The Washington Campus

The Washington Campus comprises 17 leading graduate business schools:^[3]

• W. P. Carey School of Business – Arizona State University
• Haas School of Business – University of California, Berkeley
• UCLA Anderson School of Management – University of California, Los Angeles
• Goizueta Business School – Emory University
• Warrington College of Business – University of Florida
• Seidman College of Business – Grand Valley State University
• School of Business – Howard University
• Kelley School of Business – Indiana University
• The Stephen M. Ross School of Business – University of Michigan
• The Anderson School of Management – University of New Mexico
• Kenan-Flagler Business School – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• D'Amore-McKim School of Business – Northeastern University
• Max M. Fisher College of Business – Ohio State University
• Krannert School of Management – Purdue University
• Jones Graduate School of Business – Rice University
• McCombs School of Business – The University of Texas at Austin
• Mays Business School – Texas A&M University
• And many other program partners worldwide

After serving in the White House as President Gerald Ford's Assistant for Economic Affairs from 1974 to 1977,^[4] Bill Seidman, along with other notable public policy officials and academic leaders, saw the need for current and future business executives to have a much better understanding of the dynamics of government and public policy, especially the impact on their businesses, industries, and on the economy overall. Business leaders needed to better understand the organization and function of government, as well as, the policy making process, in order to more effectively contribute their experience and expertise to the decision-making process.^[5] With the policy challenges confronting government officials, and the potential impact of policy decisions on the U.S. and global business climate and economy, the founders determined that it is critical for corporate leaders to engage in the process, inform the policy debate and understand the potential impact of policy changes on their own business sector.

Shortly after leaving his post at the White House, Seidman, along with colleagues from the Ford administration and other leaders in Washington set about organizing the foundation for the Campus. By the fall of 1978, the Campus consortium included nine member schools: University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Berkeley; University of Michigan; Cornell University; Dartmouth College; Ohio State University; Grand Valley State University; the University of New Mexico; and Indiana University. The first Board of Directors meeting was held in 1979 at The Wye Plantation in Queenstown, Maryland. Since that time, the Campus has grown in size, membership and scope, and continues to add new universities to its consortium membership.

The original signers of the Articles of Incorporation are: L. William Seidman, Hugh Scott, William F. Gorog, Sidney L. Jones, James T. Lynn, Harlan Cleveland, Roger B. Porter, and John J. Bell.

In 2012, The Washington Campus moved into their current location, at the L. William and Sally Seidman Center in downtown Washington, D.C.Although many sessions throughout each residency program are conducted in offices on Capitol Hill, and in departments and agencies such as the Federal Reserve or the Treasury Department, the center serves as the primary location for students when they are in Washington.

The mission of the Washington Campus is to ensure that executive and business students alike are given the opportunity to better understand the interactions of business, government, and public policy, in order to enhance their effectiveness as organizational leaders. With a variety of experiential programs and credit-granting courses, The Washington Campus is a unique organization that plays as essential role in management education.

In speaking about the Washington Campus program in 2003 at the 25th anniversary dinner for the consortium, Vice President Dick Cheney underscored the importance and value of the Campus, stating that "it exposed future business leaders to the work of government. And that exposure, we think, is absolutely vital. I think oftentimes when business executives and government officials meet, they often end up talking past each other. Neither understands the other very well, sometimes. Many business executives don't begin to understand the constraints and pressures that policymakers face when they have to make a decision or evaluate a proposal. And for their part, many government officials have never met a payroll, have never run a business, have never had to deal with government regulations on the receiving end. They have no concept of what the world of business is really like, and not all of them understand the importance of free markets, low taxes, and creating an environment in which businesses and entrepreneurs can take risk and invest in new technologies, and hire more people. That's why the Washington Campus program has been so important. They're helping bridge that gap between the world of business and the world of politics. Business leaders learn to see the world as Washington policymakers see it, and policymakers often gain a better understanding of the realities of business life.”^[6]

The Campus is governed by a Board of Directors composed of representatives from the consortium member schools as well as business and government leaders in Washington. The president and CEO is the day-to-day administrator of the Campus and is appointed by the Board of Directors. Board members representing consortium member schools are nominated by their respective schools and largely serve as Deans or in other leadership positions at their universities. All member schools are allowed representation on the Board. At-Large Members are nominated and approved by the Board.^[7]

The Washington Campus' MBA courses are intensive, five-day programs held in Washington, D.C., that provides participants with first-hand exposure to the decision-making processes in federal government and an understanding of how they impact business.^[8] Class discussion is generally led by a key faculty member, joined by guest lecturers from government, politics, business, and the media. All lecturers are guest speakers drawn from the highest ranks of government (such as members of Congress and current and former Executive Branch officials), the media, business and academia.^[9] Students often have the opportunity to speak directly with a key editor of The Washington Post, a special advisor to the White House, or a representative of the World Bank; or they may sit in on a lecture of a professor from Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University.^[10] Students from member schools receive graduate credit for participating in the programs.^[11]

The programs are guided by the academic standards set forth by the graduate business schools represented on their Board of Directors. Educational programs bring participants face-to-face with experienced policymakers, senior policy advisors, and experts in public relations and advocacy who explain how Washington works, how decisions get made, and who controls each step of the process.

Program sessions are taught in the Washington Campus conference center, as well as in off-site locations such as: Congressional Committee conference rooms on Capitol Hill, Representative and Senators' offices, the US Capitol, House and Senate galleries, the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Supreme Court of the United States, embassies and many other agencies and departments. Program sessions taught off-site relate to the speakers for each program and programs vary accordingly. The academic model for the Washington Campus is to use the city of Washington D.C. as the “campus” and leaders in Washington as the faculty.

The Campus maintains a network of experts across all areas of the government, who lecture on subjects including:

• The White House;^[12]
• Congress;^[13]
• Departments and Agencies;^[14]

• Press and the Media;^[15]
• Lobbying and Advocacy Strategies;^[16]

• US Budget;^[17]
• US Economy;
• US Debt and the Deficit;^[17]
• Banking;^[18][19]
• Securities;^[20]
• Tax Code;^[21]
• Regulatory Oversight;^[22]
• The Regulatory Process;^[23]

• Corporate Business;^[24]
• Corporate Responsibility;^[25]
• Trade Policy;^[26][27]
• The Regulatory Process;^[23]
• International Policy;^[28][29]
• EU Relations;^[30]
• The European Union;^[31]
• US-China Relations;^[32]

• Pharmaceutical Drug Regulation;^[30]
• Health Care Policy;^[33]
• The Regulatory Process;^[23]

• Science and Technology Policy;^[30]
• Telecommunications Policy;^[34]

• Energy Policy;^[35]
• Environmental Policy;^[36][37][38]
• Green Building;^[39]

• Education Policy;^[40]

• Defense and Homeland Security.^[41][42]
• National Security and Central Intelligence^[43]
• Foreign Military Policy^[29]