Alum's got a paid internship in DC

This in from Brian Sponsler '97--he's got a great internship opportunity in DC--

Dr. O'Neil:

I write to offer you information on a Washington, DC based internship opportunity that may be worth while for a posting on the UPS Politics blog. As a Puget Sound alum ('97), I would be thrilled to have a chance to provide a current student the chance to work in Washington, D.C. As part of my duties as a research analyst here at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, I serve as the internship coordinator. Please see the attached announcement for additional information on the internship opportunities at IHEP, and let me know if you have any questions.

Institute for Higher Education Policy Colleen T. O’Brien Internship Program

The Institute for Higher Education Policy (Institute) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to foster access and success in postsecondary education through public policy research and other activities that inform and influence the policymaking process. Named for one of the co-founders of the Institute, our internship program strives to provide an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to develop skills in research, higher education policy and programs, communications, and non-profit management.

RESEARCH INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION

Each research internship lasts for approximately 14 weeks, requires 20-25 hours per week, and offers a stipend of $2000-$2500 depending on work hours. Interns are considered members of the regular staff, providing research assistance, coordination and execution of meetings and/or interviews, and general office support.

All prospective candidates should possess strong writing and communication skills, be familiar with the process of public policy development, and possess an interest in higher education and related issues. Prior interns have performed a variety of research tasks, including: in-depth literature reviews, interviews with state and federal policymakers, survey coordination, data analysis, and writing assistance on policy briefs and research reports.

Quantitative and qualitative research skills employed and valued at the Institute. Prior experience with SPSS, STATA, Atlis.Ti and other data analysis and management software is a plus, but not a requirement.

Internships are offered for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Applicants are evaluated on a rolling basis.

Candidates are encouraged to submit a resume, a brief cover letter summarizing their interest and experiences, and a short writing sample of 3-7 pages via email to bsponsler@ihep.org.

For more information on the Institute or questions relating to internship opportunities, please contact Brian Sponsler, Research Analyst via email at: bsponsler@ihep.org

$20,000 to study abroad--no lie--

In past we've had students get this money to study in places far flung, including Egypt

The Institute of International Education is pleased to announce the opening of the 2010-11 academic year competition for the National Security Education Program David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships.

Boren Awards provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to become more proficient in the cultures and languages of world regions critical to the future security of our nation, such as in Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Boren Scholarships, for undergraduate students, provide up to $20,000 for up to an academic year's study abroad.

Deadline: February 10, 2010

Boren Fellowships, for graduate students, provide up to $30,000 for language study and international research, and can include both overseas and domestic funding.

Deadline: January 28, 2010

Applications and detailed information on the Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are now available at www.borenawards.org. If you have any questions or comments please contact us at boren@iie.org or 1-800-618-NSEP.

Best regards,

Chris
Christopher Powers
Director
Education Abroad Programs
NSEP Boren Scholarships & Fellowships
Institute of International Education
1400 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
tel: 202-326-7773
fax: 202-326-7672
www.borenawards.org

RonThom sees China, but (maybe?) not our future

In keeping with some of our recent posts about higher education and its future comes a piece by President Thomas in the Chronicle of Higher Education:


Like it or not, education has become a principal economic player in a highly competitive, knowledge-based economy. This is evident in emerging economic giants like India and China, which are making large investments in higher education and threatening the historic global dominance of American colleges and universities. A powerful lesson on the subject was offered on a recent trip I took to China to learn how that country is tackling the demands of an ever-expanding technological world.

It was also a lesson in just what we have to lose if we act without caution.

I visited a city of several million people, where in a single year a four-square-mile University City has risen out of the farmlands (and outside the city) in the shadow of a new superhighway. Ten huge new university campuses, one after another, each housing tens of thousands of students, reach out as far as the eye can see: one campus for engineering; another, just steps away, for tourism; others for business, aeronautics, technology, agriculture, education, and so on....

As I compare this futuristic vision of efficiency and state planning with the jumbled patchwork of American higher education—from community colleges and technical schools to Ivy League and liberal-arts colleges, and land-grant state universities and research institutions—I cannot help but wonder if University City represents the efficient and affordable future of higher education, and we represent its quaint past.

And if that's true, I wonder about the cost to the Chinese—about the quality and value of the education those students will receive...

Read the whole piece here.

Present a paper at an undergraduate conference?

Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia is sponsoring the T.R.U. Undergraduate Conference: Philosophy, History, Politics to be held January 14-16, 2010. Interested students must submit an abstract of the paper to be presented at the conference by November 20. Students whose papers are accepted will make 20 minute presentations of their work to assembled, interested students and others.

Submission and registration forms can be found here. For more information, you can contact Dr. Tina Block at tblock@tru.ca.

Our '89 Commencement speaker reconsiders

I don't know this individual other than his statement that he gave the commencement address in 1989. That said, here are his reflections since then. Not something I think any students would want to hear at graduation...

In 1989 I gave my first Commencement Speech at the University of Puget Sound. Even though I wasn’t asked to speak to graduates this year, I decided to not let that hold me back...

Dear Graduates—after wandering the halls of academe for 16, or more years, congratulations. The good news, no more homework. The bad news, say goodbye to summer, your ten-month year is about to come to an end....

...I did learn a few things along the way. Unfortunately none immediately leap to mind. (Lest I seem like a total slacker, Dear Reader, what information do you remember from your college years?)

Which is exactly my point. I think that all graduates deserve congratulations. But this is not about you. I’m concerned that far too many corporations hold the lack of a college education against employees who want to get into management.

Just last week I talked to a woman who had run an office for two U.S. Senators, been a successful entrepreneur and was currently thriving in an entirely new career. She accomplished all of this without a college degree. Yet, there are many jobs that she cannot apply for.

This isn’t coming from a place of envy. I not only have a B.S. degree (a perfect description of my undergraduate years). But I also have a Masters of Business Administration (and isn’t that what the business world needs today, more administrators?). And I’ve served as an Adjunct Professor to MBA students on four separate occasions (in case you are wondering, “Adjunct” is Latin for “poorly paid”).

So my criticism comes from a person who has “paid his dues.” I’ve got the degrees. And I think college is a totally B.S. test for how you’ll perform in today’s workplace. There is nothing wrong with a college education. To use a dessert analogy, the degree is the icing, the cake is the person’s other experiences, expertise and insight...

Read the whole thing here.

International Association for Political Science Students

Check it out; pretty interesting.
http://iapss.org/
and their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Association-for-Political-Science-Students/65123606080

Seniors: Fulbright: Deadline: NEXT FRIDAY

The US Student Fulbright program funds study, research, and teaching abroad for American citizens. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the US Department of State, and administered by the IIE (Institute of International Education).

"The US student Fulbright program is designed to give recent graduates with strong academic records opportunities for personal development and international experience. Grantees plan their own programs. Projects may include independent coursework, library or field research, classes in a music conservatory or art school, special projects in the social or life sciences, or a combination.

http://www.pugetsound.edu/x12970.xml

International Student Social Science Conference...

...in Turkey. The university provides funds for student travel to present papers.

Empirical Studies in Social Sciences
http://iibf.ieu.edu.tr/stuconference/
Izmir University of Economics kindly invites undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world to submit proposals for research presentations at the 6th International Student Conference in Izmir. This year’s conference, to be held at the Izmir University of Economics between 14-15 April 2010, is entitled “Empirical Studies in Social Sciences”. The main objective of this conference is to offer a platform for discussion and the exchange of ideas among students from different fields of social sciences worldwide.

All papers accepted will be published in the Proceedings of the Conference. As in previous years, the conference will have a “Best Paper Award” chosen by the scientific committee for a contribution outstanding in scientific quality.

Abstract Submission Deadline: October 12, 2009
Notification of Acceptance (for abstracts): November 23, 2009
Full Paper Submission Deadline: February 15, 2010
Notification for Final Acceptance: March 1, 2010
Conference: April 14-15, 2010

NYC 9/10 WTC

The world before: a gallery of images of NYC-WTC.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/showcase-49/

Another job with Congress

LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT

Freshman Democratic member seeks Legislative Assistant to serve in his congressional office. Position will develop and implement legislative initiatives, monitor legislative developments within committees and on the House floor; write floor speeches, and handle meetings with constituents and interest groups on behalf of the member. A background in healthcare is preferred. Primary issue responsibilities: Healthcare, Education, & Veterans

Candidate must be a self-starter and a creative thinker, have excellent writing skills, and experience with the legislative process. Most importantly the candidate must be able to work well in a team atmosphere and must have a sense of humor!!

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume with “LA Healthcare” in the subject line to: healthla@mail.house.gov

Who graduates?

