization said last week that chinas coronavirus outbreak should be viewed as public enemy number one and poses a very grave threat for the rest of the world the virus also has a new name – covid-19 for coronavirus disease 2019 worldwide there are more than 73 000 confirmed cases in 26 countries and the death toll has reached 2 000 but to date the vast majority of cases and deaths have occurred around the epicenter of the outbreak in wuhan china actual numbers are likely higher than reported and we may be on the verge of a global pandemic of uncertain severity parker said there are still many unanswered questions to include transmissibility severity case fatality rate and the origin of the virus the situation and our understanding of covid-19 will continue to evolve dynamically as a nation parker said much has been accomplished since anthrax letter attacks in 2001 and a severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) outbreak in 2003 including establishing new organizations such as the office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response and the biomedical advanced research and development authority within the department of health and human services the us also created federal grant programs to help ready state and local public health authorities and hospitals to better prepare for pandemics parker said the united states needs the commitment of professionals at the highest levels of the us government focused on emerging infectious diseases and global health security leadership coordination collaboration communication and innovation are recurring weaknesses identified by our pandemic and biosecurity policy research at the bush school parker said the us should establish a senior-level position within the white house to lead preparedness and response efforts senior leadership with authority is needed to drive coordination collaboration and effective use of resources in the event of a pandemic there needs to be someone that can make the hard decisions and effect action across the vast us government interagency the trump administration released a new national strategy for biodefense in september 2018 parker said he welcomed the new strategy but was skeptical of the its approach to vest leadership at the department of health and human services rather than in the white house but he said as the covid-19 outbreak emerged the administration took decisive action and quickly created a task force declared a public health emergency and implemented aggressive containment strategies that included a federal quarantine and travel bans from china the last time a federal quarantine was imposed was over 50 years ago to combat smallpox parker said i would say despite my skepticism before this outbreak so far the question of leadership has been addressed well parker said the administration is taking aggressive actions to keep us safe and to date although this is a crisis in china we only have 15 confirmed cases in the united states we should expect to see more cases in the us parker said but actions to date have slowed the spread of the virus hopefully meaning that local public health officials and hospitals will not be overwhelmed dr christine blackburn the deputy director of the pandemic & biosecurity policy program at the bush school is conducting research on various aspects of pandemic disease policy and control while covid-19 is genetically similar to sars – the epidemic in 2003 also began in china – blackburn said its much more contagious watching the current outbreak unfold blackburn said china has been significantly more transparent than it was during the sars outbreak nearly two decades ago when the first cases of sars emerged the chinese government actively suppressed the information even after it spread internationally blackburn said the chinese government lied about the numbers and held press conferences where they told numbers they knew to be untrue that was one of the biggest differences [with the current outbreak] where i noticed that they had at least admitted there was an outbreak and taken steps to contain it parker added that while theres still debate about chinas transparency in the latest instance theres no doubt theres been an improvement still he said chinese scientists and physicians on the front lines of the public health response have likely been stifled by the chinese government theres a growing uproar and i think its egregious what happened to the physician in china parker said referring to the death of dr li wenliang who tried to warn about the growing threat of the outbreak its always an astute physician who notices unusual cases and so when dr wenliang began to communicate his concerns with colleagues about unusual pneumonia in wuhan he was detained and forced to sign a statement that he made false accusations tragically dr wenliang died from covid-19 bravely caring for his patients parker also pointed out that while the united states offered over a month ago to send a team of scientists to china to assist and learn more of the dynamics of the virus the centers for disease control and prevention has still not been invited the most important analysis now is to close scientific knowledge gaps to better guide the response parker said the united states containment strategy is working so far he said and while theres heightened alert globally the local risk currently remains low currently but that could change parker said adding that this should serve as an opportunity for the public to become more educated about emerging infectious diseases and to listen for the latest public health guidance authorities are using this time to sharpen readiness should containment fail if we were to rewind the clock 100 years to the early 1900s life expectancy was much lower in some part due to infectious diseases and our ancestors knew about the risks of infectious diseases parker said many of those threats today are vaccine-preventable and together with basic hygiene and sanitation the risk of infectious diseases is greatly reduced infectious diseases are reemerging and the public and our political leaders have forgotten lessons learned over a century ago the prevailing analysis is that covid-19 is related to coronaviruses isolated from bats in china parker said but how it made the jump to humans is still an active investigation that will take time emerging infectious diseases are increasing with alarming frequency as humans and animals are living closer together in urban settings he said texas a&ms global one health approach is the confluence of animal human and environmental sciences the focused application of one health is essential to prevent detect and respond to emerging infectious disease most of which are zoonotic parker said
by lauren zajicek scowcroft institute of international affairs this event has been canceled on monday march 16 the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will host historian and author catharine arnold for a talk on the 1918 spanish flu on monday march 16 the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will host historian and author catharine arnold for a talk on the 1918 spanish flu the public is invited to attend this free event which will begin at 6:00 pm at annenberg presidential conference center on texas a&m universitys west campus registration is strongly recommended and can be found at the bush schools event webpage catharine arnold is a popular author historian and television presenter specializing in dark themes her most recent book is pandemic 1918: the story of the deadliest influenza in history (2018) other works include the acclaimed london quartet: necropolis london and its dead; bedlam london and its mad; city of sin: london and its vices; and underworld london: crime and punishment in the capital city her first novel lost time received the betty trask award and will be reissued in 2020 by endeavour arnold studied english literature at girton college in cambridge university where she won the rima alamuddin award for creative writing she spent four years as a reporter and feature writer for the nottingham evening post arnold also served as a councillor on the nottingham city council between the years 2007 and 2019 and took the civic role of sheriff of nottingham from 2018 to 2019
by locky catron scowcroft institute of international affairs intern on tuesday march 3 dr dennis carroll will give a talk titled megatrends in the 21st century: global health implications at texas a&m universitys west campusdr carrolls talk will cover his experiences with epidemics as well as todays global health threats including the coronavirus and their potential effectsthe scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university is hosting this public event at 6:00 pm on tuesday march 3 in hagler auditorium at the annenberg presidential conference center registration for this event can be found at the bush schools event pagedr carroll is an infectious disease expert who recently retired as director of the emerging threats division of the us agency for international development (usaid) during his time at usaid he led the agencys responses to the spread of avian influenza and the west africa ebola epidemic and oversaw the agencys implementation of the emerging pandemic threats program in more than thirty countries across africa and asia while previously serving as senior infectious diseases advisor for the us centers for disease control and prevention he was responsible for the initial design and development of the presidents malaria initiative (pmi)
bg (ret) kim field executive director of the albritton center for grand strategy provided the keynote address at the closing banquet of scona 65 forging americas future she also judged among 12 outstanding roundtable papers to pick the top two find more information at sconatamuedu
istpp researcher dr ki-eun kang recently published a paper with dr george homsy of the department of public administration at binghamton university state university of new york on regional competition and land development in economic development quarterly their article was titled make me a better offer: developer threats and regional competition for land development projects this research was designed to analyze the likelihood that land developers would exploit intermunicipal competition in negotiating development projects drs kang and homsy use data collected from a 2013 online survey administered to planners and public officials for 1 607 municipalities counties and cities in the state of new york kang and homsy find municipalities can recapture power from land developers through regional collaboration communication between neighboring municipalities about development projects reduces the chances a developer will threaten to take a project to a neighboring community they also find that high-income jurisdictions are less likely to be threatened by developers than low-income communities kang and homsy conclude their article by suggesting future research should analyze how communities utilize different methods of public participation to influence property developer threats kang ki-eun and george c homsy 2020 make me a better offer: developer threats and regional competition for land development projects economic development quarterly 34(1): 21–30 doi: 101177/0891242419897124
on february 6 2020 the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs hosted the talk reimagining globalization featuring dr dani rodrik ford foundation professor of international political economy at the harvard kennedy school rodrik asserted that reimagining globalization has the potential to more widely distribute trade benefits than the current model of hyper-globalization key components of a new model would include win-win trade agreements national autonomy over economic decisions and domestic policy that institutes robust safety nets and safeguards against social dumping social dumping is a phenomenon by which trade agreements affect national policies in ways that go beyond tariffs and other barriers to trade found at the border for example recent agreements include provisions that affect domestic health and safety standards by harmonizing rules across countries even when countries may have different preferences about health and safety rodrik pointed out that there has always been a backlash against globalization for example in the late 18th century william jennings bryan decried the gold standard a symbol of globalization at the time and globalization continues to be denounced nearly 125 years later to solve the current problems caused by globalization rodrik suggested that we need a reinvented vision he said that because it is a fluid institution and can take many forms its shape is under our control in order to redesign an improved and relevant regime rodrik asked the following questions: which market flows should be liberalized should rules extend beyond borders and how should the rules be governed with these questions as a framework rodrik chronologically reviewed three types of globalization: the gold standard regime the bretton woods system and todays post-1990s hyper-globalization in todays system he maintained that domestic economies have become servants to the international economy severely hampering nations capacity for equitable growth according to rodrik the ideal of globalization in the 21st century would realize economic efficiency distributive fairness and political accountability he explained that this system would entail a peaceful-coexistence trade model where trade agreements are a true win-win there would be greater domestic management of financial flows as well as a relaxation in labor mobility rules he also suggested a different system of international governance one in which each nation has the autonomy to pursue its own domestic policy rather than being held to a set of norms further governments should have the policy space to devise their own growth strategies he concluded that a thinner globalization could be more sustainable and paradoxically much more beneficial to society overall following the lecture dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute facilitated a discussion with rodrik the topics addressed included the validity of us concerns over chinese economic policy the lack of economic vision involved in the brexit decision and the need to recognize that driving economic actors likely do not make globally-optimal decisions rodriks comments exemplified the way in which he skillfully questions conventional applications of economic theories reimagining globalization can be viewed in its entirety on the bush school youtube channel
michael migaud a second-year bush school student in the department of public service and administration and a graduate assistant researcher for the institute for science technology and public policy recently presented research on texas home buyout programs after natural disasters at the texas lyceums pubcon conference in waco tx the texas lyceum is a nonprofit nonpartisan statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top texas leaders and this meeting explored the hidden costs of housing in texas migauds research was supported by a fellowship from the texas lyceum and supervised by dr brian nakamura assistant professor of the practice at the bush school migaud found that buyout programs often take years to complete and the costs homeowners incur relocating are often greater than what they receive in compensation from the government for their property his policy recommendations for the state were the following: (1) utilize some money from the texas infrastructure resiliency fund and the flood infrastructure fund to develop hazard mitigation grants supporting municipalities in updating local floodplain maps (2) create advanced disaster mitigation financing programs through the state economic stabilization fund to speed up property buyout processes and (3) implement homeowner-friendly policies like property tax caps with phased in rate adjustments to minimize costs associated with relocating after participating in property buyouts migauds research titled property buyouts after natural disasters: the economic implications for texas residents was published in the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policys policy brief series the takeaway
ret brigadier general kimberly field executive director of the albritton center for grand strategy testified earlier this month to the committee on armed services the hearing was to receive testimony on the united states strategy in afghanistan united states strategy in afghanistan committee hearing video
on monday february 17 in conjunction with the bush schools office of diversity the center for nonprofits and philanthropy will celebrate black history month and the contributions of black sororities and fraternities in the united states at the annenberg presidential conference center from 4:30 to 6:30 pmthis is a free event that will include a presentation from the tamu office of fraternity & sorority life the program will center on the origins of the national pan-hellenic council which is a collaborative organization of the nine historically african american international greek lettered sororities and fraternities and their history attendees will also have the opportunity to take part in a silent auction that will be held to raise money for the tamu matthew gaines initiative the matthew gaines initiative is a current commemoration fund that when raised will allow texas a&m students to commission construct and maintain a statue honoring matthew gaines who served in the 12th texas legislature senator gaines was a courageous advocate for public education and promoted the creation of the agricultural and mechanical colleges of texas through the morrill act please rsvp for the event here
jason parker professor in texas a&m universitys department of history and cgs faculty affiliate recently published elites favor federations like the european union non-elites revolt in the washington post
sage has just published easy r: access prepare visualize explore data and write papers written by professor quan li with two political science undergraduate students elizabeth gohmert and doug wiseand for anyone who wants to learn the free software to do the things suggested in the title even if you have no prior background in programming or stats! read further information on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
brookings institution press has published us inspectors general: truth tellers in turbulent times by dr charles a johnson and dr kathryn e newcomer (george washington university) this book provides an in-depth exploration of united states inspectors general who investigates waste fraud and mismanagement in federal agencies and promotes efficiency and effectiveness in federal programs without regard to partisan interests us inspectors general are nonpartisan appointees who are independent of the agencies they monitor and report to the executive and congressional branches of government inspector general investigations often draw considerable media and public attention when they uncover serious misdeeds or mismanagement based on in-depth case studies a survey of inspectors general and a review of public documents johnson and newcomer explore how inspectors general operate the work they do and their impact their analysis emphasizes the strategic environment of inspectors general in which they work and how they interact with stakeholders inside and outside of the government research for this book was supported by a competitively awarded grant from the ibm center for the business of government and by each of the co-authors academic institutions read further information johnson is professor emeritus of political science and dean emeritus of liberal arts at texas a&m university he joined the texas a&m faculty in 1978 and served as department head of political science (1992 – 2001) and dean of liberal arts (2001-2009) dr newcomer is a professor of public administration at the trachtenberg school of public policy and public administration at the george washington university and served as director of the trachtenberg school (2009 – 2019) on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
robert ralston the predoctoral fellow at albritton cgs published to win president trump must look forward not backward with the washington post shortly after president trumps 2020 state of the union address
armed rebel groups lobby in dc just like governments how does that influence us policy by reyko huang associate professor of international affairs at the bush school and cgs faculty affiliate was published in the monkey cage the washington posts political newsletter
on february 6 2020 the clements center for national security in partnership with the texas a&m albritton center for grand strategy kissinger center for global affairs at johns hopkins and the duke university program in american grand strategy hosted a conference on restraint and national security the conference explored the intent the causes and the consequences of restraint in foreign engagement in the course of american history professor john schuessler gave a keynote address offshore balancing: revisiting the world war ii case professor jeongseok lee presented his work on restraint seato and china and bg(ret) kim field gave the closing remarks reflections in view of the practice of strategy importantly six students attended the conference and participated robustly with great questions throughout the day for more information visit the conference website
on saturday february 1st the albritton center for grand strategy hosted a reading cohort social to discuss john avlons washingtons farewell: the founding fathers warning to future generations the event was made possible by the john quincy adams society (jqas) a non-political and non-partisan organization committed to identifying educating and equipping the next generation of scholars and policy leaders to encourage a new era of realism and restraint in american foreign policy read the summary from the jqas social discussion
dr xinsheng liu research scientist at the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) presented a paper entitled local air pollution and political trust in china at the 2020 annual conference of the southern political science association in san juan puerto rico january 9-11 2020 the paper was coauthored with kent portney (istpp director) ren mu (istpp fellow) and taiping ding (istpp predoctoral fellow and doctoral candidate department of public administration sun yat-sen university) the authors theoretically and empirically investigate the links between air quality and citizens trust in government using local air quality data and public opinion survey data they find that local air pollution significantly lessens chinese citizens political trust
dr kent portney and dr bryce hannibal published a paper with istpp fellows dr bassel daher department of biological and agricultural engineering at texas a&m university and dr rabi mohtar of american university in beirut on communication levels between water-energy-food nexus researchers and stakeholders within the greater san antonio area their work titled toward understanding the convergence of researcher and stakeholder perspectives related to water-energy-food (wef) challenges: the case of san antonio texas appears in environmental science and policy their research evaluates levels of communication and convergence of knowledge between water-energy-food nexus researchers and regional stakeholders daher hannibal mohtar and portney analyze data collected from a survey administered to 370 researchers and stakeholders from private non-profit and public sector organizations that work with water energy or food in the san antonio region results show there is little convergence between researchers and regional stakeholders regarding water energy and food researchers and stakeholders alike suggest increased communication and improved information sharing between relevant agencies could improve cooperation in combating the management challenges posed by interconnected resources daher hannibal mohtar and portney conclude by suggesting reevaluating existing governance institutions and resource allocation methods for communicating between researchers and regional stakeholders if improved communication and greater convergence between the two the groups and desired daher bassel bryce hannibal rabi h mohtar and kent e portney 2020 toward understanding the convergence of researcher and stakeholder perspectives related to water-energy-food (wef) challenges: the case of san antonio texas environmental science and policy 104: 20-35 doi: https://doiorg/101016/jenvsci201910020
on wednesday february 26 drs stéphane audoin-rouzeau hélène dumas henry rousso and richard golsan will participate in a public panel discussing the events and aftermath of the 1994 genocide of rwandan tutsi in 1994 the rwandan civil war led to a three-month genocide of the tutsi people claiming the lives of an estimated 500 000 to over one million people twenty-six years later our panel of experts will discuss the response of the rwandan government and the international community to this tragedy as well as the state of justice for the victims the france/tamu institute (french center of excellence) and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service invite you to join us for this roundtable discussion register for the event on the bush school website sign-in will begin at 5:30 pm followed by the roundtable at 6 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center on texas a&m universitys west campus dr stéphane audoin-rouzeau is the director of the school for advanced studies in social sciences at the university of paris dr hélène dumas is a historian and researcher at the french national centre for scientific research dr henry rousso is the directeur de recherche de classe exceptionelle at the french national centre for scientific research and hagler institute for advanced studies fellow at texas a&m dr richard golsan is the director of the france/tamu institute (french center of excellence) at texas a&m university continue reading on and register on the bush school website
falling solar prices spurred the author of californias solar rooftop experience: an update to revisit an earlier economic review on the merits of implementing residential rooftop solar systems in california as before his analysis includes not only the costs and benefits for the solar adopters but also for the electricity providers the government and the environment the author finds that the environmental gains from rooftop solar are now much closer to passing a cost-benefit test than they were when he did a similar analysis based on 2010 prices and makes the case that current solar panel prices make solar subsidies no longer necessary he also argues that the hidden costs solar adopters impose on electricity providers need to be addressed and proposes that regulators should restructure electricity pricing by splitting it into two componentsan access fee and a usage fee the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university
