Author Archives: Isabella Martinez

Sustaining Democracy Book Club – Fall 2020

The current political and cultural climate in the U.S. has made it clear that the foundational principles of our system of government — democratic norms, rule of law, and civil freedoms, among others — are both insufficiently understood and insufficiently valued by great swaths of the public. The same can be said of the opposite: The threats posed by authoritarianism, extreme partisanship, and political corruption to civic life and a humane society are also poorly understood and under-appreciated. The Jefferson Center has a critical role to play in helping UT students understand and navigate this dangerous and illiberal moment, in which the center seems no longer to be holding.

“Sustaining Democracy” is a new book club that provides UT students a space in which to read and discuss key thinkers and texts, both canonical and contemporary, that lay the foundations for democratic and ethical governance. Readings will highlight the specific ways that ethical and democratic governance is undermined by authoritarianism, tribalism, and corruption. Fall 2020 meetings will be held biweekly via Zoom, usually on Thursdays at 5 pm (alternating with The Jefferson Book Club). Readings will average 1-2 chapters per meeting.

During the Fall 2020 semester, we will be reading and discussing How Democracies Die, by Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. Participants are responsible for acquiring their own copies of the book.

Meeting Schedule

Thu 10/22, 5 pm:
Introduction and Ch.1 (Fateful Alliances)

Thu 11/5, 5 pm :
Ch.4 (Subverting Democracy) and Ch.5 (The Guardrails of Democracy)

Tue 11/17, 5 pm:
Ch.6 (The Unwritten Rules of American Politics)

Thu 12/3, 5 pm:
Ch.7 (The Unraveling)

The “Sustaining Democracy” book club is open to all UT students. To join, register at:

https://utexas.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUof–srz8sGdZPI4XbjA_fKat9UpRMMWJP

Professional Development Workshop: Networking in Washington D.C

WHEN: Tuesday, 13 October at 4pm

WHERE: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/92573659646 (Meeting ID: 925 7365 9646)

Description:

As part of the Clements Center’s mission to prepare students for careers in public service, we are pleased to host a Professional Development Workshop on Networking in Washington D.C. featuring former Clements Center students, Kelsey Ritchie and Maria Pereyra-Vera.  At the workshop, our panelists will talk to students about how to network, the etiquette of networking, and their own personal experiences networking in D.C. This workshop is designed for all students interested in careers in public service in the federal government, intelligence community, military, and large-scale international organizations. Maria is currently Special Assistant in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Kelsey currently works for Deloitte’s defense and national security consulting practice.

Texas A&M’s online Public Service Weekend

The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University seeks undergraduate students interested in restoring trust in public service and leading the way. We host an annual Public Service Weekend that will be ONLINE this year for those who have self-identified as future public servants interested in nonprofits, government agencies (local, state and federal), national security organizations, government contracting, think tanks, international NGOs, and more.  

For a few hours late afternoon/early evening on Friday, Nov 6 (2:30-6:40 PM) and the morning of Saturday, Nov 7 (10:00 AM-12:40 PM), attendees will hear about public service careers and what benefits they offer, participate in a career workshop, attend breakout sessions over various career sectors, join a faculty-led exercise, have Q&A opportunities with both an alumni panel and current students panel, learn the graduate admissions timeline and how to be competitive, and discover how grad school funding works. Network and fuel your passion for service while learning the next steps to take from professionals who live it!

WHAT: Public Service Weekend hosted by the Bush School at Texas A&M

WHEN: November 6-7 (Fri-Sat), 2020

WHERE: ONLINE via Zoom

WHO: Those who exhibit leadership skills, demonstrate an interest in public service, support diversity, and have a 3.0+ GPA (or other marks of academic distinction)

WEBSITE:  https://bush.tamu.edu/psw2020

Download our PSW 2020 Flyer

Click here to REGISTER

APP DEADLINE: Wednesday, November 4. We will provide reminders and a Zoom link days before the event.

Still have questions? Email or call us at 979-862-3476. We’ll be glad to help.

Orientation Advisor Recruitment 2021

New Student Services is recruiting Orientation Advisors (OAs) for the 2021 orientation season and we would like your help.

