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istpp associate research scientist xinsheng liu and director arnold vedlitz along with former istpp post-doctorate research associate hyung sam park have published their article analyzing climate change debates in the us congress: party control and mobilizing networks in risks hazards and crisis in public policy in this study the authors determine that party control has significantly affected the dynamics of climate change debates in the us congress the results of their statistical and network analysis indicate that democratic congresses tend to seek-out scientific evidence for global climate change and advance energy-regulatory policies with a focus on mobilizing environmentalists and scientific knowledge while republican congresses tend to mobilize pro-industrial and non-scientific opinions and expand the debates by bringing in diverse witnesses who focus on the implications of international climate negotiations and the economic impacts of policy changes hyung sam park xinsheng liu and arnold vedlitz 2014 analyzing climate change debates in the us congress: party control and mobilizing networks risks hazards and crisis in public policy 5(3): 239–258 doi: 101002/rhc312062

andrew ross a professor in the department of international affairs earned his ma and phd at cornell university and his ba summa cum laude at american university ross joined the bush school faculty in august 2014 following a nine-year appointment at the university of new mexico (unm) where he served as a professor of political science; director of the center for science technology and policy; and director of special science engineering and policy research initiatives in the office of the vice president for research ross taught a course on national security and defense planning in the fall and will lead a capstone on cyber security deterrence norms and governance in the spring the capstone program was an especially attractive feature of the schools curriculum ross said i like the interdisciplinary approach the school takes toward public policy and im a fan of applied work he added the capstone will assist the united states cyber command on a number of policy issues specifically the project will explore cyber deterrence and normative issues surrounding cyber security the field of cyber deterrence is a new frontier its the next generations nuclear policy ross said there are a number of policy questions that need to be answered such as ‘how do you recognize a cyber attack and ‘how do you know who attacked you rosss capstone assignment plays toward his academic and professional background prior to his appointment at unm in 2005 ross spent sixteen years at the us naval war college where he served as a research professor in the strategic research department of the colleges center for naval warfare studies acting director of the advanced research program co-lead of the post-9/11 strategy task group professor in the national security affairs department and secretary of the navy senior research fellow he received the department of the navy meritorious civilian service award in 2002 in addition to his academic appointment ross is also a senior fellow at the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) a nonpartisan interdisciplinary public policy institute based at the bush school the institute examines how policies are crafted to address critical issues brought about by changes in science and technology ive been working at the intersection of science technology and public policy my entire career ross said so the bush school and istpp are an excellent fit for me along with the capstone projects ross cites numerous other factors that attracted him to the school a key motivation for me was getting the opportunity to work with such great colleagues the school definitely knows how to build a great program ross said the bush school isnt that old but weve quickly established a solid reputation in public affairs in addition to working with high-caliber faculty members ross says he is regularly impressed by the quality of the students in his classes he says he is thankful for the small class size because it gives him a better platform from which to engage students the courses i teach are very hands-on in fact most of the classes taught at the school are seminar style ross said i frequently run exercises recently i split my class into two groups; and we held a debate on the militarization of space its all about applying research findings to real-world problems and issues the principal investigator and leader of several major federally funded research initiatives professor ross work on us grand strategy national security and defense planning regional security weapons proliferation and security and economics has appeared in numerous journals and books his current research is focused on three areasus grand strategy defense and military innovation and nuclear policy and strategy ross plans to develop and teach a course on nuclear policy and strategy as far as the future of his time at the bush school goes ross said hes looking forward to further interactions with students including helping them through their studies and helping them find jobs post-graduation im looking forward to doing more capstones and working with students in that capacity ross said i have a number of contacts in the businessprivate public and labsand that will hopefully present opportunities for future capstone projects as well as internship and job placement for students

not only should the united states lift its ban on exporting oil and natural gas in light of todays economic and political climate but it was wrong to ever ban such exports in the first place contend two top scholars at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university dr james griffin an authority on energy and public policy and dr gregory gause an expert on the middle east make that argument in the new issue of the takeaway published by the bush schools mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy in free trade in oil and natural gas: the case for lifting the ban on us energy exports the authors say that the us should cease to view its energy resources as a purely domestic issue but rather a global one that impacts not only global prices in energy but also international affairs griffin and gause say they believe that energy security is a world-wide problem not a us china or european union problem and that all are dependent on the world oil market as the us seeks to extricate itself from energy dependence on the middle east increase its energy security through trade and innovation and maintain a robust economy the benefits of lifting the ban on us energy exports outweigh the costs say the authors they propose that allowing us exports could add 87 million barrels per day of crude oil to the world market while also reducing possible shocks to the world economy griffin and gause also believe that lifting a ban on us natural gas exports could reassure western allies and send a message to russia to stop holding europeans hostage to its high gas prices in times of political strife griffin is a professor in the bush school and holds the bob bullock chair in public policy and finance gause a noted middle east scholar heads the bush schools department of international affairs and holds the john h lindsey 44 chair to read the full report go to http://bushtamuedu/mosbacher/takeaway/

students and one alum from the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university are launching a youth empowerment program in rwanda called the youth ag-education innovation cooperative (yaic) they have partnered with wefeedus and building bridges with rwanda (bbr) to implement the program which will begin in september 2015 levi brewer and nate haight from the bush school along with juan whiting and shiva thompson students in texas a&ms agriculture international development program are leading the project on campus also participating are taya brown who will enroll at texas a&m in the spring and currently is studying agriculture and food systems at washington state university and bush school alumnus andrew mccardle who also earned a masters degree in fisheries and mariculture from texas a&m corpus christi building bridges with rwanda is a community development program that seeks to link residents and volunteers to rebuild rwanda wefeedus provides scalable commercial aquaponic models for growing sustainable food and supporting the development of renewable energy ecosystems yaics goal is to change the negative perception of agriculture held by many young people by offering a viable agri-business model based on agri-tourism and aquaponics both emerging growth areas within agriculture they believe that unemployment can be reduced by giving young people tools that make them economically self-sufficient through entrepreneurial agri-business strategies and skills that add value to the countrys agricultural sector and also address food insecurity within rwanda yaics long-term goal is to create a model that can be replicated throughout the world bbr founder lama mugabo is currently working with youth in goshora rwanda he has engaged yaic and several universities including texas a&m to establish study abroad programs that encourage intercultural exchange and agri-tourism these overseas study programs offer american students an experience that has a significant impact both for themselves and those they help in rwanda in announcing the yaic partnership mike andrus wefeedus founder and ceo said we want to provide youth with practical experience and share our entrepreneurial spirit with young minds who will one day take responsibility for our planet wefeedus previously built a proof of concept aquaponic facility in pennsylvania and now plans to build large scale agriculture innovation centers throughout the us and abroad the centers will include aquaponic hydroponic and algae growth systems by providing financial as well as in-kind support to the yaic mission wefeedus seeks to build awareness of aquaponic facilities and demonstrate their ability to provide sustainable solutions that address global food insecurity nate haight says we think this project is a good fit with the bush schools commitment to public service as a noble calling anyone interested in supporting funding or partnering with this project can contact the yaic team at yaicteam@gmailcom or follow our work on facebook

government assistance programs like medicaid food stamps and home heating aid all play an important role in the war against poverty; but that assistance is poorly targeted say two scholars from the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service located at texas a&m university in a new issue of the institutes publication the takeaway dr lori taylor an economist and director of the institute and jawad dar a graduate research assistant and masters student at the bush school argue that the poverty thresholds used to determine assistance are based on poverty measures that are geographically biased and financially incomplete in the war on poverty needs a new map the authors describe the poverty measures used by the federal government to distribute aid and the factors those measurements ignore they pinpoint a key problem with the existing poverty measuresthe government uses the same poverty level in rural arkansas as in new york city as a result families in high cost-of-living areas are ineligible for assistance even though their need is greater than that of families who are receiving assistance in low cost-of-living areas it is unconscionable and clearly wasteful for federal anti-poverty programs to ignore such basic differences in need says taylor taylor and dar propose that replacing the federal poverty level with cost-adjusted poverty thresholds would allow federal benefits to be targeted more efficiently and make federal anti-poverty programs more effective they do not minimize the political difficulties noting that any changes to poverty level measures will have winners and losers; but they conclude that this change is the right thing to do to read the full report go to http://bushtamuedu/mosbacher/takeaway/

students at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university recently participated in a video teleconference with their counterparts from the russian diplomatic academy – the institution charged with training the russian federations diplomatic service during the conference bush school and russian students discussed a wide range of issues including ukraine nato p5+1 negotiations china and middle east stability the conference was initiated by ambassador larry napper senior lecturer at the bush school and career diplomat with decades of experience in us-russia relations as well as professor oleg ivanov chairman of the department of political science at the russian diplomatic academy in moscow twelve bush school studentsa number of whom have professional and academic experience working with russian affairsexchanged ideas and opinions with some twenty russian counterparts this was a great opportunity to discuss areas of agreement and disagreement between american and russian perspectives on current world events said mark swenson a second-year student in international affairs it was good to see the differing interpretations the conversation was civil and professional with an ability to agree to disagree napper added in the wake of current events in eastern europe and the middle east informal diplomacy between each countrys citizens offers valuable insight into world events beyond official reports on the increasingly tense us-russian relationship this event is one of many that the bush school has held in recent months intended to stimulate discussion into the past present and future of the us-european relationship opportunities such as these – to engage with our russian peers to learn from professors with a wealth of experience and to work with colleagues with a depth of knowledge and experience – offer tremendous value to the education of students at the bush school said robert barron second-year international affairs student the teleconference was the second such event this year between the bush school and russian diplomatic academy both sides expressed interest in furthering the relationship in the future through collaborative conferences and joint projects

north koreas authoritarian government is responsible for the devastating famine that killed as many as 25 million of its citizens in the 1990s even though it did not deliberately set out to do so asserted andrew s natsios a former administrator of the us agency for international development (usaid) and now director of the scowcroft institute for international affairs at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university natsios offered expert testimony in washington at last weeks hearing of the un commission of inquiry into human rights in north korea unlike the stalinist famine in the 1930s which was designed to force collectivization and eliminate the kulak class of landed peasants the north korean regimes refusal to adopt policies which would have mitigated the situation was based primarily on the fear of losing power said natsios in his testimony the un commission is studying violations of the right to food and determining accountability for the great famine as well as possible crimes against humanity they will present their findings and recommendations to the uns human rights council in march in 2001 natsios published the great north korean famine a book based on extensive research with agencies and individuals involved in the area as well as interviews with north korean defectors he concluded that even if natural causes had been one of the factors contributing to the famine once it knew about the problem kim jong ils government did not act to address it he was in charge he was responsible he knew what was going on and he chose not to buy food and give it to the people natsios said the leaders had to know the effects of the famine since government reports showed huge drops in childrens heights and weights due to malnutrition it was not incompetence that exacerbated the problem but rather a deliberate policy decision that favored survival of the regime rather than aid to the population natsios said he told the commission that the north korean government has violated their obligation to protect peoples right to food by implementing misguided policies hindering aid and withholding food from those considered to be disloyal to the regime the government is responsible for the failure to feed their people to reform their economic system and for putting the maintenance of their own power above all natsios said prior to joining the bush school natsios was a distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy at georgetown university and administrator of usaid from 2001-2006 during that time he managed reconstruction programs in afghanistan iraq and sudan

ann bowman a professor at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university was inducted as a fellow of the national academy of public administration (napa) at the organizations meeting in washington dc bowman is a professor in the department of public service and administration and holds the hazel davis and robert kennedy endowed chair in government and public service at the bush school napa is an independent nonprofit and nonpartisan organization chartered by congress in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective efficient accountable and transparent organizations bowman joins an elite group of some 800 other fellows including former cabinet officers members of congress governors mayors and state legislators as well as prominent scholars business executives and public administrators the academy helps the federal government address its critical management challenges through in-depth studies and analyses advisory services and technical assistance congressional testimony forums and conferences bush school executive associate dean arnold vedlitz praised bowmans record of scholarly accomplishment which led to the fellowship dr bowmans selection as a napa fellow recognizes and honors her significant contributions to the field of public policy and administration vedlitz said her research and extensive publication record have had a major effect on state-level public policy development in the areas of environment economic development land use and intergovernmental relations bowman joined the bush school faculty in 2008 coming from the university of south carolina where she was the james f and maude b byrnes professor of government she has published articles in various scholarly journals her most recent book co-authored with richard c kearney is the ninth edition of state and local government published by wadsworth her latest research explores interactions among governments particularly interstate cooperation and competition and state actions toward local governments a fulbright scholar bowman has won the donald c stone award for research given by the section on intergovernmental administration and management of the american society for public administration and has been president of three organized sections of the american political science association she is set to become president-elect of the southern political science association in 2015 being chosen a napa fellow is a career milestone bowman said napa casts a long shadow in the public sector; the academys studies of the federal system have led to important changes in agency structure and program design i look forward to participating in subsequent napa studies especially those with a state and local government focus

one of the nations leading foundations that encourages graduate students to pursue careers with the federal government in foreign policy and international affairs today announced that 14 students attending five of the nations top international studies graduate schools will comprise its 2016 class of fellows four of the foundations 14 class of 2016 fellows are first-year students at the texas a&m universitys bush school for government and public service the robertson foundation identifies and nurtures future us government leaders in the areas of national security foreign policy and international affairs the foundation provides scholarships internship stipends and additional career support to graduate students at select universities the fellows as a program requirement agree to work for the federal government for a minimum of three of their first seven years after graduation the four first-year bush school students that earned robertson foundation for government fellowships are nathenial haight charlotte karrlsson-willis gabrielle keleher and jerica ward i congratulate the new class of robertson fellows and welcome each to a growing cohort of young leaders who are committed to serving our nation both here and abroad said foundation board of directors president katherine ernst these young men and women are the fulfillment of the robertson foundation for government mission which is to meet the federal governments increasing need for young leaders as more than half of its employees become retirement-eligible in the next two years we are looking forward to working with the new fellows and they have our full support going forward there are currently 33 robertson fellows enrolled at five of nations top graduate schools for international studies and foreign affairs those schools are: tufts universitys fletcher school the maxwell school of syracuse university the university of marylands school of public policy the university of california san diegos school of international relations and pacific studies and texas a&ms bush school of government and public service of the 45 robertson fellows that have earned their masters degrees since the program started in 2010 80 percent are currently working for the federal government or in a government-related field robertson fellows are working at 11 different federal departments and agencies including the department of state the government accountability office the department of defense the department of homeland security and in the federal intelligence community and 24 robertson fellows have gone on to earn prestigious honors and awards including one fullbright scholar two presidential management fellowships three boren scholarships and 18 rosenthal fellowships

george hw bush 41st president of the united states will receive the robert schuman medal on monday november 10 during a bush school conference celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall one of the most far-reaching events in world history the schuman medal recognizes public figures who have advanced the cause of peace the construction of europe and human values through their public activities and personal commitment the presentation ceremony will take place prior to the key note address at 6 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center previous awardees have included former heads of state prime ministers members of the european parliament and leaders who have fought for human rights including former chancellor of germany helmut kohl current european commission president jean-claude juncker pope john paul ii and current chancellor of germany angela merkel president bush will be the first american awarded the medal bush school dean ryan crocker said that this prestigious honor for president bush is more than well-deserved throughout his long career in public service president bush was always mindful of human rights and the need to advance the cause of peace in the world said crocker it is especially appropriate for him to receive this recognition at a conference which revisits the world events in which he played such a major role the schuman medal was introduced in 1986 by the european peoples party (epp) and will be presented by elmar brok a member of the european parliament and current head of the foreign affairs committee the robert schuman medal is named for the french statesman who in 1950 proposed to germany and other nations ravaged by war that they establish peace between the peoples of europe on the basis of a new european community with strong democratic institutions; he is widely considered to be one of the founders of the european union the berlin wall conference at the bush school will bring together a unique group of individuals from the united states and europe to review these historic events and discuss their effect on international relations then and now many of the conference participants were directly involved in the momentous events of 1989 speakers will include lt general brent scowcroft (ret) and former secretary of state james baker both of whom were key advisors to president george hw bush on national security issues as well as bush school dean ryan crocker

on tuesday october 28 the director general of the international atomic energy association (iaea) yukiya amano spoke at the bush school of government and public service as part of his visit to texas a&m university his stop at texas a&m university was the first time the director general had visited a public us university the iaea known as the atoms for peace organization with the united nations works with member states and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies amano has as director general of iaea since 2009 a position that also grants him ambassador status during his three-day visit ambassador amano visited and received briefings at the nuclear security science and policy institute operated by the dwight look college of engineering at texas a&m university; the texas a&m school of public health; college of veterinary medicine diagnostic imaging & cancer treatment center; and emergency operations training center operated by the texas a&m engineering extension service following his campus briefings ambassador amano presented an atoms for peace lecture at the bush school prior to his lecture he met with key bush school officials regarding the future of nuclear technology policies after the lecture the bush school hosted a q&a session for attendees with ambassador amano texas a&m university is the only university in the region that offers an academic degree in nuclear engineering and operates a high-energy cyclotron and two nuclear reactors

istpp director vedlitz istpp fellow james stoutenborough and rebecca bromley-trujillo have published their article public support for climate change policy: consistency in the influence of values and attitudes over time and across specific policy alternatives in review of policy research in this study the authors examine the factors that explain public preferences for climate change policy using data from two national surveys taken three years apart the researchers analyze public support for five climate change policy options to clarify the extent to which attitudes and values affect support for specific policy considerations compared to their predictive ability for generalized policy support the research reveals that time matters and that those who are liberal hold strong ecological values express greater concern for climate change and trust experts show more support for each of the five climate policy options considered the authors conclude that the results shed new light on the nuanced views of the american public toward climate change this article was based on research conducted by istpp under two grants awarded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration james w soutenborough arnold vedlitz and rebecca bromley-trujillo 2014 public support for climate change policy: consistency in the influence of values and attitudes over time and across specific policy alternatives review of policy research 31(6): 555-583 doi: 101111/ropr12104

jerica ward master of international affairs 2015 is one of twenty students from around the nation chosen as a thomas r pickering fellow for 2014-15 ward is the first bush school student at texas a&m university to be selected for the program which is designed to attract outstanding individuals interested in a foreign service career with the us department of state the program is a collaboration between the us department of state and the woodrow wilson national fellowship foundation fellows can receive up to $37 000 annually to help cover the costs of their graduate education and also receive mentoring and professional development as they prepare to enter the foreign service ward graduated from cedarville university in ohio with a major in international studies and a minor in spanish and bible as an undergraduate she won a number of awards in the model united nations and forensic speech competitions after graduation jerica worked in the dominican republic and then as a peace corps volunteer in the philippines for two years she worked as a high school and university english/spanish teacher started a successful library project set up environmental service projects and worked as a trainer for usaid and a united nations hiv/aids initiative dean ryan crocker said that having a pickering fellow at the bush school is yet another indication of the schools academic prestige and the quality of the student body pickering fellowships are highly sought after by students interested in the foreign service and i congratulate jerica on being selected for this prestigious award crocker said the foreign service is a rewarding and challenging career and we need young people like jerica to serve our nation

