Policy Perspectives

POLICY M c C O U R T

S C H O O L

O F

P U B L I C

P O L I C Y

FALL 2013

P E R S P E C T I V E S

GEORGETOWN LAUNCHES THE

McCourt School of Public Policy DRIVING GROWTH

Experts discuss ways to spur America’s sluggish economy

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM

One student’s journey from Syria to the Hilltop

UNDERSTANDING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

One expert on the MSPP faculty talks implementation

PLUS:

AT WORK ON THE HILL MEET TWO GRADS TURNED CONGRESSMEN

CONTENTS In This Issue // Fall 2013 02 // LETTER FROM THE DEAN 04 // INTRODUCING MSPP

10 // ALUMS IN CONGRESS

Two graduates now serving in Congress talk about how their experience on the Hilltop helped point them toward Capitol Hill.

12 // APPLYING POLICY LESSONS

Learning at MSPP isn’t only done in lecture halls— check in with some of the school’s most active clubs and student organizations.

18 // SOLVING A DIFFICULT PUZZLE

When President Obama spoke at Georgetown on June 25th, he laid out a plan for the global fight against climate change. Learn more about his speech and the historic spot from which he delivered it on page 6.

McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

The shattered economy is growing, but progress is slow and complicated. Two experts on the MSPP faculty talk potential solutions.

19 // A SOLDIER’S JOURNEY 20 // FACULTY NEWS 23 // ALUMNI REFLECTIONS 26 // EVENTS AT MSPP

mspp.georgetown.edu

PHOTOGRAPH OF GEORGETOWN BY CAMERON DAVIDSON/GETTY IMAGES; GEORGE WASHINGTON BY ALAMY; FEDER BY JEFF ELKINS

Beginning this fall, a transformative gift to Georgetown from alumnus Frank McCourt (C ’75) will endow the new McCourt School of Public Policy.

The McCourt School of Public Policy is ranked first in the Washington area for Public Policy Analysis by U.S. News & World Report.

“ The biggest challenge

[to the Affordable Care Act] is the political environment...which has been in the way for many years and just keeps on keeping on.”

p. 6

–JUDY FEDER, PAGE 14

And More....

03 | ECONOMIC GROWTH BY THE NUMBERS How is the American economy is expected to grow in the coming years? Dig into data on the subject.

19 | UNDERSTANDING IM-

MIGRATION REFORM MSPP professor Adriana Kugler discusses immigration reform’s potential impact on the economy.

25 | IN MEMORIAM

28 | FIGHTING TYRANNY

MSPP pays tribute to two graduates and Army Lieutenant Colonels, Jaimie Elizabeth Leonard and Mark M. Weber, who both passed away in June.

One MSPP student escaped imprisonment in war-torn Syria for a policy education— and when he’s done, he’ll head back home to put it to work.

POLICY PERSPECTIVES is published regularly by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, in conjunction with Washingtonian Custom Media, a division of Washingtonian magazine (www.washingtonian.com). We welcome feedback and suggestions for future issues. Please contact Lauren Mullins, Director of Communications, McCourt School of Public Policy, Old North, Suite 100, 37th and O Streets, NW, Washington DC, 20057; by phone at (202) 687-2269; or by e-mail at lm973@georgetown.edu. Website: http://MSPP.georgetown.edu/

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY FRANCESCO BONGIORNI; BACK COVER ILLUSTRATION BY GLUEKIT

FALL 2013 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY //

1

DEAN’S WELCOME

MSPP Dean Edward Montgomery

A Note From the Dean W

2 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

Policy will continue the Georgetown tradition of civil dialogue and civic engagement. This Center will host forums and events on the major policy questions of the day that will bring leading policymakers and practitioners to campus.

As an alumnus, former member of the Board of Directors, son of an alumnus, brother of two alumni, and parent of an alumnus, Mr. McCourt is deeply committed to Georgetown University. His support will provide an opportunity to grow and expand the McCourt School for future generations.

This is a proud day for our community. This gift is an acknowledgement of all the work the faculty, students, staff, and alumni have put in to build a foundation at GPPI that can now grow with McCourt’s investment. GPPI has long been committed to making the world a better place through research, teaching, and practice. This commitment will remain at the core of the McCourt School, guiding us as we move forward with this exciting transition. I hope you enjoy reading about it in this issue of Policy Perspectives.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PHIL HUMNICKY

elcome to the fall, 2013 edition of Policy Perspectives.

I am thrilled to announce that, after years of careful consideration and strategic planning by the University and our faculty, GPPI will transform into the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy (MSPP) in October. This change is the result of an extraordinary gift to the University—$100 million—from alumnus Frank McCourt (C’75).

McCourt’s transformative gift will enable us to build a significant endowment to sustain key investments in our school into the future. Those investments will support four key pillars centered around student scholarship, faculty excellence, and research and engagement excellence.

MSPP students will see an increase in scholarship support through the establishment of McCourt Fellows Program. This will aid in the successful recruitment annually of the most qualified future public policymakers and scholars.

Building on our talented group of GPPI professors, over time, we will expand our core faculty, increase our interdisciplinary appointments, and establish even stronger collaboration with other Georgetown schools and departments.

The McCourt School of Public Policy will also be home to two new centers. The Massive Data Institute will bring together researchers and students from the McCourt School and across Georgetown to utilize ‘big data’ to better understand society and human behavior and to design effective public-policy solutions to our most pressing problems. And the Center for Politics and

Edward Montgomery, PhD Dean and Professor McCourt School of Public Policy mspp.georgetown.edu

IN NUMBERS:

Economic Growth*

55 MILLION

The number of jobs that will open up in the US between now and 2020.

7.4%

The expected unemployment rate in 2014—down from 7.6% now.

1.8%

34%

The portion of America’s total income earned by the richest 5 percent of households.

272.9

The factor by which American CEOs’ salaries in 2012 were larger than those of their workers.

$23.89 The average hourly wage of a salaried American employee in a private, non-farm occupation.

The annual growth rate of the US’s Gross Domestic Product, as of the first quarter of 2013.

.67% 105.1

The would-be increase to the above rate, if American math-and-science test scores increased to meet those of top-performing countries.

446

The average number of new, single-family homes sold each month in the first half of 2013.

368

The average number of newsingle family homes sold each month in 2012.

America’s debt-to-GDP ratio, as of early 2013—up from 64.8 in 2007.

15.1%

of Americans were living under the poverty line in 2010, the highest rate since 1993.

65%

of jobs will require postsecondary education or training in 2020.

*Sources: Reports by the International Monetary Fund, Programme for International Student Assessment, Economic Policy Institute, MSPP Center on Education and the Workforce, National Bureau of Economic Research, and US Census Bureau.

mspp.georgetown.edu

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MCCOURT SCHOOL

Transformative Gift Launches New Public Policy School The McCourt School of Public Policy will leverage Georgetown’s location in Washington, DC, its relationships with global leaders, and its legacy of public service to forge a new approach to public policy education.

G

eorgetown will realize a long-held vision to create a premier school of public policy in the nation’s capital, thanks to a gift of $100 million – the largest in its history.

The McCourt School of Public Policy (MSPP), funded through a gif t from Frank H. McCour t Jr. (C’75), w ill be the ninth current school at Georgetown and the first new school at the university since 1957. It will focus on the use of evolving technology to help solve some of the most urgent and complex public policy challenges in the 21st century.

“Throughout the history of our university, we have encountered moments of transformation – when our ability to make an impact is both strengthened a nd rei mag i ned ,” say s G eorget ow n President John J. DeGioia. “This is one of those moments, when we can bring to bear all of the tools and resources we have as a university to contribute, with new depth, to the public good. Frank McCourt has done much more than enable this new school with this transformative gift – he has helped develop the vision of a new approach to public policy over the past eight years.

“Together, we recognize that there is a huge opportunity to serve the world in a new way,” he adds, “and we see how G eorgetow n can ma ke a sig nif icant dif ference w ith this innovative new approach to public policy research and analysis. The increasing complexity of public policy issues, the need for more interdisciplinary approaches and the availability of massive data to provide

Frank McCourt (C’75) and Georgetown University president, Jack DeGioia.

new analytic tools have resulted in an invaluable opportunity for our university.”

TRANSFORMATIVE TIME DeGioia says he began conversations with Georgetown faculty and senior leaders and McCourt about the growing and changing nature of public policy nearly a decade ago.

Since that time, technological changes such as the data revolution and the speed of communication have rapidly influenced

the landscape of public policy. Researchers now have access to large data sets created by the federal, state and local governments in health, employment, the environment and numerous other fields.

Georgetown’s location in Washington, DC, the university’s legacy of public service and its current faculty’s expertise in complex policy issues such as income inequality, health care, job creation and unemployment laid the foundation for the vision to become a reality, DeGioia says.

“ The McCourt School will build upon the foundation of

exceptional research, scholarship, and teaching that has characterized the Georgetown Public Policy Institute since its founding in 1996.”

– PRESIDENT DEGIOIA ON THE MCCOURT SCHOOL 4 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

mspp.georgetown.edu

MASSIVE DATA INSTITUTE The McCourt School of Public Policy will house the Massive Data Institute, which will support research and teaching efforts that link to and integrate the next generation of data in ways that deepen public understanding in a wide range of public policy areas.

