WAIP Policy Salon with Rep. Marcia Fudge

In the fall of 2008, the Glenn School’s Washington Academic Internship Program (WAIP) moved to new offices on Capitol Hill and contracted with Washington Intern Student Housing (WISH) to provide living accommodations for our students. This was more than a mere move across town. It was a relocation to the epicenter of lawmaking and adjudication, and to the part of town that is home to countless university-administered internship programs that have in the past been so many ships passing in the night.

More or less immediately, the WAIP-WISH coalition set out to build bridges to the many universities that call Capitol Hill home. We began by sponsoring a “policy salon” that meets on weekday evenings, usually in the WISH-owned classroom at 239 Massachusetts Avenue. WISH general manager Dan Lewis donates the classroom space, while WAIP has taken the lead in finding speakers. Prominent among those who have lent their time and expertise to the joint venture are Glenn School faculty members Jason Seligman, Trevor Brown, and Andy Keeler.

So far this year, we have enjoyed contributions from several Washington-based university programs, including Johns Hopkins University (David Bernstein Professor of Political Science Benjamin Ginsberg), the University of New Mexico (Professor Richard Schaefer), and the University of Missouri School of Journalism (Professor Charles N. Davis). This fall alone, we have had a number of lively presentations from OSU alumni and friends: Jerome Pierson of NIH spoke about the U.S. response to the Pandemic H1N1 virus; Christine Kontra, legislative assistant to Rep. Steve LaTourette, lectured on the pros and cons of earmarking; attorney Ted Van Der Meid spoke about Congressional ethics; retired AP foreign correspondent Myron Belkind provided advice to budding journalists; and Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi talked about how Ohio State was in many ways the crucible of his political career.

It would be stretching the truth to say that the WAIP-WISH partnership has been an overnight sensation, but now that we are well into Year 2, we can claim one triumph in institutional collaboration, and that is the loyal participation of a third partner, the Congressional Black Caucus Fellowship program. Thanks to CBC staffers Ervin Johnson and Lynn Jennings, CBC fellows have attended almost all policy salon events. Last year, the CBCF arranged a presentation by House Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC). This evening, our speaker will be Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), who represents Ohio’s 11th House district, which covers downtown Cleveland and its eastern suburbs. Rep. Fudge, an OSU alumna, will be addressing a group that includes three Glenn Fellows who are residents of her district: Liz Hagan, Cleveland Heights; Joshua Kramer, Shaker Heights; and Jessica Meeker, Lyndhurst.