More from the NYT on graduation rates, and how widely/wildly they vary from school to school:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/business/economy/09leonhardt.html
As a point of reference, Puget Sound's graduation rate.
I suspect that some of this has to do with the fact that our smaller endowment means fewer merit scholarships. In other words, fewer students come here on financial aid we have been awarded solely on the basis of their GPA or SAT scores--students who are much more likely to graduate, and graduate early. That doesn't mean that we can't do better in getting them through and out the door.

How come college is--and gets--more expensive?

A good question, and one that the New York Times put to one college professor. A good read, especially the 300 comments that follow.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/your-money/paying-for-college/05money.html

Get rid of sabbaticals?
Get rid of upper administration?
Bigger classes and/or more faculty teaching?
3-year degrees?

What would bring costs down the most?

Koch Foundation Associate Program

opportunity--

Just last week the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation began accepting applications for our 2010-11 Koch Associate Program, a year-long job opportunity for those passionate about free-market ideas and who have a desire to become more effective at advancing liberty throughout their careers. Some of our best candidates learn about the program through their professors, so I hope that you will pass this information along to any interested young professionals.

Great candidates for the program, first and foremost, are those with an understanding of and commitment to limited government and individual liberty. Here is a brief description of what else a good candidate should possess:

Required:

· Solid academic record

· 0-10 years of work experience

· Minimum of a bachelor’s degree

· Strong interest in learning effective management in the non-profit setting



Desired:

· Intellectual curiosity

· Willingness to learn and be challenged

· Desire to become a better and more equipped professional

· Humility, integrity, and motivation

· Demonstration of entrepreneurial thinking


Thanks,


Thomas Russell
Associate, Marketing and Recruiting
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
www.cgkfoundation.org
Ph: 703.875.1655

Washington Monthly's College Ratings

The Washington Monthly, a noted public affairs magazine, ranks colleges based on the colleges' contributions to the public good in three areas: contributions to social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), research (producing scholarship and having students move onto PhDs), and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country). You can see all of the rankings and the indicators that the Monthly used in producing its rankings here.

Puget Sound is ranked 72nd of 250 liberal arts colleges on the list.

Davies-Jackson Scholarship for Graduate Study at Cambridge

The Davies-Jackson Scholarship is open to students who are the first from their families to graduate from college. It offers the opportunity to study in the United Kingdom at St. John's College at Cambridge University. This is a two-year scholarship covering tuition, fees, and room-and-board during the term, living expenses while on summer break, and travel to and from England. The scholarship is open to students who want to pursue graduate study in the social and political sciences as well as other fields.

Applications are due by November 2. Obtain application materials at the Davies-Jackson website here.

Political Science Student Group Meets Thursday Night

The Political Science Association will meet in Wyatt 101 at 7:30. In the past, the PSA has sponsored faculty and student research presentations, current events discussions and debates, and social events for students and faculty alike. The group will discuss plans for the coming year, so it's a good time to get in and shape the agenda. The meeting is open to all students.

Job opening, DC

LC Job Description:

California Democrat seeks a Legislative Correspondent for the Washington, D.C. office. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, researching and drafting correspondence, supporting the legislative staff, administrative duties (answering phones and greeting constituents), driving, and some legislative issues. Qualified candidates will have excellent research and communication skills, as well as knowledge of correspondence management systems. Applicants will have a flexible schedule including long hours and must work well under pressure. Salary is commensurate with experience. Interested applicants should email a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to LCCA14.DEM@mail.house.gov .

Upcoming Talk: Crude World

"Crude World: A Journey Into the Violent Twilight of Oil"

A lecture by Peter Maass

Thursday, October 15, 2009

04:00PM

Trimble Forum

Contact: Don Share, Politics and Government (share@pugetsound.edu)

Peter Maass is a journalist for the New York Times Magazine. He will talk about his book by the same name. His book is a stunning and revealing examination of oil’s indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it

“Peter Maass takes a fascinating, nightmarish journey to the far end of the pipeline. If you want to know the true cost of America's oil addiction—and if even you don't—you should read this book.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe

“The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights.” So said J. Paul Getty—a name synonymous with big oil and the big money that often follows—and it’s an apt summary of how things work when it comes to the slippery substance that runs the world. In CRUDE WORLD: The Violent Twilight of Oil (Knopf, 9/22), acclaimed journalist Peter Maass examines the “resource curse”—why the countries that possess oil are often the worst off—and how our oil addiction fuels poverty and unrest around the world.

Oil is everywhere. Virtually no aspect of our lives is untouched by it, from our daily commute to our daily bread, but we rarely see the actual product. CRUDE WORLD paints the picture of oil with people, not polemics. Maass reports from the trenches, employing a boots-on-the-ground approach that takes him from Texas, Russia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to Nigeria, Venezuela, and Equatorial Guinea (where Maass was expelled as an accused spy). In each place, Maass traces the horrors wrought by corrupt and ineffective governments in conjunction with Big Oil. What emerges is a picture of oil with a price tag of both environmental devastation and humanitarian woe, filled with unspeakable wealth, lives lost and devastated landscapes.

Maass’ explosive investigation is already garnering praise. Robert Redford calls CRUDE WORLD “an illuminating narrative of the true impact of the global dependence on oil.” Robert Reich says, “with the clarity of a hard-boiled investigator and the grace of a fine writer, Peter Maass reveals how oil has cursed the countries that possess it, corrupted those who want it, and wrought havoc on a world addicted to it. Brilliant and compelling.”

Work in Singapore

Thanks to alum Megan Serenco for passing this along--

Singapore Work Holiday Program
http://www.contactsingapore.sg/whpsingapore/index.html
The Work Holiday Programme (WHP) is a scheme that allows university students and recent graduates, between 17 and 30 years old, to come to Singapore for a limited period. Successful applicants can live and work in Singapore for up to six months.

The programme is positioned to attract well-qualified youths who are increasingly travelling abroad to gain exposure and experience foreign cultures. This programme allows participants to discover the spectrum of career opportunities available in Singapore and enhance Singapore's reputation as a talent destination, valued for its working and living experiences.

Canadian Consulate Internship: Feedback

I asked Josh Cole '09 to provide some feedback on his past internship with the Canadian Consulate in Seattle. Here's what he writes:

The Canadian Consulate is located in Seattle at 4th and Pike. The Seattle mission is to protect and advance Canadian interests in the Pacific Northwest (as well as Alaska). The mission is divided into three departments--the Political, Economic, and Press Relations Agency; the Trade and Commerce section and Immigration. While PERPA usually runs the internship program, I got to work with all three departments. The day-to-day work was what you would expect for a government internship: updating contact lists, making and taking phone calls and sending mail. Lots and lots and lots of mail. LOTS. Anyone with paper or ink allergies probably shouldn't take this job.

There were a lot of cool things about the internship though. PERPA runs a lot of meet and greet programs at the consulate, as well as around the region. Due to budget constraints, I wasn't able to go the Canada Days confrence in Boise, but it sounded like a lot of fun. Many of the people in the consulate were glad to explain what they were doing. Many of the security precautions at the consulate were amazing to hear about even though Seattle was considered a "relatively safe" territory. It wasn't all just mailings and key codes however. The Consulate tries to give out a large project or two to all the interns. My project was revising the booklet for the 2009-2010 Grants and Fellowships Booklet. Thanks to technical complications I literally wrote (well...transcibed) the pamphlet on Canadian grants and fellowships for Americans. One of the other interns had a slightly more interesting project; she got to set up a cultural site that keeps track of various Canadian artists that are touring through Seattle.

Couple of caveats for this positon; the communte gets to be annoying and there are sometimes when I was asked to work later hours, usually for events. There wasn't an excessive pressure to do this, but it came up a couple of times.

I'd highly recommend this internship for anyone who is interested in the inner workings of government, international relations, trade relations or immigration issues. The mission works way differently than local and state organizations and this internship is incredibly unique in what it offers interns.

--Josh Cole

World Affairs Council wants you

Seattle is a hike, but the opportunities for international internships are obviously much better. Just one example; if you are interested in something along these lines, come see me (Professor O'Neil)

Greetings from the World Affairs Council!

This is to remind you of our internship opportunities that some of your students or advisees may be interested in:
Here at the World Affairs Council in Seattle, we have quarterly unpaid internships for up to 16 internationally-minded students in the Puget Sound Community.

