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Applications to the LBJ School for the 2007-08 Academic Year are up nine percent from last year, according to tabulations from the Office of Student Affairs and Programs (OSAP). OSAP has recorded 436 total applications made to the School as of February 6. At the same point in the 2006-07 admissions cycle, the School had received 401 applications, which was itself a ten percent increase from the same period the year before. Sixteen of the students applied as a dual degree with the Institute of Latin American Studies, followed by Law (10), Engineering (7), and Journalism (5). The Admissions Committee, under Professor Pat Wong, has already started the review of the applications.
The Twenty-First Century Policy Makers—an association of public affairs graduate students and researchers created in 2005 by LBJ School students—will host its second annual conference in collaboration with the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas on the topic of "Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Reconciliation" on March 9-10 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The conference will feature renowned speakers on civil rights and social justice in focusing on the domestic and international dimensions of reconciling racial, ethnic and religious conflicts. Conference speakers include: former U.S. Sen. David Pryor, founding dean of the Clinton School; Lynda Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon Johnson; and Gillian Sorensen, senior advisor to the United Nations Foundation. For more information, visit the web site at www.21stcenturypolicy.org.
The Center for Health and Social Policy will host former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to discuss his plans for a "Medicaid Makeover" on Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in the auditorium of the Thompson Conference Center. Thompson founded the Medicaid Makeover organization (www.medicaidmakeover.org) which seeks to promote innovative strategies to make Medicaid more cost effective and efficient when delivering critical health care to millions of low-income Americans. As Secretary of HHS in the George W. Bush Administration, Thompson spearheaded the effort to pass the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003. He also played a major role in administering the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability Demonstration Program, which provides Medicaid waivers to states that develop innovative approaches to expanding the number of low-income families covered by health insurance. For information, contact Robin Pearson at robin.pearson@mail.utexas.edu.
As part of the Elspeth Rostow Distinguished Lecture Series for Public Policy Leadership, the LBJ School and Deloitte & Touche USA will welcome former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, 1800 North Congress Avenue. Ridge will discuss how state leaders can strategically address the long-term and structural issues facing state government today while also anticipating the daunting new challenges of the 21st century. After the presentation, he will take audience questions. For more information, contact Brendan Lavy at blavy@austin.utexas.edu.
The weekly television series on Texas politics and policy has returned to Sundays at 11 a.m. on KLRU. Hosted by LBJ School Professor Paul Stekler, the series watches the happenings in Texas politics during the Texas Legislative session, as well as providing thought-provoking and topical pieces about Texas political leaders. Every show is available for video-streaming after its broadcast at: http://www.klru.org/specialsession/episodes/.
Professor Asher Susser, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, will present "The New Middle East: Israel, Iran and the Arab World" sponsored by the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law on Thursday Feb. 8, at 5:15 p.m. in SRH 3.109. Susser is one of Israel's foremost strategic thinkers and was the only Israeli academic invited to join Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein at their historic appearance before the U.S. Congress. A graduate of Tel Aviv University, where he earned his Ph.D. (1986), Susser has been a Fulbright Fellow, a visiting professor at Cornell University, the University of Chicago, and Brandeis University. For more information visit the Strauss Center web site at www.RobertStraussCenter.org.
The LBJ School's Career Services Office will host the annual Public Affairs Career Fair on Feb. 9 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Thompson Conference Center. The fair offers an excellent opportunity to meet and possibly interview with top public, private, and non-profit employers and allow students to explore potential jobs, internships, and career issues. Anyone interested in a career in public service is welcome. For information, contact the Office of Student Affairs and Programs 471-4292.
The deadline to submit brief proposals that combine creativity and innovation to tackle a pressing social issue is Feb. 16, at 5 p.m. The competition is sponsored by the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service and will award $50,000 to a student as venture capital." For more information, visit: rgkcenter.utexas.edu/competition/ .
Hans Peter Schmitz, the first speaker in the RGK Center's Global Civil Society Speaker Series, will discuss "Activists Beyond Scrutiny? The Politics of NGO Accountability" on Thursday, February 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. Schmitz is author of Transnational Mobilization and Domestic Regime Change: Africa in Comparative Perspective and an assistant professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. His research suggests that transnational NGOs should embrace the accountability discourse and define standards appropriate to their efforts. For more information, contact Josh Busby, busbyj@austin.utexas.edu.
Peter Ward's op-ed entitled "Calderón's Cleaning Up with Sweeping Policy," which discusses how the Mexican president's recent criminal justice decisions reflect a different conception of national security, was published in the Austin American-Statesman on January 31. Read the article.
"News@LBJ" is a regular electronic newsletter distributed by the Dean's Office to keep faculty, staff, and students informed about news and events at The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. We encourage everyone to share their news, events, and suggestions with us via e-mail to kerri.battles@mail.utexas.edu.