Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Programs RSS Feed

MA in Communication Information Session - March 22

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 03/22/2010

Information Session for Prospective Graduate Students

Join us and learn about the Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication at the March 22nd open house.

Hopkins delivers a serious and practical Communication degree that reflects its world-renowned reputation for excellence. We employ an elite faculty, keep our classes small, focus on helping students hone their writing skills, and provide a cutting-edge curriculum that incorporates digital technology. Our curriculum is designed to bring real-world communication scenarios into the classroom so students can develop usable communication skills and a strong portfolio.

We offer classes in the evenings so students do not need to break stride in their professional careers; some courses are offered online and on Saturday. You can apply year round though our convenient online application process.

During the info session you will have the opportunity to learn about the program, meet current students and faculty, submit your application, and enjoy refreshments.

Location:

Johns Hopkins University
Washington DC Center
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Lower Level Room 7, Washington DC, 20036
Red Line metro to Dupont Circle.
Exit on south metro exit and walk east on Massachusetts Avenue for one
and a half blocks.

RSVP online below:

MA in Applied Economics Information Session - Feb 24

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 02/24/2010

Join us and learn about the Johns Hopkins University Master's Degree Program in Applied Economics at the February 24th Information Session. This program is designed to develop economic reasoning and the ability to construct and estimate economic models through the use of econometrics and other quantitative techniques. The substantive scope of the program is wide: anything from Public Policy, to Business Economics, to Macroeconomics and Finance, to Trade, Development and Growth, and to Environmental and Health Economics. The program has rolling admissions and offers classes in the evening.

During the info session you will have the opportunity to meet the Associate Program Chair, Dr. Frank D. Weiss, discuss your curriculum, submit your application, and enjoy refreshments.

The JHU Washington Center is a block away from the DuPont Circle Metro stop and reduced rate parking is available at Central Parking (1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW, at the corner of 18th St. and Massachusetts Ave. NW) at the rate of $5.00 after 4:30pm.

Location: Johns Hopkins University
Washington DC Center
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Room LL7
Washington, DC 20036.
Red Line metro to Dupont Circle.
Exit on south metro exit and walk east on Massachusetts Ave. for one and a half blocks.

Please RSVP online below

MA in Communication Information Session - Feb 1

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 02/01/2010

Information Session for Prospective Graduate Students

Join us and learn about the Johns Hopkins University MA in Communication at the February 1st open house.

During the info session you will have the opportunity to learn about the program, meet current students and faculty, submit your application, and enjoy refreshments.

Location:

RSVP online below:

Communication New Student Orientation and Welcome - Jan 20

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 01/20/2010

There will be a new communication student orientation held on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, from 6:00-7:00 pm. This will be an opportunity for people already accepted into the program to get oriented to the program and to meet and greet other new students.

Location: Washington DC Center
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20036
Room number will be posted in the lobby
Directions: Red Line metro to Dupont Circle. Exit on south metro exit and walk east on Massachusetts Avenue for one and a half blocks.

The Johns Hopkins University Washington Center is conveniently located a block away from the DuPont Circle Metro stop and reduced rate parking is available at Central Parking on 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW located at the corner of Massachusetts Ave. NW and 18th St. NW at the rate of $5.00 after 4:30pm.

MA in Applied Economics New Student Orientation - Jan 20

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 01/20/2010

There will be a student orientation held on Wednesday January 20th from 6:00-6:45 PM. New students (those already accepted into the program) are invited to attend, discuss planning their studies, and meet other new students. Refreshments will be served.

The orientation will be followed by a half hour introduction to online library resources useful for applied economics, including economic literature and numerical databases, from 6:45-7:15 PM. All Applied Economics students are welcome to participate in the library presentation.

Location: Washington DC Center
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Room 103
Washington, DC 20036
Red Line metro to Dupont Circle

Reduced rate parking is available at Central Parking on 1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW for a discounted rate of $5 after 4:30pm. Central Parking attendants will collect the $5 fee when you park.

PLEASE RSVP ONLINE BELOW

IIF Certificate in Forecasting Practice--Session on Forecasting in Organizations - Jan 19

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 01/19/2010

Those Applied Economics students interested in earning the IIF Certificate in Forecasting Practice need to take Macroeconomic Forecasting [640.615] and the single Session on Forecasting in Organizations. You must sign up below to take the single Session, but you must have taken the Macroeconomic Forecasting class first. The fee for this session is $150. Please bring a check or money order made out to Applied Economics, JHU to the front desk before the class starts.

The fee for the Certificate is $200. Please bring a further check or money order made out to IIF to the front desk before the class starts.

This will be the last on-site offering of the Session; future Sessions will be held on-line.

Location: Johns Hopkins University
Washington DC Center
Room 103 [signs will be posted]
1717 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009

RSVP Online Below:

Homewood Thesis Reading - Dec 12

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/12/2009

Students completing the Writing Program read from their work.

The readings and reception are free and open to the public. Food and drink served.

Reception, 6 p.m., with readings to follow.

Johns Hopkins University
Homewood Campus
Hodsun Hall, Rm 210

Readings will be from:
Matt Boswell
K.E. Concannon
Eddie Jeffrey
Susan Heslinga
Poupeh Missaghi
Matthew Ward

Washington Thesis Reading - Dec 11

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/11/2009

Students completing the Writing Program read from their work. Free and open to the public. Food and drink served. Reception, 6 p.m., with readings to follow.

(The event will take place at our Washington, DC Center at 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW)

Open House - MA in Global Security Studies Information Session - Dec 2

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/02/2009

Starts: 6:30 PM - Ends: 7:30 PM

The Johns Hopkins University cordially invites you to attend our information session introducing the Master of Arts in Global Security Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Washington DC Center on December 2, 2009.

An offering of the graduate program in Government, the new Global Security Studies degree provides critical expertise in meeting the critical security challenges of government and industry. The degree explores global security from economic, energy, environmental, and military perspectives. Classes are offered in the evening and weekends at our Washington DC location; no GRE is required to apply. We offer rolling admissions, and a convenient online application process.

During the Open House, you will have a chance to meet faculty, discuss your credentials and program requirements, and submit your application.

Please RSVP Below.

Location: Johns Hopkins University
Washington DC Center
Lower Level
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC, 20036
Red Line metro to Dupont Circle.
Exit on south metro exit and walk east on Massachusetts Avenue for one and a half blocks.

Open House - MA in Government Information Session - Dec 2

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/02/2009

Starts: 6:30 PM - Ends: 7:30 PM

The Johns Hopkins University cordially invites you to attend our information session for the Master of Arts in Government at the Johns Hopkins University Washington DC Center on December 2, 2009.

Students in the Master of Arts in Government program are given the tools to examine the governmental and social institutions in our society, to assess prospects for reform, and to affect change. The MA in Government offers optional concentrations in Political Communication, Legal Studies, and Security Studies.

Classes are offered in the evening and weekends at our Washington DC location; no GRE is required to apply. We offer rolling admissions, and a convenient online application process.

During the Open House, you will have a chance to meet faculty, discuss your credentials and program requirements, and submit your application.

Please RSVP Below.

Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars Reading Series - Dec 1

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/01/2009

All readings will take place at 6:30 p.m. Room locations will be posted on the Reading Series web page: http://writingseminars.jhu.edu/reading-series/index.html .

Tuesday, December 1, BRAD LEITHAUSER

Communication Roundtable Series - (Mis)Communicating the Meltdown? Communication During the 2008 Financial Crisis

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/01/2009

Economist Robert Lucas recently asked: "What can the public reasonably expect of specialists in these areas and how well has it been served by them in the current crisis"?

Join us and our distinguished panel of macro-economic experts and journalists as we discuss what people knew about the financial crisis, when they knew it, and why the public was caught off guard during the big 2008 financial meltdown.

Panelists Include:

David Arseneau, Economist, Division of International Finance, Federal Reserve Board
Neil Irwin, National Economy Correspondent, The Washington Post
Sudeep Reddy, Financial Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Edward Seiler, Senior Economist, Fannie Mae

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
7:00 to 8:30pm
(Refreshment and networking begin at 6:30pm)

Location: Johns Hopkins University
Washington DC Center
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
(Red line to Dupont Circle stop. Exit through the south exit and walk east 1.5 blocks on Massachusetts Avenue. The center is located on Massachusetts between 18th and 17th streets.)

The Johns Hopkins University Washington Center is conveniently located a block away from the DuPont Circle Metro stop and reduced rate parking is available at Central Parking on 1800 Massachusetts Ave NW located at the corner of Massachusetts Ave. NW and and 18th St. NW at the rate of $5.00 after 4:30pm.

Jointly sponsored by The Johns Hopkins MA in Communication and MA in Applied Economics Programs.

Free and open to the public. RSVP Online Below:

GSS Program Chair Authors Article on A Strategic Basis of U.S. Support for Israel

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Center for Biotechnology Education and CTY Host Biotech and Bioengineering Day

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Center for Biotech Education reaches out to Talented Youth

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 11/14/2009

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Biotechnology Education has partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to take part in the November 14^th ‘Explorations in Biotechnology and Bioengineering’ at Johns Hopkins University’s Montgomery County Campus. The event is part of CTY’s Family Academic Programs Science and Technology Series.

CTY students and their families will participate in a program that includes:

Lectures on cutting-edge research and developments in biotechnology from the fields of bioinformatics, molecular biology, and infectious diseases.
Hands-on experiences using the modern tools and equipment of biotechnology in a high-tech modern wet laboratory.
Bioinformatics exercises in the computer laboratory examining H1N1 viral nucleic acid sequences.

CTY Family Academic Programsare designed for CTY Talent Search participants and their families, with the intention of exposing talented students to the exciting range of possibilities included in a broad-based education and life-long learning program.

The Science and Technology Series is inspired by the daily advances in technology that affect our lives in countless ways. In these one-day programs, students and parents explore aspects of technology and science through hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and lectures led by pioneering scientists, mathematicians, and researchers.

For more information about the Center for Talented Youth visit their website, http://cty.jhu.edu

Government Student Authors Article in The Washington Post on Medical Schools Adapting to Changes in Caregiving and Health Policy

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Writing Program Graduate Publishes Essay in Gettysburg Review

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 11/04/2009

Susan McCallum-Smith, a fiction graduate of the M.A. in Writing Program, just published her essay "The Watermark" in The Gettysburg Review. The essay also is available online at http://www.gettysburgreview.com. McCallum-Smith's short story collection, Slipping the Moorings, was published recently by Entasis Press, the small literary publishing house run by Writing Program coordinator and instructor Ed Perlman.

Writing Program Alumnus Pens New Column for Washington Times

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 11/04/2009

Sutton Stokes, a graduate of the M.A. in Writing Program, has a new column online with The Washington Times called "Went West." Stokes, a freelance writer, also writes the "Missoula Notebook" blog for New West. He lives in Missoula, Montana. The link for Went West is http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/went-west/.
Missoula Notebook is at http://www.newwest.net.

Writing Program Faculty Member Publishes Essays in Washington Post Magazine

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 11/04/2009

Writing Program Faculty Member Publishes Essays in Washington Post Magazine Karen Houppert, a Writing Program faculty member who teaches at the Homewood Campus, published her essay "A Room of Her Own" in the Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, Washington Post magazine. The essay was about a college teacher who unexpectedly named Houppert as the recipient of the proceeds of a $75,000 life insurance policy. Houppert also wrote two other articles in the same issue of WP – about the research efforts of two local professors. Houppert is teaching the Writing Program's Nature of Nature reading course this fall term and will teach a Nonfiction Workshop in the spring.

Communication Program Faculty Member Interviewed About Building Her Graphic Design Business

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Biotechnology Graduate Chosen to Participate in FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 10/28/2009

Dr. Bharat Khurana, a May, 2009, graduate of the MS Biotechnology/MBA program, was selected from more than 1,000 candidates to participate in the FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program's second batch. The FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program is a highly competitive two-year program designed to attract top-notch scientists, engineers and health professionals to the agency. The Commissioner's Fellowship program is a unique opportunity due to its regulatory focus. The FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program will provide participants with advanced training in the scientific analysis involved in the safety and regulatory decisions unique to the agency's mission.

More information about the FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program is available at http://www.fda.gov/commissionersfellowships/program.html.