ten years ago today the nation said goodbye to robert a mosbacher sr accomplished texas oilman and leader in public service today the mosbacher institute remembers and honors the life of our namesake by sharing this memorial video in 1948 at the age of twenty-one robert mosbacher sr moved to houston from his native new york to manage his fathers energy investments and build his own portfolio he quickly built a highly successful oil and gas company with interests throughout the world mosbacher has been hailed as one of the most effective political fundraisers in modern history but it was his loyal friendship with and devoted support of president george h w bush that would lead him to the national political stage without [bob] its highly unlikely i would have ever been president of the united states bob was by my side from the very beginning as we started a journey that would lead to the mountaintop of american politics– george h w bush – on february 3 1989 mosbacher was sworn in as the 28th secretary of commerce following his unanimous confirmation by the united states senate secretary mosbachers central accomplishments while at the helm of the commerce department from 1989 to early 1992 included helping to lay the foundation for major trade agreements and significantly closing americas trade deficit with key trading partners such as japan and south korea his role in strengthening relationships with our neighbors through commerce prompted mexican president ernesto zedillo to present mosbacher with the aztec eagle award the highest decoration offered by the mexican government to noncitizens upon the request of president george h w bush the board of regents of the texas a&m university system approved the establishment of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy in the bush school of government and public service in september 2009 named for president bushs long-time friend and colleague the initiative recognized mosbachers years of service and commitment to improving the nations domestic economy and trade relationships since its establishment the mosbacher institute has strived to continue the legacy of robert a mosbacher sr by collaborating on domestic economic policy and international trade issues with nationally recognized scholars and experts and by fostering greater educational emphasis on trade economics and public policy among bush school students to learn more about the mosbacher institute and its programs please visit our website at bushtamuedu/mosbacher
international economist dani rodrik of harvard universitys john f kennedy school of government will speak at the bush school of government and public service about reconciling todays negative globalization trends rodrik objects to public commentary that fixates on advancing or reversing globalization and maintains that our task is to redesign globalization so that it better serves our economic and social objectives the reimagining globalization event is cohosted by the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school at texas a&m university and will be held on thursday february 6 at 6:00 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center those wishing to attend reimagining globalization can register on the bush school website bushtamuedu/events or call (979) 845-1927 a reception will begin at 5:30 pm with rodrik speaking at 6:00 pm the lecture is open to the public but space is limited reservations are strongly recommended by wednesday february 4 rodrik is the ford foundation professor of international political economy at the harvard kennedy school he has published widely in the areas of economic development international economics and political economy his current research focuses on employment and economic growth in both developing and advanced economies following rodriks remarks dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute and professor of economics and government at the bush school will engage rodrik in an on-stage conversation
by justin bailey the bush schools department of public service and administration will sponsor a televised candidates forum this saturday january 25th for the contenders for the district 17 us house of representatives seat the forum organized by kbtx of bryan and kwtx of waco will air from 6:30 pm to 9 pm as a sponsor of the event the bush school is offering students a range of ways in which they can take part in the forum an active role in democracy thirteen students will be assigned to help candidates directly as they arrive and prepare for the forum one of the awesome things about being a bush school student is the opportunity to take part in events like this second-year student faith dingas said ive been assigned to one of the candidates and its actually one that im supporting in the election its going to be awesome to spend time with her before the forum and help out however i can in the week before the event students are also putting their heads together to write an education-focused question to be asked of the candidates during the forum the question we get to provide is probably the most interesting thing to me second-year student samantha ruelas said well obviously be helping out in a nonpartisan capacity but were still going to ultimately be constituents of one of these candidatesand i think we as graduate students have an important perspective on issues like student debt education funding and other student-related issues a behind the scenes look in addition to posing a question and helping candidates before the forum bush school students will also take part in a question and answer session with moderators karla castillo and tara mergener most bush school students plan to work for government in some capacity after graduation bush school student government association president dylan armstrong said elections obviously play a huge part in all levels of government and the ability to talk to moderators at an event like this and ask them how they go about preparing is absolutely a huge opportunity the forum which will be held at rudder theatre on the a&m campus will not be open to the public however because the school is a sponsor bush school students have been allotted dozens of spots in the audience which is mostly reserved for candidates family and staff were so pleased to be partnering with kbtx and kwtx for this forum public service and administration department head lori taylor said this is going to give our students the opportunity not only to have front row seats to democracy in action but also to participate in a way that will allow them real interaction with the candidatesone of whom will be our next representative
cgs welcomed dr michelle murray of bard college to the bush school to discuss her book the struggle for recognition in international relations in her book murray strives to answer the perennial question of how established powers can manage the peaceful rise of another great power read more about murrays book discussion
the paper shows that world leaders with business experience make smaller contributions to collective defense than their non-business counterparts the story is available online
on wednesday february 12 ambassador dennis ross will deliver a lecture on texas a&m universitys west campus beginning at 6 pm the talk will be on ambassador ross recent book co-authored with david makovsky be strong and of good courage: how israels most important leaders shaped its destiny the book focuses on what we can learn from israels leaders and provides profiles of four israeli prime ministers who made historic choices and explores the lessons from those decisions to see if they can provide a guide to dealing with the fateful choice that israels leaders must soon confront or by default become a binational state this free event hosted by the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service is open to the public registration is recommended by february 10 and can be found on the bush schools event page ambassador dennis ross is counselor and william davidson distinguished fellow at the washington institute for near east policy for more than twelve years ambassador ross played a leading role in shaping us involvement in the middle east peace process dealing directly with the parties as the us point man on the peace process in both the george h w bush and bill clinton administrations he served two years as special assistant to president obama and national security council senior director for the central region and a year as special advisor to secretary of state hillary rodham clinton prior to his service as special middle east coordinator under president clinton he served as director of the state departments policy planning staff in the first bush administration he played a prominent role in us policy towards the former soviet union the unification of germany and its integration into nato arms control negotiations and the 1991 gulf war coalition during the reagan administration he served as director of near east and south asian affairs on the national security council staff and deputy director of the pentagons office of net assessment previously ambassador ross authored doomed to succeed: the us-israel relationship from truman to obama and coauthored myths illusions and peace: finding a new direction for america in the middle east with makovsky
on monday february 10 journalist and writer kim ghattas will deliver a talk on her recent book black wave: saudi arabia iran and the forty-year rivalry that unraveled culture religion and collective memory in the middle east at texas a&m universitys west campus the book tells the story of the rivalry between saudi arabia and iran a conflict born from the 1979 iranian revolution ghattas a native of the region explores the distortion and deployment of religion in a competition that went beyond geopolitics where each side proceeded to strategically feed intolerance suppress cultural expression and encourage sectarian violence from egypt to pakistan the lecture hosted by the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service will begin at 6:00 pm in hagler auditorium at the annenberg presidential conference center registration to attend this free public event can be found at bushtamuedu/events reservations are strongly recommended by monday february 10 ghattas is an emmy-award-winning journalist and writer who covered the middle east for twenty years for the bbc and the financial times and also reported on the us state department and american politics she is currently a nonresident scholar at the carnegie endowment for international peace in washington her first book the secretary was a new york times bestseller
students in the master of international affairs program at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university had the unique opportunity to visit riga latvia for their capstone research project dr gabriela thornton led this capstone which focused on exploring all the forms of retrenchment in grand strategy looking more into the potential outcomes and consequences associated with engagement versus restraint the capstone studentsoluwafemi adeniyi jared ballejos william franze donnie hodges kelsey reichmanis and eliana taylorworked with two clients: the atlantic council and the baltic security foundation the field trip to latvia was sponsored by the baltic security foundation with the participation of the latvian political science association baltic american freedom foundation and the jamestown foundation the foundation set up an intense weeklong schedule allowing the students to meet with and personally discuss strategies on security and stability for latvia as well as latvias relationship with the united states europe and nato during their week in latvia the students met with deputy speaker dagmāra beitnere-le galla at the latvian parliament; visited the ministry of foreign affairs of the republic of latvia as part of the bsf young leaders mobility program; and met with parliamentary secretary zanda kalniņa-lukaševica advisor to the minister gunda reire second secretary of the american and the caribbean division egils leimanis and third secretary of nato and european security policy division linda jaunaraja-janvare students had meetings at the us embassy office of defense cooperation and the nato strategic communications center of excellence and participated in two conferences: riga conference future leaders forum and riga 2019 conference the capstone was honored with an invitation to the riga conference gala reception hosted by h e mr egils levits president of the republic of latvia the capstone participants were delighted to briefly discuss matters of latvian affairs with the president of latvia and have a picture taken with him during the gala while students spent most of their time in meetings and conferences they also had the opportunity to explore latvian culture and history they toured the latvian war museum downtown riga the former kgb headquarters and the baltic sea the students and their professor dr gabriela marin thornton are deeply grateful to the president of the baltic security foundation olevs nickes (a former student of dr gabriela thornton); to dr otto tabuns of the baltic security foundation; and to liga lakuca of the european military press association student jared ballejos reflected the debate and discussion of panel memberswhich included political scientists economists journalists and government officialsat the annual riga conference brought to life the challenges latvia and its baltic sister states are facing some of the challenges are perceived others are sustained in the daily lives of the latvian people as differences with russia have made its need for alliances more important to that end i take comfort in knowing the united states and nato support the latvian government and the baltic region as a whole having the opportunity to sit down with the people who are implementing the policies that affect this nation was eye-opening in ways i could never imagine it was truly life-changing to hear and understand why some of these officials think the way they do it forces you out of the us perspective on some of these well-known issues student eliana taylor said
department of political science professor matthew fuhrmann an expert on nuclear proliferation talked to npr about current nuclear talks with north korea he commented: nuclear weapons are very good for self-defense and for preserving the existing status quo argues texas a&m university political scientist matt fuhrmann but he says theyre not especially useful for forcing changes to the status quo as in using nuclear threats to blackmail your adversaries fuhrmann says that kim has been relatively successful in acquiring nuclear weapons in order to ensure the survival of his regime and it is unlikely that he could be compelled to give them up but using nuclear threats to extract concessions from the us such as security guarantees or the sanctions relief pyongyang seeks would be far more difficult this is because actually using the nukes would all but ensure the regimes extinction fuhrmann says even if they continue to build their arsenal read the full npr article on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
prof kimberly field cgs executive director and dr elizabeth cobbs professor in texas a&m universitys department of history and cgs faculty affiliate argue for a more clearly defined us grand strategy in their article why did the us kill suleimani in the new york times
edward you former working group member of the white house national security council policy coordinating committee on countering biological threats accepted the invitation to become a senior fellow for the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university the scowcroft institute director andrew natsios invited mr you to join the senior fellows program based on his expertise and accomplishments in his discipline this program recognizes individuals who are committed to making significant contributions to the development of the scowcroft institute and to its missions aims and objectives as a senior fellow mr you will prepare a paper for the scowcroft white paper series and provide one lecture at the university mr you participated in the institutes pandemic policy and biosecurity program as a panelist in the 5th annual pandemic policy summit in college station texas and as a mentor for students on the panel for global health careers during the most recent summit mr you shared his knowledge on the potential criminal misuse of biology and on issues dealing with the american bioeconomy during his career in public service mr you has been directly involved in policy-making efforts with a focus on biosecurity in addition to serving as a working group member of the national security council policy coordinating committee on countering biological threats he also worked as the fbi ex officio member of the national institutes of health national science advisory board for biosecurity he had the privilege of serving on two national academies of sciences engineering and medicine committees the institute of medicines forum on microbial threats and the committee on science technology and laws forum on synthetic biology before working in the policy and countering biological threats fields mr you worked for six years in graduate research focusing on retrovirology and human gene therapy at the university of southern california keck school of medicine he subsequently worked for three years at the biotechnology firm amgen inc in cancer research mr you is a supervisory special agent in the fbis weapons of mass destruction directorate and is currently detailed to the us department of health and human services office of national security his responsibilities include coordinating and improving fbi and interagency efforts to identify assess and respond to biological threats or incidents he leads efforts to identify and address potential security challenges in emerging biotechnology such as synthetic biology and the use of big data in engineering biology his overall goal is to safeguard the scientific community the life science research enterprise and the american bioeconomy before being promoted to the weapons of mass destruction directorate mr you was a member of the fbi los angeles field office joint terrorism task force and served on the fbi hazardous evidence response team
prof kimberly field cgs executive director was recently interviewed by the local news station kbtx watch the discussion about iranian military generals death on january 6 and the conversation about the afghanistan papers on december 16 online
by olga bodrugoriginally from moldova olga bodrug earned an undergraduate degree in romania before coming to the bush school where she studies international affairs i feel honored i had the chance to spend the last semester of the decade in the united states i am very grateful to the fulbright program and the institute of international education for providing me this fantastic opportunity and to the bush school of government and public service for admitting me to this competitive institution i found in the bush school a wonderful community which has made me feel like i am not over the ocean 6000 miles away from home exactly four months ago i moved to texas and looking back it is incredible how great my experience here has been and how much i have grown both professionally and personally i remember the first day i entered the allen building i had exactly that special feeling i have when i go home to visit my family that made me immediately confident that i was in the right place our deans reaction to my first howdy also made me feel at home: howdy you pronounced it perfectly i am glad you are here in my first semester ive had so many great opportunities and experiences– olga bodrug in my first semester ive had so many great opportunities and experiences such as the chance to attend events with important figures like robert gates former united states secretary of defense; john major former prime minister of the uk; h e winston lord former us ambassador to china; and he gina abercrombie-winstanley former us ambassador to malta one of the most significant public figures ive had the opportunity to meet and have a discussion with was the us ambassador to romania hans klemm even though we lived in the same romanian city (bucharest) for four years i never had the opportunity to speak with his excellencyi have grown professionally because of a great group of very experienced professors as well as the amazing career services staff of the bush school who have advised me on how to have a great career after i finish graduate school i have also grown both professionally and personally because of my classmates who are like a family to me because of the way we support each other and thus have grown together long story short about my first semester: demanding challenging but exciting it was a difficult semester (the adaption period i call it) but the reward was accordingly great i have learned many new and useful thingssome the hard waybut at least i feel more prepared now for a job after graduation i had to fight or to pay with lost hours of sleep because of my procrastination i embraced some of the unique aspects of going to school in texas such as going to classes in suits with long sleeves when outside it is almost 100° f (my record temperature ever) or walking outside with a t-shirt and shorts in december my last day of exams of the semester was on december 9th a sunny day of 80° f which made it feel like spring to me (in romania in december it gets as low as 26° f) i remember being on my way to school a little stressed because of the exam but comforted by the soft spring wind after the exam it almost felt like i hadnt yet really finished the semester maybe because i was used to finishing it in february in my country when usually it is super cold and often snowing i dont even know what happened to the first four months of my masters degree education it went by so fast as the department head dr gause told us at the beginning of the semester: its a sprint not a marathon!
low natural gas prices and environmental regulations have led many us utilities to retire their coal-fired power plants and build new natural gas generators but because coal prices tend to be more stable than natural gas prices some worry that this trend will lead to more volatile electricity prices dr anastasia shcherbakova an applied economist in the texas a&m department of agricultural economics and a research fellow with the mosbacher institute did the math she and her collaborators examined data from the pennsylvania-new jersey-maryland power grid to see what happens to electricity price volatility when coal generators unexpectedly go offline and found that electricity price volatility was actually lower during hours when the natural gas generators were setting the price of electricity the author concludes that because natural gas generators are more flexible and better able to respond to changing market conditions they actually reduce price volatility meaning that environmental benefits do not have to come at the expense of greater price risk you can read about it in financial implications of coal-to-gas fuel switching the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
chinas growth over the past decades has profoundly influenced global trade several recent studies document how us imports from china adversely affect us workers these studies suggest that chinese imports are associated with lower wages and employment what has been less appreciated however is that us imports from china also adversely affect mexican workers this finding is important because it indicates that the united states and mexico face common challenges that through cooperation they could successfully face together you can read about it in how us imports from china affect mexican labor markets the author dr raymond robertson is the director of the mosbacher institute and a professor of economics and government at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university he studies international and labor economics the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university
michael migaud a second-year master of public service and administration student and graduate assistant researcher in the institute for science technology and public policy at the texas a&m bush school of government and public service presented his research on policy tools used to combat space debris at the national aeronautics and space administrations first international orbital debris conference his presentation was titled policy tools for preventing mitigating and defending against orbital debris migaud analyzes the current state of space debris in earths orbital environment and then uniquely maps us policies based on their ability to prevent the accumulation of orbital debris mitigate effects of polluted orbital patterns and defend against space waste through debris removal and recovery he also highlights current policy on the international stage intended to promote sustainable activity in earths orbital environment after analyzing current policy efforts in the us and internationally to combat orbital debris migaud claims space waste policies are skewed toward prevention and mitigation and give little attention to debris removal he suggests that more defensive policies dedicated to debris removal will become more prevalent once active debris removal and on-orbit servicing technologies become economically and technologically feasible he also suggests the horizontal integration of space governance and increased regulatory coordination between the national aeronautics and space administration federal communications commission federal aviation administration and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration might be beneficial for future regulation of outer space activity migaud michael r 2019 policy tools for preventing mitigating and defending against orbital debris paper presented at the national aeronautics and space administrations first international orbital debris conference sugar land tx december 9-12
twenty-two bush school executive students received their master of public service and administration degree from texas a&ms bush school of government and public service some ninety-three students are in the executive master of public service and administration (empsa) program which began in 2016 the graduates of the empsa hail from a broad range of professions including city government emergency management federal government industry and the military the online program offers full-time professionals the opportunity to pursue a degree that will develop advanced skills in public service leadership and decision making as well as critical investigative and evaluative methods in addition to the online coursework students attend two intense one-week academic sessions on the university campus where they also discover aggie traditions and make long-standing friendships the fall graduation speaker for the 2019 class is thomas pledger a member of the united states army pledger currently serves as the executive officer for the director of the army national guard staff having earlier completed a certificate in advanced international affairs at the school pledger says he chose the empsa program because of its focus on public service he noted that for professionals with full-time careers the flexibility that the empsa program allows along with the understanding and respect the staff and instructors have for students careers was a benefit of the program pledger also said the ability to support arguments and conclusions with data to back them up was one of the most crucial lessons he learned as an empsa student in addition to the executive degree recipients six bush school students received master of international affairs (mia) degrees and one received a master of international policy (mip) the mia program is an in-residence non-thesis program designed to equip students interested in public service with the skills and knowledge critical for successful careers in government or nongovernmental organizations the mip degree is a non-thesis degree program offered fully in-residence on the texas a&m campus and is focused on either national security and diplomacy or international development and economic policy we are extremely proud of our graduating bush school students who now join other bush school graduates who are already making a difference in this rapidly changing and very challenging world said dean mark welsh i know they will be remarkably successful!
