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Ninety-one Degrees Conferred for the Class of 2009 On May 15, Interim Dean Benton Cocanougher and other Bush School
faculty celebrated the graduation of 91 Bush School
students—the School’s largest graduating class to date.
Forty-three MPSA students and 48 students from the MPIA program
were recognized in a ceremony held in the Annenberg Presidential
Conference Center. The Bush School event preceded the
University’s graduation ceremony in Reed Arena later that day
at which the students formally received their degrees. Read More |
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ACADEMICS |
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President Bush Meets Livermore Fellows  On Tuesday, May 5, former President G.H.W. Bush met in
his Houston office with six of the first eight graduates of the
Bush School’s new graduate National Security Affairs Program.
This certificate program is the result of a collaboration between
the Bush School and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. All
eight of the initial graduates are Livermore scientists and
engineers. The certificate program is designed for individuals in
careers involving interface with the U.S. national security
processes and policies.Read More |
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Graduates Successfully Complete Capstone Projects Capstone projects at the Bush School of Government and Public
Service at Texas A&M University are integrative, team-based,
applied research projects required of all students. Led by a
faculty member on behalf of a client agency, these projects require
students to think independently, frame and analyze issues, and
apply their academic knowledge and skills. Capstone students and
their course instructors define the project with the client,
allocate tasks, and establish deadlines, using effective
communication, teamwork, and collaborative learning strategies. The
projects fully prepare students to supervise, conduct, and evaluate
large-scale public policy research and culminate in a formal,
written report and oral presentation to the client. Read More |
Aurelia Figueroa, Peter Sloan Awarded Fellowships in Germany and Russia   Two graduating Bush School students have been awarded prestigious international fellowships. Aurelia Figueroa and Peter Sloan, both of whom received their degrees in May from the Master’s Program in International Affairs, have been selected to participate in two high-level professional development exchange programs. Sloan was awarded an Alfa Fellowship and Figueroa’s fellowship is from the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Read More |
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Students Receive Writing and Leadership Certificates On April 14, Bush School students who had met the criteria were
presented with Dean’s Certificates for Writing and for
Leadership. Interim Dean Benton Cocanougher presented the
certificates during a reception held at the home of Sally Dee Wade,
writing consultant for the Bush School. The class of 2009 was the
largest group of students to receive these certificates in the
School’s history. This is the third class of students to
participate in the Writing and Leadership Certificate Programs. Read More |
Graduate Certificate in China Studies to be Launched in Fall Beginning in the fall of 2009, the Bush School will offer a new
Certificate Program in China Studies. A collaborative effort of the
Bush School, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Institute for
Pacific Asia, this innovative program will enable graduate students
enrolled in any University department—not just the Bush
School—to prepare for a global future in which the economic,
political, and social issues in the People’s Republic of
China will have significant impact. Read More |
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Eric Lindquist Receives Scowcroft Grant Award  Dr. Eric Lindquist, the Institute for Science,
Technology, and Public Policy's (ISTPP) Associate Director, is one
of this year's recipients of a Scowcroft Faculty Research Grant.
Dr. Lindquist will be using the grant for travel support to Germany
and England for cross national and collaborative research on the
subject of urban flooding and policy change.Read More |
Xinsheng Liu, Ren Mu Lead Bush School Trip to China  Dr. Xinsheng Liu, ISTPP Associate Research Scientist,
and Dr. Ren Mu, assistant professor in the Bush School, will be
co-directing an international field seminar entitled "China's
Economic Development and Foreign Policy," and leading a group of
Bush School students to visit the China Foreign Affairs University
and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies at the end of
May 2009.Read More |
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BUSH SCHOOL IN THE NEWS |
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Bush School Advisor on Obama’s National Security Team Two members of President Barack Obama’s national security
team have close associations with the Bush School of Government and
Public Service at Texas A&M University. In addition to the
Secretary of Defense, Dr. Robert Gates, who was interim dean of the
Bush School prior to becoming president of the University,
Obama’s new National Security Advisor, General James Logan
Jones, Jr., is a member of the Scowcroft Institute for
International Affairs’ Advisory Board. Currently president
and CEO of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Energy, General Jones
completed 40 years of active duty service in the Marine Corps in
2007. Read More |
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Christopher Layne Appointed to National Intelligence Council  Dr. Christopher Layne, the Mary Julia and George R.