Dr. Khurana was also part of the Johns Hopkins team that competed in February in the Kellogg Genzyme Business Case competition. He will be teaching a new online course in Spring, 2010 entitled Regulatory Strategies in Biopharmaceutical Business.

Professor in the Government Program Authors Article in Politico on Plan to Ensure that Efforts to Protect Consumers Do Not Hamper Economic Growth

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Student and Faculty From Advanced Biotechnology Studies and the MS in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs Jointly Publish Article

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 10/21/2009

Juliane Carvalo was a student in Dr. Imo Ibia's International Regulatory Affairs class. The two members of the Advanced Biotechnology Studies program have jointly published an article for Applied Clinical Trials entitled "Keys to Drug Development in Latin America".

http://appliedclinicaltrialsonline.findpharma.com/appliedclinicaltrials/Online+Extras/Keys-to-Drug-Development-in-Latin-America/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/630600?contextCategoryId=47497

Advanced Biotechnology Studies Student Co-authors Journal Article "Opportunities for Creating a New Swine Flu Vaccine"

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 10/21/2009

Advanced Biotechnology Studies student, Martin Mao, co-authors article "Opportunities for Creating a New Swine Flu Vaccine" for the October 2009 issue of the RAPS journal Regulatory Focus.

Read the article

The Center for Biotechnology Education Introduces Local Middle School Students to Careers in Science and Medicine

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 10/14/2009

Instructors from the Johns Hopkins Center for Biotechnology Education helped to give Montgomery County middle school students a taste of what it’s like to have a career in science and medicine. The Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day at the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center on October 9, 2009 was a collaboration among health-care providers, biotech companies, universities, and research organizations. It was designed to help show students the variety of careers available in the science and medical fields.

During the event, the 200 seventh graders spent an hour visiting one of 14 working labs in and around the Life Sciences Center, and another hour visiting a science exhibit hall on the Johns Hopkins University’s Montgomery County Campus. Eleven organizations presented "hands-on" science experiments or demonstrations. Johns Hopkins’ Center for Biotechnology Education provided a microscope station for viewing healthy and cancerous cells, a "bean counter" station for helping students visualize the cost of developing and manufacturing pharmaceuticals, and an instructional computer lab for learning the basics of bioinformatics.

The Montgomery County Public Schools have put together a short video from the event.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/mainstory/story.aspx?id=75842

Government Student Coauthors Iran Article in Foreign Policy Magazine

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Government Student Authors Article on Venezuela's Nuclear Ambitions in The New Republic

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Writing Faculty Publishes Essay in Sewanee Theological Review

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:04:00 GMT

Event date: 09/16/2009

Edward Perlman, coordinator and a faculty member of the M.A. in Writing Program, has published another essay in the latest edition of the prestigious Sewanee Theological Review. Perlman, the faculty advisor for poetry students in the Writing Program, wrote his essay on the writing of famous poet Richard Wilbur. The essay is entitled: "Reconciliation, Riddles, and Rules in Two Poems by Richard Wilbur."

Hopkins Science-Medical Writing Course Featured in Post Article

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:03:00 GMT

Event date: 09/01/2009

In her continuing work to introduce Writing Program students to digital journalism, Science-Medical Writing instructor Mary Knudson assigned her summer students in Washington to join Twitter. The goal was to learn how becoming part of a connected community can help a writer. One result: The Washington Post featured Knudson’s Techniques of Science-Medical Writing course in a June 26 story. http://bit.ly/AZ80B.

Bradley Scriber, one of Knudson's students, learned quickly from the exercise. When a source he follows on Twitter recommended a journal article on zombies, he not only read it but suggested a blog entry to National Geographic. Here's the result: http://bit.ly/15RFaT.

Writing Program graduate publishes column in New York Times Sunday Magazine

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:50:00 GMT

Event date: 09/01/2009

Lisa Friedman, a 2008 graduate of the M.A. in Writing Program fiction concentration, authored a “Lives” column in the Aug. 9, 2009, New York Times Sunday Magazine. The piece is entitled: “Fear and Laughing.”

Friedman, who previously published in the Times’ “Modern Lives” column, lives in Potomac, Maryland, and has published two books.

Read the article online: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/magazine/09lives-t.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Lisa%20Friedman&st=cse

Writing Program faculty member publishes column in Washington Post Magazine

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:41:00 GMT

Event date: 09/01/2009

Cathy Alter, an author and nonfiction instructor in the M.A. in Writing Program, just published “Groove Is in the Heart”” in the XX Files column of the Washington Post Magazine. The column on her love of dancing includes a picture of Alter.

Calter, DC nonfiction advisor for the Writing Program, appeared last year on “The Today Show” to promote her book “Up for Renewal” -- just released this summer in paperback.

Alter is herself a graduate of the Writing Program and will teach Contemporary Nonfiction in Washington this fall.

Read the article online: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401854.html

Writing Program Partners with Discovery Channel

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:13:00 GMT

Event date: 09/01/2009

By Mary Knudson

Job cutbacks in journalism have been a continuing dark story but turned out to be a bright light for students taking my Techniques of Science-Medical Writing course at Hopkins this summer.

Tracy Staedter, producer of Discovery Channel’s Discovery Tech Website, explained why she got in touch about a partnering arrangement with Writing Program students: “In these economic hard times, our staff has had to cut our budget. This has put pressure on us to find content from non-traditional sources.”

Under the arrangement with Discovery, my students in Washington could submit a story to the Discovery Tech website. The students wrote a first draft for me and sent the revision to Discovery. If the stories were fit to print, they would be published with each student’s byline.

This class blew me away. All 10 students who submitted stories to the Top 10 segment of Discovery Tech got contracts promising publication with their bylines. It was quite a feat for students in a beginning course in science writing. My champion writers are Douglas Canter, Matthew Dozier, Amy Drew, Karen Elkins, Katie Githens, Amy Grossman, Gina Hagler, Dawn Lemanne, Vicki Miskovsky, and Bradley Scriber.

Mary Knudson, Instructor

The first piece published by Discovery was Grossman’s 10 Technologies Transforming Sports http://bit.ly/PF2K5. A former figure skater, Grossman said her sport “has seen little innovation in terms of technology. My skating boots are hand-stitched from a wooden last that is made from a paper tracing. Each boot and blade weighs five pounds. Only recently have advances such as titanium blades, which are lighter and stronger, come on the market. When a sport such as swimming is upended by technology I'm interested-- and a little jealous-- which is why I chose this topic.”

Grossman’s first challenge was pulling together a Top 10 list from so many fields: “For example, a mechanical engineer is not going to know what is happening in nutrition or nano-science.”

Other students chose topics including countries dependent on nuclear energy, notorious cyber crimes, genetic tests, reasons to have electronic medical records, components of a smart house, and top places to harness solar power. Most conducted three to five interviews for their stories in addition to other research. While writing for Discovery helped secure those interviews, students still found getting interviews wasn’t always easy. “I learned that sometimes one shouldn't take no for an answer when asking for an interview,” said Canter. “I got my International Energy Agency interview only after repeated calls to my press officer contact after I had received no reply” from the office he was trying to reach.

Both Canter and Hagler said they learned the importance of planning a story. “I was interested in my topic (smart house technology) but not sure where to begin,” said Hagler. “Talking it through briefly in class helped me get the starting point.” Hagler, in her second course in the Writing Program, added “I learned a lot about how the reporting and planning work together to create a strong piece of writing.”
After reading all the stories, Staedter said she was “pleasantly surprised at how high the quality of the writing has been and how smoothly the process has been.”

This first dip into the talent of Hopkins students went so well that Staedter offered more: “If you want to work again in the future with other classes, I’m happy to do so,” she told me. That’s exactly what I hoped for. My students not only did a great job on their own stories, but helped me forge a continuing partnership with Discovery so that more writing students at Hopkins will be able to contribute to the popular website, including Top 10 pieces, longer explanatory and feature stories, and podcasts.

“I'm sure many of these students will go on to have fruitful careers in journalism,” Staedter said.

Museum Studies Program Hosts Webinar in Collaboration with Smithsonian Galleries

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:10:00 GMT

Event date: 08/07/2009

On June 23 the Museum Studies Program presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian a webinar on Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. The webinar, presented at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, discussed the museums' new online catalogue, Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia, and how it serves the international virtual community. The webinar was attended online by 100 participants with an additional 40 participants live at the Freer and Sackler galleries.

You can view a recording of the webinar at http://connect.johnshopkins.edu/p35445714/

BBC Radio Interviews Government Program Alumna, Kristen Soltis, About the Future of the GOP

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Government Program Associate Chair Authors Book Review

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:17:00 GMT

Podcast: Finding Cybersecurity Talent - Interview with Tom Stanton

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:12:00 GMT

Government Program Instructor Interviewed Regarding Obama Cybersecurity Initiatives

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:59:00 GMT

Event date: 06/15/2009

Government Program instructor, Tom Stanton, was recently interviewed by WTTG Fox 5 News to offer insight into President Obama's recent announcements about cybersecurity initiatives. To see the full story, visit:

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/newsedge/052909_obama_need_better_security_for_computers

Johns Hopkins, BD Diagnostics Partner for Master's Fellowship

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:28:00 GMT

Event date: 06/15/2009

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

June 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and BD Diagnostics (BD) have partnered to offer a unique master’s fellowship in the field of bioscience regulatory affairs. Prospective fellows should apply now for the fall 2009 semester.

“Johns Hopkins and BD Diagnostics have a shared interest in cultivating and educating the next generation of workers in the field of regulatory affairs,” said Dr. Lynn Johnson Langer, associate program chair of Johns Hopkins’ master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs program.

Students accepted into this fellowship will take bioscience regulatory affairs courses at Johns Hopkins’ Montgomery County Campus in Rockville, Md., the Homewood campus in Baltimore, Md., or online.

“We see this as an opportunity to employ and mentor some of the best talent in the industry,” said Marc Rize, human resources director. “The rigor of Johns Hopkins’ master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs curriculum, combined with real world application and mentoring from seasoned professionals at BD, will create a world-class experience for a select group of up-and-coming regulatory affairs students.”

Selected students will be employed by BD and will, therefore, be required to successfully complete BD’s employment process and meet BD’s requirements for continued employment. . During the initial five-year phase of this fellowship, BD will provide salary and tuition support for up to five incoming JHU students each year. BD will also provide, through designated members of its staff mentoring of JHU fellowship students.

About JHU’s MS in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs Program
Students in the MS in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs Program take six required regulatory courses. With this foundation, students will have the opportunity to specialize in an aspect of regulatory affairs of their choice through three elective courses, including advanced regulatory, business, and science courses.

Finally, hands-on, real life experience will be provided to students through a practicum course at the end of the program. The strong science foundation, the opportunity to specialize, and the practicum requirement distinguish this program as a leader in bioscience regulatory affairs education. Students completing the program are expected to be able to lead regulatory affairs initiatives in government and industry. For more information, please visit www.regulatory.jhu.edu.

About BD Diagnostics
BD (NYSE: BDX) is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The Company is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world. BD is focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers, and advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines. BD's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 28,000 people in approximately 50 countries throughout the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. For more information, please visit www.bd.com.

Johns Hopkins University Launches A Security Degree for the 21st Century

Wed, 13 May 2009 17:01:00 GMT

Event date: 05/13/2009

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

May 12, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

The Johns Hopkins University announced a new master of arts in global security studies degree to be offered at its Washington, D.C. C near Dupont Circle. The program features a well-rounded curriculum that combines traditional strategic studies with courses on economic, energy and environmental security to provide students with the tools needed to understand the full scope of complex security threats in the 21st century.

“We live in an interdependent world where the threats of computer viruses, pandemics, global warming, nuclear weapons, and terrorism are real and widespread,” said Benjamin Ginsberg, PhD., who is the David Bernstein Professor of Political Science, and chair of the global security studies program. “It’s evident that security is no longer just a military concern. Financial data, power grids, and other resources that citizens at the global level rely on are at risk. A complete understanding of the broader security implications is necessary to contain these threats.”

Students in the master of arts in global security studies program will analyze military challenges, the intricacies of economic interdependence, and prospective changes in the global environment.

The curriculum is designed for working professionals who are seeking a part-time program that will expand their expertise in identifying, assessing, and responding to current security challenges, with an eye toward developing the skills and perspective required to be the policy leaders of tomorrow.

