News: Communication

Students taking the public management course this spring are gaining two perspectives on tools and skills needed to administer people and other resources. Faculty are tapping alumni and friends of the La Follette School to share their experiences in two panel discussions, one featuring recent grads, the other senior managers.

Jean-Rene Watchou has come full circle. Nearly four years after graduating from La Follette with a Master of International Public Affairs degree, he is back in Madison helping other immigrants adjust to life in the United States and navigate the legal system.

Sylvia Fredericks has experienced the good and the bad of Florida's higher education policy. The state covered her tuition, fees and book expenses for the four years she spent at the University of Florida. When she went to work for her alma mater, she saw students who were not prepared for college struggle and drop out. Her experiences prompted her to enroll at the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Even as Scott Williams shifts his career from journalism to energy analysis, he finds his communications skills coming in handy as he researches and organizes information for the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Energy Institute.

The La Follette School Student Association has launched La Flog, a blog to engage people affiliated with the school to share ideas about public policy.