by caitlin clark texas a&m marketing communications interested in paying their respects and learning more about the life of the 41st president visitors continued to visit the george hw bush presidential library and museum in the year since he was laid to rest on the texas a&m university campus theres been an increase in people touring the library and museum as well as bushs gated grave site tucked among the oak trees behind it said david b jones president and ceo of the george and barbara bush foundation the visitor traffic has really been very special jones said as the foundation that preserves bushs legacy of selfless service looks to the future its been a period of transition for the bush foundation since bush died on nov 30 2018 meanwhile at the other institution in aggieland that bears his name – the bush school of government & public service – theres been a recommitment to ensuring the spirit of bushs lifes work remains at the core of the school its been a year of ensuring that his memory and the lessons that he taught everyone here are cemented in the dna of the college said bush school dean mark welsh theres no less focus on the things that he did during the course of his career of the example he set of the professional values that he espoused and of the way he treated people moving forward after both the death of bush and former first lady barbara bush jones said the foundation will continue its support of the bush school and the bush library this new chapter also will bring some visible changes that are consistent with the bushes wishes jones said given who the bushes were and the way they conducted their lives were doing things exactly the way they would have wanted jones said a year of changes the first visible change came last april when the george hw bush presidential library foundation changed its name to the george and barbara bush foundation this strong family endorsement of our mission and the steps we are taking to continue our namesakes work in bettering our nation will help us better promote value virtue and nobility of service across their core causes jones said in a statement following the announcement jones said the bush family was enthusiastic about the name change which helps reflect the important role the former first lady played in bushs life and career and the foundations intention to support all areas of their public service legacies including the barbara bush foundation for family literacy the barbara bush houston literary foundation and points of light while still headquartered in college station the foundation also has opened a satellite location in houston in the office bush occupied after his presidency less than a week after the foundations name change former us vice presidents dick cheney and dan quale and current vice president mike pence visited campus to discuss the american vice presidency – the first major event on campus since the presidents passing this nation owes an extraordinary debt to the life and service of vice president and president george herbert walker bush pence said during the event i am in debt as well for his kindness and his inspiration and his example that summer 12 of bushs 17 grandchildren returned to campus to continue their grandfathers tradition of parachuting onto the bush library grounds although high winds cancelled the event it still gave the large family the rare opportunity to reunite which they used to lay a wreath at their grandparents grave site pierce bush son of neil bush and one of the 12 grandchildren who was set to jump said it was a special moment my grandparents deeply loved this community this school the traditions that came with it its why they chose to have this as their final resting place he said after the reunions and celebrations came more permanent fixtures that would honor bushs legacy the first came in june when the us postal service unveiled a forever stamp on what would have been the presidents 95th birthday continuing a tradition of placing the images of former presidents on postage stamps that began in 1847 with george washington bush library director warren finch said the president who was modest to the point that he questioned why so many bush library exhibits focused on him would have been touched by the honor on nov 30 in recognition of the year since bushs passing bush school students honored the president with a day of service called 41 acts of service: a day serving your community in honor of president bush the social media campaign encouraged individuals to serve their communities through selfless acts big and small and document them using the #41actsofservice hashtag the bush library and service dog school americas vetdogs also unveiled a statue on dec 2 that honored sully bushs companion dog that stayed by his side during the final months of his life and rested near his casket after his passing it shows the love and companionship that president bush had for sully and they were a source of strength for each other jones said during the event theres no doubt that it will be a very popular new exhibit for the library after a year of memorials tributes and celebrations officials from the bush school and bush foundation say even more is in store what the future holds jones said contributions to the bush school as well as memberships have seen a marked increase since bushs death a major priority will be increasing the bush schools endowment by roughly $25 million he said most of that money will be used for student scholarships and the schools institutes including the scowcroft institute of international affairs and the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy that would allow us to get back to where we want to be in terms of support for every student welsh said one of president bushs big pushes when the bush school first opened was to make sure that it was as affordable as possible to go along with a quality education because as people want to graduate from here and go into public service they cant afford to have a huge educational bill that they have to repay or theyre not going to be able to afford to go into public service welsh said growing the schools scholarship endowment will allow it to continue to provide students with a reasonable cost of education it will also fund an internship or language immersion program for every bush school student jones said a fundraising campaign will be launched next year fundraising will also go toward the display for union pacific 4141 on the library grounds the funeral train that carried bush to his final resting place passed through college station in november for the announcement of its donation by union pacific additionally there are also plans for an exhibit featuring a retired marine one helicopter to be displayed permanently on the grounds both will help continue to attract visitors to the library and museum and tell the bushes story jones said the train will be installed in 2020 and the helicopter will likely follow within the next 18 months along with the helicopter display a restaurant is also planned to be added to the librarys grounds something jones said has long been requested by visitors besides new additions to bushs presidential library and museum jones said the bush foundation will also continue celebrating the 30th anniversaries of some of bushs major career accomplishments it recently commemorated the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall and next year jones said the anniversaries of the reunification of germany and the signing of the americans with disabilities act will be observed reflecting on bushs career jones said bush set an example for collegial bipartisan approach to politics thats a marked contrast to the way things are accomplished today in washington dc its a hallmark of bushs career both domestically and internationally he said if you come to the library you learn those things and we try to show those also in our programs jones said welsh said bushs death prompted many people to revisit bushs legacy as president and the week before he was laid to rest was a celebration of the man the person not the politician there was story after story of how he positively impacted individuals who he ran into during his public life and i think that was the big story welsh said there seemed to be almost a longing for getting back to that type of governance and representation and thats what we want our students to demonstrate when they leave here and go out to change the world
public service has been the theme of the career of 2007 bush school graduate kathryn kaufman who was honored with the bush schools 2019 outstanding alumni award in only twelve years since graduating with a master of international affairs shes had career highlights ranging from representing the united states at the g7 summit to bringing high-speed rail to texas to helping empower women around the globe being named the 2019 outstanding alumni is an absolute honor kaufman said one of the reasons i chose the bush school is that the students that graduate from here actually go into public service graduates really take seriously the concept that public service is a noble calling and to be recognized now for some of the work ive done is certainly humbling but also it encourages me to keep going and keep trying to make a meaningful difference in the world from the bush school to the halls of the pentagon the course of kaufmans career has had several transformations since she left college station after graduation kaufman moved to her hometown of washington dc to work in the policy office of then secretary of defense robert gates i wish i could say that secretary gates was the one who hired me but i was just a little below his radar kaufman laughed that being said the job was really hands-on and action-oriented i wrote talking points and briefing papers and had to deal with some intense situationsmost of them unfortunately i cant tell you about in her role at the pentagon as desk officer for china and taiwan kaufman worked on the us- china defense relationship and broader asia pacific security affairs including serving as control officer to then president bush at the 2008 olympics in beijing high speed rail and the lone star state in 2008 kaufman was recruited by a former boss to leave the pentagon and spearhead what will be the first high-speed rail in the united states the texas central railway i was highly involved from its conception kaufman said in raising capital hiring staff and convincing our japanese partners that texas would be an ideal place to showcase their bullet train technology bryan-college station has kaufman to thank in part for the planned station only a thirty-minute drive away i definitely played a role in the decision to get a station near bryan-college station kaufman said i fought hard for that its a commercial operation so it does make sense financially to serve college station but more importantly how could we not have a stop in the heart and soul of texas kaufman said one of the highlights of her early careershe was in her twenties at the timewas when her firm secured texas central railways anchor investor john kleinheinz out of fort worth once we landed john i traveled with him and another investor on his private plane around the state pitching others to join us and you know i was young and that was a pretty cool experience kaufman said but neither life nor careers go in a straight path i was involved with texas central railway for seven years but in 2017 one of the investors that i had pitched was tapped by the trump administration to run opic the overseas private investment corporation six months later he asked me to join him at opic and thats how i arrived where i am today empowering women around the globe back in the nations capital kaufman is now managing director for global womens issues with opic a position that has led to several career and personal highlights working for opic allows me to do the most inspiring and amazing work kaufman said just after i started i was asked to represent the united states government on gender issues at the g7 summit in italy kaufman said that on top of representing womens interests having a full motorcade and a seven-guard security team felt surrealshe would repeat the high-profile experience at the 2019 g7 summit in paris but explains that even more meaningful to her is the day-to-day work in her role at opic literally two weeks after my first g7 i was flying to hyderabad india to visit with women who were benefiting from a well that we financed in the village as incredible as attending the g7 was which experience is more meaningful meeting the women whose lives were changed in india kaufman said george h w bush would likely agree from boston ma to aggieland tx kaufmans path to the bush school was an unlikely and unique one as she was approaching graduation from boston college kaufman had her heart set on attending the kennedy school at harvard university her father who had served in the administration of president george h w bush didnt insist she attend the relatively new bush school of government and public service but he did ask her to go through the application process and consider it through that process kaufman came to see the value that the bush school offered choosing texas a&m she left boston population 45 million for bryan-college station which at the time had a population of less than 150 000 theres no better place than the bush school to call it a culture shock was an understatement i grew up in washington dc i went to boston for college i lived in asia for a while kaufman said but after my first few weeks here i called my mom and told her the culture shock of asia is so much less than the culture shock of college station i didnt understand football i didnt understand the traditions i didnt understand all of the ‘whooping but after a couple of months something just clicked i bought into being an aggie and that was a really big part of my experience here all of those things make aggieland special– kathryn kaufman kaufman said she remembers thinking to herself its nice that people smile at you its nice that they say hi people are just being nicenot trying to get something out of you and i went to the football games and i bought into being an aggie and that was a really big part of my experience here all of those things make aggieland special now fourteen years after stepping on to the texas a&m university campus as a student at the bush school of government and public service kaufman sits in the presidential dining room at the annenberg presidential conference center surrounded by friends family alumni current students and bush school staff and faculty honored for a career and life that has exemplified public service and still has many milestones ahead she says proudly to anyone considering the bush school if you really want to go into public serviceif thats really what you want to do with your lifetheres no better place than the bush school
the women peace and security (wps) symposium provides a timely opportunity to address the challenges and opportunities of the wps agenda by discussing them in a bi-partisan environment developing connections between texas regional and national stakeholders this symposium was held on november 15 2019 at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university symposium highlights | symposium agenda symposium highlights the 5th annual texas women peace and security symposium explored the linkages among women development and national security does empowering women economically improve prospects for peace and security in the nations in which they live if so what are the connections and what are the best ways to effect such empowerment keynote speaker: ambassador gina abercrombie-winstanley (ret) founder of the leadership council for women in national securityadditional speakers and panelists:sanam anderlini executive director of the international civil society action networkcatherine bertini 2003 world food prize laureate former united nations under-secretary-general for managementlyric thompson director of policy and advocacy at the international center for research on womenelsa murano director of the norman borlaug institute for international agricultureradhika prabhu executive director of the us-pakistan womens councildyan gibbens ceo of trumbull unmannedlaura schilling president of pumpco services incclaire harvey ceo of gryphon oil and gas symposium agenda download the 2019 women peace and security symposium agenda
dr oyewale tomori has been named a senior fellow for the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university dr tomori is the immediate past president of the nigerian academy of science with experience in virology disease prevention and control he was at the university of ibadan from 1971 to 1994 he later served as the pioneer vice chancellor of redeemers university in nigeria from 2004 to 2011 in 2002 he received the nigerian national order of merit the countrys highest award for academic and intellectual attainment and national development from 1994 to 2004 dr tomori was the virologist for the africa region of the world health organization (who) establishing the african regional polio laboratory network in 1981 he was recognized by the us centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) for contributions to lassa fever research during his career he has authored/coauthored over 150 scientific publications dr tomori has served and continues to serve on numerous national and international advisory committees including as vice chair of the us national academy of medicine global health risk framework commission as well as the word bank interagency working group on financing preparedness and response dr tomori is an international member of the us national academy of medicine and currently chairs the board of biovaccines nigeria ltd a joint venture between the nigerian government and the may and baker company set up for local production of vaccines in nigeria already an avid supporter and contributor to the scowcroft pandemic and biosecurity program dr tomori participated in the institutes annual pandemic forum in washington dc in may 2019 sharing his expertise on pandemic preparedness abroad dr tomori also served as a mentor for the student pandemic simulation and as a panelist for the 5th annual pandemic policy summit in college station texas in november 2019 the scowcroft senior fellows program recognizes individuals who are committed to making significant contributions to fields that are of mutual interest to the scowcroft institute and its mission aims and objectives the institute director invites individuals to participate in the program based on the expertise they will bring to collaborations with the institute on interdisciplinary proposals projects and scholarship as well as distinguished accomplishments within their discipline
saturday november 30 marks the one-year anniversary of president bushs passing a sad day for the nation and the bush school we all miss seeing president and mrs bush on campus we remember their graceful and inspiring presence whether visiting with students or hosting nationally and internationally known speakers we remember the kindness that endeared them to so many and their strong commitment to education and serving others we remain committed to continuing the presidents legacy of noble public service to our nation and the world in government nonprofit organizations and the private sector our faculty staff and students strive to embody the values president bush represented: honesty strength of purpose commitment to excellence and concern for others the bush school class of 2019 has found a unique and very special way to honor the president november 30 will be designated as 41 acts of service: a day serving your community in honor of president bush the plan is for current and former bush school students as well as the faculty and staff to do one act of service on that day creating 41 examples of his and our commitment to public service whether it be donating canned goods to the local food bank donating supplies to a local school helping an elderly person load groceries or paying for someones meal any act of service large or small that helps someone other than ourselves is the goal we hope that each individual act of service will be posted on social media with the hashtag #41actsofservice to show how the bush school is carrying on his legacypresident bush touched so many lives in a positive and lasting way the bush school is dedicated to inspiring our students to emulate his professional values commitment to excellence and service to others so they can make the same kind of difference in the world i hope each of you will consider joining the class of 2019 in this wonderful tribute to our namesake mark welsh dean
sheree boegner a student in the texas a&m executive master of public service and administration program at the bush school of government and public service has been named the new executive director of the arts council of brazos valley after earning her undergraduate degree from texas a&m boegner started her professional career this eventually led her to join wells fargo bank as a lead business and community advocate with her business and volunteer experience boegner is aware of how a vibrant arts and cultural environment can be important when businesses are deciding where to locate my time at wells fargo showed me how effective teams of volunteers can be in addressing local issues and volunteering and philanthropy became my passion boegner said she was aware of the schools nonprofit management program and with a scholarship available from both the bush school and wells fargo she decided to earn her masters degree im a great admirer of president george h w bush and firmly believe his credo that public service as a noble calling so i knew that the bush school was the right place to learn more about philanthropy and public service boegner said the school emphasizes the importance of staff partnering with their volunteer boards which is something i strongly believe in im confident that the knowledge im gaining in my classes will not only help me in this new position but will also expand my understanding of the broader world of nonprofit management she added boegner is the founder of the sassy shoe social and was the executive director until she joined the arts council the sassy shoe social is dedicated to raising money for phoebes home and expands awareness of domestic violence the arts council of brazos valley was founded in 1971 to lead local arts advocacy efforts and foster a true community for the arts the arts council has grown to serve the 5 000 square mile brazos valley region and since 2008 has provided over $4 500 000 in direct funding support to arts organizations throughout the brazos valley
dr aileen teague who will begin her appointment as assistant professor of international affairs at the bush school in the 2020-21 academic year was recently published in the washington post teagues article why abruptly abandoning the drug war is a bad idea for mexico can be read online here
dr jasen j castillo academic director of the albritton center for grand strategy recently briefed the faculty of the batten school of public policy and members of the intelligence community at the university of virginia on his book endurance and war: the national sources of military cohesion for more information about castillos book please click here
istpp has named five members to its fellows programdr bassel daher dr mathew kurian dr sara meerow dr ren mu and dr youlang zhang dr daher is a research associate in the department of biological and agricultural engineering in the college of agriculture and life sciences at texas a&m university dr daher is interested in bridging physical and social science to develop analytics that catalyze an evidence-based multi-stakeholder dialogue around trade-offs associated with technological policy and social interventions to address the interconnected water energy and food security challenges dr kurian is an academic officer for the united nations universityflores in dresden germany where he leads the capacity development and governance unit his research interests are results-based financing adaptive natural resources management and data visualization processes for evidence-based decision making some of dr kurians work focuses on water reuse policies in relation to united nations sustainable development goals among dr kurians accomplishments at unu was the launch of the nexus observatory an online platform to further integrative modelling of water energy and food interactions to address global environmental risk based on data sharing agreements with un member states dr meerow is an assistant professor in the school of geographical sciences and urban planning at arizona state university her research focuses on improving urban resilience in the face of climate change and other social and environmental hazards dr meerow combines more conceptual studies of resilience with empirical research on the complexities of urban resilience green infrastructure and climate change adaptation planning in a range of cities dr mus research is in the empirical microeconomics area of development economics her research goal is to enhance the understanding of decision making of households and individuals in the developing world and to provide evidence for designing and implementing sound public policies dr mus studies mainly focus on china and can be grouped into four sets of topics: (1) the public opinions of certain socioeconomic issuesfor example inequality and environmental problems; (2) the determinants and impacts of human capital outcomes; (3) the opportunities for and obstacles to rural-urban migration and the migration impacts on rural communities and households; and (4) the effectiveness and allocations of public investments dr zhang is an assistant professor in the school of public administration and policy at renmin university of china his research focuses on bureaucratic politics policy process and collaborative governance dr zhang has empirically examined these topics in the areas of education lobbying environmental policy and administrative reform
on november 14 2019 the us-pakistan symposium on women in the economy will be hosted by texas a&m university the bush school of government and public service and the us-pakistan womens council the us-pakistan womens council is a partnership between texas a&m university and the state department that catalyzes commitments from the private sector civil society and governments to support womens economic empowerment in pakistan the symposium will bring together leaders to address the status of womens participation in the economy in pakistan and discuss ambitious ideas to propel women in the economy forward the event will begin with welcome addresses from michael young president of texas a&m university; ervin massinga deputy assistant secretary of state for pakistan affairs at the us department of state; and ubaid ur rehman nizamani from the embassy of pakistan in washington dc the event will also feature keynote speakers from the government of pakistan and panel discussions on ideas to economically empower women and adolescent girls join the us-pakistan womens council at the bush school of government and public service on thursday november 14 in the annenberg presidential conference center for more information and to register online by november 12th 2019 go to: https://txag/pwes
during the summer of 2019 dr xinsheng liu visited several universities in china including peking university inner mongolia university and sun yat-sen university he presented recent research to faculty members and graduate students on policy agendas and policy changes chinese concern about climate change and local air quality and public trust in government in may and june dr liu also presented research papers coauthored with colleagues at several international academic conferences including the following: the fourth international conference on public policy international public policy association (ippa) june 25-28 2019 montreal canadathe 32nd annual meeting and international symposium of the association of chinese political studies (acps) june 21-23 2019 zhejiang university hangzhou chinathe seventh annual conference of the international institute of administrative sciences (iias) study group on coproduction of public services may 27-28 2019 leuven belgiumthe 3rd peking university-fudan university forum on governance may 17-19 2019 peking university beijing china for the second year as changjiang scholar visiting professor dr liu visited inner mongolia universitys school of public administration in july and august he lectured on social science research and survey methods provided consultations and recommendations for the schools future curriculum design and research development and conducted field research with colleagues on local environmental governance issues in inner mongolia
on october 30 2019 david bohigian head of the overseas private investment corporation (opic) and robert mosbacher former head of opic discussed the role of the united states in supporting development and foreign policy goals through economic investment as a part of the mosbacher institutes conversations in public policy series mosbacher and bohigian started by outlining the tools the united states can use to bolster the economic standing of a country with trade and foreign aid being the most well-known development finance however allows the united states to leverage private investment to promote economic development and advance foreign policy objectives making it a very effective tool development finance can advance foreign policy objectives according to bohigian in a variety of ways for example investment in central americas northern triangle (el salvador guatemala and honduras) can strengthen local economies as a way to curb illegal migration flows into the united states other economic development projects involve supporting infrastructure and logistics in africa perhaps the most impactful project is the womens initiative that works through entrepreneurial incentives for women so they in turn have a greater opportunity to invest in their families mosbacher also discussed barriers to development finance for example all projects must have a 25 percent american funding source but sometimes american funding is hard to find the better utilization of investments leading to development (build) act passed in 2018 however has broken down several of those barriers which as the speakers noted increases americas ability to compete on the global market this also strengthens americas ability to compete strategically with other projects such as chinas belt and road initiative by providing easier access to funding for more long-term effective projects according to the speakers as opic transitions under the build act two key challenges face the agency first opic needs to counter the home bias in investment and convince people to invest in the global economy second private and government investors must coordinate resources in a more effective way to better use their capabilities to achieve common goals in addition to their public talk bohigian and mosbacher inspired and informed many students about the potential for development finance by speaking to bush school classes including dr raymond robertsons global economy class dr jessica gottliebs institutions and development class and leslie ruyles women and development class