“The MA in global security studies offers a unique curriculum that brings together theory and practice,” said Associate Program Chair Ariel Roth, PhD. “Both components are integral to building a solid understanding of current and future security threats. Our students graduate from the program with and understanding of the full complexity of contemporary security challenges, and the skills to plan and execute effective solutions. We say that our program is where the ambitious student of today becomes the accomplished leader of tomorrow, but with more than 90 percent of our students already working full-time, some are already leading the charge.”

To officially launch the degree program, Johns Hopkins University will host an information session from 6:30 -7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 28 at its Washington, D.C. Center, which is located at 1717 Massachusetts Ave., NW, 20036. For more information about the program or to RSVP for the information session, please visit www.global-security.jhu.edu.

The degree program, which received Maryland Higher Education Commission endorsement in February, is open for student enrollment for the summer 2009 semester.

###

Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/ Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

Government Aitchison Awarded Prestigious SMART Scholarship

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:22:00 GMT

Event date: 04/24/2009

Aitchison Fellow at AAP and JHU undergraduate student, Justin Stahl, has been awarded a Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship through the U.S. Department of Defense. This prestigious scholarship will support his undergraduate education in full, provide an annual stipend for two years, and award a salary for post-graduation service.

As part of his scholarship, Mr. Stahl will work as an Operations Research Analyst at the U.S. Army TRADOC Analysis Center in White Sands Missile Range, NM, where he will perform, monitor, supervise, review, and evaluate cognitive, neural and behavioral research in support of TRADOC and other Army agencies.

To learn more about the SMART Scholarship, visit:
http://www.asee.org/fellowships/smart/

Senior Associate Program Chair Langer Named President-Elect of Women in Bio

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:27:00 GMT

Event date: 04/10/2009

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

April 13, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

Lynn Johnson Langer, who heads The Johns Hopkins University's Advanced Biotechnology Studies Enterprise and Regulatory Programs, has been elected president-elect of Women in Bio, a national organization that fosters entrepreneurship and promotes career development of women in the life science industry.

Langer, an active member of WIB for many years who previously has served as chair of the Program Development Committee, will serve a one-year term as president-elect and become president in 2010.

"Dr. Langer's election is in keeping with the WIB Board of Directors' goal of expanding its officers to include a president-elect and president-emeritus," said Gianna Arnold, 2009 president of WIB. "The board is relying on these new leaders to leverage their vision, goals and experiences in helping to shape the growth of WIB. There is no doubt that Dr. Langer brings the leadership and experience that WIB and its constituents need to forge a meaningful path in 2010."

Officers of WIB are expected to be active members, to have knowledge and experience in working with women entrepreneurs and executives in the bioscience industry, to know the issues women face in the workforce, to have demonstrated experience in event planning and in managing volunteer organizations, and to be visionaries.

Langer, whose title at Johns Hopkins is senior associate program chair, oversees the university's offering of the MS in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs, the MS in Biotechnology/MBA, the Biotechnology Enterprise and Regulatory Affairs concentrations under the MS in Biotechnology, and the Certificate in Biotechnology Enterprise. Langer attended Tulane University and the University of Maryland for her undergraduate degree in microbiology. She later received her MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and received the Stegman Award for academic excellence in administrative science. She received her Ph.D. in leadership and change from Antioch University. For Langer's full bio, please visit http://biotechnology.jhu.edu/faculty.

WIB's previous president-elect, Gianna Arnold, assumes the role of president for 2009. Arnold is a principal with Miles & Stockbridge P.C. She holds an MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins.

About Women In Bio
Women in Bio is a national organization of professionals committed to fostering and encouraging entrepreneurship and career development of women active in the life science industry. WIB was founded in October 2001 by a group of dedicated women with the goal of bringing female entrepreneurs and executives together to support each other in developing successful biotechnology or life sciences businesses. Since its creation, the WIB membership has expanded to include women of all generations at all stages of their careers. Today, this vibrant national organization includes women executives, entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, students, and women in professional fields that serve the life sciences industry, all of whom share an interest in science and entrepreneurship. See http://www.womeninbio.org/

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Cybersecurity Must Be Priority of New Administration

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:28:00 GMT

Event date: 03/05/2009

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

March 5, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of many new initiatives proposed by the Obama administration, such as electronic health records and the e-government movement. A report by Thomas H. Stanton titled, “Defending Cyberspace: Protecting Individuals, Government Agencies and Private Companies Against Persistent and Evolving Threats,” outlines the seriousness of the issue of cybersecurity and makes recommendations for immediate action.

“Just as government was surprised by Hurricane Katrina and the financial crisis,” said Mr. Stanton, who is a fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for the Study of American Government, “it could be surprised by serious damage from cyberintrusions. But this time we may not know the scope of the damage until far too late. This report highlights that danger and urges that improved cybersecurity be a part of the president's priorities.”

Mr. Stanton developed the report from work at the Defending Cyberspace 2008 Conference in Washington, D.C., which convened cybersecurity experts, staff from Capitol Hill, academics, and a variety of stakeholders to share information about the growing threat of cyberattacks and cyberespionage in the United States and worldwide.

The report cites Business Week’s Keith Epstein, who “started writing a story on what he expected to be the ‘cyber-industry complex,’ contractors and policymakers who boosted each other’s fortunes by hyping the threat. As he explored further, Epstein realized that the opposite was true: business executives and federal policymakers are seriously underestimating the threat of cyber intrusions.”

In order for the country to build an effective defense against cyberintrusions, Mr. Stanton asserts that we must develop a culture of cybersecurity awareness. This includes evaluating the economics of cybersecurity, sharing threat information and best practices, requiring partners to meet key standards, and creating incentives for critical sectors to improve cybersecurity. “Even though we are struggling with the financial crisis,” he says, “we cannot afford to neglect this important issue.”

About the Author

Thomas H. Stanton is a Fellow of the Center for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins University, where he received the award for excellence in teaching. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former member of the federal Senior Executive Service. His publications include two books on government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), and two edited books on federal organization and management. Concerns expressed in A State of Risk: Will Government Sponsored Enterprises be the next Financial Crisis? (HarperCollins, 1991) helped lead to enactment of several pieces of legislation and the creation of a new GSE regulator. Mr. Stanton’s B.A. degree is from the University of California at Davis, M.A. from Yale University, and J.D. from the Harvard Law School. He is fluent in German and has conducted research in several countries. The National Association of Counties awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for his advocacy on behalf of the intergovernmental partnership.

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Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/ Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

Communication Student Starts New Company and Wins Competitive Award

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:25:00 GMT

Government Faculty Article on Chinese Dissidents Published in The Weekly Standard

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:31:00 GMT

Communication Faculty Member Places Op-Ed in PR Weekly

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:35:00 GMT

Event date: 01/28/2009

Communication program faculty member Monte Lutz has an op-ed in this week's edition of PR Week. It is based on a white paper he wrote called The Social Pulpit: Barack Obama's Social Media Toolkit.

You can find the white paper at Edelman Insights - http://tinyurl.com/socialpulpit

The op-ed is viewable at: http://www.prweekus.com/Obama-comms-tactics-signal-new-era/article/126339/ (log-in required).

Communication Alumn has Thesis Accepted at Conference

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:08:00 GMT

JHU Team Selected for Prestigious Kellog Biotech & Healthcare Case Competition

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Event date: 01/21/2009

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

January 22, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

A diverse team of Johns Hopkins students was selected on January 12 to compete in the Kellogg Biotech & Healthcare Case Competition. The team members are students in Johns Hopkins’ Master of Science in Biotechnology/MBA degree program offered jointly through the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs and the Carey Business School. The competition selection committee chose the Hopkins team based on members' professional and educational credentials.

"Our team consists of a scientist, an engineer, a biotechnology sales consultant, and a veterinarian who also holds a doctorate in cell and molecular biology," said team captain Steve Hertz, consumer safety officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “We also have various backgrounds working for corporate biotechnology firms, research and regulatory agencies, and academic laboratories. Each member has a unique skill set and expertise that is essential for cross-functional analysis of a business case study, especially in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors.”

It is the fifth year that Kellogg has presented this prestigious competition and teams were selected from what organizers describe as "far and away the most competitive field [they] have ever hosted," with teams applying from top schools across the globe.

"By competing in this highly regarded competition, our team seeks to introduce Johns Hopkins' unique MS in Biotechnology/MBA model to other programs from around the world," said Hertz. "In addition to networking with faculty and students from other biotechnology and business programs, we hope to foster relationships that will strengthen these communities."

The case will be sent to teams on Friday, January 23. Teams will have one week to draft and submit a business plan to competition organizers. Each team will present its plan on January 31 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Judges will evaluate the presentations for strategic thinking, clarity, enthusiasm, and analytical rigor.

"The high level of competition at this event is consistent with the level of knowledge and experience of our students, and we believe our JHU team will make a strong showing," said Dr. Lynn Johnson Langer, senior associate program chair and faculty advisor to the team.

Representatives from the competition’s sponsor, Genzyme – which is one of the world's leading biotechnology companies dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases – will provide a formal debriefing of the case at 5:00 p.m. Dinner and the award ceremony will take place from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. The top three teams will receive cash prizes ($5,000, $1,500 and $500). The first place winners will also get to meet Genzyme's CEO and top executives at its corporate office in Cambridge, Mass.

About the Johns Hopkins Team
Team Captain: Steve Hertz
Work Experience: FDA (Consumer Safety Officer (2008-Present); Human Genome Sciences (Process Control Engineer, 2004-2008)

Team Member: Nicholas Hand
Work Experience: Johns Hopkins University (Research Technologist, 2005-Present); European Synchrotron Research Facility (Research Technician, 2003); Abbot-Murex (Lab Technician, 2002)

Team member: Bharat Khurana, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Work Experience: Technical Resources International (Regulatory Compliance Specialist, 2007-Present); USUHS (Staff Scientist, 2006-2007); NIAID (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2006)

Team member: Oneal Puri
Work Experience: Biotechnology Business Consultant, (2007-Present); NIH (Robotic Specialist, 2003-2007); Bristol-Myers Squibb (R&D Scientist, 2001-2003)

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Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Speaks At Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:18:00 GMT

Event date: 12/15/2008

On December 3, 2008, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff spoke at Johns Hokins University's Washington DC Center to an audience of students and faculty. Secretary Chertoff addressed the goal and challenges faced by the agency during his tenure and beyond. The secretary also devoted time to answer several questions from students. Below is a transcript of the session.

REMARKS BY HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY MICHAEL CHERTOFF AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, thank you, Steven, for that kind introduction. I also want to thank Dr. Roth, Associate Director, and all of you for coming out to attend my remarks today. It’s great to be here at Johns Hopkins and particularly here in Washington as opposed to in Baltimore.

[Laughter.]

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Not that Baltimore is bad, just be a longer drive than what I had to do to come here.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you’re all looking forward to a Happy Holiday Season later this year.

Now, from my standpoint, as I look forward to the next year, of course a new Administration is taking office. One thing that means for me is that I will not have to live through another hurricane season. I’m used to spending the last four years over the summer, particularly in August when everybody else is kind of kicking back and thinking about how to best enjoy the summer holidays, I’m used to carefully watching the weather reports to see if a cyclone is forming somewhere in the Atlantic and the Caribbean which looks like it’s going to spoil my holiday and, of course, this past year, as is not uncommon, I spent much of my time during the summer down in the Gulf dealing with the anticipation of the hurricane and the aftermath of the hurricane.

But before I get into the meat of my speech, I want to make a couple of remarks on some related but distinct topics. First, I want to encourage all of you who are not already working at the Department of Homeland Security, and I know some of you are, to consider the department as a potential future career choice.

If you are motivated to help other people, if you’re motivated to defend the country, we have a very wide range of options, whether it’s working for Transportation Security, Customs and Border Protection, Science and Technology. I think if you look at what we do, almost any interest, whether it’s an analytic interest or an operational interest, can find a place at the Department of Homeland Security and a very meaningful mission, and as you listen to my remarks today, I think you’ll find perhaps some glimpse of what it is that we do.

