Blog Entries for Charles Cushman

GW’s Graduate School of Political Management - 10 Years Educating Latin American Leaders

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:29:40 +0100

Over the past decade, The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) has become a respected resource for providing leadership training across Latin America, focused on supporting democracy, human, and economic rights.

One of the ways in which GSPM works to achieve this goal is through The Political Management and Governance Program – sponsored by the Andean Development Bank (Corporación Andina de Fomento). The program is unique in its pioneerin [...]

Health care, Congress and the White House

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0100

I was talking to a prospective student today, and she made a great point -- after a month of debate back and forth about health care, she has no idea what is really on the table.... How can that be?

I told her I think she is right to be confused; there certainly was a lot of discussion in August on health care, but I am not sure we made much progress. In fact, Daily Kos noted that even with all of the contentious town halls and tons of money advertising, there nearly no movement i [...]

Great coverage of the lobbying forum!

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Wed, 06 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

National Journal Online has a nice video link and a long write-up of yesterday's GSPM-sponsored lobbying forum. You can catch the action on their blog, "under the influence," which covers the DC lobbying industry. Theresa Poulson's entry, "White House's Eisen: K STreet Rules Evolving," tells the story and includes a series of video clips from the event. You can catch the story at http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/white-house-ethics-adviser-lob.php

Curriculum review

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Students who started the political management degree in fall 2008 or later operate under the revised curriculum. Alumni may not have had the chance to review the new curriculum, so here is a quick overview for you.

Why did we reorganize the program of study? Program reviews occur regularly in academia, and it was time for the political management to reflect on recent experience an [...]

Course evaluation time

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0100

If you have not already done so, please fill out course evaluations on the Blackboard site for each of your classes.

We use evaulations to track course performance, modify existing courses, identify new course needs, and to help make all of our teaching better. The dean and each program director review the evaluations at the end of each term and talk to the faculty abut the results. We cannot make the programs better without your help!

New certificates at GSPM!

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0100

We are excited to offer two new graduate certificates starting this fall. The first one is campaign strategy, which focuses on how to build a successful campaign plan, including communications, fundraising, and organization. Certificate earners will be ready to hit the campaign trail and manage campaigns successfully.

The second certificate is online politics, which explores the growing importance of online capacity, new media, and mobile technology in everyday [...]

The Angry Civics Teacher

cushmanc@gwu.edu — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Welcome: The Angry Civics Teacher

Who is the angry civics teacher? That's me, Chuck Cushman, Associate Dean at the GSPM. Over the last several years, I have been thrilled to watch the growth of the political blogosphere - the Internet has given huge numbers of citizens the chance to get directly involved in big policy debates in a way that was impossible before. As a big fan of democracy - and broadening and deepening our practice of it here in the US - I welcome the expan [...]