Our interns commit 12-15 hours per week during our office business hours, which are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday for 10-12 weeks (3 - 6 months). Our interns gain valuable hands on skills and perform basic office tasks plus special projects, which vary depending on the department. In the past, special projects have included accompanying high-level international delegates to their meetings in Seattle, writing grants, and co-creating international curriculum for local schools. Whether your interest is in applying what you have learned in your international affairs class, tweaking your office skills and resume, or finding out about the inner workings of a not-for-profit, there are lots of opportunities for you at the World Affairs Council! And what’s more, after you complete your internship, you will receive a complementary one year membership plus receive monthly newsletters with job, intern, and volunteer opportunities.

The World Affairs Council in Seattle has six departments which include Administration, Development, Membership, International Visitor Program, Community Programs, and Global Classroom. If you are interested in applying, please take some time to review the website at www.world-affairs.org/aboutus_internships.html and take a closer look each department. You may submit your resume and cover letter to Ms. Alyse Cato at acato@world-affairs.org. The deadline for the Fall Quarter internship is September 11, 2009. I have attached our flyer to this email with the information as well.

We regret that we are only to able to contact candidates selected for interviews.

Please look forward to 2009-2010 work-study opportunities posted soon at www.world-affairs.org.

Best,

Mina O’Brien
______________________

Administrative Assistant
World Affairs Council
2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 450
Seattle, WA 98121
(ph) 206.441.5910
(fax) 206.441.5908
adminassist@world-affairs.org
www.world-affairs.org

Opportunity in Asia for recent grads

Luce Scholars Program
An Experience of a Lifetime

The Luce Scholars Program has invited Puget Sound to participate in their program of international and cultural exchange. Aimed at a highly qualified group of young Americans in a variety of professional fields, it is unique among Asian-American exchange programs in placing emphasis on leaders who have had little prior experience of Asia and who might not otherwise have an opportunity during the course of their careers to come to know Asia or their Asian colleagues. The program consists of a paid internship in an East Asian or Southeast Asian country, not academic study. The basic stipend is sufficient to meet all of the scholars’ normal expenses in Asia, and all costs for travel required by the program also are covered.

Criteria for Selection:

A candidate must be a U.S. citizen who has earned at least a bachelor’s degree (or who will receive this degree before taking part in the Luce Scholars Program) and must not have reached their 30th birthday by September 1 of the year he or she would enter the program. Candidates should have a record of the highest academic achievement combined with evidence of outstanding leadership ability. The most important single criterion is a mature and clearly defined career interest in a specific field and evidence of potential for professional accomplishment within that field. Students focusing on international relations are eligible for consideration.

Candidates are ineligible if they have already had significant exposure to Asia or if they have a specific career interest in Asian affairs.

Application materials are available in the Fellowships office (Howarth 114).
Liaison: Sharon Chambers-Gordon, Fellowships Director fellowships@pugetsound.edu
Campus Deadline: October 5, 2009 (noon)
National Deadline: November 2, 2009
For more information visit their website at www.hluce.org

Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships 253-879-3329 http://www.pugetsound.edu/fellowships.xml

Fellowship and Scholarships--come on big money

FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Events Calendar & Important Dates
Fall 2009

WATSON FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION MEETING
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Wyatt 107
5p.m.

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION WORKSHOP
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wyatt 107
5 p.m.

WATSON FELLOWSHIP WRITING WORKSHOP
(bring your essays)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Howarth 109 (CWLT)

FALL FELLOWSHIPS FORUM
Tuesday, October 14, 2009
5 p.m.
Murray Boardroom (WSC 108)
Information about fellowships and scholarships will be available.
Contact our office for more information fellowships@pugetsound.edu

Tacoma City Council Candidate Internship

Tacoma City Council Candidate seeks interns to assist on campaign.

Duties include working directly with the candidate, field work and various office duties. Applicants should be motivated, professional, able to multi-task and have a good attitude. Although the internship is unpaid, working on this campaign will provide firsthand experience in local politics, networking with current and future elected officials, general campaign and field work. This exciting campaign would be a great opportunity for someone who is looking to start a career in politics or for someone wanting to learn about Tacoma politics in a very short period of time. You will have the opportunity to work with an experienced and successful political team. The internship would start ASAP and would run through the General Election (November 3rd).

If you would like to learn more about Marty Campbell you can visit his website www.electcampbell.org or his Facebook page.

If you are interested or would like to learn more please contact Lindsay at 253-273-5208 or e-mail electcampbell@gmail.com.

Professor Weinberger's book is out--

Professor Weinberger's new book, Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror, is now out, and with some heavy-hitters providing reviews:

"In reminding us that Madison wanted `ambition to counteract ambition' as the basis of our separation of powers, Seth Weinberger has done a signal service by navigating between the twin shoals of faction on the one hand and appeals to a spurious `unity' on the other."

--Christopher Hitchens, author of Thomas Jefferson: Author of America

"Seth Weinberger points the way to a sensible middle ground on the issue of war powers, arguing that while Presidents do have substantial authority to deploy force, Congress has not delegated powers of domestic surveillance and other potential abridgements of rights through its post-September 11 authorizations to use military force. In doing so, he adds clarity to a tortured debate."

--Francis Fukuyama, Professor of International Political Economy Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Congratulations, Professor Weinberger!

Washington Semester Program

We've had a few students do this program, and the feedback is good. This most recent report comes from Andara Frasier; read an earlier report from Caitlin McGrane here.

I spent my summer living, working and studying in Washington DC, through the Washington Semester Program put on by American University. The summer semester program is shorter than fall or spring but I was still taking a class and working 4 days a week. The program I was in was called Foreign Policy and International Affairs and I had a non-residential internship at Hudson Institute. The class was one day a week and we traveled all over the city to meet with guest speakers, from neo-conservatives to non-interventionist idealists. The other 4 days I spent researching certain topics that my internship advisor gave me.

The Hudson Institute also hosts seminars on a variety of topics. I attended those frequently. The highlight of the seminars was when the Foreign Minister of Mongolia came and spoke about Mongolia's foreign policy regarding Korea, China and Europe the night before he met with the Secretary of State.

I spent my weekends touring the city and I even got to spend a weekend on the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland.

The Washington Semester Program is a great opportunity and I recommend it to anyone who wants to live and work in DC.

-Andara Frasier

Kagan Riedel in Korea

An email update from a recent grad, sent to Professors Share and Ferrari:

Hello from Korea!

I wanted to let you both know that (thanks to you) I'm currently in Daegu, South Korea teaching English. I'm working for a private kindergarten-middle school and started teaching this last Tuesday on the 1st. It has been a whirlwind so far getting settled into a new country and a new job. I would recommend it to any of your students who are thinking about teaching abroad. Feel free to send me any questions or pass on my email to anyone who has some questions. Thank you both for the help you gave me applying for jobs and also for the great education I received at UPS that you were a part of. I hope all is well in the North West. Keep in touch!

-Kagan

US Canada Student Conference, Seattle

Discounted rate for students; this could be fun.
More info here.

CANADA and the UNITED STATES
North American Economic Competitiveness; Energy Security; the Arctic;
Environmental Sustainability; Cross-Border Trade & Transportation;
Smart & Secure Borders; Emergency Planning & Management; Global Health;
Demographics; Canada-US Security & Defence

Canada and the United States have a unique relationship. Since 2001 over 100 academics from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington have participated in the 'International Canadian Studies Institute' alternating between Alberta and British Columbia / Yukon. Join more than 50 of these Fellows on Friday 16 October at the University of Washington to hear and discuss the results of their research and work addressing many of the important issues in the Canada-US relationship - and how ICSI has impacted them, their students, universities and communities.

