Only 900 of the nearly 17,000 people who lived on campus this summer were GW students, according to Executive Vice President and Treasurer Louis Katz.

To catch up on the summer news most students were not on campus to see or read about, here is a wrap-up of some of the biggest stories of the summer.

The full version of each of these articles can be found at www.gwhatchet.com.

Lee Huebner to head School of Media and

Public Affairs

After an 18-month search process, the School of Media and Public Affairs named journalism scholar and practitioner Lee Huebner as its new director.

Huebner was a professor of communication and journalism at Northwestern University. For 14 years, Huebner served as publisher and CEO of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune.

Huebner accepted his position May 19 and assumed SMPA’s top post July 1. Huebner will replace Steven Livingston, who has served as the interim director of SMPA since 2004.

A native of Sheboygan, Wis., Huebner graduated from Northwestern University and received his master’s and doctorate degrees in history from Harvard University. Huebner also worked as a special assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Writing and Research staff during the Nixon Administration.

The University also announced that Frank Sesno, another final candidate for the position, will become an SMPA faculty member.

Sesno is leaving his current role as a professor of public policy and communications at George Mason University to come to GW. He is also an Emmy-award winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience reporting for CNN.

“Reliable Sources” coming to GW

First it was “Crossfire.” Then it was “On the Story.” Now, the CNN television program “Reliable Sources” will film at GW.

The program is set to film from the Jack Morton Auditorium once a month, the University and CNN confirmed in July. It is the third program to tape at GW in three years.

Hosted by Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz, “Reliable Sources” is an hour-long examination of the workings of the media and how the actions of the press impact the news cycle.

In early July, CNN canceled “On the Story,” which had filmed in the Jack Morton Auditorium since July 2005. After the show’s cancellation, Vice President of Communications Michael Freedman said CNN and GW agreed to have “Reliable Sources” filmed at GW on a rotating schedule of once every four weeks. The show will regularly air on Sunday mornings.

“On the Story” began taping in GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium last July after the 23-year-old program “Crossfire” filmed its last show in the location a month earlier. Crossfire had been taping at GW for three years.

Seinfeld to headline Colonials Weekend

The University announced in July the star of the hit comedy “Seinfeld,” which ran for nine years on NBC, will perform two shows during Colonials Weekend on October 20 at 7 and 10 p.m. in the Smith Center.

Tickets for the shows, which are already sold out, cost between $57 and $125, an increase from the tickets for Jon Stewart’s Colonials Weekend performances last year that cost $45.

University administrators met with representatives from student organizations, the alumni association and the parent association to decide who to feature for GW’s annual parents and alumni weekend.

Johnny Rockets to open in 2000 Penn

Johnny Rockets will replace the 20th street space formerly occupied by Gap, which left the 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue mall after last spring semester.

Mimi Somerman, senior vice president of marketing for Johnny Rockets, said in July that plans for the venue are very preliminary. She added that the diner-style restaurant chain does not know when construction will start or when the venue may open. The Washington Business Journal reported in July that the restaurant chain plans to open by February.

Rove gives GSPM Commencement address

Karl Rove, White House deputy chief of staff, defended the importance of politicians in his speech at the Graduate School of Political Management’s Commencement ceremony July 29 in Lisner Auditorium.

The strategist widely known for being instrumental in the election and re-election of President George W. Bush, promised to avoid partisan topics during his address, instead focusing on the profession of political management in general. He said the 77 graduates in attendance were in the same league as some of the greatest political minds because of their education at GSPM.

-Compiled by Jessica Calefati