Schar School News June 2021

Michael Fauntroy returns to Mason to lead new Race, Politics, and Policy Center

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 19:08:22 +0000

Michael Fauntroy returns to Mason to lead new Race, Politics, and Policy Center Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 06/22/2021 - 15:08

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Mark J. Rozell

Michael Fauntroy comes home to Mason, leading new Race, Politics, and Policy Center. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government will launch its new Race, Politics, and Policy Center in Fall 2021 under the leadership of Professor Michael Fauntroy. Fauntroy, who taught at Mason for 11 years before joining the faculty at Howard University in 2013, returned to Mason in June.

“If you look at what’s going on around the country at colleges and universities, there’s not a lot of energy and attention being put to these issues,” Fauntroy said. “The goal of the center is to help change that and put together research and events that can better inform students, influencers and the public at large.”

It will also contribute to a national conversation.

“This is an opportunity to engage the academic community and the broader public in critical discussions on issues of race, politics and policy,” said Schar School Dean Mark J. Rozell. “If we are to be responsible publicly engaged intellectuals, we have to take on these difficult issues head on.”

Fauntroy said some of his plans for the center include raising funds to partner with media and conduct quarterly public opinion polls around issues of race and politics, which tend to be exampled during times of crisis but not consistently and systematically. He also plans to host public events, speaker and film series, and conferences, and to launch a podcast to amplify Mason’s expertise.

The opportunities will supplement what students learn in the classroom.

“These kinds of questions on race and politics are insufficiently addressed in political science and public policy,” Fauntroy said. “This is an opportunity to help position Mason students to have additional arrows in the quiver, if you will, in terms of their ability to analyze public policy in American politics.”

Rozell said Fauntroy’s passions and his return to Mason inspired the center.

“We have a chance to be thought leaders in this arena and doing so requires the right person to lead the effort,” Rozell said, adding that as an expert on Washington, D.C., politics, Fauntroy brings a regional expertise to the school. “Fauntroy comes with the academic credentials, as well as a public profile that will enable such a center to thrive over time.”

A regular on the media circuit, Fauntroy is an American politics analyst for CTV News Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio. He regularly appears on WUSA9, WRC 4, and FOX 5, and has written on the intersection of race and American politics for years. He is the author of “Republicans and the Black Vote and Home Rule or House Rule? Congress and the Erosion of Local Governance in the District of Columbia.” He has been published in numerous academic journals and newspapers around the country, most recently in the New York Daily News.

Prior to Mason, Fauntroy was also an analyst in American national government at the Congressional Research Service (CRS). There he provided research and consultations for Congress. From 1993 to 1996, he was a civil rights analyst at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where he researched civil rights issues including voting rights and fair housing.

“I want Mason to be known, in part, as a place where you can go and study these issues in a deep and profound way,” Fauntroy said. “I want this center to provide value to the university and the larger community.”

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Schar School News June 2021

Journalist and Professor Bill Schneider Retires from the Schar School After 12 Years

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 16:51:44 +0000

Journalist and Professor Bill Schneider Retires from the Schar School After 12 Years Andrew J Schappert Tue, 06/08/2021 - 12:51

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Mark J. Rozell

Bill Schneider covered elections since 1964, including 19 years at CNN.

He may be retired from the faculty, but longtime Schar School professor Bill Schneider is hardly slowing down. After all, the journalist, political analyst, and author has covered every presidential election since 1964, and old habits die hard.

“I’ll still write my column for The Hill, and I do some broadcasting—I’m a contributor to Al-Jazeera English, which is an international broadcasting network,” he said.

He’s also not giving up teaching: This fall will see Schneider teach as a volunteer instructor for Encore Learning, the nonprofit adult education program that shares classroom space with the Schar School at ��AV’s Arlington Campus. His course will examine November’s Virginia elections.

Schneider was recruited to the Schar School in 2009 to teach American politics as he was wrapping up his 19-year career at CNN as senior political analyst. Schneider’s experience and expertise fit the faculty profile the school was looking for.

"Bill Schneider represents what is best about the Schar School—a publicly engaged intellectual who advances knowledge of critical political and policy issues both within and outside of academia,” said Schar School dean Mark J. Rozell.

