Political science and government students learned last night that when they return to AU this fall, they will be affiliated with the renamed Eliot L. Spitzer School of Pubic Affairs.
AU President Keil Nerwin announced the name change during remarks Saturday night at the close of the university's annual cage fighting tournament on the roof of the Ward Circle Building. Nerwin said that in an effort to raise the amount of money in the university's endowment, he began talks with "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jean Palfrey early last semester for her to donate the remaining profits from her now-defunct escort service. In exchange, federal prosecutors agreed to drop some of the federal racketeering charges against Palfrey.
After Spitzer resigned as governor of New York on March 17, he also began talks with the university in an effort to head off possible federal charges connected to allegations he spent up to $80,000 on prostitution services in recent years, Nerwin said.
"Ms. Palfrey had originally agreed to rename the school after herself, but she and I concur that naming it after former Gov. Spitzer will help teach an important lesson to all of the potential politicians who currently attend this university - if you need to hire a prostitute, be careful not to get yourself caught doing it," he said.
The name change, scheduled to go into effect July 1, will also bring about changes to the school's curriculum. ESSPA students will have to take "Damage Control in Modern U.S. Political Society" and "How They Got Away With It: A History of U.S. Politicians Who Dodged Sex Scandals" in order to graduate from the university. The school will also offer "A History of Titillating and Tawdry D.C. Hotels" as an elective, according to a staff member in the Office of the Registrar who asked to remain anonymous.
Geofferson Smyth, a 1939 SPA graduate who attended the event, said he was appalled at the university's decision to rename the school.
"In my day, there was no sex in the U.S. government," said Smyth, a White House staff member during the Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy administrations. "And if you think there was, it's a lie. A damned lie, I tell ya!"
Zandra Zitherstein, a sophomore in SPA, said she thinks the name change would be beneficial for all of the university's students.
"Having a diploma from a school named after Eliot Spitzer will only enhance my chances of getting a good job after graduation," she said. "What government office isn't going to hire someone who has a degree in scandal damage control?"
SG President Voe Jidulich said he is conflicted about the name change.
"On one hand, I can't believe our university would be so cynical as to bring sex scandals into the study of American politics," he said. "But on the other hand, this will definitely get us the top spot on the "Most Politically Active" list in this year's Princeton Review college rankings guide. We can't let George Washington University win that distinction
