SPPD Dean Visits Capitol Hill
October 23, 2009 1:24 PM
Jack H. Knott, dean of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, met with congressional staffers on Oct. 14 in the offices of Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) about federal hiring practices and federal internship programs.
“The federal government needs to fill 270,000 mission-critical jobs within the next three years,” Knott said. “The need to hire professionally trained candidates has never been greater, and interest in public service among graduate students has never been higher.”
The current federal hiring system is confusing, poorly advertised and fails to match or proactively recruit future talent, he said. Federal internship opportunities are posted on an ad-hoc basis and are often filled by non-students.
Knott, who chairs the policy issues committee and Deans Summit for the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, was joined by more than 50 deans and directors of public administration and public policy programs from across the country to support the Federal Internship Improvement Act and the Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act of 2009. The group also put forward a set of proposals to Office of Personnel Management director John Berry.
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The Wall Street Journal highlighted the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
KPCC-FM reported that this fall USC will offer Persian language courses for the first time. A $250,000 grant from the Farhang Foundation helped to establish the program. Bruce Zuckerman of the USC Dornsife College said he has many students interested in the Persian language, culture and region. “The Iranian region is one that has great impact on our lives today and has had great impact going back into ancient times,” he said. The story noted that USC and the Farhang Foundation hope to raise more money to create an Iranian studies minor. Payvand also featured the new courses.
American Songwriter ran a Q&A with Christopher Sampson of the USC Thornton School about the school’s Popular Music program, which Sampson founded. He noted that the program has been available as a major in Songwriting since 2009, and has incorporated a diverse range of musical genres. “We have now established a consistent track record of students having professional success to know that the program gets results,” Sampson said. He also highlighted the achievements of Songwriting faculty members Lamont Dozier, Andrea Stolpe and David Poe of the Thornton School.
The Economist featured research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that short periods of fasting could help cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy, and may even make treatment more effective. The Globe and Mail (Canada) reported that cancerous tumors are essentially energy hogs. “They need to burn lots of energy just to stay alive,” Longo said. The study was also covered by Irish Independent (Ireland), Magyar Tavirati Iroda (Hungary), Anadolu Ajansi (Turkey), Son Haber (Netherlands), Vietnam+ (Vietnam), Turkish Radio and Television (Turkey) and Romania Libera (Romania).
L.A. Weekly featured research by USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, which has developed video games based around physical movement for people recovering from strokes or other injuries. The games develop strength in specific body parts. Traditional video games weren’t right for these patients, said the institute’s Belinda Lange. “Often, the fun parts of the game would only be unlocked after a series of other levels, which our patients often couldn’t achieve,” she said. The games are now being tested with physical therapists in three major clinics.
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