The school w ill include a Ma ssive Data Institute, using “Big Data” sets to increase understanding of society and human behavior and thus improve public policy decision-making.

Government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Geological Service are already using massive data for the common good – to predict flu and other infectious diseases, earthquake activity and tornado damage. The Massive Data Institute will take an innovative approach to shaping public policy by taking the data generated by government programs as part of their processes, analyzing it and using the research to implement future program planning.

STUDENTS AND FACULTY MSPP w ill house a McCour t Fellows program, which is designed to attract top students with full scholarships to become the most qualified future policymakers and scholars in the country.

McCourt’s gift is expected to deepen and broaden the core facult y, increa sing int erd isciplina r y appointments and stronger inter-institutional collaboration.

To further engage in dialogue in the Jesuit tradition, the MSPP will include a new Center for Politics and Policy.

“This generous act of philanthropy and our long-term partnership with the McCour t family w ill streng then and maintain Georgetown’s 225-year tradition of excellence and commitment to public service,” DeGioia says.

STRONG COMMITMENT President of McCourt Global, a real estate development firm, Frank McCourt has maintained a strong commitment to Georgetown since he graduated from the College in 1975.

He has served on both the university’s board of directors and board of regents and has several relatives who are Georgetown graduates. Two of Frank McCourt’s brothers attended Georgetown – Terence P. McCourt (C’77) and David C. McCourt mspp.georgetown.edu

A NEW ERA FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT GEORGETOWN The McCourt School is grounded in the existing strengths of Georgetown—its academic excellence, its extraordinary faculty, its location in Washington, DC, and its relationships with global leaders. This gift will support endowment and four key pillars: student scholarship, faculty excellence, research, and engagement excellence.

! Public Policy Faculty.

The faculty of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute was already world class.

At the McCourt School, Georgetown will expand its expertise through the addition of endowed faculty appointments and will add more core faculty and interdisciplinary positions, as the school grows.

! McCourt Fellows Program.

The creation of this fellowship program will allow the McCourt School to recruit and offer full scholarships to the country’s most promising future public policymakers and scholars.

! Massive Data Institute.

The brand new institute will help shape public policy by providing a place for data to be analyzed and put to work by harnessing and navigating the data that new advances in technology and communications have generated in the past decade. Through the Massive Data Institute, the McCourt School will train the next generation of leaders to critically analyze, extract and use these large sets of data to better inform public policy.

! Center for Politics and Policy.

By launching this new center, Georgetown will strengthen its tradition as a leaders in civil and civic discourse, convening leading policy makers and scholars who are grounded in policy and bring broad expertise to dialogue on pressing policy issues.

(C’79) – and their father, Frank H. McCourt Sr., graduated from the university in 1939. One of Frank McCourt Jr.’s four sons, Travis (C’05), is also an alumnus.

It was in 2006 during his service on the university’s board of directors that McCourt f irst heard DeGioia discuss the exciting potential for Georgetown to disproportionately influence the public policy landscape in a positive way.

PASSIONATE PARTNERS “I knew right then and there that this was the effort that my family and I could be passionate partners on, to help develop this vision and make it a reality for a university that has done so much for my

family and for the world,” McCourt says.

McCourt also endowed ThinkCure, a California nonprofit focused on raising funds to enhance collaborative research in the fight against cancer.

The university will officially launch the McCourt School of Public Policy at an academic ceremony on Oct. 8 and will celebrate the creation of the school with members of Washington’s national and international policy communities, dignitaries and members of Congress on Oct. 9.

To learn more about the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, visit MSPP.georgetown.edu or call 202-687-5932.

FALL 2013 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY //

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OBAMA ON CAMPUS

Obama Unveils Climate Change Plan on Steps of Old North President Obama’s third visit to Georgetown marked the occasion of a major speech on climate change and offered a reminder of Old North’s fascinating history.

F

rom the steps of Old North, the current home of Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy (MSPP), President Barack Obama this summer delivered a compelling address on climate change to a crowd of current and budding policymakers.

The speech, given on June 25, marked Obama’s third visit to Georgetown and outlined a series of executive actions aimed at reducing carbon pollution,

encouraging the use of renewable energy, and leading international efforts to fight the harmful effects of a changing climate.

Obama opened his 45-minute speech with a thank you to Georgetown president John J. DeGioia, students, and the members of his cabinet and Congress in attendance—some of whom graduated from Georgetown—for their support.

“The 12 warmest years in recorded history have all come in the last 15 years,”

he then said. “Last year, temperatures in some areas of the ocean reached record highs, and ice in the Arctic shrank to its smallest size on record—faster than most models had predicted it would.”

He was quick to point out that natural disasters aren’t simple, direct results of climate change but said, “In a world that’s warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by a warming planet.

The fact that sea levels in New York, in

OLD NORTH’S PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY On June 25, President Obama spoke from the steps of Old North, home to MSPP. He is the 14th president to deliver an address from that location—a focal point of Georgetown’s campus and a platform for notable leaders since the university was founded in 1789.

6 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

1797

1825 & 1827

1829

George Washington

John Quincy Adams

Andrew Jackson

1841 & 1842 John Tyler

mspp.georgetown.edu

PHOTOGRAPH OF OBAMA SPEAKING COURTESY OF GEORGETOWN; PRESIDENTS HEADS BY ALAMY

On June 25, the President visited Georgetown to lay out a plan for combatting climate change.

New York Harbor, are now a foot higher than a century ago—that didn’t cause Hurricane Sandy, but it certainly contributed to the destruction that left large parts of our mightiest city dark and underwater.”

Obama also began positioning climate change as a growing economic concern, stating that Americans are “already paying the price of inaction in insurance premiums, state and local taxes, and the costs of rebuilding and disaster relief [necessary because of extreme weather events shaped by rising temperatures].”

Much of his speech focused on announcing a national climate action plan.

“Ninety-seven percent of scientists, including … some who originally disputed the data, have now put that to rest,” he said. “They’ve acknowledged the planet is warming and human activity has contributed to it. The question now is whether we will have the courage to act before it is too late.”

The President laid out the ways his administration believes it should combat climate change and suggested that if Congress can avoid partisan gridlock and instead build consensus—as they did when passing the Clean Air Act unanimously in 1970—the country might be able to make some progress in the area.

“I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that’s beyond fixing,” he told students.

The President directed the EPA to develop regulations for carbon-pollution standards at new and existing power plants, set new goals to accelerate cleanenergy leadership, cutting energy waste by homes, businesses, and factories.

He also said that the country would rely on the ingenuity that characterizes American businesses to figure out cleaner ways to get their work done.

Obama’s decision to announce his climate-change plans at Georgetown, which is committed to studying the issue, makes

perfect sense, said university president John J. DeGioia: “This is an area in which Georgetown is deeply engaged—through our work in climate research and policy, environmental scholarship, and sustainability initiatives. We are bringing our expertise in the environment to all aspects of this conversation—scientific research,

“Through their words, these

or visited the historic building since the university’s founding in 1789, beginning with George Washington, who made an appearance in 1797. This is when Old North became deeply rooted in Georgetown’s heritage—prior to the unveiling of Healy Hall, it acted as the university’s main building, attracting high-profile visitors such as US presidents.

President Abraham Lincoln, for example, visited Old North in May 1861, just after the start of the Civil War, to review the 69th Regiment of the New York State Militia that occupied the campus.

In 1983, President Gerald Ford participated in the ribbon cutting for the rededication of Old North.

In 1968, President Bill Clinton gave a speech from Old North to the diplomatic corps in 1993— days before his inauguration.

DeGioia says Old North’s record of powerful speakers aligns with the university’s mission to sustain discourse in the community: “Through their words, these Presidents have helped to shape the culture of dialogue and inquiry that animates our nation and community.”

PHOTOGRAPH OF OLD NORTH COURTESY OF GEORGETOWN; PRESIDENTS B Y ALAMY

Presidents have helped to shape the culture of dialogue and inquiry that animates our nation and community.”

– PRESIDENT DEGIOIA ON OBAMA’S VISIT

national and state policy, community practices, grassroots efforts, and public and private partnerships.”

The unveiling of Obama’s climate action plan wasn’t the only historic marker of the June 25 speech—it also marked Old North’s 14th Presidential address. More than half of the nation’s 43 presidents have spoken

Old North has hosted 14 American presidents since 1797.

1845 & 1847

1849

1854

1857 & 1859

1861

1869 & 1876

1876

1983

1993

2013

James K. Polk

Zachary Taylor

Franklin Pierce

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant

Andrew Johnson

Gerald Ford

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama

mspp.georgetown.edu

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IN CONGRESS

Hilltop Alums on Capitol Hill Two graduates reflect on why they chose Georgetown, what they learned, and how they’ve turned public-policy education into seats in the US House of Representatives.

So your class, 1986, was the secondever at MSPP—known then as GPPI.

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.)

Yes. And it’s evolved a great deal—there are a lot more areas to focus on than there were when I was a student. Back then, the choice was whether you got an MPP or an MA in government. But there were no, as I recall, sub-specialties. So our classes were very fundamentally focused: Advanced Political Science, Analytical Techniques, and Economics.