by hannah legare 19 benjamin freeman and michelle gamboa are making headways in their respective localities freeman works in washington dc proving that a liberal arts degree makes a city cultivated and sophisticated gamboa works in houston texas using her talents and passions to influence statewide measures while these former students have political science degrees in common their experiences in working for the government have been unique and special to them benjamin freeman benjamin freeman freeman earned his doctorate in political science with a focus in international relations in 2009 he has written articles for the washington post the los angeles times and has been on national public radio twice his interest in political science developed after the tragic events of september 11 2001 prior to that i honestly didnt care much about politics but started paying a lot more attention after september 11 and the decision to invade iraq freeman said these life-altering events made freeman question his future he could go into the family business or he could go to graduate school for political science he chose political science i really just wanted to understand politics and international relations more freeman said specifically i wanted to get a better sense of what led us into the iraq war and what we could do in the future in pursuing his phd in political science at texas a&m freeman had the opportunity to work with renowned political scientists and theorists they gave freeman intellectual freedom to pursue a research agenda that was highly undiscovered at the time the impact of foreign influence on politics in the us which ultimately led him down his career path this career path is the direct result of the research freeman did at texas a&m after the 2016 election i was one of the only people whod written a book on foreign influence (which stemmed from my a&m dissertation) so it was a natural transition to running a foreign influence investigative program said freeman he is currently the director of the foreign influence transparency initiative at the center for international policy the program investigates what other governments are doing to influence our political process with a particular focus on the factors that seek to promote a more militarized us foreign policy needless to say theres never a dull day in freemans office which is how he likes it freeman accredits his success to his liberal arts degree and texas a&m being a distinguished institution washington dc is fueled by liberal arts degrees so its essential here freeman said it is apparent that a liberal arts education has prepared freeman throughout his career path from a phd in political science to a directive position doors have been opened that would otherwise have been closed he has job security as he explores the conundrum that is the us political process liberal arts is life its real people-to-people interactions michelle gamboa michelle gamboa michelle gamboa completed her undergraduate studies in political science in 2016 her biggest motivation to influence change is her family faith and love for her local community ever since she was a young girl gamboa has been enthralled with politics she was born in mexico and moved to the united states which influenced the way she viewed the american dream the american dream was not far out of reach if she worked hard studied and applied herself i am proud to have worked diligently graduate from a prestigious school like texas a&m and now have the career of my dreams said gamboa in working toward her dreams gamboa completed a study abroad program summer european academy which is designed for students who are interested in entering into public service law or international affairs studying abroad and learning hands-on about different political systems and cultures really incentivized me to pursue politics full force and get involved gamboa said gamboas involvement in political processes doesnt stop at a study abroad program to achieve her goals she participated and worked with political campaigns and organizations that aligned with her values and morals this meant that while in her undergraduate career she would intern for senator bryan hughes and governor greg abbotts respective campaigns after graduation gamboa went from campaign intern to the regional director for southeast texas during these campaign cycles after abbotts election gamboa became the executive director for the texas latino gop pac and the engagement director for the harris county republican party she works on hispanic voter outreach for the republican party in texas these spaces allow for gamboa to be true to her dreams and vision in politics when gamboa is not on the long road between her hometown of longview texas and her work in houston she runs her familys roofing company and is the east texas court appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children all of these opportunities wouldnt be here unless she had a liberal arts degree after graduating i was able to secure a position with governor abbotts team because of the work i did at texas a&m she said her political science courses taught her how to network develop a work ethic and gain the necessary skills to be successful after graduation her degree prepared her to juggle her many hats and roles in the local and state communities stay relevant gamboa and freeman agreed that there would not be as many opportunities or doors opened to them if they didnt have their liberal arts degree senators have to call me dr freeman which is pretty cool said freeman but all jokes aside having a political science phd from a school as well-known as texas a&m really opens a lot of doors and has given me some incredible opportunities in washington dc having a political science phd from a school as well-known as texas a&m really opens a lot of doors and has given me some incredible opportunities in washington dc a liberal arts degree has taught them time management critical thinking skills and care for their neighbors a pursuit in political science enables them to interact well with people problem-solve and think-on-their-feet it prepared them for life after graduation i am very thankful to texas a&m for teaching me the skills that were necessary to be successful after graduation gamboa said …and they certainly are successful in their respective fields on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
with the support of the albritton center for grand strategy dr fritz bartel cohosted a conference at yale university marking the 30th anniversary of the end of the cold war along with professor nuno monteiro of yales department of political science bartel welcomed twenty leading historians and political scientists to new haven to discuss the latest scholarly research on the end of the cold war and the legacies of the cold wars end for american grand strategy and contemporary international politics the conference agenda can be found online here
istpps bryce hannibal coauthored a paper titled race and the public foundation grants marketplace: the differential effect of network status in communities of colour published in public management review the paper examines the relationship between grantee location in communities of color network connections and the amount of money allocated to grant winners located in dallas and houston tx hannibal coauthored the paper with dr laurie paarlberg of indiana university-purdue university and dr jasmine mcginnis johnson of george washington university the purpose of this research is to understand inequities in the allocation of philanthropic grants by location and to identify how networks of interlocking boards of directors form the authors collected data from the form 990 of nonprofit organizations operating in dallas and houston tx in 2012 they also collected board member names from the same nonprofits 2010 form 990s paarlberg mcginnis johnson and hannibal then used network analysis techniques to measure the impacts of network size and status on grant allocation and to compare grant sizes to where the grantee is located results of the authors analysis suggest nonprofit organizations located in communities of color operate with smaller less well-connected networks and receive smaller grants than nonprofits with larger more well-connected networks paarlberg mcginnis johnson and hannibal suggest that future research on this topic should explore the impact of locational barriers on nonprofit organizations seeking grants and possible connections between grant makers racial identity and grant outcomes paarlberg laurie e jasmine mcginnis johnson and bryce hannibal 2019 race and the public foundation grants marketplace: the differential effect of network status in communities of colour public management review 21(5):1-21 doi: 101080/1471903720191635192
dr castillos article dont leave grand strategy to the generals was the lead article in the national interest on october 31 2019 the article can be read online at https://nationalinterestorg/feature/don%e2%80%99t-leave-grand-strategy-generals-92511
lorien foote was the 2019 brose distinguished lecturer at the richards civil war era center at penn state she gave a three-night lecture series entitled civilization and savagery in the american civil war: retaliation and the conduct of campaigns during the civil war union and confederate officials used retaliation in every military campaign to negotiate what civilized war should look like in practice the series illuminated how americans conceived civilization and how the ritual of retaliation shaped the behavior of combatants
on november 12 2019 as part of the pandemic policy initiative the scowcroft institute will host its 5th annual pandemic policy summit the half-day conference will focus on current infectious disease outbreaks and findings from a student simulation the summit brings together political leaders researchers practitioners and the private sector to discuss issues critical to pandemic preparedness and biosecurity the event will be led by andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute and former usaid administrator and moderated by dr gerald parker director of the pandemic and biosecurity policy program and former principal deputy assistant secretary of aspr the keynote speaker will be catherine bertini 2003 world food prize laureate and distinguished fellow at the chicago council on global affairs this summit is both policy and practicum focused and will result in a white paper to be distributed to key decision-makers for further discussion past white papers can be found here: https://bushtamuedu/scowcroft/white-papers/ join the george h w bush school of government & public services scowcroft institute of international affairs from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on tuesday november 12 in the hagler auditorium at the annenberg presidential conference center please register online at txag/2019opensummit
a diverse range of accomplished women will gather in college station on november 15th to discuss the linkages between women development and national security at the annual texas women peace and security symposium this years symposium hosted by the program on women peace and security program at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m will feature panels on global development and womens economic empowerment texas perspectives on women development and security and new research on women peace and security the 5th iteration of the annual symposium will feature retired ambassador gina abercrombie-winstanley as its keynote speaker ambassador abercrombie-winstanley is also founder of the leadership council of women in national security other featured speakers and panelists include sanam naraghi-anderlini founder of the international civil society action network; lyric thompson of the international center for research on women; catherine bertini winner of the 2003 world food prize and former united nations under-secretary-general for management; dr elsa murano of the norman borlaug institute for international agriculture; radhika prabhu executive director of the us-pakistan womens council; dyan gibbens ceo of trumbull unmanned; claire harvey ceo of gryphon oil and gas; laura schilling president of pumpco services inc; and the 2019 bush schools women peace and security capstone team the women peace and security field developed out of the united nations security council resolution 1325 and emphasizes the inclusion of women in peace negotiations and national security analyses the director of the bush schools program on women peace and security dr valerie hudson has published numerous studies demonstrating the empirical relationships between womens physical security womens equality within the home and state peacefulness and stability the symposium will be held on november 15th from 9 am to 6 pm at the annenberg presidential conference center located adjacent to the george bush presidential library registration and information are available here
governor greg abbott has appointed bobby janecka class of 2009 to fill the third and final commissioner seat for the texas commission on environmental quality (tceq) janecka joins chairman jon niermann and commissioner emily lindley as the appointed leaders of the tceq prior to this appointment janecka served as a policy advisor to governor abbott since 2018 the texas commission on environmental quality is the environmental agency for the state and employs some 2 800 employees located in the central office in austin as well as in sixteen regional offices around texas janecka received a bachelor of arts in historical studies and literary studies from the university of texas at dallas and a masters degree in international affairs from texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service he credits his bush school education and experience for his success in state government the excellent faculty and academic environment were certainly important janecka said also citing the friendships made at the school the good working relationships and the continuing connections with fellow students and faculty the fact that he married a fellow bush school student and met his friend mentorand now tceq executive director toby baker class of 2003 were significant events that occurred later but as a direct result of his two years at the school baker served as a member of the commission for six years prior to being named executive directorjaneckas career in austin demonstrates what he calls the marooning of state government with more and more bush school graduates working for legislators and policy institutions as well as state agencies there is a lot of informal networking among bush school grads with so many of us now working in austin janecka saidwith his extensive knowledge of nuclear waste policy janecka currently serves as texas representative with the federal nuclear regulatory commission prior to joining the governors office janecka had worked for the tceq for more than five years most recently as a section manager in the agencys radioactive materials division he has also previously served as legislative aide for two state representatives and was a legislative analyst at the texas comptroller of public accounts bush school faculty have had a significant impact on janeckas career when he was applying for a position on governor abbots staff the interview included making a presentation on a key policy recommendation i reached out to dr joanna lahey who was tremendously helpful offering valuable advice on literature to be reviewed and im sure her input was one reason i got the job he said he also credits sally dee wade for teaching him communications skills and says he was influenced by professors jasen castillo larry napper and jim olson i still keep in touch with bush school professors and look to them for guidance and advice janecka saiddean mark welsh noted that having two bush school graduates in key policy positions speaks well for the school and their own commitment to public service we are always pleased to see our graduates developing and implementing policy that affects our state and nation we congratulate bobby on his success and wish him well in this key position said welshi am very excited to return to the tceq as one of its commissioners janecka said i am honored to have been selected by governor abbott for this role and i look forward to serving the great people of texas
on tuesday october 22 dr guy whitten director of the european union center and acting department head hosted consuls general from four european nations for a roundtable discussion in the bush museum theater on trade migration and politics in europe from left to right claire mccarthy from ireland thomas meister from germany alexis andres from france dr whitten and ioannis stamatekos from greece on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
robert ralston the 2019-20 cgs predoctoral fellow presented one of the chapters of his dissertation which addresses the ambiguity surrounding a great powers decline in his talk the causes and consequences of declinism in great powers on october 23 2019 a full summary of the talk can be read online
on monday october 21 2019 experts from the bush school of government and public service will discuss the politics of presidential impeachment as part of the schools whats next series the expert panel will put us relations with ukraine into historical context and weigh in on the political benefits and costs of impeachment from a domestic and international perspective the panelists will share their perspectives of the current situation as well as what the next possible steps might be for the trump administration democrats and republicans the panel will consist of ambassador larry napper former us ambassador to latvia and kazakhstan; dr justin bullock assistant professor; and dr gregory gause head of the department of international affairs dr lori taylor head of the department public service and administration will serve as moderator the event will be held in rudder tower room 501 at texas a&m university from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm while there is no set schedule for the whats next series the timing and topics are driven by current events and public interest this type of rapid-response series is designed to address events in real time as they occur with faculty from the bush school discussing policy issues and options that are available to decision-makers bush school dean mark welsh noted that the bush school has experts in many areas of government policy who can help people understand what options are possible after a major news event the series is open to the public and no registration is required for more information on the october 21 event visit txag/impeachment
on a typical day the students of the bush school zip from class to class stopping by the student workroom to eat a quick lunch while they print a paper for class or read the last few pages of their required reading the coursework is rigorous and time is a commodity for second-year master of public service and administration student jake gibbons thats only part of the story for four years gibbons has been a member of the texas a&m swim team which means on top of studying reading textbooks and writing papers he arrives at the texas a&m natatorium daily at 6 am for swim practice attends team meetings and travels across the country for competitions i think from a young age swimming taught me the value of being organized and being disciplined gibbons said ive been waking up at 6:00 am since i was eight years old so ive really learned to love that grind after growing up in connecticut gibbons family moved to florida so he could attend an elite high school known for its swimming program he was a teammate of olympic gold medalists ryan murphy caeleb dressel and joseph schooling that was my first real experience of winning as a team swimming can be a very individual sport and in connecticut id always treated it that way gibbons said but swimming at that high school and approaching it as a member of a team absolutely helped to prepare me for swimming in college after graduating from high school gibbons committed to yale and spent a year on the yale swim team though he enjoyed the academic rigor he said he eventually realized he wanted more than just a great educationhe wanted a university that invested in athletics as well as academics gibbons initially looked at duke and the university of virginia but eventually found himself on a visit to texas a&m in college station i had never seen anything like itin terms of the culture at texas a&m gibbons said i mean florida is in the south but texas is a whole different animal i really felt at home and in terms of the swim team there was a real sense of family among the team members that i didnt get at yale i instantly caught on that the guys really cared for each other gibbons majored in political science and in his junior year enrolled in the bush schools unique 3+2 program which allows students to earn both their bachelors and their masters degrees in five years to add to his already considerable academic responsibilities in his second year at the bush school gibbons was voted captain of the mens swim team and was elected chair of the southeastern conferences (sec) student-athlete advisory council (saac) its a schedule and workload that would be exhausting for many swimming my whole life taught me the value of discipline and the number of things im involved with this year is putting that to the test gibbons laughed its a pretty grueling schedule and if youre not careful the exhaustion side of it can catch you really quickly as captain of the swim team gibbons is responsible for coordinating team communication making sure his teammates stay in the loop and coordinating service projects its his experience as chair of the saac however that has changed gibbons career plans most dramaticallyand in a way that will allow him to take full advantage of his bush school masters degree my plans have definitely been evolving gibbons said for a long time i was set on law school but that was kind of sidetracked by this opportunity to represent a&m at the sec level ive met with all of the presidents of the sec schools i get to interact with athletes from different schools i go to ncaa meetings and ive just really fallen in love with the athletic administration side of things and whats funny is i didnt realize at first that it coincides so perfectly with my public administration studies and so all of a sudden ive found all of these classes ive taken are incredibly useful when im meeting with people whose jobs are to administer public universities the opportunity has also put gibbons in close proximity to texas a&ms new athletic director robert bjork who has taken gibbons under his wing gibbons new goal after graduating from the bush school is to move into athletic administration jake was the first student-athlete that i met after being named the director of athletics here at texas a&m bjork said i could tell from that first encounter that he was a great leader and texas a&m athletics is proud that he represents us as the chair of the sec saac i look forward to seeing the amazing things that jake will do in his future until graduation however gibbons is determined to finish his time at the bush school with a solid academic record im excited about making the most of my last year here gibbons said having a more clear idea of the direction i want to go with a career makes the classes even more valuable to me and im seeing that what im learning here is absolutely going to have a huge impact on how prepared i am for a career after graduation
the institute for science technology and public policy is pleased to announce the addition of dr ki eun kang to our staff as a postdoctoral research associate dr kang will expand the institutes research on sustainable communities by bringing additional theoretical perspectives she is interested in land use and economic development inter-municipal cooperation citizen participation environmental policy conflict and conflict resolution her current research focuses on interaction between private developers and local governments especially on factors that influence developers threats to move economic development projects dr kang received her phd in community and public affairs from binghamton university–state university of new york masters in public affairs from the university of missouri and bachelors degree in law from kyunghee university
the albritton center for grand strategy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs hosted the russia policy under the next us president conference to discuss policy concerns the next administration must address regarding russia and their place in the world the conference began with a riveting keynote speech by dr evelyn farkas a senior fellow with the german marshall fund followed by three panels debating the topics on whether russia is driven by ideology the future of the us-russia security relationship and russias political economy the conference culminated in an insightful exchange of ideas and differing viewpoints that could prove beneficial to both current policymakers and the next administration a full summary of the conference can be read online
david bohigian of the overseas private investment corporation (opic) will speak at the bush school of government and public service about his efforts to launch a new government agency the us international development finance corporation (dfc) that modernizes opic the new agency will help increase private sector investment in the developing world and enable the united states to compete more effectively with china in emerging markets the event is an installment of the conversations in public policy series hosted by the mosbacher institute at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and will be held on wednesday october 30 at 5:30 pm those wishing to attend trade finance & development: a new role for the united states can register on the bush school website or by calling (979) 845-1927 a reception will begin at 5 pm with bohigian speaking at 5:30 pm the lecture is open to the public but reservations are strongly recommended by monday october 28 on october 5 2018 president trump signed the better utilization of investments leading to development (build) act into law in addition to consolidating opic and usaids development credit authority the build act equips dfc with a more than doubled investment cap of $60 billion and new financial tools to more effectively mobilize private capital to the developing world bohigian has extensive experience in investment management and international development including serving on the core management team of bridgewater associates the worlds largest hedge fund and in various senior positions at the us department of commerce during the george w bush administration following bohigians remarks robert mosbacher jr chairman of mosbacher energy company and former chief executive officer of opic will engage bohigian in an on-stage conversation
at the mosbacher institutes conversations in public policy event on october 2 2019 us congressman will hurd representative for texas congressional district 23 and a texas a&m graduate spoke about immigration issues facing congress rep will hurd the event which was attended by approximately 550 people began with dr raymond robertson director of the mosbacher institute welcoming the audience and distinguished guests including us congressman bill flores representative for texas congressional district 17 and mayor karl mooney of college station dr frank ashley senior associate dean for academic affairs at the bush school wholike many members of the audienceknew and remembered hurd from when he was texas a&m student body president had the pleasure of introducing the congressman during his lecture hurd talked about how immigration is influenced by conditions in central americas northern triangle region (el salvador guatemala and honduras) where extreme poverty lack of economic opportunity rising violence and lack of trust in public officials push people to flee their countries for better opportunities hurd noted that these issues have also caused a shift in the demographic makeup of immigrants instead of unaccompanied men from mexico the southern border is now seeing vast numbers of families with children from the northern triangle countries that shift is causing increasing pressure on the southern border where facilities are inadequate to handle the influx of children hurd presented two solutions first he proposed working to fix the underlying causes within the northern triangle this would include appointing a special representative to the northern triangle promoting economic opportunities by increasing investment in the region and combatting regional violence hurd asserted that it would be a fraction of the cost to address the root problems there rather than paying to address the problems related to rising immigration here dr frank ashley the second solution hurd presented included reforming the legal immigration system and addressing the weaknesses in the asylum process he recommends streamlining the daca process appointing more immigration judges and ensuring that the department of homeland security and immigration and customs enforcement are able to effectively work on immigration cases hurd also proposed that merit be defined as a will to contribute to the economy and culture of the united states rather than basing immigration merit on traditional measures such as education during the conversation portion of the program robertson and hurd branched into the topic of international trade robertson described how his research indicates that the nafta countries have become a single economic unit rather than competitors and that working as economic allies would help all three countries be more competitive in the world market hurd expressed his optimism on the future of the usmca but expressed worry that as 2020 inches closer the trade agreement will be harder to pass he closed his remarks by expressing worry that the united states has forgotten how important international trade is and that many americans misunderstand the immigration and trade issues facing the united states according to hurd effectively addressing these issues will require the coordination of the entire western hemisphere
the albritton center for grand strategy is pleased to announce the formation of a forum for bush school students interested in examining current issues through a critical grand strategic perspective the from our future grand strategists forum will feature pieces written by bush school students on the cgs home page the first piece written by logan wolff can be read online here
the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service will host dr robert gates former president of texas a&m university on november 13 2019 at 12:20 pm bush school dean mark welsh will conduct a discussion of gates career and lifelong dedication to public service prior to becoming president in 2002 gates had served as interim dean of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m gates began his public service career in 1966 when he joined the central intelligence agency he spent nearly twenty-seven years as an intelligence professional including nearly nine years at the national security council at the white house he served four presidents of both political parties gates served as director of central intelligence from 1991 until 1993 the only career officer in the cias history to rise from entry-level employee to director he served as deputy director of central intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser at the white house from 1989 until 1991 under president george h w bush gates served as secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011 and is the only secretary of defense in us history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected presidentbarack obama on gates last day in office president obama awarded him the presidential medal of freedom americas highest civilian honor he has also received the national security medal; the presidential citizens medal; the national intelligence distinguished service medal; and the cias highest award the distinguished intelligence medal three times gates is the author of three books: a passion for leadership: lessons on change and reform from fifty years of public service duty: memoirs of a secretary at war and from the shadows: the ultimate insiders story of five presidents and how they won the cold war gates currently is a partner in the consulting firm ricehadleygates llc along with former secretary of state condoleezza rice and former national security advisor stephen hadley those wishing to attend this event should register at: txag/gates
the 2018-19 academic director for the albritton center for grand strategy dr john schuessler discussed us grand strategy under the trump administration with bush school uncorked hosts dr justin bullock and dr f gregory gause to listen to the podcast online please click here
if you are interested in careers in government nonprofits policy think tanks security agencies and more and youve thought about graduate school mark your calendar! on october 11 staff and students of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will host the first of four information sessions to preview what the bush school has to offer how to navigate the application process and how to prepare for a career in public service additional dates are november 15 december 3 and january 7 lunch will be provided for those who register in advance content of the two-hour information session: 1 academic optionsdegrees and certificatesthe master of international affairs and the master of public service and administration include numerous tracks and concentrations from which to tailor your education well walk through some of the options including how to combine with a certificate to help you plan your academic experience 2 support programs speakers & morethe bush school offers an assortment of opportunities for academic and professional growthleadership and writing programs career workshops speakers alumni panels capstone projects and others well discuss your options and why you should take advantage of them as a graduate student 3 the application process & coststhe admissions process can be intimidating well walk you through what you need and when and well offer some admissions insights you can also find out how to afford graduate school hint: we provide scholarships! 4 internships & career servicesthe employment market can be tough to navigate but bush school graduates are finding jobs (both classes were employed at 95 percent within six months of graduation) from internships and how to find them to debriefing reports and career opportunitieswell talk about our philosophy of preparing students for success after graduation 5 student q&a & tour of the allen buildingsave your questions for the best sources of all…our students they will answer your questions about life in graduate school including how to get involved and balance activities and studies the last event will be a brief tour of our facilities led by a student
