May 2007

News Briefs

GW’s Graduate Programs Rank Among Nation’s Best

GW’s Law School, School of Public Health and Health Services, and Graduate School of Education and Human Development placed in the top 25 nationally in the most recent “America’s Best Graduate Schools” guide published by U.S. News & World Report.

The University’s Law School ranked 22nd on this year’s list of 184 accredited law schools. Among law specialties, GW’s intellectual property law program was named the country’s third-best program for the third straight year; the international law program was ranked eighth; environmental law placed 12th; and clinical training ranked 23rd. The GW Law School also performs well on measures of student diversity.

In the health disciplines, the University’s public health program placed 19th. GW’s physician assistant program ranked fourth in the nation; rehabilitation counseling program was sixth; health care management was 28th; speech-language pathology was 39th; nursing was 63rd; and clinical psychology was 77th.

GW School of Business jumped eight spots to place 62nd and the part-time M.B.A. program ranked 26th. The Graduate School of Education and Human Development placed 28th out of the 243 education schools that participated in the survey. The University’s education policy program ranked 19th.

The 2008 guide also included previously ranked programs in public affairs and policy. GW’s graduate programs in health policy and management ranked sixth, and the University was ranked 10th in the nation for its public affairs graduate studies.

UPD Chief Receives Director of the Year Award

Campus Safety Magazine named Dolores Stafford, chief of GW’s University Police Department, recipient of its first annual Campus Safety Director of the Year/Education Award. A profile of Stafford and GW’s University Police Department is featured in the April/May issue of the magazine.

“The University Police Department has advanced greatly since the arrival of Chief Stafford 15 years ago,” says GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “Dolores has been able to adapt and improve the infrastructure to benefit the GW community, becoming one of the nation’s foremost authorities on how best to handle campus safety issues that range from day-to-day oversight of building security, campus patrols, and student safety to working with the Metropolitan Police and diplomatic security for the many dignitaries, heads of state, and U.S. presidents who visit GW.”

As one of the nation’s few women police chiefs, Stafford has won numerous accolades for her 22 years of service in the law enforcement field. She served as the first female president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators in 2003 and won the “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” award in 2002. In 2004, Stafford was honored by the European Association for Campus Security for her expertise and achievements in campus security.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu