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News

AU questions Miers' experience

By Jimm Phillips | October 13

White House Counsel Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court on Oct. 3 has caused AU students and faculty to question her qualifications, judicial philosophy and her connections to President Bush. Ashley Mushnick, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and president of College Democrats, said Miers lacks the qualifications to be a Supreme Court justice.

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University survives scandal

By Kate Oczypok and Lauren Gardner | October 13

The Board of Trustees voted Monday that Benjamin Ladner would not return to lead the university, sparking memories of then-President Richard Berendzen's resignation in 1990 and reminding the AU community of its ability to weather scandal. School of International Service professor and faculty member-in-residence John Richardson taught at the university in 1990 when Berendzen abruptly resigned amid allegations he made indecent phone calls from his office.

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Students speak out on diversity

By John Riley | October 13

When Viola Irvin applied to American University her senior year of high school, she knew that it was a predominately white university, but it was more diverse than some of the other schools she was considering and actively marketed its large international population.

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RHA bill keeps military recruiters on campus

By Jess Reamy | October 13

The Residence Hall Association and the Student Government passed pieces of competing legislation in the past few weeks over whether military recruiters should be allowed on campus. The General Assembly, the SG's legislative arm, passed a bill in late September calling for the university to ban military recruiters from campus.

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Ladner fired after nine-hour meeting, two trustees resign

By Marissa Newhall | October 13

A nine-hour meeting of the AU Board of Trustees Monday night resulted in the firing of AU President Benjamin Ladner, the continuation of Dr. Neil Kerwin's service as acting president and the resignation of two university trustees - Paul Martin Wolff and board Chair Leslie E. Bains.

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Campus calendar

By Kate Oczypok | October 13

Thursday, Oct. 13 OSP Seminar on SPIN/SMARTS Database 1:30-3:00 p.m., Anderson Computing Complex room B11. The SPIN/SMARTS database is a central component of the funder identification process at OSP. SPIN (Sponsored Programs Information Network) is a listing of national and international government funding sources updated daily, while SMARTS (SPIN Matching and Research Transmittal System) matches investigator profiles with the funding opportunities in the SPIN database and delivers automatic updates by e-mail.

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Metro briefs

October 13

Panda cub celebrates milestone The National Zoo's giant panda cub now has his first teeth, according to the Washington Post. The cub underwent a medical examination yesterday morning showing that four of his canine teeth and all 12 incisors have broken his gums, but not all have fully come in.

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Timeline of events in Ladner probe

By Kate Oczypok and Megan Slack | October 13

March 2005 The AU Board of Trustees' six-member Executive Committee receives an anonymous whistle-blower 's letter, alleging President Benjamin Ladner had used university money for personal expenses, including a French chef, expensive vacations and family parties.

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Police blotter

By Josh Goodman | October 13

Thursday, Oct. 6 A staff member reported that his wallet had been stolen from Capital Hall. A bomb threat was called in to Capital Hall and the building was evacuated. The building was searched by the Metro Police Department bomb squad and nothing was found.

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Conduct from Ladner, trustees draws mixed reactions

By John Riley | October 13

Moments after AU's Board of Trustees announced their decision to remove President Benjamin Ladner following Monday's nine-hour meeting, students expressed emotions ranging from happiness at Ladner's dismissal to anger over the terms of his possible severance package and at the board for allowing the controversy to happen in the first place.

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Town hall meeting urges student activism

By Rebecca Shillenn | October 6

Students need to keep up the fight for changes in university bylaws and for Ben Ladner's dismissal, faculty and student representatives said at last night's town hall meeting. The board of trustees is holding a meeting next Monday to determine President Ladner's status and possible severance, and to discuss board of trustee reforms.

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Student think tank debuts

By Dave Colon | October 6

Three authors featured in the policy journal of the Roosevelt Institution, the country's first think tank run by college students, spoke at a press conference Monday about issues they would like addressed by Congress and legislators. The Roosevelt Institution was founded to give college students the opportunity to see their ideas published and spoken about in Congress and other influential centers in Washington, said Quinn Wilhelmi, a junior from Stanford University and Roosevelt's executive director.

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Metro briefs

By Lauren Gardner | October 6

Katrina victims still homeless More than 400,000 people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina will remain living in hotel rooms past the Oct. 15 deadline set for their relocation, according to The Washington Post. The hotel program was established as a temporary measure, but other ventures, including housing evacuees on cruise ships, have failed.

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Ladner fired, severance pay in question

October 6

The board of trustees decided today that Benjamin Ladner will not return to AU as its president. Dr. Neil Kerwin will continue to serve as acting president until a search for Ladner's replacement is completed. The board agreed to adopt the findings of the Audit Committee, and authorized the university to report additional taxable income in the amount of $398,000, and to seek reimbursement from Dr. Ladner for certain personal expenses in the amount $125,000. The board did not reach the issue of Ladner's severance package, according to Trustee Thomas Gottschalk in a press conference this evening, which concluded the board's eight-hour meeting.

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Shuttle service discussed at Park Bethesda forum

By Ryan Grannan-Doll | October 6

Park Bethesda's history, as well as the building's plagued shuttle service, were discussed Monday night among students and administrators in the Park Bethesda lounge. Julie Weber, director of Housing and Dining programs, answered various questions from students about why the university cannot fund more service hours and what can be done to increase the amount of service hours.

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North Side gets a place to play and unwind

By Michael Lucibella | October 6

The North Area Recreation Center opened Monday, offering students a place to go in the evenings as an alternative to homework. Located on the first floor of McDowell Hall, NARC boasts a big screen TV, a ping-pong table and a pool table, all free of charge to students.

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Conference addresses how to effectively use iPods

By Kendra Garstka | October 6

The Center for Teaching Excellence held an all-day conference yesterday addressing how to effectively use iPods and podcasting as supplement teaching materials. After receiving 3,300 hits on its first Podcast since Aug. 16, the Washington College of Law has pioneered Podcasting for law schools.

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