Second, I’d like to take the opportunity to, before I get into the core of this speech, just look back a little bit and reflect on the last eight years and the presidency that is about to come to an end in January 20^th. I’ve been privileged to serve this president for six out of the past eight years, first for two years as head of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice where we dealt with 9/11 on September 11^th and during the months afterwards, and then during my four years as Secretary of Homeland Security. The only period in the last eight years I didn’t serve in the Administration was my two years as a federal judge.

I have to say that looking back on these eight years, as Director Davis said, it is quite remarkable that we haven’t been attacked. Now, I always touch wood, this is not really wood, it’s laminate but maybe that’s wood, because we’re not totally at the end yet, but I think we’ve gone far enough to say that, looking back on the record, it speaks volumes.

Now, when I say we haven’t been attacked, I should amend that. We haven’t been successfully attacked. We have been attacked. There have been efforts made to attack this country, whether it was the Shoe Bomber in December of 2001 or the August 2006 airline plot directed at airline flights from Britain to the United States or some of the other plots that you read about in the newspaper that are currently the subject of various trials, but the fact is none of these have been successful, and I don’t think that’s an accident. I think it is a direct result of policies that this president put into force and that this Administration implemented, whether it was reorganizing the intelligence community to taking action against the enemy overseas in the caves in Afghanistan and the laboratories in Afghanistan where they were planning their work, whether it was enacting the Patriot Act or putting into effect a system for detecting conversations among terrorists.

All of these things made a big difference in minimizing and reducing the risk of a successful attack. Had we not done these things, had we shrugged our shoulders and said, boy, that was a really bad attack on September 11^th, let’s empanel a grand jury and indict a few people, I’m pretty confident there would have been attacks successfully again and again and again, and I think, as we contemplate the last eight years and there’s certainly been a lot of criticism about things in hindsight that people would have done differently, I do think that you have to reflect on a surpassing achievement of this president which is keeping the country safe.

I also have to say that the president, whether you agree or disagree with every decision he made, has done so with the interests of the country at heart and in a manner that upholds what I think is the honor and dignity of the office.

But let me now turn to the core of what I want to talk about which is how we manage the kinds of crises at the Department of Homeland Security that emerge or that might emerge from time to time. Of course, a most common crisis we’ve had over the last eight years has been a natural disaster because we haven’t had a successful terrorist attack since September 11^th, and this past year, as I indicated, was another year of substantial natural disaster activity, whether it was the wildfires in the Fall of 2007 in California, an unprecedented flooding in the Midwest along parts of the Mississippi River in Iowa and other places, tornadoes in the Midwest, and, of course, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike. All of these posed enormous challenges to the local populations and to the Federal Government.

In each of these cases over the last year, the point of the spear and the federal response supporting local and state government was the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, and I believe in each of these cases, it’s generally acknowledged FEMA acquitted itself very well. That’s, however, not merely a tribute to a lot of the rebuilding work that’s been done with FEMA but it had a lot to do with partnership, partnership with state and local authorities with whom we have planned and worked over the past few years, partnership with our own law enforcement personnel, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Air Marshals from TSA and Screening Officers from TSA, all of whom have come to work to support FEMA in doing the job of providing a federal voice and a federal capability when people in states and localities are in distress.

Just to give you some examples, Customs and Border Protection provided security for the transit of life-sustaining goods in many of these disasters and also provided aerial assets that allowed us to survey the damage. TSA supported 20 FEMA commodity distribution locations in the area of Harris County, which is where Houston is, in Texas, putting 366 employees into the field, doing not their normal day job but supporting FEMA by providing hands and boots to distribute food to people in need. Our Coast Guard performed myriad land, maritime and air search and rescue missions.

So in each of the cases that FEMA was maybe the best-known example of DHS acting in support of disaster relief, FEMA was supported by all of the elements and all of the powers of the Department of Homeland Security, and I think there are three lessons that come out of this last year in terms of the way we worked.

First, when it comes to any kind of an incident, crisis incident, whether it’s a natural disaster or a manmade disaster, planning and preparation are the essential precondition of doing a good job. Gustav was a result of years of planning with the state and local authorities and the ability to make sure, even when an unexpected event occurred, that we were able to improvise because we had a sound foundation in terms of our ability to have a plan and to have trained and exercised the plan.

Second great lesson from 2008 is what I call the three Cs: cooperation, communication, and coordination, which at all levels of government are essential if we are to respond effectively to a disaster.

And finally at the federal level, I daresay that the integration of our preparedness and response functions under a single roof, the Department of Homeland Security, has been a major contributor to the ability of FEMA and all of the other agencies to get together and make sure that we were able to provide a very sound and effective response capability in, whether it be fire, water or wind, natural disasters across the country.

Now, why am I bringing this up? Because, as we go into the transition, I do see there are some who call for the removal of FEMA from the Department of Homeland Security, and I think I want to take this issue on directly because it has arisen, it arose before the department was formed, it’s arisen, I think, throughout the department’s existence, and it has now, of course, a subject of some discussion again.

I begin by observing, of course, that FEMA is -- that DHS is a young organization. It’s a little over five years old and even in this five years, there’s been a lot of reorganization. But the core of the argument made about FEMA is that somehow FEMA’s involved with consequence management, dealing with the response, and DHS, in other respects, is dealing with preventing or protecting against a response, and that if these are different functions, that therefore they ought to be under different roofs, and I really beg to differ with that. I think that is a profound misunderstanding of how one plans and prepares and executes in the face of a possible emergency and an actual emergency because the truth is emergencies don’t come neatly packaged in stovepipes and if there’s any lesson we’ve learned in dealing with terrorism or dealing with any other crisis, it is that stove-piping is the enemy of efficient and effective response.

Let me be more specific. The fact that FEMA and other components of DHS have had an opportunity during times of rest to plan, train and exercise together and to build capabilities that are capable of crossing jurisdictional lines has allowed us to have the kind of capabilities to support an emergency that would not be the case if we were in different departments.

Simply put, what we do is when we get our communications equipment on our aircraft, we train our operators whose day job is perhaps patrolling the border or dealing with maritime incidents with the Coast Guard, we train them to support a response if the need for response comes upon us. You could not do that if we were located in different departments. So the ability to plan, train and exercise together is a function of our ability to be integrated together.

A second reason why FEMA fits well in the department is because, once we have an event and it’s necessary to quickly call upon other agencies, the quickest way to do that not by reaching to another department of government and having a mission assignment and requiring the other department to then come in and lend assistance, but it’s to have the ability of the Secretary to immediately order assistance to be rendered in all of the elements and capabilities of the entire Department of Homeland Security. This is not merely my opinion. Two people in a position to know because they’ve watched the department since its formation and because they were responsible for its creation in significant part have also endorsed this view.

Citing FEMA’s successful response this year to a number of disasters, the current U.S Senate Homeland Security Chairman, Senator Joe Lieberman, and the Ranking Member, Senator Susan Collins, had this to say in a joint letter they published in yesterday’s New York Times, actually today’s New York Times: Supporting FEMA’s Continued Participation as Part of DHS. “Lives are saved when skills, resources and missions are united, not disbursed.”

This, by the way, is a lesson we’ve learned in national security. When the Department of Defense was first created, you know, the Navy didn’t want to be in it, the Marine Corps didn’t want to be in it, the Army didn’t want to be in it. Everybody viewed it as a diminution of their traditional prerogative as a stand-alone department, and they resisted the full integration of the department all the way into the late 1970s, when the consequence of failure to integrate was, of course, a disastrous result in Desert 1, the failed effort to rescue the hostages during the Carter Administration, and it was as a direct result of that that the Goldwater-Nichols Act in the next decade cemented a quality of jointness that brought all the elements of power together, and what we’re learning now, by the way, is increasingly that in our foreign activities, our national security activities, we need greater integration between the warfighter and the rebuilder than we’ve had before, and I would argue that, just as we’re learning that lesson overseas, we should not be unlearning it here at home.

Finally, I observe this. Many of those who argue that FEMA ought to be pulled out of the department do so because their vision is that, where FEMA is about natural disasters and hurricanes and not terrorism and that’s what the rest of DHS is about. But need I remind you that one of the critical elements, if there were a serious terrorist attack, would be the need to have an effective response and a response not to a weather event but a response perhaps to a dirty bomb or multiple improvised explosive devices or a biological weapon, and in order to have that capability, FEMA needs to continue to be a consumer of intelligence and expertise that the entire department brings to the issue of combating terrorism.

But let me stand back even from the narrower issue of FEMA’s participation in the department and look more generally at the role of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security as the incident manager when there’s an incident that cuts across agency lines and has national implications.

When DHS was created and shortly after it was created, the president issued a Homeland Security Directive known as HSPD-5 which put the Secretary in the position of the operational incident manager in the case of a terrorist attack or natural disaster of significant consequence. The purpose of doing this was to recognize that while the White House guides policy, the operational planning, training and execution needs to be in a department and the conception was that the Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t control the other departments but that there would be someone who would be saddled with a central responsibility to make sure all of the components of the operators were being synchronized and working well together.

This is, of course, a reflection of what they call the Incident Management System which has been adopted in many states as their way of dealing with incidents at the state level. It’s a recognition of the fact that again crisis management and consequence management are part of a spectrum, that when you’re dealing with a potential terrorist attack, for example, you are simultaneously looking at how you prevent further attacks, how do you protect against the attacks that are underway, and how do you respond and mitigate the attacks that have occurred. If you don’t bring all these elements together, what you have is a disconnected response and it’s that kind of disconnection that causes the kinds of problems that are often complained about when there’s a terrorist attack and a failure to effectively respond.

That is really, in my mind, one of the core missions of the Department of Homeland Security. What happens when you don’t have someone to coordinate the incident across the entire spectrum of prevention, protection and response? Well, I would argue that that’s what we saw in Mumbai, India. Again, this is not my opinion. This is what was reflected in the Wall Street Journal a couple days ago when they wrote about a lack of communication between the fire responders and the emergency responders, the police and the military dealing in the hours and then days after that initial assault in Mumbai.

The failure to coordinate all of those elements led to delay and uncoordination and resulted in criticism directed against the government by the citizens of India itself. This is not again my opinion. I’m not commenting. I wasn’t there. This is what the papers are reporting the citizens of India have indicated. What you come to recognize is without the kind of incident management and coordination that we are building at DHS, joint planning, joint execution, cutting across the lines of the different operators, without that kind of capability, it’s easier to have a disconnected response than to have a coordinated and properly connected response.

Now let me give you some examples of what happens when we do do it the right way, when we do have properly coordinated response on an operational basis. In July 2006, you may recall that there were questions about the safety of Americans living in Lebanon during the war between Hezbollah and Israel. Working in a coordinated way with CBP and TSA and the State Department, using this incident management construct, DHS was able to facilitate the repatriation of Americans who had to leave Lebanon literally under the stress of fire fights in order to make sure they were not engulfed in the struggle between Hezbollah and Israel.

A month later, in August 2006, when the U.K. aviation plot directed at flights from Britain to the U.S. was revealed, we were able to coordinate TSA, again the State Department, Defense, and Customs and Border Protection, in a concerted response so that we could, within less than eight hours, completely transform the way we dealt with flights and airline security to prevent any element of that airline plot from coming to fruition.

And to use a different example, in June 2007, we had two successive emergencies that were resolved through incident management. One was a scare that turned out to be unfounded that we might have foot and mouth disease that had entered the country through swine. For those of you who don’t know, that is a potentially calamitous livestock disease. DHS and its components worked with the Department of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center to immediately assess whether this was a terrorist incident, to develop a common situational picture of what was going on, and to swiftly determine that the matter was not a threat. Had it been a threat, we would have then put into effect certain protocols at the border and certain medical protocols which would have mitigated the damage.

A day after we resolved that problem, we had the London and Glasgow terrorist attacks, culminating in the effort to blow up the airport in Glasgow, and we were again able to coordinate a response with Customs and Border Protection the Transportation Security Administration, and other elements of national power. That is the essence of incident management the ability to wield a lot of different organizations and bring them together to work in a coordinated way, and I think that is the harvesting of the seeds that were planted when this department was first founded.

So, in conclusion, always welcome words to those who are listening to a speaker, as we look ahead to the challenges of the future, I believe that we have built a firm foundation in incident management and in integration with the department, a foundation that was, I believe, part of the original conception by those who framed this department.

