School of Public Policy
Bexell Bulletin
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2023 Governor Tom McCall Memorial Lecture in Public Affairs - Nicholas D. Kristof | | |
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Seeking Answers on Rural Poverty | |
Our students interested in understanding rural policy had the unique opportunity to participate in a hybrid online/in-person reading group during fall term focused on the book Tightrope by New York Times reporter Nick Kristof and fellow Pulitzer Prize winner, Sheryl WuDunn. A native of Yamhill, Oregon, Kristof joined one of the group sessions virtually for a discussion of the problems and solutions to rural poverty in Oregon and the U.S.
On April 24th, we will welcome Mr. Kristof to campus to provide the 2023 McCall lecture, which will focus on issues of, and possible solutions to, rural poverty in Oregon and the U.S. The event will also be live via Zoom and recorded. Look for updates in OSU Today and on our school website.
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Why We Fight
Please join us Monday, February 20th at the LaSells Alumni Center for a talk by Chris Blattman on his book Why We Fight.
Dr. Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago, in the Harris School of Public Policy and The Pearson Institute, and co-leads the Development Economics Center and the International Policy & Development program at the Harris School.
Details will be posted on the SPP website and OSU Today. Stay tuned!
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SPP Career Week!
School of Public Policy Week is January 23-30, 2023. Students will hear from experts - many of them alumni! - about how to prepare for a variety of meaningful careers after graduation. See the full line-up of events here.
Thanks in advance to our alums who've agreed to help out. If you're interested in being involved in the future please reach out to CLA Career Director Karla Rockhold or spp-director@oregonstate.edu.
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Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty
We are proud to count Mayor Lacey Beaty as an alum! She is the first woman and the youngest ever mayor of Beaverton, Oregon. A former U.S. Army combat medic in Iraq, Beatty completed her Political Science degree though our nationally ranked Ecampus major.
Mayor Beaty was recently featured in Oregon Stater magazine. You can read the full interview here.
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Sophia Schmiedt: #5 Cadet in the U.S.
Every year, all Army ROTC Seniors are evaluated and ranked based on metrics that measure Scholarship, Athletics, and Leadership. Out of over 5,000 Cadets, Economics major Sophia Schmiedt is the #5 Cadet in the nation. She balances a double major with Civil Engineering (3.98 GPA), competes on the nationally recognized Ranger Challenge team, and has been selected to be the Cadet Battalion Commander for 2023. Last summer Schmiedt completed an internship at Ft. Bragg working with their Judge Advocate General (JAG) office.
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Meet our New Faculty Members | |
Associate Professor Grant Jacobsen is an energy economist with a Ph.D. in Economics from UC Santa Barbara. His work has addressed topics related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, electricity pricing, air pollution, extraction of natural gas and oil, carbon offsets, climate change awareness, and voluntary environmental protection. Dr. Jacobsen will teach courses in Energy Economics, Environmental Economics, and Microeconomics. | |
Assistant Professor Katie Bollman is an applied microeconomist with a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Katie's research focuses on policies, events, and incentives that affect marginalized groups. She is currently studying the effects of technology and regulatory changes on court actors and judicial outcomes. Professor Bollman will teach courses in Economics of Discrimination, Economics of Inequality, and Econometrics. | |
Assistant Professor Shawn Hazboun is an environmental and natural resource sociologist with a PhD in Sociology from Utah State University. She focuses on the social dimensions of energy systems and the global energy transition including public perceptions of renewable energy, climate change policy, fossil fuel extraction, transport and export. Dr. Hazboun will teach courses in Environmental Sociology, Energy Policy, and Policy Analysis. | |
Instructor Shelley Nelson is not new to OSU - she received her BS in Sociology from OSU in 2000, and went onto graduate school at Indiana University where she won several teaching awards. After teaching at Franklin College in Indiana, Shelley taught part-time for our Sociology Ecampus major. Now a full time resident in Oregon, she teaches courses on Quantitative Research, Sociology of Family, Social Inequality, and Research Methods. | |
pros and cons of foreign ownership | |
Economist Hoang Pham discusses the findings of his recent co-authored publication on Twitter to help us break it down! They find the effect of foreign ownership is dynamic and varies by sources of foreign capital, and the effect can be non-neutral, meaning that the technology brought in via foreign ownership can be biased towards certain factors and have implications on factor shares in the economy. | |