“He may be retiring from teaching, but I know he is not slowing down his writing and commentary on American politics and government."

As for parting words to live by, Schneider recalled a statement he heard during his own college career at Brandeis University. When he asked Leonard Hall, a U.S. representative from New York and former chair of the Republican National Committee, how Barry Goldwater managed to win the nomination to run against Lyndon Johnson in 1964, “He said,” Schneider said, “‘Goldwater's people are the kinds of people who stay until the ends of meetings.’ Which I’ve always used: People who stay for the ends of meetings do well in politics.”

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Schar School News June 2021

Anne Holton Named 2021 Outstanding Woman Leader in Virginia Higher Education

Melanie Balog — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:14:12 +0000

Anne Holton Named 2021 Outstanding Woman Leader in Virginia Higher Education Melanie Balog Tue, 06/01/2021 - 14:14

Anne Holton. Strategic Communications photo

On Wednesday, May 26, the Virginia Network for Women in Higher Education named Anne Holton as the 2021 Outstanding Woman Leader in Virginia Higher Education.

Holton served as the interim president of ��AV, the largest, most diverse and fastest-growing university in Virginia, from August 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. She was the first female president in Mason history. Since May 2017, Holton has also served as a visiting professor in Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government and its College of Education and Human Development. She is a senior fellow at EdPolicy Forward.

The Roanoke, Virginia, native was selected from a pool of 30 nominees to become the third recipient of the award, which honors women who serve as role models to other women, display a commitment to developing and fostering the empowerment of women leaders, and exemplify leadership, success and service. Holton, a longtime clog dancer, received a painting by Roanoke artist Yolanda Eaddy titled “Time to Dance” to commemorate the event.

“It is a distinct honor to recognize Anne Holton and the tireless efforts she has devoted to women all across the commonwealth. She continues to inspire and lead us,” says Karen Campbell, current chair of the Virginia Network board, and vice president of student affairs at Tidewater Community College.

The Virginia Network is one of more than 50 state networks created and supported by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Office of Women in Higher Education. In 1977, ACE initiated an effort to identify and prepare more women for presidential positions. Since that time, they have expanded their outreach to supporting women who are interested in other senior leadership positions, such as deans, provosts and vice presidents.

As interim president of Mason, Holton helped the university secure $235 million in state funding through the Tech Talent Investment Program, raised Mason’s profile as an R-1 institution and promoted its mission of access. She also led the institution through one of higher education’s greatest crises, the COVID-19 pandemic. With Holton at the helm, Mason made smart decisions about campus activity and planned carefully for the future. The Board of Visitors noted that her firm, yet positive, approach to issues helped provide a calm, confident voice for students, faculty and staff in a time of significant uncertainty.

“I am honored to receive this beautiful award and especially humbled to have been nominated by my women leader colleagues at Mason,” Holton said.

In her career in education, law and public service, Holton has focused her efforts on behalf of families and children. After earning her law degree at Harvard, Holton worked as an attorney for low-income families from 1985 to 1998 with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. She then served as a judge on the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the city of Richmond from 1998 to 2005, including a stint as chief judge from 2000 to 2003.

As Virginia’s First Lady when her husband, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, was governor from 2006 to 2010, Holton championed foster care system reform. Her program, For Keeps: Families for All Virginia Teens, helped find permanent families for foster children of all ages. Holton consulted on national foster care reform with the Annie E. Casey Foundation Child Welfare Strategy Group and later directed Great Expectations, a Virginia Foundation for Community College Education program that assists foster youth in pursuing a college education.

As Virginia’s Secretary of Education from 2014 to 2016, Holton worked to increase Virginia’s investment in public education, to promote innovation and teaching and learning in state schools, and to ensure every student has a successful pathway to the future, particularly children who live in poverty.

Her father, former Virginia Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr., helped integrate the Richmond city schools by sending his own children there. Her three children, now adults, also attended Richmond public schools.

Nominators emphasized Holton’s lifelong commitment to public service. Her life is a testament to the ways that women can lead, serve as role models and impact the development of other women in leadership. Through her roles as judge, state secretary, first lady, professor and president, she has composed a life of service and commitment to education and to helping others, especially young people, obtain their educational dreams.