scholars and russian experts will discuss the current state of russia under president vladimir putin at a nov 3 conference at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university entitled reassessing putins russia: tsarist dinosaur failed state or 21st-century predator the conference will feature presentations by noted russian experts including jim corum professor of terrorism and security studies at the university of salford uk; and david satter a leading russian scholar and former moscow correspondent among others the conference will be hosted by the bush schools scowcroft institute of international affairs and co-sponsored by texas a&ms college of liberal arts department of history and the glasscock center for humanities research the session will be held in the annenberg presidential conference center adjacent to the bush school the event is open to the public but reservations are required

co-authors lori taylor texas a&m associate professor and director of the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service timothy j gronberg and dennis w jansen texas a&m economics professors and mustafa u karakaplan a researcher at utah state university used cost-function analysis to simulate the consolidation the hope is that consolidating school districts will lower the cost of education by eliminating duplication of effort and enabling a better allocation of resources taylor explains it is well known that the per-pupil cost of operating a small district is much higher than the per-pupil cost of operating a larger one however there is a trade-off consolidation also reduces choice and school districts in texas are more efficient (in the sense that they produce better outcomes for the same money) where there is more choice the researchers contend that consolidating the school districts in those core counties of major metropolitan areas would lead to very large and likely very bureaucratic countywide school districts the simulation strongly indicates that such consolidations would lead to higher costs not cost savings and therefore that consolidation would be unlikely to improve student performance taylor notes she says there are many counties in texas where school districts are very small and consolidation would likely save money or enable increases in quality but the texas education code specifically called for an analysis of consolidation in these five counties where nearly all the students attend districts that are already large enough to take full advantage of economies of scale she points out the benefits of consolidation would be larger if the consolidated school district were able to close campuses but that is a very difficult proposition and it is not possible to anticipate which campuses a countywide district might choose to close the researchers conclude that although consolidation can work in these particular texas counties the school districts that result would simply be too large the bureaucratic burdens associated with very large school districts would overwhelm the gains from consolidating the smallest districts in these counties taylor notes furthermore we predict that by reducing the level of school choice this policy would increase inefficiency and increase spending in the school districts that share a metropolitan area with the new countywide districts she adds that the study confirms previous analyses that show school choice has a positive impact on school district efficiency taylor concludes by noting the important role universities can play in the policy process too often policymakers latch on to an idea that sounds good without being aware of all the likely consequences she says i think its important for the state that analyses like this be conducted especially when the findings dont align with conventional wisdom i like to think that our analysis will help the state avoid a potentially costly policy mistake

the bush school chapter of the alexander hamilton society (ahs) a university study organization has begun its second year as an active campus organization based in washington dc the ahs is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting constructive debate on contemporary issues in foreign economic and national security policy membership in the bush school chapter of ahs is open to anyone who shares the principles of the organization or would like to participate in the organizations events the main purpose of ahs is to foster debate and stimulate interest in current events related to international relations and security said ahs co-president and mpia 15 student rebeca orrie a students academic experience in the bush school would be greatly enhanced by joining ahs because of the opportunities to engage with other students on these issues there are fifty-three chapters of ahs in the united statesforty-nine university chapters and four professional chapters the bush school chapter is currently ranked 2nd nationally behind ohio state university following a successful inaugural year orrie says the chapter intends to move forward and fully capitalize on the potential of the growing organization the bush school chapter of ahs has one debate and one major fundraising event planned for this year thus far orrie said the first is the ahs trivia night which proved to be a huge success in raising funds for the organization last year it is returning upon popular demand from the students the fall main event is a debate between bush school professor dr jason castillo and ohio state professor dr peter mansoor the two will be discussing americas ability to deter aggression around the world in light of recent crises involving ukraine china and the isis the debate will be held on october 16th ahs provides a unique experience for students; they can listen to debates about issues in real time orrie said this emphasis on engaging with issues and policy options is the reason i joined ahs and the reason i stepped up to serve within it i think the ahs will prove to be an invaluable part of the bush school experience

abdokarim soroush one of the leading intellectuals in the muslim world will speak at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university on the relationship between religion and politics his presentation will be on tuesday october 14 at 6 pm in the annenberg presidential conference center the event is sponsored by the bush schools scowcroft institute of international affairs (siia) and the bodman foundation after studying in the west soroush returned to iran after the revolution where he initially supported the islamicization of irans universities but eventually rebelled against the theocracy imposed under ayatollah khomeini in recent years soroush has been widely criticized in iran and elsewhere in the muslim world for his outspoken support of religious pluralism and democracy named one of the worlds most influential thinkers by time and foreign policy magazines abdolkarim soroush has been a visiting professor at harvard a scholar in residence at yale and also taught at princeton university columbia university georgetown university and the wissenschaftskolleg in berlin soroushs lecture is open to the public but reservations are required no later than october 12

the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university awarded the 2014 mclane leadership in business award to cindy b taylor president and ceo of oil states international inc on october 2 2014 the annual award recognizes a prominent figure in private business for outstanding contributions at the national level to business public service or community service a bush school student meeting with cindy taylor marked the start of the event mrs taylor met with approximately 30 students before her presentation for an interactive and candid discussion session students had a unique opportunity to engage with the speaker and request her insights on a variety of topics ranging from professional development to the future outlook of the energy industry the student meeting was followed by a reception in the rotunda of the george bush presidential library and museum the mclane award program began with dr arnold vedlitz executive associate dean of the bush school welcoming the audience and distinguished guests including drayton mclane jr the award namesake; texas a&m university system board of regents chairman phil adams; texas a&m university system board of regents member john white; and texas a&m university vice president for finance and administration jerry strawser dr lori taylor director of the mosbacher institute gave opening remarks and invited mr mclane on stage to confer the award to mrs taylor after the award presentation mrs taylor spoke about the future outlook of the energy industry and the role of technology in dealing with future energy related challenges she shared important insights on the economics of energy independence and talked about the capacity limitations of energy transportation systems the event concluded with dr lori taylor joining mrs cindy taylor on stage for a question-answer session dr taylor posed a variety of questions touching upon topics like leadership professional development and student prospects in the industry in responding to the questions mrs taylor related to her life experiences and expressed her belief in distributive leadership and learning by doing students and faculty alike were very pleased to have in their midst the presence of such a strong industry leader the mosbacher institute is very grateful to mrs cindy taylor and mr drayton mclane jr for making this event possible a video of the event will be uploaded on the mosbacher institutes website shortly

dean ryan crocker has announced the appointment of ms cindy raisor as lecturer and director of the bush schools writing program cindy earned her ba and ma in english at texas a&m with an emphasis on rhetoric composition and linguistics with over twenty-five years of experience in the field she has been a lecturer at texas a&m in the departments of english physics and chemical engineering where she taught technical writing and rhetoric and composition courses in making the announcement dean crocker said i know cindy will be a huge asset in developing our students writing skills which are so important to their future we are delighted to welcome cindy to the bush school

distinguished scholars diplomats and government officials from the us and europe will come together at texas a&m university to celebrate and discuss the fall of the berlin wall one of the most dramatic and far-reaching events in world history the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m will host a conference entitled the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall and the liberation of eastern europe on nov 10 at the annenberg presidential conference center the decades-old wall separating east and west berlin was demolished 25 years ago liberating much of eastern europe from authoritarian regimes changing the face of europe and beginning the dissolution of the soviet union the conference will bring together a unique group of individuals to review these historic events and discuss their effect on international relations then and now many of the conference participants were directly involved in the momentous events of 1989 speakers will include lt general brent scowcroft (ret) and former secretary of state james baker both of whom were key advisors to president george hw bush on national security issues as well as bush school dean ryan crocker european participants will include elmar brok a member of the european parliament and current head of the foreign affairs committee; horst teltschik former security advisor to former german chancellor helmut kohl; and fredric bozo from the university of paris iii: sorbonne nouvelle ambassador larry napper of the bush school former deputy chief of mission at the us embassy in bucharest romania; ambassador robert hutchings dean of the lbj school of public affairs and former deputy director of radio free europe; and james graham wilson historian at the department of state are among the american scholars and policy experts who will participate in the conference others include jeff engel director presidential history projects southern methodist university and chris layne josh shifrinson and gabriella thornton from the bush school the event is open to the public but reservations are required

the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university awarded the 2014 mclane leadership in business award to cindy b taylor president and ceo of oil states international inc on october 2 2014 the annual award recognizes a prominent figure in private business for outstanding contributions at the national level to business public service or community service a bush school student meeting with cindy taylor marked the start of the event mrs taylor met with approximately 30 students before her presentation for an interactive and candid discussion session students had a unique opportunity to engage with the speaker and request her insights on a variety of topics ranging from professional development to the future outlook of the energy industry the student meeting was followed by a reception in the rotunda of the george bush presidential library and museum the mclane award program began with dr arnold vedlitz executive associate dean of the bush school welcoming the audience and distinguished guests including drayton mclane jr the award namesake; texas a&m university system board of regents chairman phil adams; texas a&m university system board of regents member john white; and texas a&m university vice president for finance and administration jerry strawser dr lori taylor director of the mosbacher institute gave opening remarks and invited mr mclane on stage to confer the award to mrs taylor after the award presentation mrs taylor spoke about the future outlook of the energy industry and the role of technology in dealing with future energy related challenges she shared important insights on the economics of energy independence and talked about the capacity limitations of energy transportation systems the event concluded with dr lori taylor joining mrs cindy taylor on stage for a question-answer session dr taylor posed a variety of questions touching upon topics like leadership professional development and student prospects in the industry in responding to the questions mrs taylor related to her life experiences and expressed her belief in distributive leadership and learning by doing students and faculty alike were very pleased to have in their midst the presence of such a strong industry leader the mosbacher institute is very grateful to mrs cindy taylor and mr drayton mclane jr for making this event possible drayton mclane with cindy taylor cindy taylor

on thursday september 18 2014 as part of the mosbacher institutes conversations in public policy event minister tony clement president of the treasury board of canada was scheduled to share his experiences in promoting accountability and transparency in the canadian federal government unfortunately due to urgent parliamentary business minister clement was unable to attend in person the canadian prime minister cancelled travel for all members of parliament to ensure they were present for a critical debate and vote although the event had to be canceled the mosbacher institute was able to arrange a teleconference meeting between dr cole blease grahams public budgeting class and minister tony clement the interactive session lasted for about one hour during which minister clement shared his experiences and took questions from students minister clement was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the discussion he had with the students and tweeted about the experience dr graham too was very pleased that his students got the opportunity to converse on a personal and professional level with such a distinguished public servant as minister clement class members were really impressed with minister clement and his discussion we spent at least another half hour reflecting on his presentation points and implications for best practices in public budgeting students expressed the hope they may be able to serve with an individual like minister clement in the future said dr graham students in the class were equally thrilled to have had this opportunity matthew watson second year student at the bush school felt that students learned a great deal and improved their grasp on budgeting in public service due to their interaction with minister clement: the opportunity to interact with minister clement was invaluable to me and my classmates we were able to have direct access to one of the most influential budgeting officers in the world and ask him candid questions regarding the differences in public administration budgeting and the political processes in our countries mr watson also added that in addition to being very knowledgeable about the nexus of politics finance and policy formation minister clement was able to provide insights on a number of topics affecting canada and the united states today ranging from technological advances in the public service to the performance-based budgeting movement in government affairs the mosbacher institute is very grateful to minister clement for making the teleconference possible and is pleased to be able to share a recorded video via the link above additionally the institute hopes to arrange for the minister to visit in person at some future date

in the ideological zeal and tenacity of isis the us hasnt seen such a determined enemy since hitlers germany or imperial japan says a national security policy expert at texas a&m university professor jasen castillo examines this growing terrorist threat as well as other potential dangers from the middle east and countries such as russia and north korea through the lens of his cohesion theory a framework he developed in hopes of helping analysts and strategists gauge the staying power of military forces before the us goes to war we should know what motivates an adversary and how hard it will fight explains castillo a professor at the bush school of government and public service who uses the theories and methods of social science to address problems in national security what we dont want to do is assume every opponent we face will disintegrate like the iraqi army in 2003and he adds the us should also avoid extreme optimism about the ability of technology to trump the tenacity of potential opponents especially the use of airpower in examining the staying power of military forces castillo asks why do some countrys militaries fight hard when facing defeat while others collapse the cohesion theory proposes to answer this question using two factors: the degree of control a regime holds over its citizens and the amount of autonomy the armed forces possess to focus on training for war to create resilient militaries governments face several choices: they can exert a high degree of control over the country (the former soviet union) they can allow military organizations the autonomy to train (the united states) they can do both (imperial japan) or they can fail to do either (south vietnam) castillo explains with a high degree of regime control governments instill and enforce norms of unconditional loyalty throughout the population a hard-core group of regime supporters inside the military will fight no matter the strategic circumstances and coerce others to do the same high regime control explains why hitlers germany fought to the bitter end but the kaisers germany did not in looking at troublesome areas globally castillo applies the theory finding some military forces may prove harder to defeat than others cohesion theory would suggest ethnic and sectarian division would undermine the staying power of the iraqi army he notes these are problems that also undermine the professionalism of the afghan national army the us is trying to build he finds a fight against the rising islamic state may be a hard-fought victory and fighting for their lives the assad regime in syria will also fight very hard while in eastern europe the ukrainian army does well when it fights rebels but not when it comes up against regular russian forces when this happens its units of poorly trained conscripts break and run castillo a former department of defense policy planner explores cohesion theory in his book endurance and war: the national sources of military cohesion he examines the performance of various militaries from the first and second world wars as well as the vietnam war and contends that traditional arguments on military staying power fail to address key issues one view argues the key to creating militaries with strong cohesion is through small-unit training he explains armies made up of ‘bands of brothers fight the hardest this view however ignores instances where militaries fought hard even though state terror poor training practices or terribly high casualties undermined small-unit bonds the brave performance of the soviet red army during world war ii comes to mind a second view argues a countrys ideology motivates a nations armed forces especially nationalism although ideologies sometime rally a countrys armed forces at other times they fall on deaf ears as with french military in 1940 and in mussolinis italy in world war ii and a third view claims democracies produce the militaries with the greatest staying power the historical record however suggests non-democracies − like north vietnam communist china and the soviet union − fight with equal if not more determination on the battlefield castillo contends the us should be wary of militaries with a high degree of organizational autonomy these types of armed forces can cultivate norms of unconditional loyalty and trust among their personnel these norms will motivate most units even reserve units to fight with determination and flexibility on the battlefield written by lesley henton texas a&m university division of marketing & communications

dr joshua shifrinson has won the lucian pye award for the outstanding phd thesis given annually by the department of political science at the massachusetts institute of technology (mit) shifrinson earned his phd at mit in 2013 and is an assistant professor in the ia program at the bush school the pye award was established in honor of the late professor lucian pye in recognition of his scholarly contributions to political science and his significant role as a teacher and advisor of graduate students in past years pye award winners have come from institutions around the country and the world such as the university of chicago georgetown university the university of texas-austin and the australia national university shifrinson shared this years award with michele margolis soon to be on the faculty of the university of pennsylvania at mit his research emphasis was on international relations and security studies his dissertation focused on a central question undergirding american foreign policy: when and why do rising states use supportive rather than predatory strategies to manage declining great powers finding existing arguments wanting i developed a theory arguing that rising state strategy is determined by whether the declining state can help the rising state maintain a balance of power said shifrinson his dissertation studies included significant historical research into the rise and decline of great powers especially american policy toward the ussr at the end of the cold war this case was particularly important to the project and i was privileged to gain access to president george h w bushs archives at the george bush presidential library as well as interview over 50 senior policymakers from the bush and reagan administrations said shifrinson as new documents come to light i am working to revise the history add additional cases and look forward to publishing a book that i hope will influence policymakers and scholars alike he added

jose d villalobos is an associate professor of political science and the provosts faculty fellow-in-residence in the center for civic engagement at the university of texas at el paso he received his bachelor of arts degree from the university of texas at san antonio and his doctoral degree from texas a&m university he received the george c edwards iii dissertation award for best dissertation on the us presidency awarded by the presidency research group of the american political science association in 2009 his most recent achievement is the university of texas system regents outstanding teaching award and he also was awarded uteps most distinguished faculty member award for commitment to teaching excellence earlier in 2014 his core areas of research are presidential management/policymaking and the public presidency in particular he focuses on questions that explore how and why presidential managerial and rhetorical strategies influence policymaking performance and in turn how the public influences and appraises such efforts he is also interested in studies on race/ethnicity and immigration his publications include articles in political research quarterly presidential studies quarterly administration & society public administration review of policy research international journal of public opinion research international journal of public administration international journal of conflict management contemporary politics and race gender & class dr villalobos currently serves as a board member for the presidents & executive politics section of the american political science association he recently served as the executive politics section chair for the 2013 western political science association conference and has been selected to serve as the presidential/executive politics section chair for the 2015 southern political science association conference he was also selected to serve as a keynote speaker for the mexican-american bar association of el paso and lulac prior to that he served as president of the midwest latino/a caucus section of the midwest political science association from 2008-2011 at utep dr villalobos serves as a fellow for the center for excellence in teaching and learning director of student enhancement and external relations faculty senator member of the political science departments undergraduate committee and department website manager on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service

from its inception the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university has been committed to ensuring a diverse student body faculty and staff assistant dean for career and student services dr matthew upton says that a newly formed student group of diversity advocates will play a significant role in ensuring that this commitment is fully met these students will enhance our diversity programming and facilitate ongoing discussions within the school on diversity issues since we believe that is an essential part of a graduate education in public and international affairs said upton kristina miller and khrystyna konopatska will co-chair the schools student government association diversity organization for the 2014-2015 academic year other students involved in the diversity effort include caitlin carlo juan manuel pintor martinez alexander buhler-rose kwame twumasi hugo hernandez and herilala fanomezantsoa these students will facilitate discussion groups host speakers and events and serve as advocates for diversity upton said im confident they will significantly enhance our diversity program and ensure that we have a broad range of student input into all such efforts he added i am excited to become a diversity advocate at the bush school as part of my fulbright mission to increase mutual understanding between the people of the united states and the people of other countries such as madagascar said herilala fanomezantsoa a master of public service and administration student from madagascar the bush school advocates attended the national student leadership diversity conference (nsldc) in new york city july 31-august 3 2014 along with 150 students and advisors from forty-four schools and twenty-two states including the director of student affairs at a&m qatar the largest such national gathering the conference addressed the most critical topics of diversity and social justice challenging campuses today through experiential workshops keynote sessions and round table discussions teams of students explored various elements of diversity and how they affect their campuses conference workshops covered a range of topics including race and class bridging the gender divide conflict resolution and creating effective diversity programs

