The Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service
The Lugar Program at Denison
The Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service is named after Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, class of 1954, Rhodes scholar and Denison trustee. (For Senator Lugar's homepage go to http://www.senate.gov/~lugar)
The program is open to students of all academic majors and partisan perspectives who are interested in government and public policy.
The program has two tracks:
- Track One focuses on the workings of American national government and offers a congressional internship as well as coursework.
- Track Two focuses on United States foreign policy and international affairs and offers coursework in foreign policy, comparative politics and international politics, as well as internships with the Washington Semester Program.
Students must earn at least a C in every Lugar Program course, including those meeting the foreign language requirement for Track Two.
The Lugar Program welcomes former members of Congress to Denison almost every other year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republician. While here, they appear in classes and meet with students, faculty and others in the Denison and Granville communities. A theme common to these visits is the importance of public service.
The Lugar Program Concentration
Track One
Students in track one of the Lugar program must fulfill the following requirements:
- One of the following courses:
- Foreign Policy Formulation (F'11 new course number POSC 215, was POSC 358);
- The Conduct of American Foreign Policy (F'11 new course number POSC 341, was POSC 359);
- The Politics of Congress (F'11 new course number POSC 307, was POSC 319);
- Any two courses selected from among the Political Science Department course offerings in the American politics subfield;
- A congressional internship.
Most congressional internships take place during the sophomore or junior year. Most Lugar students in Track One opt for four-week internships beginning in mid-May. However, several students have elected to enroll in American University's Washington Semester Program (American Politics) and intern in a congressional office for an entire fall or spring term.
Track Two
Students in Track Two of the Lugar Program must fulfill the following requirements:
- Four courses selected from the Political Science Department offerings in the comparative politics or international relations subfields; (Note: Foreign Policy Formulation (American politics subfield) may be counted toward the track Two requirements.)
- or other approved International Relations/Comparative courses
- Four semesters of a foreign language;
- Completion of an approved off-campus internship or program with an experiential component.
Students enrolled in track two may fulfill part of their language requirement during the summer at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies in the Monterrey Institute in California or a similar program.
Congressional Internship
Since the program in 1995, almost 150 Lugar Program students have interned in congressional offices. Most intern during their sophomore or junior year, although seniors could satisfy this requirement by working in a House or Senate office during the fall or spring semester. To date, most Lugar students have opted for three-week internships beginning in mid-May and carrying over into early June. Several, however, have elected to enroll in American University's Washington Semester program and intern in a congressional office for an entire fall or spring term. Students choosing this option must obtain prior approval from the Off-Campus Studies Office, must have a minimum GPA of 2.5, and must be accepted by Washington Semester. Professor Katz places all May interns and those enrolling in the Washington Semester wanting to work in Senator Lugar's office.
May interns must find housing on their own in Washington, D.C. A few live with friends or relatives in the area, while most rent apartments or take dormitory rooms at American University. To learn more about housing at American, go to http://www.american.edu. We provide each intern with a modest housing subsidy and, in cases of proven need, offer additional aid to cover housing costs for the three-week internship in May carrying over to June.
Most but not all of our interns work in Senator Lugar's office. Other House and Senate offices where Lugar students have interned include:
- Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI)
- Former Rep. and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
- Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH)
- Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH)
- Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
- Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT)
- Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
- Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
- Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY)
- Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
- Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
- Former Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH)
- Senator George Voinovich (R-OH)
- Senator John Warner (R-VA)
At least seven Lugar students - Chad Babin ('96), Dan Emerine ('96), Cori Barto ('98), Chris Geeslin ('98), and Cholly Smith ('00), Julie Black ('05) and Beth Kelly ('05)- have found employment as congressional staffers upon graduating from Denison.
Visiting Former Members of Congress
In cooperation with the Congress to Campus program, co-sponsored by the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service (http://www.stennis.gov/) and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress (www.usafmc.org/), the Lugar Program is pleased to welcome former members of Congress to Denison every other year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republican. While here, former members appear in classes and meet with students, faculty, and others in the Denison and Granville communities. A theme common to every such visit is the importance of public service. We honor our guests at a dinner attended by Lugar Program students and faculty, as well as representatives of the teaching faculty and administration. Beginning with former Congressman Romano Mazzoli in 1996, sixteen former members of the U.S. House have visited campus:
| Former member | Party and state | Semester and year |
| Romano Mazzoli | D-KY | Spring 1996 |
| Austin Murphy | D-PA | Fall 1996 |
| John Rhodes III | R-AZ | Fall 1996 |
| Glen Browder | D-AL | Spring 1998 |
| Lou Frey | R-FL | Spring 1998 |
| John Erlenborn | R-IL | Fall 1998 |
| Larry LaRocco | D-ID | Fall 1998 |
| William Clinger | R-PA | Spring 2000 |
| William Roy | D-KS | Spring 2000 |
| Beverly Byron | D-MD | Spring 2002 |
| Robert Daniel | R-VA | Spring 2002 |
| Arlen Erdahl | R-MN | Spring 2004 |
| Robert Underwood | D-Guam | Spring 2004 |
| Andy Jacobs | D-IN | Fall 2005 |
| Denny Smith | R-OR | Fall 2005 |
| Jim Bates | D-CA | Fall 2007 |
| Nick Smith | R-MI | Fall 2007 |
Students Completing the Lugar Program
As of May 2010, the number of graduates who completed all Lugar Program requirements was 123. Click here for the list of Lugar Program graduates.
What do our Students do after Denison?
At least five Lugar students who followed Track One have found employment as congressional staffers upon graduating from Denison.
Many of our students have gone on to law school, and some have completed graduate studies in political science and other disciplines.
Track Two represents a new response to the challenges and opportunities of the post 9/11 world. Track Two helps prepare students interested in obtaining a master's certificate at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) of the Monterrey Institute in California or at a similar institution. Students in the Monterrey program undertake further language study, complete an internship and develop a specialization in such areas as security, weapons of mass destruction, international trade and the international environment. This combination of foreign-language expertise and specialized coursework leads to employment in government agencies, international organizations and in the private sector.
Track Two is designed to facilitate graduate study for students who are interested in careers in homeland security, international business, global environment, and other international sectors but who presently do not want to earn a Ph.D., law degree, MBA or MPA.
How to Apply
Contact Andrew Katz, Program Director at 740.587.6405 or by email at katz@denison.edu. You can also pick up a form from the bulletin board in the Political Science office suite, Knapp 305.