Sounds like it was the perfect fit.

Yes. My underg raduate deg ree is in economics, and I didn’t really incline toward political science but...it was set in Washington. And there’s the history of the university itself and the fact that I knew Jesuits growing up—all those things made it intriguing to me.

What did you do once you graduated?

You know, I had a hard decision to make.

I had been an intern in the Department of Agriculture, then I went to work in the Senate on the Subcommittee for Intergovernmental Relations. I worked on a special project looking at falling land values—there was an agricultural crisis in the Midwest at that point—and how that affected local governments’ abilities to generate revenue.

It was very engaging and gave me a taste of Capitol Hill life.

What skills did you acquire at Georgetown that you use in your job today?

Had you known for a while that you wanted to work on the Hill?

It just kind of meandered in that direction… it wasn’t this intended ambition that I had.

During my degree program, I was probably the only Georgetown student who studied agriculture policy—and until very recently, I was on the agriculture committee—I’m interested in those issues. They’re essential to Nebraska but also important for the wellbeing of the nation. So that experience was a good foundation for future work.

Talk about the most interesting memories you have from your time as a student.

Coming from where I did, the idea of getting a chance to go to Georgetown was fascinating. When I was an undergrad, I spent a summer in DC working at the National 4-H Council. And as part of my job as an 18 year-old, I gave tours of Washington to people who came to visit from around the country, and I’d always point out Georgetown University. I knew a bit about its history: that it was founded in 1789, and that George Washington gave its first

commencement address. And I found the place and its rich history to be very interesting. So when it came time for me, after some discernment, to think about going to grad school, I just looked at Georgetown. And I found this program that was a hybrid, in my words, between economics and political science—the Master of Public Policy. That’s what attracted me.

Graduated from Georgetown: 1986 Degree: Master of Public Policy Elected in: 2004 Committees: Appropriations Subcommittees: Agriculture; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Legislative Branch

“ [One summer] I gave

tours of Washington to people who came to visit from around the country, and I’d always point out Georgetown University...I found the place and its rich history to be very interesting. ”

8 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

It’s hard to say that in this class, I learned this and in that class I learned that. I think, more essentially, it’s the intellectual formation that matters most—the exercise of analytical techniques that teach you to synthesize information quickly and be able to recognize defects in argument and logic. Being forced to write a lot is also very helpful. As are being compelled to think at a higher level and engage with people who aren’t necessarily like-minded politically.

I’m quite certain I draw on these experiences frequently. In fact, I mention these same things that a lot in the Georgetownalumni gatherings here on Capitol Hill. And frankly, in addition to that, as a Catholic, to have access to Sacramental life on campus was personally a very important chapter in my life. The fullness of the experience was there.

So had you not gone to Georgetown— or come to Washington for higher education—how would your career be different?

When I came here, I had a deep interest in politics, but I didn’t know how exactly that would manifest itself later in life. I found being at a school with such a history so tied to the heart of American government was deeply meaningful. mspp.georgetown.edu

5

9

The number of Georgetown alumni elected to the US House of Representatives for the first time in 2012, including Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

You grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and stayed nearby to attend Binghamton University. What brought you to Georgetown?

The number of Georgetown alumni reelected to the US House of Representatives in 2012, including Congressman Jeff Fortenberry.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

I participated in the Woodrow Wilson– fellowship program, which was designed to open doors into public policy to people of color interested in making a difference in the government. Georgetown was a participating university, and its reputation, proximity to the nation’s capital, and excellence academically interested me. I was pleased to have been accepted.

Did you intentionally set out to work on the Hill?

I knew that, at some point, I might be interested in giving back to the community by taking part in the legislative process.

That that would ultimately mean serving on the Hill as a member of Congress wasn’t something I contemplated at the time.

What are some memories from your time at Georgetown—any interesting professors or classmates? Word is you roomed with Adrian Fenty.

So how did you get to this point?

After graduating from GPPI, I went back home—I got a law degree at New York University and began to practice law. After several years, I decided that public service through elected office would make the best use of both the legal-advocacy skills I had acquired and the public-policy training I received at Georgetown.

What were the most important and memorable lessons you learned at Georgetown?

Well, the quantitative training—in both statistical analysis and economic theory—was compelling academically and something that I’ve drawn on my entire career. I’ve attempted, in the legislature and now in the House of Representatives, to examine things through an analytical lens. And having that statistical, quantitative background from GPPI sharpens my ability to think critically about the issues I confront.

How exactly do you apply the skills you acquired there to your work?

My practicum related to misconduct in the metropolitan police department of mspp.georgetown.edu

Washington, DC. It determined whether there was a connection between local residency and a greater degree of sensitivity to the community, as reflected by the number of misconduct or brutality complaints that a police officer received. During my time in the legislature, I also worked actively on issues related to the criminal-justice system and interaction between the police and the community. A significant legislative accomplishment concerned a reform of the NYPD “stop-and-frisk” program, related to its use of an electronic database. The analysis I conducted, in connection with advocacy, was rooted in the statistical tools that I first began to learn about at Georgetown.

Graduated from Georgetown: 1994 Degree: Master of Public Policy Elected in: 2012 Committees: Budget; Judiciary Subcommittees: Courts; Intellectual Property and the Internet; Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law

“ I’ve attempted...in the

House of Representatives, to examine things through an analytical lens. And having that statistical, quantitative background from GPPI sharpens my ability to think critically about the issues I confront.”

I did room with Adrian Fenty during my second year. We’re still in touch. It’s unfortunate that I arrived here after he completed his term as mayor, but it was wonderful to see his ascent from the city council. He left, I think, a very positive legacy that will only be appreciated more as time passes.

I also had an economics professor—Dr. Laurie Bassi—who served as the principal academic contact for my practicum. She was tremendous as my advisor, helping me to come up with a completed project that I’m very proud to have produced.

This year’s LEAD conference will focus on economic growth. How are you addressing that topic?

I sit on the Budget Committee in Congress, and through that, I have the opportunity to participate in debates around jump starting our economy and protecting important social-insurance programs—Social Security and Medicare. The economy has gotten better under the Obama Administration, but a lot more still needs to happen in order for America to completely recover. Fiscal policy is important to our financial health, as is monetary policy. The conference will help provide information and data that all members of Congress can evaluate, as we make decisions around fiscal policy.

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EDUCATION AT WORK

Life Outside the Classroom

Training to be policy professionals involves more than lectures and homework. From running the student government to hosting roundtable discussions and providing concrete aid to third-world communities, MSPP students put their leadership skills to work outside the classroom. Here’s how some are using their education to effect positive change—and what they’re learning along the way.

Georgetown Public Policy Student Association MISSION: The student government facilitates communication and collaboration between students, administrators, and faculty and creates opportunities to improve students’ academic, social, and professional experiences.

“

Two big parts of GPPSA have been connecting students to alumni and integrating the many cultures within the [MSPP] student body into one cohesive unit. Some of our more exciting events have revolved around these two goals, which really help us strengthen the network the school offers. We’ve arranged a lot of student-alumni networking events, so we can get to know people

working in policy, who were in our place not so long ago. And we created ‘Delicious Diversity’—one of our more popular and widely attended series of events—where we sample international foods while learning about where our classmates come from. These types of activities help us prepare for the future as domestic and international policy professionals, but they’re also fun.” –LIZ CLARK (MPP ‘14),

Project Honduras MISSION: A sustainable, service-learning project in Roatán, Honduras, Project Honduras connects students to an impoverished community where they can use their policy skills to effect change.

“

TOP: Engineers test a water tank that provides chlorinated water for the first time to more than 40 local homes. BOTTOM: The 2012-2013 Project Honduras team.

We take several trips to Roatán Island each year, including one during spring break that all members attend. In working to design development interventions there, we apply both what we’ve learned in the classroom and our on-the-ground understanding of the community. At home, we host a fundraising auction in February, which allows students to learn about our work. It also gives them the opportunity to support PH by bidding on items such as a behind-thescenes tour of CNN with professor Paul Begala and a murder-mystery dinner hosted by several [MSPP] faculty members.” –ELENI FISCHER (MPP ‘14), CO-CHAIR

The February 22, 2013 Student Conference focused on internet-age politics and policy.

Annual Student Conference MISSION: The conference brings an inspiring community of students, scholars, and specialists to Georgetown to hold substantive discussions about inevitable transformations in our policymaking.

“

Putting together the Student Conference was an excellent experience—stressful, certainly, but very rewarding. As chair, you have about six months to assemble a team, pick a topic, raise funds, and recruit speakers, all for an event that you’re trying to make as informative and impactful as possible. We were able to bring together speakers from across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to discuss the impact of the internet on privacy, security, and development.

Ultimately, it was a tremendous success.

Putting together a big policy event like that requires organization and focus on detail but also the flexibility to be comfortable throwing plans out and adapting on the fly if things don’t go well.” –BOBBY ANDRES (MPP ‘14), CHAIRMAN

AND TREASURER

10 // McCOURT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY // FALL 2013

mspp.georgetown.edu

Women in Public Policy Initiative MISSION: Through partnerships, service, and advocacy, WPPI works to develop female policy leaders and increase awareness of the kinds of issues that disproportionately affect women and girls.

