Thad Allen and More
It doesn't happen very often, but when I gathered the mail today and sat down at our breakfast bar to look through the stack, I spotted the fall 2010 issue of GW Magazine and the powerful cover photo of Thad Allen and I could not put the magazine down.
I literally read it from cover to cover. I especially enjoyed the new "Conversation with President Knapp" and would welcome a sidebar piece on him.
Congratulations on a masterful job.
The further away I am from GW in years, the more I miss the campus, the students, and the incredible professors we had in the Law School.
Ron Aaron Eisenberg, JD '73
San Antonio, Texas
Art Detective
I just wanted to compliment Danny Freedman and Matt Lindsay on the article "Saving Grace." My unit includes responsibility for the agency's Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Investigation Program. I brought the article in to the office and shared it with the special agent and the management and program analyst that run the program. They enjoyed it so much that they shared it with the other agents across the country and internationally that get involved with this important work.
Just recently we recovered a Warhol painting and routinely get involved with investigating thefts and smuggling of art, artifacts, and other items representing a country's cultural heritage.
Keep up the good work!
Gary Kozlusky, MBA '01
Unit Chief, Multilateral Operations and Programs
Office of International Affairs
Homeland Security Investigations
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Editor's note: Looks as if we have another art detective to profile in an upcoming edition.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Please accept this letter as praise for the article in the most recent GW Magazine regarding the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers.
Mrs. Roosevelt is a direct descendant of Phillip Livingston—a signer on the Declaration of Independence and resident of Virginia. Phillip's brother—Robert Livingston—is my ancestor through my mother. He was the original author of the declaration and one of the five Founding Fathers. So, needless to say, I stay quite abreast of articles and papers related to my family history. Your reporting was exceptionally well stated. Thank you for your superior job on this article.
Clarence Henry "Chad" Livingston Hinnant IV, BS LTCA-C, MBA '96
Hayes, Va.
The Mayor
Not all of the graduates of GW subscribe to what I perceive to be your continued praise of liberalism. In the most recent edition, you included a lengthy article on Eleanor Roosevelt, two-thirds of a page on the new chair of the NAACP, and finally, an article on the new mayor of D.C. Within the past year, you also wrote a piece on Michelle Obama.
I tire of reading these articles, mainly because they bear little relevance not only to me but possibly also to many other alums. We can debate all day which side of the political spectrum to be on, but I thought the idea was to at least make an attempt at balanced reporting.
For too long the alumni magazine has seemed to be nothing more than a mouthpiece for the university administration. Or maybe you write articles that you perceive are skewed towards your alumni's political view and you want to be very "pc." That is what I see, going back to the Clinton years, when either of the two were featured in at least two of the four issues annually.
Have you ever written anything about, say, a grad with a PhD in economics that has done research on lower tax rates and government spending? Since GW has a partnership with the D.C. government, how about how market-based solutions or how charter schools are working in other cities? And surely there have been grads who have gone on to careers in the Republican side of the aisle, so to speak.
How about a look back at grads from various decades and their reminiscences of GW? Maybe an article on what it's like to have to get up at 5 a.m. for crew practice after coming in at 2 a.m. the night before.
I read the editions and will continue to do so. But if you truly want to be a great alumni magazine (and I am sure you do), broaden the horizons a bit.
John Kovarik, BBA '81
Stamford, Conn.
Editor's note: Thank you for your feedback. We do strive to be a great alumni magazine, and we welcome suggestions for improvement. Please keep reading; we think you will be pleased with some upcoming features.
I don't generally respond to articles from magazines, but in this case the cover photo and article on Vincent Gray were an embarrassment to all GW students who strive to be honest and forthright in their business dealings. If GW is truly committed to cultivating leaders for public service, increased ethics training must be embraced.
Melvin Bryson, JD '73
Woodbridge, Va.