October 1 Info Session for Washington Semester 2014

Washington Semester 2014

We are very pleased to announce the upcoming session of the Washington Semester, Extended Summer Session 2014

Our first Information Session will be held in Room 200 of the Architecture Annex as follows:

Tuesday, October 1, 12:30p-1:30p

Washington Semester is open to all Virginia Tech students, regardless of major, who have earned a minimum of 60 credits and are in good academic standing.  Enrollment is limited to 18 participants.

Application deadline (early decision) is December 2, 2013.

Final application deadline is February 3, 2014.

Please visit our website and Facebook pages for more information:

http://www.spia.vt.edu/ws

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Tech-Washington-Semester-Program/168662143182544

Updates to the website will be made as the information becomes available.

Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Washington Semester is an eleven-week summer program that provides students the opportunity to acquire professional experience in a governmental agency or other relevant enterprise in the private or nonprofit sector. Washington Semester Fellows will attend seminars that enable them to understand their internship from a range of analytical perspectives. While the program is open to all majors, it is of special relevance for students with career interests in politics, public management, public policy, law, or the nonprofit or for-profit sectors. Students receive twelve hours of academic credit for the program.

Internships:

All students are placed in an internship with a public or nonprofit organization that requires 30 hours of work per week. Placements are based on each student’s interests and professional goals. The internship experience provides a platform for linking seminar discussions and readings to broader issues of management and policy. The emphasis placed on incorporating both theory and practice sets the Virginia Tech Washington Semester program apart from other Washington internship programs.

Examples of previous internship placements include:

U.S. House of Representatives

Alexandria Economic Development Partnership

U.S. Information Agency

City of Alexandria, Department of Planning

National Institutes of Health

Catholic Charities, U.S.A.

U.S. Marshal’s Office

U.S. Agency for International Development

Arlington County Planning Office

HUD

American Red Cross

Human Rights Watch

Campagna Center

EPA

Street Law

Government Accountability Office

World Resources Institute

Curriculum:

Students enroll for all courses for the 1st summer session.  This 12-hour program is an overload for 1st summer session. Each student must get permission from his/her Dean’s office in order to add the overload hours (we will help you with that).

PSCI 4314 - Senior Seminar in Political Institutions

UAP/PSCI 4624 - The Washington Semester: Seminar in Politics and Public Policy

UAP/PSCI 4644 - The Washington Semester: Politics, Policy and Administration in a Democracy

UAP 4964 - Field Study - OR - PSCI 4754 – Internship

Tuition, housing and other costs will be forthcoming (since this program is held in Alexandria, you will not pay on-campus comprehensive fees).

Thurs Sept 19 Pgm, Power Lines and Parking Spaces: Impacts on Housing Affordability

Cosponsored by the Alliance for Housing Solutions, Arlington County Housing Division (CPHD) and the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs. 

Power Lines and Parking Spaces: Impacts on Housing Affordability

Thurs Sept 19, 6:45–9 pm

GMU Founder’s Hall, 3351 Fairfax Drive

6:45–7:30 pm Check in and refreshments

7:30–9 pm Program

RSVP at http://www.allianceforhousingsolutions.org/register-parkingspaces/

Speakers:

Michael Manville, Assistant Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University

Michael Manville has two primary areas of interest: the relationship between transportation and land use, and local public finance. He studies the willingness of people and communities to finance different government services, and also studies the tendency of local governments to hide the costs of transportation in the property market. He is particularly interested in how land use restrictions intended to fight traffic congestion can influence the supply and price of housing. His research has been published in a variety of transportation and planning journals, including the Journal of the American Planning Association, the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Urban Studies, and Transport Policy. In addition, Manville has advised local, state, and federal officials about transportation policy, and has consulted with both developers and environmental organizations about land use regulation. He holds a Ph.D. in urban planning from the University of California–Los Angeles.

Mark Silverwood,  President & CEO,  the Silverwood Companies, Reston

Mark Silverwood is President and CEO of Silverwood Associates, Inc., Silverwood Homes, Inc., and Silverwood Management, Inc., affiliated real estate development and management companies based in Reston, Virginia. Since founding Silverwood Associates in 1993, Mr. Silverwood has been responsible for the acquisition, renovation, and management of several thousand apartments in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Mr. Silverwood has more than 35 years of experience in the real estate industry, building more than 4,000 residential units and one million square feet of commercial space. He serves on the Boards of the Arlington Free Clinic and the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization. A member of the Urban Land Institute’s Washington District Council Advisory Board, Mr. Silverwood also serves on the Virginia Housing Development Authority’s Northern Virginia Advisory Board, the Governor’s Housing Policy Advisory Committee, and the Fairfax County Economic Advisory Commission.