Now, it’s not a fully-built and polished structure. We’ve laid out the basic architecture and I believe and I’m confident my successors will continue to strengthen and elaborate on this structure in a way that will ultimately result in making this country safer. No disaster is ever going to be painless and easy. That’s why they call it a disaster and not a picnic. But we can make it less difficult, less costly, and, most important, less deadly if we are able to respond quickly, effectively, and in a coordinated way, in the manner that I think we’ve become able to do over the last several years, and so I wish my successors well as they continue to carry out the most important mission you can have as a public servant, which is protecting the citizens of this country against any kind of harm, whether it be manmade or natural.

Thank you very much.

[Applause.]

DR. DAVIS: The Secretary has generously agreed to spend some more time with us taking some of your questions. So you can show him by hands.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: If you would just tell us who you are, that’d be helpful.

DR. DAVIS: Josh?

QUESTION: I’m Josh. I have a question about what responsibility the Department of Homeland Security has with respect to cyber threats.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: That’s a great question. Earlier this year, the president unveiled a National Cyber Security Strategy and it was a recognition that many of the cyber assets that are under attack are in private hands. A significant number are in the military domain and others are in the civilian government domain.

Essentially under this strategy, again there’s a coordination function. We work with DoD and elements of the intelligence community. First, the Department of Defense protects its assets. We are currently in the process of developing a series of protections for our federal civilian government assets, including reducing the number of access points to the Internet and deploying real-time intrusion detection capability, and then we are also tasked with approaching the private sector about how it is that we can help enable them to protect themselves, and in order to do this, we will be able to call upon all the elements of the federal government, including the intelligence community.

So again, this is an area where it is not solely within our domain. It’s a shared obligation but one in which we work very closely with the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies so we can bring all of our capabilities together but everybody plays the position in the field that is appropriate for their authorities.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Do you recommend the next Administration continue the UASI Grant Program as the primary means of getting federal Homeland Security dollars to states?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, it’s not the primary means but it is a primary means. I do recommend that it be continued. For those who don’t know, it’s the Urban Area Security Initiative. It focuses on urban areas which are particularly high-risk for terrorist attacks. It has been largely risk-based. It’s one of the few grant programs I’m aware of in the federal government where it really is risk-based. It’s not based on, you know, particular political figures, you know, handing out benefits to their district.

I want to, by the way, take the opportunity to compliment the appropriators who deal with our appropriations because they’ve been quite responsible and dedicated in making sure they protected our ability to be risk-based and they’ve done themselves a lot of credit and I think the country a lot of good in being disciplined that way.

QUESTION: I know it’s not really within the department’s jurisdiction, I guess, but I was wondering if there’s any specific kind of soft power initiatives you believe that we can start -- begin to incorporate as part of changing the attitudes and improving our homeland security.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, let me tell you what we do already, first within the department and then generally.

I’ve done a lot of -- I spend a lot of time trying to do outreach to people in the Muslim community and I know that other agencies of the government are trying to do that as well. One of the greatest ways we can do outreach, of course, is by providing foreign assistance and aid around the world. You know, the president has put a lot of effort into the Anti-AIDS Initiative in Africa, the Malaria Initiative. You know, I can’t prove to you there’s an immediate return on investment in doing that, but I believe, and I think there’s some polling data to support this, that when you provide that kind of assistance, you build goodwill.

I’m a believer in what I would call all of the above, hard power and soft power. Soft power means you influence by leading by example, by showing how you are willing to help people and helping them build good institutions which I think is important. Hard power is obviously sometimes boots and guns.

I think it’s a mistake to use only hard power. I also think, though, that only soft power is not going to do the trick because there are some people that you need to make it clear, to whom we need to make it clear that force will be met by greater and decisive force, and so I think all the tools in the toolbox ought to be deployed.

QUESTION: In light of recent issues with imports as far as the milk, formula milk and things like that, do you see the department kind of taking more initiative in what kind of efforts you see as far as protecting consumers?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, we actually were part of the task force the president set up some time ago involving the issue of imports which, of course, came up right after that pet food issue with the melamine.

Now, we’re not the scientists. We take direction from the FDA and other agencies about what it is we ought to be excluding, but we are the operators. We will in fact inspect and exclude food or other products that are hazardous to the United States, once the appropriate scientists have determined that that’s true.

I think this is an increasing area of concern in a global environment. How do we make sure that the products that we consume are not adulterated or dangerous in some way? In the end, of course, the best way to deal with this is at the source, not to hope that we catch it at the port of entry but to hope that we can effect the source where the contamination occurs, and I think that’s part of what Secretary Levitz tried to do at HHS, which is to push the companies to take responsibility and make sure when they’re buying things in other parts of the world, they’re checking to make sure the product is safe and wholesome.

QUESTION: I have a question. You discussed integrating different elements of Homeland Security apparatus within the country. Do you feel that the creation of DHS has helped integrate or to help cooperation with other governments in tackling these problems and do you believe there was a problem before the creation before DHS that this has addressed?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, I can certainly say it’s helped. Most governments actually have what is generally in most countries called a Minister of the Interior which is unlike our Secretary of the Interior which in other countries is called usually the Secretary of the Environment. But the Minister of the Interior or Home Secretary in most countries is my counterpart and the relationship we have built in terms of border security, exchange of travel information and trade information and other kinds of intelligence has been, I think, a real success story certainly during my tenure.

We have signed a number of agreements with our foreign counterparts that have dramatically increased the amount of information we exchange, that coordinate our security efforts, whether it’s aircraft or maritime, the maritime domain, and in that sense, we have -- by bringing together all the elements that deal with travel and trade security, airline security, border security, we have been a coordinated point of contact for many countries where we didn’t have a counterpart previously, and I think that’s been very helpful.

QUESTION: Yes, sir. I’m in the private sector, in the oil and gas sector. Thirteen MTSA facilities and six ports and we’ve had the pleasure of working with the Coast Guard over the past number of years and we really think that they’ve been a model for the public and private sector trust and partnership, and I was just wondering what you see as the growing role of the Coast Guard on the prevention and preparation for a terrorist attack.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, obviously the Coast Guard plays a huge role in the maritime domain in terms of prevention and protection.

It might be interesting, though, to -- for people to understand that the Coast Guard has actually become a very important part of the DNA of the whole department. It’s not an accident that many of the senior leaders in other parts of the department are retired Coast Guard admirals because the Coast Guard does have a terrific record of being able to integrate law enforcement, military and civilian functions in a total package. So not only is the Coast Guard playing a critical role in port security, working in very close contact with Customs and Border Protection, but they’re actually a major enabler in terms of our integrated planning and operational activity at the department as a whole.

DR. DAVIS: There was another one back there.

QUESTION: I read this morning in the papers that you’re --

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Always a dangerous lead-up to a question.

[Laughter.]

QUESTION: Your views on soft power, the necessity of soft power in the Department of Homeland Security have come about in the last six months or have been shaped in the last six months, and I’m curious what -- what sort of shaped those thoughts.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: I think it’s more than in the last six months, as we’ve emerged out of the period of really focusing very intently on building our operational capabilities and doing the immediate focus on protecting the country in the shorter term, I’ve had an opportunity to reflect a little bit and I’m not so sure I’d exactly say I realized it in the last six months as I decided in the last six months I would begin to articulate a somewhat broader and more long-term vision of what we might do in order to prevail in this struggle against what I think is an extreme ideology or a number of extreme ideologies and so although we’ve been doing a lot of outreach, which is an element of soft power, for a couple of years now, I think my desire to articulate it as a specific goal really came about as part of my effort in the last six months to kind of lay out in a series of speeches and, frankly, articles my vision of what Homeland Security is like five and 10 years out.

QUESTION: Hi. My name is Stephanie Grosser. I was wondering if you felt the workplace enforcement has been an effective way of dealing with the undocumented population and also if you think that undocumented workers with civil violations was a real threat to the country and therefore demand the kinds of resources.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, I don’t think undocumented workers are a security threat. I do think that the law of the United States needs to be enforced and I think if you don’t enforce the law, even in less serious crimes, it tends to lead actually to more serious crimes.

I’m on the record and I continue to believe that there should be comprehensive immigration reform which includes a way of regularizing getting a fine, some kind of punishment for people here illegally, and then regularizing their status. That, however, is not the law. The president worked very hard to get that done in 2007 and it didn’t get done.

On the specific issue of worksite enforcement, it’s beyond doubt that by enforcing the law against employers, that’s a major way to prevent illegal work. If you don’t do that, then the employers are beckoning people to come in illegally while you’re trying to stop them at the border. So it’s like driving a car with one foot on the accelerator and one foot on the brake. You’re not going anywhere.

So once you decide you’re going to enforce against the employers, you have to ask yourself this question. Okay. If we go in to an employer and we say we’re going to arrest you because we know 80 percent of your employees are illegal and you let every illegal employee just walk out the door and walk away, aren’t you essentially sending the message that you’re tolerating illegality? You’re basically allowing people who you know to be here illegally to simply walk out without deporting them? And that would be tantamount to going in and, you know, if you were, for example, to arrest people involved in some other kind of criminal offense, you might want to get the kingpin, but you wouldn’t allow everybody else who did something wrong to just walk out the door and disappear because that would essentially be creating a tacit amnesty which I think sends a very bad message.

Then, of course, once you decide you’re going to stop those people and if they’re illegal, you’re going to get them deported, the next question I get asked is, well, why don’t you just -- why do you have to arrest them? Why don’t you just release them and they’ll operate on the honor system and they’ll leave by themselves? Well, the problem is the honor system has failed 80 percent of the time. Eighty percent of the people released and told they should appear don’t appear.

So in the end, you’re faced with the fact that if you’re going to enforce the law and you become aware that you’re dealing with a large pool of people who are here illegally, you can’t really turn a blind eye to it and I think that’s why it is that we do enforcement that goes from the very top to the very bottom, and in almost every case, unless we have an identity theft, what we’re really doing with people who are here illegally is we’re deporting them.

I have to say it does have a positive effect in terms of reducing the number of people who are not only here illegally but, more important, it reduces the draw because when people weigh whether they want to take the risk of crossing the border illegally, the feeling that they may be caught and sent away is a deterrent effect. It also has the deterrent effect on the employers and remember this. You’re not reading about cases where we go in and five percent of the employees are illegal or 10 percent are illegal or we’re randomly going into businesses and just checking to see. You’re typically seeing cases where 60-70-80 percent are illegal. Well, that tells you this is not an accident. It’s a business model and you have businesses that have made a calculated decision to hire illegals.

Finally, I would have to say if you look at maybe the most notorious recent case or famous recent case, which is the Kosher meat processor, it turned out that what was revealed through that series of raids was not just illegal workers but exploitation of workers, labor violations, health violations, and that’s again not an accident. You know, those who build a business on illegal workers tend to also try to get away with other things as well.

So it’s not the most pleasant thing in the world, but when people violate the law, we have an obligation, unless the law is adjusted, to enforce it, and I think if we don’t do that, the American people will rightfully say why should we trust the government with any kind of reform when all that’s going to happen is they’re going to close their eyes and they’re not going to enforce the law and we’re going to continue to have the same problem over and over and over again like the movie “Groundhog Day?”

QUESTION: Can you speak a little bit about the department’s efforts to regulate the chemical sector and its importance to do so?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Yes, that’s a great question. One of the big concerns early on is the use of not just the chemical weapon, like a weapon that you build with chemicals and you attack, but using chemical plants in locations that are populated as essentially a weapon in place.

So there’s been a lot of discussion about this over the last several years and the approach we took, which I think is correct, is to identify all the chemical plants that use hazardous chemicals and tier them by risk, by how dangerous they are and where they’re located, and then on the higher-risk ones, to set down a series of performance requirements, not micro managing and saying you have to have nine guards at this gate and you have to have a fence that’s 13 and a half feet high, but saying here’s the capability that you need to be able to have, resisting a certain kind of attack for a certain period of time, and then allowing the plants to devise or design the plan to meet those metrics. They then get tested or audited, but it gives them the flexibility to decide what is the best way to achieve the performance requirement that we are imposing.

I think that’s a great example of combining the private sector and the public sector. We don’t micro manage the private sector but we do lay down requirements and we give them the opportunity to meet those requirements as they best see fit.

