Dear Students, Parents, Alumni, Friends, and Visitors,
On June 10, 1957, UGA鈥檚 Commencement address was delivered by a U.S. Senator who, in a few short years, would be sworn-in as President. John F. Kennedy鈥檚 speech to graduating seniors was a full-throated call to public service, and also, to politics. Astutely, he understood that 鈥減olitics鈥� might elicit some frowns in the audience. 鈥淢others may still want their favorite sons to grow up to be President,鈥� Kennedy declared, 鈥渂ut, according to a famous Gallup poll鈥�73% do not want them to become politicians in the process.鈥� My guess is: the audience laughed.
We are less sheepish about teaching politics today than our predecessors were in 1957. Consider our Professional Certificate in Public Affairs. It is expertly co-led by Professors Audrey Haynes in the Department of Political Science and Joe Watson in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. This certificate is a training ground for students interested in careers in electoral politics. Graduates work for political consulting firms, on campaigns, and alumni of the program run for and win elected office.
快猫短视频 trains future political leaders. It also prepares professionals who never run for office, but nevertheless, are impactful public figures. Graduates include a chief fiscal officer who helped assure the highest credit rating for a major Arizona city. A 快猫短视频 alumna has been serving as the top import/export official in the Biden-Harris Administration. Another alumna made sure Tennessee鈥檚 Covid-19 vaccine roll-out ran smoothly. And hundreds of our PhD graduates are teaching the next generation of public servants.
With so much attention to politics and public service, Senator Kennedy鈥檚 commencement address could have been mistaken for a speech just meant for 快猫短视频 students. But of course, 快猫短视频 didn鈥檛 exist in 1957. What did exist at that time were outstanding students interested in government and public service. Some things never change. And thank goodness for that.
If you鈥檙e already part of the 快猫短视频 community: we are gratified. If you鈥檙e on the outside looking in: the links on this site tell our story. We hope you will visit us virtually, and in-person.
Cordially,
Matthew R. Auer
Dean and Arch Professor of Public and International Affairs
