One Leader at a Time: Study Highlights Failures of American Higher Ed to Prepare Leaders for Era of Cyber Threat
Newport, R.I. – America’s colleges and universities are failing to prepare the next generation of leaders for responsibility in an age of cyber threat. In a new study, “One Leader at a Time: The Failure to Educate Future Leaders for an Age of Persistent Cyber Threat,” Pell Center Fellow Francesca Spidalieri details the failing of America’s most prestigious graduate programs to prepare their graduates—and ultimately the nation—for leadership of … Read More
Sustainability: A National Strategic Imperative
In 2011, a strategic document entitled “A National Strategic Narrative” emerged from the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The “Narrative” argues for a new American grand strategy that would focus the nation’s foreign and domestic policies toward the common goal of building our national strength at home as a means to foster our credible influence abroad. Specifically, the National Strategic Narrative offered the concept of sustainability as our … Read More
Setting Sandy Victims Aside: Boehner Pushes Aid Package Off the Table (Op-Ed)
Here are some statistics from “Hurricane Sandy By the Numbers: A Superstorm’s Statistics, One Month Later,” a Time article published November 26, 2012: 8,100,000: Number of homes that lost power. The outages affected people in 17 states, as far west as Michigan. 820: Sandy’s size in miles, as measured by diameter of tropical storm-force sustained wind, as it made landfall just south of Atlantic City, New Jersey—more than double the … Read More
Pell Center Announces Fellows Program
The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy today announced the creation of a fellows program designed to drive the intellectual agenda and on-going research of the center located at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. Drawing from faculty at the University and seasoned policy professionals across the United States, the Pell Center is assembling a team whose members understand issues, are gifted communicators and teachers, and who have … Read More
The FEMA Debate: Hurricane Sandy Raises Questions about FEMA’s Role
Since Hurricane Sandy’s departure from the East Coast of the United States, 6.6 million people in 15 states and the District of Columbia are still without electricity—1.9 million New Yorkers alone are without power. All of the sights and sounds of The Big Apple—the subways, the trains, the city’s skyline—are either submerged underwater or shut off. In light of the hurricane’s aftermath, there have been discussions about how the federal … Read More
Opinion: Where’s the Dialogue on Climate?
Ten days ago, I had the good fortune of moderating a panel at the Association of Opinion Journalists in Orlando, Florida. The topic my colleagues and I were supposed to address was Climate and the Environment. As I prepared my remarks, I couldn’t help but think about how lacking the public debate has been on substantive issues for the last two months. Sure, there’s been a lot of coverage of … Read More
Do Facts Matter? Should they?
Former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously quipped: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” If only it were so simple. New research and events demonstrate that facts, science, and evidence don’t really matter when we’re discussing controversial issues—even if the controversy is engineered. A recent letter in the journal Nature examines the relationship between science literacy and the perception of risk from … Read More
Quick Hit: Shadow War between Israel and Iran not so Shadowy
Over the last several years, scientists associated with Iran’s nuclear program have been killed in a series of attacks. According to NBC News, the United States believes Israel is behind these killings–part of a shadow war to slow or halt Iran’s nuclear program. Just last month, the Washington Post reported: A scientist linked to Iran’s nuclear program was killed in his car by a bomb-wielding assailant on Wednesday [January 11, … Read More
ANALYSIS: How do you solve a problem like Iran?
The confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program appears to be heading toward a crescendo—and that’s not the same as a resolution. To be sure, talk of western or Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear program has been at a low boil for years, now. In recent weeks, however, the intensity has increased and spiked on Thursday, February 2, when Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote: [U.S. Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta believes … Read More