QUESTION: First of all, I just wanted to thank you for coming to speak. I know it’s late and you probably want to get home, but my question is simple. How has the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security helped mitigate the drug trade, particularly the cartels bringing the substances across the southern border?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, part of what we do at the border, of course, is not just keeping out human smuggling but keeping out drug smuggling and actually there’s been a decrease in some of the drugs moving across the southern border and more of them moved to bringing drugs in other ways or sending the drugs to Europe, at least in part because we’ve made it harder to cross the border.

You know, one of the -- when I get arguments about why are you building a fence and stuff like that on the southern border, one of the things I point out is we’re not just keeping out people who are coming in to work illegally or keeping out people who are smuggling drugs or other contraband into the country and the integration of the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection has given us an ability to address the importation of drugs across all of our borders, land, sea and air, which is an important element in making sure we’re working to reduce the supply that comes in.

DR. DAVIS: In the back.

QUESTION: Hi. Thanks. I’m wondering how do you -- how serious do you perceive the threat of Iran’s increasing presence in Latin America? Thanks.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, we do know that Mr. Chavez has invited the Iranians into Venezuela and increasingly has created stronger ties with Iran. We know going back about 10 years ago, based on an indictment in, I believe it was, Argentina, that Hezbollah actually carried out terrorist attacks in South America. We know that there’s been fundraising for Hezbollah which is a terrorist organization in South America.

So the concern obviously is bringing in a country that is certainly hostile to the U.S. into the hemisphere, that increases the risk of fundraising, it increases the risk of potentially facilitation of terrorist attacks, and it creates a network or an alliance of countries that are -- have in common a hostility to America. So it is a troubling development in much the same way I think, you know, maybe less troubling but also certainly worth watching, is the increasing presence of Russian forces in the hemisphere which, to my mind, is a bit of an effort to kind of shove back at us because of some unhappiness with the expansion of NATO into areas of Eastern Europe that were formerly viewed as in the province of the old Soviet Union.

DR. DAVIS: One more in the back.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I’ve been to several conferences and heard about a robust planning capability at the Headquarters level and it’s called the INPT. I’m wondering if you can comment on the team and what advice you might give your successor on how to build on that team.

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: This -- until this department was formed, interagency planning on the civilian side was not a very well-executed responsibility. The military spent a lot of time over many years developing a joint planning capability. The civilian side did not really have that and when I came onboard and we looked at the plans that we had, they tended to be very vague and not really all that well thought out and to be honest with you, the evidence of that -- I think I gave a speech saying that in July of 2005 and then, unfortunately, it was proven to be the case in August with Hurricane Katrina.

The only way to deal with that problem is to build a planning capability that brings interagency people together to build interagency plans and then to support them with department plans and the INPT, Integrated Planning Team, is designed to do that and it is in the process of planning and refining a set of plans on the interagency basis for dealing with the most dangerous reasonably likely scenarios where there would be a catastrophic problem, whether it be a dirty bomb or a pandemic flu or a huge like earthquake, and this is -- you know, I tell you, planning is really hard. It’s time-consuming. It requires a lot of people from different agencies to play together and that’s not always easy, and it takes a lot of testing and refining, and it’s not the most glamorous work because it doesn’t result in immediate things you can -- you know, you have a press conference to show, but it is the critical foundation of effective managing of any incident and so it’s taken us awhile to build this capability.

It is really critical, for my successor’s sake, that she continue building this because, you know, when you’re in -- the emergency happens and you turn and you want to open the drawer and pull the plans out, there better be plans there and, you know, I at least had the benefit of, after several years of experience, I’ve listed through a lot of different kinds of things, but as new people come on, having a good plan is a critical element in getting them up to speed as quickly as possible.

QUESTION: I guess I had a question about leadership and making difficult decisions, and as you talked about a lot about government and making difficult decisions, so maybe you could just pick an area as an example and again these are types of decisions where no matter which way you decide people are going to disagree with you. So as a leader, how do you deal with that, and one particular example is activities under the Patriot Act where people portrayed this as a trade-off between security and privacy, and they’re very difficult questions? Do you have sort of guiding principles that you used to apply in those situations and how do you think about that?

SECRETARY CHERTOFF: Well, that’s a very perceptive question because you’re right, the essence of leadership is you’re going to make difficult decisions and by definition that means some people are going to be unhappy. Very few decisions are so obvious and easy that you get unanimous acclaim.

The Patriot Act, I actually think is actually not a particularly hard circumstance. A lot of people don’t really understand what it says and it’s basically a question of information-sharing and adjusting the ability to collect intelligence in terrorism so that it’s commensurate with what we could already do with respect to drugs and other kinds of crimes.

I’ll pick another example. Requiring, you know, secure documentation to cross a border. The people in the border areas are unhappy about that. They’re afraid it’s going to discourage impulse travel because people will need to carry a document with them, like a passport or passcard, but we know in the long run, if you don’t secure the border, we could have another Ahkmed Rasan or another terrorist come across the border pretending to be somebody else and there could be a huge catastrophic loss of life in the U.S.

So in many ways, the essence of leadership is to me looking at the long-term interests of the country and the interests that benefit the greatest good and being prepared to make a decision in the long-term interests that benefits the greatest good, even if, in the short term, the people who are on the other side of it are going to be the most outraged because typically a small number of people who lose the decision are very motivated to complain and often it’s based on a very short-term interest and it’s hard to say because the people who are benefiting in the long term may not see the benefit, they may not see it in your term of office, they may never see it, maybe we’ll be lucky, maybe no one will ever try to commit a terrorist act, but if you don’t plan for the long term and the greatest good, you take an awful risk.

I would say that one of the lessons I’ve learned, maybe “the” lesson I learned in the last eight years is we’ve had three major catastrophic events, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the financial meltdown. In each case, the real nub of the problem was leaders made decisions looking only at the short term and sacrificing the long term. What do I mean? Prior to 9/11, although there was a lot of discussion about the need to have more security, we didn’t have the political will as a country to put security measures in place that would have prevented 9/11. I don’t blame this on either party. I don’t blame it on the presidents. The country wasn’t there. If one of the presidents had said let’s have TSA search everybody prior to 9/11, they would have been laughed off the stage. That’s an example of short term versus long term.

Katrina. Here’s a little-known but remarkable story. The reason that became a major catastrophic flood was not the hurricane itself, it was the collapse of a canal wall in the 17^th Street Canal. That wall collapsed because when the lake receded from the initial wind thrust, it went down to the south part of the lake and it became channeled into that narrow canal and that put hydraulic pressure on the wall and caused the collapse. So there’s an obvious question. Why didn’t you build a barrier at the mouth of the canal you could drop so you could prevent the surge and that’s what we’ve done now. In Gustav, it actually dropped and it worked perfectly well.

So I asked the question, why didn’t that get done before 2005? Did no one think about it? Oh, people thought about it. There was a proposal to build just such a barrier several years before. But local residents didn’t want it because it was going to be unsightly and it was going to spoil their view of the lake and no one had the political will to overrule them and that to me is a classical lesson of short term over long term.

Finally, look at the financial crisis. This is one of the few crises that’s not in my domain but again you have to ask yourself whether the failure to impose capital requirements and other regulation to protect against the low-probability/high-consequence event was a failure as well of our financial institutions and again that’s not looking at the long term, it’s looking at the short term.

So I would argue the essence of leadership is to be willing to look to a long-term solution, even if there’s a short-term cost.

The last thing I would say as an example of this is, you know, when the president came onboard, he tried very hard to get people to look at entitlements, the ballooning Social Security Medicare, which, you know, we all get older and particularly when you guys get older, the number of people who are working who can pay into that fund is going to be much less than is necessary to support that fund if we don’t do something about it.

You know, Congress didn’t want to step up and deal with it because that’s 15 years from now. That’s 20 years from now. That’s a long-term problem. There are many, many short-term requirements that people would prefer to pay attention to. So that to me is -- if you -- after this speech, if you come away with nothing other than this, it is we’ve got to stop letting short-term benefits outweigh long-term, much more significant costs. We’ve got to align our interests so that we look across the time horizon and think about what’s going to happen 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

DR. DAVIS: I think that’s a phenomenal place for us to stop. So please join me in thanking Secretary Chertoff.

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Johns Hopkins University Launches Policy-Driven Website, "America's 44th President: On the Issues"

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:52:00 GMT

Event date: 11/26/2008

JHU LAUNCHES POLICY-DRIVEN WEBSITE, "AMERICA'S 44TH PRESIDENT: ON THE ISSUES"
Website offers insight into the new administration and gives visitors an opportunity to voice opinions

November 12, 2008 -- Johns Hopkins' Master of Arts in Government Program and the SAIS Center on Politics & Foreign Relations launched a new website (http://government.jhu.edu/new-president) today that presents the new President-elect Barack Obama and his views on key foreign policy issues of the day. The site also looks at the new President-elect and his views on health care and his evolving domestic agenda.

AMERICA’S 44TH PRESIDENT looks at the key staffers with Obama, his family, his biography, and What’s In and What’s Out in the upcoming Obama-Biden administration. The site offers advice to the new president from political and business leaders, as well as from Johns Hopkins students and the average citizen.

Johns Hopkins students and other visitors can send their comments to the website and voice their opinions about the articles. This virtual magazine is an ongoing interactive venture that will continue to chronicle the Obama-Biden administration as it approaches inauguration, and beyond.

Student Named "Budding PR Leader" By PR News

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:04:00 GMT

Lemann and Clendinen Named Visiting Writers in Writing Program

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Event date: 11/19/2008

Novelist Nancy Lemann and author and essayist Dudley Clendinen have been named Spring 2009 visiting writers in the Master of Arts in Writing Program, the program has announced..

Lemann, author of five critically acclaimed books, will teach a Fiction Workshop in Washington. Clendinen, currently on a national tour for his second nonfiction book, will teach a Nonfiction Workshop at Homewood.

New Orleans native Lemann has a B.A. from Brown University and an MFA from Columbia University. Her novels are: Lives of the Saints, (Knopf, 1985), Sportsman's Paradise (Knopf, 1992), The Fiery Pantheon (Scribner, 1998), and Malaise (Scribner, 2002.) The Ritz of the Bayou (Knopf, 1987) is a nonfiction account of the racketeering trial of Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards in New Orleans. Lemann has published excerpts and articles in many publications, including Esquire, Elle, New Republic, Oxford American, Slate, and New York Observer. She has taught at The Writer's Voice at the West Side Y in New York, and, since 2004, at The Writer’s Center in Bethesda. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Lemann's Fiction Workshop (490.662.51) will meet on Thursday evenings at the Washington Center.

A former national correspondent and editorial writer for The New York Times, Clendinen has written for many publications, including The New Yorker, CQ, Men's Health, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine. He is the author of A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America (Viking, 2008) and co-author, with Adam Nagourney, of Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America (Simon & Schuster, 1999.) He also authored the text for a 1988 book, Homeless in America, and he edited a book of essays on the South the same year.

Clendinen’s writing has been widely anthologized, and he has appeared on dozens of radio and TV shows, including “The Charlie Rose Show,” “Good Morning America,” and NPR's “All Things Considered.” He has lectured at the Neiman Center and Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Johns Hopkins, West Virginia University, Towson University, and elsewhere. He has a B.A. in history from Vanderbilt University and lives in Baltimore.

Clendinen's Nonfiction Workshop (490.672.01) will meet on Thursdays this spring at the Homewood Campus.

Writing Faculty Authors Column in USA Today

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:26:00 GMT

Johns Hopkins 'Building a Biotech Bridge to China'

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Event date: 10/22/2008

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

October 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

Graduate students and instructors from Peking University (PKU) visited the Johns Hopkins University’s master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs program on September 29th to broaden their understanding of bioscience product development, quality assurance, and international regulatory affairs.

“The goal of the visit was to address China’s manufacture of biopharmaceuticals for export to the U.S. and the approval requirements of the Food and Drug Administration,” said Lynn Johnson Langer, associate program chair of the master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs program. “As we strengthen this relationship with Peking University, we will effectively be building a biotech bridge to China that creates greater understanding of international regulation and product development in a global marketplace.”

The visitors are part of PKU’s international pharmaceutical engineering management program and the meeting served to expand a relationship between the two schools that began when Langer traveled to China in 2006 to discuss mutually beneficial education opportunities between the two universities.

