Volume 2, Issue 3 - Institute for Policy and Governance - Virginia Tech

deficit and the related fiscal choices that have contributedto it. And they should not be made accountablefor those policy decisions out of convenience or for lackof political power or for want of will among our leadersto address their actual sources directly.Instead, as our daily work with the poor andvulnerable and our related research suggest, these individualsare quite willing to work to better themselvesand to do so in the face of very significant challenges.In lieu of a politics of false absolutes and seeking to findsomeone to blame, and an ideology that incorrectlycontends that one can sustain democracy without activegovernance institutions, what the poor, and the nationmore generally, now require are leaders who recognizethe complexity of the human condition. They also demandelected officials, whatever their partisan leanings,who will seek to develop strategies that allow those implementingthem to learn how better to act collectivelyon behalf of the commonweal and to assist those amongus who most require our support, as members of onedemocratic polity.Just now, however, many political leaders refuseeven to imagine we are one nation and one people, letalone to take practical steps to assist our fellow citizenswhile seeking to learn from each. Government and thecommon democratic life it embodies and representsare, at their best, which possibility it is our collectiveresponsibility to insure, the expression of our united nation.Unless and until we recognize that basic reality,we are unlikely either to assist the poor and vulnerableeffectively or to remain a self-governing people. We havemade choices that have created the nation’s present challengingstate and the simplistic scapegoating politicsthat have come with it. We now must make communaldecisions that redress it effectively, and a good place tostart is to stop imagining we can set aside substantialportions of our citizenry as somehow alien and to beginto act as if we constitute one society. For our part hereat the Institute, we can and will do all we can to aid inthis process in our focus area by bringing forward empirically-basedanalyses to assist in understanding betterour democratic character and governance possibilitiesgenerally, and ways and means to address the challengesdaily confronted by the poor and marginalized, moreparticularly.Sincerely,Professor and DirectorVTIPG Celebrates its 7th Anniversary!July 1, 2013 – Director Max Stephenson writes, “Colleagues, I wanted to take a momentto write to note that today marks the 7th anniversary of the formal founding of VTIPG. As youknow, today also marks our transition from a dual reporting administrative structure with CAUS/SPIA and OIA to one solely with CAUS and SPIA. As I reflect it seems to me that in our timetogether you have built an active and vital research and learningcommunity that, as Institute Fellow Andy Morikawa recentlyobserved to me, “just keeps getting better and better.” I want toecho his thought and thank you for all you have done to bringus to the level of excellence we have achieved. I look forward toworking with each of you as we continue our shared journey.Our past experience tells me that it will be be both a personallyexhilarating and intellectually rich experience. Thank you for allyou continue to do and have done to make VTIPG a center ofexcellence in which we may all justly take great pride. Please doshare this note with the colleagues with whom you work. Weshould all note this special day.”In this issue...• Director’s Letter ... 1-2• VTIPG’s 7th Anniversary! ... 2• Acknowledgments & Accomplishments ... 3-4• Conference & Print Representation ... 4-5• Recent & Upcoming Events ... 5-6• Book Review by Sabith Khan ... 6-7• CoMPETE Overview ... 8• Summer Peacebuilding Institute ... 8-9• Faculty Spotlight: David Moore ... 9• Student Spotlight: Jackie Pontious ... 10• Community Voices Updates ... 11• Recent Commentaries ... 12Virginia Tech Institute For Policy and Governance || 205 W. Roanoke St. Blacksburg VA 24061 || 540.231.6775