The Odyssey

What if you could design your own case study? Our students confronted this question over the last two weeks during what is fast becoming an SEGL signature experience: the Odyssey.Read More

The Second Annual SEGL Homecoming Weekend

Our Second Annual Homecoming Weekend was a great success!  About half of our graduates, along with scores of parents, board members, friends, and current students and teachers, shared a memorable two days in DC.Read More

You’re invited: The SEGL Golden Mug Award and the 2011 Homecoming Gala

At our Homecoming Gala on Saturday, October 15, 2011 we will inaugurate a new annual tradition: The SEGL “Golden Mug” Award.  We are delighted to report that our graduates have voted Egil “Bud” Krogh as our first honoree.  Krogh, a former Nixon White House official who is Senior Fellow and Chair on Leadership, Ethics, and Integrity at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, will be in attendance to receive the award from our graduates.

To RSVP for the Gala, please click here.Read More

SEGL students sit in on Congressional Hearing with Ben Bernanke; meet Director of House Budget Committee

The National Debt.  According to some estimates, the next generation of American leaders stands to inherit at least $14.5 trillion dollars in debt.  And there is no consensus on how to stop our borrowing and spending.  Our students faced this monumental task in our final week before the Columbus Day holiday.Read More

Former State Department Chief Speechwriter Lissa Muscatine; Silver Star winner Elliot Ackerman visits SEGL for Master Classes

Imagine writing a speech about the current crisis in Libya. Then imagine Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Speechwriting critiquing that speech.  This was our task this week in Ethics and Leadership class.Read More

Ambassador Mark Dybul, Former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Visits SEGL for Master Class

Last week was a busy one at SEGL, as students tackled their biggest assignment yet: a concise, meticulously-researched policy memo on U.S. HIV/AIDS policy. Students presented and defended these policy memos before Ambassador Mark Dybul, the Bush Administration’s Global AIDS coordinator.Read More

SEGL Students Meet with AIPAC and American Task Force on Palestine leaders; Visit Holocaust Museum for Special Tour

This week we confront one of the most challenging topics in the world: the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.  Read More

Carl Wilkens, Laura Lane, and George Moose discuss Rwandan genocide with SEGL students

This week was one of the more fulfilling case studies in SEGL’s history.  After a Monday morning session that got students reflecting on differences within our community (political, racial, socio-economic, geographic, and more), we spent time on Tuesday evening’s Flex period (the evening without homework before Ethics and Leadership Wednesdays provides an extra opportunity for learning) watching and discussing the PBS documentary Ghosts of Rwanda.  The film outlines, in stark interviews and compelling images, the horrifying genocide that cost nearly 1 million Rwandans their lives.
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Bud Krogh, Linda Jamison visit SEGL

Our first week is complete, and it is hard to imagine a more promising start to our Fall 2011 semester.Read More

Fall 2011 Arrives

Windswept, wet, and none the worse for wear, the 21 students of Fall 2011 are here, and they are fantastic.  Hailing from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Vermont, they have already distinguished themselves by their enthusiasm, conviviality, and thoughtfulness.Read More

SEGL completes first-ever summer experience

What can eight students from an extraordinary set of backgrounds accomplish in seven days? Our inaugural cohort of Summer at SEGL students found out last week in a jam-packed, enlightening, and meaningful session.Read More

Join Us for an Evening in NYC on May 21st!

“Hark, what fine change is in the music!” – Two Gentlemen of Verona

Join us on May 21 to hear how our young leaders are creating a better world!

Click here to download the event invitation.

Poets House*, 10 River Terrace, New York, NY

Saturday, May 21, 2011

5:00-7:00pm

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Want to Spend a Summer at SEGL?

Now you can–so spread the word!