as someone with extensive knowledge and experience in afghanistan and around the world texas a&m bush school dean ryan crocker was a logical choice to take part in the peace through business® program (ptb) which helps educate and support women entrepreneurs across the globe crocker moderated the at&t/institute for the empowerment of womens panel discussion in dallas on july 16 at which ptb graduates talked about how empowering women in these countries can lead to economic prosperity the dallas meeting was part of the final phase of the 2014 program during which twenty-eight women from afghanistan and rwanda who have persevered through poverty and war celebrated their past achievements and their hope for a better tomorrow i firmly believe that education for women in afghanistan is essential for the countrys future said crocker i know from personal experience what it takes for women there and in other developing countries to find the courage and strength to strike out as entrepreneurs and i was honored to meet these remarkable women and hear their stories of success against sometimes overwhelming odds he said he thanked the at&t foundation for its support of this important program peace through business® is a training program designed to provide long-term business education to women entrepreneurs in afghanistan and rwanda dr terry neese former national president of the national association of women business owners and founder of the nonprofit institute for economic empowerment of women started the program in 2006 ieew now oversees the program which consists of a ten-week course in-country followed by a leadership development program and graduation in the united states neese noted that 2014 marks the eighth year of the peace through business® program we are honored to once again have the support of the city of dallas and our corporate sponsors like at&t in the ongoing effort to build a strong foundation economically socially and politically for these women and to ensure that the opportunities are sustainable she said this years participants own businesses that range from fashion to car mechanics to film production in addition to seminars and training while in dallas each of the women is paired with an american woman business owner in a matched profession lives in her home and goes to work with her each day for one week this provides a one-on-one opportunity to experience firsthand skills the women will use in their businesses when they return home on july 28 and 29 at&t and peace through business® will host the international womens economic summit at the at&t university in las colinas tx the peace through business® program will conclude with a graduation celebration at the george w bush presidential center

paul p van riper scholar teacher administrator and community activist passed away from natural causes in colorado on july 11 2014 at age 97 paul van ripers multifaceted career spanned 70+ years his teaching career included posts at northwestern university cornell and texas a&m he also held visiting positions at george washington university the university of chicago indiana university the university of strathclyde (scotland) the university of michigan the university of oklahoma and the university of utah in 1970 van riper became head of the political science department at texas a&m one year after the department was separated from history he retired from the faculty for the first time in 1981 but then returned to teach part time in the political science department and the bush school of government until 2008 under his leadership the political science department grew from 13 faculty members to 41 and during his tenure the behavioral approach was introduced to political science at texas a&m dr van riper is the author of two foundational works in public administration – history of the united states civil service (1958) and the american federal executive (1963) co-authored with w lloyd warner norman h martin and orvis f collins and numerous articles in professional journals history of the united states civil service is still considered the definitive history of the merit system in the united states bridging the historical contributions of leonard white and david rosenbloom the american federal executive remains the most extensive analysis of government and business elites in the united states in 1990 he received the dwight waldo award from the american society for public administration for lifetime contribution to the literature of public administration in 2001 the american society for public administration created the paul p van riper award to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to research teaching and service in public administration within the field of public administration van riper was known especially for his encyclopedic knowledge of the field paul pritchard van riper was born on july 29 1916 in laporte indiana his mother was a teacher and his father was both superintendent of instruction for the public schools and a local partisan activist foreshadowing pauls own intellectual interest in political science and the administration of public programs paul was the valedictorian of his high school class and attended depauw university on a rector scholarship majoring in history with a minor in social science van riper received his phd in political science from the university of chicago in 1947 majoring in public administration his dissertation written under the direction of leonard white was on the history of the us civil service while at chicago van riper became a charter member of the american society for public administration graduate school was interrupted by world war ii and paul joined the us army quartermaster corps initially serving as an officer in a black platoon (the army was segregated at the time) and eventually deploying to france as a post d-day logistics officer in france he was awarded the croix de guerre by the french government for his service van riper remained in the army reserve after the war eventually attaining the rank of lt colonel in the army reserves in 1952 paul joined the faculty at the graduate school of business and public administration at cornell university at the time the first generic school of management training individuals for careers in both business and government he had an active role in the administration of both the school and the university serving as director of the phd program for the school and secretary of the faculty both for the school and the university he was the chief administrative officer for the cornell constituent assembly tasked with reorganizing the university in 1969-70 community service played a major role in paul van ripers life he was an active member of beta theta pi social fraternity and served on its national board of directors as national vice president and for two years as its chief administrative officer he served as a member of the board of directors of the brazos valley community action agency president of the bryan-college station rotary club an active member and officer of the brazos county historical commission president (and a founder) of citizens for historical preservation (now the brazos heritage society) and a member and secretary of the advisory council for the brazos valley retired senior volunteer program (rsvp) pauls interest in historic preservation was incorporated into his personal life he and his recently deceased wife dorothy purchased and restored multiple historic houses in bryan and in college station in a coverpiece for a published oral history project on van riper former president george h w bush says pauls belief in the integrity of civil and community service has served as the foundation for bringing together public administration scholars and practitioners he believes that public administration is about practicing management not just teaching it; that it is about serving your country; and that it is about making community service central to your life and work on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service

dean ryan crocker has announced the appointment of dr f gregory gause iii as the first head of the department of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university as professor of international affairs gause also will hold the john h lindsey ‘44 chair at the school gause comes to the school from the university of vermont where he was professor of political science served as chair of the department of political science from 2010 to 2013 and directed the universitys middle east studies program from 1998 to 2008 he is also a non-resident senior fellow at the brookings doha center gause received his phd in political science from harvard university and also studied arabic at the american university in cairo and middlebury college a noted middle east scholar for more than two decades and widely recognized for his expertise 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 middle east journal security studies and other journals and edited volumes he has testified on 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 gause was on the faculty at columbia university and was fellow for arab and islamic studies at the council on foreign relations in new york he was the kuwait foundation visiting professor of international affairs at the kennedy school of government harvard university in fall 2009 and a fulbright scholar at the american university in kuwait in spring 2009 he was a research fellow at the king faisal center for islamic studies and research in riyadh saudi arabia in spring 2010 we are delighted to have dr gause join our faculty and provide leadership for the department of international affairs said dean crocker his reputation for superb scholarship and expertise as well as his close ties to the middle east will significantly enhance our international affairs academic programs he added

as the terrorist group isis continues to wreak havoc in iraq the international community and the media are searching for response and advice from experts on middle east conflict one of whom is former us ambassador to iraq (2007-2009) ryan crocker who currently serves as dean of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university crocker who was also ambassador to afghanistan (2011-2012) pakistan (2004-2007) syria (1998-2001) kuwait (1994-1997) and lebanon (1990-1993) has a long history as a diplomat and foreign policy advisor since the current crisis has unfolded in iraq crockers analysis and opinions have been highly sought by some of the worlds top media outlets including cbs news cnn msnbc and the washington post crocker says he recognizes the value of responding to media inquiries and in light of his vast experience in middle east conflict feels a responsibility to give his insight in times of crisis i have every reason to believe that president george hw bush founded the bush school in order to make an impact in national and international affairs says crocker our faculty includes a wide variety of experts in homeland security and counterterrorism conflict and foreign policy defense policy and public leadership just to name a few as public servants i feel it is our duty to assist and advise when and where we can

istpp director arnold vedlitz along with istpp associate research scientist xinsheng liu and istpp fellow james stoutenborough have published their article trends in public attitudes toward climate change: the influence of the economy and climategate on risk information and public policy in risk hazards & crisis in public policy by comparing the publics perceptions attitudes and behaviors about climate change across three unique national surveys conducted in 2004 2007 and 2013 the researchers examined two competing explanations – climategate and the economic downturn for the decline in public support to enact climate change policy in the united states following the high levels of support for climate policy seen in 2007 this article was based on three separate national public opinion surveys the 2004 survey and the 2007 survey were both conducted under research grants awarded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration the third survey was funded by istpp and completed in 2013 james w stoutenborough xinsheng liu and arnold vedlitz 2014 trends in public attitudes toward climate change: the influence of the economy and climategate on risk information and public policy risk hazards & crisis in public policy 5(1):22–37

valerie hudson a noted scholar of gender issues and of foreign policy says she was not surprised to learn that the islamic militant organization boko haram had kidnapped 300 schoolgirls in nigeria but is of the opinion leaders of that group did not expect the worldwide reaction boko haram was startled that anyone outside nigeria cared about these girls let alone that this action would create a worldwide storm states hudson who holds the george hw bush chair at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university and is an authority on international security and foreign policy analysis girls are regularly sold as brides by their fathers and women are considered chattel in that society in practical terms the subjugation of women in nigeria fuels the creation of terrorist groups she adds hudsons extensive expertise in the relationship between the status of women and a nations security was recently underscored when she was selected to receive a $900 000 minerva grant she will share the prestigious and highly competitive grant from the department of defense (dod) with three colleagues donna lee bowen and pepetua lynne nelson from brigham young university and rebecca nielsen from yale the minerva initiative a university-based social science research initiative focusing on areas of strategic importance to us national security policy was created to expand the us department of defenses basic understanding of the social cultural behavioral and political forces at work in regions of strategic importance to the us dod is also interested in gaining the knowledge it needs to help implement the national action plan for women peace and security established in 2011 through this initiative hudson and her colleagues will study how gender family legal and related issues and the overall status of women affect political and economic organization and inter- and intra-state sociopolitical conflicts this research will heighten the dods strategic forecasting ability and help them deal with terrorist threats like those posed by boko haram hudson states founded in 2002 boko haram opposes education for girls and seeks to establish a pure islamic state ruled by sharia law thereby braking what it deems westernization in a widespread climate of repression women in africa (and other parts of the world) may be denied health care and education as well as access to loans to help them create businesses and improve their status polygynymales having multiple female partners or wivesis rampant in northern nigeria facilitating terrorist recruitment and domestic violence and subjugation of women are pandemic in a recent opinion piece hudson notes that since the literacy rate among women is only 50 percent in nigeria the girls at the chibok boarding school were daughters of women who knew the importance of education and were willing to sacrifice for their girls future the kidnapping highlights the clash between two possible nigerian futures she cites two visions one in which everything is for men … to take and use for private ends power wealth women girls producing a land full of bloodshed and corruption and waste and another where men and women work together to ensure safety health progress and prosperity for all we know that women can only become active partners in building peace and preventing conflict when they are safe and able to express their experiences and make their voices heard hudson says since women make up half the earths population knowing what obstacles they face in various societies and communities is vital in developing international strategies to improve their status and assure peace she adds thanks to hudson texas a&m is now home to the largest and most comprehensive database on the status of women (http://womanstatsorg) which has generated both academic and policy interest worldwide this resource has more information than the world bank or the united nations hudson says she and her co-principal investigators of the womenstats project have published a wide variety of empirical work linking the security of women to the security of states which has appeared in such journals as international security the journal of peace research political psychology and politics and gender bush school dean ryan crocker a former ambassador and career diplomat notes that hudsons research is bringing a new and important perspective to how the united states deals with womens rights in other countries as a national security issue in our country dr hudson and her colleagues are providing vital empirical evidence of the importance of women in bringing stability and peace to their nations crocker says that is a critical interest of this country her work and teaching enhance our scholarship as we educate future leaders and public servants hudsons most recent book forthcoming in late 2014 is the hillary doctrine: how sex came to matter in american foreign policy

istpp assistant director xinsheng liu and director arnold vedlitz along with co-author liu shi have published their article examining the determinants of public environmental concern: evidence from national public surveys in environmental science & policy in the article the authors examine the changes over time in individual-level factors – socio-demographic variables political orientations and personal beliefs or worldviews about human-nature relations – that drive citizens environmental concern in the united states they found that political liberals people with higher new ecological paradigm values females and non-whites tend to be more concerned about environmental problems they also uncovered some interesting findings when compared to previous studies: a positive relationship between age and environmental concern rather than the typically seen inverse relationship and little effect of education level on environmental concern which typically has shown a positive relationship this article was based on two research projects funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and another project funded by istpp and a texas sea grant (also through noaa) xinsheng liu arnold vedlitz and liu shi 2014 examining the determinants of public environmental concern: evidence from national public surveys environmental science & policy available online at https://dxdoiorg/101016/jenvsci201402006

in honor of their father the late congressman thomas ludlow ashley meredith and mark ashley created the thomas ludlow ashley endowed scholarship at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university the scholarship will be awarded on a competitive basis and selected by a committee of faculty and staff of the school recipients will be recognized as the thomas ludlow ashley scholars during their time at the bush school representative ashley served in congress from 1954 until his retirement in 1980 representing the 9th congressional district in ohio which included his hometown of toledo a staunch liberal and a fierce advocate for landmark anti-poverty and housing legislation ashley was known as a thoughtful and skilled legislator who could create bipartisan agreement on difficult issues he was called mr housing by his congressional colleagues and worked diligently to create public housing programs in the 1960s and 1970s in particular the housing and community development acts of 1974 and 1977 ashley was known universally as lud and was a long-time friend of president george hw bush they became best friends at yale after world war ii and maintained a close friendship until ashleys death in 2010 congressman ashley was a member of the george bush foundation board of directors and never missed a meeting despite the difficulty of getting to college station from michigan i think he thought of himself in some way as an alumnus of the bush school said meredith ashley he certainly was passionate about the school and our family recognized that this kind of continuing contribution to the students would have pleased him ashleys sons mark and meredith said they want the students who receive this scholarship to understand and value the deep respect that existed between our father and the president and to know how that respect enabled two leaders of their respective parties to focus on their commonalities as opposed to their differences as they worked to serve the nation president bush recalled his friend as a dedicated and principled public servant lud ashley embodied the ethic of public service as a noble cause he said im thrilled that his name will now be associated with the bush school and that this generous donation will help us educate future principled leaders im also very grateful to mark and meredith for honoring their dad in this way he was so proud of them both former bush school acting dean and long-time friend of president george hw bush andrew card said he felt privileged to witness the close relationship between the president and congressman ashley these two gentlemenand i would use that word in its fullest sensewere loyal friends dating from the time they both served in congress said card that friendship endured over the years but neither gave up his partisanship they understood the need so often lost today to both earn and give respect to others despite partisan differences president bush always looked forward to seeing lud not only as a friend and former colleague but as a source of comfort lud ashley was a remarkable man and a dedicated public servant card said im sure president bush is very pleased that congressman ashleys name will now be forever associated with the bush school

scott robinson associate professor at the university of oklahoma and the bush schools executive associate dean arnold vedlitz have been awarded the 2014 herbert kaufman best paper award by the american political science associations (apsa) public administration section vedlitz and robinson were honored for their paper entitled organizational trust and risk communication: trust in the epa and opposition to fracking robinson now holds the henry bellmon chair of public service at ou he and vedlitz will receive the award at the 2014 apsa annual meeting in washington dc the review committee noted that public trust in political institutions is now a ‘hot button issue and that while scholars have long examined this declining trust research has mostly looked at government as a single undifferentiated entity vedlitz and robinsons work explores the trust issue as it relates to individual government agencies their research approach was cited as well-conceived timely and sets forth an interesting research agenda vedlitz is the founder and director of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school since its founding in 2000 istpp has attracted over $15 million in competitive funding from federal and state agencies and has partnered with researchers from us and international universities government agencies and research centers over the years the institute has become an important resource for the study of important public policy issues and for effectively communicating research results to decision makers and the public the institutes research focuses on public policy related to environmental and natural resources emerging technologies infrastructure and built environment and health it is a pleasure to share this award with my friend and colleague dr scott robinson scott is a senior research fellow in our institute for science technology and public policy and i look forward to our continuing to work together on other public policy projects like this one

scott robinson associate professor at the university of oklahoma and the bush schools executive associate dean arnold vedlitz have been awarded the 2014 herbert kaufman best paper award by the american political science associations (apsa) public administration section vedlitz and robinson were honored for their paper entitled organizational trust and risk communication: trust in the epa and opposition to fracking robinson now holds the henry bellmon chair of public service at ou he and vedlitz will receive the award at the 2014 apsa annual meeting in washington dc the review committee noted that public trust in political institutions is now a ‘hot button issue and that while scholars have long examined this declining trust research has mostly looked at government as a single undifferentiated entity vedlitz and robinsons work explores the trust issue as it relates to individual government agencies their research approach was cited as well-conceived timely and sets forth an interesting research agenda vedlitz is the founder and director of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) at the bush school since its founding in 2000 istpp has attracted over $15 million in competitive funding from federal and state agencies and has partnered with researchers from us and international universities government agencies and research centers over the years the institute has become an important resource for the study of important public policy issues and for effectively communicating research results to decision makers and the public the institutes research focuses on public policy related to environmental and natural resources emerging technologies infrastructure and built environment and health it is a pleasure to share this award with my friend and colleague dr scott robinson scott is a senior research fellow in our institute for science technology and public policy and i look forward to our continuing to work together on other public policy projects like this one

bush school graduate sarah jackson is one of 41 family members friends and associates of the 41st president featured in the new documentary 41on41 which premieres worldwide on cnn on june 15th at 8 pm central time with an encore performance at 10 pm three days prior to the fathers day evening broadcast on june 12 2014 president bush will celebrate his 90th birthday in kennebunkport maine with family friends and former colleagues from his white house years funded by the george bush presidential library foundation this extraordinary profile reveals the president through first-person accounts of public and personal life experiences from 41 people who have been associated with him throughout his life the storytellers include bush family members long-time colleagues such as former secretary of state james baker press secretary marlin fitzwater and his long-time and current chief of staff jean becker; president bill clinton noted broadcaster tom brokaw and even dana carvey whose imitation of the president on saturday night live became a classic television moment bush foundation ceo fred mcclure said the goal of the film is to present president bush through the stories of his life it is more than a recounting of history – it is an engaging and uplifting profile of one of our greatest citizens that no american will want to miss mcclure said currently director of public affairs for the dallas citizens council sarah jackson has been a communications professional for almost ten years during which time she held a number of key positions in washington dc she has worked for members of congress as well as in the office of media affairs in the us state department where she collaborated on strategic media initiatives for secretary of state condoleezza rice undersecretary of state karen hughes and other senior officials jackson who graduated in 2011 from the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university with a masters in public service and administration first met the president during her orientation weekend at the school i was impressed that president bush took the time to ask us what we hoped for our futures and said how happy he was to have us at his school jackson said meeting mrs bush later in the day was an added bonus throughout her time at the bush school jackson says she met the president several times including a memorable trip to an astros game with him and fellow students i have a number of happy memories of the president says jackson i respect him as a remarkable leader and public servant yet his sense of humor and easy conversation always made me and my fellow students feel comfortable in his presence he is always so interested in what you are doing that sincere interest in others is a rare quality and i think it is a hallmark of president bushs character she added additional details on the film can be found at http://www41on41com

istpp director vedlitz along with istpp fellows douglas oxley and sammy zahran and co-authors jeremy brooks and charles lindsey have published their article abnormal daily temperature and concern about climate change across the united states in review of policy research in this study the researchers sought to examine the relationship of environmental conditions on attitudes toward climate change using results from two national surveys of us adults along with data on mean temperatures the dates of the surveys the authors demonstrate that both abnormally warm temperatures as well as abnormally cool temperatures effect the publics level of concern for climate change the researchers explore how the theoretical frameworks of availability bias mental models and implicit stimuli may explain their findings and develop implications for climate policy this article was based on a research project conducted by istpp under two grants awarded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration jeremy brooks douglas oxley arnold vedlitz sammy zahran and charles lindsey 2014 abnormal daily temperature and concern about climate change across the united states review of policy research 31(3): 199–217 doi: 101111/ropr12067

istpp director vedlitz along with istpp fellows b dan woods and douglas oxley have published their article the effect of persuasive messages on policy problem recognition in policy studies journal in this manuscript the authors extend current theories about how individual behavior leads to policy recognition through an embedded experiment in a national survey specifically they investigate how positive and negative messages about climate change from sources of different credibility influence concern for global warming they find that people become more concerned about global warming both from receiving negative message and from receiving that message from a source they consider credible the persons political ideology affects their perception of credibility of the source the authors conclude that policy problem recognition has an attitudinal evaluation process component this article was based on a research project conducted by istpp under a grant awarded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration douglas r oxely arnold vedlitz and b dan wood 2014 the effect of persuasive messages on policy problem recognition policy studies journal 42(2): 252–268 available online at https://dxdoiorg/101111/psj12058

