Highlights

New Students

We welcome the new PPL students joining our department in 2009

1st row: Charles Woods, Lennie Patterson, Molly Harris, Mary Haley Davis, Samantha Helton, Camille Barbour; 2nd row: Kegan Coleman, Samuel McKay, John Montgomery, Alyx Williamson, Mary Margaret Johnson, Wynn Campbell, Sarah Robinson, Lauren Wright, John McKiever; 3rd row: Morgan Carter, Justin Sanders, Ray Mays, Daniel Hall, Evan Kirkham, Joshua Williams, Jake Taylor, Jonathan Stephens, Nicholas Carr; 4th row: Brett Bobe, Austin Harvey, Zackary Huffman, Michael Anderson, Hunter Nicholson, Christopher Jones, Garrett Fultz, Austin Harrison

Students' Success

PPL Student Awarded Truman Scholarship

PPL and Economics double-major Jake McGraw has been awarded a prestigious Truman Scholarship from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. You can read the Ole Miss News Desk story here or open a printable PDF file of the story here. On the News Desk's page, you'll find a YouTube video presentation of the story, which you can also find here.

Pictured: Dr. Robert Haws, Jake McGraw, Professor Warigia Bowman, and Bill Gottshall, Director of the Lott Leadership Institute.

PPL Students Elected to Student Government Offices

Artair Rogers (right) was elected President of the Associated Student Body. Click here for a printable PDF version of The Daily Mississippian's story about the election.

Martin Fisher (left) was elected Secretary of the Associated Student Body.

We are proud of our students for all their involvement in campus affairs. Congratulations Artair and Martin!

Research Recognition

In the spring of 2009, Vince Chamblee was recognized with the prestigious Barksdale Award. Vince is a double-major in Economics and Public Policy Leadership. In the spring of 2009 he is interning in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland. If you click here you can read a about his internship in a note he drafted for the Ole Miss Public Relations department. Dr. Debra Young, Associate Dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College explains that "Basically, the Barksdale is an outright award of $5,000 to pay for the project the student proposes." Dr. Doug Sullivan-Gonzalez, Dean of the Honors College describes the guidelines for the award in this way: "We ask students to design independent projects that will let them explore personal goals and test themselves in the real world."   Dean Sullivan-Gonzalez described Vince's project at the award ceremony as follows:

"Vince proposed an economist's exploration of the problem of human trafficking.  He will travel first to Geneva, Switzerland, to interview people responsible for creating global policy.  Then he will backpack through rural Ethiopia, working with a grassroots educational initiative; that work is followed by a stay in Dubai to participate in research at the Dubai Ethics Resource Center.  Vince is seeking corporate perspective and human understanding of this heart-breaking global problem."

Also, in April of 2009, Vince received word that his paper, “The Disparities of the Wealth of Nations: A Democratic Duty to End World Hunger,” was accepted for presentation at the Ohio State University Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in Columbus, OH. Vince will be traveling to Columbus for the event on May 1st and 2nd, 2009.  Vince wrote the paper for Dr. Weber's Ethics and Public Policy course in the fall of 2008.  Vince applied for travel support from the Office of Student Affairs and was awarded a grant. He also has secured support from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College to attend the event. Congratulations, Vince!

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In Feburary of 2009, Andre' Cotten received word that his paper, "Racism," was accepted for presentation at the Pacific University Undergraduate Philosophy conference coming up in April of 2009! Andre' wrote this paper for the Ethics and Public Policy course he took in the Fall of 2008. Also, Andre' was awarded a Student Development Grant from the Office of Student Affairs to support his travel expenses to and from the conference. Congratulations, Andre'!

Link to the conference Web site:

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In April of 2008, two PPL students presented papers at Pacific University's Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in Oregon. Scarlett Andrews and MeaghanGandy wrote their papers in Dr. Eric Thomas Weber's Honors 101 course in the fall of 2007, taught in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Click here for more information on the students' presentation. The department of Public Policy Leadership supported the students' travel to and from the conference. We are proud of these students' early success.