“

I joined WPPI because I’m interested in issues that affect the lives of women and girls, but I was pleased to find that the group also focuses on helping women become successful policy leaders. My favorite events last year were the ‘Professors and Their Passions’ brown-bag lunches, where faculty members whom I look up to talked about their careers, the different paths they’ve taken, and ever-present worklife-balance decisions. These events are our most popular, and we’ll definitely continue the series, hoping to invite faculty from [other schools] in the future. We’re also planning to organize a salary-negotiation workshop for students next year. I’m excited about this because I see it as one way we can help the women on campus gain the skills they’ll need to become the next Alice Rivlin or Anne-Marie Slaughter.”

-CAROLE TRIEM (MPP ‘14), CO-PRESIDENT

“

When I came to Georgetown, I knew that I wanted to be a part of WPPI because, even in 2013, women are a minority in the policy world. I have found that I really love the sense of community WPPI creates within [MSPP]. As students, we all have different interests and different goals, and it’s nice to share these with each other at happy hours and events designed to create a sense of support among women entering a challenging field. I am very excited for the upcoming year and some of the events we have planned—continuing our brown-bag series with a diverse, new set of female professors, putting on various leadership and career workshops, and increasing the number of opportunities available for students to support and encourage one another. It’s really going to be a great year.”

–ANNA POTTER (MPP ‘14), CO-PRESIDENT

Public Policy OUT (P-POUT) MISSION: P-POUT provides a visible, public forum within the student body for discussion of LGBTQ issues—those affecting national and local policy and those faced

by LGBTQ individuals in policy-focused careers—through community building, networking, outreach, and awareness.

“

Marriage is not the only issue on the agenda. Last year, Public Policy OUT brought several LGBTQ public officials and community leaders—senior legislative council for the Human Rights Campaign, Ty Cobb, and Congressman Jared Polis among them—to talk about a range of policy issues. For me, the high point was our LGBTQ networking dinner, where speakers from local organizations described their experiences being out in the workplace and discussed the effect identity has had on their careers.” –SHEVA DIAGNE (MPP ‘14), PRESIDENT

“

Last year’s accomplishments set the bar high for current leaders; I hope we can live up to P-POUT’s reputation for spurring stimulating discourse on LGBTQ-policy issues in the Georgetown community. mspp.georgetown.edu

Being involved in P-POUT allows me to engage in really salient and timely issues in public policy that are deeply personally meaningful. From coordinating phone banks for marriage equality to hosting members of Congress who navigate the waters of being out in a very public space, P-POUT strives to address the many facets of LGBTQ intersections with public policy, from the personal to the federal level. And P-POUT touches so many policy areas. My studies at Georgetown are focused on health policy, particularly on access and quality disparities that affect the queer and transgender community. I really enjoy the fact the Georgetown fosters community and nurtures efforts to examine policy issues that affect individuals in a holistic way.” –MASON INGRAM (MPP ‘14), TREASURER

TOP: Former Senator Pete Domenici, MSPP visiting professor, Dr. Alice Rivlin, and Josh Caplan (MPP ‘13) discuss debt. BOTTOM: The Review’s annual casino night.

Georgetown Public Policy Review MISSION: The publication provides an outlet for both innovative, new thinkers and established policymakers to offer perspectives on the politics and policies that shape our nation and our world.

“

Being part of Georgetown Public Policy Review gives students the opportunity to put their policy-analysis skills to work. Staffers contribute by editing academic papers for our two peer-reviewed print journals, interviewing key policymakers, and writing in-depth analysis for our blog.

With a staff of more than 50 students, the Review plays an important role in [MSPP]’s social scene as well. We host an annual fall fundraiser and a spring casino night, where faculty members act as dealers.” –KRISTIN BLAGG (MPP ‘14), EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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EXPLAINING ECONOMICS

No Simple Answers On the heels of one of the worst financial crises in the history of the United States, policymakers struggle to find solutions to the complicated economic problems that affect all walks of American life.

At MSPP’s second-ever LEAD Conference, a diverse set of experts will discuss the pathway to shared economic growth. Here is where that conversation begins. BY DIANA ELBASHA

PHOTOGRAPH BY BLEND IMAGES/ALAMY

MSPP researchers have found that technical training creates better-rounded and more successful workers.

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EXPLAINING ECONOMICS

Light industrial manufacturing is one industry that boomed through the 1970s and has since seen a decline in jobs available.

4.8% 14.7%

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mspp.georgetown.edu

PHOTOGRAPH OF FACTORY WORKERS BY TOMAS RODRIGUEZ/CORBIS; NURSES BY BLEND IMAGES/MASTERFILE

Is that the light at the end of the tunnel ahead?

Almost five years into a devastating financial crisis that paralyzed the US housing market, crippled the Eurozone, and wiped trillions off the stock markets, nearly every economic indicator shows improvement. Slow improvement, to be sure, but steady improvement at least. Economists are revising employment predictions upwards, the US auto market is reaching five-year highs, and Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke is hinting that the Fed may begin reining in its easy-money policies, as the nation’s fiscal health improves. Yet the economy isn’t recovering equally across the board.

Of course, in recent decades, technological advancements have automated many jobs once done by American workers, With just a and globalization has moved others overseas. But according to labor-policy experts at the McCourt School of Public unemployment rate, Policy, the issues surrounding nursing proved the strongest unemployment involve more field of study based on job than merely a shortage of job and salary prospects. openings. Many factors in America’s employment crisis originate with choices made during higher education. And according to Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown’s Center for Education and the Workforce (CEW), therein also lies the solution.

A veteran economist who ser ved in the Clinton and

Bush administrations, Carnevale has spent most of his professional life analyzing the relationships between various types of education and the career paths that follow them. In a recent report, “Hard Times 2013: College Majors, Unemployment, and Earnings,” Carnevale ranks fields of study based on their job and salary prospects after graduation. With just a 4.8-percent unemployment rate, nursing proved the strongest choice, followed closely by elementary education at 5 percent. Otherwise, the charts are usually topped by what insiders call STEM careers—those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—the one exception being the information-technology major.

At 14.7-percent, IT majors have the worst unemployment rate of anyone by a large margin.

Carnevale’s work demonstrates that the American Dream is evolving. The broad productivity gains and rising middle class that defined the economy following World War II—when labor unions prospered, pensions and health care seemed secure, and blue-collar manufacturing work could earn families pleasant suburban houses—simply don’t exist today. Since the 1970s, the workforce has become more fragmented; some fields (like nursing) have expanded rapidly, hungry for more workers, while others (like light industrial manufacturing) have withered. These trends have been accelerated in recent decades by technology and in the previous five years by the recession. Full-time employment and life-long careers within a single company or even industry are increasingly giving way to short-term contracts, consulting projects, and freelance work.

Carnevale says that while the trends are clear and his field rankings remain largely unchanged year to year, some fields have been particularly hard-hit by the shattered economy. Jobs in architecture and civil engineering, for example, declined significantly during the recession, as commercial and residential building and development that had boomed just a few years earlier slowed—or stopped entirely.

All of these factors—the condition of the world economy, the rise of globalization and technology, and the evolution of the workforce—are leading to a mismatch between employers’ needs and prospective employees’ skills. The problem, experts say, is that students often don’t understand employment prospects in a given field when they choose it as a course of higher-education study. And even if they excel in the classroom, the At data Carnevale and other researchers have gathered shows that education alone won’t necessarily be enough the information-technology for graduates to land fullmajor has the worst job time jobs after school. prospects of any major by far.

That’s where Professor Harry Holzer’s work comes in. As faculty director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy and a former chief economist to the Department of Labor, Holzer has spent decades tackling issues related to economic inequality. But on the heels of the country’s worst financial

PHOTOGRAPH OF CONSTRUCTION WORKER BY BLEND IMAGES/CORBIS

crisis in recent history, it’s possible that the state of the American economy is more complicated now than it has been at any time during his 30-year career.

“In America we have a set of higher-education institutions— colleges and community colleges—and a set of labor-market institutions, and they’re pretty divorced from each other,” Holzer explains. “For instance, we haven’t done a very good job of generating high-quality career and technical education at the high school level.”

Holzer’s focus on technical training underscores Carnevale’s findings regarding the field’s bright job prospects. But despite a general consensus that greater technical-skill development is necessary, how and when to provide training is a topic of constant disagreement. Educators often feel that encouraging vocational and technical training during high school deters students from attending four-year colleges, where their interest would expand and their critical-thinking and other skills would develop in valuable ways. But experts say that’s not the case—rather, the addition of these types of programs would help the country develop a more robust training system without steering students away from college.

And lawmakers hoping to create and implement training systems are halted by partisan gridlock. As Holzer explains: “Republicans do not view the current public workforce system as very successful and don’t want to spend any more money on it. Democrats view it more positively and would certainly spend money building it up.” Moreover, he says, “Republicans emphasize multiple, overlapping federal programs and stress the need to consolidate—which usually means cut—but Democrats view the overlap as a small problem and do not believe it negates the need for more resources.” Like many political disagreements in Congress, this stalemate doesn’t appear to be on the verge of resolution.

