Last October, the House passed H.R. 1680, the “Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007,” which imposed sale limits on the chemical utilized in the 1993 terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 destruction of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Sponsored by Congressman Ben­nie G. Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, the approved bill was a victory shared by five M.P.A. students at Maxwell. In 2005 they had conducted extensive research for the legislation while taking part in the M.P.A. Workshop—the so-called “capstone project”—as part of their degree.

The M.P.A. Workshop has been a cornerstone of the M.P.A. program for at least 20 years. During an intensive four-week period near the end of their academic year, teams of students conduct research projects for clients in local and federal government, and in private-sector not-for-profits. They then provide recommendations for future action in the form of an oral presentation to the client, followed by a white paper. In the M.P.A. degree program, the “capstones” play roughly the same role as a thesis.

“The purpose of the capstone is to be an integrative experience for students,” says Stuart Bretschneider, chair of public administration. “The data collection can be very time-consuming and the subsequent analysis equally taxing.” Research draws upon student skills in statistics, economics, and management analysis. Subject matter is far-ranging; past projects have included, for example, an assessment of the need for a taxi shuttle to the Syracuse airport and a proposal to develop health care programs for the Oneida Indian Nation. An average of 20 projects are completed by student teams each academic year.

The ammonium nitrate project was sponsored by the House Committee for Homeland Security and came to Maxwell through William C. Banks, professor of law and public administration, who learned of it from colleagues on the Hill. Politicians wanted to restrict terrorist access to ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers, while preserving agricultural use by farmers. Banks recognized the work’s importance as crucial legislation, of course, but also as an ideal capstone project.

“This was an important component of the overall regulation of toxic materials that can be used for terrorist ends,” said Banks, who stepped up as the project’s faculty advisor.

The greatest demand of the project, says Andrew Lee ’05 M.P.A., one of the students who participated in it, was reviewing all existing United States legislation governing sale of ammonium nitrate. The team explored legal web sites and online news to identify laws in all 50 states, including legal statutes and codes at state and local levels. They also tallied permit requirements, permit duration, volume limitations, and criminal penalties regarding commercially available explosive materials. This step alone consumed three weeks.

“The most challenging aspect of the work was the sheer scope of the information we had to gather and sift through,” says team member Matthew Scott ’05 M.P.A. “I have notes on ammonium nitrate, C4, gunpowder, shoebombs, and terrorist attacks all over the world, starting chronologically with the ’93 World Trade Center bombing.”

Students investigated sources as diverse as congressional bills and the Terrorist’s Handbook, which offers recipes for homemade bombs. “I remember joking with my teammates that the FBI was going to arrest us all before we finished our project,” Scott says. He describes his capstone project as “satisfying” and “a perfect way to end my year with the M.P.A. program.”

“Persistence and attention to detail were probably the best lessons I learned,” Lee adds.

Homeland Security staff member Rosaline Cohen acknowledged the contribution of the Maxwell students. “[Their] report helped set the stage for an important new law that seeks to prevent ammonium nitrate from falling into the hands of terrorists,” Cohen says. “It provided valuable insight to many members of Congress about the need for federal action on this homeland security issue.” 

“To be perfectly honest with you,” Lee says, “I thought the report would be glanced at and then tossed to the wayside as soon as we were finished. The fact that anyone even took the time to read it was extremely satisfying.”
Successes of this caliber reaffirm the value of the capstone projects, says department chair Bretschneider. “There are a lot of ways to learn, but experiential learning is an extremely powerful device.”