On left: Meaghan Gandy.
On lower right: Scarlett Andrews.
On upper right Scarlett and Meaghan enjoying Pacific University's lovely campus.

Also, Scarlett Andrews has been awarded the Rose Bui Scholarship "in recognition of academic excellence." Congratulations, Scarlett!

Four Oustanding Freshmen Awarded Lott Leadership Scholarships

The new Lott scholars are (from left to right): Caleb Herod of Abbeville, Mary Allen Langford of Atlanta, Nathan Dye of Jackson, and Kaylen Addison of Purvis. See the full story here.

Summer Internships

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Katherine Kilroy sent us this update about her summer internship and experience in 2009: "I have been interning for Senator Christopher Bond, of Missouri, in his downtown Kansas City office.  They have put me to work on multiple projects, some of which include, researching grants as well as researching projects of health care policies.  As of now, my mom and I are planning to travel to Honduras in late July.  I applied to a spanish cultural and language immersion program there and my days will be spent taking spanish classes in the morning and  teaching orphans to speak english in the afternoon."

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In the summer of 2009, Taylor McGraw is interning with USA Today. For an example of Taylor's work, see his co-authored article, "Banks can tap Social Security to cover bounced-check fees," from June 4th. On June 23rd, USA Today published his piece, "Newport County, R.I.: Luxury market has uptick in interest." Taylor has had the following to say about his experience.

"Today starts my third week at the USA TODAY, and I have already had several adventures. My first day I was out in the housing projects in the Bronx interviewing people about Sonia Sotomayor, who grew up there. Yesterday I was on the red carpet at the Tony awards, and last week I was at a discussion on sustainability with a panel that included Al Gore. So I have not been short on assignments. I am currently working on a few articles of my own that will hopefully run sometime this month.

"I am staying at a dorm at NYU and have met some interesting people there. Most are rising seniors doing internships in the city. I have been pleased with my accommodations – I am really in a great area in lower Manhattan about halfway between Union Square and Washington Square. I’m 1-for-3 in chess against the hustlers who set up boards in the parks, but at least I know when to quit. I am going to a Yankees game tonight for the first time."

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Elizabeth Joseph sent us the following message about her exciting opportunities in 2009 before her internship:

"As a student in the Public Policy Leadership program, I enjoy studying and analyzing policy and the inner workings of government.  I am interested in policy formulation and advising and how it not only affects the legislative and executive branches of government, but also the way outside groups work to make positive changes and bring about certain actions from the government. 

"For two weeks, I will be working with the lobbyists at Balch and Bingham LLP so that I can learn about and better understand the lobbying side of the policy process.  This firm lobbies for national security, energy, and transportation issues, which will be especially interesting as the new presidential administration makes policy changes that affect these specific areas of focus.  I am also interning at Kemp Partners, a political and business consulting firm founded by former Congressman and Cabinet Secretary Jack Kemp.  At Kemp Partners, I will be reporting on current legislative issues, conducting business development research, and attending Congressional committee hearings as well as press conferences. Through the Kemp Partners internship, I will be able to understand yet another side of the policy process—how and why policies are conceived, written, and then presented."

Upon completing her internship, Elizabeth had the follow to report:

"I spent the summer of 2009 interning in Washington, D.C.  I worked with the lobbyists at Balch and Bingham LLP.  During this two-week internship, I wrote and submitted a proposal calling for a statewide sidewalks construction initiative as a response to Governor Haley Barbour's request for ideas for how to use Mississippi's allottment of stimulus funds.  I also interned at Kemp Partners/Whitmer and Worrall for the remainder of the summer where I attended Congressional committee hearings and researched current legislative issues.  It was an incredible learning experience and the best summer of my life!"    

