2012

Ash Center: In His Own Words: Brian Hull, HKS MPP '12, Researches Workforce Development Reforms in Providence, RI

Ash Center: In His Own Words: Brian Hull, HKS MPP '12, Researches Workforce Development Reforms in Providence, RI

March 1, 2012

By Brian Hull, HKS MPP 2012

During the summer of 2011, I worked with the city of Providence to write part one of a multi-part series of reports on workforce training and placement programs in Rhode Island. Improving the employment opportunities for the city’s residents is a priority for Mayor Angel Taveras. As such, I had the full support of his office and worked closely with Policy Director Matt Stark, and the Director of the Pathways to Opportunity Office Natalie Lopes. Rhode Island has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation, and its capital city, Providence, has one of the worst unemployment rates in the Northeast (around 15 percent).... Read more about Ash Center: In His Own Words: Brian Hull, HKS MPP '12, Researches Workforce Development Reforms in Providence, RI

Ash Center: Covering Disasters in Southeast Asia

Ash Center: Covering Disasters in Southeast Asia

March 1, 2012

Associated Press Reporter Offers Perspective
By David Giles

In December 2011, the Ash Center’s Program on Crisis Leadership (PCL) welcomed back to Harvard Margie Mason, who studied at the Harvard School of Public Health on a Nieman Foundation Fellowship in 2009. She has reported from more than 20 countries, covering some of the worst natural disasters in recent history—including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Myanmar in 2008; and major floods that swept through Pakistan in 2010 and Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam a year later.... Read more about Ash Center: Covering Disasters in Southeast Asia

Ash Center: Two Senior Chinese Officials Perform Key Research at the Ash Center

Ash Center: Two Senior Chinese Officials Perform Key Research at the Ash Center

February 3, 2012

By Kate Hoagland

During the spring semester, the Ash Center’s Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia welcomed two notable Chinese officials as New World Fellows. LIU Ning is the vice minister and a member of the Leading Party Group of the Ministry of Water Resources, while Erken Tuniyaz serves as the vice governor of the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. As New World Fellows, LIU and Tuniyaz will attend classes at the Kennedy School and throughout the University, and explore research that promises to inform their professional careers and enrich the Center’s...

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Ash Center: Roy Ash, Public Servant, Philanthropist, and Business Leader, Dies at 93

Ash Center: Roy Ash, Public Servant, Philanthropist, and Business Leader, Dies at 93

January 13, 2012

By Kate Hoagland

Roy Ash, one of largest single donors to Harvard Kennedy School, died on December 14, 2011, from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Los Angeles. He was 93.

In 2003, Roy and his wife Lila endowed the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. Their gift allowed the School to enhance its existing Innovations in American Government Awards Program by emphasizing the connection between innovation and democratic governance.... Read more about Ash Center: Roy Ash, Public Servant, Philanthropist, and Business Leader, Dies at 93

Ash Center: NYC Business Acceleration: HKS MPP 2012 Samantha Silverberg’s Notes from the Field

Ash Center: NYC Business Acceleration: HKS MPP 2012 Samantha Silverberg’s Notes from the Field

April 2, 2012

By Samantha Silverberg, HKS MPP 2012

As I finished up my first year at the Kennedy School, I had three goals for my summer experience—I wanted to come home to New York City and serve the city I knew and loved, I wanted to try my hand at a new set of policy issues or challenges, and I wanted to apply some of my HKS classroom training to the “real world.” My Ash Fellowship in Innovation with the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Operations in New York City checked all three of these boxes and provided some valuable insights about leadership and innovation.... Read more about Ash Center: NYC Business Acceleration: HKS MPP 2012 Samantha Silverberg’s Notes from the Field

Ash Center: Reinventing Public Participation for the 21st Century

Ash Center: Reinventing Public Participation for the 21st Century

April 2, 2012

By Inessa Lurye, HKS MPP 2012

Many believe that the key to urban change lies in the collective power of ordinary individuals. For example, when New Yorkers were asked who has the most potential to help improve the city’s environment, two responses tied for first place—local government and ordinary residents. But what does a 21st century model for a citizen and government partnership for grassroots community change look like? How does the government capitalize on the ideas, creative energies, and capabilities of the public in a way that helps to improve people’s lives?... Read more about Ash Center: Reinventing Public Participation for the 21st Century

Communiqué: A Look Back at the Center’s Fall Democracy Seminars

Communiqué: A Look Back at the Center’s Fall Democracy Seminars

December 12, 2012

Protecting the Vote: Suppression, Fraud, and the Future of Voter ID Laws

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11

The Ash Center kicked off its Democracy Seminar Series with a spirited debate assessing the increasing number of voter laws in the 2011-2012 election cycle and the implications of the politicization of election administration by state legislatures. Held at the JFK Jr. Forum and co-sponsored by the Harvard Institute of Politics as part of its election series, the event featured Jennie Bowser, senior fellow at the National Conference of State Legislatures; John Fund, senior editor of The American Spectator; Alex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy, HKS; and Tova Wang, senior democracy fellow of Demos and fellow at The Century Foundation.... Read more about Communiqué: A Look Back at the Center’s Fall Democracy Seminars

