In a year that saw the Clinton School celebrate its fifth anniversary, the nation’s first graduate program to offer a Master of Public Service (MPS) degree finished 2009 with record marks.
As the school’s 2010 application deadline approaches on Jan. 15, a look back at 2009 shows progress in all areas: enrollment, academics, field service work and public programs.
“It’s been a transformational year for the Clinton School,” said Skip Rutherford, the school’s dean. “Despite the tough economy, we’re finding more and more people are interested in supporting and participating in our unique program.”
This year, the school admitted a record 36 students representing 16 states and five countries. The 2009 applicant pool was also the largest in history and 2010 applications are running ahead of that pace, Rutherford said.
Clinton School students completed a record 42 field projects across the country and the world this year ranging from supporting the work of six literacy councils in Arkansas to improving sanitation systems for remote villages in India. The 18 countries visited by students this summer was also a record. Clinton School students have completed projects on all six inhabited continents.
In the renowned Clinton School Speaker Series, the school hosted 115 public programs this year, featuring lectures from politicians, journalists, philanthropists, corporate CEOs, government officials and more. More than 24,000 people attended those programs with James Carville and Mary Matalin’s Dec. 7 Kumpuris Lecture setting a new record with over 1,500 attendees.
This year also saw the Clinton School graduate its largest class to date with 30 students completing the two-year program and moving on to careers in government, nonprofit, volunteer and private sector work.
Since opening, the school boasts an 85 percent graduation rate coupled with a 90 percent career placement rate, with graduates landing jobs with organizations ranging from the Wal-Mart Foundation to the World Bank.
“I’m proud of every one of our graduates,” former President Bill Clinton said recently. “And I look forward to seeing the difference they’ll make in the years to come.”
The former president recently hosted a private session with current Clinton School students where he discussed government, politics and international relations for more than two hours.
“It was a tremendous opportunity and experience for the students,” Rutherford said. “They were able to learn from the world’s foremost public servant and the president was able to see firsthand how his vision for this school is working.”
This year the school also opened a new video and audio recording studio in partnership with the Butler Center of Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library.
In addition to producing material for the Clinton School speaker series Web site, Clinton School students will begin work on specialized projects — the first being archiving the experiences of Clinton School volunteers.
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