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

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Scarlett Andrews had the following to report about the internship she lined up for the summer of 2008:

"This summer, I will be interning with Congressman Lincoln Davis of TN. He is a Representative (D) of the 4th District of TN. I will be working Monday through Friday at his office on Capitol Hill. I will hold this position May 26-June 27. I am very excited to be able to see firsthand what type of work goes on behind the scenes in Congress, as well as talking to Congressman Davis and others about their positions. Because the political process is so complex, I hope to come away with a better understanding of how the
system works. This will be helpful to me in my future endeavors, whether I choose to work in the government or not. Of course, I am also thrilled to experience Washington, D.C. for a month. It will be challenging to go by myself, but I plan to seek many exciting experiences while I am there and become a stronger, smarter person."

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After her freshman year in the department of PPL, Hope Merrell held an internship for the summer of 2008 with the Gulf Restoration Network.  She worked on the Save Our Cypress campaign in New Orleans in the month of July and the early part of August.

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Sophomore Rachel Willis spent the summer of 2008 working as a Campaign Intern for U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (TN-7). Rachel explained that the work included "attending fundraisers and campaign events, walking doors in the GOTV effort, and monitoring polls." In 2009, she is working with Congresswoman Blackburn again. On her experience in 2009, Rachel writes that "This summer I am interning [again] with Congressman Marsha Blackburn, TN-07 in her D.C. office.  This internship is providing me with the opportunity to experience first-hand what goes on in a Congressional Office. My tasks include corresponding with consituents, assisting the Legislative Assistants with research in policy areas, and attending Congressional hearings, markups, and floor sessions. Congressman Blackburn is on the Energy and Commerce Committee, so much of the research I will be doing this summer will focus on the Cap and Trade bill and Health Care issues."

Lott Leadership Exchange Program to South Korea

The Lott Leadership Exchange Program is an opportunity exclusively for rising sophomores who display academic and community leadership. Students will be heading to Konkuk University, founded in 1946, one of the leading private universities in South Korea.  It is located in Seoul, the capital city with a population of more than 10 million people. The Lott Leadership Exchange Program with Konkuk University will be a dynamic and fulfilling opportunity to explore South Korean culture and business with a diverse group of peers. For more information on South Korea, click here.

A group of PPL majors has recently been selected forparticipation in the exchange program.

In the photo from left to right are instructor, Kenneth Townsend, Alex McLelland, Scarlett Andrews, Matthew Henry, Rachel Willis, Rob Hamilton, Emelia Wilson, Trey Nordan, Sarah Rogers, Katie Watson, and Chelsea Caveny.

For more information on this program and the various study abroad programs available through the University of Mississippi, click here.

Public Policy Leadership Students Head to the Conventions!

Click here to learn about Claire Graves, Jake McGraw, Brent Caldwell, and Nickolaus Luckett, who split up to head to the Democratic and the Republican conventions this fall. Click on the photo below or here for a story about these students and their trip.

Debate News and Our Students' Exposure

The news coverage of Public Policy Leadership majors is too vast to list right away. A few links are possible to post quickly. Here is a CNN article featuring our students, and here is a New York Times article including several of our students as well (see the picture slideshow). We'll post more as these instances of our students' engagement and exposure as they are collected.

Keith Hennessey, Economic Advisor to President Bush, Meets with Students

On October 31st of 2008, PPL students had the opportunity to have lunch with Keith Hennessey. Mr. Hennessey is "Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council (NEC)" (NEC Web site). Our students and Director Hennessey discussed the state of the economy and measures that are in development for addressing it.

Director Hennessey is on right, with Dr. Kees Gispen to his left.

Director Hennessey in the middle, with Professor Warigia Bowman to his right (our left).

Students of Public Policy Leadership (Photographs by Dr. David Rutherford).

Senators Lott and Daschle

On September 21st, 2007, students in the department of Public Policy Leadership had the opportunity to have lunch with these two American leaders, after which an open forum was held for the discussion of bipartisanship, leadership, and public policy.

We were also fortunate to have a number of surprise visitors, including Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, Governor Haley Barbour, and former Governor William Winter.

Click here to learn more about this recent event, and to see photos of it.