OAs support new freshman and transfer students as they transition to The University of Texas at Austin and are among the first people new students and families meet in their Longhorn journey. To prepare for this important role, OAs gain extensive leadership development and valuable work experience that serve them throughout their time at UT and beyond. They also learn valuable academic advising skills, engage in thoughtful discussions, write and perform in productions, develop creative media, plan large-scale events and much more.

This past summer, even amidst the adjustments due to COVID-19, our Orientation Advisors successfully led through the changes, fostering an environment of welcome and spirit through the online orientation program. Orientation Advisors are a very important ingredient to UT’s Orientation, and their work to transition and support new students will continue no matter the format of the Orientation program.

We want to build a team of diverse, talented and committed students who will represent the university well as they assist us with welcoming our newest Longhorns to UT Austin.  If you know a student who has the potential to be an outstanding OA, please encourage them to attend one of the eight required OA Information Sessions occurring from Oct. 6-19 at varying times via Zoom. Students from any college and classification are eligible to become an Orientation Advisor.

You may also make a formal recommendation to New Student Services here: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mmkM5f4IzQJRM9.

Students MUST attend one of the following OA Information Sessions to receive an application:

For more information and to see the job description, visit orientation.utexas.edu/OA. You can also follow Texas Orientation on Twitter and Instagram at @utorientation and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/utorientation/.

Texas Social Innovation Challenge: Impact & Sustainability Social and Fall Workshops

What: In a world of social distancing, find your place among impact-oriented innovators through the Texas Social Innovation Challenge, funded by Bumble! Part workshop, part networking, and part competition, TSIC is your one-stop-program for taking a passion for sustainable impact to pitching a venture for funding. Learn more and meet others at our Fall workshops and October 7th social! All UT-Austin students welcome.

When:

  • Impact and Sustainability Social – October 7th at 5:30 p.m.
  • Systems Thinking for Impact – October 13th at 6 p.m.
  • Human Centered-Design for Impact – October 23rd at 6:30 p.m.

 Where: Online; links to be sent to those who RSVP

How:

More info:

Kenneth Judd – Paul H. Bauer Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

Salem Policy Seminar: Monday October 5th, 12-1:30pm

Climate Change Policy Analysis: An Example of how Supercomputing can Solve “Intractable” Economic Models

Models that analyze climate change policies are necessarily complex because they need to include elements of both the climate and economic systems. The result is that the literature is full of papers that investigate a few features of an integrated system, justifying unrealistic simplifications by asserting that doing more “is intractable”. I will describe the DSICE framework which takes basic deterministic models developed by Nordhaus and adds elements of economic and climate uncertainty. I will illustrate applications to the social cost of carbon, how direct capture of CO2 could affect policy, and implications for scenarios of global warming.

Join the Seminar via Zoom

 

Policy@McCombs: Monday October 5th, 4-5:30pm

When Will the Fed Join the Third Millennium?

The U.S. Government and most businesses use powerful computing tools, but the Federal Reserve stands out as one government agency that has rejected modern computational tools. It is easy to document this description, but difficult to find good reasons for these gaps. This raises questions about the ability of a laptop-based Fed to regulate financial institutions that use supercomputers to decide how to respond to Fed regulations. I will describe the gap between computational science and computation in economics, and efforts to close it.

Join the event via Zoom

Soros New Americans Fellowship–webinar registration

If you or your parents are immigrants to the US, you may apply for a $90,000 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. This Fellowship is to support full-time graduate degrees in the US.

A webinar describing the Fellowship and application process will take place Tuesday, October 6, from 3:00-4:00 pm. Please register at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P90Cls8mQ-OVWBxvnbfPcA

Eligibility for the Fellowship is described here: https://www.pdsoros.org/apply/eligibility

An Evening with Bob Woodward

Join us for an evening with bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Woodward, who will discuss his explosive new book, the balance between journalism and history, and his nearly 50-year career covering nine presidents. The conversation is presented by the Harry Ransom Center, LBJ Presidential Library, and the School of Journalism and Media at The University of Texas at Austin.

The program will be streamed at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday, October 1. A link to view will be emailed to registrants earlier that day. Comments and questions will not be taken live, so please submit questions in advance as part of the registration process.

Click here to register!