Posted by BEN BEAUMONT – The New York Times has an excellent feature today on past Clinton School speaker Chris Myers Asch and his quest to create a U.S. Public Service Academy. The academy would be like a “West Point for bureaucrats,” a Peace Corps for America. From the article:
With no money, contacts or obvious qualifications, Mr. Asch quit his job three years ago at a Mississippi after-school program and started a campaign to create a civilian service academy — a West Point for bureaucrats.
What began on the back of an envelope found a champion in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, legislative allies in the House and Senate, and a glimmer of plausibility in an age where President-elect Barack Obama pledges to “make government cool again” — the very words Mr. Asch has long used to sell his plan.
“The Public Service Academy can be Barack Obama’s Peace Corps,” Mr. Asch said. “He needs to take advantage of this moment when people are recognizing the importance of government and build institutions that will last.”
There is no word on whether Mr. Obama agrees, but the proposed academy has drawn past endorsements from the vice president-elect, Joseph R. Biden Jr.; the incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel; and at least three cabinet nominees. People who once mocked Mr. Asch’s presumption now congratulate him on his timing.
CLICK HERE for the full article. As the nation’s first graduate school to offer a Master of Public Service degree, the Clinton School is an ardent supporter of Myers Asch’s efforts. CLICK HERE to view his