News and Stories from Hiram College s Garfield Institute of Public Leadership. Fall 2013 GARFIELD INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "News and Stories from Hiram College s Garfield Institute of Public Leadership. Fall 2013 GARFIELD INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP"

Darlene Campbell
5 years ago
Views:

1 News and Stories from Hiram College s Garfield Institute of Public Leadership Fall 2013 GARFIELD INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP

2 G Volume 1, Issue 1, Fall 2013 G is a bi-annual publication of The Garfield Institute for Public Leadership staff Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Kathy Luschek Sarah Bianchi contributing writers John C. Koritansky Hannah Petkovic 13 James Thompson contributing photographers Sam Adams: Cover Photo FALL 2013 mailing address Hiram College P.O. Box 67 Hiram, OH The Garfield Institute for Public Leadership gratefully recognizes Trustee William J. Recker for his generous sponsorship. The Garfield Institute for Public Leadership, Hiram College 3 2 INTRODUCTION Professor John C. Koritansky discusses the Institute s goals 7 4 VISITING CUBA 6 UPCOMING EVENTS Garfield Scholars visit Cuba and write about their findings A quick glance at the spring 2014 seminar series

3 PRUDENCE AND THE MISSION OF OUR INSTITUTE By John C. Koritansky The publication of this, our initial newsletter of the Garfield Institute for Public Leadership, presents an occasion for all of us who are concerned with the success of our enterprise to think carefully and deeply about just what our ongoing mission has been and ought to be in coming years. We are already in our eighth year! It was at the beginning of Hiram s spring term, 2007, that we held our inaugural January Event, the purpose of which was to announce to our friends and colleagues just what the Garfield Institute would be and why we thought it would make a distinctively important contribution to the College. So far as words can say, our fundamental, pedagogical, mission has not changed, although we may have a better understanding of what we intended given our actual attempt to serve the mission and given various correlative ideas that have been proposed and/or tried out, with varying levels of success. and in rendering our own views more considered, we do understand that with regard to all of the issues that we have deemed worthy of our attention there is always more to be said than we can say, or hear said, in any of our events. Neither has the Garfield Institute made leadership a direct focus of our discussions. We do not mean to rival or to extend the academic subject of leadership such as it might be pursued in departments like sociology, psychology, management, political science or communications. What we can learn from such disciplines about leadership, like what we can learn from such disciplines as international relations or economics about issues of public policy, are of course vitally important to prudent public leadership. One might also cite the importance of the interpersonal skills and rhetorical abilities that help a leader garner support for what his or her prudence recommends. There is, though, still something more to it. When all is said and done....but there s the rub. When, for practical purposes, is all said and done? Every important issue has dimensions that can, potentially, always bear further examination. One can always think more. And one can never know for certain that further reflection might bring something to mind that might radically affect one s judgment or decision. And yet, one must act. So how do we know when to stop thinking and act? What can reason tell us about just what concession to make to the irrational factor that laces all practical life, namely, the brutal necessity for timeliness? To this question academics provides no answer. There is only prudence. But although it might be invis- EVERY IMPORTANT ISSUE HAS DIMENSIONS THAT CAN, POTENTIALLY, ALWAYS BEAR FURTHER EXAMINATION...YET ONE MUST ACT. ible to an entirely academic frame of mind, prudence does exist, and many lack it. This is the lesson that we have always sought bring home, as a complement to our college. That is why we have often invited actual decision makers and public leaders to be our guests, so that we can experience, at least in a vicarious way, what it means to make and defend sometimes momentous decisions on the basis of what is always incomplete information. We who are the administrators of the Garfield Institute hope in this way to enlarge, and to legitimate, and to render more mature the ambition of our scholars, to face in cold sobriety the question, What is to be done? We intend the Institute to draw attention to matters of public leadership and, so far as is possible in an academic context, to promote the attainment of such skills and virtues as are at a premium in public leadership. The virtues in question have as their sum and common denominator, prudence. We are a prudence institute. Since, however, the vagueness of the words virtue and prudence is so widely recognized today as to have almost driven them from our parlance, it is probably necessary to draw some unfortunately subtle distinctions between our mission and those of other closely related enterprises. Thus the Garfield Institute is not a think tank, like for example the RAND Corporation or The Hoover Institute. To be sure, we do often invite and host discussion of matters of public policy among typically first rate academicians. We have asked that such persons share their informed, often conflicting, recommendations regarding policy options domestic and foreign. While these sessions have been invaluable in sharpening such issues October 28, :15 p.m. 2 g fall