on may 8 graduate certificates were awarded to bush school students who completed a certificate program the ceremony was held in the george h w bush presidential librarys orientation theater some 115 students earned certificates during the summer and fall of 2013 and the spring of 2014 semesters while some studied on campus others were located across the united states and in other countries twenty-five students were present for the event lisa brown director of extended education presided at the ceremony; and dean ryan crocker welcomed the graduates sixty-seven certificates in advanced international affairs were presented by ronald sievert director of that program dr danny davis director of the certificate in homeland security program presented certificates to fourteen graduates; and dr will brown awarded certificates to thirty-four students who earned the certificate in nonprofit management dr arnold vedlitz executive associate dean introduced the class speaker matthew d miller emergency management specialist for the dallas/ftworth international airport department of public safety who earned a certificate in homeland security these certificate programs enable both on-campus students and working professionals located away from college station to gain additional expertise in their chosen field said lisa brown weve seen steady growth in both residential and online certificate enrollment and are pleased to recognize these outstanding graduates she added

once again the bush schools nonprofit management forum has garnered praise from participating staff board members volunteers and students this years event on april 4 at the annenberg conference center brought together academic researchers consultants industry professionals and aspiring leaders in a program geared toward improving the effectiveness of nonprofits dr will brown director of the bush schools certificate in nonprofit management program opened the conference with a presentation on how strategic leadership can transform an organizations management practices he was followed by the conference keynote speaker flip flippen a leadership expert workshops were provided on various nonprofits topics rachel muir led a workshop on fundraising and tyann osborn of the osborn consulting group spoke on performance management katy avenson and kara hamann both accountants discussed strategic financial management while suzanne smith of social impact architects covered the concept of nonprofits as a social enterprise tiffany galligan too good strategy discussed how nonprofits can develop their mission into a brand; and michael wilson small world labs offered tactics for building and nurturing online communities each of these speakers addressed an issue that nonprofit staff and volunteers face regularly said brown were pleased to be able to bring well-known experts together in a forum that not only educates but also allows time for participants to network and learn from each other he added in post-session evaluations participants gave the forum high marks we appreciate the compliments and use the information in those evaluations to continue to improve the forum brown said more than 100 people attended this year representing local nonprofits as well as organizations from other cities in texas the forum was sponsored by a number of community partners: arts council of the brazos valley project unity texas association for nonprofit organizations (tano) and united way of the brazos valley

the end of the spring semester saw bush school students recognized for their extra efforts in leadership and writing development on april 22 dean crocker along with professors joe cerami larry napper and bill west; lecturer sally dee wade; and leadership and writing portfolio program assistants holly kasperbauer and kara socol presented awards for the writing portfolio project and the deans certificate in leadership this year more students than ever completed both programs with seventy-nine students receiving leadership certificates and forty-two being recognized for the writing portfolio project the students will graduate in may after completing the master of public service and administration or master of international affairs students in the leadership development project each created an individual leadership plan that examined their personal vision values knowledge skills and professional attributes using the results of that self-evaluation and what they learned in workshops and individual leadership coaching sessions they demonstrated their commitment to leadership development by taking part in public service leadership projects this program is led by col joe cerami along with holly kasperbauer sally dee wade worked to improve students writing and critical evaluation skills as they developed individual and group writing abilities and editing skills the students also created a portfolio of writing samples that will be useful as they seek employment after graduation wade noted that for the first time all the students who began the writing portfolio project completed it this year robby smith a soon-to-be mpsa graduate said she really enjoyed the opportunities for gaining critical knowledge and skills offered by these two initiatives in addition to the more traditional classroom education developing character qualities and enhancing technical skills help us all to be more prepared for the careers we aspire to and also make us more competitive in the job market she said dean crocker congratulated the students on doing the extra work that increased their writing and leadership skills its not a coincidence that texas a&m is consistently ranked amongst the top two schools for students commitment to public service and as an institution whose graduates are highly sought after he said the bush school is certainly a leader in this area crocker added that as bush school graduates expectations will be high; and he encouraged the students to stay in touch let us hear from you as your careers progress and you rise to the top of your chosen professions he said

thanks to some caring and energetic bush school students a young man with a brain tumor will be able to visit rome and learn more about his faiththe wish he submitted to the make-a-wish foundation which grants the wish of a child diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition jonathan was diagnosed with a malignant neoplasm of the brain when he began having vision problems led by ashley warrington and christine rafiekian both of whom have volunteered with the make-a-wish foundation bush school students chose to fulfill a wish submitted to the foundation in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of president george h w bush participating in the 500th wish for the national make-a-wish organization they worked with the schools public service organization holding several fundraising events on campus and soliciting donations from faculty staff and students on april 4 jonathon learned that his wish would be granted at a private lunch in houston with his family; friends; members of the make-a-wish organization advisory committee; and warrington and rafiekian the bush school initiative organizers warrington said the day was very speciala celebration of how far jonathan has come and an opportunity to hear his story jonathan spoke movingly thanking his family for their support through this difficult time and thanking the bush school for making his wish come true said warrington the students presented jonathan with a basket of goodies for his trip including a model of the avenger plane that president bush flew in wwii a copy of all the best signed by president bush a bush school t-shirt a personalized rosary and a rome travel book since jonathans dream is to be a pilot the gifts from president bush were especially meaningful we firmly subscribe to president bushs belief that public service is a noble calling said warrington and we believe that giving to the make-a-wish foundation honors that belief this successful project would not have been possible without the dedication of our fellow students; the schools faculty staff and alumni; and the strong moral and financial support of president and mrs bush; former acting dean andrew card; and the bush foundation she added warrington is a first-year master of public service and administration student and rafiekian is a first year student in the master of international affairs program of the students leadership and service efforts bush school dean ryan crocker said i am proud to see our students take this initiative to start a new project see it through to completion and change a young mans life while studying to be leaders and public servants for our communities and nation this successful effort is yet another testament to the dedicated leadership service and quality of bush school students

the department of political science nominated and sponsored dr clarence e sasser (73) for an honorary doctorate degree passed by resolution in april 2014 by the texas a&m university faculty senate and approved by dr mark a hussey interim president of texas a&m and the tamus board of regents dr sasser received the award for his extraordinary devotion in a lifetime career of public service in the va to help americas military veterans in his own military service dr sasser was awarded the medal of honor for his heroic actions with the us army in the republic of vietnam in 1968 while serving as a medic in november 2013 dr sasser was enshrined as the eighth aggie and the first african-american into the aggie medal of honor hall of honor in the tamu memorial student center at the special award presentation for dr sasser at the may 9 2014 graduation ceremonies dr kenneth j meier distinguished professor of political science the charles h gregory chair in liberal arts at texas a&m and director of the project for equity representation & governance in the department of political science presented dr sasser with the honorary medallion accompanying the doctorate degree left to right on stage with dr sasser during the ceremonies are dr michael benedik dean of faculties and associate provost dr kenneth j meier dr clarence e sasser (73) dr josé luiz bermúdez former dean of the college of liberal arts (holding dr sassers honorary diploma) and dr mark a hussey interim president texas a&m university on sept 1 2022 the department of political science became part of the bush school of government & public service

brian shreck istpp pre-doctoral research associate presented a paper co-authored with istpp director arnold vedlitz at the annual conference of the western political science association in seattle wa on april 18 2014 their paper in defense of informal discussion as deliberative democracy uses data from a national public water policy survey to find which factors have the greatest effect on civic engagement as well as public discourse the authors findings indicate that public deliberation does not appear to be driven by socioeconomic factors as other researchers have contended instead the authors find that problem definition and personal interests are the strongest predictors of civic engagement this paper is based on research funded by istpp the office of the vice president for research and a texas sea grant award

lisa brown has been appointed director of the office of extended education (oee) for the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university brown has been serving as interim director since september 2013 and previously beginning in 2007 served as assistant director after graduating from texas a&m with a ba in english brown earned a masters degree in adult education with a concentration in technology management from northwestern state university in natchitoches louisiana prior to joining the bush school brown worked for the department of engineering technology and industrial distributions online degree program where she created and implemented masters program processes strategy and marketing programs during her time as interim director of oee brown has expanded the online education programs by upgrading essential technology and implementing new scholarship and service opportunities for online students lisa has been a key member of our online education team working with faculty and students to strengthen and extend our online programs said bush school executive associate dean arnie vedlitz under lisas leadership im confident we will see further enhancements of this important element of our overall educational offerings which are especially critical for those students who cannot take advantage of our residency programs

istpp researchers presented three papers at the midwest political science association conference in april blurring the lines of scientific objectivity in the policy process: are climate skeptic portrayals of climate scientists as wild-eyed fanatics accurate istpp fellow james w stoutenborough presented research co-authored with rebecca bromley trujillo and isttp director arnold vedlitz the authors examine the portrayal of climate scientists as biased predictors of threat due to climate change some among the media and climate skeptics point to the affiliation of climate scientists with environmental interest groups as proof of the scientists bias using data from two national surveys the authors compare involvement of climate scientists in environmental interest groups with that of the general public this paper is based on two research projects funded by by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration deliberation public discourse and opinion on climate change brian shreck istpp pre-doctoral research associate presented a paper co-authored with istpp director arnold vedlitz at the 72nd annual meeting of the midwest political science association in chicago il on april 4 2014 shreck and vedlitz use survey data to compare and discuss individuals engagement in informal public discourse and how it affects policy opinions and beliefs regarding climate change public discourse has long been considered by democratic theorists to be a cornerstone of democratic legitimacy but this has rarely been tested on several counts the authors determined that while some public discourse is occurring it is not a strong predictor of political opinion formation this paper is based on two research projects funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and another project funded by istpp and a texas sea grant the effects of overconfidence in complex domains on policy preferences: the public and their understanding of energy climate change and genetically modified organisms james w stoutenborough (istpp fellow) presented a manuscript co-authored with kellee j kirkpatrick xinsheng liu (istpp associate research scientist) and arnold vedlitz (istpp director) people are faced with complex policy issues that are beyond the abilities of most of us to comprehend evaluate and determine a preferred course of action some people may be overconfident or under confident in how well they can do this using data collected from issue-specific national public opinion surveys on energy climate change and genetically modified organisms (gmo) the authors analyze individual characteristics that are more likely to result in over or under estimation of ones understanding and how this influences ones policy preferences this paper is based on an energy survey supported by texas a&m universitys crisman institute for petroleum research in the harold vance department of petroleum engineering istpp and the office of the vice president for research; two climate change projects funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration; and gmo project sponsored by istpp and the institute for public policy at university of new mexico

dr arnie vedlitz executive associate dean of the bush school and director of the institute for science technology and public policy will serve as co-director of the community outreach engagement core (coec) for the center for translational environmental health research (ctehr) recently announced by texas a&m university the ctehr was named by the national institutes of health (nih) as the newest national center of excellence in environmental health science it will serve as the cornerstone for integrated environmental health research translation of research advances into practice and community outreach and engagement aimed at improving human health ctehr will be funded by a $4 million grant from nih to cover its activities for the next four years the coecs efforts will be aimed at creating bridges among center members surrounding communities and stakeholders in order to further scientific collaborations and will also be aimed at disseminating research results said vedlitz he and his istpp research staff will initiate programs aimed at identifying the educational needs of policy makers and determining the best ways to provide this information among other outcomes the results of these activities will feed into local state and regional workshops for policy makers in at-risk communities to inform them about environmental issues and exposures in order to develop strategies to address environmental health issues it is a real pleasure for me to be able to work with the other leaders of the community outreach and engagement core robin fuchs-young and tim lightfoot said vedlitz our team has the very important role of moving scientific discoveries into the policy process and into the consciousness of citizens and health opinion leaders our successful implementation of this effort will serve as an important model for later nih translational efforts he added bush school dean ryan crocker said the school is happy to be part of this new and important initiative were very pleased to be able to play a strong supporting role in this important texas a&m university system and texas a&m university health initiative combining scientific and technical health research with public policy and public outreach elements makes this nih center a very significant one indeed he added ctehr is one of only twenty-one nih centers focusing on environmental health science and is directed by dr cheryl walker of the texas a&m system health science center other partners in the cther include texas agrilife research baylor college of medicine texas a&m health science center institute of biosciences and technology (ibt) texas a&m college of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences a&ms dwight look college of engineering and the texas medical center (tmc) in houston

james w stoutenborough assistant professor at university of alabama in huntsville and istpp fellow along with arnold vedlitz istpp director have published in environmental science & policy based on results from a national public survey conducted as part of funding awarded by noaa the authors analyze two measures of knowledge about climate change – perceived knowledge and assessed knowledge perceived knowledge is the respondents self-reported level of knowledge assessed knowledge is an objective assessment of the respondents level of knowledge then using these two types of knowledge stoutenborough and vedlitz evaluate the relationship between knowledge and concern for climate change and test the knowledge deficit model james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz 2013 the effect of perceived and assessed knowledge of climate change on public policy concerns: an empirical comparison environmental science & policy available online at https://dxdoiorg/101016/jenvsci201308002

assistant professor erin a snider joined the bush schools masters program in international affairs in the fall of 2013 she holds a phd in politics and international studies from trinity college cambridge and focuses her research on democracy aid and the political economy of the middle east particularly egypt her other degrees include an msc in middle east politics from the school of oriental and african studies at the university of london and a ba summa cum laude from james madison university i am thrilled to be at the bush school where faculty are engaged in important scholarship that is affecting policy snider said bridging theory and practice is integral to my work and its great to be at an institution that shares and values the same sentiment dr snider currently is working on a book based on her doctoral research which looked at why democracy assistance to the middle east does not seem to have made an impact in the region her other projects focus on the political economy of the arab uprisings an area that has not been explored much in the three years since the events began dr sniders interest in the region stems back to her childhood and her fathers return from serving in the us military in turkey since then she has spent much time researching and traveling between the us and the middle east particularly egypt and morocco she was doing research in egypt as the arab spring unfolded in early 2011 it was incredibly thrilling to be there at that time snider said i hope that experience can illuminate my teaching and motivate my students to immerse themselves in the grey areas of the transitions i also hope i can convey the complexities underlying change in the region and get them to wrestle with the new political challenges emerging in the middle east she added still as a researcher snider says it can be hard to work in the region when focusing on sensitive issues like politics research can be frustrating at times she added but enormously rewarding snider said that public education has been really important in her family and that she is inspired by her grandfather who was a professor at the university of oklahoma when it comes to her teaching snider said she believes it should be interactive and dynamic this includes student-led seminar-style classes and guest speakers who join via skype adding context and nuance to the subject at hand i try to relay the passion i have for the subjects i am teaching i hope it is infectious it is incredibly rewarding to share what i am learning with students that are interested in both development and the middle east dr sniders research interests include international relations of the middle east comparative politics foreign assistance and international security democratization and us foreign policy she has published in the journal middle east policy and has a book manuscript in progress: technocrats bureaucrats and democrats: the political economy of us assistance for democracy in the middle east dr sniders experience also includes working for the us state department as well as the un association focusing on the issue of landmines that effort provided her an opportunity to travel to afghanistan which she says was a transformative experience and inspired her research on the political challenges of foreign assistance most recently she was a postdoctoral fellow in regional political economy (middle east) at the niehaus center for globalization and governance part of the woodrow wilson school of public and international affairs at princeton university while at cambridge dr snider was a gates scholar supported by the bill and melinda gates foundation in 2007-2008 she held a fulbright fellowship to study arabic at the american university in cairos arabic language institute snider says she and her husband have had a wonderful first six months in the area and have really enjoyed being here apart from research snider enjoys traveling reading music and collecting textiles from the middle east

two leading experts on the federal debt crisis spoke at the bush school at the end of january alan k simpson former us senator from wyoming and erskine b bowles white house chief of staff under president bill clinton gave the conocophillips white house lecture one of a series hosted by the bush schools mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy some 600 students and faculty attended the event including president and mrs george hw bush following their presentation andy card former white house chief of staff for president george w bush moderated a discussion and q&a session earlier in the day the two took part in a roundtable discussion with students simpson and bowles co-chaired the 2010 national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform an innovative bipartisan effort to solve the national debt problem the moderated discussion highlighted why washington failed to adopt their solution and what can be done now to fix this ever-increasing and critical national problem simpson served as senator from wyoming from 1979-1997 known as a conservative and an opponent of government regulation he is also recognized as an outspoken advocate of equal rights for all citizens bowles is a businessman and political figure from north carolina who served as white house chief of staff and later as president of the university of north carolina system bowles and simpson now co-lead the fix the debt coalition a grassroots campaign that mobilizes key communities to address the nations fiscal challenges during their presentation bowles highlighted the five key issues the nation should address if it wants to fix the debt these issueshealthcare national defense reforming the tax code ensuring social securitys solvency and addressing the interest on the debtwere included in the commissions plan which the president declined to adopt bowles noted that the us spends twice as much as any country in the world on healthcare – per capita and as a percentage of gdpyet ranks between twenty-fifth and fiftieth on such indicators as life expectancy infant mortality and others slowing the rate of growth in healthcare spending to that of the economy is critical to our future as is slowing spending on national defense we spend more on national security than the next seventeen countries combined and are bearing a disproportionate responsibility for global world peace admiral mullins got it right – our greatest national security problem is these deficits the deficit will consume every dollar of resources we need bowles said the other three issues were reforming the tax code making social security solvent and addressing the amount of interest the us pays on debt bowles noted that life expectancy averaged sixty-three years when president franklin roosevelt instituted social security; and today its seventy-nine creating an arithmetic problem by the end of this decade we will be spending more than one trillion dollars on interest on the debt that is one trillion dollars we cant spend to educate our kids build infrastructure or do high-level research on our college campuses bowles said while simpson and bowles are dissatisfied with the progress towards fixing this problem they do believe there are still measures that can be taken to alleviate some of the pressure we cant grow or tax our way out of this problem nor can we cut spending enough to get ourselves out of this problem you have to do all of it bowles said [with this debt] we wont be able to compete and win in a knowledge-based global economy its our generation of republicans and democrats who created this mess and its our job to clean it up during the event simpson and bowles received the good governance award presented by the mosbacher institute the good governance award recognizes exemplary achievements in channeling high-quality policy analysis into good governance and public service said dr lori taylor director of the mosbacher institute i am particularly pleased to be recognizing the service of senator simpson and mr bowles because their work on the commission exemplifies the spirit of public service during a time of fiercely partisan politics they contributed fresh thinking and independent nonpartisan analysis to the policy debate regarding the national debt we are honoring their service and efforts to provide nonpartisan solutions to the nations fiscal imbalances