During their visit, PKU students attended two lectures by Johns Hopkins instructors at the university’s Montgomery County Campus. First, Nancy Karaskiewicz spoke about “Quality by Design.” Then, Ning Li, a team leader in the FDA’s Office of Surveillance and Biostatistics, gave a lecture in Chinese about online education, citing content from his own online course at Johns Hopkins. The students also toured the offices of the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Pharmacopeia.

Langer has returned to China since 2006 to guest lecture about Johns Hopkins’ part-time, online graduate programs in biotechnology, and two lecturers from PKU have since guest lectured at Johns Hopkins. Representatives from the two universities are now discussing opportunities for joint online lectures, utilizing a virtual classroom, to create a unified educational experience.

According to Langer, as a result of the meeting, PKU faculty will guest lecture next spring in a Johns Hopkins online course titled, “Marketing in a Regulated Environment.”

About Johns Hopkins’ Master of Science in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs
In a market of expanding drug and product development and the need to comply with federal and state regulations, companies and federal agencies report an increasing need for trained professionals educated in bioscience regulatory affairs. To meet this need, Johns Hopkins offers a master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs program that taps the expertise of professionals from the federal government, industry, and academia.

About Peking University’s Master’s Degree in International Pharmaceutical Engineering Management
In July 2006, Peking University announced a new master’s degree program in international pharmaceutical engineering management, which is dedicated to quality management and regulatory science. This program is the result of close collaboration between Peking University and FDA. The long-term goal of this program is to accelerate the modernization of China’s pharmaceutical industry, as well as to provide the basis for a satisfying professional career with success and accomplishment for graduates.

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Podcast: MA in Communication Faculty, Adam Segal, watching two key developments in this year's presidential campaign: outreach to Hispanic voters and increased use of interactive technology to market candidates

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:04:00 GMT

MA in Government Faculty Quoted in CNN article on Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Takeover

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:24:00 GMT

Johns Hopkins Launches Online Certificate In Geographic Information Systems

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:10:00 GMT

Event date: 08/29/2008

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION

901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540

Baltimore, MD 21231

Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

September 2, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Ken Schappelle

(202) 452-1910

kschappelle@jhu.edu

Students anywhere in the world can now earn a certificate in geographic information systems (GIS) by taking courses online from The Johns Hopkins University. GIS allows users to collect and interpret data that are displayed as maps, reports, and charts in order to reveal spatial relationships, patterns, and trends.

The online certificate, offered by the university's Environmental Sciences and Policy Program and endorsed by the Maryland Higher Education Commission endorsement in July, is opening for student enrollment in the fall 2008 semester.

“According to the Department of Labor’s High Growth Industry Initiative, geospatial technology is one of the top three fastest growing industries,” said John Boland, program chair of Johns Hopkins’ master of science in Environmental Sciences and Policy Program. “The job potential for people skilled in GIS is extraordinary, and the Johns Hopkins online Certificate in GIS caters to this audience. All five courses are administered online, allowing professionals to earn the certificate on their time.”

GIS has boomed in recent years because many industries can capitalize on this data-rich technology. Professionals in law enforcement, disaster planning, marketing, real estate, environmental management, telecommunications, public health, urban planning, and more are now realizing the advantages of adding GIS skills to their repertoire.

“The university is dedicated to a bold initiative of augmenting our existing on-site degree offerings with quality distance learning in a robust, interactive, and asynchronous online format,” said Sarah Steinberg, associate dean in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “The success we’ve had with our Environmental Sciences and Policy Program reassured us that providing the Certificate in GIS in the online platform as well was the right thing to do. And because the format is asynchronous, students can keep pace with their peers regardless of where they live.”

Required Courses for the Online Certificate in GIS

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
In this course, students become familiar with GIS concepts and gain the experience necessary to appreciate the utility of GIS in decision-making. Topics covered include the fundamentals of cartography, geo-referencing, data structures, database design, project planning, and basic spatial data analysis. The course provides an overview of the capabilities of GIS software. Class time is divided between lectures and GIS exercises that reinforce critical concepts. Completion of a term project is part of the course.

Remote Sensing: Earth Observing Systems and Applications
This course introduces remote sensing as an important technology to further our understanding of Earth's land, atmospheric, and oceanic processes. Students study remote sensing science, techniques, and satellite technologies to become familiar with the types of information that can be obtained and how this information can be applied in the natural and social sciences. Applications include assessment of land cover and land use; mapping and analysis of natural resources; weather and climate studies; pollution detection and monitoring; disaster monitoring; and identification of oceanographic features.

Introduction to Spatial Analysis with GIS

This course introduces students to using statistical techniques for solving spatial problems. Students will learn to apply the principles of statistics to address the distribution and location of a variety of problems. Examples and assignments are drawn from many GIS applications: business, urban planning, security, public health, transportation and telecommunications. Topics include spatial sampling, measures of dispersion and central tendency in spatial analysis, and regression analysis applied to spatial data.

Advanced GIS Modeling (formerly Advanced GIS for Environmental Modeling)
This course moves beyond the fundamentals of GIS to explore application to problems in various sectors. Students review current research in the field, learn relevant modeling techniques, and utilize advanced software tools for analysis. The course involves the use and integration of a variety of data sources including maps, GPS, and satellite imagery. Specific GIS techniques in spatial analysis are introduced. The course builds on former GIS software experience. Students develop a significant GIS project over the course of the semester and present their findings at the end.

Development and Management of GIS Projects
This course teaches knowledge and skills for managing GIS projects, including technical, legal, ethical and institutional problems. Students will examine the institutional role of geographic information systems and technologies, explore key issues in organizational management of GIS projects (planning, staffing, budgeting), and develop skills to design and manage geospatial databases. Ethical and legal issues in data acquisition, sharing, and representation will also be discussed.

For more information about Johns Hopkins’ online Certificate in GIS, please contact:

Dr. Eileen McGurty

Associate Program Chair

Environmental Sciences & Policy Program and Certificate in GIS

(410) 516-7049

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Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news

Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

Daniel Guttman, MA in Government Professor Quoted in Washington Post Article

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:08:00 GMT

Government Professor Column Appears on Huffington Post

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:23:00 GMT

MA in Writing Program Faculty Appears on Today Show to Promote New Book

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Event date: 07/08/2008

MA in Writing Program faculty member, Cathy Alter, is scheduled to appear on the Today Show on Thursday, July 10th in the 10 o'clock hour. Cathy is promoting her new book Up For Renewal: What magazines taught me about love, sex and starting over, which hit bookshelves on July 1st.

http://www.cathyalter.com

MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy Student Co-Authors United Nations Publication - Africa:Atlas of Our Changing Environment

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:03:00 GMT

Event date: 07/03/2008

While working as a student intern at the United Nations Environment Program, Yasmin Aziz, co-authored AFRICA Atlas of Our Changing Environment

More info at http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/AfricaAtlas/

MA in Communication Student Profiled in National Journal

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:01:00 GMT

Government Professor Authors Journal Article - Reducing Government Involvement in a Market:Lessons from the Privatization of Sallie Mae

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Government Professor Op-Ed published in New Jersey Star Ledger

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:16:00 GMT

Government Professor Op-Ed Published in Wall Street Journal

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:40:00 GMT

Government Professor Authors New Book - Crown under Law: Richard Hooker, John Locke, and the Ascent of Modern Constitutionalism

Mon, 12 May 2008 22:16:00 GMT

Event date: 05/12/2008

Government program lecturer on political theory, Dr. Alexander Rosenthal, has authored a new book entitled Crown under Law: Richard Hooker, John Locke, and the Ascent of Modern Constitutionalism that documents the rise of the constitutional idea in modern England and English-speaking countries, including America.

For more information about the book, visit:

http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com/Catalog/Flyer2.shtml?SKU=0739124137

Hopkins Biotech Program Enters Collaborative Relationship with USAMRIID

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Event date: 05/09/2008

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920
May 9, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

download press release (PDF)

The Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. Army have agreed to work together to train scientists to develop vaccines and medicines to defend against biological attacks.

Students accepted into the program will study part-time to earn Johns Hopkins master of science in biotechnology degrees with concentrations in biodefense. Simultaneously, they will work for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), located at Fort Detrick, Md.

Under a five-year agreement between Johns Hopkins' Advanced Biotechnology Studies Program and USAMRIID, graduate students will be employed under the Army's Student Career Experience Program and will be eligible for Army reimbursement of their Johns Hopkins tuition. “Based on a long history of excellence in biotechnology research and education at both institutions, this is an invaluable cooperative effort that will significantly enhance the educational opportunities of our biodefense students,” said Richard McCarty, chair of the Advanced Biotechnology Studies program in the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Advanced Academic Programs. “We hope it will lead to future interactions and joint scientific research between our respective faculty and scientists.”

Johns Hopkins advisors will work with students to select an appropriate course structure that will capitalize on the resources being offered by USAMRIID, such as research staff and laboratory facilities.

USAMRIID does basic and applied research on biological threats to develop vaccines, drugs and tests to protect soldiers, but much of the science it produces is also applied to civilian medicine.

"USAMRIID is very excited about sponsoring these master's students and offering them the opportunity to work at USAMRIID on vaccines and therapeutics against extremely interesting pathogens,* said Peter Hobart, USAMRIID*s science director. *This is one more manifestation of the institute's keen interest in working closely with colleges and universities to train the next generation of scientists."

About the Advanced Biotechnology Studies part-time Master of Science in Biotechnology Program:

Grounded in biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology, this program allows students to delve into pure science, applied science, lab science, regulatory affairs, and biotechnology enterprise. They can pursue a general master's in biotechnology or focus on one of three concentrations that are available fully online: bioinformatics,biotechnology enterprise, or regulatory affairs. Concentrations in biodefense and molecular targets and drug discovery require some on-site instruction.

For more information about Johns Hopkins’ part-time graduate degree available through the Advanced Biotechnology Studies Program, please visit http://biotechnology.jhu.edu or contact our academic advisors:

Dr. Patrick Cummings, Senior Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology
410-516-4724
cupat@jhu.edu

Dr. Kristina Obom, Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology/Bioinformatics
301-294-7159
kobom@jhu.edu

Lynn Johnson Langer, Senior Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology (MS/MBA, Bioscience Regulatory Affairs, and Biotechnology Enterprise)
301-294-7063
ljlanger@jhu.edu

About USAMRIID:

USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The Institute conducts basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. While USAMRIID’s primary mission is focused on the military, its research often has applications that benefit society as a whole. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel
Command. For more information, visit www.usamriid.army.mil

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Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

New York Times Columnist Picks Book by Writing Faculty as Economics Book of the Year

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:34:00 GMT

Podcast: MA in Goverment Chair, Dr. Benjamin Ginsburg, discusses co-authored books "Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced"; its prequel, "Downsizing Democracy"; and his newest solo effort, "The American Lie".

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:25:00 GMT

Event date: 04/03/2008

Podcast: Women for President. Dr. Erika Falk discusses what happened to women candidates in eight prior presidential elections.

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:19:00 GMT

Event date: 04/02/2008

listen to podcast.

In a year when a woman is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination, Johns Hopkins communications faculty member Erika Falk discusses what happened to women candidates — and especially how they were covered in the news media — in eight prior presidential elections.

Time mileposts in this program:
0:25 Looked at eight campaigns
1:30 Elizabeth Dole vs. Steve Forbes
2:21 Sexism and sex stereotypes
3:38 Associate traits with men or women
5:00 Manipulate the stereotypes
5:53 Talk more about issues
7:56 Several studies looking at lower level races
8:50 All the evidence suggests that despite bias a woman could run and win
9:20 How does it affect womens' decision to run?
10:43 End
For more information:
News release
Erika Falk bio
Women for President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns

Government Professor Co-authors Boston Globe Op-Ed "The fiscally responsible candidate"

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:31:00 GMT

Johns Hopkins University Launches Online Museum Studies Graduate Program

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:25:00 GMT

Event date: 02/08/2008

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION

901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540

Baltimore, MD 21231

Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

January 24, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Ken Schappelle

(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

Students anywhere in the world interested in a career in museums can now earn a Johns Hopkins University master of arts degree in museum studies in an innovative online program.