4 g fall 2013 GARFIELD SCHOLARS VISIT CUBA By James Thompson In March of 2013 the Garfield Institute took an extraordinary trip to a beautiful island

A variety of government regulations have turned the act of crossing the ninety-plus miles of water between Miami and Havana into an unusually daunting

times like ninety miles of paperwork and confusion, in order to arrive, on a sunny spring afternoon, at the famed Hotel Nacional, in the heart of Havana.

the country s premier medical facility in order to discuss Cuban health care with the very people who had set up the Cuban health system, trips to small

Nacional, not to mention dinners on rooftop patios, lunches beside the coastline of the Bay of Pigs, and and The rationale for this trip was simple: Cuba

Its economy is being liberalized, more social freedoms are sprouting up on nearly a weekly basis, money is pouring into the country and thereby adding

And since the Garfield Institute focuses on issues of policy, our task was to determine an answer to the following question: What should US policy be

Months worth of preparation prior to the trip went into readying the Garfield Scholars to answer that question in an intelligent, well-informed fashion.

BLOQUEO By Hannah Petcovic An excerpt Today, there are 195 sovereign states in the world. 1 Of these, the US has sanctions against only 10 of them.

This small island, only about the size of Ohio 3, has been under U.S. sanctions for over 50 years.

While these facts allude to the past, U.S.- Cuban policy is far from an outdated topic.

For this reason, the US should not hesitate to act on the opportunity to change its policy with Cuba.

particularly those in agriculture. Additionally, I suggest taking the opportunity to collaborate in the field of healthcare.

class sessions by Hiram professors on issues ranging from Cuban architecture to Cuba s place in the realm of global politics.

In particular, we have collected a group of essays which were written by the Scholars upon their return from Cuba, in which they address the above