visionary battle scenes: reading sir john hacketts the third world war 1977-85 by dr adam seipp appeared in the october 2019 issue of the journal of military history seipps article examines the writing and reception of retired british general john hacketts 1978 novel which helped frame international discussion of national security and nuclear weapons
bush school research activities were on display at the first annual bush school research day held on september 19dr kent portney director of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) welcomed those attending on behalf of the bush schools research support committee while dean mark welsh commended the faculty staff and students for the quality of the work displayed texas a&ms vice president for research dr mark barteau also attended the event and praised the quality and quantity of research conducted by the bush school dean welsh noted the impressive research output for the past two years: ten books ninety-two refereed academic journal articles and twenty-five book chapters were published between april 2017 and july 2019 copies of articles published in the last year were available for attendees to review and take posters of several research projects were also on display door prizes included copies of books published by faculty over the past year as well as bush school commemorative items bush school researchers are addressing important public policy issues at all levels of government welsh said their work will have significant impact on how important government decisions are made and continues to enhance the schools reputation for academic excellence
the albritton center for grand strategy and the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service will host a two-day conference titled russia policy under the next president on october 15-16 2019 the conference will be at the annenberg presidential conference center on texas a&m universitys west campus this event is free and the public is invited to attend on tuesday october 15 there will be a keynote address at 6 pm by dr evelyn farkas former deputy assistant secretary of defense for russia/ukraine/eurasia the following day wednesday october 16 there will be panel discussions at 9:30 am 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm leading to the 2020 presidential election the conference speakers will discuss the issues that will shape the future relationship of the united states with russia topics covered include russias strategies the us and russias security relationship and the foundations of russias political economymore information and the registration link can be found at bushtamuedu/events
leon panetta who served in two presidential administrations as well as in congress will present the 2019 cameron fellows lecture on october 10 at the annenberg presidential conference center on the campus of texas a&m university the title of his lecture is the challenges of us national security decision making a reception at 5:30 pm will precede secretary panettas lecture at 6 pm following service in the united states army panetta joined the staff of senator tom kuchel of california in 1969 he was appointed director of the department of health education and welfares office for civil rights and later served as executive assistant to the mayor of new york city he practiced law in monterey california until his election to the united states house of representatives in 1976 appointed as director of the office of management and budget for the clinton administration in 1993 in 1994 he was named the presidents chief of staff after leaving the white house in 1997 secretary panetta and his wife sylvia established the panetta institute for public policy based at california state university monterey bay a nonprofit study center that seeks to attract men and women to public service panetta served as director of the cia under president obama where he ran the operation that brought osama bin laden to justice later as secretary of defense panetta led the effort to develop a new defense strategy helped bring two wars to an end and opened up opportunities for everyone to serve in the military the william waldo cameron distinguished fellows program was established by an endowment to the george h w bush presidential library foundation from flora cameron crichton as a memorial to her father the cameron fellows program is intended to bring remarkable leaders and consequential ideas from the frontiers of industry government and academia to the classrooms of the bush school tickets are required for this event
on thursday october 3 ambassador dennis ross director of the state departments policy planning staff during the first bush administration will give a lecture on the bush administrations priority of the middle east the scowcroft institute of international affairs in the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university is sponsoring this public event sign-in will begin at 5:30 pm followed by the lecture at 6 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center on texas a&m universitys west campus registration can be found at bushtamuedu/scowcroft/events ambassador ross said president george h w bush did not plan to make the middle east a mainstay of bushs foreign policy plan when he took office but the 1990 invasion of kuwait refocused the attention of his administration ambassador ross will elaborate on the successes of the bush administrations middle eastern policies and discuss his life and career dealing directly with parties in negotiations throughout the middle east peace process in both the george h w bush and bill clinton administrations ambassador ross is counselor and william davidson distinguished fellow at the washington institute for near east policy prior to returning to the institute in 2011 he served two years as special assistant to president obama and national security council senior director for the central region and a year as special advisor to secretary of state hillary rodham clinton he has published extensively on the former soviet union arms control and the greater middle east contributing numerous chapters to anthologies as well as authoring many op-eds in the new york times washington post and other newspapers and magazines
on thursday september 19 dr daniel lederman deputy chief economist for the middle east and north africa (mena) region at the world bank gave a lecture titled why reforms are unavoidable in the middle east and north africa the lunch talk was hosted by dr raymond robertson and the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service and was attended by about 60 bush school students and faculty members dr lederman described how the region is interconnected with wealthy nations subsidizing the trade imbalances and deficits of their poorer neighbors which has allowed countries such as algeria tunisia and lebanon to maintain large deficits as their household consumption increases this has created a system in which some states are heavily reliant on state subsidies to maintain their economies several shocks however have shaken the system the 2008 financial crisis and the growth of renewable resourcessolar power for examplehave weakened the oil market forcing wealthier nations to become a little stingier with their subsidies therefore according to lederman nations who rely on state subsidies must reform but what type of reforms will assist the region in his presentation lederman argued for fiscal reforms that would lower start-up barriers and provide entrepreneurs the ability to compete with state-owned enterprises as a way to stabilize rising deficits such reforms would provide more opportunities for work to the general population and with the structural changes help institutionalize competitiveness within the mena region lederman also addressed the need for getting women to work saying technology advancements are making it possible to open paths for women to work within culture norms of the mena region ledermans talk was based on an april 2019 world bank regional report which can be found at https://wwwworldbankorg/en/region/mena/publication/mena-economic-update-april-2019-reforms-and-external-imbalances
the albritton center for grand strategy in conjunction with the texas a&m department of political science welcomed dr mark bell an assistant professor from the university of minnesota on sept 24 3019 bells lecture the path dependence of nuclear thinking: grand strategy nuclear weapons and the absence of evaluation discussed a research project he is currently working on professor bell explains the relationship between nuclear weapons and a countrys grand strategy and turns the conventional wisdom upside down a full summary of the talk can be read online
united states congressman will hurd will discuss immigration policy challenges facing congress wednesday oct 2 at 7 pm at the annenberg presidential conference center the event is an installment of the conversations in public policy series hosted by the bush school of government & public services mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at texas a&m university a reception will begin at 6:15 pm with hurd speaking at 7 pm the lecture is open to the public but reservations are strongly suggested by monday september 30 registration is available on the bush school website or by calling (979) 845-1927 since 2015 hurd a texas a&m computer science graduate and former student body president has served as the representative for texas district 23 which stretches from san antonio to el paso along the us-mexico border encompassing more of the us-mexico border than any other congressional district hurd has dedicated himself to finding long-term solutions to the migration crisis including release of a discussion draft of the asylum reform act of 2019 a legislative proposal to reform the united states outdated asylum laws in january 2018 hurd introduced the uniting and securing america (usa) act the only bipartisan bicameral border security and immigration proposal introduced last congress and helped lead a discharge petition to bring the bill to the house floor hurd sits on the house appropriations committee and the house permanent select committee on intelligence
kelly kennedy garcia a 2004 graduate of the bush school of government and public service has been appointed by iowa governor kim reynolds as director of the states department of human services garcia leaves her current role as deputy executive commissioner of texas health and human services which she has held since december of 2018 she has worked in texas government in various roles since entering the workforce this is a really important agency it impacts a lot of people in iowa so we really want to get top talent in there and i believe shes the right person to really take dhs to the next level iowa governor kim reynolds said of garcia kelly garcia is an experienced social service leader and team builder with a passion for helping people and leading change in her new role garcia will be charged with overseeing one of the states largest departments the iowa department of human services works with a $65 billion budget; has about 4 600 employees; and administers programs ranging from the foster care system to medicaid to the states behavioral and mental health programs to meet the ambitious goals governor reynolds has set for serving iowas most vulnerable populations its going to take a strong team effort at dhs and throughout the state garcia said i look forward to hitting the ground running and building relationships within our own team and across the state to help iowa families succeed garcias career has been rapidly progressing since graduating with her master of public service and administration degree she worked as a project manager and senior analyst with the texas sunset commission and was a senior adviser to former governor rick perry the bush school really instilled in me the importance of how to ask thoughtful questions and hone in on identifying problems garcia said precise analytical skills and solution building is at the core of my everyday work because the nature of human services brings difficult problems in need of creative solutions the bush school also taught me the importance of team no one person is most important in an organization and diversity in thought and background on teams coupled with an environment that fosters discourse always makes for the best decisions garcia has also made a point to give back to the schoolshe often makes trips to college station to help current students and serve on alumni panels working to help the bush school and its students is an investment garcia said i have benefited from strong mentorship throughout my career beginning with my time at the bush school people made an investment in me as an eager learner and i consider it a gift to be able to do the same recognizing talent and helping people realize their potential is one of the most rewarding parts of leadership as a relatively young school were thrilled that the careers of many of our earlier graduates are really starting to blossom bush school dean mark welsh said kelly hit the ground running after graduation im convinced this is not the culmination of her career in public service but only her next opportunity to serve kelly has an incredibly bright future ahead
dr xinsheng liu of istpp recently published the paper age versus socialization in understanding attitudes toward economic reforms in china in social sciences quarterly dr liu coauthored the paper with dr robert harmel of texas a&m university and dr yao-yuan yeh of the university of st thomas in this paper the authors used data from both the 2008 china survey and the 2016 china governance and public policy survey to address two competing explanationslife cycle versus early socializationfor potential differences in chinese citizens attitudes toward economic reform in china results suggest that life cycle and socialization are both correlates of attitudes toward economic reform in china with the former being more associated with concrete attitudes and the latter being more associated with abstract attitudes the authors conclude by predicting that support for continued market reform will strengthen as time goes on and suggesting that opposition to privatization can be potentially reduced by policies that mitigate elder chinese citizens reliance on the government for financial security harmel robert yao-yuan yeh and xinsheng liu 2019 age versus socialization in understanding attitudes toward economic reforms in china social sciences quarterly 100 (5): 1755-1767 doi: 101111/ssqu12681
on september 19th journalist and new york times best-selling author alex kershaw gave a poignant talk on his latest bestselling book the first wave: the d- day warriors who led the way to victory in world war ii many people study d-day for its tactical operational and strategic effects; however kershaw tells the stories of nine of the most influential leaders on that beachhead and just beyond a full summary of the talk can be read online
michael w howell associate professor of the practice of international affairs and new faculty member at the bush school received the fbi medal of excellence in july 2019 just before his retirement from the bureau fbi director christopher wray cited agent howell for your sustained performance in contributions to the dallas counterterrorism program and excellence in developing strong liaison contacts during his fbi career mr howell investigated domestic and international complex crimes and terrorism as well as led and supervised training for fbi agents and support and executive personnel his international experience includes assignments as assistant and acting legal attaché in us embassies where he routinely provided expert advice in law enforcement and terrorism matters to us ambassadors he also had multiple assignments in the middle east and europe for operations and training related to terrorism criminal cases and intelligence matters mr howell will be teaching courses on terrorism and counterterrorism and international financial crime as he begins his first year as a full-time member of the bush school faculty
on friday september 13 the texas lyceum a nonprofit nonpartisan statewide leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top texas leaders held its quarterly meeting at the texas a&m bush school of government and public service the meetings purpose was to explore the question are we taking our democracy for granted dean mark welsh of the bush school welcomed the texas lyceum to the campus he discussed the meaning of democracy and how politics can create toxicity within the democratic process and he charged the participants to come up with solutions to the barriers to a healthy democracy dr ann bowman participated in a morning panel discussion titled the state of our unionwho participates who doesnt and why the four-person panel explored and debated the results of the recent texas lyceum poll of texas residents on issues of democracy and politics poll data shows that 82 percent percent of texans agree that democracy is the best form of government yet 42 percent are not satisfied with the way it is working the panelists noted that younger people are more likely to think there are problems with the current system a partisan divide exists with respect to internal threats to democracy democrats surveyed were more likely to consider money in politics as a threat while republicans were more concerned about the news media as a threat regardless of party affiliation survey respondents agreed that open and fair elections are an important touchstone of our democratic system but many worry that our elections fall short of this ideal during an afternoon session bush school of government and public service graduate student james mckenzie spoke about his research on voter turnout in texas mckenzies work was supported by a summer research fellowship from the texas lyceum and supervised by dr bowman mckenzie described texas consistently low voter turnout as among the lowest in the nation and researched whether or not policy changes could help increase it he concluded that voting reforms exist that could make turnout more robust thereby increasing the likelihood that the views of more texans are captured in the election process mckenzies policy recommendations were to 1) get more eligible voters registered through election day registration and automatic voter registration and 2) get more registered voters to turn out on election day through expanded early voting options and countywide polling place programs based on his research mckenzie also authored the policy brief voter turnout in texas: can it be higher for the takeaway a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
istpp researchers dr xinsheng liu and dr kent portney and their coauthors feng hao at the university of south florida sarasota-manatee and yinxi liu at inner mongolia university have published their paper examining public concern about global warming and climate change in china in the china quarterly dr xinsheng liu istpp research scientist has joined the editorial board of the policy studies journal (psj) for a two-year term psj published on behalf of the policy studies organization and the american political science associations public policy section is one of the top-ranked journals in its field dr liu has published multiple articles in top policy political science and public management journals he is known for his expertise in policy processes including agenda setting problem definition policy choice and environmental policy and politics dr liu was brought onto editorial board to help psj increase the quality of scholarship in these policy areas
the bush school is pleased to announce that kim field has joined the bush school as executive director of the albritton center for grand strategy and professor of the practice in the department of international affairs a graduate of the united states military academy where she concentrated in russian studies field retired from the united states army in 2015 as a brigadier general she also earned masters degrees from the fletcher school of law and diplomacy at tufts university and the us army war college during her more than twenty-seven-year military career field served tours of duty in iraq somalia and three tours in afghanistan culminating that experience as executive officer to the force commander other major posts include director of military-political affairs for the middle east in the pentagon deputy chief of strategy for the us army and chief of plans and strategy at the george c marshall european center for security studies after retirement from the military field became a deputy assistant secretary of state in the bureau of conflict and stabilization operations and then the countering violent extremism director at creative associates a usaid implementing partner her most recent assignment was strategic advisor to the commander of forces in afghanistan field has taught at the us military academy georgetown university and the army war college she has coedited an international relations textbook and has published in several military journals including parameters and joint forces quarterly as well as national media outlets we are delighted to have general field join our faculty and the leadership team of the albritton center said dean mark welsh her impressive military career and the positions she held in the state department are evidence of her clear understanding of all elements of strategic thinking on complex international issues having taught at several major institutions general field will be a welcome and valued addition to the bush school faculty he added
dr scott cook assistant professor of political science at texas a&m university and dr mikyoung jun professor of statistics at texas a&m university were recently awarded a multi-year research grant from the national science foundation to analyze patterns of terrorism the $315 999 grant (dms-1925119) is funded by the algorithms for threat (atd) program a partnership between the divisions of mathematical sciences (dms) and the national geospatial-intelligence agency (nga) drs cook and juns research will develop spatio-temporal hawkes process models to better model interactions across terrorist attacks and groups these statistical advances should allow greater leverage over the complex dynamics of global terror campaigns on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
yale university press has published the third edition of george c edwards iii why the electoral college is bad for america dr edwards is a distinguished professor and jordan chair emeritus and distinguished fellow at the university of oxford the author or editor of 26 books he is one of the nations premier scholars of the us presidency on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the albritton center for grand strategy welcomed dr michael desch back to aggieland to discuss his new book titled cult of the irrelevant: the waning influence of social science on national security prof desch professor of political science and the director of international security at the university of notre dame discussed how his book explores the historical relationship between the ivy tower and government in addressing national security issues and what happened to cause the relationship to decline dr matthew fuhrmann professor in the department of political science here at texas a&m university offered his comments and rebuttal to prof deschs claims a full summary of the lecture can be read online and a paper detailing the policy implications of dr deschs talk is available online
american umpire a film based on the book by elizabeth cobbs published in 2013 will air on sept 28 and 29 2019 check local pbs stations for broadcast times for more information about the film please visit http://wwwamericanumpirecom/#home
peter casey a member of the 2020 class in the department of international affairs has been awarded a cybercorps scholarship for service (sfs) which supports undergraduate and graduate students studying cyber-related disciplines sfs is a federal government program designed to recruit and train the next generation of information technology professionals industrial control system security professionals and security managers to meet the needs of the cybersecurity mission for federal state local and tribal governments cybercorps scholars receive financial support for up to three years for undergraduate and graduate studies the scholarships are funded through grants awarded by the national science foundation in return for their scholarships recipients must agree to work after graduation for the us government in a position related to cybersecurity for a period equal to the length of the scholarship i am truly humbled and honored to receive the sfs casey said this opportunity along with the generous support of the robertson foundation for government and the harold w rosenthal fellowship foundation has enabled me to attend the bush school and enter government service debt-free the awards have also provided support and guidance in my pursuit of a career in government he addedthis summer casey was an intern in the us government accountability office where he hopes to return as a defense analyst after graduation
five bush school graduates participated in the second annual strategic force analysis boot camp held august 6-9 at sandia national laboratories in albuquerque and organized by georgetown university julie thompson-gomez (‘16) eric gomez (‘15) shannon abbott (‘18) noelle camp (‘19) and jack huguley (‘13) were among 25 participants selected from over 100 candidates to attend all are currently working in related fields or continuing their education julie thompson-gomez is pursuing a phd at george washington university while eric gomez is a policy analyst at the cato institute shannon abbott works in r&d systems research and analysis at sandia national laboratories noelle camp is a systems engineering professional at sandia national laboratories and jack huguley is pursuing his phd at brandeis university the boot camp is open to scholars and analysts of all ages though preference will be given to those in the early stages of their careers and seeks to prepare the next generation of analysts for critical academic and policy debates the programs purpose is to teach participants some of the tools of nuclear force analysis so they can better understand and participate in debates about strategic deterrence and stability sessions were focused on learning the methods of nuclear force analysis including the technical tools needed to assess force structure arms control and modernization proposals participants also learned traditional and new techniques for assessing the nuclear balance understanding the impact of emerging technologies and evaluating arms control proposals and took part in a nuclear arms scenario and a nuclear war game thompson-gomez credited several bush school professors for encouraging her interest in nuclear policy research the fantastic professors at the bush school like jasen castillo and andy ross taught me how to link academic theory to policy which is an important aspect of analyzing nuclear policy issues she said professor andrew ross encouraged a number of his students to apply for the boot camp and said that he was extremely pleased that our students are continuing the work they began with us its also good to see that bush school grads accounted for 20 percent of the candidates admitted to what is a first-rate program professor jasen castillo also added his support for the program: after leaving our courses students will be ready to tackle the most pressing and difficult national security problems including us nuclear weapons policy which is a topic long neglected by many
dr aileen teagues article the united states mexico and the mutual securitization of drug enforcement 1969 – 1985 is the lead article in the november 2019 issue of diplomatic history teague will join the cgs team as an assistant professor in international affairs at the bush school in the 2020-21 academic year to read her article online visit https://academicoupcom/dh/article/43/5/785/5559305
on tuesday september 10 2019 the albritton center for grand strategy will welcome michael c desch at a lecture and book signing for his recently published cult of the irrelevant: the waning influence of social science on national security the talk will begin at 6:00 pm in hagler auditorium at the annenberg presidential conference center with respondent dr matthew fuhrmann texas a&m professor of political science and cgs academic director jasen castillo bush school associate professor of international affairs joining dr desch for q & a immediately following the lecture a book signing and reception will take place afterward with a limited number of books available for purchase onsite parking for the event is available after 5:00 pm in lot 41 on the texas a&m university west campus please register at https://txag/desch the publisher provides the following information about deschs book: in cult of the irrelevant michael desch traces the history of the relationship between the beltway and the ivory tower from world war i to the present day recounting key golden age academic strategists such as thomas schelling and walt rostow deschs narrative shows that social science research became most oriented toward practical problem solving during times of war and that scholars returned to less relevant work during peacetime social science disciplines like political science rewarded work that was methodologically sophisticated over scholarship that engaged with the messy realities of national security policy and academic culture increasingly turned away from the job of solving real-world problems in the name of scientific objectivity academics today frequently engage only in basic research that they hope will somehow trickle down to policymakers drawing on the lessons of this history as well as a unique survey of current and former national security policymakers desch offers concrete recommendations for scholars who want to shape government work the result is a rich intellectual history and an essential wake-up call to a field that has lost its way michael desch is the packey j dee professor of international relations at the university of notre dame and the founding director of the notre dame international security center he served two terms as chair of the department of political science he was also the founding director of the scowcroft institute of international affairs and the first holder of the robert m gates chair in intelligence and national security decision making at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university from 2004 through 2008 he is the author or coauthor of four previous books on us national security policy and has published numerous scholarly and broader-interest articles he has worked on the staff of a us senator in the bureau of intelligence and research at the department of state and in the foreign affairs and national defense division of the congressional research service
