The Obama Presidency: One Year In

(POL 174)

Last Winter, Stanford Continuing Studies offered a course called “Beginning the New Presidency: The Critical First 90 Days,” in which visiting journalists who were on campus as Hoover Media Fellows were matched with Stanford faculty to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the new Obama administration. The course was a huge success — more than 160 students enrolled, and the journalists and faculty enjoyed the lively give-and-take of each session. We’ve decided to do a “Take Two” looking at the first year of the Obama administration and asking a number of questions: What have been the accomplishments? What are the new challenges? Where are the surprises likely to come from — not just for the President, but for the country as a whole?

As he did last Winter, David Brady, McCoy Professor of Political Science and Deputy Director of the Hoover Institution, will start the course with an overview. He will be joined that evening by NPR science correspondent Joe Palca and by Donald Kennedy, president emeritus of Stanford and former editor of Science magazine, to discuss science, energy, and the environment. Over the following four weeks, sessions will include:

Melanie Kirkpatrick, The Wall Street Journal
Elizabeth Harper, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Nathan Thornburgh, Time
Bobby Ghosh, Time
Daniel Leduc, Washington Post
Richard Starr, The Weekly Standard
Stephen Haber, Milligan Professor of Political Science
Philip Taubman, Consulting Professor, CISAC; The New York Times
Stephen Stedman, Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute
Ann Grimes, Lorry I. Lokey Visiting Professor in Journalism
Fred Turner, Assistant Professor of Communication

This course will be hosted by Charles Junkerman, Dean of Stanford Continuing Studies.