Ms. Hassina Sherjan and Dr. Assem Akram
"Reassessing Afghanistan"
Hassina Sherjan is the president and founder of Aid Afghanistan for Education (AAE). AAE is dedicated to empowering women and rehabilitating the education system in Afghanistan, with a focus on accelerated learning and vocational training. Ms. Sherjan left Afghanistan in 1979 as a refugee. She returned to Afghanistan for the first time in 1999 and established five underground classes for girls. After the defeat of the Taliban, she came back to Afghanistan to participate in the reconstruction of the country.
Ms. Sherjan is also the founder of Boumi, a design and manufacturing firm in Kabul that produces high-quality Afghanistan products while providing Afghans with employment and training. She received an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2008 from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Assem Akram was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He holds a Doctorate in History from the Sorbonne University in Paris. During the war of resistance against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Dr. Akram worked actively in different capacities toward the liberation of his country. He served as Representative of the Afghan National Liberation Front in Paris and Adviser to the Foreign Relations Department in the Office of the President for the Afghan Interim Government in Peshawar. He was also in charge of relations with the foreign press from the Office of the President in Kabul and served as the First Secretary of the Afghan Embassy in Paris.
In May 1993, disappointed by the endless fighting for power between former Afghan Mujahideen groups, Dr. Akram resigned from his diplomatic post in Paris. He has been living in the United States since 1996 and is the author of two history books and two works of fiction. |
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Professors Pat Griffin and Chris Jacobs
"The Heathcare Debate: Politics and Policy"
Mr. Griffin’s public sector career has included serving as a top advisor to the President of the United States and to two Senate Democratic leaders. During the Clinton Administration, Mr. Griffin was appointed Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. Mr. Griffin has served as Senior Policy Advisor to two Senate Democratic Leaders, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) and Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). Prior to co-founding his current company, Mr. Griffin founded the government relations firm of Griffin Johnson, Madigan, and Peck. Mr. Griffin is the Academic Director for the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute in the School of Government at American University. He also serves as a Director on the Board of the National Democratic Institute. Before coming to Washington, Mr. Griffin was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
Professor Chris Jacobs is a Policy Advisor for the House Republican Conference and Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN), handling health care, labor, and entitlement issues. He previously served as a Professional Staff Member for the Republican Study Committee, as a Director and Senior Director in a health care consulting and lobbying firm, and as a staff assistant for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and History from American, and a Master's Degree in Modern History from the University of London. In fall 2009, Prof. Jacobs returned to American University as an adjunct faculty member teaching an Honors Colloquium, “The Doctor is In: The Politics and Policy of Health Care.” |
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Professor Lauren Feldman
"The Politics of Late Night Comedy"
Lauren Feldman joined the School of Communication faculty at American University in 2008 after receiving a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests, broadly, focus on political communication and media effects, with an emphasis on how less traditional sources of political information, like late-night comedy and opinionated cable news programs, shape citizens' engagement with and understanding of politics. Her research on late-night comedy has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Political Communication and Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism.
Here is the link to the issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication that Prof. Feldman mentioned during her talk. It contains a set of articles addressing either side of the debate regarding the implications of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show for democratic politics. |
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Professor Robin Lumsdaine
"Perspectives on the Financial Crisis"
Prof. Lumsdaine recently joined the Kogod School of Business as the Crown Prince of Bahrain Professor of International Finance. She came to AU from the Federal Reserve, where as an Associate Director in the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation she was involved in a number of policy discussions related to the financial system. Prior to the Fed, Prof. Lumsdaine held a number of strategy roles at Deutsche Bank, as well as trading a proprietary $25 million currency portfolio based on models she developed. She has also held previous academic positions at Brown University and Princeton University. In 1999, she served as Senior Economist at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under Clinton and was responsible for policies related to labor, aging, and healthcare. |
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Spring 2009: Bill Mayer
AU's Library in the 21st Century
William "Bill" A. Mayer was appointed University Librarian for American University in May 2007. From late 2001-2007, Bill served as the Associate University Librarian for Information Technology and Technical Services at The George Washington University. |
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Fall 2008: Professor Tsereteli
Russian Conflict in Georgia [Listen]
A native Georgian, Professor Tsereteli focused on the geo-strategic andgeo-economic implications of the recent war in Caucasus. The discussion examined Georgian-Russian relationships – including geographic, historic, ethnic and cultural ties – and how the results of the brief war will impact the corridor that connects the Black and Mediterranean seas to the oil rich Caspian region.
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Fall 2008: Professor Allan Lichtman
The 13 Keys to the White House
History Professor Lichtman discussed his "keys" to the presidency and shared his prediction for the 2008 election. |
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Spring 2008: President Neil Kerwin
AU past and future
An AU Honors alumnus (’71), Dr. Kerwin holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Rhode Island and a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Johns Hopkins University (1978). President Kerwin is a nationally recognized specialist and published author in public policy and the regulatory process. He is also the accomplished author of numerous monographs, chapters in edited books, anthologies, and articles. |
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Fall 2007: Professor Lenny Steinhorn
"And the next President of the United States will be..."
SOC's Professor Steinhorn discussed politics and making sense of the 2008 presidential election with Honors students. |
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