2008 Woodie Awards
View print edition front page as a PDF
News
AU's Roosevelt Institution considered top think tank
By Brittany Aubin on 3/22/07
AU's chapter of the Roosevelt Institution, the student think tank, is considered one of the top 10 in the country, according to President and co-founder Daniel Maree, a sophomore in the School of International Service.
The Roosevelt Institution, which is the first student-run think tank, was created in November 2004 by four undergraduates from Stanford University. The organization is dedicated to increasing the input of student voices in policy debates, as well as publishing and distributing student policy ideas, according to its Web site.
Maree founded AU's chapter in 2005, together with Madison Iannone, a junior in SIS, and Catherine Kozak, a senior in SIS. The three started the chapter to promote more AU student participation in shaping national priorities, Maree said.
"I guess we also figured that if all the Ivy League schools had chapters, why not AU?" Maree said.
Each active chapter contains administrations and policy centers. The national organization, based in Dupont Circle, provides support for regional consortia, which support the administrations of the chapters. The policy centers, supported by their administrations, generate policy papers and ideas, Maree said.
The AU chapter's focus is socioeconomic diversity in higher education and ways to increase the numbers of students from different social and economic backgrounds.
A panel discussion on educational diversity hosted by the chapter in late February featured Director of Multicultural Affairs, Fanta Aw, SOC professors and documentary filmmakers Charlene Gilbert and Louis Massiah, and economics chair and professor John Willoughby, Maree said.
This semester, the chapter seeks to strengthen the progressive networks on a local and regional level through its Partnerships for Progress initiative, Maree said. The group has reached out to area schools like George Washington University and encouraged progressive causes among AU's clubs, he said.
A core group of 15 administrators and 15 to 20 student members comprise the backbone of the chapter. Last year, AU students published five pieces in The Internationalist, a student publication with a readership of approximately 25,000, Maree said. The group's policy centers on International Relations, Economic and Social, and Military and Governmental Affairs meet every week, occasionally joined by members of the faculty advisory board.
The Roosevelt Institution, which is the first student-run think tank, was created in November 2004 by four undergraduates from Stanford University. The organization is dedicated to increasing the input of student voices in policy debates, as well as publishing and distributing student policy ideas, according to its Web site.
Maree founded AU's chapter in 2005, together with Madison Iannone, a junior in SIS, and Catherine Kozak, a senior in SIS. The three started the chapter to promote more AU student participation in shaping national priorities, Maree said.
"I guess we also figured that if all the Ivy League schools had chapters, why not AU?" Maree said.
Each active chapter contains administrations and policy centers. The national organization, based in Dupont Circle, provides support for regional consortia, which support the administrations of the chapters. The policy centers, supported by their administrations, generate policy papers and ideas, Maree said.
The AU chapter's focus is socioeconomic diversity in higher education and ways to increase the numbers of students from different social and economic backgrounds.
A panel discussion on educational diversity hosted by the chapter in late February featured Director of Multicultural Affairs, Fanta Aw, SOC professors and documentary filmmakers Charlene Gilbert and Louis Massiah, and economics chair and professor John Willoughby, Maree said.
This semester, the chapter seeks to strengthen the progressive networks on a local and regional level through its Partnerships for Progress initiative, Maree said. The group has reached out to area schools like George Washington University and encouraged progressive causes among AU's clubs, he said.
A core group of 15 administrators and 15 to 20 student members comprise the backbone of the chapter. Last year, AU students published five pieces in The Internationalist, a student publication with a readership of approximately 25,000, Maree said. The group's policy centers on International Relations, Economic and Social, and Military and Governmental Affairs meet every week, occasionally joined by members of the faculty advisory board.
Be the first to comment on this story