dr laura dague an assistant professor in the mpsa program earned a phd in economics from the university of wisconsin where she was associated with the population health institute and the institute for research on poverty her doctoral fields of study were public economics and labor economics dr dagues research interests are in health economics and applied microeconomics more specifically in the structure of insurance markets prices and price-setting and how these affect peoples decisions about health insurance a member of phi beta kappa dague received a dissertation research award from the institute for research on poverty and was a fellow at the federal reserve bank of chicago dr dagues research team has been funded by the robert wood johnson foundation the uc davis center for poverty research the we upjohn institute for employment research and the state of wisconsin department of health services the more you know the less things are a mystery; so its best to know about markets in actuality dague said this includes looking at whether policy decisions make people better or worse off her recent publications focus on changes in the medicaid program and their relation to federal healthcare reform shes currently considering how medicaid enrollees respond to premiums and copayments the relationship between medicaid and the private insurance market and the effects of expanding medicaid to nontraditional populations such as low-income adults without dependent children she is also investigating how the structure of the health insurance market in chile affects insurance demand and usage of health care services her work has been published in health affairs health services research and medicaid and medicare research review dr dague also studies policy implications from the affordable care act and how medicaid will affect peoples choices and notes that no one really knows yet what the data will be or what it will show in summary dr dague says her research looks at how public policy affects health insurance and how policy affects peoples decisions fundamentally my research draws on the basic principles of economicselasticities and models based on the estimation of social welfare dague said her interest in this line of research was piqued after president obamas election and she thought about all of the issues to be tackled while working for her state representative in kansas during her undergraduate studies dr dague would often wonder where ideas discussed in committee meetings came from a professor encouraged me to take more economics classes and i realized that i think about the world in terms of peoples incentives because its very logical dague said her current publications include articles on how health insurance expansions affect low-income families and the use of auto-enrollment in medicaid programs in a june 2013 article in health affairs dague focused on healthcare usage in the state of wisconsin following an expansion of coverage to childless adults her research also looks at healthcare in chile and issues of price discrimination based on sex and age dr dagues research on health insurance and labor supply was recently cited by the congressional budget office in the budget and economic outlook at the bush school dr dague teaches courses in economic analysis public finance and healthcare policy what is rewarding about teaching isnt being in front of the classroom but the relationships i build with my students dague said i think teaching can be especially fun when we look at something new in the literature and connect it with something else thats current and interesting dague focuses on building transferable skills for her students she also wants them to learn how economists think about and talk about things in public finance she allows her students to focus on a particular policy area while in her health policy class dr dague emphasizes development of analytical skills she has some advice for students: i think its important not to be afraid of quantitative analysis understanding quantitative approaches can be key to knowing what you can reasonably believe at least know where statistics come from and how to interpret them i think its fun to be at a place where my students will soon have jobs that put them in a position to be making decisions dr dague said she really enjoys being at the bush school because the students are serious and have specific goals one of the best things about teaching graduate students she also enjoys being part of an institution where outstanding speakers are often on campus as well as other intellectual events its also fun to be at a place where my colleagues have different interests but all care about the same things dague said in addition to her work dague enjoys knitting golf traveling and spending time with her husband

arnold vedlitz along with his co-authors including istpp fellow james stoutenborough have published their article climate scientists and environmental interest groups: the intersection of expertise and advocacy in politics groups and identities in the article the authors examine the advocacy role of climate change scientists using interest group theory the authors expected that scientists who express more concern about climate change and those who think they are more efficacious are more likely to be active in environmental interest groups their data analysis indicates that this relationship holds for efficacy but not for concern this article was based on a research project funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration rebecca bromley-trujillo james w stoutenborough kellee j kirkpatrick and arnold vedlitz 2014 climate scientists and environmental interest groups: the intersection of expertise and advocacy politics groups and identities available online at https://dxdoiorg/101080/215655032013879726

dr reyko huang is an assistant professor of international affairs at the bush school her research focuses on civil wars rebel group dynamics state-building democratization and foreign interventions in conflict after graduating from cornell university with a dual bachelors degree in government and economics dr huang spent a few years in policy research in washington and new york this included two years as a researcher at the international peace institute a think tank that works closely with the united nations on international security issues where she co-edited a book on un peacekeeping she also attended the woodrow wilson school at princeton to earn a master of public affairs degree as much as i loved policy work i loved research and wanted to do my own dr huang said she went on to earn her phd in political science from columbia university i grew up in a multicultural family and in several different countries i was exposed to huge issues like poverty income disparity and differences in the degree of political and social rights people enjoyed across different countries – issues that made me ask ‘why is this happening why do some governments do so little to address these issues huang said when i began studying international politics as an undergraduate i was hooked in the ensuing years she worked on a research project on the civil war in sri lanka with a team at the woodrow wilson school traveling to the country to conduct interviews she also spent three months in east timor – at the time the worlds newest country – working with the un peacekeeping mission there this theme of conflict and post-conflict rebuilding is found throughout huangs research she is currently working on a book project on rebel governance in civil war and its effects on post-conflict political development when looking at democratization after civil war we often think it occurs because of western interventions there is an assumption that if outside forces dont intervene to help states emerging from conflict theyll become weak unstable and undemocratic my research questions this assumption and looks at the dynamics of the conflict itself that might lend themselves to post-conflict democratization understanding conflict dynamics is crucial if we are to have sensible policy responses and political science offers an excellent set of tools for the endeavor dr huang said she pays particular attention to how rebel groups organize and govern civilian populations during the conflict lets see what happens during the war dr huang said we dont find institutional blank states in these countries after the war rather she said wartime politics will shape peacetime politics in a separate project dr huang examines rebel diplomacy in civil war she said what was fascinating is that many of these groups engage in a great deal of diplomacy in wartime opening foreign offices and dispatching rebel ambassadors abroad they try to act like states to gain legitimacy and recognition so they can win the war and show they are actually capable of running a government dr huang said her research has been supported by the center for international security and cooperation at stanford university where she was a zukerman fellow and by the united states institute of peace where she held a peace scholar fellowship she uses both statistical analysis and qualitative methods using open sources archival material and field interviews her most recent field research was in nepal where she interviewed participants of the countrys 1996-2006 civil war against maoist insurgents her research has been published in international studies quarterly and in edited volumes among other outlets at the bush school dr huang teaches courses on contemporary civil wars state-building and state failure and transnational security issues she teaches her courses seminar-style emphasizing class discussion theoretically-informed debate and critical analysis from multiple angles she says she likes to throw out different ideas for consideration especially contrarian ideas and arguments that help students see an issue in a new light or sharpen their own thinking she also challenges her students to ask is this theory or argument really backed up by evidence is it empirically supported dr huang said the bush school has been a great place to be my research is inspired by real-world questions im academically trained but have dabbled in the policy world so i find a lot of excitement in linking serious academic research with policy issues and here at the bush school students are ambitious and do well in considering important arguments debating them and formulating their own thoughts dr huang said dr huang and her family have enjoyed getting to know texas since their arrival outside of her academic pursuits dr huang also enjoys literature poetry good food exploring and making her six-month-old daughter laugh

james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz have just had their article public attitudes towards water management and drought in the united states made available online by water resources management in the article the istpp researchers explore public attitudes and concern for drought issues and their risk assessment and support for various policy options for water management using two national public opinion surveys in the united states created by istpp for this purpose learn more about these surveys on istpps research webpage james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz 2014 public attitudes towards water management and drought in the united states water resources management available online at https://dxdoiorg/101007/s11269-013-0509-7

dr liu attended the beijing forum 2013 in china and presented research co-authored with dr ren mu entitled chinese public concerns for environmental protection: evidence from national survey data this research employs national representative public survey data and recent province-level statistics to analyze and explain chinese citizens concerns for environmental protection in china using a series of regression analyses it demonstrates that the levels of chinese citizens environmental concerns are not only rooted in individual social-economic-demographic characteristics and personal experience of pollution events but also significantly affected by regional macroeconomic conditions local environmental risks and provincial government investment in pollution treatments beijing forum is a high-profile international conference co-sponsored by peking university beijing municipal commission of education and the korea foundation for advanced studies it attracts hundreds of distinguished scholars and experts from around the world to explore the most challenging issues facing china and the international community

two leading experts on the federal debt crisis spoke at the bush school at the end of january alan k simpson former us senator from wyoming and erskine b bowles white house chief of staff under president bill clinton gave the conocophillips white house lecture one of a series hosted by the bush schools mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy some 600 students and faculty attended the event including president and mrs george hw bush following their presentation andy card former white house chief of staff for president george w bush moderated a discussion and q&a session earlier in the day the two took part in a roundtable discussion with students simpson and bowles co-chaired the 2010 national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform an innovative bipartisan effort to solve the national debt problem the moderated discussion highlighted why washington failed to adopt their solution and what can be done now to fix this ever-increasing and critical national problem simpson served as senator from wyoming from 1979-1997 known as a conservative and an opponent of government regulation he is also recognized as an outspoken advocate of equal rights for all citizens bowles is a businessman and political figure from north carolina who served as white house chief of staff and later as president of the university of north carolina system bowles and simpson now co-lead the fix the debt coalition a grassroots campaign that mobilizes key communities to address the nations fiscal challenges during their presentation bowles highlighted the five key issues the nation should address if it wants to fix the debt these issueshealthcare national defense reforming the tax code ensuring social securitys solvency and addressing the interest on the debtwere included in the commissions plan which the president declined to adopt bowles noted that the us spends twice as much as any country in the world on healthcare – per capita and as a percentage of gdpyet ranks between twenty-fifth and fiftieth on such indicators as life expectancy infant mortality and others slowing the rate of growth in healthcare spending to that of the economy is critical to our future as is slowing spending on national defense we spend more on national security than the next seventeen countries combined and are bearing a disproportionate responsibility for global world peace admiral mullins got it right – our greatest national security problem is these deficits the deficit will consume every dollar of resources we need bowles said the other three issues were reforming the tax code making social security solvent and addressing the amount of interest the us pays on debt bowles noted that life expectancy averaged sixty-three years when president franklin roosevelt instituted social security; and today its seventy-nine creating an arithmetic problem by the end of this decade we will be spending more than one trillion dollars on interest on the debt that is one trillion dollars we cant spend to educate our kids build infrastructure or do high-level research on our college campuses bowles said while simpson and bowles are dissatisfied with the progress towards fixing this problem they do believe there are still measures that can be taken to alleviate some of the pressure we cant grow or tax our way out of this problem nor can we cut spending enough to get ourselves out of this problem you have to do all of it bowles said [with this debt] we wont be able to compete and win in a knowledge-based global economy its our generation of republicans and democrats who created this mess and its our job to clean it up during the event simpson and bowles received the good governance award presented by the mosbacher institute the good governance award recognizes exemplary achievements in channeling high-quality policy analysis into good governance and public service said dr lori taylor director of the mosbacher institute i am particularly pleased to be recognizing the service of senator simpson and mr bowles because their work on the commission exemplifies the spirit of public service during a time of fiercely partisan politics they contributed fresh thinking and independent nonpartisan analysis to the policy debate regarding the national debt we are honoring their service and efforts to provide nonpartisan solutions to the nations fiscal imbalances

stoutenborough assistant professor at university of alabama huntsville and former istpp postdoctoral research associate along with sturgess istpp student worker and political science undergraduate student and vedlitz istpp director have recently published in energy policy in this article the authors examine how knowledge risk perceptions and attitudinal measures affect the publics support for nuclear energy policy by using several risk and attitudinal measures the researchers provide a detailed look at the connection between policy and risk this paper is based on results from istpps national public energy survey article citation: stoutenborough james w shelbi sturgess and arnold vedlitz 2013 knowledge risk and policy support: public perceptions of nuclear power energy policy https://dxdoiorg/101016/jenpol201306098 stoutenborough and vedlitz also had their research published in nonprofit policy forum along with their coauthors they analyze the influence of nonprofit organizations on citizen orientations to the problem of climate change this paper is based on research conducted by istpp and funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration you can read more about the funded project online article citation: bies angela l deanna g lee charles lindsey james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz 2013 citizens nonprofits and climate change policy nonprofit policy forum 4(1): 5-28 doi: 101515/npf-2012-0001

dr deborah l kerr has been a lecturer and a member of the graduate faculty at the bush school since 1999 teaching performance management public policy formation and advanced management in addition to supervising second-year capstone projects she was recognized with the universitys 2008 distinguished achievement award for teaching and with the silver star award given by the class of 2009 for outstanding service and dedication while working for the texas legislature kerr was invited to give a lecture as part of the schools inaugural lecture series the following year she was asked to teach a course; and in the fall of 2012 she began teaching two courses per semester they must have liked what i said in my first lecture she said smiling kerr said she has always taught at a university throughout her professional life as a part of her service-oriented mentality having worked in every sectorpublic private and nonprofitgives me a certain perspective that can help students translate theory to practice kerr said kerr holds degrees from saint marys college (notre dame) columbia university and the university of texas at austin where she earned her phd she has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the school of business at texas state university while an executive at the texas state auditors office (sao) kerr led the development of one of the nations first public sector balanced scorecards which in 2004 was recognized as one of the worlds best measurement systems and was selected for the balanced scorecard hall of fame kerr said sao executives were frustrated with the lack of really good and timely data to use in decision making she read about the manufacturing industrys approach to measurement and with her colleagues translated that for the public sector she also served as senior vice president at the american heart associations texas affiliate where she led the implementation of human capital systems and balanced scorecards her work in the public and nonprofit sector led to her service on the national advisory panel for human resource performance measurement at the maxwell school of government syracuse university to develop public sector performance measures for the grading government studies published by governing magazine kerr said her interest in performance management stems from two experiences one i have had some bad managers and thought ‘there must be a better way to manage what does it mean to manage well kerr said two i had a boss who was the best boss ive ever had–a cpa who was very innovative and demanding he took a risk when we began to develop our performance management system – no one had ever done it for the public sector before kerr is a co-founder and partner at affintus in austin texas a company that helps managers make better hiring decisions using technology that provides objective data on the three key job success factors: cognitive personality and work culture preferences this experience influences her teaching in the classroom ive been an executive in all three economic sectors they all have the same problems kerr said my work is a way of collecting more examples that add to the discussion on what it means to manage well and successfully kerrs work has been recognized by the society for human resource management as best practice and has been written about in financial world magazine austin woman magazine and recently in the austin american-statesman her work in performance measurement was featured in both paul nivens 2002 book balanced scorecard step by step and mohan nairs 2004 book essentials of the balanced scorecard her work also has been published in perform magazine and the journal of accountancy and has been published in italy and india she is co-author of a chapter on consulting to public sector organizations in the textbook in action: building a successful consulting practice published by astd she blogs and writes on evidence-based management at http://wwwaffintuscom dr kerr is co-host of the radio show managing os (managing operating systems) where she speaks to a national audience and spreads the word about evidence-based management at the bush school dr kerr is known for her speech at new student orientation on graduate school where she discusses the importance of ethics and self-management you are responsible for your own success you have to manage your own image learning growth and communication in all forms once students are able to do this they will be able to succeed kerr said in her leisure time kerr enjoys food and wine artisan baking with a 127-year-old virginia sourdough and being a bit of a gym rat

the scowcroft institute of international affairs at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university hosted its namesake lt gen brent scowcroft usaf (ret) on wednesday november 13 scowcroft shared his assessment of the national security issues facing the united states today which was followed by discussion and questions moderated by andrew natsios director of the scowcroft institute professor at the bush school and former usaid administrator the program an evening with brent scowcroft was hosted at the annenberg presidential conference center with a reception following general scowcrofts remarks scowcrofts talk focused on the theme of the many new forces in the world that the us has to account for in developing a grand strategy–which leads to the us dealing with problems never dealt with before these new forces are eating away at the [westphalian] nation-state system now the forces of globalization are working in the opposite direction [of the cold war era] more and more of the things people need can only be gotten by compromise sharing and agreeing around the world scowcroft said he added that the end of the cold war marked for him a major transformation in the world environment it was a historical discontinuity the world of the cold war was a deadly serious world but it had one redeeming feature: the strategy was a given the strategy was containment scowcroft said we have a new world and the unifying strategy is no longer there we tend to use all tactics now because there is no over-right or over-arching goal that makes it easy to plan for the future that has been exacerbated by changes in the world environment scowcroft highlighted information technology (it) as being one of the most important changes in the global environment that the us has to account for in national security the general then went on to discuss the current landscape of national security in a globalized world touching on the us-china relationship india north korea the middle east and syria students were allowed to submit questions in advance some of which focused on his time in the bush administration while others focused on current national security concerns second-year masters program in international affairs student cait stadler submitted the question what is your fondest memory of president bush to this scowcroft replied i have so many that its almost impossible we used to have informal national security council (nsc) meetings some of them got pretty vigorous and sometimes heated and so on when that happened [president bush] would intervene and tell a joke and you could feel the tension leave the room scowcroft said to me that marked him and how he dealt with people he just inspired loyalty and trust and hes just a wonderful man to me he was the best prepared president we ever had in an interview after the event scowcroft talked about his motivation and offered some advice for bush school students i dont think there is anything more rewarding than working for the government–i was always working for something bigger than i was he said look for something that is challenging and that will make you eager to go to work every day this makes you continue to growsomething you are passionate about thats what the goal ought to be general scowcroft is president of the scowcroft group and is known as one of the countrys leading experts on international policy he served as national security advisor for president gerald ford and president george h w bush the only individual in us history appointed to the position under two different presidents named a distinguished graduate of west point scowcroft served twenty-nine years in the us air force during his air force career he held several academic and security positions teaching at both west point and the air force academy he later worked in the department of defense as special assistant to the director of the joint chiefs of staff and served as military assistant to president richard nixon in 1991 general scowcroft received the presidential medal of freedom the nations highest civilian honor from president george hw bush he was awarded an honorary knighthoodknight commander of the order of the british empire (kbe)by queen elizabeth ii in 1999; and he was presented the grand cross of the order of merit of the federal republic of germany in 2009 in addition to his degree earned at west point the general holds masters and doctorate degrees in international relations from columbia university

on november 20 dean ryan crocker joined president and mrs obama and many of the winners of the presidential medal of freedom at a dinner at the smithsonian museum of natural history crocker received the medal from president george w bush in 2009 the dinner was held in honor of the sixteen individuals who had received the medal earlier that day and also commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the presidential medal of freedom by president kennedy in 1963 among those honored this year were former president bill clinton oprah winfrey country music artist loretta lynn womens rights leader gloria steinem baseball great ernie banks and the late pioneering astronaut sally ride in his remarks obama noted that president kennedy established the medal as a way to honor extraordinary civilian virtue particularly contributions to the nation and its democracy and a dedication to humanity he noted that over the years the presidential medal of freedom has recognized the creativity of writers artists and entertainers; the leadership of elected officials and public servants; and the contributions of scientists business leaders and athletes because there is no one way to contribute to the success of america

james w stoutenborough istpp postdoctoral research associate has presented nine papers at conferences over the past year eight of which come out of institute research projects and data two of his papers are highlighted below for a list of other conference presentations please visit our scholarship page in january 2013 dr stoutenborough was at the southern political science association meeting where he discussed two papers the first paper was policy diffusion and the public: public preferences regarding innovation versus diffusion dr stoutenborough is undertaking this research with dr douglas r oxley (university of wyoming former istpp post doc) and dr arnold vedlitz (istpp director) based on national public survey data the researchers apply a fresh theoretical approach to the publics preferences for developing policy for complex issuesthe second paper was climate scientists and the media: scientists perceptions of the accuracy of climate change media coverage dr stoutenboroughs research colleagues for this paper are dr kellee j kirkpatrick (university of kansas) and dr arnold vedlitz with the media providing most of the publics information on climate change understanding the quality of that information is key step toward developing sound policies

