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American Today's announcement of new SPA Leadership Director, Margaret Marr
posted August 19, 2008
 It was her students who urged Margaret Marr to apply for the director’s position of the Leadership Program at the School of Public Affairs (SPA).
A year ago, she knew nothing about the program. Marr was a new professor at AU, who joined SPA’s Department of Justice, Law and Society after teaching legal studies at the University of California–Santa Cruz.
But almost immediately, she noticed that some of her most committed students were part of the program, in which they hone their skills as leaders through four years of course work and real-world practice.
“It ultimately really is the students [who] drew me to it. They are dedicated, hardworking, bright students who are really committed to making the world a better place,” says Marr, a lawyer who continues to practice constitutional law and a social activist for causes ranging from civil rights to environmental protection to educational reform.
Each year, a cohort of 35 freshmen is admitted to the leadership program, about a third of the applicants. During their first year, they work as teams on projects around such issues as health and social justice. The class of 2011, for instance, planned and implemented a range of projects:
a series of events to raise awareness about Darfur, from a “refugee camp” and die-in on the quad to a panel with ambassadors and experts broadcast on C-Span a mentoring program at nearby Janney Elementary School a health fair on the quad an effort to create a greener environment at Macfarland Middle School in northeast Washington, D.C., creating mini-lessons and working to reduce the school’s carbon footprint
Throughout their AU careers, students take courses on leadership skills, do internships, serve as teaching assistants for incoming students, and practice fund raising. In the past, the students have raised funds for charitable organizations. That’s one of the changes Marr is planning.
She’s working on revamping the second year curriculum to allow students to build on their social activism, so instead of doing fund raising for others, they’ll design another social activism project and engage in fund raising for it. The projects could be implemented over a single year, or be developed over the course of their time at AU.
“AU students are generally outstanding, and the students in this program are remarkable in their achievements,” Marr says. “I want them to look at the world and not only see problems, but see that they can be solutions, and put their hard work and their leadership to work in solving those problems.”
As seen in:
AMERICAN TODAY
New director takes SPA Leadership Program
July 15, 2008
BY Sally Acharya
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