Friday, October 16, 2009

8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Walker Ames Room (Room 225), Kane Hall
University of Washington, Seattle
7:00 pm
Women's University Club Ballroom
1105 Sixth Ave, Seattle, WA


A CONFERENCE TO MEASURE THE IMPACT THE INTERNATIONAL CANADIAN STUDIES INSTITUTE HAS HAD ON FELLOWS, THEIR STUDENTS, UNIVERSITIES & COMMUNITIES

15-17 October 2009
Seattle, Washington


FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER

WELCOME / CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Fr Michael Treleaven / Director / PNW Canadian Studies Consortium
Representative TBC / University of Washington

US-CANADA: SUSTAINABILITY, THE NORTH, HEALTH

LEARNING FROM CANADA THROUGH THE WORLD URBAN FORUM:

MODELS FOR EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE & SUSTAINABILITY IN

GLOBAL PLANNING & ACTION

Dr Dick Winchell, Washington State University

NORTH BY 2020: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH

Dr Amy Lauren Lovecraft, University of Alaska Fairbanks

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL EXPERIENCES WITH

ALCOHOL & CURRENT ALCOHOL POLICIES IN NORTHERN CANADA

& ALASKA

Dr Mary Ehrlander, University of Alaska Fairbanks

US-CANADA: BORDER, FOREIGN POLICY, HOMELAND SECURITY / EMERGENCY PLANNING & MANAGEMENT

THE ‘OTHER’ NORTH AMERICAN BORDER: PROSPECTS FOR RENEWING THE ‘SPECIAL’ US-CANADA RELATIONSHIP

Dr James Loucky, Western Washington University

FOREIGN POLICY: CANADIAN REACTION TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN US DIPLOMACY

Fr Tom Murphy, Seattle University

HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: REQUIRED CROSS-BORDER COLLBORATIONS

Dr Teresa Carlo, Pierce College

US-CANADA: ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, THE ARCTIC

SEARCHING FOR TRUTH: CONNECTING SCIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLICYMAKING IN CANADA & THE USA

Dr Ross Burkhart, Boise State University

COLLABORATION FOR ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES BETWEEN CANADA & THE USA

Dr Deben Das, University of Alaska Fairbanks

ARCTIC ENERGY RESOURCES & ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY: THE INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE OVER WHO OWNS THE NORTH

Dr Greg Shelton, University of Washington

Chris Greenshields, Director, International Education (confirmed)

Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade

Ottawa

DWELLING TOGETHER: CANADA & US COMPARATIVE CULTURAL STUDIES – 3 DOCUMENTARIES

1. Building Connections: Reclaiming Lost Narratives of the ALCAN Highway

2. Illicit Exchanges: Canada, the US and Cross-Border Crime

3. Promise of Plenty: Immigration & the allure of North America

Dr Robert Wells, Pacific Lutheran University

Melissa Campbell and Kelsey Liddle, PLU MediaLab students

14.30 CASCADIA-REGION URBAN CULTURAL PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Dr Patricia Dewey, University of Oregon

CREATING NEW UNIVERSITY COURSES ON CANADA

Dr Sammy Basu, Willamette University

Dr Ann Fulton, Portland State University


2009 ICSI FELLOWS PANEL PRESENTATION: REFLECTIONS & PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Dr Michael Robinson-Dorn, University of Washington

Dr Becky James, University of Alaska Anchorage

Dr Robert Young, University of Oregon

Dr Dean Panttaja, University of Idaho

Dr Gavin Keulks, Western Oregon University

Dr Christina Keppie, Western Washington University

Dr Veronica Dujon, Portland State University


CANADIAN PARTNERS PANEL: HOW ICSI HAS IMPACTED

THE CANADIAN PARTNERS

Dr Marc Arnal, Dean, Faculte St Jean, University of Alberta

Dr James Anglin, Vice President International, University of Victoria (invited)

Marv Schneider, Executive Director, US Relations, Alberta International

ICSI RECEPTION & DINNER

Kim Butler, Director General, North America General Relations (invited)

Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade

Ottawa


SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER

‘POINT OF ENTRY: MIGRATING TO NORTH AMERICA’

Public Premiere / Pacific Lutheran University

Dr Robert Wells, Professor of Communication / 2006 ICSI

Critical Language Fellowships: Deadline in fall

CRITICAL LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INTENSIVE SUMMER INSTITUTES
https://clscholarship.org/home.php

Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers(CAORC), the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program will offer intensive summer language institutes overseas in eleven critical need foreign languages for summer 2009. The CLS Program was launched in 2006 to offer intensive overseas study in the critical need foreign languages of Arabic, Bangla/Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu. In 2007, Chinese, Korean, Persian, and Russian institutes were added along with increased student capacity in the inaugural language institutes.

The CLS Program provides fully-funded seven to ten week group-based intensive language instruction and extensive cultural enrichment experiences held overseas at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels (beginning not offered for Azerbaijani, Chinese, Persian or Russian) for U.S. citizen undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D. student.

Intern for Tacoma City Council race

Professor O’Neil,

I contacted you some time ago in early May of this year about internship and volunteer opportunities for your students with our campaign. With classes starting back up today I thought I would once again send a request for internship and volunteer opportunities for your students at the University of Puget Sound. Currently, Keven Rojecki, a candidate for Tacoma City Council is running a non-partisan race as the at-large candidate. After this week their will be but 8 full weeks left before the November 3 election. Students interested in interning or volunteering with our campaign can expect to be highly involved during the week and on weekends, though we would gladly work around class schedules. Activities include grassroots field campaigning, fundraising, public affairs, and media relations. Interns would be expected to be free in the late afternoon, evenings, or on weekends as this is when most of our events occur. Volunteers would be asked to attend events at similar hours. This is an excellent opportunity for students to become involved and familiar with local politics and campaigning. Students that are interested should either call our campaign at 253.292.3676 or e-mail me directly at zachshelton@rojeckifortacoma.com.

Thank you for your time and please feel free to contact me anytime.

Zach Shelton
Campaign Manager
Keven Rojecki for Tacoma City Council
zachshelton@rojeckifortacoma.com
360.259.0202

Film, Faith and Justice Conference, October 15-17

The 2009, fourth annual Film, Faith, and Justice Conference will be held this October 15-17 at Seattle First Presbyterian Church. This event pairs the movies of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival with keynote lectures from leading theologians and discussion panels that explore the relationship between faith commitments and current issues of social justice. This year’s films, lectures, and panel discussions will be focusing on issues of poverty, reconciliation after genocide, human trafficking, business as mission, and understanding human rights theologically. We invite you, your colleagues and students to participate in this unique event, which is both informative and challenging.

Some of the films to be showcased are:

My Neighbor, My Killer is a film that documents the journey of the people of Rwanda to peacefully coexist after the brutal genocide that occurred between the Rwandan Hutu and minority Tutsi in their country. In 1994, the Rwandan government established Gacaca, open-air hearings with citizen judges, and released confessed genocide killers and sent them back to their villages to face the survivors of their brutality. The film bears witness to the fear and anger, the frustration and forgiveness, the sadness and hope that comes through these hearings, all in the hopes of reconciliation.

Crude is film that takes a look into one of the largest and most controversial legal cases, deemed the $27 billion “Amazon Chernobyl” case. It explores the real life drama and devastation to the lives of indigenous people in Ecuador and their fight for their health, their land, the environment, and their basic human rights against a huge corporate giant. It is a David and Goliath story that is explored in its complexity while bringing an important story and message regarding environmental peril and human suffering into focus.

Our list of keynote speakers include:

Dr. Emmanuel Katongole is a Catholic priest of the Kampala archdiocese in Uganda and co-director of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School—a center whose mission is to inspire, form, and support leaders, communities and congregations to think, feel, and live as ambassadors of reconciliation in a broken world. Dr. Katongole’s research interests cover a wide range of issues related to theology and violence especially in Africa. He examines the role of stories in the formation of political identity, the dynamics of social memory and the nature and role of Christian imagination.

His published works include: Beyond Universal Reason; The Relation Between Religion and Ethics in the Work of Stanley Hauerwas (Notre Dame Press, 2000), African Theology Today (Scranton Press, 2002), and more recently, A Future for Africa (University of Scranton Press, 2005). Dr. Katongole serves on the board of the International Academic Advisory Council of St. Augustine’s College of South Africa.

Kelly Johnson is Associate Professor at the University of Dayton, as well as an author and speaker. After earning a B.A. in theology and an M.A. in liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame (1986, 1987), Kelly Johnson spent several years working with the Catholic Worker in Connecticut and the Peace People in Belfast, as well as teaching in Poland and Tennessee. While writing for her Ph.D. (Duke University) and teaching at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, she helped to start a Catholic Worker house of hospitality. Although teaching at the University of Dayton now occupies the bulk of her time, Dr. Johnson continues to maintain ties to the Catholic Worker and to the Ekklesia Project, an ecumenical association of scholars, pastors, and lay people encouraging Christians to remember their vocation as a historical community whose primary allegiance is to the Body of Christ.

Rob Morris is the president of LOVE146, an organization committed to combating child sex slavery & exploitation with the unexpected and to restoring survivors with excellence. Love146 works toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation through Prevention and Aftercare. To read more about this organization go to their website at www.love146.org.

For more information about the event schedule, a complete list of speakers and films and to buy tickets, go to: www.filmfaithjustice.com.

Also, please feel free to contact me at sbmccrum@yahho.com with any additional questions.


Sarah McCrum

NSA Summer Program for Juniors

Intelligence Analysis Summer Program

NSA's Intelligence Analysis Summer Program offers rising college seniors the opportunity to receive training in a multi-faceted cryptologic discipline that involves research, analysis, and the presentation of findings that enable us to provide the fullest possible Signals Intelligence picture to U.S. policymakers, military commanders, and other Intelligence Community members.