james w stoutenborough assistant professor at university of alabama huntsville and former istpp postdoctoral research associate and arnold vedlitz istpp director published timely information concerning texans attitudes toward water management issues and support for government action to support large-scale infrastructure projects to address those issues based on two statewide public opinion surveys the authors conclude that texans are willing to support government efforts to manage water but not if those efforts negatively affect the environment or agriculture their assessment of strong support for water projects by the texas public was born out in the november 5 2013 general election when the voting public overwhelmingly passed proposition 6 the water fund amendment indeed in preparation for upcoming legislative action on water management issues dr vedlitz presented the results of the texas water survey to texas state leaders back in april james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz 2013 public attitudes toward water management and drought in texas texas water journal 4(2): 47-61 https://journalstdlorg/twj/indexphp/twj/article/view/6997

on monday october 28 one of bear bryants infamous junction boys dennis h goehring spoke on leadership at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university goehring focused his talk on goal setting decision making and persevering through difficulties drawing on his time as a football player for texas a&m under coach paul bear bryant goehring said that bryant took the struggling aggie football team to drought-plagued junction texas for their pre-season camp of the 111 players that initially made the trip only thirty-five remained after the ten days of grueling practices in the heat the men who did return as members of bryants team led the aggies to an undefeated season and the southwest conference title two years later in 1956 goehring was on the aggie team from 1953-1956 as a guard and was an all-american in 1956 when the team was undefeated won the southwest conference championship and was ranked number five in the nation of his time on the team with the junction boys goehring said the leadership qualities he learned are discipline hard work perseverance and just knowing that if you learned all these things you could have a mission statement to believe in and chart your life around i was determined to be in the group that stayed and survived and not part of the group that left camp goehring said i think what really happened were several things that affected me – i had to make the team to stay at a&m because i didnt have a scholarship going out there to me it was hard but it was just a game and i knew coach bryant was going to change things i just knew that he was going to develop a championship team and i wanted to be on it goehring said that all of the above made coach bryant a good leader throughout history you know people who are unique – roosevelt churchill lincoln patton and eisenhower – standout people coach bryant could have been a general goehring said when he walked in there was a presence about him that was totally captivating he had the ability to mesmerize people he was smart articulate and intelligent about his mission and what he wanted to do a tribute to coach bryants success is that all of the boys who came back from junction graduated and were successful people speaking specifically to the bush school a place filled with students aspiring to be leaders in public service goehring said that the junction boys werent unique in terms of the challenge that was given to them that junction episode – everyone will have a ‘junction episode the things ive been through since then were a lot tougher if im not persevering making it through then ive failed goehring said theres a junction ongoing and if you can accept that you will be successful out of every negative there is a positive you just have to persevere through ithave the mental toughness to do it goehring added that leadership can start at any age in life you learn from all of the experiences you learn from the mistakes you make and develop leadership from that if you survive then you become leaders he said the junction era was only a few years after wwii there was a mental toughness in this country that we dont have today goehring said now leadership has to generate a different format a different way of saying ‘hey this is how were going to solve the problem if we dont muster up some leadership we will not be happy with where we end up goehring emphasized the importance of finding the job you are passionate about doing – not the job that may make you the most money after college goehring went on to have an illustrious career in both the private and public sectors that includes positions at proctor & gamble college station economic development foundation bryan business council and the us air force a long-time friend of bush school writing consultant sally dee wade this is goehrings second visit to the school wade said students can learn valuable leadership lessons from goehrings experience with the junction boys they are an icon in texas a&m history they epitomize what you can do when you have the right leadership wade said the experiences they had at junction molded them into a cohesive team they all went on to be successful at a&m but that sense of overcoming obstacles has gone on with them through all of their careers goehring started his own bank went on to do city development in college station and now is doing the same in bryan he has been instrumental in such projects as the tamu health science center location wade said his leadership has made such an impact on the cities of bryan and college station wade said overall the junction boys personify leadership teamwork and overcoming obstacles to get the job done goehring began and ended his talk with two key principles success breeds success and if theres a negative in your life find a positive goehring said

four students were recently selected to serve on the the bush school ambassadors council a new student group that represents the bush school at special events development functions and alumni and recruitment events primarily the ambassadors are student liaisons to special guests and students invited to come to the bryan/college station community the new ambassadors are courtney anigian laura griffith daphne hiatt and max shanstrom all students pursuing a degree in the masters program in international affairs (mpia) at the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university there are now twenty-six members of the group chosen by the organizations selection committee the ambassadors council concept came from a group of students who convinced the administration that they could be major assets to the schools external relations activities their aim is to reinforce the schools emphasis on professionalism and discipline in public service careers members are selected for their competence social awareness dependability and integrity as well as their ability to represent the bush school brandon pichanick chief ambassador of the council said the organizations purpose is to help the school as the student body increases we believe that having students engaged in various activities can be a plus in the schools external relations activities he said our job is to be the student connection between the institutions and organizations connected to the bush school who regularly invite people to the campus he added the ambassadors seek to make sure guests feel welcome and special during their time at the bush school our members have to be as comfortable conversing with national and international guests as they are with a lost undergraduate trying to find his or her way around the school said pichanick

ambassador ryan c crocker dean of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university has been elected to the board of directors of the global humanitarian agency mercy corps headquartered in portland crocker a highly decorated career diplomat who served nearly 40 years in the middle east held ambassadorial posts in afghanistan lebanon kuwait syria pakistan and iraq mercy corps had its beginning as save the refugees fund co-founded in 1979 by dan oneill as an emergency relief task force assisting cambodian refugees following the infamous killing fields catastrophe in 1981 mercy corps was incorporated with a mission to alleviate suffering poverty and oppression by helping people to build just secure and productive communities since then the global aid agency has generated billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance in more than 100 countries assisting children and families with cost-efficient high-impact relief and development programs through a broad range of services and innovative strategies mercy corps ceo neel keny-guyer said that crockers unique and extensive diplomatic experience and insight will be a significant asset to the organization ambassador crocker has been widely recognized as one of the state departments most experienced south asia and middle east hands: few people in the world have his knowledge and networks keny-guyer said as the middle east pakistan and afghanistan struggle with ongoing conflict and economic uncertainty he brings an invaluable perspective to mercy corps i have seen first-hand the importance of international development and diplomacy in the middle east crocker said mercy corps performs outstanding work in the region and i am honored to join the organizations board

the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university honored gary c kelly chairman of the board president and ceo of southwest airlines with the 2013 mclane leadership in business award on thursday september 26 2013 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 high technology firm 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 the award highlights different roles that business plays in maintaining the economic political and social vitality of our nation under kellys leadership southwest airlines has grown into the nations largest domestic airline a twenty-seven-year southwest veteran kelly has worked closely with southwests legendary co-founder chairman emeritus herb kelleher and president emerita colleen barrett to build the nations largest airline in terms of passengersand the undisputed low-fare leader southwest airlines is celebrating forty years of consecutive profitability and was named #1 in customer satisfaction by the department of transportation for the year 2011 fortune magazine consistently lists southwest airlines among the worlds most admired corporations gary c kelly dean of the bush school ryan crocker welcomed mr kelly and other distinguished guests professor and director of the mosbacher institute jim griffin offere4d remarks and then presented the award along with drayton mclane jr and dean crocker its a real honor to be receiving this award said kelly texas a&m is a great school with great traditions i love and very much respect that you should be involved with something you are passionate about at southwest we have a history passion and dedicated employees it is a privilege to be a leader there he added that he understood that he was being recognized because of southwest airlines it is a huge honor kelly said its just another way to recognize the work of our people; and personally its very special to me texas and texas a&mthey both share rich traditions kelly said during his talk kelly focused on what he called the five cs of leadership – communication competence courage character and caringas well as the importance of an organization having purpose kelly views teamwork critical to executing the mission or purpose he cited president george h w bushs efforts to foster positive relations around the world prior to the first gulf war as a ‘real testament to teamwork if you dont know people you cant get things done kelly said you have to have courage and competency; but above all you have to care you use that wordcarewhen thinking about all aspects of the mission – clients employees investors when you have passion and are really good at something the money part will take care of itself in the forty-two years of southwest we have never had a lay-off or furlough because we have the best care for our employees why because it is the right thing to do he added dr dale thompson a business executive and founder and ceo of leadership worth following llc moderated a q&a session following kellys remarks in answer to a question posed in an interview prior to the event kelly offered the following advice to students and young professionals: work very hard on relationships purge from your mind the idea of a boss if youre confident and smart you can do things you dont have to know everything learning is all about you leading is all about turning that around and understanding your purpose he concluded

former mayor of college station ben white spoke to students faculty and staff of the bush school on monday september 30 2013 as part of the conversations in leadership speaker series before beginning his public service in college station as a planning and zoning committee member a council member and mayor white had served as the executive director of several professional associations on multiple city councils and as mayor and mayor pro tem for the city of garden ridge texas white spoke about the influence his grandfather also named ben white had on him and his public service white said he saw his grandfather as a natural people person who believed that the strength in a community was in the local people and those doing the work at the city level in the q&a following his remarks white talked about his experiences during his long career in local government when asked about working as an elected official with the paid staff white offered a good analogy he said as an executive director he met regularly with the presidentthe chief paid-staff personto make sure they were on the same page in terms of the organizations future as white explained it as the ed he was the driver of the bus (ie the organization); and it was his job to get others there safely while the president set the location of where he wanted the organization to go and if i dont get you there safely its time to find a new driver of the bus white said he continued this philosophy when he was mayor of college station as mayor white said he was always impressed with the high level of professionalism and education of those working in city government most people at the city management level have masters degrees he said i would often sit in on the management team meetings i dont believe in micromanaging but i wanted to show that i was involved and interested in what the departments were doing he added when asked for indicators of a successful team white cited lack of micromanagement by individuals on the team as well as people who are positive willing to listen to both sides of an issue and concerned with the teams progress he also favors team retreats to set priorities and determine plans for the coming year one of the signature programs white initiated as mayor was the monthly coffee with the mayor program when citizens could ask questions and interact with the mayor to further expand communication with the voters white said he would also invite the department directors to attend when asked what influential political leaders he looked up to white cited presidents harry truman and george hw bush to view the talk visit http://wwwyoutubecom/watchv=9egbuvr8tfe&list=tlwjbkvk3wjjvovl5r1zlsf7yyfcwhxx8m

on september 19 three bush school of government and public service students at texas a&m university – naaman akinola brandon pichanick and gabriella medina – attended the ceremony where president george h w bush and barbara bush presented the george bush award for excellence in public service to her highness sheikha moza bint nasser of qatar known as a global advocate for quality education and social reform the george bush foundation presents the george bush award in recognition of an individuals dedication to public service the award underscores president bushs lifelong commitment to public service a driving force behind education and social reforms in qatar for more than fifteen years sheikha moza is the chairperson of the qatar foundation for education science and community development (qf) a private nonprofit organization founded in 1995 qfs flagship project is education city a community of international universities and research institutions housed on a 1 000-hectare campus in doha qatar sheikha moza also actively spearheads projects promoting education peace and human development throughout the world in presenting the award mrs bush told the gathering that her highness sheikha mozas belief in the character and potential of her nations people is an inspiration to us all and a true example of service as a point of light texas a&m president r bowen loftin bush school dean ryan crocker and bush foundation ceo fred mcclure took part in the award ceremony medina chair of the bush schools public service organization said the trip to maine was a rewarding experience not only did i get to enjoy the beauty of maine but it was great to get to know the other bush school student organization leaders on a more personal level as well as the many leaders from texas a&m the bush school and the bush foundation she said i had the honor of being in the presence of her highness and president bush something i never imagined doing in my lifetime medina added im very grateful to those who made possible this opportunity to meet outstanding leaders in public service pichanick chief of the bush schools ambassadors council expressed similar sentiments: the opportunity to accompany dean crocker president loftin and mr mcclure and to represent the bush school and the greater texas a&m system was both an honor and a privilege few students have the opportunity to shake the hands of influential actors in international affairs and public service and i am thankful to have had the opportunity to be part of this important event akinola president of the bush schools student government association echoed their sentiments the creed of the bush school is public service and it was a true privilege to represent this institution at a ceremony honoring an individual as dedicated to serving others as sheikha moza as the leader of the bush school student body i pray that i can someday live up to the example set by both sheikha moza and president bush sheikha moza received the award after presenting the 4th george and barbara bush distinguished lecture at the university of new england (une) campus in biddeford maine which is an annual event honoring the legacy of president and mrs bush as political and community leaders all three students are in their second year of study at the bush school pursing masters degrees in public service and administration and in international affairs as a heartfelt gift to president bush they gave him colorful dress socks backstage prior to the event to view the awards presentation go to http://wwwyoutubecom/watchv=9bpo8ggwxrw

dean of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university ryan crocker was the first speaker at this falls conversation in leadership a weekly speaker series conducted by the public service leadership program the series provides an opportunity for bush school students to hear from and interact with experienced leaders in an informal setting crocker former ambassador to afghanistan iraq pakistan syria kuwait and lebanon shared both his personal views on leadership as well as his goals for the coming academic year but spent the majority of the time answering students questions crocker listed civility humility sacrifice perseverance and the necessity to project confidence as well as the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with those who advise the leader on key decisions as important leadership characteristics hope and vision are also keys for successful leaders he added leadership is not about you as a leader but about something bigger than you the best leaders have the smallest egos crocker said and real leadership is most evident when things are not going right he also noted that good leaders set a vision for their organization and persevere to see that vision through – never giving up even when things seem hopeless during the q&a that followed his remarks crocker fielded questions on a variety of subjects from the bush school to his time as us ambassador on leadership in foreign policy crocker stated that you must have patience in the international community to be able to serve leaders of both parties you must be ready willing and able to serve whomever the american people elect as a public servant you are working for those who have received the endorsement of the american people when telling students what to do as a leader crocker said that being a leader means being able to do multiple things at once when it comes to what to avoid as a leader crocker advised to be aware of the law of unintended consequences realize the need for transparency seek counsel use your imagination and know what you dont know and what is fundamentally unknowable concerning the bush school he said his goals for the coming year include building on the schools record of success carefully allocating resources and fully utilizing the schools alumni network we are a school of public service we are a professional school with masters degrees crocker said he also praised andy cards success during his tenure as acting dean with the schools capital campaign as well as with growing the school by reaching full enrollment capacity this fall students had an opportunity to interact with both the returning dean and outgoing acting dean at the deans reception this summer in washington dc current and former bush school students in the area were invited for a time of learning and networking bush school administrators and congressmen roger williams and bill flores of texas were also in attendance i truly appreciated the opportunity to get to meet dean crocker in washington before arriving back at the bush school said second-year master of public service and administration (mpsa) student robby smith his excitement to be back at the bush school and his willingness to make time for students to learn from his experiences in public service were evident as he met everyone and lingered to discuss his plans for the school and his life experiences it was truly a privilege to be in a room with such inspiring leaders who have so greatly impacted my career and education many of us also appreciated the chance to thank andy card for all his work for us in his two years at the bush school as the academic year progresses students will have many more opportunities to learn from influential leaders through the speaker series and other events hosted by the school and its institutes

on tuesday september 10 nasir ahmad andisha ambassador of the islamic republic of afghanistan to the commonwealth of australia new zealand and the republic of fiji visited the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university andisha graduated from the bush schools masters program in international affairs in 2009 andrew natsios and dean ryan crocker former us ambassador to afghanistan iraq syria pakistan kuwait and lebanon gave a warm welcome before andishas lunchtime talk to students and faculty crocker said when he met andisha at the bush school back in 2009 he was amazed at the caliber of students the school could attract being here is like coming back home andisha said this is a place where the noble call to public service is understood [students] will not regret coming here andishas talk consisted of a discussion of current trends and future challenges in afghanistan – including positive and negative measures of progress over the past decades this was followed by a presentation of his research entitled desirability and feasibility of a policy of neutrality in afghanistan speaking on foreign policy in an interview prior to the talk andisha said the issue of afghanistan should not be looked at only from the viewpoint of 2001 its an old country – 5 000 years of history and 5 000 years of problems he said if you want to turn [the country] around you have to do a whole bunch of things we need a generation of change andisha said my generation – we are a generation of bridge-makers from the old generation of warriors with less educational opportunities to the upcoming generation andisha is very grateful for his opportunity to come to the bush school i came to the bush school as a fulbright scholar you have a choice as to where you study i started off in monterrey but then i had a choice to go to either columbia or the bush school and i picked the bush school andisha said i had already interviewed with dr gawande and ambassador napper and i knew it was the kind of place i wanted to be as a mid-rank foreign service officer it is a professional school – a school where you get a good fusion of academics and practitioner experience andisha said it was the perfect place to be coming here was really a turning point in my career as a diplomat coming in to the school i knew what i needed there are few people in afghanistan with recent experience in the us andisha said not many people have gotten to do what i did here i traveled around the us and talked to many people such as former ambassadors generals colonels and even former president bush those kinds of experiences were what our foreign ministry wanted back in kabul while at the bush school andisha focused on the international economics and development track with concentrations in trade policy and economic development in regards to his favorite courses at the bush school andisha said you should ask me which ones were not my favorites they all matter and fit into the puzzle even quantitative courses are important because they can open you up to a whole different field of study later on andisha said leaving the bush school we are generalists – we know something about everything no matter what the primary field of study is andisha recommended students cross over and take a course or two in the other program to help broaden perspective later on students will not have time to learn as many new things so they need to learn while they can upon graduating from the bush school andisha returned to kabul where he resumed work for the ministry of foreign affairs as the director general of the fifth political division (us canada australia and new zealand) from 2009 to 2011 when asked for his advice for current bush school graduate students andisha recommended students take their language learning opportunities seriously and really try their best you have so many opportunities for exposure to other cultures and to have a regional focus in the coursework you also have the chance to learn leadership skills through the leadership program andisha said make use of all the great people you have here andisha said ask questions of them talk to them there is not always going to be an ambassador crocker andy card or ambassador natsios around he added just talking to these people is enough to learn as much as you would from a months worth of study in books andisha said prior to attending the bush school andisha was the director of multilateral economic relations and international financial institutions from 2006 to 2007 earlier he worked as the chief of staff for the deputy foreign minister he later finished an advanced security studies diploma from the marshall center for european studies in garmisch-partenkirchen germany and asia pacific center for security studies in hawaii usa before joining the foreign service ambassador andisha worked with the international committee of the red cross as a field officer he also taught international relations and principles of economics at the institute of diplomacy of the ministry of foreign affairs of afghanistan andisha is currently pursuing a phd from australian national university where he is researching afghanistans policy of neutrality he hopes to complete the program in 2014

one of the first activities of the new semester saw new and returning bush school students helping the brazos valley food bank in record time the students put together 200 family boxes of nonperishable foods to be distributed to needy families the food bank is a central distribution site in the brazos valley that unites food donors volunteers and hunger-relief agencies in reclaiming and distributing surplus food to nonprofit organizations and church sponsored pantries that provide food to those in need the event was just one of many projects conducted by the schools public service organization (pso) which coordinates student volunteer efforts in addition to the valuable assistance given to the food bank this first volunteer opportunity of the new academic year was also a chance for first- and second-year students to get together and begin building relationships i wanted our first volunteer event to be in an informal setting to show how much we care about serving the brazos valley community and how committed the bush school is to public service said gabriella medina executive chairman of the pso it was fun and the new students were able to learn about bush school faculty and courses and how to ‘survive graduate school she added the work was followed by lunch at rudys barbecue and each student who participated will receive a service badge inspired by president ghw bushs vision of public service as a noble calling and committed to its mission the bush school offers a comprehensive educational experience designed to cultivate professionalism and principle in public service the bush school is now ranked in the top 12 percent of the 266 graduate public affairs schools in the nation according to rankings published in us news & world report magazine the school now ranks thirty-third among both public and private public affairs graduate programs and twenty-first among public universities more information about the bush school can be found at http://bushtamuedu/