riding the metro to work taking in the sights in their free time exploring the countless museums that tell americas story two dozen current bush school students lived and worked in washington dc this summer soaking in the knowledge gained through their various internships and leaving their mark on the nations capital internships are a core part of the masters programs at the bush school every summer students spread out across texas the united states and the world with many choosing internship opportunities in and around the nations capital kassie jones a 2020 master of public service and administration student spent her summer as an intern for the department of defense though jones was initially unsure about what type of internship she wanted to pursue she said the resources offered by the bush school career services team helped narrow her options there are so many internships in the federal government jones said it can be challenging to find the ones that would truly be a meaningful experience for your career path however the bush school frequently has career and internship workshops where they bring in employers to talk about their jobs and internships that helped me to narrow my choicesjones had only visited washington dc once when she was 10 years old so the experiences she gained both professional and personal were life-changing the best part of interning with the dod was that i got treated just like a new employee jones said i was assigned projects briefed my director and coworkers and ran meetings when a new deputy director started in her agency jones explained that in addition to attending the welcoming ceremony she was able to have a one-on-one conversation with her i was able to talk to her about my experience as an intern and she was amazingly willing to help make my experience incredible on top of that i got to meet other students from all over the united states i left dc this summer not only with a job offer but with friends that i think ill have for life another bush school student sherman tylawsky spent his summer as an intern for california congressman mike thompson a position that allowed him to experience americas political process from the inside even at the end of the summer i still had to kind of pinch myself when i walked through the cannon house office building and into the office tylawsky said the master of international affairs student has big goals for his career after he graduates next may it goes without saying that if someone wishes to make change they have to know how the system works in the nations capital tylawsky said as an intern for the california congressman tylawsky says that while his daily duties may not have seemed noteworthy on their face the experience and connections gained were priceless i primarily did day-to-day administrative work for the office tylawsky explained answering phones greeting visitors running errands anything the office needed done but nobody wants to do i got done understanding how congress works understanding how washington dc works is at the core of what im going to do in the future networking is critical to get anywhere in dc so the opportunity to practice social skills and social interaction is invaluableboth tylawsky and jones continue to be awed by the sheer majesty of the nations capital city every weekend i made a point to go see something new or do something i hadnt done yet jones said my favorite thing was to walk the memorials at sunset if you sit on the side of the lincoln monument you can see a straight shot of the world war ii memorial the washington monument and the us capitol its absolutely stunning its the combination of american history patriotism and power that makes this city so special tylawsky added from an academic perspective meaningful internships like jones and tylawskys have been an important part of a students education at the bush school since its start we view internships as significant for many reasons assistant dean for diversity and student affairs matt upton said primarily they give students an opportunity to put what they learned in their first year into practice its our goal that students go into these internships confident in their ability to ‘hold their own because of a solid base of foundational knowledge while also being able to identify areas where they need to grow academically and professionally in their second year
john schuessler cgs academic director and bush school professor of international affairs co-authored the shadow of exit from nato with former bush school colleague joshua shifrinson professor of international relations at boston university the article published in the fall 2019 issue of strategic studies quarterly can be read here
by alix poth 18 quan li cornerstone fellow and professor in the department of political science received the fulbright us senior scholar award for the 2019-2020 academic year this award allows li to travel to spain for research and teaching at the universidad europea de madrid as part of the teaching and researching international relations or international business project the fulbright us senior scholar award provides me with a professional opportunity to bring american international relations scholarship to students and scholars in spain and to be intellectually challenged and inspired by them at the same time li said the fulbright program is an international educational exchange program of the united states government operating in 160 countries worldwide it was created to build lasting connections between the people of the united states and the people of other countries the program was established in 1946 by the legislation of us senator j william fulbright of arkansas dr li is one of over 800 us citizens who will teach conduct research and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-2020 academic year through the fulbright us scholar program said the united states department of state in a press release recipients of fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields lis research focuses on economic globalization democratic governance political violence and more his research has appeared in numerous journals and he is also the co-recipient of the 2003 best article on democratization award from the american political science association he has co-authored two books entitled democracy and economic openness in an interconnected system: complex transformations and politics and foreign direct investment the award also gives me and my family a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience what it feels like to live in spain as asian americans to interact with spanish people as residents rather than tourists and to let them understand us better as well li said on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
with classes starting in less than a week orientation began monday for the bush schools class of 2021 to kick off the week more than 150 members of the incoming class filed off buses in a north bryan habitat for humanity neighborhood monday morning beginning their school year with a service project their task: to serve the local community by painting the homes of eight habitat for humanity families weve always tried to start off the year with an activity assistant director of the public service leadership program holly kasperbauer said usually its oriented towards team building and leadership development exercises this year we wanted to lead off the new student orientation with a project that would have a positive impact on the community when you walk into the bush school youre almost immediately confronted with president george h w bushs famous mantra: public service is a noble calling… the bush school is all about public serviceits ingrained in students faculty and staff bush school dean mark welsh said the idea of using this time during orientation not just to foster relationships among the students but also to serve the community in a meaningful wayi think it would make president bush very proud for the new students it was a crash course in both the philosophy of the bush school and an informal way to meet and interact with their new peers i thought it was a great way to reinforce the importance of standing with the community master of international affairs student izatullah wardak said so often today we spend so much time on social media and on the internet that we forget the value of face-to-face meetings even though many of us have seen each other online this was a great way to really meet our classmates it was absolutely a great way to start off our time at the bush school master of international affairs student ethan freiermuth agreed the first thing were doing as students at texas a&m is serving the community it really frames our careers here at the bush school and introduces us to the philosophy and expectations that go along with earning a degree here though breaks for water and time under shade trees were necessarily plentiful the typical texas august weather didnt slow down the eager students with many actually embracing the heat and humidity im from northern wisconsin where winter lasts six months freiermuth said with smile where im from is further north than most canadians live i have a heat deficit and im loving this weather after about three hours dozens of gallons of paint and plenty of elbow grease the students admired the finished product and talked with habitat for humanity residents before loading back into buses bound for campus these students rally embraced this project and our mission kasperbauer said the class of 2021 showed that they really get the importance of public service as we were finishing we had neighbors walking up and asking how they can get on the list for next year traditions are a huge part of texas a&m and i think weve just successfully started a new one at the bush school
istpps drs xinsheng liu and arnold vedlitz recently published a paper with dr youlang zhang (istpp fellow and assistant professor at renmin university of china) in public management review in this paper titled issue-specific knowledge and willingness to coproduce: the case of public security services the authors draw theoretical insights from coproduction literature and employ data from the 2016 national public survey of lone wolf terrorism risk perception to examine how citizens knowledge and understanding of specific terrorism issues affect their willingness to coproduce public security services with professional public service agents they find that individual citizens with more knowledge about recent terror attacks are more willing to coproduce public security services that require them to make sacrifices and commitments of their time convenience and privacy zhang youlang xinsheng liu and arnold vedlitz 2019 issue-specific knowledge and willingness to coproduce: the case of public security services public management review doi: 101080/1471903720191635193
istpp researchers dr xinsheng liu and dr kent portney and their coauthors feng hao at the university of south florida sarasota-manatee and yinxi liu at inner mongolia university have published their paper examining public concern about global warming and climate change in china in the china quarterly in their study which is the first of its kind to use data from a national public survey and province-level environmental and economic statistics the authors examine the variations and determinants of chinese citizens concern about global warming and climate change data analysis shows that the levels of chinese concern about global warming and climate change are significantly influenced by individual sociodemographic characteristics personal post-materialist values and regional economic dependency on carbon-intensive industries concern for global warming and climate change tends to be higher among younger people women and those who express higher levels of post-materialist values such values emphasize quality of life and civil rights among other concerns in provinces where the economy is more dependent upon carbon-intensive industries individuals tend to indicate lower levels of concern for global warming and climate change compared to those in other provinces liu xinsheng feng hao kent portney and yinxi liu 2019 examining public concern about global warming and climate change in china the china quarterly (early view) doi: 101017/s0305741019000845
the bush school capstone project iran after khamenei: a framework for succession has been cited in a recent report by the washington-based atlantic council the atlantic council published a report titled after sistani and khamenei: looming successions will shape the middle east in july 2019 the report authored by top middle east experts abbas kadhim and barbara slavin examines a range of personalities that might assume the highest religious and political positions in iraq and iran in the coming years the capstone completed in april 2017 identified regional and internal rivalries as two critical factors that will shape decision-making processes leading to the selection of the next supreme leader of iran as a requirement to graduate from the master of international affairs and master of public service and administration programs bush school students must complete a group research project under faculty supervision for a real-world client the capstone project was conducted by collin brown jose drowne christopher fix jonathan gillespie christopher petersen and abdullah qayomi the projects faculty advisor was dr mohammad ayatollahi tabaar and its client was the us department of state
by hannah legare ‘19 margo dekoch a political science graduate from texas a&m is already a published author and known philanthropist in her local community in south texas the twist she graduated last year while the twist is nothing short of a jaw-dropper dekoch remains humble in her accomplishments for margo dekoch its never been about what to think but how to think our view of the world is not incorrect but incomplete she said by this dekoch recognizes that she has a lot to learn from other cultures people and life experience and she sure has in 2015 dekoch started a blog margswithmarge as a way to share her funny and serious life stories many people told her she had a gift for storytelling but it wasnt until a couple of years later that she would make something more of it and even now she isnt telling people what to think but how to think about her stories the gift of stories dekoch and students reading together after graduating from the bush school of government and public service with a mpsa in 2018 dekoch taught abroad in morocco for ten months where she worked at an american language center teaching english as a foreign language immersed in a new culture she wrote more stories about her adventures teaching and living in morocco dekoch decided to create a book with her compiled blog and morocco-inspired stories called the misadventures of margo marie with the help of metra mehran an afghan friend through the bush school dekoch learned that her book could support students across the world thus the purpose of the book was born the book raises money to pay for an afghan student alia to get a degree in nursing and supports the tasahol organization located in kabul afghanistan by early september dekoch hopes to raise $3 000 through donations and selling copies of her book for $10 a bright example of the aggie core value of selfless service it is my passion in helping women through education and health care said dekoch for her this project combines what she cares about philanthropy and womens rights the tasahol library and supporting alias nursing degree are tangible ways that dekoch fulfills her passions these interests were birthed out of her liberal arts degree my undergrad studies laid the foundation for what i am doing now said dekoch various political science classes influenced her desire to learn more about her world and how she could positively impact it i just want to inspire the next person dekoch said i am a regular person who wanted to take my creative hobby and use it for a force of good digging deeper into her force of good young students thank dekoch for donations dekochs purpose behind the misadventures of margo marie is a force of good and with every story theres a back story in alias home village three pregnant women passed away due to complications during delivery this spurned alia to be a proponent for change and become a midwife through nursing school likewise the tasahol organization helps students to further their education and provides a safe space for young students to study with access to the internet dekochs friendship with mehran influenced her to give generously to students in afghanistan mehran provided the idea and dekoch provided the implementation dekoch states that her humanitarian efforts have been benefited by what she studied in the liberal arts it inspired the way she thinks and evaluates the world a liberal arts degree challenges you and forces you to grow said dekoch you think about why you think the way you do you dig deeper her degree prepared her for extensive writing and reflective critical thinking skills helpful for her book as dekoch digs deeper she recognizes how these critical thinking skills benefit not only her storytelling but her future goals after she lived in a foreign country wrote a book and returned to the us she has a newly lit fire in her heart she wants to apply what she has read researched and experienced she asked herself: what am i going to do about it now now she is resting in corpus christi thinking about future projects while promoting the misadventures of margo marie dekochs experience at texas a&m led her to create projects that combined her interests and service to others we can expect great new adventures in store for margo marie on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
researchers from texas a&ms bush school of government and public service and institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) have joined an interdisciplinary multi-institutional research team led by texas onegulf of texas a&m corpus christi the texas onegulf team has received a $470 000 grant from the texas commission on environmental quality to 1) examine critical gaps in mitigation planning processes and resource allocation decisions among the coastal bend communities affected by hurricane harvey and 2) identify a framework to reduce these gaps and improve these decisions to strengthen community resilience to future natural disasters as co-principal investigator dr arnold vedlitz bush school professor will lead the portion of the study that will assess how decision making across a variety of organizations influences how communities respond to disaster as vedlitz points out there are many important stakeholders and stakeholder groups that will affect and be affected by decisions made on future actions and resource allocations committed to coastal bend resilience and recovery from past and future storm events this study will help the community and decision makers better understand the variety of approaches that might be considered as the community searches for an effective shared way forward to do this istpp researchers dr brcye hannibal and ms carol goldsmith and dr kirby goidel director of the texas a&m public policy research institute and his research staff will survey stakeholder organizations from the eleven counties associated with the coastal bend area relevant stakeholders include representatives of government business and industry; health providers; advocacy groups; and nonprofit organizations the team will design the survey instrument to collect original data that can be used to assess the importance of individual and group decisions and the organizational networks relevant for problem identification planning policymaking and resource allocations a specific focus of our survey will be to assess the ways in which these decisions and networks affect and include or exclude the more vulnerable members of the coastal bend communities notes goldsmith ultimately this data will provide vital information for the team to utilize to build a framework and recommendations for decision makers on actions they can take to help communities become more resilient where appropriate the framework will emphasize strengthening and expanding networks as a way to leverage resources and expertise for enhancing their community resilience by asking organizations who they collaborate with how often and on which types of resilience efforts we can identify and visualize the collaboration structure of the network explains hannibal this will enable us not only to pinpoint where networks are strong or weak but also to examine the impact that network collaborations may have on aspects of resilience-building efforts
walking across the campus of texas a&m university prospective students and other visitors are quick to notice the multitude of traditions taken part in by students and faculty alike: hats off in the memorial student center piles of pennies on the feet of the sullivan ross statue and certainly a lot of howdys a traditionor culturethat tends to be more unspoken but certainly noticed is the frequent smiles and overall friendliness and respect toward everyone on campusno matter their family background race gender identity or sexual orientation for rachel boenigk building on the general feeling of goodwill and growing support for lgbtq students and strengthening a sense of community among alumni are now an important part of her life as a former student boenigk a 2012 master of public service and administration graduate was recently nominated and selected for the board of directors of aggie pride the lgbtq and ally former student network of texas a&m i genuinely thought my time being ‘plugged-in as a queer aggie was over boenigk said [but then] i was nominated by brad dressler president of the board for aggie pride im incredibly proud and honored and im very happy to be serving the queer aggie community again born and raised in college station and a third generation aggie boenigk took advantage of the bush schools 3+2 program to earn her bachelors and masters degreeher years as a student at texas a&m helped to shape her not only through a thorough education but also personally as a freshman she met her future wife at a mutual friends birthday party and in her first year at the bush school she served as the social officer for the glbt aggies organization rachel boenigk (left) and her wife elizabeth glynne boenigk (right) i use what i learned at the bush school daily boenigk said from creating models for sales forecasting based on economic indicators to channeling that little dr kerr voice in the back of my head during presentations the bush school is always with me now that im in a management position ive begun implementing some learning from dr wests classes as well one particular class stands outboth as a surreal experience and as one that helped to cement her confidence in herself and her identity during dr kerrs class several other students and i presented on the patriot act on the day president and mrs bush were visiting boenigk explained they watched our presentation and had insightful questions ultimately we concluded that many facets of the patriot act were unconstitutional it was riveting getting to discuss a piece of legislation that their son had enacted as president i really came into my own at the bush school boenigk added starting with wearing suits and ties for business professional events i even presented in a suit and tie when president and mrs bush came to dr kerrs class once youve done that everything else seems like a cakewalk it created a sense of confidence that is unshakeable after graduating boenigk moved to washington dc to work for the federal reserve she returned to bryan/college station a year later to work for neutral posture a company founded by her mother and grandmother that designs and manufactures ergonomic office chairs boenigk married her wife in 2015 and moved to ames iowa where she is the national sales manager for neutral posture and her wife is pursuing a phd she assumed living almost a thousand miles from aggieland would mean that her time as an active former student was coming to a close but when the opportunity arose to make such a large difference in the lives of lgbtq aggies she couldnt pass up the opportunity though aggie pride is still a relatively new organization its important mission and lofty goals truly embody the aggie spirit aggie pride is still gaining a foothold and momentum boenigk explained we are still in ‘startup mode at the moment so far our biggest contribution is the annual alumni tailgate which has connected lots of current and former students to each other along with reconnecting them to the university which until the 1980s fought our existence as aggies one of our goals is to establish a fund for scholarships and an emergency safety net for lgbtq+ students who may need some extra assistance boenigk is serving on the fundraising committee of aggie pride and made a point to explain that financial help is an important part of growing the organization and helping it achieve its mission im most excited about growing the organization through corporate sponsorships boenigk said if anyone is interested in donating or becoming a member of aggie pride they can reach out to me at rboenigk@gmailcom when asked what she would tell prospective lgbtq students who may be considering the bush school boenigk returned to the friendly and welcoming culture that so many notice when they spend time in aggieland i always felt included and welcome at the bush school the professors were always incredibly inclusive as were my fellow students texas a&m is a special place
dean mark welsh has announced the addition of alexandra ale gonzález rainey to the bush school development team as director of development through the texas a&m foundation for the bush school of government and public service rainey is a 2018 graduate of the bush school earning her masters degree in nonprofit management in the department of public service and administration while a student she served as chief ambassador of the bush school ambassadors council she also earned a bachelors degree in agricultural economics from texas a&m university in 2015 and held numerous student-leader positions throughout her undergraduate years rainey has worked for the association of former students since 2013 beginning as a student assistant to the associations president and ceo and other members of the executive staff other positions include serving as development assistant for the vice president of marketing and programs and most recently as development specialist fundraising for major gifts through the association she is also currently president of the brazos county a&m club the opportunity to serve the bush school as director of development is a tremendous honor rainey said as a graduate of the bush school master of public service and administration degree program i am thrilled to put into practice what i learned as a student and to pay it forward by fundraising for future generations of bush school aggies and our school ale is a talented and experienced fundraising professional a great aggie and a wonderful human being i am delighted that she has chosen to return to the bush school i look forward to working with her to increase support for our academic and research efforts welsh said
on a warmer than normal june evening in washington dc just blocks from the white house more than 100 bush school alumni gathered for the deans annual alumni and intern reception speaking to the crowd dean mark welsh updated dc area alumni with news from the bush school and plans for the future after his comments he took questions from the audience though welsh touched on a wide range of topics the remarks primarily focused on the schools plans for aggressive but managed growth as well as increasing alumni outreach by cultivating even more support from graduates i love to hear the update from the dean 2014 graduate robby smith said its a great way to see the school grow change and progress and feel like part of the progress the comments about future growth were exciting as well as some of the planning and intentional care that is coming for the alumni network and former students i think were all eagerly anticipating feeling more support from and connectedness to the school for alumni in the nations capital the reception doubles as an opportunity to catch up with friends and talk about their careers and personal lives its great to see old classmates and meet new younger generations of former students smith said it is truly a highlight of the summer that brings a little bit of the spirit of aggieland to my life in dc the dc aggie family is strongand fostering a tighter network of bush school graduates specifically is a goal of most of us here in dc we try to rendezvous when there is a capstone presentation or a professor in town but sometimes coordinating us all is a bit challenging when so many of us are still proving ourselves in the early parts of our careers outside of texas there are more bush school graduates in washington dc than any other city in the country and fostering a thriving community of former students has become a priority for both alumni and bush school administrators public service as a noble calling has always been the driving mantra of the bush school so i think thats why we have so many of our graduates working for both the government and non-profit organizations in washington; dc assistant dean matt upton said embracing that community of alumni and working with them to strengthen the network up there is absolutely a priority
bush school students and the public enjoyed a presentation by the honorable emily haber german ambassador to the united states who touched on multiple topics in a speech and q&a session with the audience the july 1st presentation highlighted the pivotal role played by president george h w bush in the reunification of germany following the fall of the berlin wall when the berlin wall fell on november 9 1989 and east germans for the first time peacefully streamed into west berlin german reunification was by no means a foregone conclusion ambassador haber said there were vested interests that did not want to see the two germanys reunited it was most fortunate for german history that george h w bush was the president of the united states at this critical juncture it was he who recognized the historical moment it was george h w bush who had the courage the visionary thinking and the skill to seize the moment and it was george bush who was prepared to place trust in the german people the ambassador also recalled her own experiences growing up and living in a divided germany including her first visit to the wall as a child with her father and the sense of permanence it exuded even until just before it was torn down in 89 i came back just before the fall of the wall and when it happenedwhen the wall actually fellit wasnt something i had imagined [possible] in my lifetime imagine: my father was a diplomat too and for many years he was head of the division in the german foreign ministry which was called the division for reunification and germany as a whole[even] he hadnt believed it could happen ambassador haber said to chuckles from the audience bush school students in attendance were fascinated by the first-hand experience and power of the ambassadors reflectionsone of the things i appreciate most about the bush school is the constant flow of really incredible speakers and the insights they bring recent master of international affairs bush school graduate rebecca schwarz said you learn about things like german re-unification and the fall of the berlin wall in class and in readings but hearing about it from somebody who was serving in the west german government at the time really makes you understand how consequential it was for both europe and the world as a whole following her speech ambassador haber presented the bush presidential library and museum with a gift from german chancellor angela merkel a photograph of world leaders next to a piece of the berlin wall taken two decades after its fall as the presentation concluded students streamed up to the stage to admire the photograph and thank the ambassadorthe bush school the bush presidential library and museum and texas a&m university together work to bring in noteworthy speakers year-round an effort students and faculty view as an invaluable supplement to their educationssince ive been at the bush school ive gotten to learn from and meet a huge number of significant people recent master of international affairs graduate tyler neves said a few months ago secretary of state mike pompeo gave an address to a huge audience on the a&m campus but afterwards he actually came out to the bush school and did a q&a with current students that was definitely one of the highlights of my time here
