Experts in the News | Miller Center

Democrats 'Big Tent' Strategy Will Help Down-Ballot: Lu

Chris Lu, Former Deputy Secretary of Labor under Obama and Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center, discusses the key takeaways from the DNC and outlook for the election. Hosted by Paul Sweeney and Vonnie Quinn.

Chris Lu

How Distance Learning Could Put Chinese Students at US Universities at Risk

As school begins again, predominantly in online classrooms, many students who would otherwise be attending US institutions are stuck outside of the United States. Trump administration travel bans, reductions in flights, and the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 mean that US universities are delivering education from the US to students located in other countries. Chinese students, the largest group of international students in the United States, totaled nearly 400,000 in the 2018-2019 academic year. This new prevalence of online education conducted by US universities for students in China presents a serious risk to the academic freedom of those students.

Aynne Kokas

‘We’d Never Seen a Convention as Bizarre as 2016’

“There is a persistent theme of a nation under siege, in his acceptance address, in his inaugural address, and you go to Mount Rushmore,” said presidential historian Russell Riley, referring to Trump’s address this past July 4 in South Dakota in which he decried “violent mayhem” and “angry mobs” whose “goal is the end of America.”

Russell Riley

Biden, the proof of leadership

Joe Biden, 77, two failed White House nominations in the past, is now the official Democratic Party candidate. Have you shown enough leadership in your eight years as vice president alongside Barack Obama? Not yet. At least according to Barbara Perry, director of Presidential Studies at the Miller Center of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Barbara Perry

How and why Hollywood self-censors for China

Chinese and U.S. box office takings have vied for global first place in recent years. The University of Virginia’s Aynne Kokas told Marketplace late last month that “in March, it looked like the U.S. was actually poised to dramatically overtake the Chinese film market for 2020. Now it looks like we’re seeing the reverse.”

Aynne Kokas

Politics risks overshadowing business strategy in TikTok sale talks – analyst

Aynne Kokas, a Kluge fellow at the Library of Congress who specializes in US-China media and tech relations, said in an interview that there are multiple issues with Trump naming specific companies as prospective buyers of TikTok.

Aynne Kokas