scott robinson istpp fellow presented a paper co-authored with istpp director arnold vedlitz at the annual conference of the american political science association in chicago il on august 29 2013 their paper organizational trust and risk communication: trust in the epa and opposition to fracking explores how trust in a particular government institution rather than government as a whole contributes to the publics acceptance of policy formation respondents to a national public survey were presented with one of three randomized risk scenarios about fracking delivered by one of three randomized messengers including the epa after analyzing the resulting data the authors determined that the treatment for risk intensity significantly predicted support for fracking while the identity of the messenger did not the data for this research came from a 2012 national public energy survey supported by texas a&m universitys crisman institute for petroleum research in the harold vance department of petroleum engineering istpp and the office of the vice president for research

dr morton joins istpp as a key member of the institutes research team dr morton recently earned her phd in political science from texas a&m and she has taught as a lecturer in that department her research interests include public policy policy evaluation and public management

thirty-two graduates of the master of public service and administration (mpsa) program at the bush school of government and public service texas a&m university were recently inducted into pi alpha alpha the honor society for outstanding students in public affairs the organization has chapters at 162 universities including the bush school each of which is a member of the network of schools of public policy affairs and administration (naspaa) the global standard in public service education pi alpha alpha recognizes and promotes excellence in the study and practice of public affairs and administration members are selected on the basis of their high performance in graduate school which has prepared them for public service careers and who represent the societys ideals of integrity professionalism and creative performance bush school 2013 mpsa graduates into the society include: ana bobo andrew bobo kyle boes judson brown david cabrera warren chalklen rachael dahl crystal davis kelsey draughon andrew graham michael hardy jennifer harris nathaniel hickman carly hilley edward holland alyssa jones yunjin jung scott kenyon allison lee laura lombardo nicola mallik torey mcdaniel michael neu grace norman sarina rapini courtney rottman taylor smith warren reid squires lindsay taylor jeremy twitchell katherine white liangchen zhang pi alpha alpha is a member of the association of college honor societies the coordinating agency for collegiate honor societies which is dedicated to maintaining high standards for the recognition and promotion of academic excellence in higher education

the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university awarded second-year students in both the master of public service and administration (mpsa) and the masters program in international affairs with certificates in leadership and writing prior to graduation fifty-three students earned the deans leadership certificate while thirty completed the writing portfolio project in order to complete the deans leadership certificate students had to complete an individual leadership plan attend two leadership workshops take a core leadership course complete several leadership assessments and attend a professional coaching session students worked extensively with dr joe cerami director of the public service leadership program and holly kasperbauer assistant director to complete these requirements the writing portfolio project entailed working with sally dee wade the bush schools writing expert to edit at least two papers for a portfolio of writing samples these samples can highlight specific policy or career interests and feature students research and writing capabilities many students submit their portfolios as writing samples during their job search bush school acting dean andy card who presented students with their certificates expressed the importance of mastering both skills to help students succeed as they move through their careers during the ceremony bush school executive associate dean samuel kirkpatrick said the two programs make the bush school unique there isnt another school like this across the nation that provides this kind of leadership and writing training in addition to core academic requirements kirkpatrick said these programs set the bush school apart and will set students apart from colleagues in the workplace

a team of four students from the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university traveled to cambodia in february as part of their capstone project evaluating a community-based micro-financing program the advisor to the capstone project was dr leonard bright an associate professor in the master of public service and administration (mpsa) program at the bush school the capstones client is communitiworks (cw) a nonprofit organization that seeks to catalyze community development by facilitating investments in community-based micro financing and education cw operates on the philosophy that community-based organizations established by local leaders who understand the unique problems of their region offer the best chance for long-term economic change that will benefit both local and regional societies cw believes this type of program has a greater chance of sustainability than solutions imposed from outside the region the capstone group evaluated the impact of cws community-based micro-financing strategies in cambodia by developing evaluation questions collecting and analyzing data and reporting the findings and implications of their research to communitiworks the bush school students were in phnom penh for most of their time in cambodia since the communities they evaluated were within the city they visited schools run by a nonprofit organization and met with community leaders to get a sense of the state of education the economy and the health of the community those visits were followed by door to door surveys asking questions to evaluate overall living conditions the goal of the surveys was to form baseline measurements for cw to use in future program evaluations ashley spradlin a second-year mpsa student and a member of the team commented on how the work was conducted saying our client is relatively new in the country and we initially met some barriers as the communities werent aware of cws work overall it was a very successful experience; and the reports we compiled are impressive and show great promise she added spradlin also said that the opportunity to see the temples at angkor wat was a highlight of the trip we saw amazing and beautiful things and it was an experience unlike any other even though they are living in abject poverty the people are just warm and friendly the culture is obviously quite different but people are so pleased to be free to live even if their situations are dire she added

results of collaborative research by istpp director arnold vedlitz former associate director eric lindquist and ivan damnjanovic (civil engineering) were presented at the smart grid workshop: opportunities and challenges held april 17 2013 at texas a&m university their research is from a joint tamu-ut center grant funded by the national science foundationi/ucrc: phev/ebvs: transportation and electricity convergence texas a&m texas engineering experiment station (tees) and the smart grid center hosted the workshop research in transportation and electricity convergence mladen kezunovic ismail capar ivan damnjanovic mehrdad ehsani steven puller arnold vedlitz joe zietsman and le xieresearch in policy and societal issues tarla peterson bruce mccarl and arnold vedlitz istpps contribution to the research focuses on trends and needs pertaining to electric vehicle charging infrastructure and associated policy frameworks

on april 26 2013 dr arnold vedlitz presented results from the institutes water policy survey of texans conducted in february and march of this year to texas state leaders those in attendance included representatives of the texas water development board texas general land office texas department of agriculture legislative staff office of the governor and the h2o4 texas coalition group istpps survey results reveal that texans are very concerned about water issues especially drought and texans are willing to support policies and adopt behaviors to ensure an adequate water supply for current and future needs istpps texas water survey has also garnered media attention as the texas state legislature voted may 23 2013 to allocate $2 billion from the rainy day fund for water infrastructure and conservation projects before these monies can be spent texas voters must approve a state constitutional amendment to create the necessary funding mechanism you may read the press articles by clicking on the links below texas climate news: https://texasclimatenewsorg/wp/p=7790texas tribune: https://wwwtexastribuneorg/2013/05/29/agenda-texas-can-water-pass/

a recent survey of texas citizens revealed that contrary to some earlier predictions texans are very interested in and concerned about the quality and quantity of water in the lone star state respondents report being concerned about the increasing number and severity of droughts in texas and about the availability of enough water to serve all the states water needs the survey was led by dr arnold vedlitz director of the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) in the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university the project and survey instrument were designed by him and other researchers at istpp the research effort was supported by the texas sea grant program the tamu vice president for research and istpp in the bush school the survey was conducted by the respected online polling company gfk in february and march of this year so the results are scientifically sound and very up to date this survey revealed that texans are very worried about our states diminishing water resources and that they are willing to see conservation methods put in place vedlitz said they are also concerned about how our water resources are managed and used he added dr pamela plotkin director of the texas sea grant program and a co-sponsor of the survey commented that one of the things i find most interesting and important in this survey is how strongly texas citizens feel about keeping water resources available for our natural environmental assets like our bays and estuaries and other environmental life-giving assets so important to our states health natural beauty and economy overall water issues ranked fifth among a list of ten major issues facing the country after government spending health care the economy and national security some 55 percent said they had experienced drought in their region in the past year and of those who had experienced drought over 95 percent said those droughts are as frequent or more frequent and as severe or more severe than ever and while most believe that short-term changes in annual rainfall are a major cause of water shortages they also cited overuse and inadequate management of water resources increased demand and climate change as additional important factors affecting drought respondents also believe that over the next five years diminishing water resources will result in more conflicts over water use higher water costs greater fire danger increased food prices a loss of recreational opportunities and damage to plant and animal species when asked about how they might personally act to alleviate water shortages a majority stated they were already reducing their water usage by watering lawns less washing their cars less frequently or using appliances more efficiently texans seem ready to accept mandatory lawn watering restrictions if that is necessary to preserve important water resources for other key agricultural economic and quality of life issues a number of possible policy options to improve water availability for now and the future received strong support including water-related infrastructure improvements (such as those now being considered by the texas legislature) (64%) education and public relations campaigns to encourage greater voluntary conservation (67%) tax incentives and tax cuts to encourage water conservation (67%) and protecting some water resources for environmental needs (71%) vedlitz concludes policy makers need to be aware of the extent of the publics concern about water issues and their willingness to support a variety of measures to help guarantee the security of the texas water supply now and in the future for more information contact dr arnold vedlitz at avedlitz@bushschooltamuedu

james w stoutenborough istpp postdoctoral research associate presented two papers at the 71st annual conference of the midwest political science association held april 11-14 2013 in chicago illinois all of these papers draw upon institute research project data in keeping with istpps mentoring of future policy makers istpp undergraduate student worker shelbi sturgess is a co-author on the public perceptions of nuclear power paper and presented with stoutenborough at mpsa sturgess is a junior political science major student government association executive council chief of staff and member of a&ms model united nationsknowledge risk and policy support: public perceptions of nuclear power james w stoutenborough shelbi sturgess and arnold vedlitz this project examines us public support for nuclear energy one year after the fukushima tragedy seeking to understand the influence of knowledge and risk perceptions on policy supportproblem definition and risk perceptions: rethinking the role of risk perceptions on political behavior james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz this project explores the influence of risk perceptions on policy support within three issue domains – energy climate change and terrorism stoutenborough also presented two papers he co-authored with istpp director arnold vedlitz at the annual meeting of the western political science association in hollywood ca held march 28-30the role of scientific knowledge in the publics perceptions of energy technology risks the researchers exam the effect of perceived and objective scientific knowledge on the publics risk evaluations of different energy technologies in order to more clearly connect science knowledge scientific trust and issue problem identificationcollective action and public support for pollution reducing energy policies the authors apply a collective interest model of public support to pollution reducing energy policies and behavioral changes they integrate this approach with an evaluation of the policy elites influence on the public as filtered through their trust in the policy elite stoutenborough based these papers on results from on istpps national public energy survey

on march 27 students at texas a&ms george bush school of government and public service had a unique opportunity to hear from and question tony mendez the american diplomat played by ben affleck in the oscar-winning movie argo the film was adapted from mendezs books the master of disguise: my secret life in the cia and argo: how the cia and hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in history as well as the article the great escape by joshuah berman it describes the rescue mission led by mendez of six united states diplomats from tehran iran during the revolutionary iran hostage crisis in 1979 mendez and his wife jonna were on campus to give a public presentation on the story behind the movie and met with bush school students prior to their evening appearance some 80 faculty staff and students heard how the couple began their cia careers while in their 20s and how both eventually became chiefs of disguise for the agency mendez is a former cia technical operative who worked as a plumber and illustrator before joining the cias technical staff he spent 25 years in the cia regularly falsifying documents crafting disguises and conducting exfiltration operations in 1979 mendez conducted operation canadian caper on which the events of argo are based the couple explained to the students the importance of disguise in intelligence work and showed a video on just how effective disguises can be both agreed that its easier to disguise a woman as a man rather than vice versa tony mendez noted that being able to create an identify that can be transformed for espionage work …is the lifeblood of the cia jonna added that working with gadgets and disguise will make you paranoid for the rest of your life! the mendezes also cited president george h w bush as their favorite cia director the gathering was a unique opportunity for the bush school students to hear about daily life in and after the cia and a valuable introduction to the broader presentation given that evening on campus where some 2 000+ people including president and mrs barbara bush watched argo following the screening bush school professor jim olson also retired from the cia moderated a question and answer session the mendezes who offered some insight into the film the actors and crew and its veracity they were technical advisors on the movie and tony mendez said the film was about 90 percent accurate but noted that while it wasnt a direct parallel to his life and the events he felt that the spirit of the film was close to his actual experience the cia awarded the intelligence star to mendez for his involvement in the iranian mission now retired mendez and his wife reside in rural maryland

the authors used data from a national survey of us adults to assess perceived risks and willingness to pay for four terrorist threats: poisoned water supply; explosion of a small nuclear device in a major us city; an airplane attack similar to 9/11; and explosion of a bomb in a building train subway or highway for both perceived risks and willingness to pay psychometric variables such as severity number affected and likelihood were far stronger predictors than were demographic variables article citation: mumpower jeryl liu shi james w stoutenborough and arnold vedlitz 2013 psychometric and demographic predictors of the perceived risk of terrorist threats and the willingness to pay for terrorism risk management program risk analysis https://onlinelibrarywileycom/doi/101111/risa12033/full this paper is based on research conducted by istpp and funded by the department of homeland security

the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy in the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university will present the annual bank of america volunteerism program april 19 featuring harriet martin vice president of community affairs for usaa the event which is free and open to the public will be held in the george bush presidential library orientation theater beginning at 4 pm although the event is open to the public advance registration is required to ensure appropriate accommodations considering space limitations organizers of the event note headquartered in san antonio with offices nationwide usaa provides a full range of financial products and services to the military and their families and is known for its corporate volunteerism and community service ms martin administers usaas charitable contributions programs and oversees the community educational initiatives and volunteer programs she also serves as president of the usaa foundation and as president of the usaa educational foundation martin holds a bachelors degree in business administration from liberty university and has completed graduate level courses in organizational leadership and development a dedicated community volunteer she has a particular interest in programs focused on education military and veteran causes and senior adults the bank of america endowed its program on volunteerism through the george bush presidential library foundation in 2000 now administered by the mosbacher institute the program is an effort to educate individuals and corporations on the importance of volunteer activities in todays society previous speakers in the series include tim russert elaine chao jenna bush john zogby curt smith and robert pease

istpp former postdoc sam park and istpp director arnold vedlitz published their research about climate hazards and risk status in sociological spectrum the authors investigate the ways in which major physical and locational climate change vulnerabilities that individuals face and the greater information they have on these vulnerabilities affect personal and political behaviors the authors find that those who have more objective information of their climate vulnerabilities and greater informational sources through interpersonal social ties within their communities are more likely to engage in personal behaviors and support policy efforts to reduce climate change dangers article citation: park hyung and arnold vedlitz 2013 climate hazards and risk status: explaining climate risk assessment behavior and policy support sociological spectrum 33(3): 219-239 https://wwwtandfonlinecom/doi/abs/101080/027321732013732900 this paper is based on research conducted by istpp and funded by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration you can read more about the funded project online

a revised edition of president george bushs collected letters all the best george bush: my life in letters and other writings has been published by scribner the new version includes letters emails diary entries and photographs from the past 15 years covering his son george w bushs presidency 9/11 his unlikely friendship with bill clinton and ruminations on life friendship and family known as a skilled and passionate letter writer this new edition show both president bushs intimate correspondence with friends and family and his perfectly mannered communication in affairs of state organized chronologically the volume begins with eighteen-year-old georges letters to his parents during world war ii when at the time he was commissioned he was the youngest pilot in the us navy readers will gain insights into bushs career highlightsthe oil business his two terms in congress his ambassadorship to the un his service as an envoy to china his tenure with the central intelligence agency and of course the vice presidency the presidency and the post-presidency bushs letters also reveal a devoted husband father and american ranging from a love letter to barbara and a letter to his mother about his missing his daughter robin after her death from leukemia to a letter to his children two weeks before nixons resignation to one written to them just before the beginning of desert storm the writings are remarkable for their candor humor and poignancy as president bush writes in his preface so what we have here are letters from the past and present letters that are light and hopefully amusing letters written when my heart was heavy or full of joy serious letters nutty letters caring and rejoicing letters…its all about heartbeat all proceeds from the book will go to the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university it can be purchased from the george bush museum store at http://wwwmuseumstorecom the book was also featured in a segment on the today show which can be viewed at: http://todaynewstodaycom/_news/2013/03/12/17282270-family-friends-share-poetic-letters-from-george-hw-bushlite

dr william brown and dr lori taylor professors in the master of public service and administration program (mpsa) were recently awarded prestigious professorships approved by dr karan l watson texas a&m university provost dr william brown dr brown associate professor and program director of the certificate in nonprofit management was appointed to the mary julia and george jordan professorship established in 1998 his research focuses on nonprofit governance and organizational effectiveness and he currently teaches courses on management and leadership of nonprofits as well as courses on social innovation and entrepreneurship brown has long been heavily involved with local and national nonprofits including consultancy work for boardsource in washington dc and big brothers big sisters of central arizona; and he has received numerous grants to support his research in the field of nonprofit management he currently serves as president of the board of directors for the united way of the brazos valley and is the faculty advisor of the public service organization at the bush school dr brown has been a professor at the bush school since 2006 dr lori taylor dr taylor also an associate professor in the mpsa program was appointed to the verlin and howard kruse ‘52/founders professorship established to honor the professors who founded the bush school including dr charles f hermann dr arnold vedlitz and dr george edwards she regularly teaches courses on economics and public finance as well as independent directed studies for bush school students taylor has been a professor at the bush school since 2003 and holds several teaching awards including the silver star award for excellence in teaching and the bush faculty excellence award taylor has served as a consultant on school finance issues for various legislative committees and state and federal agencies including the texas comptroller for public accounts and the national center for education statistics she currently advises a capstone project examining student perspectives on developmental education in texas community colleges dr brown and dr taylor are outstanding examples of the high quality of our faculty and their significant impact on public policy said acting dean andy card their public service as well as their outstanding teaching and research bring credit to the bush school and reinforce our firm commitment to reaching outside academe to help create a better world he added

students from the bush school of government & public service at texas a&m university along with habitat for humanity supporters will hold a wall-raising ceremony saturday (march 2) for a house that will be built in honor of president george hw and mrs barbara bush the ceremony is set for 8 am in bryans faith subdivision located at the intersection of east martin luther king drive and military drive over the past year students led a fund-raising effort with the help of bush school dean andrew card to raise the necessary $40 000 to sponsor the bush house student leaders said that the fund-raising process involved sending out letters and making phone calls to more than 150 people including former students faculty staff and supporters of president bush and of habitat for humanity additionally bush school students hosted fund-raisers such as a trivia night and kickball tournament and made a final push by reaching out to family friends and into their own pockets during the last few weeks of fund-raising to date the students have raised over $42 000 for habitat for humanity with the majority of donations coming in since november since the bush house will cost approximately $70 000 to build supporters can continue to donate to habitat for humanity to honor president bush organizers note the house is one of 24 new energy-efficient homes going up in the faith subdivision the five-bedroom house will be presented to andrew and stephanie ybarra and their five children on may 11 one day after the current bush school second-year students graduate volunteers including several bush school students will help build the home each saturday between the wall-raising and the home dedication students said they hope this house will not only serve as a lasting tribute to president bush long after they graduate but will also continue to connect bush school students to the community in which they live the bush school engages in numerous volunteer activities each year but this project is unique in that it is long-lasting and the philanthropy was student-led organizers emphasize