Application Deadline

Applications are accepted August 1st - October 31st of each year.

About the Program

The Intelligence Analysis Summer Program is an intensive 12-week program intended for students entering their final year of an undergraduate degree program. The program consists of formal classroom instruction, workshops, and on- and off- site facilities tours, which are designed to build knowledge and skills about NSA, the Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) process, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. This training is combined with an apprenticeship with senior NSA analysts for intensive, in-depth development work on exploiting communications for vital strategic intelligence targets and preparing intelligence reports.

Training is received in the latest analytic techniques and methodologies, conducting extensive independent research through numerous databases, organizing results into reports and spreadsheets, and preparing and delivering a final project report to the relevant SIGINT organization.

Specific skills gained include:

• Understanding modern digital communications
• Administering and analyzing networks
• Developing background on targets
• Operating both Windows NT and SUN Solaris (UNIX) computer systems
• Extensive query language experience (e.g. Boolean logic) with various classified and unclassified databases
• Understanding the structure and processes of NSA and the U.S. Intelligence Community
• Conducting independent research and coordinating results with numerous Intelligence Analysts and Linguists across NSA's product line organizations
• Preparing intelligence reports responding to national level customer requirements

Salary

Students are paid a competitive salary commensurate their education level.

Benefits

• Receive annual and sick leave, federal holidays
• Participation in Agency-wide extracurricular programs
• Those who attend schools in excess of 75 miles from Fort Meade, MD, are eligible for a round trip airline ticket to and from school or mileage reimbursement up to the cost of a government issued airline ticket.

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be eligible to be granted a security clearance
• A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is preferred
• Must be majoring in one of the following areas:
  • Political Science
  • International Affairs
  • Intelligence/Security Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Regional Studies
• Minor in Computer Science, Computer Networks, or telecommunications is helpful but not required
• Must be eligible to be granted a security clearance
• Applicant must be available for the entire length of the program (May 26 - August 14, 2009)

How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online on or before October 31st during the fall of the applicant's junior year. Applications received after the deadline, as well as incomplete packets, will not be considered.

To submit a resume online during open season, click any "Apply Online" link. Under "Basic Job Search", type in keywords "Intelligence Analysis Summer Program" and click on "search." Select Intelligence Analysis Summer Program and click "Apply Now." Follow directions as prompted.

To be considered for the Intelligence Analysis Summer Program, you must submit a complete application packet that includes:

• A resume
• Official transcripts*

IMPORTANT: When applying online, you may only submit your resume. Please e-mail unofficial transcripts to ljmcwee@nsa.gov.

* Grades must be submitted for at least the first three semesters before a final decision can be made. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted for application purposes to verify GPA. Official transcripts will be required prior to an official employment offer and should be mailed to:

National Security Agency
Office of Recruitment and Hiring
P.O. Box 1661
Attn: MB3 Summer, Suite 6779
Fort Meade, MD 20755-6779

For additional information, please e-mail ljmcwee@nsa.gov or call (410) 854-4726.

Princeton University Public Policy/International Affairs Institute

Here's a great opportunity!

The PPIA Junior Summer Institute is a seven-week program that aims to prepare students for graduate study and careers in public policy and international affairs. It provides rigorous training in policy analysis and serves as a springboard to careers in public service. Applicants must be college juniors with one or two semesters of undergraduate work left, and must have an interest in a career in public or international affairs as well as demonstrated interest in cross-cultural and social issues.

The program is FREE. PPIA covers tuition, books, meals, a single room, and air travel to and from Princeton. The institute also provides a $1,500 stipend.

You can get details at www.ppiaprogram.org
Application deadline is November 1.

Internship: Department of Homeland Security

For more, go here: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/careers/gc_1248728267762.shtm

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters seeks motivated students looking to contribute their unique insight, skills and talents to support the important mission of securing the homeland.

Our headquarters offices offer volunteer internship opportunities for full-time and part-time college or university students during the fall (until mid-to-late December) and spring (until mid-to-late May) academic terms. Academic credit will be awarded in accordance with the appointee's work schedule and his/her individual college or university policies.

The Headquarters Volunteer Fellows Program offers opportunities for students to gain on-the-job experience in one of the following fields over the course of an academic semester:

*
Buying/Pricing/Contract Negotiation
*
Communications & Public Affairs
*
Finance & Accounting
*
General Administration/Clerical
*
Health Affairs
*
Human Resources
*
Information Technology
*
Intelligence & Analysis
*
Legal/law
*
Legislative Affairs
*
Policy
*
Privacy
*
Science and Technology

Congrats to Norah Atkinson!

Congrats to Norah Atkinson '10 who was selected for the new paid internship at Congressman Adam Smith's office. Way to go!

...and students, think about applying for it in future. Great opportunity, and there are few internships this good that pay to boot.

Matt Ferchen, PhD '93: Two presentations this week!

Please announce the following talks taking place this week in your classes. Both talks will be given by Matt Ferchen, a 1993 graduate of Puget Sound who earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University and now teaches at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Thursday, September 3, 4-5 p.m., Wyatt 101: “The Illusions of a Beijing Consensus: Contending Understandings of China’s State-Economy Relations”

Friday, September 4, 12-1 p.m., Whatt 226: “Academic and Career Options for P&G Majors: How to Forge Your Own Path”

Volunteers? Help close the achievement gap one kid at a time

McCarver Elementary School is just a few miles from campus at South 21st and J Street. The school faces severe challenges, including what was last year the highest poverty rate among its students of any public elementary school in our state. My good friend Scott Rich has just been named principal at McCarver. Scott is a dynamic young principal who has just completed a successful term at Birney Elementary. He tells me he has a great staff at McCarver, but he and the teachers and the kids could use some help. If you’d like to volunteer a little time to work with elementary school kids on reading and other skills, please let me know and I will put you in touch with Scott. Please email David Sousa at sousa@ups.edu, or call at extension 3176.

The places you go...ABC Correspondent Rachel Martin '96

What one PG alum, Rachel Martin '96 has done in a bit over a decade (from the ABC website):

Rachel Martin is a correspondent for ABC News based in Washington, D.C. She covers politics, foreign affairs and faith and values topics for ABC News platforms, including "World News With Charles Gibson" and "Weekend Good Morning America."

Martin's began her career with NPR as a freelance reporter in Afghanistan, where she covered the reconstruction effort after the U.S. invasion in 2003 and, later, the country's first Democratic presidential election. She has reported widely on women's issues in Afghanistan, the emerging transitional justice system and NATO-led efforts to quell the ongoing Taliban insurgency. She has also reported from Iraq, where she covered U.S. military operations in Baghdad and their effect on Iraqi citizens, the alliance between Sunni sheiks and the U.S. military in Anbar province, and the war crimes trial of Chemical Ali.

Martin was a foreign correspondent based in Berlin, starting in 2005. While based in Berlin, she covered the London terrorist attacks, the federal elections in Germany, the 2006 World Cup and issues surrounding immigration and shifting cultural identities in Europe. Martin returned to the United States in August 2006 as NPR's religion correspondent for the network's national desk. The following year, she won an award for "best radio feature" by the Religion News Writers Association for a story about Islam in America.

wow. I hope that Ms. Martin will come out to campus in the next year or so; I'll keep your posted.

President Thomas' State of the University Address

Every fall President Thomas convenes the faculty for a conversation about how we are doing and where we are going--SAT scores of incoming freshman, fundraising efforts, that sort of thing. This year, in light of the economic situation, much of the conversation was focused on that. Some points:

1. Like everyone else, our endowment has taken a hit as investments declined in value.
2. Donations to the university have similarly dropped, though from much improved position last year.
3. We have a larger class this year than expected--higher than normal, when we were planning for a smaller class. However, the class is also more dependent on university financial aid--so more students has not meant a gain in revenue.

The long-term question will be how we operate in lean times, especially if these conditions continue over the course of several years. Many state universities have responded to the economy with sometimes dramatic budget cuts; see for example, the comments by University of Washington President Emmert on his blog. How do we shepherd our resources without undercutting our teaching and weakening our presence in the market? Questions yet to be answered.

PS One thing I find interesting on the UW pres blog is the suggestion that full professors take a pay freeze or gift part of their salary back to the university. That could be directed toward financial aid, while not undercutting junior faculty whose pay is lower. Since I'm full faculty, I can get away with saying this!