Hon. J. Walter Tejada, Chair, Arlington County Board

J. Walter Tejada, Chairman, was first elected to the Board on March 11, 2003 through a Special Election, and reelected for full terms beginning in January 2004, 2008 and 2012.  He was elected as Vice Chairman in 2007 and 2012, and was elected as Chairman in 2008.  Mr. Tejada has served on many Arlington County citizen advisory groups, including the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, the Affordable Housing Task Force, the Sports Commission, the Neighborhood Day Organizing Committee, and the Bicentennial Celebration Task Force.  He is the founding chairman of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center; the founding chairman and a current member of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations; past Virginia state director and current member of the League of United Latin American Citizens; the founding president of the American Salvadoran Association of Virginia, as well as the founding president of the Latino Democrats of Virginia.  Prior to his election to the Arlington County Board, Mr. Tejada worked professionally as an investigator, a business consultant and as an aide to U.S. Representative Jim Moran.  He studied Government and Communications at George Mason University.

John Lutostanski, Project Liaison, Bowman Consulting

John Lutostanski has 30 years of experience in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area with all aspects of land development. His experience includes municipal, public and private sector projects. He facilitates the approval of the entitlement process by coordinating the efforts of the design team and building consensus between the various disciplines and agencies.  Mr. Lutostanski is responsible for the initial phases of public approval that projects must obtain from local government planning and zoning agencies.  He is a, Registered Landscape Architect in Virginia and he earned his bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University.

Joel Lawson, Associate Director for Development Review, DC Office of Planning

Joel Lawson is the Associate Director for Development Review with the DC Office of Planning.  He holds an undergraduate degree in architecture and a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning. He has worked in both the private and public sectors, at both the local and federal levels.  He has been with the DC Office of Planning since 2002 and the Associate Director for Development Review since 2006.

Moderated by Beth Offenbacker, Ph.D., Associate Director for Social Media and Engagement, Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs, Alexandria, Va.

Special thanks to the Geary-O’Hara Family Foundation

for its generous support of this event

2013 Fall MI+SPIA Lecture: 9/12, "Making the National Capitol Region the Next Cycling Capital of the USA: Opportunities and Lessons from Home and Abroad"

Please join us for the kick-off of the 2013 Fall MI+SPIA Lecture Series, hosted by the Virginia Tech Urban Affairs and Planning Program.

“Making the National Capitol Region the Next Cycling Capital of the USA: Opportunities and Lessons from Home and Abroad”

A Lecture by Professor Ralph Buehler, Thursday, September 12, 2013 (6:30 PM – 8:00PM)

Dr. Ralph Buehler, co-editor of the popular book, City Cycling (2012, The MIT Press), will share his observations about the region’s current cycling boom along with a discussion about the potential for Washington, DC, to become the Bicycling Capital of the USA. He will discuss trends and determinants of cycling in the Washington, DC, region in relation to other successful cycling cities in North America and Europe, and offer an assessment of how Washington, DC, compares in terms of cycling levels, cycling safety, cycling infrastructure, bike parking, the integration of cycling with public transportation, and the promotion of cycling for all groups. Cities seeking to make city cycling feasible, convenient, and safe for commutes to work and school, shopping trips, visits, and other daily transportation will demand the coordination of infrastructure and the promotion of programs, and government policies.

Thursday, September 12th

6:30 to 7:30 pm (presentation); 7:30-8:00 (discussion)

Virginia Tech Research Center

900 N. Glebe Road

East/West Falls Church Room

Arlington, VA

RSVP by 9/11/13 at https://buehlercyclinglecture.eventbrite.com/

6:00 – 6:30 PM Arrive early to meet Faculty if you have any questions about becoming a graduate student in Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP)

Light refreshments will be served

Limited Bicycle Parking available – please contact Tina Whaley at twhaley@vt.edu for reservation.

Hope to see you there!

Save the Date - August 23 - SPIA Graduate Student Orientation 2013-2014

Save the date, August 23, 2013 from 5:00pm - 7:00pm for the SPIA Graduate Student Orientation 2013-2014. 