This summer, thanks to generous grants from two foundations, we are launching our first summer opportunity at SEGL. With SEGL favorite Bud Krogh as our co-Director and several excellent case studies in the works, we are anticipating an amazing week from June 19-25.  Financial aid is available.
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SEGL students get a direct lesson about nonviolent protest

On the afternoon of April 11, 2011, at 2nd and Constitution Avenue, there was a protest against Congress’s decision (as part of a budget deal) not to allow government-subsidized abortions for low-income women in the District, even though the DC government approved them and uses its own tax money to pay for them. Mayor Vincent Gray and several members of the City Council, as well as many others, sat down in the street and refused to move; they were then arrested by Capitol Police.Read More

SEGL meets with civil rights leaders, White House Social Innovation Director

If you were to walk into the SEGL Director’s Office, you would soon notice a prominently displayed photograph.  The picture (left) shows the civil rights legend John Lewis in a tan overcoat at the front of a long line of protestors who have just crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the now-famous Selma-to-Montgomery March on March 7, 1965: “Bloody Sunday.”  On the other side of the photograph, Alabama state troopers are walking toward the marchers with nightsticks and tear gas, ready to injure the protesters.  In the middle of the frame, journalists look on at history, snapping photographs.

On Wednesday, SEGL students spoke with Lewis, now a ten-time Congressman from Atlanta and an elder statesman of the Civil Rights movement.  He spent an hour with us in his office, telling stories and answering questions about America’s past–and current–struggles with civil rights.  Read More

Former Chief Speechwriter for Hillary Clinton gives Master Speechwriting class

Should the government cut funding for organizations (at home and abroad) that provide abortion services?  Congress is debating this issue vigorously this month, with passionate speeches from both sides of the aisle.  We are doing the same at SEGL.  Our featured expert this week was Lissa Muscatine, who retired as Senior Adviser and Chief of Speechwriting at the State Department in October.  A longtime Clinton aide, Muscatine was responsible for authoring countless speeches, including Hillary Clinton’s famous 1995 “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” oration in China.Read More

Responding to Genocide: Experts meet with SEGL students

How do you respond to evil?  This was the question students wrestled with as we tackled our latest case study on responding to genocide. The case study brought out strong feelings and also great hopefulness.Read More

Ambassador Mark Dybul Gives SEGL Master Class on HIV/AIDS Pandemic

This week our students tackled the global HIV/AIDS crisis.  The case study, which required embassy visits (the Dominican Republic, India, South Africa, Namibia, and Malawi), extensive research, and the authoring of a policy memo, culminated in a two-hour Master Class with Ambassador Mark Dybul.  Dr. Dybul was the leading mind behind the creation of PEPFAR, the largest allocation any country has ever made to combat a single disease.  For the final three years of the Bush Administration, he guided PEPFAR as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, earning bipartisan praise for his effectiveness.Read More

We love your email…

However, a recent issue with our email server might have prevented some of your emails from reaching us.  We have solved this problem, and we want to make sure no one fell through the cracks.Read More

Nixon White House Official Bud Krogh Visits SEGL for Master Class

Each semester several of our most distinguished guest experts teach “Master Classes” to our students.  Former Nixon White House official Egil “Bud” Krogh taught our first Master Class of the semester (taught in two parts) last week.

Bud, who is one of a handful of speakers to meet each SEGL class, famously served as the Director of Nixon’s infamous White House “Plumbers,” whom the President charged with “plugging” the Pentagon Papers “leak.”  Bud authorized the break-in at Dr. Lewis Fielding’s office, a decision that many historians feel led directly to Watergate and the downfall of the Nixon Administration.Read More

How SEGL is responding to the current situation in the Middle East

At SEGL, we are watching the events in the Middle East unfold with great interest.  Students are sending links to news articles, watching Al-Jazeera English in-between classes, and requesting more information.  And the learning extends into the classroom as well.

Too often schools ignore world events that will shape the lives of their students.  Tackling these events inside the classroom is challenging in a world of high-stakes testing and cutthroat college admissions.  The subject matter is also often outside the comfort zone of teachers.  But by refusing to discuss global issues in depth, our schools tell our students they are not important.  At SEGL, our intellectually entrepreneurial staff, our flexible schedule, and our firm mission allow us to learn about these events together while maintaining the integrity of our rigorous academic program.Read More

U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern Visits SEGL

To what extent and how should the United States encourage China to grow in an environmentally sustainable manner?

Yesterday, as part of our first case study on China and climate change, we welcomed the first guest expert of the semester: U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern.  Stern is the lead State Department expert on climate change, and he is the lead negotiator in global warming conversations with China and other nations.  Read More

The SEGL Spring 2011 Semester begins!

What do Alaska, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington have in common?  Each of these states contributed at least one student to our amazing Spring 2011 cohort.  That cohort arrived on Saturday and has already begun to distinguish itself for its collegiality and enthusiasm.Read More

Change Yourself, Change the World: Spend a semester in Washington, DC

Excited to spend a semester at SEGL during the 2011-2012 school year?  Fantastic.