by alix poth 18 the next generation of our nations leaders arent only built inside a classroom; rather theyre established as they gain hands-on experience of what leadership actually looks like the potomac summer institute (psi) has positioned itself to provide that exact encounter for aggies who are ready to become leaders in washington dc joseph ura associate professor in the department of political science learned about american politics as an undergraduate at george washington university in washington dc and desired to give aggies that same type of firsthand participation i wanted to make an educational program for undergraduate students to get a handle on what the practice of politics is like in dc ura said the goal is to connect what students are learning in the classroom with people who are actually doing that job the psi is designed to be the stepping stone for aggies to go from studying political science to pursuing careers in public policy and service students fly to washington dc to spend seven days in capitol hill participating in both classroom based learning and traveling around the city to meet with people working in different areas of public policy elected and appointed public officials government staff members lobbyists journalists and scholars meet with the students throughout the week when you take a diverse group of students from across texas have them spend a week in washington talking with people from both sides of the aisle from all parts of the policy making process they come out in the end that much more prepared to have those conversations ura said they identify a place for themselves in the process of leading this country forward the goal is to connect what students are learning in the classroom with people who are actually doing that job… it makes them that much more prepared for those conversations and for leading the country forward political science students in the college of liberal arts are uniquely equipped to launch into the world of public service: according to ura the exceptional faculty of the department approach politics from a variety of subfields and are eager to share that with students a background in political science prepares students for a wide variety of careers in dc bill flores ‘76 representative for 17th district of texas knows of the strong presence of aggies in the nations capital if you look around congressional staffs up here youll find probably 200 aggies that work on capitol hill at least he said former student bethany irvine ‘18 is one such aggie who currently works in dc and credits the psi for providing a life changing opportunity during her undergraduate years at texas a&m without the potomac summer institute program i dont even think i would be here irvine said it provided me a leg up in my career but also allowed me to network meet people and make aggie connections up here in dc dialogue in our divided country can seem difficult now more than ever students need the tools and the background to engage with these challenges which is precisely what is provided in the study of political science and epitomized in the psi potomac summer institute is the capstone of equipping students ura said it makes them that much more prepared for those conversations and for leading the country forward learn more about the potomac summer institute by watching the video on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the board of regents has granted tenure to dr reyko huang and she has been promoted to associate professor in the department of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university huang holds a phd in political science from columbia university an mpa from the woodrow wilson school at princeton university and a ba in government and economics from cornell university her book the wartime origins of democratization: civil war rebel governance and political regimes (cambridge university press 2016) explores the social and institutional impacts of violent rebellion and their effects on postwar politics her work has appeared in international studies quarterly and international security among other journals she teaches courses on civil wars statebuilding and transnational security dr gregory gause head of the department of international affairs said that dr huangs promotion and tenure are very well deserved she is a leading member of a cohort of younger scholars who are advancing our knowledge about civil wars and how they affect post-war political reconstruction gause said
bush school students have worked hard to support texas a&ms eco-friendly mission the university was recently named the second most eco-friendly campus in the country by college magazine a college-guide and quarterly magazine written and edited by college students for texas a&m students and administrators pitching in for sustainability and an environmentally friendly atmosphere isnt just a goal its a missionone that could be seen as daunting given a sprawling campus and large student body aggies at texas a&m dont hesitate to get involved with preserving the environment the article says citing efforts across the campus: dining services using organic local produce; organizing campus sustainability day where student organizations offer eco-friendly guidance; ample parking space reserved for scooters; and recycling some sixty tons of material each month as one of the universitys nineteen colleges the bush school strongly supports the campus-wide environmental effortbeing as green as possible is a huge part of our mission at a&m and specifically at the bush school said dr matt upton assistant dean for diversity and student affairs all of our classrooms and offices have automatic lights and recycling bins and we have water bottle refilling stations at the bush school too but students and faculty at the bush school arent satisfied with number twowere continuing efforts to not only educate our students faculty and staff we are always working to engage them in creative ways so that we can continue to become more and more environmentally friendly upton added
dr gregory gause head of the bush schools department of international affairs and cgs faculty affiliate published hegemony compared: great britain and the united states in the middle east in security studies the article can be read here
andrew l ross with tai ming cheung and thomas g mahnken is the author of assessing the state of understanding of defense innovation a sitc (study of innovation and technology in china) research brief published by the university of california institute on global conflict and cooperation this piece was also included in tai ming cheung ed leaders laggards and followers: the global competition for defense innovation published by the university of california institute on global conflict and cooperation the brief can be read here
locky catron a second-year student in the master of international affairs program at the texas a&m bush school of government and public service has been awarded one of two scholarships from the women in international trade (wiit) organization the association of women in international trade (wiit) is based in washington dc and works to promote the professional development of women in international trade and business and to raise public awareness of the importance of international trade to economic development lockys academic focus is international development and economic policy she received a bachelors degree in agricultural business from iowa state university in addition to her academic studies locky helped launch a start-up company that developed an open-source tractor for small-scale farmers in the us and abroad she was also a writing fellow for the agricultural entrepreneurship initiative at iowa state university bush school dean mark welsh noted lockys honor with the following message: congratulations locky!! were all proud of you and happy to see your outstanding work recognized by wiit
former cia chief of counterintelligence jim olson delivered a speech about his new book to catch a spy: the art of counterintelligence at texas a&ms bush school of government and public service the book is dedicated to bush school students whom he has taught since the inception of the bush school in 1997 during this event olson relayed stories about his time in the cia and current threats from china russia cuba and iran the book goes into detail about emerging intelligence threats from these countries and argues the united states needs to catch up olson served as a cia spy for over thirty years and discussed his experiences as an intelligence officer as well olson explained why counterintelligence is important and why the united states should conceal its trade and national security secrets he discussed american citizens that were convicted of spying on the united states these included edward lee howard aldrich ames sgt clayton lonetree and felix bloch as a professor of the practice at the bush school olson teaches courses on intelligence counterintelligence and international crisis management he served for over thirty years in the directorate of operations of the central intelligence agency mostly overseas in clandestine operations in addition to several foreign assignments he was chief of counterintelligence at cia headquarters in langley virginia professor olson has been awarded the intelligence medal of merit the distinguished career intelligence medal the donovan award and several distinguished service citations the former spy ended the evening signing copies of his new book for students faculty staff and local political figures
the first transformative research award from texas a&ms center for housing and urban development went to dr ann om bowman for her innovative urban development research bowman is the hazel davis and robert kennedy endowed chair in government and public service at the bush schoolgalen newman director of the center for housing and urban development presented the award to bowman and thanked her for her contributions dr ann om bowman i can think of no one more deserving of the centers first transformative research award newman said bowmans body of work has been extremely influential in my career as well as many others in related fields i am delighted to present her with this small token of appreciation from chud as a thank you for all of her amazing work throughout her career bowman has conducted research on state and local government publishing articles in numerous scholarly journals including urban affairs review journal of urban design and american review of public administration her two recent co-authored books are state and local government and terra incognita: vacant land and urban strategies she is currently completing a study of austins recent change from at-large elections of its city council to a geographic district-based system upon receiving the award from chud bowman commented i am gratified to receive this recognition from chud a noted research center that has long supported urban-focused scholarship
changing immigration trends are the topic of a new issue of the takeaway according to the policy brief the number of apprehensions at the southwest border has actually decreased since 2000 but the steep rise in the number of families attempting to cross the increase in credible fear claims and the lack of functional laws and resources are all contributing to a growing humanitarian crisis at the southwest border the author asks us to recognize that the united states is failing to protect children and serve families legitimately seeking refuge and urges congress to act you can read about it in humanitarian crisis on the southwest border the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
the women peace and security (wps) symposium provides a timely opportunity to address the challenges and opportunities of the wps agenda by discussing them in a bi-partisan environment developing connections between texas regional and national stakeholders this symposium was held on november 5 2018 at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university symposium highlights | symposium agenda symposium highlights opening remarks with dean mark a welsh iii mark welsh iii dean of the bush school of government and public service and dr valerie hudson director of the bush schools program on women peace and security give their opening remarks at the 4th annual women peace and security symposiumwatch opening remarks with dean mark a welsh iiivideo length: 7:28 opening keynote speaker – jamie dobie jamie dobie executive director of peace is loud highlights new projects at peace is loud in her opening remarks at the 4th annual women peace and security symposiumwatch opening keynote speaker – jamie dobievideo length: 43:16 new research on women peace and security dr valerie hudson texas a&m university dr michelle taylor-robinson texas a&m university dr maria escobar-lemmon texas a&m university and professor natalie wright romeri-lewis brigham young university discuss new research on women peace and securitywatch new research on wpsvideo length: 51:08 texas perspectives of women peace and security dr melissa torres director of human trafficking research portfolio at the university of texas at austin dixie hairston research program manager for the institute on domestic violence and sexual assault at the university of texas at austin janet kasper east texas regional administrator for the texas governors office child sex trafficking team and ashley alley former intern with the child sex trafficking team from the office of the texas governor come together to discuss how women peace and security is reflected in human trafficking policy throughout the state of texaswatch texas perspectives of women peace and securityvideo length: 56:07 council on foreign relations women and foreign policy program – how the status of women advances us foreign policy rachel vogelstein director of women and foreign policy program at the council on foreign relations jamille bigio senior fellow in the women and foreign policy program at the council on foreign relations gayle tzemach lemmon adjunct senior fellow in the women and foreign policy program at the council on foreign relations and sarah boyd fulbright scholar harvard kennedy school (gender and foreign policy) discuss how the women and foreign policy program at the council on foreign relations works towards promoting the status of women in us foreign policywatch council on foreign relations women and foreign policy program – how the status of women advances us foreign policyvideo length: 54:38 council on foreign relations how women peace and security initiatives are reflected in security policy lt col bradley orchard of un women cmd suzanne mainor joint staff/j5 stability and humanitarian engagement division at the department of defense olivia holt-ivry independent consultant and elizabeth weingarten senior fellow at new america discuss the specifics of the wps agenda in security policywatch council on foreign relations how women peace and security initiatives are reflected in security policyvideo length: 1:11:08 council on foreign relations q&a jamille bigio gayle tzemach lemmon and rachel vogelstein from the council on foreign relations field questions from the audience at the women peace and security symposiumwatch council on foreign relations q&avideo length: 11:51 closing keynote speaker – jacqueline oneill jacqueline oneill global fellow at the woodrow wilson centers canada institute provides the closing remarks for the 4th annual women peace and security symposiumwatch closing remark s with jacqueline oneillvideo length: 29:25 symposium agenda the 4th annual texas symposium on women peace and security implementing the vision of the women peace and security act of 2017 monday november 5 20189 am – 6 pm description the texas symposium on women peace and security is designed to bring together academics practitioners and policymakers who are interested in advancing the goals of un security council resolution 1325 which advocates for the increased participation of women in matters of national security including conflict resolution peace-building countering violent extremism transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction the wps agenda also suggests that national security and human security must proceed hand in hand for peace to be durable and just including issues that some might see as normally within the scope of national security such as education health and welfare womens perspectives and voice on issues of national security has been sorely lacking and this symposium is a contribution to the rectification of that deficiency the texas symposium on wps also aspires to showcase texas-based scholarship philanthropy programming and policy on these important issues location annenberg presidential conference center1002 george bush drive westcollege station texas 77843 agenda 9–9:10 amconference welcome addressdean mark a welsh iii bush school of government & public service texas a&m university 9:10-9:15 amconference orientation and logisticsvalerie m hudson director program on women peace and security bush school of government & public service 9:15-9:55 amopening remarks with discussion followingtelling the story of women peace & security: who narrates the world jamie dobie executive director peace is loud 10:00-11:10 amhow women peace and security initiatives are reflected in security policypanel speakers: lt col bradley orchard un womencmd suzanne mainor joint staff/j5 stability and humanitarian engagement division united states department of defenseolivia holt-ivry independent consultantmoderator: elizabeth weingarten senior fellow better life lab new america 11:10-11:20 ambreak 11:20 am–12:20 pmsecond keynote speakersarah chayes author of thieves of state: why corruption threatens global security 12:20–12:45 pmnetworking break 12:45-1:30 pmpanelists lunch 1:30–2:40 pmcouncil on foreign relations women and foreign policy program: how the status of women advances us foreign policypanel speakers: rachel vogelstein douglas dillon senior fellow director of women and foreign policy program council on foreign relationsjamille bigio senior fellow women and foreign policy program council on foreign relationsgayle tzemach lemmon adjunct senior fellow women and foreign policy program council on foreign relations and author of dressmaker of khair khana and ashleys warmoderator: sarah boyd fulbright scholar harvard kennedy school (gender and foreign policy); practitioner fellow monash gender peace and security center 2:45–3:45 pmtexas perspectives on women peace and security (wps): traffickingpanel speakers: janet kasper east texas regional administrator child sex trafficking team texas governors officemelissa torres director of human trafficking research portfolio university of texas at austin/vice president of the international board womens international league for peace and freedomashley alley former intern with the child sex trafficking team from the office of the texas governor and current bush school mpa studentmoderator: dixie hairston research program manager institute on domestic violence and sexual assault the university of texas at austin 3:45–3:55 pmbreak 3:55–4:55 pmnew research on women peace and securitypanel speakers: natalie wright romeri-lewis jd msc brigham young university/ the womanstats project / global truth commission indexmichelle m taylor-robinson texas a&m universitymaria c escobar-lemmon associate dean and professor of political science texas a&m universitymoderator: valerie m hudson the bush school texas a&m university 5:00–5:30 pmclosing reflectionsjacqueline oneill global fellow woodrow wilson centers canada institute 5:30–6:00 pmclosing reception presidential conference center atrium
texas a&m university and the scowcroft institute of international affairs released a major new study today to policymakers and government officials that provides strategic recommendations on how to improve pandemic and biosecurity preparedness and response to devastating infectious diseases like ebola in africa and measles in the united states over the last three years texas a&m and the scowcroft institute housed at the universitys george hw bush school of government & public service have produced critical thought leadership research and policy as well as programmatic recommendations all structured to address the challenges the us faces globally in these areas the recommendations are intended to spark conversations among policy makers host country leaders us government leaders researchers and the academic community as well as implementers and responders to pandemic and biosecurity emergencies key recommendations from the report include: designate senior-level white house leadership for pandemic response and pandemic preparednessdonor and host nations must continue investments in health systems strengthening at the community level with specific attention to global health security agenda related prioritieshost nations must reinforce and rethink the critical role of community health workers religious leadership and cultural factors in epidemic responsebuilding trust between stakeholders of pandemic preparedness and response is crucialplace more value on applied interdisciplinary work within university reward structuresrequire strong national surveillance systems that help detect and monitor trends and risk factors for antimicrobial resistance; andmulti-sector coordination and whole-of-government planning aimed at building resilient health systems guided by the one health approach can advance efforts to integrate human animal and environmental sectors in pandemic preparedness the 2019 white paper is based on 2018 research and intensive discussions with global experts and researchers the report was released today in washington dc at the scowcroft institutes 3rd annual pandemic & biosecurity forum at the national press club the event features internationally renowned pandemic and international health and biosecurity experts discussing the current ebola crisis in africa and identifying specific policy changes and reforms necessary to improve pandemic and international biosecurity response strategies notable speakers include: us sen richard burr (r-nc) chairman senate select intelligence committeeadm brett p giroir md assistant secretary for health us department of health and human servicesus rep bill flores (tx-17) member house energy and commerce committeeus rep michael c burgess md (tx-26) ranking member house energy and commerce subcommittee on healthjim greenwood president and ceo biotechnology innovation organization (bio)ron klain former white house ebola response coordinator (2014-2015)andrew natsios director scowcroft institute of international affairs and former usaid administratorgerald parker associate dean texas a&m university and former hhs principal deputy assistant secretary for preparedness & response
dr charles chuck hermann the founding director of the bush school of government and public service is retiring from texas a&m university having served here for more than twenty-four years hermanns career and service to the bush school were honored at a recent reception attended by colleagues current and former students and community members hermann came to college station from ohio state university where he had been a professor of political science for some twenty-five years after the bush school became an independent college with dr robert gates as its first dean hermann served as associate dean for academic programs and later designed and directed the bush schools master of international affairs over the years hermann taught courses on american foreign policy international politics and foreign policy analysis in addition to his administrative and teaching responsibilities hermann has been an active scholar in the fields of foreign policy national security and group decision making and simulation he has published widely on each of these topics including nine books and over seventy journal articles and book chapters in pursuit of his research hermann has received a number of grants and contracts from both private and public sources including the national science foundation the macarthur foundation the defense intelligence agency and lawrence livermore national laboratory after receiving his phd from northwestern university hermann taught at princeton university until accepting a council on foreign relations fellowship in 1969 to serve on the national security council under dr henry kissinger from there he went to ohio state university where he was director of the mershon center for international security studies and a professor in the department of political science one of hermanns bush school colleagues dr valerie hudson his student at ohio state described hermann as a must-cite scholar and a leader in multiple research fields including foreign policy analysis (fpa) in which scholars analyze leaders decision-making processes he profoundly shaped fpa and was mentor to many of the current generation of fpa scholarshis initial research agenda was foreign policy decision making in times of crisis and his 1972 book international crises: insights from behavioral research along with numerous articles and book chapters established his reputation as a scholar at mershon hermann developed the creon projectthe comparative research on the events of nations project a comprehensive model of all the many factors that influence foreign policy decision making from political psychology to nation-state type his particular piece of the theoretical model was group decision makingboth small group and bureaucratic politicsand his research is cited by any scholar working in that area the creon project also involved the creation of a large events data set that is the coding of the day-to-day international doings of nation-states and the dataset is consistently mentioned in a list of the first real forays into events data during his long career hermann has received some of the highest accolades in the discipline being named a distinguished scholar of fpa in 2001 and serving as president of his professional association the international studies association from 1988 to 1989 at the retirement reception in his honor dr gregory gause head of the schools department of international affairs praised hermanns willing efforts to help start the bush school starting an entirely new academic organization is not an easy task gause said even though there was a lot of support for the bush school it took someone with enormous commitment dedication and will power to see it through and chuck did that it is his legacy bush school dean mark a welsh praised hermann for his dedication and service to the school and for co-writing called to serve a book chronicling its first two decades chuck is a renaissance man but he is and always will be at heart a scholar welsh said later welsh read a letter sent by the honorable bob gates who after serving as bush school dean became texas a&m university president (2002-2006) and then us secretary of defense (2006-2011) in part gates wrote: todays size quality and stature of the bush school its faculty and students owe more to you and your continuing devoted service than to any other single individualwith the possible exception of the 41st president himself i will always value our time together as colleagues and partners hermann said that being at the bush school has been a real privilege and has announced that he and his wife are working to create an endowed fellowship to provide financial support for one high-achieving bush school student each year
in the past decade research on interconnected resource challenges has primarily focused on quantifying physical resource interconnections more recently research has expanded into the social economic and policy dimensions of resource interconnections given the challenges presented by these interconnections many researchers have emphasized the need for inter- and trans-disciplinary research while this has resulted in increased collaboration among research groups little work has examined the convergence of perspectives between the research groups and their respective stakeholders to address this gap the authors focused on the san antonio region texas this region is a resource hotspot characterized by rapid urbanization increased shale-based energy production and growing agricultural activity they surveyed 370 researchers and regional stakeholders from governmental nongovernmental and business organizations in the regions water energy or food sectors using their responses the researchers (1) evaluated levels of convergence in perspectives regarding regional water energy and food challenges; (2) quantified existing levels of communication of both researchers and regional stakeholders with identified regional wef organizations; and (3) identified barriers to and opportunities for improving communication between the wef organizations and the researchers the authors found aspects of convergence between surveyed regional stakeholders and researchers one such aspect was convergence on several strategies adopted by different texas development water boards to address future water challenges modest levels of communication were reported between surveyed researchers and regional stakeholders with other identified wef organizations both groups converge on the potential roles of increased communication and sharing information between agencies as a means to improve cooperation to address interconnected resource challenges to make this possible institutional mechanisms and resource allocations for such activities must be revisited hannibal bryce 2019 toward understanding the convergence of researcher and stakeholder perspectives related to water-energy-food (wef) challenges: the case of san antonio texas paper presented at the annual water resources conference of the universities council on water resources snowbird ut june 11-13 coauthored with bassel daher rabi mohtar and kent portney
texas a&m university and the george hw bush school of government & public services scowcroft institute of international affairs will hold its 3rd annual pandemic & biosecurity forum at the national press club (529 14th street nw washington dc 20045) on tuesday may 14 2019 from 12-5 pm the event which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic will feature internationally renowned pandemic and international health security experts discussing the current ebola crisis in africa and measles outbreaks in the us identifying specific policy changes and reforms necessary to improve overall national and international pandemic and biosecurity response strategies a scowcroft institute white paper formulated from discussions at the october 2018 pandemic policy summit looking back to look forward: are we prepared for the next pandemic will be released at the forum expert speakers & panelists include: us senator richard burr (r-nc) chairman senate select intelligence committeeadm brett giroir assistant secretary for health us department of health and human servicesus representative bill flores (tx-17) member house energy and commerce committeeus representative michael c burgess md (tx-26) ranking member house energy and commerce subcommittee on healthhon jim greenwood president and ceo biotechnology innovation organization (bio)ron klain white house ebola response coordinator (2014-2015)steve davis ceo pathdr ann schuchat principal deputy director centers for disease control and preventiondr oyewale tomori professor of virology and former vice chancellor university of ibadan nigeriaambassador william garvelink international medical corpsdr daniel salmon director of the institute of vaccine safety johns hopkins bloomberg school of public healthrick santos senior advisor ima world healthdr maurizio barbeschi health security interface world health organization (who)dr david brett-majors sanford chair in tropical medicine uniformed services universityandrew natsios director scowcroft institute of international affairs and former usaid administratordr gerald parker associate dean texas a&m university and former hhs principal deputy assistant secretary for preparedness & response
professor valerie hudson of the bush schools department of international affairs has been named a distinguished professor the universitys highest faculty honor hudson is one of seven faculty members who received the designation this year distinguished professors are faculty members who are renowned in their fields and who have made at least one landmark contribution to their discipline they are recognized as pre-eminent authorities and their accomplishments are exemplified by outstanding teaching mentoring discovery and service past recipients of the lifetime title participate in the selection process growing the ranks of distinguished professors by just a handful of scholars each year dr hudson holds the george h w bush chair and is an expert on international security and foreign policy analysis as well as gender and security hudson directs the bush schools program on women peace and security in 2009 foreign policy named her one of the top 100 most influential global thinkers her coauthored book bare branches: security implications of asias surplus male population and the research it presents received major attention from the media with coverage in the wall street journal new york times financial times washington post bbc cnn and numerous other outlets as well as receiving two national book awards hudson was also recently named a distinguished scholar of foreign policy analysis by the international studies association dr hudson has developed a nation-by-nation database on women the womanstats database (https://womanstatsorg) which has triggered both academic and policy interest (the latter includes its use by both the us senate foreign relations committee and various agencies of the united nations) great faculties are formed around remarkable faculty members and dr valerie hudson is exactly that said dean mark welsh shes done remarkable work for women and womens issues its an honor to have her on our faculty and its an honor to call her a colleague congratulations valerie were all very proud of you!