Holzer also dismisses the idea that undergoing technical training deters students from pursuing higher education; in fact, he says, it makes for more well-rounded applicants. “Kids who come out of career academies and linked learning are just as likely to go to college as kids who don’t, but they’ve learned a lot and have more technical training. And it doesn’t lock them into a specific field.”

Holzer will discuss these issues on a panel at this fall’s LEAD (Leadership. Evidence. Analysis. Debate.) Conference, the second in an annual series that brings together policymakers, academics, journalists, and practitioners for conversation, debate, and study surrounding a particular topic. This September’s event

“ Kids who come out of

career academies and linked learning are just as likely to go to college as kids who don’t, but they’ve learned a lot and have more technical training. And it doesn’t lock them into a specific field. ” – HARRY HOLZER

Building industries were hit particularly hard by the recession.

GET TO KNOW THE EXPERTS Professor Harry Holzer joined MSPP in 2000. He formerly served as chief economist for the Department of Labor and is currently a senior research fellow at the American Institutes for Research, among other positions. He teaches courses on statistical methods, antipoverty policy, and labor policy.

mspp.georgetown.edu

Dr. Anthony Carnevale is a research professor at MSPP and director of Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce. He was vice president of Education Testing Service—maker of the SAT and GRE—for seven years and chaired the National Commission on Employment Policy under President Clinton.

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EXPLAINING ECONOMICS

Year after year, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) majors produce graduates with the best job prospects.

show, for instance, that of the country’s 11.8-million jobless, 4.3 million have been out of work for six months or longer. While that number is better than it was a year or two ago, it still represents a sizable portion of the American workforce whose skills are withering and whose appeal to employers continues to drop. Without a model similar to CETA, some Americans—particularly those who get laid off and don’t find replacement work immediately or those who live in poverty—find themselves without many options.

Carnevale, whose work also draws comparisons between our current system and those of decades past, says there exists a new “fundamental diff iculty” for today’s job-seeking Americans: “In the ‘70s, most American workers had only a high school diploma or less, but now, you need post-secondary education. The majority of people with only high school education don’t make a living wage anymore.”

Such post-secondary training isn’t necessarily limited to four-year universities—employment-wise, two-year colleges

June 2013 employment figures from the government show, for instance, that of the country’s 11.8-million jobless, 4.3 million have been out of work for six months or longer.

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mspp.georgetown.edu

PHOTOGRAPH BY INDIA PICTURE/CORBIS

will include speeches, question-and-answer sessions, and panel discussions on economic growth; the inaugural conference focused on at-risk youth.

Economists often refer to the “pre-1980” era of employment, when low-income and unemployed Americans were supported by President Nixon’s Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). Signed into law in 1973, the act created a program that offered full-time jobs to disadvantaged and longtime-unemployed workers that lasted one to two years—the idea being that they could use that time to develop the knowledge and skills needed for future job searches and longer-term employment.

Though CETA wasn’t perfect, Holzer says, the level of support that it created for disadvantaged and displaced workers proved beneficial to the economy.

In recent years, hiring has remained strong in many sectors, and landing a new job has regularly proven to be possible for those who are already employed, but the economic picture for the so-called “long-term unemployed” has been bleak. June 2013 employment figures from the government

“There’s a very strong class-

status issue. The kids who get the unpaid internships usually come from higher class families. The kids who come from lower income families can’t afford those.”

FURTHER READING Rebound: Why America Will Emerge Stronger from the Financial Crisis STEPHEN J. ROSE

Rose, a labor economist, argues in this quick read that the economy will bounce back faster and stronger from the recession than experts predict. He addresses federal regulations and investments in education, healthcare, and energy through an analytical, non-partisan lens.

– ANTHONY CARNEVALE

and technical institutes can offer very useful benefits. But different credentials produce widely varying salary offers: “Since the 1980s, differences in earnings are increasingly driven by what kind of post-secondary training you’ve got,” Carnevale explains. “Post-secondary training is what largely determines your earnings.”

The most recent report out of CEW, “Recovery 2013,” finds that, for the most part, the higher the degree earned, the higher the percentage of jobs available to a job seeker. This brings to light another problem, Carnevale says: The road to obtaining those more secure, high-paying jobs is increasingly expensive, difficult, and lengthy, and the aid available is increasingly slim.

“The issue going forward is that people need a lot [of education] but can’t afford it. The questions about how we fund Pell grants and student-loan rates are constant now,” he says. “We have these debates [about spending] every year, but we really should hold onto the money that’s there.”

In addition to grants and loans, internship programs—which can provide major career boosts for students—are in serious need of federal attention. These tools, Carnevale says, exist unlawfully in many cases and tend to isolate lower-income families.

“If you get an unpaid internship, it’s better if your parents are paying your rent. So there’s a very strong class-status issue,” he says. “The kids who do the unpaid internships usually come from higher class families; the kids who come from lower income families can’t afford those.”

And the internship issue doesn’t end with the class divide it perpetuates: “It’s actually illegal to hire an intern and not pay them, especially if they replace other workers. But this is done on a massive scale in the US. So the question is: Are we going to regulate the practice?”

Carnevale knows his question is just one piece of the puzzle, paid and unpaid internships a tiny corner of the bigger picture.

Overall, it’s clear there are no simple answers to be found—that five years into the deepest economic recession in two generations, governments and the private sector are just scratching the surface of solutions and even of questions that need answering.

Between large-scale societal trends on job training, higher education, and the evolving workforce and the daily headlines from Greece, the Eurozone, Wall Street, and the Fed, perhaps the only thing that is clear in today’s economic situation is that it’s a good time to be an economist like Carnevale and Holzer. Today’s world presents an abundance of interlinked challenges and no shortage of complicated phenomena for MSPP’s researchers to study and to debate. mspp.georgetown.edu

The Race Between Education and Technology CLAUDIA GOLDIN AND LAWRENCE F. KATZ

Goldin and Katz discuss in this 500-page book the reasons—and potential solutions—for educational slowdown.They provide historical analysis of America’s educational-attainment system and wage structure, particularly between 1980 and the 20th century.

Categorically Unequal: The American Stratification System DOUGLAS S. MASSEY

Citing historical, political, and psychological findings, Massey offers a close examination of the uneven distribution of wealth in the United States—where wage disparity is more substantial than in any other industrialized country—and argues for a more equitable society.

Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020

STROHL, CENTER ON EDUCA-

Raising Job Quality and Skills for American Workers: Creating More Effective Education and Workforce Development Systems in the States

TION IN THE WORKFORCE

HARRY J. HOLZER, THE

ANTHONY P. CARNEVALE, NICOLE SMITH, AND JEFF

Released in June of this year, this report examines how and when jobs can be expected to return to the American economy over the next seven years. It offers a close look at the increasing importance of higher education in landing stable, full-time work.

HAMILTON PROJECT

In this paper, Holzer urges the US to improve its education and workforce-development systems, increasing the focus on disadvantaged workers.

He then proposes federal grants that would help achieve these goals.

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EXPLAINING HEALTH REFORM

AN EXPERT’S TAKE:

The Affordable Care Act

Judy Feder, health-policy expert and former GPPI dean, explains her views on the hallmark legislation of the Obama Administration—and tells you what to expect when the hotly debated law goes into effect in October.

Q:

How does the Affordable Care Act change American health care?

“The Act fills unacceptable healthcare-coverage gaps. Before, if you were a 20 year-old with asthma or a 50 year-old with a heart condition and your employer didn’t cover you, getting public or private coverage was difficult. Far from being a government takeover, the ACA fills in those holes. It creates a place to buy insurance without discrimination based on preexisting conditions, and it subsidizes people who don’t get coverage through their jobs. It also extends Medicaid for those with incomes below about $15,000.

And it will increase delivery efficiency by changing the way we pay for care.”

A:

Southern states seem less likely to expand health-care coverage. Why?

“Insurance levels from state to state depend on what kinds of employers there are and the coverage they offer. The agricultural industry, for example, is less likely to offer coverage. It also depends on the generosity of existing pre-ACA medicaid programs, primarily for moms and kids. Southern states typically offer less.”

What does it mean that the White House recently delayed the employer mandate to 2015?

“That delay has been misrepresented as a threat to coverage. The law requires employers to report on their employees’ coverage. If an employee gets a subsidy—which they’re How is implementation challenging? eligible for if they’re offered inadequate cov“The biggest challenge is the Republican erage—the employer is subject to a penalty. opposition in Congress and in many states, But these penalties were never expected to which has impeded health drive coverage—coverage improvements for years. is driven by employer ef“ The law has The law creates a heavily forts to attract workers by state-based system, which offering benefits, tax prefalready helped requires policy changes at erences for benefits, and slow medicare and requirements that indithe state and federal levels.

About half the states have medicaid spending, viduals purchase coverage. said they won’t go forward. these drivers remain in contributing to defi- All Further, the coordinaforce. And critics say that cit reductions that tion of public, employeremployers will drop coverprovided, and other types are important to the age because the penalties of insurance is difficult, as are lower than the cost of country’s growth. ” insurance—that, too, is is implementing incomebased subsidies. And the incorrect.” political environment means the ACA is not How will the ACA ultimately affect the treated as the law of the land, with all parties country’s economy? working together to make it a success.”

What will happen in states that choose not to go forward with the ACA?