All new and returning graduate students in CPAP, GIA, UAP, and PGG are invited to attend. The Orientation will take place at 1021 Prince Street, Alexandria, Virginia, in the SPIA Presentation Room (3rd Floor).

Reception will follow at 7:00pm

July 23 CPAP Special Event, Women in Leadership: Leaning In

Tuesday, July 23, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

1021 Prince Street, Alexandria, Va.  22314

Free

Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7427863941

This program also will be streamed online. Please register and choose the “Yes, I will attend online” ticket option and we will send you the link to the broadcast shortly before the panel starts.

This will be a discussion based loosely on the arguments made in a relatively new book, Leaning In, by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook.  Sandberg's central argument is that in spite of there being as many women college graduates as men, women in positions of power in organizations seems to be at about the same level (roughly 10% to 15% in business) since the "glass ceiling" was shattered a couple of decades ago.  She argues that, while not true for all women, more women should "lean in" to their work to achieve the top rungs in organizations.  As well, she places an onus on organizations to be more proactive in pushing women to positions of greater responsibility.  Read the recent interview on the McKinsey and Company website

Panelists:

Susan Gates, Ph.D.  Dr. Gates earned a BA from the University of Delaware, followed by a graduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.  She became a Presidential Management Intern and worked for five years at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a budget examiner handling State department and later Veterans’ affairs accounts. In 1990, she left OMB and took a job at Freddie Mac as an economist.  After a number of interesting jobs in different parts of the company – and earning a PhD from VT's Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) – she later became the VP of Public Policy. Since leaving Freddie Mac in 2009, Susan has taught as an adjunct for CPAP and is completing a book on the policy and ethical failures that contributed to the financial crisis.

Anne Khademian, Ph.D.  Dr. Khademian is the director for Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, and professor with the Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP).  Her research interests focus on leadership and organizational culture, inclusive management, policy networks, and the work of organizations involved in homeland security and financial regulation.

Ann Simeone, Ph.D.  Dr. Simeone is a recently retired federal government public servant (after over 31 years of service) who received her Ph.D. from CPAP in 2004. She retired from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of Department of Homeland Security.  In addition to policy and programmatic interests in immigration and management topics such as budgeting and analytical assessment, her research interests include budgeting, policy analysis, and ethics - especially concerning the role of public service in making government work.

Moderator:

Tom Hickok, DPA.  Dr. Hickok is a Professor of Practice with Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy.  He received his D.P.A. from the University of Southern California, an M.B.A. from California State University, Northridge and a B.A. from Middlebury College.  His areas of specialization include performance management, organizational development and public management.

July 9 Info Session about Graduate Studies in Urban Planning, Public Admin, Intl Affairs at VT in Old Town Alexandria, VA

Please share this information with others you know who may be interested in our programs.  Thank you!

 

Info Session about Graduate Studies in Urban Planning, Public Administration, International Affairs at VT in Old Town Alexandria, VA

 

Join us on Tuesday, July 9 to learn about graduate studies that are offered by Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) in Old Town Alexandria, Va.

When: Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The information session for the Masters programs begins at 6 p.m. and at 7 p.m. for the Ph.D. programs.

Where: 1021 Prince Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314.  Metro: Blue/Yellow Line.  Bike rack parking available and we are a block away from Capital Bikeshare.

We offer five graduate degree programs at this location:

□      Masters of Public and International Affairs

□      Masters of Public Administration

□      Masters of Urban and Regional Planning

□      Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy

□      Ph.D. in Planning, Governance and Globalization

Our programs feature outstanding faculty, small classes, and full- and part-time evening studies.

RSVP at http://spiainfosessions.eventbrite.com/

Fri 6/21: A Walk Remembering Samuel W. Tucker, Civil Rights Hero

Fri 6/21
A Walk Remembering Samuel W. Tucker
Civil Rights Hero who changed Alexandria and helped transform American Democracy
Co-sponsored by SPIA and the Alexandria Black History Museum
Alexandria

Participation is free and open to everyone. We will meet at 5:30pm outside the library entrance, 717 Queen Street.  The 1/2 mile walk will be followed by refreshments and conversation at the Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe Street. This walk is co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs and the Alexandria Black History Museum.  Questions? Contact: Matt Dull @ 202-821-3807 or mdull@vt.edu.

RSVP at http://samueltuckerwalk-eorg.eventbrite.com/#