Top Story
| It's Final Season. So Remember, College Students: It's Okay to Take a Break |
| The Washington Post spoke to AU President Sylvia M. Burwell and students about the end of semester pop-up breaks designed to help students de-stress during final exams. President Burwell, who implemented the pop-up breaks last year, said, “Hopefully, for [the students], it's a break and helps them have a little boost as they go into this final push.” (12/17) |
Additional Feature
| Comet Hunters Successfully Observe Wirtanan With Newly Modernized Instrument |
| Boncho Bonev, research assistant professor of physics, spoke to Phys.org about observations he and his research team made of Comet 46P/Wirtanen at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Bonev said, “It is very exciting because the comet is so close and sufficiently bright for detailed astronomical studies.” (12/20) |
Faculty Author
| Shockwaves From French 'Yellow Vest' Protests Felt Across Europe |
| Garret Martin, professorial lecturer in the School of International Service, wrote an article for The Conversation about the potential impact of the French ‘yellow vest' protests on European politics. Martin wrote, “A president embattled at home simply cannot credibly pressure other countries to change.” (12/17) |
News Brief
| Yes, Russian Trolls Helped Elect Trump |
| The New York Times mentioned research by Thomas Zeitzoff, associate professor of public affairs, in an article about how Russia may have used social media to influence the 2016 presidential election. (12/17) |
| Can Trump Pardon Himself? |
| The Atlantic Magazine referenced SPExS professor Jeffrey Crouch's book, “The Presidential Pardon Power,” in an article about President Trump considering self-pardon. (12/17) |
Expertise
| Colleges Step Up Professional Development for Adjuncts |
| Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and professor of public affairs William LeoGrande spoke to The Chronicle of Higher Education about efforts to increase professional development opportunities for adjunct instructors. LeoGrande told The Chronicle that American University has had programs for several years, including resources to help adjunct instructors pay for courses and other training opportunities. (12/16) |
| Is There a Best Time of Year to Buy Stocks? |
| Mark Ma, assistant professor at the Kogod School of Business, spoke to the BBC News about the best time of year to buy stocks. Ma recommended paying attention to concrete indicators like a company's growth potential or profitability over the past year. (12/15) |
| 2019 Outlook: Trump Judge Picks Could Flip Circuits |
| Washington College of Law professor Russel R. Wheeler discussed how Presidents fill vacancies in circuit courts with favorable candidates. Wheeler said that there would be little to slow Republicans from filling current appeals court vacancies. (12/19) |
| Saudis Offer Rare Insight Into Move to Sideline IPCC |
| Paul Bledsoe, adjunct professorial lecturer of public affairs, spoke to E&E News about Saudi Arabia's role in the U.N. climate process. Bledsoe said, “The Saudis and Russians have historically tried to at least avoid being seen as preventing agreement on key items that the rest of the world wants as negotiations reach a head.” (12/14) |
| How One Company Is Making Millions off Trump's War on the Poor |
| Ibram X. Kendi, Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center, spoke to Mother Jones about new policies regarding social services. Kendi said that “All of these racist policies primarily harm black people, but they also typically harm everyone.” (12/17) |
| Federal Workers Near DC Brace for Possible Shutdown |
| Jim Dinegar, Director of the Kogod Business in the Capital Center, spoke to NBC4 about the potential impact of a government shutdown. Dinegar said, “If people won't be working, they'll be hesitating to spend their money during the Christmas holidays, but it will also affect tourism coming in [to DC], if they think the museums are going to be shut down.” (12/18) |
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