4 4 g fall 2013 GARFIELD SCHOLARS VISIT CUBA By James Thompson In March of 2013 the Garfield Institute took an extraordinary trip to a beautiful island which is frozen in time Cuba. Simply the task of getting there was a challenge. A variety of government regulations have turned the act of crossing the ninety-plus miles of water between Miami and Havana into an unusually daunting task. But we are, after all, an institute which is focused on promoting leadership and initiative, and thus we moved, undaunted, through what seemed at times like ninety miles of paperwork and confusion, in order to arrive, on a sunny spring afternoon, at the famed Hotel Nacional, in the heart of Havana. What followed thereafter were five days and nights of oncein-a-lifetime experiences: meetings with professors from the University of Havana, visits to the country s premier medical facility in order to discuss Cuban health care with the very people who had set up the Cuban health system, trips to small farms which have recently been allowed to keep their profits, class sessions held first on a beach beneath shooting stars and then poolside at the Hotel Nacional, not to mention dinners on rooftop patios, lunches beside the coastline of the Bay of Pigs, and and The rationale for this trip was simple: Cuba is changing. Its economy is being liberalized, more social freedoms are sprouting up on nearly a weekly basis, money is pouring into the country and thereby adding fuel to the fire of change. And since the Garfield Institute focuses on issues of policy, our task was to determine an answer to the following question: What should US policy be towards Cuba in this changing environment? Months worth of preparation prior to the trip went into readying the Garfield Scholars to answer that question in an intelligent, well-informed fashion. That preparation included two lectures via skype with leading scholars on US-Cuba relations, as well as a lecture by Hiram s own James Creagan who EL BLOQUEO By Hannah Petcovic An excerpt Today, there are 195 sovereign states in the world. 1 Of these, the US has sanctions against only 10 of them. 2 While each of these relationships and histories are unique, perhaps the most sensitive of these topics is the embargo against Cuba. This small island, only about the size of Ohio 3, has been under U.S. sanctions for over 50 years. Its geographic significance cannot be overlooked, considering it is less than an hour flight away from the Florida coastline. While these facts allude to the past, U.S.- Cuban policy is far from an outdated topic. Considering Cuba s shift in economic policies, death of Hugo Chavez, and aging Castro family, modern Cuba is in a time of tremendous change. For this reason, the US should not hesitate to act on the opportunity to change its policy with Cuba. In order to do so, I argue that the US should make changes to the embargo in a ways that support private entrepreneurs with technology and finances, particularly those in agriculture. Additionally, I suggest taking the opportunity to collaborate in the field of healthcare. By making these changes, the US will maintain the essence of the embargo, has served as ambassador to multiple Latin American countries and multiple class sessions by Hiram professors on issues ranging from Cuban architecture to Cuba s place in the realm of global politics. The results have been impressive. In particular, we have collected a group of essays which were written by the Scholars upon their return from Cuba, in which they address the above mentioned question. These essays will soon be posted on the Garfield Institute website, and we invite you to give them a read. and therefore a stance against the Castro regime, while promoting change. To defend this argument, I will begin by presenting opinions for and against the embargo. Afterward, I will continue by addressing the opportunity for collaboration within agriculture and healthcare. Concluding remarks will address the issue of communication between the two countries. 1 Countries and Regions of the World from A-Z, One World Nations Online, accessed April 9, 2013, 2 OFAC Sanctions Programs, US Department of the Treasury, accessed April 9, 2013, 3 Central America and Caribbean: Cuba, Central Intelligence Agency, accessed April 9, 2013, To read Hannah s complete essay, click here. 5

5 G GARFIELD INSTITUTE EVENTS PAST EVENT SNAPSHOT Who? Mark S. Sniderman When? September 24, 2013 What? Federal Debt Mark S. Sniderman, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland spoke to our twentyfive Garfield Student Scholars in September. His presentation was titled, Federal Debt: Trends, Projections and Implications. Following his lecture, Mr. Sniderman answered questions that our scholars prepared. For more information about Sniderman, visit his bio below: org/about_us/officers_and_ boards/sniderman/index.cfm GARFIELD INSTITUTE SPRING SEMINAR The World State Debate FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2014 PANEL DISCUSSION 4:15 6:15 P.M. KC BALLROOM, HIRAM COLLEGE PARTICIPANTS: ALEXANDER WENDT Mershon Professor of International Security and Professor of Political Science, The Ohio State University, TIMOTHY BURNS Professor of Political Science, Baylor University, Globalization the process whereby international rules and regimes progressively impinge upon the behavior of states and organizations is the major trend in international politics. The seemingly logical endpoint of this trend, in turn, is the formation of a global state. In the Spring seminar, Professor Alex Wendt will argue that this logical endpoint is not simply likely to occur but that it ought to do so, since from a normative perspective it provides a superior political arrangement to the current status quo. Professor Tim Burns, in contrast, will be raising a series of concerns pertaining to the limitations normative and practical of such a globe-spanning political construct. Reception and dinner immediately following panel ABOUT THE GARFIELD INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP Hiram College is one of four schools to have their president serve as Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America. James A. Garfield was both a student and president of Hiram College before leading troops in the Civil War and beginning his political career. To keep this history alive, Hiram College created the Garfield Institute for Public Leadership to exemplify Garfield s dedication to public service. Since its inception, the Institute has been working with numerous scholars and the community at large to improve political efficacy and plant the seeds of public service. CONTACT Center Director Kathy Luschek luschekk@hiram.edu GARFIELD INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC LEADERSHIP

UNA NY. Nations Association of New York

UNA NY. Nations Association of New York UNA NY United Nations Association of New York The United Nations Association of New York and the other more than 175 community-based chapters around our country are all part of the way the UNA-USA creates