Download an application from our Apply page and get started today.  In fact, why don’t you contact us to let us know you are thinking about applying?  We’re happy to answer any questions you might have.Read More

Welcome to our new website

SEGL has grown tremendously over the past few years, and so has our website to-do list. After a long planning period we have finally crafted a new website to take us to the next level. Here’s a quick list of some new great features:Read More

The Home Stretch: Veterans Day and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery

The air is chilly this week as we head into our final two weeks together.  We have experienced so much together this semester and the final two weeks are shaping up to be particularly special.

One of the semester’s most memorable visits came a week before the Thanksgiving Break, on Veteran’s Day.  The day was sunny and crisp, with the autumn leaves rustling the trees and security tight in anticipation of the Vice President’s visit. Read More

10 reasons why SEGL is the ultimate semester school for you

There are many reasons why SEGL is the ultimate semester school for you. Here are ten of them.

1. You will live and learn in the center of America’s political universe, Washington, DC.
2. You get to learn from and talk to today’s national and international leaders.
3. You will have the chance to tackle many of today’s most pressing issues.
4. You are surrounded by peers that are as interested in changing the world as you are.
5. You will hone ethical thinking skills that will give you the ability to make fair and just decisions.Read More

The Odyssey and the Homecoming

We returned from the October Long Weekend in time to begin two fantastic new SEGL traditions: Homecoming Weekend and the Ethics and Leadership class Odyssey. The first tradition brought nearly half of our first year graduates back to DC (many more attended our “virtual reunion”), along with dozens of parents, board members, faculty, and friends. The second tradition brought a new level of reflection and practical leadership skills into our curriculum.Read More

“Human Rights are Women’s Rights and Women’s Rights are Human Rights”

As we return from a short fall break there is anticipation in the still-warm fall air. Our Homecoming Weekend begins in a few days, and many of our first year graduates will be returning for a packed weekend of activities and fun.

The last two weeks brought two of our most difficult case studies of the semester. We first tackled the issue of women’s rights in Afghanistan. As the U.S. and Afghan governments contemplate reconciliation with the Taliban, many observers worry that women’s rights (which were dismantled under the Taliban) will recede. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, long viewed as a strong advocate for women’s rights, has the challenging task of balancing these imperatives.Read More

The Master Class

Imagine you are a member of Congress, trying to explain to your constituents why you just voted to send billions of dollars overseas to fight HIV/AIDS. Your constituents are angry. Why send money halfway around the world, they ask, when there are enormous problems right here at home? When thousands of your constituents are themselves battling HIV?Read More

Elvis, Nixon, and “I don’t know”

The last two weeks have passed by quickly, and the leaves outside our academic building are slowly turning toward fall. DC is feeling more and more like home to our students, and the piece of the city they will take back with them in December is growing exponentially.

Our second case study this semester, “Leadership in times of crisis,” gave us the opportunity to meet several historical figures, and to see how these leaders applied their ethical beliefs in the most difficult real world situations.Read More

Kant and Korea

Our first full week is finished and our students are already building intellectual and interpersonal memories that will endure far beyond the semester.Read More

Fall Semester 2010 is here!

Our second year began in earnest yesterday and already the semester promises to be incredible. Eight states are represented this semester; in addition, four of our students were not born in the United States. Half of our students are of color, and half receive significant financial assistance. More important, each is articulate, thoughtful, collaborative, and great fun.Read More

Call to Action!

America needs a new kind of leader. It needs leaders who are literate in the critical challenges facing our world. It needs leaders who can navigate with integrity the ambiguities of modern business, law, medicine, domestic politics, and international relations. It needs thoughtful activists, passionate social entrepreneurs, and relentless humanitarians.

If we show a talented, motivated cohort of young Americans how to be this kind of leader, that group will create currents of hopeful, infectious, and powerful change throughout the world.

The best time for this sort of inspiration is the junior year of high school: the critical moment just as young people are gaining the ability to think seriously about complex ideas. If we catch promising students at this moment and challenge them with new information, new questions, and new possibilities, we can help motivate these young people to change the world.

The School for Ethics and Global Leadership presents a compelling, unique opportunity to do just that.