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the ‘golden straitjacket’ | Dubach Chair of Political Science, Alison Johnston and a colleague found that international downgrades in a country's creditworthiness score led to significant social investment cuts. Countries experiencing credit upgrades had no change in social spending. Findings highlight the limits of developed nations' ability to respond accurately in international debt markets. | |
Economist Paul Thompson and his colleague studied the effect of a four-day school week on academic achievement. They find that schools adopting a four day week and low levels of time in school do see drops in tests scores. They conclude that maintaining sufficient overall time in school should be a key consideration for school districts contemplating four-day school week adoption. | |
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Spotlight on SPP Excellence | |
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Laura Relyea, Advisor Extraordinaire
Undergraduate Economics Advisor Laura Relyea was awarded the 2022 Academic Advising Award from the OSU Faculty Senate. This campuswide award was based on Laura’s excellence on these criteria: demonstrating a professional attitude toward advisees through interpersonal skills and accessibility; positively influencing student academic success and development and mentoring colleagues; promoting innovative programs for student success and development; demonstrating leadership in student development; and pursuing professional development.
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Dwaine Plaza, Education Advocate
Sociologist Dwaine Plaza was the recipient of the 2022 Richard M. Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award from the OSU Faculty Senate. This award recognizes his long-time effort to ensure the quality of undergraduate instruction; his high standards for the rigor and currency of course content and the level of student performance; his direct and significant impact upon undergraduate students; and his ability to use his scholarly contributions to enhance effectiveness in his undergraduate classroom.
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Catching up with our SPP Alumni | |
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Jessica Ventura (MPP '15) is currently the Legislative Director for Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan. Previously she worked as the Director of Government Relations for the Oregon State Department of Education.
Recently Jessica discussed her experience on the "Find Your Dream Job" podcast, sharing how she prepared for the interview process by gathering specific questions and has great advice on how to leverage networking to learn more about the needs and opportunities why you apply for a position.
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Howard Croom III (Sociology '10; MPP '12) has returned to OSU as the new Associate Athletic Director, Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Student Services in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. In this role, Howard leads the Athletic Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging strategy and efforts.
Previously he worked at UC Irvine as an Academic and Life Skills Coordinator in the Athletic Department, then onto the Athletic Department at USC. Howard completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership at USC’s Rossier School of Education in 2022.
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Stuty Maskey (MPP '11, PhD '20) is deputy legislative director at Oregon House Speaker’s Office - the office’s point person for education, natural resources, and gambling policy. Previously she worked as policy coordinator at the Oregon Governor’s Office focusing on education, workforce, and environmental justice and as an analyst in the Legislative Policy and Research Office.
Stuty is originally from Nepal where she worked in project management for international development projects focusing on forestry governance and climate change.
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Ryan Tuttle (MPP '14) was recently promoted as Senior Consultant at Euromonitor International covering the consumer finance industry in Euromonitor's Passport database. Euromonitor International is the world's leading independent provider of strategic market research.
Based in Chicago, Ryan has been with the company since he finished his MPP. Prior to graduating he interned twice with the U.S. Department of Energy. Ryan particularly credits MPP courses in economics and econometrics for helping prepare him for his current role.
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SPP and OSU Beavers in Egypt! | |
Graduate Director and OSU Distinguished Professor Brent Steel had the opportunity to catch up with our alum Mohamed Elkaramany (PhD '20) in Cairo recently! | |
David Bernell (Political Science) served as the OSU Ambassador accompanying a group of 22 OSU alumni on a trip to Egypt in October 2022. This OSU Alumni Association program went all along the Nile River to learn about the ancient pyramids, tombs, temples and monuments. | | |
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Would you like to get more involved in what we're doing in SPP or support any of our student initiatives?
Email: spp-director@oregonstate.edu or click on the link to donate directly.
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