American Magazine: November 2013

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Harvest Home—a cost-effective, energy-efficient dwelling designed by Team Capitol D.C., comprised of 100 students and faculty from AU, Catholic University, and George Washington University—took home seventh place at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, October 3–13 in Irvine, California. The biennial competition challenged 16 collegiate teams from around the world to design, build, and operate solarpowered houses. AU handled communications, filming construction, blogging, building a website, and pitching the story to media. The D.C. team finished fifth in the communications AU ON THE ASCENT competition, one of 10 areas in which teams were ranked. Relying on a solar thermal system, Harvest Home features a flat plate collector to heat the hot water supply. The roof is designed to send rainwater into a rainwater barrel, which will be used to irrigate the landscape. Many of the construction materials were salvaged from buildings slated for demolition, and the flooring was taken from a nineteenthcentury church. Since the team will donate the house to the nonprofit Wounded Warrior Homes, the structure boasts a bathroom and bedroom that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. “Going from rendering to reality, it’s astonishing what these kids and faculties have done,” says SOC faculty advisor Larry Engel. AU landed at No. 75—up two spots from last year—on the U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 list of top national universities, released in September. In the last decade, AU has leapt 24 spots, from No. 99. The Washington College of Law is among the best law schools in the country, according to BusinessInsider.com. WCL checks in at No. 23 on the list, released last month. The business and technology website asked 400 American legal professionals to select 10 law schools that best prepare students for a legal career. Criteria included diversity and need-based scholarships, “which are essential for a top-notch legal education,” says Dean Claudio Grossman. In other numbers, Hispanic Business named WCL the top law school in the country for Hispanics. Ranked No. 2 last year, WCL seized the top spot from the University of Texas at Austin. “It’s an especially remarkable achievement that WCL is ranked No. 1 for Latino students in the nation, when we are not located in a region known for its large Latino population—like southern California, Texas, or South Florida,” says Tony Varona, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs. The publication’s 2013 diversity report ranks law schools based on enrollment; faculty; reputation; retention rate; and ability to recruit, support, and mentor Hispanic students. Hispanics make up 15.6 percent of WCL’s student body and 13.5 percent of the full-time faculty. ROAD RACING, FUNDRAISING Forget dialing for dollars. AU’s Methodist chaplain Mark Schaefer cycled for cash, pedaling from D.C. to Chicago to raise $5,000 for fellowship activities and student service projects. The 800-mile trek took 10 days, including a pair of pit stops for flat tires. PHOTO BY JASON FLAKES/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SOLAR DECATHLON 6 AMERICAN MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2013
news Jeffrey Harris, whose groundbreaking research on conflicts of interest between traders and regulators led to a major restructuring of the NASDAQ in the mid-’90s, is the inaugural Gary D. Cohn Goldman Sachs Endowed Chair in Finance. The chair was created by Cohn, Kogod/BSBA ’82, and Goldman Sachs, where Cohn serves as president and COO. Former chief economist at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Harris focuses his current research on trading networks and how market rule changes affect trading behavior. “I like to be hands-on when I teach and involve my students in as much of my research as I can,” says Harris. “By pushing their boundaries, I think students are better prepared for life beyond the classroom.” The endowed chair isn’t the only headline coming out of Kogod: the school has redesigned its full-time MBA. The new 49-credit program includes a study abroad experience and two signature courses, Business at the Private and Public Intersection and Management in the International Economy. Teams of students will also work with a faculty advisor on a consulting project for a real-world client. Kogod will welcome its first cohort in fall 2014. Two years ago, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The famed cultural institution was teetering on the brink of ruin, but thanks to the William Penn Foundation, the orchestra is enjoying a renewal. The foundation, which funds research that fosters creativity and enhances civic life, has tapped AU arts management professor Andrew Taylor to lead a three-year investigation into how three Philadelphia arts organizations, including the orchestra, can diversify their audiences and expand their financial capacity. Taylor, who came to CAS last year from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business, will work with international arts consultant Adrian Ellis, former executive director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on the $350,000 research project. “Capitalizing Change in the Performing Arts” will also look at Opera Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet. The job offer came a day after Mike Brown, SOC/BA ’13, collected his diploma. As soon as he arrived home in New York, the film and media arts major raced back to Baltimore, the host city of the Emmy-winning House of Cards, where he would work as an assistant to casting director and CAS alumna Kimberly Skyrme. Within a few hours, Brown was rubbing elbows with Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and director David Fincher. Set in Washington, D.C., but filmed in neighboring Maryland, the Netflix original series explores power and corruption at the highest levels of government. Each 13-episode season debuts in its entirety exclusively on Netflix; season two hits the Web in February. A budding writer and director, Brown interned in the show’s casting office as an SOC student. He says working with actors has given him new insight into the filming process. “There are so many different actors who walk through our doors. Sixty people will come in one day, and all 60 will interpret the lines a little differently,” says Brown, who also works as a lighting and camera stand-in for several actors. Though he’s not spilling any secrets about season two—will Spacey’s conniving (and murderous) Sen. Frank Underwood land the vice presidency?—Brown says it’s been a thrill working on set. “What you see on camera almost mirrors what is behind it. It’s so political and fast and cutthroat.” TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL The Sierra Club named AU the nation’s ninth “coolest school.” The environmental organization praised AU’s sustainability efforts, including its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2020, a new campus-wide composting program, and “a contraption called the Vegawatt,” which turns cooking oil into electricity. LGBT LEADER AU is the first university in the District—and one of only three dozen in the United States—to offer extended health benefits to transgender students. The new policy covers up to $500,000 of surgical costs related to transitioning—all without raising premiums more than a few pennies. LET’S TALK #AMERICANMAG 7
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Page 21 and 22: BY LEE FLEMING She had artist Claes
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American Magazine: November 2013

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