dr kent portney presented a paper he coauthored with istpp assistant research scientist dr bryce hannibal and istpp fellow dr robert greer at the annual conference of the western political science association the purpose of this research was to see whether governance of food/agriculture water and energy are fragmented and what management or public policy theories could be applied to explain potential benefits from breaking down barriers of communication among food energy and water decision makers the data for the study came from a multi-modal survey administered to 232 executives at water governance agencies in the san antonio region of texas the survey sought to understand the general roles and responsibilities of agency staff as well as the level of interaction between water governance executives and decision makers in the energy or agriculture sectors the results of their analysis suggest there is minimal communication across various stakeholders that manage food water and energy resources they also find that there is little cooperation in the overall governance of food energy and water greer hannibal and portney conclude that much needs to be done in public policy and management to support greater resource management cooperation such as improving communications among governance agencies and supporting repeated interactions among resource decision makers portney kent e 2019 the role of communication in managing complex water-energy-food governance systems paper presented at the annual conference of the western political science association san diego ca april 18-20 paper coauthored with robert a greer and bryce hannibal
china expert will norris is one of only twenty recent phd graduates to become a part of the national asia research program (narp) fellowship for 2019 and get a $10 000 grant to publish policy-oriented research the program connects the academic and policy communities and trains rising asia scholars to develop skills to conduct policy-specific research and brief policymakers dr will norris is currently an associate professor of chinese foreign and security policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university where he teaches graduate-level courses in chinese domestic politics east asian security and chinese foreign policy norris class of fellows will research geopolitics and grand strategy international security and military modernization domestic transitions and transformations and nontraditional security issues norris joins colleagues from prestigious universities like tufts johns hopkins and stanford norris will attend a two-day policy conference that will include presentations from the fellows and senior asia experts in june 2019 the national bureau of asian research (nbr) is a nonprofit nonpartisan research institution dedicated to informing and strengthening policy nbr conducts advanced independent research on strategic political economic globalization health and energy issues affecting us relations with asia
dr frank b ashley iii senior associate dean for academic affairs and senior professor at the bush school was among thirty-three individuals cited as transformational leaders in education during the april 26 meeting of the tamu college of education deans roundtable ashley also gave the keynote address for the meeting for the past twenty-eight years the college has acknowledged and celebrated educators across the state since 1991 more than 600 individuals have been honored for their dedicated leadership and service to their communities the 2019 honorees include superintendents administrators classroom teachers professors and those professionals who have devoted their careers to helping others dr ashley is one of eight texas a&m faculty members honored by the roundtable this year other honorees include teachers and administrators from schools and agencies across the state at all levelselementary through high schoolas well as a county judge a health resource director and a director of a retirement residence honorees are selected for their commitment to improving educational opportunities and providing outstanding service to their school and/or community the event is also a fundraiser to support scholarships programs and other college initiatives with more than $450 000 raised since its inception in accepting the award ashley said it was truly an honor to be recognized by the texas a&m college where i began my career as an assistant professor thirty-three years ago and also served as an associate dean bush school dean mark welsh congratulated ashley on the recognition by his peers and colleagues throughout his career frank has always put students first whether as a teacher university faculty member or an academic administrator he said the bush school is fortunate to have such a respected academician leading our educational and research endeavors
the texas a&m bush school of government and public service director of extended education lisa brown won the texas women in higher educations (twhe) institutional representative of the year award this award recognizes a member and her outstanding contributions to twhe through fulfillment in her role of ir the award factors in how the recipient connects with women on her campus enhances the profile of women promotes relevant communications and participates in and communicates with twhe i am truly honored by this award this award is especially meaningful to me because of texas women in higher educations outstanding work developing women leaders in higher education across the state of texas! twhe creates supportive networks in higher education for womens leadership growth and success we have many amazing and phenomenal women at texas a&m university and across texas who are leading the way in higher educationfrom new strategies to ensure student success to conducting impactful research that contributes to solving societys challenges! i look forward to continuing this effort and helping prepare the next generation of successful leaders lisa brown said about receiving the award the awards will be presented at the twhe conference on april 7-9 in san antonio congratulations to lisa for receiving this prestigious award! it is an honor to work alongside someone as hardworking as lisa at the bush school dean for academic affairs frank ashley
dr james m griffin a bush school of government & public service professor and robert joseph ladmirault jr a graduating bush school student argue that fracking has not only spurred a us energy renaissance centered in west texas but also created other benefits fracking has added benefits such as low natural gas prices for consumers lower co2 emissions from displacement of coal and assistance for renewables that struggle with intermittency the authors maintain that innovation and entrepreneurship often lead to unanticipated changes and benefits you can read about it in the permian basin: a tribute to american innovation and entrepreneurship the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
according to dr kent portney director of the institute for science technology and public policy at texas a&m universitys bush school of government & public service in order to achieve greater sustainability more efficient means of using these resources must be found yet the institutes research determined that there is very little contact or interaction among water energy and food and agriculture agencies since coordination is an important part of achieving greater resource efficiencies he argues that explicit steps need to be taken to ensure that great communication takes place you can read about this issue in governing the water-energy-food nexus: what it is and why it matters the takeaway is a publication of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school at texas a&m university
provided by taryn woody texas a&m foundation james olson was in his final weeks of law school when he received a mysterious phone call that changed the trajectory of his career are you interested in serving your country asked the caller as a small-town iowa boy with hopes of becoming a local lawyer olson couldnt have guessed that a representative from the cia was on the other end of the line to this day i still dont know how the cia became aware of me he recalled while glancing over the scattered photographs and memorabilia that cover his office walls at the time i assumed it might have had something to do with my time in the navy but i was never told in the days that followed the call he was catapulted into a life he hadnt planned to leadone that would introduce him to his future wife send him across the world as an undercover operative and eventually lead him to teach at texas a&m universitys bush school of government and public service the life of a spy olson was born in le mars iowa and studied math and economics at the university of iowa upon graduating he was commissioned into the navy where he traveled the world it was a great adventure for a small-town boy he said eventually he returned to his roots and enrolled at the university of iowa college of law my goal was to become a small-town attorney he said but all of that changed when he agreed to meet the unnamed man who called with the unusual question days later he found himself in the corner of a hotel lobby sitting across from a cia recruiter the man told olson he was an ideal candidate for the agency and asked him to apply olson submitted an application on a whim and was accepted after several interviews and tests during his initial training he met his future wife meredith who was a german analyst for the cia once married they were deployed around the world as a tandem couple they served in major international capitals like vienna moscow mexico city and other places that cannot be named our lives seemed normal to us because everyone we knew was undercover olson said as a spy you live two lives you go to your cover job during the day and at night you work your true job as a cia operative said olson olson participated in multiple missions during his time abroad most of which are still classified but one mission in 1979 sticks out in his memory as the communists controlled moscow and the cold war reigned the couple worked secretly to turn russian nationals against their government and gain access to soviet secrets that year cia satellites photographed a tunnel used to shelter communications lines that ran from moscow to secret facilities outside the city these locations were high priority intelligence targets for the us government and olson was selected to take part in a cable tapping mission known as gttaw he trained for the operation in the us by practicing entering a replica manhole and accessing the cable lines on the day of the mission meredith helped him exploit a flaw in the kgb surveillanceallowing him to evade the surveillance team don a disguise and make his way toward the manhole it was just like in training he said and the mission was successful for his part in the operation olson was awarded the intelligence medal of merit by the cia gone to texas eventually after completing many missions the couple decided to return to the us where olson applied for the officer in residence program a cia initiative to place officers in teaching positions on college campuses he was chosen for a position in milwaukee but just weeks before the move george tenet former director of the cia called with a proposition he said ‘youll never guess who just called me olson recalled of his conversation with tenet tenet had received a call from president george hw bush texas a&m was creating a graduate school of government and public service and naming it after the 41st president and the university was also to become the location of the george hw bush presidential library and museum president bush wanted a candidate from the officer in residence program to be placed at the school and olson was the perfect fit tenet knowing the couple was moving to milwaukee soon asked that they simply visit college station and give it a look within a day they jumped on a plane and headed for texas when a former president calls on you your answer isnt ‘yes its ‘yes sir said olson we didnt know much about texas a&m except that they played good football and had a legendary corps of cadets he said but when they arrived in aggieland he and meredith quickly learned what set texas a&m apart we were so impressed by the faith honor and traditions built into the university he added we went back to headquarters and said ‘were going to texas a&m it was a leap of faith when we got to texas meredith joked that out of all the places we had lived coming to texas was probably our most foreign assignment yet he laughed but it didnt take long to appreciate the friendliness and courteousness of the people here public service: a noble calling now in his 21st year teaching at texas a&ms bush school of government and public service olson leads classes on intelligence counterintelligence national security counter-terrorism and international crisis managementtopics he gained firsthand experience with during his years as an undercover cia officer for olson his teaching career has provided him with an avenue to further serve his country and to pass on the calling of public service i am just so motivated to help young men and women realize their dream of serving our country he said public service is what we believe inits our mission our code our ethic as president bush said public service is a noble calling today president bushs belief permeates the halls of the school in the class of 2017 alone graduates were hired by the cia fbi department of defense department of homeland security and the us armed forces and placed in operational units around the world as well as countless other agencies in the public and private sector approximately 300 bush school graduates have gone into intelligence careers recruiters have told me several times that theyve never seen better candidates than those coming out of the bush school because students here learn the nitty-gritty of how to get the job done said olson what sets the bush school apart is its focus on practitioner-based teaching from the beginning the school decided on a professional focus for its intelligence courses with the confidence that these classes are best taught by individuals who served in intelligence careers other graduate programs in intelligence studies are more theoretical and emphasize an academic approach to intelligence studies the bush school is different by design: it combines a well-rounded academic curriculum with practitioner faculty who have practical real-world experience to impart to students students pursuing intelligence studies take part in a rigorous two-year curriculum that emphasizes hands-on skills foreign language intelligence research and public service thanks to the programs offered and its internationally acclaimed faculty the bush school has gained national recognition the 2018 us news and world report ranked the bush school in the top 10 percent of public affairs schools the school was also named the best value in the nation by the online resource value colleges but olson isnt satisfied just yet before i retire i want to make certain that the bush school is the unquestioned premier public affairs and intelligence program in the country he said the former spy finds his purpose not only in the bush school itself but also in its students my students mean so much to me he said while reaching for a copy of his soon-to-be released book to catch a spy: the art of counterintelligence inside the dedication reads: to my students at the bush school of government and public service of texas a&m university who inspire me every day with their dedication and commitment to serving our country that sums up why im here and its also what president bush hoped for when he created this school he added i know he was very proud of this place and its potential
istpps dr bryce hannibal presented a paper coauthored with istpp director dr kent portney on texans opinions on unconventional oil and gas development at the western political science associations 2019 conference hannibal and portney combine several data sources to examine the influence of contextual factors on texans perceptions of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) they used data from istpps water-energy-food nexus public opinion survey fracfocus and the us drought monitor to model the effect of local water resources and proximity to development sites on texans concerns about fracking and support for policies addressing those concerns the epas fracfocus and the us drought monitor provided data on water usage in the fracking process and its impact on the local environment specifically water resources in texas counties the authors also used fracfocus to identify the effect fracking production may have on policy preferences of individuals who live in areas of significant fracking presence hannibal and portney conclude that most texans believe fracking should be more strictly regulated the authors find that in regions where fracking degrades water resources or those resources are scarce public opinion is generally more positive toward greater regulations on fracking water resources in a region directly affect public perception of fracking because many texas regions experience drought and water scarcity during the year fracking not only requires a tremendous amount of water to extract oil from shale formation but the chemicals used in that process may pollute water supplies near development sites however hannibal and portney find that distance from fracking activities has mixed results on these perceptions individuals living in areas with high levels of fracking may have a greater understanding of the practices impact on resources but they may also see the potential economic benefits of living in a development ‘boomtown as worth the risk hannibal bryce 2019 public concern and support for regulation of unconventional oil and gas development: individual and contextual influences on texas residents paper presented at the annual conference of the western political science association san diego ca april 18 co-authored with kent portney
rane cunningham executive assistant to senior associate dean for academic affairs frank ashley at the bush school of government and public service was one of only twenty-five recipients of the 2019 presidents meritorious individual award which includes nominees from all staffs at texas a&m university the individual award acknowledges and rewards staff for their service to texas a&m recipients of the highly prestigious award have displayed aggie core values of excellence integrity leadership loyalty respect and selfless service according to texas a&m president michael k young recipients received a $1 000 award a commemorative plaque and a lapel pin dean ashley congratulated his colleague and said congratulations to rane who received a well-deserved presidents meritorious individual award the bush school thanks you for your service to this great institution young said to each of them [recipients] i extend my most sincere congratulations and deep appreciation for their tremendous efforts that make texas a&m such a great place to live and work congratulations to the following twenty-five individual staff members two supervisors and two teams who were selected for their meritorious service to texas a&m university! the award ceremony was held on monday april 22 2019 in the msc bethancourt ballroom
istpp director dr kent portney presented a paper he coauthored with dr bryce hannibal and dr robert greer on whether governance decision-making processes regarding food energy and water resources are fragmented additionally the authors wanted to know if theories related to public policy and management suggest breaking down these supposed fragmented processes would make any difference the data used for this analysis comes from a survey of water managers and decision makers in the san antonio tx region the survey measures the level of interaction among decision makers across sectors of the food-energy-water nexus in addition the survey enables the researchers to learn more about the respondents roles and responsibilities in relation to water results from the survey of water agencies suggest there is little interaction in decision-making processes among agencies involved with food and energy the authors highlight that there is no legal responsibility for water decision makers to collaborate or communicate with other resource governance entities drs portney greer and hannibal conclude their paper by mentioning they want to distribute surveys to decision makers and agency managers in the energy and agriculture sectors of the food-energy-water nexus portney kent e 2019 whats theory got to do with it institutional collective action and governance of the food-energy-water nexus in the metropolitan san antonio region paper presented at the 3rd annual local governance and sustainability conference within conference at the meeting of the southern political science association austin tx january 22 coauthored with rob a greer and bryce hannibal
the management board of the polish energy company grupa lotos is establishing two scholarships for polish students to attend the bush school of government and public service the scholarships are named after the former president and will help polish students study international affairs at the school the scholarships are the first to be available to polish students who are attending the bush school the members of the polish company created this scholarship because they have fond memories of when president bush supported democracy in the country patryk demski robert sobkow and grzegorz pytel all senior executives of grupa lotos visited president bushs and barbara bushs gravesites while attending the bush school to announce the scholarships dr gregory gause department head of international affairs at the bush school commented on the new scholarships the bush school hosts students from all over the world that is a legacy of george hw bush whose presidency and whose whole career was dedicated to advancing american interests and american values around the world it is an honor to have more polish students at the school!
bush school students had the unique opportunity to visit with current secretary of state mike pompeo during his recent visit to texas a&m and ask questions about pressing issues in foreign policy and national security pompeo answered questions about relations with iran and china the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan and how the us can continue to lead the international system bush school second-year master of international affairs student rebecca schwarz opened the session which was moderated by ambassador larry napper and held in the george h w bush presidential library and museum now on the bush school faculty nappers thirty-one year foreign service career included posts in several countries such as kazakhstan latvia and romania a former member of the house of representatives pompeo served as director of the cia prior to his appointment as secretary of state as well as answering students questions he also shared personal stories from his career in the cia and state department being able to introduce a sitting secretary of state is an amazing opportunity said rebecca schwarz its one of the advantages of studying at the bush school bush school dean mark welsh agreed: were very fortunate that so many national and international leaders come to the bush school at texas a&m and that our students and faculty have a chance to meet them in small group settings where they are willing to share their experiences and expertise
dr perry has been named one of the recipients of the college of liberal arts achievements in climate and inclusion (aci) award dr perry is an instructional assistant professor in the political science department at texas a&m university the aci awards acknowledge faculty members in honor of their demonstrated commitment and service activities designed to encourage and facilitate a more inclusive and welcoming climate for all social and cultural identities dr perry will receive a bursary in the amount of $750 (college-$500/dept-$250) to thank her for her leadership innovation mentoring and impact regarding climate and inclusion she would also be invited to a college-wide deans event during the next academic year to celebrate her overarching goals with her peers dr perry received her phd in political science from duke university in 2013 her research interest includes racial politics in the us latino political representation latino immigration the effects of geography on political attitudes and participation rates and congressional institutions on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
the student government association (sga) open educator award from the student government association at texas a&m university awarded a political science professor dr fuhrmann for demonstrating the most compelling and significant positive impact in using open-access materials in innovative ways in the classroom to reduce the financial burden for students the sga at texas a&m university partnered with the university libraries to establish two annual awards for faculty members who go above and beyond in adopting and demonstrating exemplary usage of open educational resources (oers) in their classrooms for the dissemination of these open-access materials these awards seek to recognize faculty who promote a culture of utilizing free academic resources and knowledge sharing in order to lessen the financial burden on students and mitigate the overall cost of receiving an education professor fuhrmann was named andrew carnegie fellow in 2016 by the carnegie corporation of new york his research focuses on international relations nuclear proliferation and armed conflict he is the author of atomic assistance: how atoms for peace programs cause nuclear insecurity (cornell university press 2012) and the co-author fuhr of nuclear weapons and coercive diplomacy (cambridge university press 2017) on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service
cgs hosted a two-day symposium commemorating the 70th anniversary of the berlin airlift the symposium kicked off on april 10th with a keynote address from gen darren mcdew former commander of us transportation command delivered at the opening banquet attendees included berlin airlift pilot col gail halvorsen known as the candy bomber symposium events the following day included three scholarly panels on the events of the airlift germany in the early cold war and the legacies and lessons of the airlift respectively the symposium concluded with a reception featuring an aggies in the airlift exhibit curated by the tamu libraries and the the deputy consul general from houston german consulate presenting col halvorsen a gift in recognition of his service and heroic actions during the airlift read more about event details online
jasen castillo academic director of the albritton center for grand strategy published an article passing the torch: criteria for implementing a grand strategy of offshore balancing in the new voices in grand strategy symposium produced by the center for a new american security the article can be read online
us navy sailors from the cvn-77 carrier met with bush school of government and public service students to share stories about how the carrier named after president george h w bush is unique in its focus on family sailors who have served for more than twenty years said the ship uniquely stresses public service in local communities the cvn-77 is the only aircraft carrier that has been named after an aviator member and a former living president there has been no other president who attended the commissioning of a ship one sailor told a story about how they could see the impact that one person can have referencing president bush bush school students were able to ask the sailors questions about what it is like to serve on a ship named after a leader who stressed the importance of public service sailors said there was a personal touch about the ship and said it was different from other ones they have served on students asked about the challenges of serving on a ship and sailors responded with personal obstacles but said it was an honor to serve their country the sailors volunteered at the brazos valley food bank and also presented a wheel of the uss george h w bush aircraft carrier to the george h w bush presidential library and museum