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mspp.georgetown.edu

PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF ELKINS

“States were expected to administer new coverage, but only about 15 have decided to do so. The federal government will run most of the rest, a responsibility for which the law did not provide resources. Unfortunately, many states with large uninsured populations won’t cover their poorest citizens, and there’s no federal fix for that. Texas is a prime example: it has a large number of uninsured but refuses to expand coverage.”

“The inability to obtain affordable health insurance threatens middle-class families and the middle-class way of life. The ACA aims to get health-care costs under control and make sure everyone can afford coverage. The law has already helped slow medicare and medicaid spending, contributing to deficit reductions that are important to the country’s growth. The Congressional Budget Office finds that the Republican House efforts to repeal the law would actually result in a deficit increase of over $100 billion over the coming decade.”

SERVING HER COUNTRY

The Path of a JCS Intern A long-standing partnership between Georgetown and the Joint Chiefs of Staff brings 20 interns to campus each year for policy-management degrees that complement their military experience. One alum, Julie Gilbert (MPM ‘11), describes program’s impact on her career in the Office of the Secretary of the Defense.

A Journey’s Beginning “I began my military career upon entrance to the United States Military Academy at West Point in June 1998. My first duty assignment was to Fort Campbell, Kentucky— home of the 101st Airborne Division—as a second lieutenant in the Adjutant General’s Corps.

“Prior to being accepted into the Joint Chiefs of Staff/ Office of the Secretary of Defense/Army Staff (JCS/OSD/ ARSTAF) Internship, I served as an AG Corps assignment officer at the United States Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Virginia.”

Climbing the Ladder

PHOTOGRAPH OF GILBERT BY ANDREW PROPP; INTERNSHIP CLASS COURTESY OF GILBERT; BUILDING COURTESY OF GEORGETOWN.

The Path to Georgetown “The three-year JCS internship program, per the Army’s design, begins with a year at Georgetown to complete MPM requirements. During the year I spent attending GPPI, the other interns and I were strictly students, which was a welcome change of pace for many of us, who had been going non-stop with long hours and deployments before we arrived. In addition to classes, the Army interns were responsible for supporting the Georgetown ROTC department.” mspp.georgetown.edu

“The rest of the internship program is spent working in select offices at the Pentagon.

After I graduated from GPPI, I was chosen as one of five interns to work in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

For a year, I was the military assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, Ms. Virginia Penrod. During my time in this position, I was invited to attend policy events throughout Washington, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcome reception on the White House lawn.

My degree from GPPI provided invaluable background knowledge regarding the public-policy process, which equipped me to better support Ms. Penrod and her staff as they navigated highly sensitive and groundbreaking DoD directives—including the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“Though my internship is

officially complete, I am currently working in the Army’s General Officer Management Office. Our office is responsible for Army general officer management; my portfolio includes 1- and 2-star general officer joint assignment nominations as well as serving as the congressional-affairs contact officer.”

A Priceless Experience “Personally, attending Georgetown provided an amazing opportunity to experience both the academic and social offerings of a university. Attending a military-service academy meant that my college experience was much more structured; the environment at Georgetown was new.

And my degree has helped me immensely: It readied me to be in the midst of big policy changes—integrating women into combat, for instance— which was a great experience professionally.”

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MSPP UPDATES

Faculty Notes

In addition to preparing students to be effective policy practitioners and leaders, the members of MSPP’s faculty conduct research on everything from pre-K education to long-term medical care.

Here’s a breakdown of some of their most compelling recent findings and applications.

These findings indicate to individuals who want the President to shape public opinion that there are both great opportunities and great limits related to the President’s capacity to persuade.

Michael Bailey and Jon Ladd looked at whether it’s possible for President Obama to persuade his constituents that his economic views will lead the US down the right path. Their research involved asking a group of people about the President and his economic policies at two points in time. They found, not surprisingly, that those who liked President Obama to begin with were more likely to be persuaded by his substantive arguments for particular economic policies than their counterparts who didn’t like him from the start. In fact, they found that those who disagreed with Obama’s policies during the first round of questioning found him even less agreeable during the second round, if he argued for policies with which they didn’t agree in the interim.

Thomas DeLeire and colleagues studied how expanded access to public health insurance affects health-care use. They looked at the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan—a public program in Wisconsin that provides insurance to childless adults with incomes up to twice the federal poverty level. They compared claims data from 9,619 adults, beginning one year before their automatic enrollment in the plan and ending once they’d been enrolled for a full year. DeLeire found that, after 12 months in the program, participants showed a 29-percent increase in outpatient visits, a 46-percent increase in emergency-department use, and a 59-percent decrease in

Adriana Kugler ON THE ECONOMICS OF IMMIGRATION REFORM Q:

How will immigration reform impact wages in the US? Will it vary by region?

The conventional view is that immigration displaces US workers from jobs or pulls down their wages, but we expect immigration reform to have either no effect or a positive impact on skilled Americans because of the portion of the bill that affects the 11 million undocumented people who are already here. New immigrants coming in through visa and guest-worker programs are likely to fill skills gaps and complement the skills of US workers. And recent studies show positive impacts of immigration on the wages of US workers. One shows that the increase in immigration between 1996 and 2004 increased US-worker earnings by 0.6%. And a study I conducted

A:

following an influx of immigrants from Central America at the end of the 1990s found that a 10% increase in immigration from Latin America pushed up earnings for more educated, native-born Latinos by 1% and had no negative impact on less educated, native-born Latinos. This may be because immigrants take service jobs—child care, gardening, home repairs, etc.—which free up time for more educated, native people, allowing them to increase their productivity.

Q:

What will be the overall impact on the US economy?

Immigration reform will have several A: impacts on the US economy. It will increase labor-force participation and fill crucial skills gaps, for one, and it will positively

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MSPP WELCOMES THOMAS DELEIRE Thomas DeLeire—formerly a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs—joins MSPP’s full-time, core faculty this fall. DeLeire focuses his research on labor and health economics, and he recently completed an evaluation of expansions to the health-insurance programs Wisconsin offers low-income families. At Georgetown, DeLeire will teach Intermediate Microeconomics in the fall and Microeconomic Theory 2: Market Failure and Public Economics in the spring.

Welcome, Tom!

impact job-creation, as immigrants are twice as likely as non-immigrants to start new businesses—and their businesses are more likely to create jobs. Also, as new immigrants come in and undocumented immigrants gain legal status, a path to citizenship, and thus higher wages, the reform will increase consumption. And it has been projected to reduce the deficit and improve the solvency of Social Security. All of these effects, together with increased innovation due to the greater number of visas and exemptions for skilled workers under the bill, will increase growth. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the bill will increase GDP by 3.3% by 2023 and by 5.4% by 2033.

Q:

What other effects did the CBO’s scoring of the bill suggest?

A:

The scoring shows that the bill will increase government costs by $262

mspp.georgetown.edu

hospitalizations, including a 46-percent decline in preventable hospitalizations.

These findings demonstrate that expanding public-insurance coverage to childless adults—which will happen in most states under the Affordable Care Act— could increase access to outpatient care and reduce hospitalizations. On the less positive side, it could increase emergency-department visits when patients have insufficient access to primary care.

E.J. Dionne was part of a team that conducted one of the largest-ever surveys on immigration issues—a partnership between the Public Religion Research Institute and Brookings Institution. The research found strong support for a path to citizenship—even among Republicans and conservatives—provided the path carried certain obligations, including the payment of fines and back taxes.

redesign payment methods to avoid rewarding nursing homes and home-health agencies for skimping on or turning away costly patients in an attempt to increase efficiency. Feder was also recently appointed to the Congressional Long-Term Care Commission, due to report in September on policy geared toward services and supports for the elderly and disabled.

Nora Gordon and two colleagues found that when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was first implemented, it increased spending in Southern school districts substantially, which appeared to increase graduation rates for white students but not for blacks.

Ensuring that ESEA funds are funnelled to the neediest students remains salient in today’s debates over the re-authorization of No Child Left Behind.

In collaboration with a colleague at the World Bank,

Judy Feder’s article,

better-prepared students—it also found that receiving a Kindle appeared to shape student aspirations for higher levels of education. And Kindle use did not appear constrained by electricity outages.

James Habyarimana

Carolyn Hill, Bill Gormley and Shirley Adelstein—a PhD candidate in Georgetown’s Department of Government—studied two cohorts of children in Tulsa public schools. They aimed to determine whether the strong effects of the public pre-K program seen in participants at kindergarten entry were sustained through third grade.

For the earlier cohort, they found no evidence of the persistence of early gains. For the later cohort, they found that early gains persisted through third grade in math but not reading and for boys but not girls.

Harry Holzer is devel-

published July 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine, drew on provider-payment research.

She cautioned medicare officials to “Bundle with Care”—that is,

recently concluded a randomized evaluation giving Kindles to secondaryschool students in Lagos, Nigeria. While the research found that gains in learning outcomes were limited—and restricted to

oping a set of education and training policies, based on research regarding the skills that employers seek when filling high-paying jobs. Holzer’s work encourages policies

billion, mostly due to increased tax credits and health-care spending from medicaid.