Communiqué: The Bold Pace of China's Globalization

Communiqué: The Bold Pace of China's Globalization

December 10, 2012

Ash Center Hosts Wanda Group and Sixth Annual China Goes Global Conference

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11

Wanda Group Founder and Chairman Jianlin Wang spoke to a standing-room only crowd of students, faculty, and members of the Boston community in early September on the bold pace of China’s globalization. As a leading private enterprise in China with over $40 billion in assets in commercial real estate ventures, the Wanda Group most recently announced plans to invest over $10 billion in American enterprises over the next decade. This announcement comes on the heels of the Group’s already successful $2.6 billion acquisition of AMC Entertainment Holdings... Read more about Communiqué: The Bold Pace of China's Globalization

Communiqué: Freedom and Responsibility – Different Sides of the Same Coin

Communiqué: Freedom and Responsibility – Different Sides of the Same Coin

December 5, 2012

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Speaks About Shaping Myanmar at Harvard Kennedy School

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11

On September 27, 2012, Harvard Kennedy School welcomed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the JFK Jr. Forum to deliver the Godkin Lecture, considered to be one of the most prestigious annual lecture series at the School. Daw Suu delivered an inspiring yet humble speech on how she and members of her National League for Democracy party are teaching the Burmese to be citizens of a free society. “The best way to be a truly responsible citizen in a free society is to act as though you are already a free citizen in a free society,” she said.... Read more about Communiqué: Freedom and Responsibility – Different Sides of the Same Coin

Communiqué: Free and Fair Elections in Post-Soviet Armenia

Communiqué: Free and Fair Elections in Post-Soviet Armenia

October 31, 2012

Mason Fellow Researches Solutions for Sustainable Democracy

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11

“Elections are my passion – I believe that they are the basis for a sustainable democracy,” said Lilit Ohanyan, one of the Ash Center’s four Ford Foundation Mason Fellows for the 2012-2013 academic year. “However, free and fair elections on their own are not enough of a guarantee for a country to move in the right direction, and at HKS, I am trying to explore ways of ensuring that liberal democracy flourishes.” With both the American presidential election this November and the sixth-ever presidential election in Armenia this February, Ohanyan has much material to study.... Read more about Communiqué: Free and Fair Elections in Post-Soviet Armenia

Ash Center: Mind Your Elders

Ash Center: Mind Your Elders

December 1, 2012

HKS Student Evaluates Public-Private Partnership Solutions to Elder Care in China

By Shannon Ding

This summer, I participated in a 12-week internship in Beijing, China, sponsored by Abbott Laboratories that allowed me to conduct research on elderly care in China. This project grew out of my participation in the Ash’s Center weekly Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Study Group, where I had been inspired by another PPP case study dealing with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and the management issues facing that partnership in China.... Read more about Ash Center: Mind Your Elders

Ash Center: In His Own Words

Ash Center: In His Own Words

October 1, 2012

Where the Relationship Between Citizens and Government is Defined

By Victor Cedeño, MPP 2013 – October 1, 2012

My priority for this summer was to get policy experience in local government in an urban setting. My policy interests are in the area of economic development and equity, so I chose to work for the city of Minneapolis because of its unique economic position. Although the Twin Cities metro has an enviable 5.8 percent unemployment rate, it ranks as the worst area in the country for racial disparities in employment (African Americans are over three times more likely to be unemployed than whites). Working for the office of Mayor R.T. Rybak, I experienced first-hand that cities are, as is often said, “Where the rubber meets the road”... Read more about Ash Center: In His Own Words

Communiqué: Chinese Village, Global Market

Communiqué: Chinese Village, Global Market

October 29, 2012

New Collectives and Rural Development

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Fall 2012, Volume 11

Co-authored by Ash Center Director Anthony Saich and Beijing Normal University Professor Biliang Hu, Chinese Village, Global Market charts the dramatic transformation of the once rural, farm village of Yantian in the 1970s to the booming industry hub it is today. The book was published October 31, 2012, by Palgrave Macmillan.... Read more about Communiqué: Chinese Village, Global Market

Communiqué: HKS Students Gain Insider Perspective of Chile’s Disaster Recovery Efforts

Communiqué: HKS Students Gain Insider Perspective of Chile’s Disaster Recovery Efforts

April 27, 2012

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Spring 2012, Volume 10

At 3:34 a.m. on February 27, 2010, Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the world’s sixth largest earthquake in recorded history. From its epicenter off the Pelluhue commune coast, the quake and subsequent tsunami damage spanned 600 kilometers from coastal to mountainous regions home to 80 percent of the country’s population. The disaster killed 562 residents and destroyed an estimated 370,000 homes, causing over $30 billion (US dollars) in widespread devastation and economic loss.... Read more about Communiqué: HKS Students Gain Insider Perspective of Chile’s Disaster Recovery Efforts

Communiqué: Taking The Road Not Taken

Communiqué: Taking The Road Not Taken

April 27, 2012

Vietnamese Delegation Explores Alternative Paths for Future Growth in Vietnam

By Kate Hoagland – Communiqué: Spring 2012, Volume 10

In mid-February, the Ash Center’s Vietnam Program convened a delegation of 20 senior Vietnamese policymakers led by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh for a week of intensive policy discussions and analysis on Vietnam’s economy as part of its third annual Vietnam Executive Leadership Program (VELP). Held at Harvard Kennedy School, world-class experts on both the Vietnamese and the broader global economy led candid discussion and presented original analysis on the short- and long-term challenges facing Vietnam.... Read more about Communiqué: Taking The Road Not Taken

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