Opportunity: Undergraduate Conference on Foreign Affairs at the Air Force Academy

Cadet Brittney L. Garrett

Academy Assembly Director

Department of Political Science

2354 Fairchild Drive, 6L108

USAF Academy, CO 80840-6258

SUBJECT: Invitation for the 51st Academy Assembly


Dear Faculty Representative,


For the past 50 years, the United States Air Force Academy has hosted a prestigious undergraduate student conference on a topic of contemporary political significance. This year the Air Force Academy is proud to announce that the 51st Academy Assembly will take place on October 6 – 9, 2009. This year’s conference is entitled, “Building the Bridge from War to Peace: Defining Interagency Roles in Rebuilding a Nation” and will examine an issue that is at the forefront of the US foreign policy debate.


Started in 1959 by General Robert McDermott, the United States Air Force Academy’s first Dean of Faculty, the Academy Assembly is an undergraduate student conference sponsored jointly by the Air Force Academy and Columbia University’s American Assembly. Held on the Academy grounds, this student-planned and executed conference provides a unique opportunity for over 50 highly qualified undergraduates to discuss a topic of contemporary significance in a premier forum. It draws prominent scholars, business leaders, government officials and military officers to come and interact with undergraduate students, serving as speakers and roundtable leaders. Undergraduate students from prestigious colleges, universities, and military academies in the United States attend as delegates and spend the week interacting and discussing the topic in depth. It gives delegates the unique opportunity to think of new solutions to old problems as well as to develop lifelong relationships with future American leaders.


We would like to extend you an invitation to send undergraduate delegates to this year’s Assembly. During the conference, the Air Force Academy will provide transportation for all events in addition to morning, noon, and evening meals. Delegates or their schools are responsible for travel and the conference registration fee. The registration fee will include all meals, lodging, and other costs associated with the program.


Registration must be accomplished online and will open on 1 May. Attendance will be limited to 50 delegates. While we have no limit on the amount of delegates you may send, we reserve the right to limit delegates in order to increase the diversity of the schools attending. The web address for online registration is www.usafa.af.mil/df/dfps/Programs/Assembly. Further information regarding the Academy Assembly, speaker biographies, a schedule of events, and historical information on the Academy Assembly can also be found on the website.


The Air Force Academy is honored to host this outstanding event and we look forward to hosting undergraduates from your university. If you have any questions, please contact the Assembly staff at academyassembly09@usafa.edu.

Cool foreign policy internship in DC

hat tip: Professor Weinberger:

The Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization intending to qualify as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. FPI seeks to promote an active U.S. foreign policy committed to supporting democratic allies, defending human rights, equipping a strong American military to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and strengthening America's global economic competitiveness.

FPI is seeking undergraduate or graduate students to work as unpaid interns at its Dupont Circle office in downtown Washington, DC during the fall of 2009. Interns will conduct research for FPI staff and assist with FPI events and outreach activities. FPI will reimburse students for daily Metro costs if applicable.

Please access our website at www.foreignpolicyi.org for information about our activities.

Applicants should submit a cover letter containing dates of availability and a resume online. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until September 15, 2009.

Apply Now

Grad school fairs: Seattle, Portland

Thinking about grad school? Check out one of the grad school fairs fund by Idealist.org. October 20 in Seattle and October 22 in Portland. Find out more here.


Welcome! To help people considering graduate education as a way to improve their skills and advance their careers, we have launched a series of Graduate Degree Fairs for the Public Good where potential applicants can meet with representatives from graduate programs. Each event will also offer a set of workshops that will describe the various degrees, illuminate the application and financial aid process, and guide attendees in how to transition back to school.

Our Graduate Degree Fairs for the Public Good bring together a range of degree programs including, but not limited to:

* Public Interest Law
* Public Administration
* Public Policy
* Social Work
* Socially Responsible Business
* Urban Planning

* Divinity
* Education
* Environmental Sciences
* Global and Public Health
* International Affairs
* Nonprofit Management

Becca Bryant recommends internship in DC

Something for recent grads, or spring '10?

Professor O'Neil,

As the summer is quickly winding down, and summer internships are finishing, I have an opportunity for those students (most likely already graduated) who may be looking for internships this fall.

One of my internships this summer was 2 days a week with the United Service Organizations (USO) where I was a Donor Services Intern. The position was with the USO World Headquarters, located in Arlington, VA, right near the Courthouse Metro.

The duties of the position vary, but include the following:

* Drafting foundation proposals, completing applications for participation with non-profit organizations
* Researching membership with other foundation such as United Way that may have an interest in funding the USO
* Preparing stewardship reports
* Other research & duties as assigned

The position requires a 3.3 minimum GPA, in addition to excellent reading and writing skills, strong internet research skills, the ability to work with confidential material in an appropriate manner, and 2 letters of recommendation.

The USO is a great organization to work with, and I really enjoyed my short time working for them. If you know of any students who are interested in the position (it vacates on Friday August 14, when my internship is complete) please let then know they can contact me with any questions, or go online to www.uso.org and go to the Career Opportunities page. Keep in mind that the USO has offices all over the world - an internship in DC one summer may lead to a position working abroad!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Rebecca Bryant

International relations...of zombies

Hat tip: Megan Serenco '97

From Dan Drezner over at Foreign Policy:

...let's have some fun with this and ask a different question -- what would different systemic international relations theories* predict regarding the effects of a zombie outbreak? Would the result be inconsequential -- or World War Z?

A structural realist would argue that, because of the uneven distribution of capabilities, some governments will be better placed to repulse the zombies than others. Furthermore, anyone who has seen Land of the Dead knows that zombies are not deterred by the stopping power of water. So that's the bad news....

Read the whole thing, before you get eaten, here.

How do you make college tours better...

by having the tour guide walk forward, of course.

huh?


The remaking of the campus tour is the latest development in the pitched competition among colleges to woo the most talented applicants.

Among the institutions that now instruct their tour guides to walk forward, alongside visitors, are big schools like the University of Texas at Austin, American University in Washington, and the State University at Oswego, N.Y.,, as well as smaller colleges like Trinity University in San Antonio, Albright in Reading, Pa,. and Spelman in Atlanta.

Though some have done so on their own, others have been urged to turn their guides around by a private consulting firm called TargetX. It charges colleges thousands of dollars to “audit” their tours and look at other aspects of how they present themselves to visitors, including visitor parking.

“Walking backwards is just not conducive to having a conversation,” said Jeff Kallay, a principal at the firm whose job title is experience evangelist. “Not only are you talking at someone, but it’s also so stressful to watch. We have seen guides hit signs and trees and lampposts.”

..who knew that we could get students by simply turning around? read the whole, er, "article," here.

Project Vote Smart Internship

Dear Political Science Department:

Project Vote Smart is a national, non-partisan, non-profit political research library located in the Montana Rockies. The Project was founded by former US Presidents Carter and Ford, as well as 40 other prominent national leaders of both major political parties and funded by the Carnegie and Ford Foundations. The New York Times said that “Project Vote Smart is so good that even the Federal Government recommends it.”

We are currently accepting applications for our Fall and Winter National Internship Program. This is an especially great opportunity for recent graduates. This year we are excited to announce our new online application system where students can now submit their applications completely electronically, expediting the review and acceptance process! To apply online or to get more information about Project Vote Smart, please visit www.votesmart.org. I hope you will look over our website and forward our information to any interested students. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks to the generous support of our members across the country, we are once again able to offer the Barry Goldwater scholarship to all accepted students. This scholarship provides room and board for the duration of the student’s 10 week internship at our headquarters, the Great Divide Ranch in Montana.

Through our internships, your students will have a unique opportunity to be involved with the political process, while enjoying one of the most spectacular places on earth. Our internship will give your students the chance to provide millions of people with factual, unbiased information, as well as the opportunity to stroll around pristine lakes and rivers, hike throughout the Rocky Mountains, or ski some of the best slopes in the country. During an internship with Project Vote Smart, students will work hard and learn a great deal, all in an environment defined by its beautiful scenery and the commitment of its staff and interns.

Our internships, as with all the other areas of the organization, focus on the end product: providing voters with pertinent, factual information on presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, and state legislative candidates and elected officials. For students, this means a hands-on internship with significant opportunities for learning and growth. In fact, more than 90 percent of the information that Project Vote Smart provides is researched, entered, and checked by interns and volunteers. This system has been developed and cultivated specifically to ensure that interns are primarily responsible for the research; the few staff members are here simply to train and guide interns in what needs to be accomplished.

Please ask your students to consider this opportunity and contact me with any questions at 1-888-VOTESMART (1-888-868-3762) or via email at intern@votesmart.org. I look forward to working together to provide your students with an unforgettable learning experience.