Holton’s awards include Outstanding Woman of the Year in Law from the YWCA of Richmond in 2006 and the Annie E. Casey Foundation Families for Life Award of Distinction in 2008. In 2017, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed her to the Virginia Board of Education.

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Schar School News June 2021

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (May 2021)

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:10:31 +0000

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (May 2021) Andrew J Schappert Tue, 06/01/2021 - 10:10

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From the Washington Post:

Why Do Some Muslim-Majority Countries Support China’s Crackdown on Muslims?

In 2019, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were among 37 countries that signed a letter to the U.N. Human Rights Council praising China’s “contribution to the international human rights cause” — with claims that China restored “safety and security” after facing “terrorism, separatism and extremism” in Xinjiang.

—PhD Student Jonathan Hoffman

From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

Was a Flying Killer Robot Used in Libya? Quite Possibly

Many people, including Steven Hawking and Elon Musk, have said they want to ban these sorts of weapons, saying they can’t distinguish between civilians and soldiers, while others say they’ll be critical in countering fast-paced threats like drone swarms and may actually reduce the risk to civilians because they will make fewer mistakes than human-guided weapons systems.

—Zak Kallenborn

From the Conversation:

Biden’s Budget: Why Investing in Innovation Is Crucial to Reach U.S. Climate Goals

My research career has been devoted to innovation policy, and I served on the White House staff under President Barack Obama. I’ve seen how smart public policies and savvy federal investments can help accelerate the innovation process.

—David Hart

From the Hill:

The Troubling Persistence of Trumpism

There’s only one way Republicans can be persuaded to abandon Trumpism. Democrats have to whip them in elections, beat them so badly that Republicans reach the point where they say, “We can’t go on like this.”

—Bill Schneider

From the Washington Post:

Opinion: Glenn Youngkin’s Blank Slate May Give the Virginia GOP a Fighting Chance

His most delicate dance, however, is with the legacy of Trump and a GOP voting base militantly loyal to him.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

One Cheer for Political Polarization: It Freed Biden on Israel

And that means that Joe Biden can stand up to Israel more than any president since Harry Truman.

—Jeremy Mayer

From the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute:

What is AMLO’s Morena Party?

This type of party is more useful to solve the problems of party leaders or founders than to solve fundamental social problems.

—Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

From Asia Times:

Israel-Palestine May Be Test Case of Declining U.S. Influence

President Joe Biden’s initially cautious and quiet response to Israel’s bombing campaign against Gaza is only the latest evidence of the erosion of American leverage over Israeli actions.

—Ellen Laipson

From Virginia Mercury:

Virginia’s GOP Gambles on Creative Ranked-Choice Voting for 2021 Nominees

For all of the talk now about the GOP still being under the spell of Donald Trump, unable to extricate itself from the failed ex-president and all the political baggage he carries in increasingly blue Virginia, the decision to use RCV signals perhaps an emerging realization by party leaders that it is time to look to the GOP’s future.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Atlantic Council:

Experts React: What’s Next After the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire?

Although it wants to see the conflict come to an end, Moscow is not going to risk rupturing its multifaceted relationship with Israel—involving trade, deconfliction in Syria, and the warm Putin-Netanyahu relationship—for the sake of Hamas.

—Mark N. Katz

From Cyber Security Intelligence:

Running Out of Cyber Gas

Now, I know the idea was to get the information out to everyone so they could patch and counter accordingly. However, as some of us feared, it also limned out an attack mode for the bad guys. And the bad guys are not stupid—they are students of our vulnerabilities, they are increasingly sophisticated to a front-line nation state degree, and by our sharing we are educating them.

—Ronald Marks

From the Hill:

It’s Joe Manchin vs. the Progressives on Infrastructure

But instead of criticizing him, they might want to learn a hard truth from the senator, who knows how to use his one vote to protect his constituents.

—Mark J. Rozell

From Just Security:

Want to Compete with China? Deliver on Climate Security for the Indo-Pacific

To reestablish itself as the partner of first resort in the Indo-Pacific, the United States should use its logistical, technological, and scientific skills to help these countries prepare for and prevent the climate security risks they fear. U.S. forces in the region already help to build the capacity of allies and partners to defend themselves against State threats.

—Erin Sikorsky and Caroline Baxter

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