The Euclid Corridor Project

Joseph A. Calabrese - Chief Executive Officer, Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority

Friday September 14, 2007
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Inamori Center
Room 9 Crawford Hall

Dear Colleagues:

This week's Public Affairs Discussion topic might well be encountered on the way to the discussion. It's hard to miss the Euclid Corridor Project, and it seems worthwhile to ask the obvious questions like, "when will it be done?" "what are they doing?" and "why does it take so long?" So we are very glad and grateful that Joseph A. Calabrese, General Manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, has agreed to join us and help us understand what's going on and why.

There are a lot of questions about economic development, but to my mind the more interesting question (because it is more likely to have answers) is what's involved in implementing a project like this. RTA has to work with an amazing array of other public agencies, private organizations (the utilities, University Circle, contractors) and interests (community groups, public officials). The politics of public works and practice of civil engineering are what determine schedules, hassles, and how well the project will work (physically) in the end. I look forward to learning about this very concrete form of politics. And I'm sure that people will have a very wide variety of questions.

The lunch is brown bag, but cookies and some beverages are provided. Thank you to Dr. Greg Eastwood, Inamori Center Director, for making the space available. Thank you to Lara Kalafatis and the Office of Alumni Relations, Development and Events for initial funding for the costs of beverages and cookies. We are also collecting contributions from generous souls towards the remaining costs of refreshments; please contact Joe White (joseph.white@case.edu; 368-2426) if you can help out!

The remainder of this e-mail reports what we know about the schedule for the rest of the semester. We will be sending out announcements each week. If you would prefer not to receive the announcements, please inform Dr. Andrew Lucker, Associate Director of the Center for Policy Studies, by e-mail (andrew.lucker@case.edu).

About Our Guest

Joseph Calabrese was named the CEO and General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in February 2000 bringing nearly 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Syracuse University, MBA, University of Buffalo and held post-graduate fellowships at Northeastern, University of Chicago and the Wharton School. He has made many changes at RTA. With a motto of "back to the basics," he has led an aggressive bus replacement program, rail system renovation program, and increased emphasis on image, financial management and enhanced customer service. The focus on customer service has resulted in a quarterly report card relating to RTA's performance in key areas, a TEAM employee incentive program and an unconditional customer guarantee, Ride Happy or Ride Free. As a result RTA has experienced three consecutive years of ridership growth. Past president of the New York State Public Transit Association, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Public Transit Association, and is President of the Ohio Public Transit Association.

Friday Lunch and Other Public Affairs Upcoming Topics and Speakers: (as of August 27)

Sept 17 University Event: Religion and the Constitution. In Ford Auditorium, 4:30 - 6:00. Moderated by Laura Tartakoff, Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science. Speakers will be George W. Dent Jr., Professor of Law; Gary Simson, Professor and Dean of Law; and Joseph White, Professor of Political Science

Sept 21: Attitudes Towards Terrorism Within Muslim Nations. Karl Kaltenthaler, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, Center for Policy Studies, University of Akron

Sept 28: The Roberts Court. Jonathan Adler, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Business Law and Regulation; and Jonathan Entin, Professor of Law and Political Science

Oct 5: Women in Corporate Leadership. Diana Bilimoria, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior.

Oct 12: Clean, Lean and Green? The Great Lakes Institute for Energy Research at Case Western Reserve University. J. Iwan D. Alexander, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director, National Center for Space Exploration and Research; and Norman Tien, Dean, Case School of Engineering.

Oct 19: The Peanut Allergy Puzzles. Dr. Alton Melton, Section Head, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital.

Other Friday Lunch topics and speakers TBA.

Also coming to campus:

October 25, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m., Ford Auditorium. Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University (and Dean of Graduate Studies 2005-2007). A former President of both the American Political Science Association and of the Social Science History Association, among many other contributions, Dr. Skocpol is one of the most distinguished political scientists in the country.

November 12, 4:15 - 5:45 p.m., Ford Auditorium. Thomas Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, will speak on "The Invisible Primary: Money, Media and Polls in the 2008 Presidential Race."

For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies programs, please see http://policy.case.edu.

September 10, 2007

A weekly newsletter published by the Center for Policy Studies, Case Western Reserve University. If you would like to not receive this weekly e-mail or you would like to submit items for inclusion please send a notice to: pubpol@case.edu.

Upcoming Events

Third Annual Constitution Day Forum: Religion and the Constitution

Monday September 17, 2007
4:30 p.m. ― 6:00 p.m.
Ford Auditorium,
Allen Medical Library
Adelbert and Euclid Avenue
Case Western Reserve University

One of the most widely-disputed issues about the American Constitution involves the relationship it might create between church and state.  In the world of the late 18th century, this was normally viewed as involving the relationship between distinct secular and religious institutions, particularly whether any individual church would be "established" with the support of the state.  In the United States of the 21st century, it involves a host of controversies involving public policy and public displays of religious belief.  Those controversies are debated within a context in which religious beliefs and intensity of religious practice are widely described as one of the divisions driving American partisan politics.

For Constitution Day, 2007, faculty of Case Western Reserve University's School of Law and Department of Political Science will address issues of religion and the Constitution.  Joseph White, Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy, will talk about the boundaries of the issue: how religious beliefs have always been central to American politics and religious institutions are currently part of public policy, regardless of the questions that might be raised about what the First Amendment allows or requires.  Then George W. Dent Jr., the Schott - van den Eyden Professor of Law, and Gary J. Simson, the Joseph C. Hostetler - Baker & Hostetler Professor and Dean of the School of Law, will address issues of constitutional interpretation, including the effects of the First Amendment prohibition that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

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About the Friday Lunch Newsletter

Submissions for the Friday Lunch Newsletter may be e-mailed to pubpol@case.edu. All submissions must be received at least a week prior to inclusion in the weekly e-mail and will be reviewed for timeliness and relevance to the Center for Policy Studies audience.

E-mail pubpol@case.edu.