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Gulf Special

Commanding the Coast

Former national incident commander of the BP oil spill, Adm. Thad Allen, MPA '86, reflects on a career of Gulf Coast catastrophes.


By Caitlin Carroll

It's Sept. 19 and 206 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from a deepwater oil well. Adm. Thad Allen, MPA '86, has been giving consistent updates to the public throughout the summer as the government's point person for the disaster, at times describing the spill as "an insidious enemy that's attacking our shores" and "holding the Gulf hostage." Read more >

On the cover: Photo by AP/Cliff Owen


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Covering the Coast

From Katrina to the Gulf's troubled waters, a Pulitzer Prize-winning alumnus offers his view from New Orleans.


By Mark Schleifstein

During a press conference days after the explosion that took 11 lives aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling ship off the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal talked about the potential landfall of oil as if it were a man-made tempest. Read more >

Meet the Provost

The university's new No. 2 leader and chief academic officer is jumping into his first year at GW.


By Jamie L. Freedman

You can almost smell the pancakes frying as you approach the front door of the Mount Vernon Alumnae House on W Street, just across the road from GW's Mount Vernon Campus. The stately brick residence is now home to the university's new provost, Steven Lerman, and his wife, Lori, who joined the university July 1. Read more >

Introducing West Hall

A new bar for state-of-the-art residence halls has been set on the Mount Vernon Campus.


By Jamie L. Freedman

Amid mountains of boxes, duffle bags, and laptops, the GW community celebrated the grand opening of West Hall—The George Washington University's newest residence hall and campus life center—this fall. Read more >