Jordan Professor at the Bush School, has been appointed an
Associate of the National Intelligence Council (NIC). Associates
are a select group of scholars and experts who consult with the NIC
on a range of policy matters. Layne has also been appointed to the
NIC’s study group on Strategic Reactions to American
Preeminence. This group of twenty leading scholars in international
relations includes members from the nation’s premier
institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, MIT, and the
University of Virginia, among others.Read More |
Angela Bies Elected to ARNOVA Committee  At the recent annual meeting of the Association of
Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA),
Angela Bies, assistant professor in the Bush School of Government
and Public Service, was elected to the Executive Committee of the
Association’s Theory Section. ARNOVA is the primary research
association devoted to the emerging field of nonprofit and
philanthropic studies. The Theory Section helps scholars gain
insight into the day-to-day concerns of nonprofit professionals and
provides them with practical research that will improve their
ability to serve citizens and communities.Read More |
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BEYOND AGGIELAND |
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Bush School Alumni Network  All former students, current students, staff, and
faculty are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of a unique
opportunity to support the Bush School by participating in the
development of the Bush School Former Students Network. Chartered
in July 2008, the network is the first college-affiliated network
of the Association of Former Students. It will provide current and
former students the opportunity to directly influence the success
and growth of the Bush School through expansion of the Aggie
Network, enhancement of education opportunities for current
students, and continued professional development for former and
current students. “The network was born out of a need
identified by former students to have a formal connection to the
Bush School,” said Liz Mallas, Class of ’07 and
founding president of the network. “It will provide an
organized system for former students to give back to the School in
a variety of ways, be it through networking, mentoring to current
students, or financial support.”Read More |
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HONORS |
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Christopher Layne, Jeryl Mumpower Appointed to Endowed Chairs  Dr. Benton Cocanougher, interim dean of the Bush
School of Government and Public Service, has announced the
appointment of two faculty members to endowed chairs. Dr. Chris
Layne will now hold the Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and
National Security. Layne is widely known for his expertise in
international relations theory, U.S. foreign policy, and
transatlantic security relations. Dr. Jeryl Mumpower, director of
the Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) program at
the Bush School, has been named to the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano
Long Chair in Business and Government.Read More |
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Katherine Rich Receives ASPA Award Katherine Rich, a 2006 MPSA graduate, has been selected as the
Emerging Public Administration Professional of the Year by the
Central Texas Chapter of the American Society for Public
Administration (ASPA). She is currently advisor to Kenneth W.
Anderson, Jr., a member of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of
Texas. Rich was honored at a banquet held on May 8 as part of
Public Service Recognition Week. Read More |
Bush School Communications Receives Awards  Again this year, the Bush School’s
communications program has won several prestigious awards for
publications and other communications efforts. Their work was
recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
(CASE) at the District IV conference and the Brazos Valley
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) annual
awards banquet.Read More |
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EVENTS AROUND THE BUSH SCHOOL |
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Students Meet Former Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker  On March 9, Bush School students had the unique
opportunity to meet and talk with Ryan Crocker, former U.S.
ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria, and Lebanon. Crocker
was on campus to give the Lenore and Francis Humphrys International
Lecture. Some 70 students and faculty took part in a wide-ranging
question and answer session with Crocker during an informal
brownbag luncheon held prior to his public appearance that
night.Read More |
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Conference Commemorates the Fall of the Berlin Wall  On January 26th, the Scowcroft Institute of
International Affairs commemorated the 20th anniversary of the fall
of the Berlin Wall with the 2009 Ansary Foreign Policy Conference,
a retrospective symposium entitled "The Cold War Is History: Twenty
Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall." The conference was held
at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush
Presidential Library and Museum and featured talks by renowned
diplomatic historians.Read More |
Scowcroft Institute Hosts U.S. Army Strategic Vision Seminar On February 24, Bush School students heard about the latest trends
and thinking inside the U.S. Army on strategic issues from Major
General Robert Williams of the U.S. Army War College and other
military experts. General Williams was on campus to conduct a
workshop for the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs
(SIIA) entitled “Land Power and Grand Strategy in the 21st
Century,” which was designed specifically for Texas A&M
faculty. Bush School students were invited to the “open
door” briefing and discussion session part of the
seminar. Read More |
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Former White House Officials Host Workshops for Students  In February, Bush School students had a chance to
learn the importance of good communication skills from two experts in the
field of strategic and political communications. The Public Service
Leadership Program hosted Mary Kate Cary, a former White House
speechwriter, and David Demarest, formerly President George H. W.
Bush’s strategic communications director. Both are Advisory
Board Members at the George Bush Presidential Library and
Museum.Read More |
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Prospective Students Visit Bush School  More than 137 prospective students from 21 states as
well as Korea, Canada, and Mexico attended interview conferences at
the Bush School of Government and Public Service on February 27 and
28. Sixty-two students were being considered for the Master of
Public Service and Administration (MPSA), while 75 students
interviewed for the Master’s Program in International Affairs
(MPIA). The interview conferences enable the School’s
Admissions Committee to learn more about the prospective students,
while at the same time, the students gain a better understanding of
the Bush School experience.Read More |
Etiquette Dinner Educates Students Beyond Classroom  “If you have the manners of a pig, you will
never occupy a corner office with a window.” With that
pointed introduction, Sally Dee Wade, a Bush School writing
consultant, introduced Bush School students to a five-course dinner
and etiquette lesson on March 5. 120 Bush School students gathered
at the Pebble Creek Country Club in College Station for an
introduction on how to behave at a formal reception and the correct
table manners for any occasion. The dinner was hosted by the Bush
School and arranged by the Career Services Department. Ms. Wade
lightened the atmosphere with amusing stories about times when
meals with potential employers or peers had gone badly—or
well—because of table manners.Read More |
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CLASS ACTS |
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Bush School Students Continue Aggie Tradition of Ring Day  Camping out overnight in front of the Williams Alumni
Center showed just how eager Bush School graduates were to get
their coveted Aggie rings. Several of the 18 Bush School students
who opted to get their rings spent the night of April 16 outside
with tents, sleeping bags, and folding camp chairs so they could be
among the first to get “tickets” to enter the Alumni
Center and pick up their rings on Friday morning. Tickets were
handed out starting at 7:15 that morning, but the Bush School
students were in place by 7 p.m. the evening before.Read More |
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Baetjer Bush Ball  On April 17, Bush School students, alumni, faculty,
and staff gathered at the College Station Hilton’s Grand
Ballroom for the 5th annual Baetjer Bush Ball. The evening began
with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and dancing. The ball
is named for Patrick Baetjer (MPIA 2007), who originally created
and organized it during his years at the Bush School. This
year’s ball drew some 124 guests, the largest attendance to
date. The event was organized by two second years
students—David Nyquist (MPSA) and Alejandra Ortega
Sánchez (MPIA)—who served as social committee chairs
for the Student Government Association.Read More |
PSO Sponsors Clothing Drive for Soldiers The Bush School’s Public Service Organization (PSO) sponsored
a clothing drive for troops on temporary leave at Camp As Sayliyah,
the U.S. military Central Command in Doha, Qatar. The drive was run
by Kristin Childress (MPIA 2010) and Irene Miramontes (MPSA 2010).
Childress and Miramontes started the project when they learned that
U.S. troops—both male and female—on leave from Iraq and
Afghanistan have free time but are not allowed to leave the base
without civilian clothing. Most of those on leave do not have
civilian clothing with them while serving overseas, and the base
donation closet in Doha is frequently empty. When Bush students
visiting Qatar learned this, they were determined to help. Read More |
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Please let us hear from you on ideas for future issues of this newsletter. Email us at: communications@bushschool.tamu.edu. |