But even accounting for these costs, the bill would reduce deficits by $197 billion over the next ten years. And over the following ten years, surprisingly, the reduction would be even greater—$700 billion—as federal revenues would grow.

most strained due to the retirement of the baby boomers. These funds would help to finance the pensions of up to 6.5% of current retirees over their entire retired lives and narrow the projected gap between Old Age and Survival Insurance (OASI) benefits paid out and taxes contributed by about a third. In essence, our study shows that immigration reform could help us address the challenges in Social Security without either reducing benefits or increasing taxes.

ing on that enforcement are both higher than ever. In fact, enforcement costs have increased 15-fold since the last immigration reform was enacted. So the concern by some that there will be a new wave of undocumented immigrants is likely misplaced. It will be harder for immigrants to come in given the tight enforcement, and net migration from Mexico is negative already. In addition, during the period after the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 was enacted, undocumented immigration did not increase. Second, there is a much clearer understanding today of the economic benefits of immigration and less of a view that immigration is a zero-sum game for US workers and immigrants. Finally, the Latino population—made up of relatively recent immigrants—is expected to grow to nearly a quarter of the population by 2030, and it is increasingly difficult for Congress to ignore their important and growing voice.

You recently coauthored an issue brief for the Center for American Progress on immigration reform’s impact on Social Security. What were your findings?

Q:

Our study finds that providing legal status and a path to citizenship to the 11 million currently undocumented workers in the US would help the system’s solvency.

In particular, we find that the creation of a path to citizenship would add over $600 billion to the Social Security Trust Fund over the next 36 years, when the system will be

A:

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Most Americans agree that our immigration system is broken, yet Congress has tried and failed many times at reform.

What do you believe are the prospects this time around?

Q:

The probability of passing immigration reform this time around may be higher for a number of reasons. First, enforcement along the border and spend-

A:

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that better integrate higher-education and workforce programs and that make both types of programs more responsive to the labor market.

In collaboration with the Georgetown Climate Center, David Konisky and Michael Bailey conducted a survey of Americans’ policy attitudes about energy and climate change. One of the key findings was that Americans—Democrats and Republicans alike—overwhelmingly support the US Environmental Protection Agency taking action to reduce greenhousegas emissions from power plants and large, industrial sources. The American public is especially supportive of giving states flexibility in meeting new national emissions-reduction targets.

Adriana Kugler just finished a paper examining the impact of serving breakfast in the classroom—as opposed to the cafeteria—on student performance in public schools. Many schools throughout the country (including schools in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, Maryland’s Prince George’s County, Memphis, New York City, and San Diego) have recently experimented with moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom. Kugler’s research team examined whether such a change could increase achievement, grades, and attendance rates.

They found that providing breakfast in class instead of in the cafeteria raised math and reading achievement substantially. The effects were most pronounced for lowperforming, free-lunch eligible, Hispanic, and under-nourished students. The results highlight the possibility that test scores may be underestimating achievement in schools where many of the students do not consume breakfast and that these schools may be suffering accountability penalties that are not in line with their true performance.

over the past 40 years, especially during the Great Recession. Preliminary findings suggest that recent declines in worker mobility may have led to persistent unemployment rates varying by region and that changes in labor-force behaviors are becoming more important.

Mark Rom and Paul Musgrave, a PhD student in Georgetown’s Department of Government, recently completed a double-blind research experiment related to higher education. Their work provided evidence that graduate teaching assistants do not display political bias when grading papers written by undergraduates.

Jennifer Tobin has been researching the practice of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a nonreciprocal tariff preference that industrialized countries give developing countries. GSP has always been seen as a boon to developing countries—it’s sometimes called “trade as aid” and is considered very effective. Tobin’s recent work, however, shows that this might be untrue. Tobin and Marc Busch of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service have found that when protectionist GSP recipients join the World Trade Organization, their levels of trade are actually below those of non-members, hurting their overall growth potential.

In collaboration with Randall Eberts of the Upjohn Institute, Edward Montgomery has been looking at how states and metropolitan-area labor markets have reacted to economic shocks

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In his research, Kent Weaver found that politicians in many countries have added provisions to their public-pension systems that automatically reduce benefits as populations age. This is meant to make cuts down the road easier, since politicians will be able to enforce them while retaining “clean hands.” It is also meant to encourage workers to stay in the labor force longer, to keep their pensions from falling. But based on recent history in Germany and Sweden, Weaver shows that these intended effects don’t happen: Politicians intervene during election periods to soften the cuts they have put in place, and workers do not lengthen their labor-force participation enough to make up for the cuts that do occur.

Andrew Zeitlin has been collaborating on a program that uses mobile phones to monitor teacher absenteeism in primary schools in Uganda. His team is experimenting with alternative designs to learn how to improve monitoring and incentives for teachers at institutions in remote areas.

While results are still coming in, they suggest that even though absenteeism is sometimes under-reported, incentives can have powerful effects on teacher behavior. Moreover, simple innovations in design—such as having parents audit reports by head teachers—appear to dramatically cut down on false reports, suggesting a potentially cost-effective approach to improving service delivery.

JON LADD WINS GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE Professor Jonathan Ladd won the Goldsmith Book Prize for his latest work, Why Americans Hate the Media and How It Matters. The two annual prizes, given by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, are awarded to “the trade and academic book published in the United States in the last 24 months that best fulfills the objective of improving democratic governance through an examination of the intersection between the media, politics and public policy.” Congratulations, Jon!

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Alumni Views

What did you take away from your time at Georgetown?

“I learned that policy analysis is about more than just crunching data, but that without data you are just another person with an opinion.”

“I value the specialized knowledge and practice I gained regarding international-development policy and institutions in the field such as the World Bank.”

–IGOR KHEYFETS, MPP ‘09

–KAREN (SCHWARTZ) DURHAM, MPP ‘88

–BAESUNG KIM, MPM, ‘13

“Brilliant professors working on Capitol Hill and in government jobs taught us to dig deeper into policy issues and put into service what we learned.”

“Perspective!”

–MAJ. JUSTIN M CHEZEM, MPM ‘08

“How to conduct principally sound policy analysis by replacing emotional and/or political influences with empirical data.”

“Policy change is slow and difficult, but you have to keep chipping away bit by bit. Never give up!”

“The application of statistics to questions of policy and economics.

By far.”

–ROBERT S. ANDERS, MPP ‘11

–DR. HOLLEY TANKERSLEY, MPP ‘02

–MIKE POMORSKI, MPP, 2007

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“I joke that GPPI was memo school, but I learned to present my ideas to people who need information summarized clearly and concisely.”

–ANTHEA MEDYN BRADY, MPP ‘10

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“The confidence to pursue change with thoughtfulness and passion, regardless of how loudly the bullies of opposition try to shout you down.”

–ART STEWART, MPM ‘08

“The most important thing I learned at GPPI was how to minimize unintended consequences and how to discover and best address those that happen despite our efforts.”

–HENOCH DERBEW, MPP ‘09

“How to be brief but thorough.”

–JOSEPH RUSSELL, MPP ‘13

“GPPI gave me foundational quantitativeanalysis skills, which allow me to analyze a policy from its creation to its outcomes.”

–ELLEN V. RICE, MPP ‘08

“My ideas are valuable, but their value increases when I listen to and consider the ideas of my peers. Relationships are invaluable.”

–MAGGIE SMITH, MPP, MSPP ‘13

“Reject the null!”

–ANDY BOSTICK, MPP ‘03

“Think about what lies outside of the framework of any question that you’re asked—in other words, make sure to take into account things that are being omitted.”

–SEAN KELLEM, JD/MPP ‘13

“GPPI taught me to move forward with passion and a sense of mission.”

–AKIKO NISHIKAWA, MPP ‘06

“First, that numbers are my friends. Second, that memos don’t need to be long; they just need to be written.”

–FELIX FALTIN, MPP ‘11

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“GPPI taught me that policy formation and implementation stem not only from politics and statistical reasoning, but from instinct and compassion as well.”

“GPPI taught me how to think in a logical and statistical way and analyze actual policy cases of the past. GPPI also allowed me to gain experience working with future American and international policymakers.”

–JUSTIN E. DAVIS, MPP ‘09

–NAOYA OYAIZU, MPP ‘06

“The world is so huge and interconnected.

Be open-minded to different perspectives and always eager to learn.”

–SUNNY YUN LAI, MPP ‘13

In Memoriam In 2013, the MSPP community lost two decorated and beloved alumni of the Joint Chiefs of Staff program. We are forever thankful for their service and sacrifice.

Jaimie E. Leonard 1974-2013 Lieutenant Colonel Jaimie Elizabeth Leonard died June 8, 2013 in Afghanistan, while serving her country. Someone who had dreamed of a career in the military since she was a girl, Leonard served honorably in the US Army for 16 years and earned a Master of Policy Management from Georgetown in 2007. A brilliant and committed officer, she was respected and beloved by those with whom she served.

“Classroom learning without immediate practical application results in limited retention and competency.”

–LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARC V. LAROCHE, MPM ‘06

“Survey-design principles that I learned at GPPI are still something I use today.

I have been brought onto project teams specifically for that expertise.”

–EILEEN MCGOWAN, MPP ‘96

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“The core courses in economics and quantitative analysis filled in a blind spot for me that has been vital for working on statelevel tax policy.”