Sincerely,


Tallie Spiller
Project Vote Smart
Internship Coordinator

Political Science takes us everywhere

Two cool pieces in the New York Times this weekend; one that lots of political scientists are noting, the other, I suspect, no one is:

In the weekend magazine, a piece on Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, who for years has been honing software to predict political outcomes:

A professor at New York University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, he is well known academically for his work on “political survival,” or how leaders build coalitions to stay in power. But among national-security types and corporate decision makers, he is even better known for his prognostications. For 29 years, Bueno de Mesquita has been developing and honing a computer model that predicts the outcome of any situation in which parties can be described as trying to persuade or coerce one another. Since the early 1980s, C.I.A. officials have hired him to perform more than a thousand predictions; a study by the C.I.A., now declassified, found that Bueno de Mesquita’s predictions “hit the bull’s-eye” twice as often as its own analysts did.

And about as far away from that as you can get, in the arts section a long wonderful piece on the dancing films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers:

In the 1960s and ’70s you had to wait for Astaire-Rogers movies on television or in revival houses. In the case of “Roberta” (1935) you often had to wait years. Ms. Croce rightly calls this “their most ebullient film.” But MGM (which remade it in 1952 as “Lovely to Look At”) tried to bury it for decades. Now you can get a DVD boxed set of all 10 Astaire-Rogers movies and watch “Roberta” to your heart’s content. The “Swing Time” DVD can be watched with a commentary by John Mueller, whose 440-page study “Astaire Dancing” (1986) is...indispensable to Astaire studies...

So why do I cite this? Although the piece doesn't mention it, John Mueller, in addition to being an author of an important work on Astaire, is a professor of political science at Ohio State whose work on international relations and other issues is widely read. Political scientists--we're everywhere.

Economists, Obama? Bah!

From Inside Higher Ed (Hat tip, Media Relations):

Jerry Jacobs, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, said “on the one hand, the president can ask anyone for advice" -- criminologists, public health experts and others. "It's not that the president is short of advice, but there is a lack of legitimized and organized social science at the highest levels of policy formation.”

“Even in a tremendously sympathetic administration,” Jacobs said, “it is hard to ignore” that within the social sciences, economists have the access. “For me, the agenda [of pushing for a new social science council in the White House] “is figuring out what we need to do to get ourselves a seat at the table.”

I'm sure Obama will be giving me a ring soon.

Professor Karl Fields in Arches

If you haven't received your copy of Arches yet, you'll soon find a great piece by our own Professor Karl Fields on the Pac Rim program and his recent participation. In the meantime, Arches has some nifty new software for reading the magazine online; find it here:
http://ups.journalgraphicsdigital.com/pubs/ups/current/

Chair Sousa: PG Fall 2009 News

an update from our illustrious chair:


POLITICS & GOV’T DEPARTMENT NEWS Fall 2010


DEPARTMENT WELCOMES TWO NEW COLLEAGUES!

Dr. Rachel DeMotts earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and comes to us from the University of Massachusetts—Lowell. Her position is funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, and she is Mellon Assistant Professor of Global Environmental Politics. Professor DeMotts focuses on politics in sub-Saharan Africa, and will teach P&G 325, African Politics this fall. She is affiliated with the Environmental Policy and Decision Making Program, and will teach on global environmental politics, conservation, gender and environment, and related topics. DeMotts’ research focuses on transboundary environmental issues in southern Africa, including the relationships between parks and rural villages, participation in natural resource management and community-based conservation, and the social effects of living with wildlife. She has recently published papers on the intersection of gender, HIV/AIDS, and conservation and on natural resource management in Botswana.

Dr. Robin Dale Jacobson earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and comes to Puget Sound from Bucknell University. Professor Jacobson is an expert on US politics. This fall she will teach P&G 101, Introduction to US Politics, and P&G 304, Race in American Politics. Jacobson’s research has focused on immigration politics. In addition to several articles and many conference presentations she published a book, The New Nativism: Proposition 187 and the Debate Over Immigration with the University of Minnesota Press. Professor Jacobson is now working on an edited volume, Faith and Race in American Political Life, which explores how the intersection of race and religion is central to our political culture, institutions, and behavior.

POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION (PSA) RECRUITING AND PLANNING FOR THE YEAR
The Politics and Government Students Association (PSA) is organizing for the coming year. The PSA sponsors talks and current events discussions, organizes social events, and provides an important mechanism through which students can communicate with P&G faculty. Please consider joining the group as it begins its planning for the new academic year! Look for the group’s announcements, or contact Katie Rader (krader@ups.edu) for information.

THE BLOG ROLLS ON
Professor O’Neil will continue to blog at http://upspolitics.blogspot.com, the departmental blog. You will find news about happenings on campus and in the department, job/internship/scholarship/research opportunities, reports from P&G graduates and students studying abroad, and news from the wild world of higher education. Sign up for the digest and get a weekly update on what’s been happening on the blog!

BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN OF THE P&G DEPARTMENT
P&G has created a Facebook fan page, a running source of information about departmental events, internship, job, and research opportunities. Are you a fan? Find us at University of Puget Sound Politics and Government.


NEW and RECENT BOOKS FROM P&G FACULTY
Daniel Sherman’s book, Not Here, Not There, Not Anywhere: Implementation Vulnerabilities of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act and the Power of Local Collective Opposition will be published by Resources for the Future Press in 2010.
Seth Weinberger’s book, Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror, will be published in late August 2009 by Praeger Security International Press.
Patrick O’Neil’s widely-adopted comparative politics text, Essentials of Comparative Politics, will appear in its third edition from Norton in 2009. O’Neil has collaborated with Karl Fields and Don Share on Cases in Comparative Politics, which will also appear in a new edition from Norton in 2009.

Robin Dale Jacobson’s book, The New Nativism: Proposition 187 and the Debate Over Immigration was published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2008.

David Sousa’s book (co-authored with Christopher McGrory Klyza), American Environmental Policy 1990-2006: Beyond Gridlock was published by MIT Press in 2008.

INTERNSHIPS: TELL US WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING!
P&G has been strongly encouraging students to take internships, and has been slowly developing a network of internship contacts. If you have completed an internship recently, Professor Sousa (sousa@ups.edu) would like to hear from you about your experience and about who we might contact to place another Puget Sound student in that position. Please help us build a database of good internships for current and future P&G students.

NEW DEPARTMENT CHAIR
David Sousa is now P&G chair. Please offer congratulations on a job well done to Professor O’Neil, whose three-year term has ended, and direct inquiries for the chair to Sousa.

Another year, another ranking.

Forbes is ranking schools (hat tip: Media Relations). We're 143.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_University-of-Puget-Sound_94494.html

Some reference points:
Whitman: 20
Reed: 44
Willamette: 169
Pacific Lutheran 214
Lewis and Clark 232

Here's the methodology:

The methodology used in Forbes' 2008 inaugural edition of "America's Best Colleges" rankings has been modestly revised for 2009. As in 2008, we base 25% of the rankings on student satisfaction with their course instruction. Also, like last year, we base another 25% on indicators of post-graduate employment success, and one-sixth (16.67%) on the likelihood of graduation from college within four years. Last year, we weighted the estimated average four year student loan debt at one-sixth (16.67%) in the rankings. Given the rising costs, debt levels and associated concerns with this issue, we have increased the weight to 20% this year.

Thoughts?

Internship, World Affairs Council, Seattle

Greetings from the World Affairs Council!


We thought some of your students or advisees may be interested in the following internship opportunity:

Here at the World Affairs Council in Seattle, we have quarterly unpaid internships for up to 16 internationally-minded students in the Puget Sound Community.

Our interns commit 12-15 hours per week during our office business hours, which are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday for 10-12 weeks (3 - 6 months). Our interns gain valuable hands on skills and perform basic office tasks plus special projects, which vary depending on the department. In the past, special projects have included accompanying high-level international delegates to their meetings in Seattle, writing grants, and co-creating international curriculum for local schools. Whether your interest is in applying what you have learned in your international affairs class, tweaking your office skills and resume, or finding out about the inner workings of a not-for-profit, there are lots of opportunities for you at the World Affairs Council! And what’s more, after you complete your internship, you will receive a complementary one year membership plus receive monthly newsletters with job, intern, and volunteer opportunities.

The World Affairs Council in Seattle has six departments which include Administration, Development, Membership, International Visitor Program, Community Programs, and Global Classroom. If you are interested in applying, please take some time to review the website at www.world-affairs.org/aboutus_internships.html and take a closer look each department. You may submit your resume and cover letter to Ms. Alyse Cato at acato@world-affairs.org. The deadline for the Fall Quarter internship is September 11, 2009.

We regret that we are only to able to contact candidates selected for interviews.