The program from the university's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences is open now for student enrollment for the spring 2008 semester. It received Maryland Higher Education Commission endorsement in October.

“The aim of the museum studies program is to provide a perspective on the theory and practice of museums in a changing technological, social and political environment for current and future museum professionals,” said Robert Kargon, the Willis K. Shepard Professor of the History of Science at Johns Hopkins and chair of the new program. “It emphasizes the role of technology as a pervasive aspect in today's museum, examines new models of education, exhibition and business strategies, and explores the role of the museum as an agent of social change.”

The associate program chair, Phyllis Hecht, formerly of the National Gallery of Art and co-editor of “The Digital Museum: A Think Guide,” has recruited faculty from academia and the museum community. “Our students will learn from the experts in the field and will become the visionary leaders of tomorrow’s museums,” she said. The curriculum features the most up-to-date museum theory and practice and the online format of the program allows for innovative teaching methods.

“The university is dedicated to a bold initiative of offering quality distance learning in a robust, interactive, and asynchronous online format,” said Sarah Steinberg, associate dean of the Krieger School. “The M.A. in museum studies is particularly exciting because of the vast potential to draw students from around the world, which will create a truly rich dynamic.”

Nine online classes and one onsite seminar are required to complete the master of arts in museum studies. All online classes are offered as asynchronous learning experiences, allowing maximum flexibility in a student's schedule. Course content is delivered mainly via text notes, voice-over PowerPoint, streaming video and threaded discussions to provide a connection between students and faculty through visual, auditory and text-driven interactions. Classes are kept small to encourage active community-building among students and between students and faculty.

A short but intensive period of on-ground museum experience is required to complete the degree. This face-to-face summer classroom component takes place in Washington, D.C., where students will visit museums, meet high-level museum professionals, attend symposia and participate in a hands-on project. To further encourage working with objects and gaining hands-on experience in a museum, the program will support and help arrange optional supervised projects at museums in a student's home area.

Visit http://advanced.jhu.edu/academic/museum/ for more information on the master of arts in museum studies at Johns Hopkins.

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Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news

Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

MA in Government Student Profiled in Washington Post's Sunday Source

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:07:00 GMT

Event date: 01/10/2008

Talk about starting the New Year off right. Tom Manatos, adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Johns Hopkins MA in Government student, found his way to the front page of the Washington Post's Sunday Source on January 6, 2008. The article is titled, "Ready for 2028? Never Mind This Year's Election. Meet Six Locals Who Might Be Ready To Run for the White House Two Decades From Now." Writer Dan Zak profiles Manatos and five other politically savvy locals in what's billed as "the first snippet of coverage of Election 2028."

Read the full article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303758.html

(NOTE: Free registration on WashingtonPost.com is needed to view the article)

Bioscience Regulatory Affairs graduate authors article, Regulatory Affairs Professional Development Programs, in RAPS Magazine

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Bioscience Regulatory Affairs/ MSMBA Associate Program Chair Authors Chapter in New Book The Business of Healthcare

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/06/2007

Moving Ideas from the Laboratory to the Marketplace: How Scientists and Business Leaders Engage to Take Action

Lynn Johnson Langer

Biotechnology is a relatively young industry that has evolved rapidly since its beginnings in the early 1970s. Since then, it has developed into a multibillion-dollar industry with many commercial products that have contributed to society with new biopharmaceuticals, food, and energy products and processes. Although biotechnological research and development (R&D) have provided numerous benefits to society, many promising discoveries have not reached consumers because of the difficulties involved in bringing new technologies to market. The high costs and resources required in early-stage research, discovery, and development of new biotechnology ideas can be prohibitive for all but the most promising projects. It costs more than $800 million to bring a biopharmaceutical product from the research bench to the consumer. The biotechnology industry is highly dynamic, and improvements and changes in research methods occur frequently. New technologies used in drug discovery, for example, may completely change how scientists conduct their investigations. These new discoveries must be assessed and put through the development cycle as quickly as possible. Even so, it may take 10 years or more for new discoveries to reach consumers.

For scientific discoveries such as therapeutics to leave the laboratory and be developed into products, scientists and business professionals must collaborate to bring new products through clinical trials and the regulatory process. The concept of collegial collaboration can be different for basic research scientists who may prefer to work in an environment that reduces their involvement with other scientists. Often, by nature, scientists tend to be more introverted. These differences between how scientists and business professionals interact may partially explain the challenges involving commercializing of new products. Many factors contribute to effective commercialization, but relatively little research has been conducted on what scientists must do to successfully move ideas out of the laboratory in ways that engage business leaders to take action. This chapter reviews the literature and assesses initial findings from interviews with science and business leaders in the biotechnology industry.

The book is co-edited by Douglas E. Hough, Chair of the Johns Hopkins University Business of Health program and co-director of the MS Biotechnology/MBA program.

To learn more about The Business of Healthcare, visit:
http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C9235.aspx

Bioscience Regulatory Affairs Graduate Publishes Article in Medical Device Link

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Communication Student Blog Picked Up

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 12/03/2007

After taking Nicco Mele's Intro to Digital Age course last spring, Rebecca Scritchfield started a blog "Balanced Health and Nutrition" at www.rebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com. She was recently invited to be a guest blogger at Health Commentary www.healthcommentary.org, a blog community (including videos) headed up by Mike Magee, MD, an author and healthcare advocate.

blog post http://healthcommentary.org/public/blog/177913
bio http://healthcommentary.org/public/item/191212

New Book by Communication Associate Program Chair featured on US News and World Report

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Biotech Students 'From Bangalore to Baltimore" Can Study Online

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:00:00 GMT

Event date: 11/09/2007

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
901 S. Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, MD 21231
Phone: (443) 287-9960 / Fax: (443) 287-9920

November 9, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ken Schappelle
(202) 452-1910
kschappelle@jhu.edu

Fully online master's degrees maintain rigorous curricula, add convenience

Students anywhere can now study online to earn a master of science in biotechnology or bioscience regulatory affairs at The Johns Hopkins University, the university's Advanced Biotechnology Studies program announced.

The online degree programs, which received Maryland Higher Education Commission endorsement in October, will open for student enrollment for the spring 2008 semester. The new online degrees join the university’s master of science in bioinformatics to expand the breadth and depth of Johns Hopkins’ fully online degree offerings.

“Now, biotechnology students from Bangalore to Baltimore can study together and continue to expand the global talent pool for disciplines such as bioscience regulatory affairs, biotechnology and bioinformatics,” said Richard McCarty, chair of the Advanced Biotechnology Studies program in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “And our mature online platform ensures that students receive a convenient, flexible, yet rigorous, education in the biotechnology sciences.”

Since January 2006, Johns Hopkins has offered its fully online master of science in bioinformatics, a joint program between the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering. This experience has allowed program coordinators and professors in the ABS program to develop and refine a comprehensive approach to online education.

“The university is dedicated to a bold initiative of augmenting our existing on-site degree offerings with quality distance learning in a robust, interactive, and asynchronous online format,” said Sarah Steinberg, associate dean in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “The success we’ve had with our bioinformatics program reassured us that providing the biotechnology and bioscience regulatory affairs degrees in the online platform as well was the right thing to do. And because the format is asynchronous, students can keep pace with their peers regardless of where they live.”

Master of Science in Biotechnology

Grounded in biochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology, this program allows students to delve into basic science, applied science, lab science, regulatory affairs, and biotechnology enterprise. They can pursue a general master's in biotechnology or focus on one of three concentrations that are available fully online: bioinformatics, biotechnology enterprise, or regulatory affairs. Concentrations in biodefense and molecular targets and drug discovery require some on-site instruction.

Master of Science in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs

In a market of expanding drug and product development and the need to comply with federal and state regulations, companies and federal agencies report an increasing need for trained professionals educated in bioscience regulatory affairs. To meet this need, Johns Hopkins offers a master of science in bioscience regulatory affairs program that taps the expertise of professionals from the federal government, industry, and academia.

Master of Science in Bioinformatics

Joint offering of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering

This innovative program prepares bioscience professionals for success by drawing from the strengths of Johns Hopkins’ biotechnology and engineering programs to create a comprehensive bioinformatics curriculum. The program integrates disciplines like computer science, bioscience and bioinformatics.

For more information about Johns Hopkins’ part-time graduate degree available through the Advanced Biotechnology Studies program, please visit http://biotechnology.jhu.edu or contact our academic advisors:

Dr. Patrick Cummings
Senior Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology
410-516-4724
cupat@jhu.edu

Lynn Johnson Langer
Senior Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology (MS/MBA, Bioscience Regulatory Affairs, and Biotechnology Enterprise)
301-294-7063
ljlanger@jhu.edu

Dr. Kristina Obom
Associate Program Chair
Biotechnology/Bioinformatics
301-294-7159
kobom@jhu.edu

###

Johns Hopkins University news releases can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news
Information on automatic E-mail delivery of science and medical news releases is available at the same address.

National Security Studies Certificate Associate Director Op-Ed Published in Baltimore Sun

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 04:00:00 GMT

School of Arts and Sciences announces creation of new Center of Liberal Arts encompassing MLA, Odyssey, and Evergreen Programs

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Biotechnology Associate Chairs Named as Recipients of MicrobeLibrary 2007 Editor's Awards

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 07/12/2007

The ASM MicrobeLibrary has announce the winners of the 2007 Visual and Curriculum Editor’s Choice Awards. Biotechnology Associate Program Chairs Dr. Patrick Cummings and Dr. Kristina Obom have been selected as recipients of the 2007 Visual Collection Editor’s Choice Award in the category Still Image for their image “Immunofluorescence for Herpes Simplex Virus Antibody”.

The award winning images are viewable at:
http://www.microbelibrary.org/Virus/details.asp?id=2382&Lang

MA in Goverment Program Chair co-authors new book Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Biotechnology Associate Program Chairs' Article Published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Thu, 24 May 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Event date: 05/24/2007

American Society for Microbiology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Veronica Dove
Marketing and Outreach Mgr.
vdove@asmusa.org
202-942-9348

Obom and Cummings Article Published in the
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Washington, DC (May 15, 2007) — The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) announces the publication of an article titled “Comparison of Online and Onsite Bioinformatics Instruction for a Fully Online Bioinformatics Master’s Program,” by Kristina M. Obom and Patrick J. Cummings, now available in MicrobeLibrary’s Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. Dr. Obom serves as biotechnology/bioinformatics associate program chair, and Dr. Cummings is the senior associate program chair for biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore and Rockville, Md.

JMBE is ASM's peer-reviewed education journal publishing scholarly work in the field of microbiology education. Its scope includes outcome-based learning activities and courses that convey important concepts about the microbial world; techniques used to study microorganisms; and assessment of student learning, teaching techniques, or program effectiveness.

“We, strive to provide a publication outlet for all microbiology and/or biology educators who are performing novel education scholarship in each of their subdisciplines,” says, Dr. Jeffrey Byrd, professor and chair of biology at St. Mary's College of Maryland, St. Mary's City, Md., and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education. “We welcome other educators to publish their scholarly research in JMBE, thus providing additional examples of good scholarship and novel teaching methods.

This resource is an important addition to the MicrobeLibrary. Given the current social and political climate, it is more important than ever that authoritative materials are available to help college faculty teach students about the significance and impact of microorganisms in the world.

JMBE is one of various resources available in MicrobeLibrary, an online, searchable collection of over 1,600 peer-reviewed resources for undergraduate microbiology and biology education. The Library builds upon the scientific expertise, intellectual creativity, and private collections of the members of ASM and other microbial researchers from around the world and it receives an average of almost 500,000 hits per month.

MicrobeLibrary is a founding partner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s BiosciEdNet Collaborative (http://www.biosciednet.org), a portal sponsored by the National Science Foundation's National Science Digital Library (http://www.nsdl.org). The Library, which has won many citations and media accolades, is the first service of its kind and continues to be recognized as one of the best resources for science information.

For more information about MicrobeLibrary, visit www.MicrobeLibrary.org, or contact Veronica Dove at 202-942-9348.

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is the oldest and largest single life science membership organization in the world, composed of over 42,000 scientists and health professionals. Its mission is to promote research and research training in the microbiological sciences and to assist communication between scientists, policy makers, and the public to improve health, the environment, and economic well-being.

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