–CHRISTOPHER MCCALL, MPP ‘12

Mark M. Weber 1971-2013 Lieutenant Colonel Mark Weber died at his home in Rosemount, Minnesota on June 13, 2013, following a three-year battle with cancer. Weber served in the US Army for 19 years and graduated from Georgetown’s JCS program in 2004. He was well known for his bestselling book, Tell My Sons, a memoir of his life lessons.

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EVENTS

Policy Leaders on the Hilltop In 2013, MSPP faculty and students have engaged with leaders, witnessed life-changing policy decisions, and heard from experts on a wide variety of policy topics. Here are some highlights from the year so far.

STUDENT EVENTS 01.10.2013 The Georgetown Public Policy Review hosted a discussion of the controversies and complexities of US debt-anddeficit reduction, featuring former Senator Pete Domenici and MSPP professor and budget expert, Dr. Alice Rivlin.

01.29.2013 MSPP’s Master of International Development Policy program hosted Alejandro Eder, the director of the Colombian Agency for Reintegration, for a discussion of the Colombian government’s efforts to demobilize and reintegrate illegal, armed groups.

02.22.2013 The 2013 MSPP student conference focused on technology's effect on policy, featuring panels on strategicinvestment priorities, online privacy, and the impact of the internet and new technology on development. Keynote speaker Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, discussed the internet's impact on the relationship of citizens to their government.

Rwandan Minister of Finance Claver Gatete.

“My own view is that our current partisan atmosphere is unique in character, if not intensity. More troubling, it is unlikely to recede without a concerted effort to change our political culture and institutions.”

—Senator Richard Lugar

03.16.2013 Public Policy-Out (P-POUT), MSPP’s LGBT-policy-issue group, hosted Congressman Jared Polis—the most senior LGBT member of the US House of Representatives—for a discussion of his views on America's LGBT movement.

POLICY DINNERS 01.15.2013 Speakers: Former Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and former Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA).

03.26.2013 Speaker: Dr. Laura Tyson, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, who also served as director of the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF LUGAR AND DUNCAN BY PHIL HUMNICKY

03.18.2013 Speaker: Dr. Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development—a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank aimed at reducing global poverty through research and engagement with the policy community.

2013 Whittington Lecturer, Senator Richard Lugar.

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efforts, and the post-reconstruction plan for economic development. His visit was sponsored by the McCourt School of Public Policy, the Forum on International Development, and the International Growth Centre.

04.30.2013 The Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership hosted the 2013 Waldemar A. Nielsen Issue Forum on Philanthropy, called Giving Boldly & Strategically. Philanthropic leaders George and Trish Vradenburg, Margaret O’Bryon, Nicky Goren, and Michael Smith discussed ways individual donors can increase the impact of their gifts. The panel highlighted innovative strategies for making a difference.

LEAD Conference keynote speaker, Sonja Sohn.

THOUGHT LEADERS ON CAMPUS 01.24-25.2013 MSPP and the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform hosted the inaugural LEAD (Leadership. Evidence.

Analysis. Debate.) Conference, Positive Outcomes for At-Risk Children and Youth: Improving Lives Through Practice and System Reform. Speakers and guests focused on finding effective solutions to the problems facing our nation’s most vulnerable young people. More than 300 attendees heard from experts on youthrelated topics, including keynote speakers Sonja Sohn, former star of The Wire and founder and CEO of ReWired for Change, and Mark Shriver, senior vice president of Save the Children’s US Programs.

04.09.2013 MSPP welcomed the Honorable Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) as the 2013 Whittington Lecturer. In an address entitled Securing Our Nation’s Future in a Partisan Era, the former Republican

Senator from Indiana discussed partisan gridlock in Congress and urged cooperation between President Obama and the Congressional leadership.

04.12.2013 MSPP teamed with government-affairs firm Arent Fox to host a forum on energy policy. This inaugural event featured a keynote address by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. An extensive question-and-answer session on energyrelated issues ranging from hydropower and alternative energy to Arctic drilling and natural gas followed the presentation.

05.02.2013 MSPP hosted a discussion on the Governance Report 2013 published by the Hertie School of Governance. Helmut Anheier of the Hertie School and Mark Copelovitch of the University of Wisconsin joined governance experts Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution and Steve Smith of Syracuse University to discuss the report and the choices and trade-offs that accompany efforts to solve public problems.

05.17.2013 US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan delivered the keynote address at the 2013 MSPP Tropaia Ceremony, which recognizes the year's most outstanding accomplishments by students and faculty.

04.18.2013 Rwandan Minister of Finance, Claver Gatete, visited MSPP for a discussion on his country's economic prospects and challenges. The Minister gave an overview of Rwanda’s history, the Rwandan genocide and ensuing reconstruction

May 17, 2013

“Our society needs visionaries to ask the right questions and passionate experts with the tools and tenacity to answer them.”

—Education Secretary Arne Duncan

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Tropaia keynote speaker, Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

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ON THE HILLTOP

Escaping a War-Torn Land An activist who fled Syria to study at Georgetown says the MPP program has provided refuge from a country ravaged by civil war—and the education he needs to go back and help rebuild. BY DIANA ELBASHA

“ That’s the moment I had to make up my mind. Either get shot or run away. ”

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF AMER DOKO

For Amer Doko, a second-year MPP student, the McCourt School of Public Policy isn’t just another graduate school. It’s a lifesaver.

The Syrian activist, refugee, and second-time American transplant escaped his home country—one that’s waist-deep in a violent civil war— last year in hopes of regaining the freedom he lost nearly a decade ago.

At the downtown-DC office of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Doko motions for me to sit down and makes me a cup of coffee. Working keeps his mind occupied.

He doesn’t pour himself a cup, though he’s visibly tired—there are bags under his eyes and crow’s feet creeping in above his cheekbones.

His fatigue is understandable: He has a nine-month-old baby at home, his first; he’s juggling this job with a teaching assistantship and Georgetown classes; and he waits everyday for smuggled news from home that two of his five brothers—unjustly incarcerated last year by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime— are still alive.

And perhaps he’s still healing from torture endured during his own political imprisonment. He stiffens when asked about the conditions. He doesn’t like to talk about it.

But he will say that he spent three months of 2002 in prison for protesting the Syrian dictahim by car into neighbortor. “We were all doctors, lawyers, and engineers ing Jordan, where he trying to help our community have a better life,” would take refuge for six A Syrian refugee and second-year MPP candidate, Doko recalls, describing dirty Damascus streets, months.

Amer Doko, plans to take his education back to his rampant corruption, and life under authori“When we reached home country to fight for freedom. tarian rule. “The Assad regime didn’t like our the border, there was a protests,” he says. “Us cleaning the streets was soldier who said, ‘Welvery dangerous to them. So they shut us down and put us in prison.” come. You’re safe now.’ And I can’t describe that moment. It was like Doko was released on the condition that he wouldn’t participate in somebody pulled me from Hell. They gave us some tea, and it was the further activism. It didn’t stop him. “I just had to keep a low profile,” most delicious cup of tea I ever had in my life,” he recalls. he says.

His pregnant wife joined him two months later, and they set off for Fast-forward nine years to March 25, 2011, a date Doko remembers Georgetown shortly thereafter. well. That was the day, he explains, of the first massive Syrian demonDoko draws on all of this experience as he studies and teaches on the stration of the Arab Spring, the day so many in his country stood up to Hilltop. Organizing demonstrations in Syria involved creative, stratetheir oppressor. That day, he says, “We finally felt we could be free.” It gic, and often secret use of social media, he says. For two years now, was also the day the regime placed his name on a blacklist, due to his for example, the theme for each Friday demonstration in the country reputation as an outspoken activist. Soldiers would eventually capture has been determined through Facebook polling. A group surveys him and give him a frightening ultimatum commonly presented to its members every few days, and their votes decide the focus of that demonstrators: Enlist in the army. Turn on your cause or die. weeks’ protest. The former software engineer says such social media tactics make for compelling—and frequent—discussion in the course he co-teaches at MSPP on science and technology in the global arena.

But even overseas, Doko sometimes can’t escape the horrors that take place daily in his hometown. Four days before he began classes at Georgetown last fall, Doko learned that Assad forces had invaded his family’s home in the southwestern Syrian town of Darayya. Soldiers Doko had been admitted to MSPP’s MPP program long before he carried out a massacre there that would take 700 lives in 72 hours and actually enrolled. He deferred twice, holding out to remain close to captured his two brothers and countless friends, neighbors, and colhis endangered family, but also due to a travel ban imposed on him by leagues. Some, his brothers included, are still behind bars. the government that left him unable to leave Syria. But when the army This type of news, Doko says, made his first semester at MSPP caught him at a checkpoint on his way home from work, he says, “That’s “really, really tough.” But compared to the friends and family who the moment I had to make up my mind. Either get shot or run away.” remain in his conflict-stricken home—to which he ultimately plans So he arranged for friends of friends in the Free Syrian Army to sneak to return—Amer Doko is lucky.

The McCourt School of Public Policy is the highest-ranked graduate school in the Washington, DC area for Public Policy Analysis

by U.S. News & World Report. Our location allows us to bring in leading policymakers and practitioners as both teachers and speakers. mspp.georgetown.edu