Please look forward to 2009-2010 work-study opportunities posted soon at www.world-affairs.org.

Best wishes,

Mina O’Brien

______________________

Administrative Assistant
World Affairs Council
2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 450
Seattle, WA 98121
(ph) 206.441.5910
(fax) 206.441.5908
adminassist@world-affairs.org
www.world-affairs.org

Stats matter

from the New York Times--

I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians,” said Hal Varian, chief economist at Google. “And I’m not kidding.”

The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data. In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm.

Yet data is merely the raw material of knowledge. “We’re rapidly entering a world where everything can be monitored and measured,” said Erik Brynjolfsson, an economist and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Digital Business. “But the big problem is going to be the ability of humans to use, analyze and make sense of the data.”

read the rest here.

19th International Youth Leadership Conference Prague

19th International Youth Leadership Conference

January 4th – 9th, 2010

Prague, Czech Republic



Join prominent university students from 40 different countries for an experience of a lifetime!



This winter Civic Concepts International will be welcoming 100 students from 40 different countries for an open-minded exchange of diverse perspectives on contemporary global challenges.



The IYLC involves participants in:

§ Simulation of a UN Security Council Meeting

§ International Criminal Court mock pre-trial

§ Model European Parliament proceedings

§ Visits to foreign embassies, governmental and other institutions

§ Group debates and panel discussions on subjects of global importance

§ Meeting and dinners with diplomats, politicians and experts



The IYLC is a unique cross-cultural and networking opportunity that will help you build lifelong friendships.



For more information and application, please visit www.CzechLeadership.com.



Apply early to take advantage of the Early Bird discounts.

---------------------------------------------



We welcome university professors and staff to join the conference as observers. If you or your colleagues are interested in becoming observers, please visit www.czechleadership.com/observers.php.

I thank you for your time and support. I will be looking forward to hearing from your students. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.



Yours faithfully,

Ismayil



Ismayil Khayredinov

ismayil@civicconcepts.org

Conference Director

19th International Youth Leadership Conference

Civic Concepts International

www.czechleadership.com

tel: +420 272 730 897

$150,000 in grats for undergrad and grad studies in Canada

2010-11 VANIER CANADA GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS / $50,000 ANNUALLY / STUDY IN CANADA UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS

The prestigious VANIER CANADA GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP program in which American students may pursue doctoral studies in Canada is in its 2nd year. The federal granting councils in Canada are: the INSTITUTE OF HEALTH RESEARCH (CIHR), the NATURAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING RESEARCH COUNCIL (NSERC) and the SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL (SSHRC) which promote and manage all aspects of the scholarship program.

For the 2010-11 academic year 166 awards are expected.

Candidates must be nominated by a Canadian university with a Vanier program quota in order to be considered. The granting councils deadline for the 2010-11 competition is expected to be in early November 2009.

Attached is information for interested American students.

Websites for additional information on scholarships available to American undergraduate (ie Killam Fellowships) and graduate students are:

www.vanier.gc.ca

www.scholarships.gc.ca

Former President Pierce on/in the academic search

From Inside Higher Ed, former President Pierce has a piece on the problems and pitfalls of academic searches (like for university presidents); while some of it is academia-specific, much applies more widely to job searches:

In contrast to letters that are tailored to the position, nothing alienates a committee more than receiving what I think of as a “generic” or “to whom it may concern” letter, i.e. an all-purpose letter that candidates have prepared to send in response to every ad that strikes their fancy (and some that do not). Those of us who serve as search consultants know of a number of perennial candidates whose stock letters arrive usually within a day or two of the ad’s appearance. These letters tend to follow the same pattern. They begin and end with a paragraph that mentions the hiring institution’s name, but in the body of the letter they focus exclusively on their self-perceived strengths and accomplishments without regard to the college or university. Such letters typically end with a reiteration of how much the candidate wants the position.

My own favorite example of the dangers of such an approach came from a candidate who submitted her template by mistake. Her letter of application therefore began:

Dear [name of chair of search committee],
This is to apply for [name of position] at [name of school]. I am sure that I would be a great [name of position] at [name of school]. Indeed, I have spent my life preparing to be [name of position] at [name of school].

This application provided the committee with some welcome comic relief, but its members had no interest in the candidate.

Read the whole thing here.

Ellyn Henriksen's Beijing tubesteak recap

大家好！

Thought I'd check in with all of you! I'm down to my last 3 weeks here and this week I got a mention in Beijing City Weekend, second only to the Beijinger for expat press here. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/the-dish-bj/beijing-weiners/

Also, I have been picked up as a "volunteer" for the Dongcheng District Police. Essentially I pose for various propaganda photo shoots about the different types of visas and foreigner housing registration (everyone must register where they are living/staying within 24 hours of getting into the country). It was the strangest thing but they had me come out to an event one morning. I headed into it knowing only that it had something to do with the police. When I got there I was greeted by about 30 police officers (including the chief of police), several press members and a handful foreigners who were just as confused as I was. They just took a lot of photos of us accepting information pamphlets. It was great. It was supposed to have been in the local papers but as I can only really read the English ones I never saw it. They also did an interview with me that was supposed to have been for television. I had to talk about how helpful the police are (which they are!) and how much they've helped me since I arrived here. What I left out were my stories about the two times they've nearly broken down my door because of mix-ups with my housing registration!

So I guess I have some strange little celebrity status around Nanluogu Xiang. No idea how it came to be but my role as the Meiguoren hot dog lady seems to have become very official.

Aside from that things are pretty calm around here. Lot's of other foreign kids are headed home right about now and it's sad to watch them leave. I've pretty much made up my mind that I need to come back to study here in a year. We all seem to agree, there's something about Beijing that just sucks you back in, despite struggling with a love/hate relationship with the city the whole time you're here. I've met amazing people and have established a little bit of guanxi while I've been here, essentially the Chinese version of social capital (norms of reciprocity!) and I plan to use it upon my return.

Well that's about all I have to report now. I'm facing the end of my journey with a bit of excitement to come home (closed showers and milkshakes ahoy!) and a reluctance to leave. Either way, I'm so glad I dove head first into this experience. It has been unbelievable and life changing.

See you soon(ish),

Elly in Beijing

NYT: School networks mean jobs--for older alums, too

Read the whole thing here:

THE last time Miriam Korn Haimes used Syracuse University’s career services, she was a kid. Twenty-one? Twenty-two, maybe?

When you’re the Class of ’76, that’s ancient history. The bachelor’s degree nestles at the bottom of a rich résumé filled with professional benchmarks, including a 23-year career at JPMorgan Chase, topped by the title of senior vice president.

“I hadn’t kept up with the university at all,” said Ms. Haimes, of Montclair, N.J. “It was so long ago.”

Until this spring, when Ms. Haimes’s department was relocated to Columbus, Ohio, and she found herself unemployed.

In the new world order of job searches, networking is everything, so she gamely dusted off her 33-year-old Syracuse affiliation. Armed with her business card and her 60-second “I’m in transition” speech, she went recently to a cocktail party for alumni. There, another Orangewoman gave her a tip: the university’s career center is not just for undergraduates but for older alumni, too.

Syracuse counselors have since critiqued Ms. Haimes’s résumé, helped tweak her job search and offered to connect her with graduates in related fields. “It’s all free,” said Ms. Haimes, in wonderment. “No one’s asked for a donation. But if I get a job, I’ll give them a large one.”

For the unemployed, the standing advice about how to find work involves doggedly attending job fairs and reaching out to everyone in your e-mail address book. But increasingly, a lesser-known avenue with the potential to be effective, thanks to the emotional bonds formed during undergraduate years, turns out to be the alma mater.

In the last year, as the recession and a 9.5 percent unemployment rate have slowed the economy, schools have been amending their pitches to older graduates. Typically, undergraduate institutions offer standard-fare golf tournaments and wine-tasting reunions — hoping to tap nostalgia and shake loose donations. Now, they are providing an expanding array of career services, including panels of alumni experts, professional affinity networks, personal coaching and job listings, support that is becoming a fixture of business and law programs. Old school ties, they suggest, can have new currency, even urgency.

Accessible, rocking, ungodly

According to the Princeton Review, Puget Sound falls in the top twenty in the following three areas:

Puget Sound in the News

The Princeton Review released its “Best 371 Colleges” publication. The press release naming the “best of” and the page covering Puget Sound are attached. Students are quoted speaking highly of the faculty. Puget Sound appeared in three lists, as below.

Best College Radio Station

Most Accessible Professors

Least Religious Students

Of course, we all know that the radio station and irreligious nature of our students are connected--what with that devil music that spews from our airwaves.