Wiarda book aids budding policy wonks

Noted Beltway insiders recount careers in essays

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

Howard J. Wiarda

any undergraduates are attracted to life inside the Washington Beltway, home of countless government agencies, federal departments and think tanks, but information on those types of careers is often hard to come by.

     But aspiring policy wonks have an ally in Political Science professor Howard J. Wiarda, who has edited a new collection of essays by a number of prominent policy figures who recount their own careers. "Policy Passages: Career Options for Policy Wonks," published by Greenwood/Praeger Publishers, is aimed primarily at young people, says Wiarda.

     "I have so many students who come to me and say, 'I'm really interested in a career in Washington and I don't know what it's like," he says. "Students have nowhere to turn to get advice on these kinds of careers."

     Wiarda is a self-described "denizen" of the Washington scene, having served in the State Department and Defense Department as well as holding positions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Georgetown University. "I've been down there every week for 25 years," he says.

     Those longtime associations allowed him to assemble an impressive list of 20 contributors to "Policy Passages," including former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, political analysts William Schneider and Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Joseph Nye of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

     "This is not just the usual list of internship telephone numbers and addresses to be found in your college counselor's office," says Wiarda. "Instead each author explores a real-life career in policy, both the opportunities and the disappointments. ... There are some edges to this book. Each contributor offers a 'warts and all' account of the careers, including bad decisions they made along the way."

     The essays detail the challenges and rewards of working in the White House, State Department, Congress, think tanks, law firms, the CIA and Pentagon, the media and state and local government.

     "Any undergraduate interested in a policy career should take a look at this book and explore what kinds of pressures they might face," he says.

     Wiarda penned the introduction and conclusion to the volume, offering his own observations as a Washington "in 'n' outer."

     The title, he notes pays homage to Gail Sheehy's best-seller, "Passages," about the predictable crisis of adult life. In fact, Wiarda suggests that some middle-aged scholars might find the book useful as they explore their future career plans.

     Special sections of the book describe public policy opportunities for women, minorities and the foreign-born.

     "Policy Passages" is available in both hardcover and paperback editions.