recently seven second-year master of public service and administration (mpsa) students from the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university relocated to austin texas to complete their capstone project a final requirement for all graduating bush school students tapping into the flourishing bush school former student network current students worked closely with alumni to secure jobs during the 83rd texas legislative session the bush school graduates were quite helpful to students hoping to land positions in the legislature said dr ann bowman advisor for the texas legislative capstone bush school alums met with current students gave them advice circulated job postings distributed students resumes to interested offices and provided additional contacts there were many opportunities to work with bush school alumni to secure positions in austin; and they were a constant source of support advice and job opportunities said daniel bernhard who is currently a committee intern for the senate finance committee the texas legislative capstone students networked throughout the fall semester with bush school alumni working in the capital city at various house senate committee and executive offices ultimately three bush school alums hired capstone students for their offices including matt lamon 07 current chief of staff for representative jm lozano at dr bowmans request i met with the capstone students last fall about what its like to work for the legislature; and as a result i hired two bush school students lamon said lamon is pleased with the work the students have done thus far saying he hired from the bush school because he …knew that the training was perfect for what we do at the legislature i knew these students would have the skill set and personality to thrive here the two students in representative lozanos office are currently working on substantive policy research fernando trevino was one of the two legislative aides from the bush school hired by lamon everyone that we have met in passing or from offices around ours is either from the bush school or knows someone from the bush school which i wasnt expecting trevino said adding that this made working his first session much easier thus far trevino has worked with constituents as well as helped to research draft and file a dozen bills this capstone is a clear application of our policy-based classes at the bush school as well as an experience in learning how to make differences of opinions come together and work for our district its one thing to read about the legislature and another thing to work from very early until very late to get things done he added both current and former students similarly highlight how the texas legislative capstone has added something unique to their educational experiences those of us who graduated from the bush school need to pay it forward lamon said its what were called to do as public servants and it really enhances the value of our degree to have another class of well-qualified public servants come after us lamon urged all former students to consider hiring students even as interns or project-based staff from the current-student perspective bernhard says the capstone provides practical experience that enhances classroom learning and discussion from his previous three semesters at the bush school there is a lot of discussion in class about decision making and politically driven policy development but this capstone allows on-the-ground insight into how these ideas work the bush school is much more policy focused than politically focused and its refreshing to see both in action students in the texas legislative capstone must also complete a research report this years report will focus on the states economic stabilization fund commonly referred to as the rainy day fund which bowman says is a crucial issue for the legislature this session students will analyze costs and benefits of various plans for the funds use bowman expects the report will be of interest to a subset of legislative committees; texas think tanks; and potentially the national conference of state legislatures in addition to help from bush school alumni bowman also highlighted the help of several current students with previous texas legislative experience as well as bush school dean andrew card and dr matthew upton director of career student and alumni services

texas a&m bush school graduate adrian calcaneo got more than he expected from participating in the schools study abroad program in canada last march he was inspired after graduation to start a nonprofit organization the council for north american policy which will foster an understanding of the contemporary political social and economic issues confronting the united states mexico and canada the council aims to increase public awareness and appreciation of the joint trade potential and cooperation opportunities of the region and promote the importance of a strong intra-north american working relationship particularly with energy trade security and public policy issues the council will be based in houston and already has citizens from all three north american countries as members the project will be launched next week in mexico city where ill present my concepts at universidad de las americas before a group of government officials academics students and others calcaneo said the idea occurred to me during the program in canada last year since my capstone project was based on economic development and talked about partnerships and ‘coopetition it made sense to start the organization at a country level it would not have happened without the canada experience he added calcaneo has said that he hopes the new nonprofit will be able to tap into bush school students training and skill sets several bush school students are already working with calcaneo: brenda sarmiento class of 2011; ramon gonzalez class of 2012; and jon aitchison caitlin harwood and morgan miller class of 2013 one of the reasons i wanted to start this nonprofit is to give back to the bush school calcaneo said i want to be able to provide meaningful internships and jobs and rely on the growing student network to move this organization forward during the bush schools 2012 spring break recess seventeen students spent four days in ottawa and two days in montreal visiting canadian government departments the us embassy and the paterson school of international affairs at carlton university in montreal the students took part in a graduate conference at mcgill universitys centre for international peace and security studies and visited with the canadian border services agency bush school acting dean andrew card said calcaneos initiative shows how the bush school encourages entrepreneurship in public service adrians new organization has the potential to make a significant difference in the region he said we value and encourage entrepreneurship and are always delighted to see our graduates finding new and innovative ways to serve others

dr james griffin holder of the bob bullock chair in public policy and finance has been a professor of economics and public policy in the bush school of government and public service since 2001 dr griffin or dr g as he is known by his students is a native texan and part-time rancher he holds a ba in mathematics and economics from southern methodist university and a phd in economics from the university of pennsylvania more of his background information can be found here: https://bushtamuedu/faculty/jgriffin dr g is known among bush school students as a lively but demanding professor intent on teaching students the economic way of thinking he likes to use some of his colorful experiences in the private sector and federal government as classroom examples including his trips to montana to buy prized angus bulls stories of which are familiar to any of his students dr gs teaching specialty is energy economics and policy relying on his broad experience in the oil industry and his extensive travel in the middle east students are challenged to consider policy alternatives and are encouraged to think critically of social political and economic consequences of different alternatives this is a highly engaging course demanding considerable student participation dr griffin has received numerous professional awards including a listing in whos who in economics and a humboldt fellowship in addition he serves on the editorial boards of three journals specializing in energy economics as a director at the lecg corporation dr griffin is also frequently called upon to testify regarding anti-trust and regulatory issues his research has resulted in six books and over 50 refereed journal articles his research interests span a variety of public policy areas ranging from energy policy to the effects of technological change on various industries he has maintained a long-standing interest in energy policy having co-authored the leading textbook in the field in 2009 he made the case for a carbon tax in a smart energy policy: an economists rx for balancing cheap clean and secure energy published by yale university press his current research interests are us ethanol policy and the use of fresh groundwater for fracking

the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policy of the bush school of government and public service at texas a&m university presented ambassador carla hills former us trade representative for president george hw bush with its annual good governance award on january 28 to a standing-room-only audience the good governance award recognizes exemplary public service and raises the visibility of advanced analysis in policymaking as part of the conocophillips white house lecture series hills spoke at the george bush presidential library dean andrew card provided welcoming remarks and dr james griffin director of the mosbacher institute introduced hills by providing background information on international trade the event was well attended by graduate and undergraduate students from texas a&m university supporters of the bush library and foundation local elected officials such as congressman bill flores and members of the local community hills discussed her role as the presidents principal advisor on international trade as well as her experience as the chief negotiator for the north american free trade agreement (nafta) hills worked closely with robert mosbacher the institutes namesake while in president bushs cabinet and said she was pleased to receive the award named in his honor hills also participated in a q&a session led by dr kishore gawande a professor in the masters program in international affairs at the bush school of government and public service during the q&a session hills also provided several suggestions on moving the doha development round the current trade negotiation round of the world trade organization forward and increasing the united states international trade these suggestions included participation in various trade alliances including a potential partnership between nafta and the european union finally hills offered advice for students interested in pursuing careers in trade and economics abroad noting the many opportunities available

paul a sabatier died february 3 2013 after a long illness dr sabatier was a key contributor and member of a multidisciplinary team on an istpp epa-funded watershed management project project researchers implemented a collaborative approach to watershed management that used extensive feedback from multiple stakeholders the results of this project germinated into a well-received book swimming upstream: collaborative approaches to management edited by paul a sabatier will focht mark lubell zev trachtenberg arnold vedlitz and marty matlock the mit press 2005 dr sabatier was well respected for his research on public policy making and his foundational role in establishing the division of environmental studies at uc davis where he taught from 1972 until his retirement in 2011 dr sabatier was especially well known for his development of the advocacy coalition theory which provides a framework for understanding the complex interactions among multiple groups involved in developing and implementing policy

istpp director dr arnold vedlitz; his istpp colleague dr xinsheng liu; former istpp graduate student charles lindsey (now with stata corp); and the late istpp fellow dr melvin j hinich recently published beyond the left-right cleavage: exploring american political choice space in the journal of theoretical politics applying spatial choice theory and using data from two national public surveys the scholars examine the american political choice space they find that beyond the left-right divide american political choice space contains a second dimension centered on range of reforms methods by which policy changes should be developed such as non-partisan or polarizing methods the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and us department of commerce grants funded the study utilization of science-based information on climate change in decision making and the public policy process which provided the data the authors used to develop this article article citation: hinich melvin xinsheng liu arnold vedlitz and charles lindsey 2013 beyond the left-right cleavage: exploring american political choice space journal of theoretical politics 25 (1): 75–104

in april texas house speaker joe straus appointed bush school acting dean andrew h card jr to serve on the select committee on economic development which was established by the texas legislature in 2011 the committee is developing objective criteria in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the states economic development policies in encouraging new investment employment and income and in retaining existing facilities and jobs the committee was also charged to evaluate existing state and local incentives and policies and make recommendations regarding their continuation elimination or modification another area of study was how incentives offered to businesses in texas compared to those available in other states and how those differences affected business decisions regarding where to invest in addition to card the 12-person select committee includes members of the legislature and representatives of the private sector they will present their report to the 83rd legislature when it convenes in january speaker straus noted that cards extensive experience in government and the private sector were of particular value to the committee as a former us secretary of transportation and white house chief of staff dean card has compiled an extraordinary record of public service to our country i am deeply honored that he agreed to serve his newly adopted home state by sitting on this committee and helping the legislature make our economic development efforts more effective and accountable to taxpayers straus said card is currently a member of the us chamber of commerces advisory board and has held senior government positions under three us presidents in addition to his service as secretary of transportation and as white house chief of staff he also worked in the reagan administration as white house liaison to governors statewide elected officials state legislators mayors and other elected officials im honored to be part of this important policy effort and have enjoyed working with my committee colleagues from both the public and private sector card said ive also been fortunate to have access to bush school faculty who have expertise in economic development and on whom i could call as our work progressed he added

since its founding in 1997 the bush school has brought speakers to campus who have addressed topics of interest to the wider community many of these events have been sell outs with seats filled by a mix of local residents bush school students and faculty in keeping with that tradition in january two noted authorities will be speaking on the texas a&m university campus: carla hills former us trade representative for president george h w bush and dr jeffrey engel director of the center for presidential history at southern methodist university and a former member of the bush school faculty by providing these opportunities to hear from prominent experts on diverse topics the bush school enriches the educational and cultural life of the community on january 28 ambassador hills will discuss her role as the presidents principal advisor on international trade as well as her experience as the chief negotiator for the north american free trade agreement (nafta) now in effect for twenty years in addition to her time as us trade representative hills also served as secretary of housing and urban development in the ford administration and as assistant attorney general as part of the conocophillips white house lecture series hills will speak in the presidential library orientation theater at the bush library beginning at 5:30 pm during her visit ambassador hills will also receive the mosbacher institute for trade economics and public policys good governance award which recognizes exemplary public service and raises the visibility of advanced analysis in policymaking professor engel will discuss his new book into the desert – reflections on the gulf war at the scowcroft institute for international affairs in the bush school at 5:30 pm on january 30 in the annenberg presidential conference center in his study engel has assembled an all-star cast of contributors to reevaluate the first gulf war they examine the wars origins its unfolding its impact within the arab world and its long-term effect on military affairs and international relations president george hw bush has called the book …a must-read for those who care about americas future role in the middle east a noted historian engel is the author or editor of seven books on american foreign policy including the fall of the berlin wall cold war at 30 000 feet and the china diary of george hw bush following his presentation there will be an opportunity to meet professor engel purchase a copy of the book and have it signed please join us for these events which are open to the public reserve seats for ambassador hills lecture by contacting the mosbacher institute at mosbacher@bushschooltamuedu or by phone at (979)845-1927; for the into the desert event contact the scowcroft institute at siia@bushschooltamuedu or by phone at (979)458-8015 event press release in the eagle: hills engel to speak at bush library this month

dr kalena cortes an associate professor in the master of public service and administration (mspa) department came to the bush school from syracuse university she earned her ba in economics from the university of california at san diego (ucsd) and her phd in economics from the university of california at berkeley where her dissertation focused on how immigrants assimilate in the united states she then did a post-doctoral fellowship at princeton university during which she shifted her research focus toward education issues primarily studying various policy aspects of the texas top 10% plan in 2010 cortes publication in the economics of education review do bans on affirmative action hurt minority students evidence from the texas top 10% plan examined the effects of the texas plan on non-top 10% minority students she presented new evidence on the effects of alternative admissions policies on the persistence and college completion of minority students i found that the change from affirmative action to the top 10% plan decreased both retention and graduation rates of lower-ranked minority students dr cortes said and i found no evidence in support of the minority ‘mismatch hypothesis her research on the top 10% plan has been covered by several media outlets: inside higher ed the chronicle of higher education and the houston chronicle her emerging research interests in the economics of education and immigration policy will contribute significantly to the schools policy research program in addition dr cortes has been involved in a variety of major service activities both on campus and in her profession she is currently serving on the board of directors on the association for education finance and policy (aefp) and is a fellow at the greater texas foundation she is also the recipient of several grants and fellowships; her research has been funded by spencer foundation american educational research association greater texas foundation we upjohn institute for employment research national institutes of health and the us department of education – institute of education sciences cortes notes that coming to the bush school is ironic in that she had never visited texas a&m university despite working with a&m admissions data for many years the bush school is a very dynamic place she said theres energy in the air she also noted that the school has a lot of amazing opportunities for students to hear from and interact with prominent speakers from current and past administrations the collegiality of her colleagues also impressed cortes the bush school is great! my colleagues made me feel at home the first day i arrived ive also been very impressed with the schools students who are very hard-working she added dr cortes teaches a variety of classes including education and immigration policy quantitative methods i and quantitative methods ii i love teaching methods as numbers can be exciting she says she looks forward to sharing that enthusiasm with her students she defines her teaching style as interactive she has her students use real data to run statistical analyses which enables them to better understand the statistical topics my quantitative courses have greatly benefited from my research i integrate my empirical work into the lectures which provides my students with insights into the immediate applicability of the statistical methods being taught in class

results from istpps national public energy survey have drawn the attention of the media the survey examines the publics attitudes regarding several energy topics including issues resulting from energy generation; sources of information about energy issues; knowledge perceived risks and environmental impacts of energy sources; energy policy preferences; and willingness to pay for or alter behaviors to implement policy options below are links to some of the coverage: energywire: https://wwweenewsnet/energywire/2012/11/09/5fuelfix: https://fuelfixcom/blog/2012/11/08/am-poll-finds-support-for-renewables-but-not-gas-taxes additionally channel 40 the local abc affiliate posted a video newscast about the survey on its website titled: texas a&m takes national survey istpp conducted this survey in partnership with the tamu energy institute and the crisman institute partially funded the study additionally dr vedlitz istpp director reported on the national energy survey to the crisman institute in december 2012

dr arnold vedlitz has been an integral part of the bush school of government and public service since the idea was first put forward in the early 1990s as associate dean in the college of liberal arts (and also a professor in the department of political science) vedlitz was a key member of the team that prepared the universitys bid for the bush presidential library and museum in addition to his teaching and administrative duties vedlitz also headed the colleges center for public leadership studies (cpls) when the bush school became a reality in 1996 – initially under the college of liberal arts – he was asked to move the center to the school in those early days the school had no faculty per se but ‘borrowed faculty from the departments of political science economics and other disciplines vedlitz said he was one of the schools first official faculty members moving his academic tenure from political science to the bush school soon after the first class graduated in 1997 the bush school became an independent college; and in 2000 the cpls evolved into the institute for science technology and public policy (istpp) vedlitz was named executive associate dean under dean robert gates a position he held until 2004 i realized that trying to juggle administration scholarly research and teaching was becoming burdensome; so i decided to ‘downsize a bit and focus on my teaching and research interests vedlitz said he now holds the bob bullock chair in government and public policy and directs istpp he has also been a student advisor and a capstone advisor and has served on numerous phd committees as well as on a number of state and national committees and advisory boards including the university center for transportation mobility and the center for transportation safety at the texas transportation institute he also serves as a member of the advisory boards of the center for atmospheric chemistry and the environment the center for international business studies and the texas a&m energy institute vedlitz has a wide range of research interests focusing currently on issues on istpps research agenda such as climate change energy the environment and emerging technologies i have always been interested in science i can understand the issues and can connect them to public policy vedlitz says and istpp is the perfect venue for that connection istpp receives quite a bit of grant funding and is one of the largest and most successful policy research centers in terms of work and publications he added some of vedlitzs recently completed projects include a $74 million project funded by the national science foundation and the department of homeland security the project ari-la: a framework for developing novel detection systems focused on interdicting shielded heu was a joint venture with the nuclear security science and policy institute at texas a&m over the years istpp has also received grants from the environmental protection agency the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and others the institute has partnered with over 200 researchers at texas a&m throughout the nation and across the world on dozens of projects proposals and publications what makes the institute unique is that we are a bridge of understanding between science and technology and other participants in public policy vedlitz said we conduct research that clarifies how science and technology are understood by decision makers and the public and why they are or are not used in public policy our research shows how best to frame and communicate scientific ideas so that decision makers and the public are better informed and better equipped to make effective and efficient policy there are few centers or people who can do this and no one who does it as well as istpp does as the principal investigator co-principal investigator or senior research scientist on projects totaling $159 million in external funding vedlitzs research approach is interdisciplinary he is an entrepreneur in pulling research teams together and can quickly grasp material in a variety of fields said meg rogers assistant director of istpp he has strong ties across the university and is a conduit for the bush school in many ways people want him to be involved in projects because they know what he brings to the table she added vedlitz has been teaching and working at the university for forty years coming to texas a&m directly from graduate school he earned his ba and ma degrees in government from louisiana state university and his phd in political science from the university of houston he notes that the university has grown in many ways since he first came here and says that a&m is a good place to create things and come up with ideas the university is always open to trying new things; if you want to try something they will allow it and see what happens he says in his scarce spare time vedlitz is a motorcycle rider and has played the keyboard in several local bands

the 14th annual tour de brazos valley the bush schools yearly bike ride took place on november 10 the twenty-mile ride began at 8 am with a hardy group of students faculty and special friends meeting at the hollywood cinema on earl rudder freeway esteemed faculty including dr charles hermann dr lorraine eden and professor jim olson rode with some thirty bush school students promising …to honestly do their best not to set too fast a pace first and second year students from both the masters program in international affairs and the master of public service and administration took part organized each year by professor olson who is an avid cyclist the ride is a longstanding tradition at the bush school and according to him is one of the most exciting events of the bush schools social and athletic calendars a bush school van followed the riders providing sag service (mechanical/medical assistance) and other support the tour is a highlight of the fall semester and always enjoyed by all who participate olson said originally a forty-five-mile trek to navasota the tour route now goes from the hollywood cinema to messina hof winery where riders enjoy wine tasting and light snacks before the second half of the ride takes them through the brazos valley countryside the riders stop again at c&j barbeque for a break time with friends and some texas barbeque and then circle back to the theater in addition to students and faculty special guests over the years have included several bush school deans including dean andrew card who participated in last years ride the event is a great opportunity for students faculty and staff to get acquainted professor olson said i have been a biker for many years and wanted to share that with the bush school community