Top Story
| Everyman Theatre Productions Let You Make the Trip From Queens to Nigeria in 2 Plays |
| The Baltimore Sun featured the career of Caleen Jennings, professor of performing arts, in an article about her autobiographical plays, “Queens Girl in the World” and “Queens Girl in Africa,” which are running at the Everyman Theatre. Jojo Ruff, the managing director of the Theater J where “Queens Girl in the World” debuted, said, “Caleen has an amazing capacity to craft a narrative that both speaks about broad social change and that also has a specific point of view.” (5/17) |
Additional Features
| Here Are the Best Commencement Speeches of 2019 |
| TIME Magazine featured Stacey Abrams's commencement address to the School of Public Affairs Class of 2019 as one of the best commencement speeches in 2019. Abrams reminded graduates that “beliefs are our anchors.” (5/21) |
| UN Urges Universities to Be Catalysers of Sustainability |
| University World News published an article about a United Nations Environment Programme report that recognized colleges and universities that are leading the way in sustainability efforts. American University's carbon neutrality achievement, amongst other sustainability initiatives, were mentioned in the report. (5/18) |
Faculty Author
| How to Counter Far-Right Extremism? Germany Shows the Way |
| Professor of Sociology Cynthia Miller-Idriss wrote an article for The Guardian about counter extremism efforts in Germany. Miller-Idriss wrote, “The German approach- rooted in decades of experiences rebuilding democracy after the Holocaust- is unquestionably the broadest and most comprehensive to combating far-right extremism globally.” (5/17) |
News Brief
Expertise
| Trump Has Pardoned 10 Men. Who Are They? |
| Assistant Professor in the School of Professional and Extended Studies Jeffrey Crouch spoke to The Los Angeles Time about the presidential pardons granted by President Trump. Crouch said, “The president can decide to pardon whomever he deems worth, but recent presidents have pardoned mostly people who have committed older, nonviolent offenses. Pardoning accused war criminals- especially before trial- is a very serious decision.” Distinguished Professor of History Allan Lichtman was also quoted in the article. (5/23) |
| Kashmir Group Seeks UN Probe Into Torture by India Troops |
| Juan E. Mendz, professor in the Washington College of Law, was quoted in an Associated Press article about Kashmir's request for a UN probe into alleged torture by Indian troops. Mendz, who penned the prologue to a recently released UN report on Kashmir, wrote, “I am convinced that a report, when it is as rigorous, evidence-based and persuasive as this one is, constitutes a building block towards public awareness of the tragedy of torture.” The article appeared in 229 media outlets, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. (5/20) |
| British Proposal to Block Travel to Syria and West Africa Suggests Renewed Foreign Fighter Threat |
| Professor of Public Affairs David Malet spoke to The Washington Post about the British government's attempt to ban travel to several regions in the the Middle East and West Africa as a way to prevent British citizens from providing material support to foreign fighters. Malet told The Post that the United States, and other countries, already have broad rules that prohibit offering material support to terrorist groups. (5/20) |
| Step by Step: Democrats Play the Long Game Against Trump |
| Allan Lichtman, distinguished professor of history, spoke to The Associated Press about the Democratic party's attempts to investigate President Trump for misconduct. Lichtman said, “The courts have been very, very wary of interfering in the impeachment power. This is really a case where one branch of government rules.” The article appeared in 319 outlets, including The New York Times and ABC News Online. (5/17) |
| Billionaire Robert F. Smith Pledges to Repay Loans For 2019 Morehouse College Class |
| Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center, spoke to NPR's All Things Considered about Robert F. Smith's pledge to repay the loans of Morehouse College's Class of 2019. Kendi said, “Of course, this gift will allow those students to potentially do those things [buying a home, starting a business, building wealth] and create generational wealth.” (5/20) |
| The Art of Advice for Recent College Grads |
| Peter Starr, dean of the College of Arts and Science, appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, to discuss commencement ceremonies, and how universities select their speakers. Starr said, “You try to find a speaker, who will speak to your students and encapsulate the values and goals for your institution.” (5/20) |
| What Happened to the Climate Election? |
| Research Fellow at the Center for Environmental Policy Morten Wendelbo, spoke to E&E News about how climate change dominated coverage of the most recent Australian elections. Wendelbo said, “If you look at coverage over the last couple of weeks leading up to the election there has been a great discussion about how successful the environmentalists were, and how important [climate] was as an issue for a very large part of the electorate.” (5/22) |
| Experts Explain How 2020 Swing States Will Be Determined |
| Jason Mollica, a professorial lecturer in the School of Communication spoke with Bustle about what voters in swing states will be focused on I the 2020 election. Mollica said, "If a candidate on either side does not really excite someone, if... you don't feel that there is a connection, you're not going to vote for them." (5/22) |
| Amazon Reportedly Developing Emotion-Sensing Wearable Device |
| Sam Hanna, associate dean of graduate and professional studies in the School of Professional and Extended Studies, spoke to MedCityNews about reports that Amazon is developing an emotion-sensing wearable device. Hanna said “the intent is for us to rely and depend on Alexa to help us navigate our needs-whether we know them or not- and to provide us with solutions and options.” (5/23) |
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