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Mark Edwards is the Director of SPP's Oregon Policy Analysis Laboratory (OPAL). He leads a team of graduate students conducting research on real world policy problems in fields such as education, energy, climate change, and disaster response.
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Despite progress in recent years, the COVID economic crisis since Spring 2020 reversed all of that progress and has brought the state to levels of food insecurity not seen before, and at least 1 million, hence one in four, Oregonians experienced food insecurity in 2020.
This Winter term his team will also release a new study of food insecurity among OSU students on the Corvallis campus. The results will inform a legislative proposal designed to improve food security among all college students throughout the state. (To donate to the Oregon Food Bank click here.)
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MPP Program 10th in the Nation! |
Perhaps not surprising to our alumni, the SPP Master's in Public Policy was recently ranked TENTH in the nation by BestColleges.com. This website creates rankings that guide prospective students "toward institutions that provide quality education and meaningful learning experiences at affordable costs."
We are thrilled to see the recognition of our VISION of empowering collaborative and innovative leadership and research to address evolving policy challenges and our MISSION of engaging in innovative research, on all aspects of public policy, that supports ethical and equitable policy decisions at all levels of government, from the local to the global.
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Political Science and Economics Recognized for National Excellence
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Economics Dispatches from Ed Ray |
Well, I have returned to my academic roots as a professor of economics in the School of Public Policy in the College of Liberal Arts. I began a sabbatical last July and settled on creating some new courses for economics and SPP that I can teach beginning next year. The first one to be teed up is a course on prices, markets and the social compact. |
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Inaugural Book Club Meeting |
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On November 22 I joined a zoom discussion of the economics club to discuss the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. We were a dozen strong and we had a lively discussion with everyone engaging in the dialogue. The book highlights behavioral economic research which documents that we all display behavior that is not always in our best interest. For example, as optimists we make New Year’s resolutions to get in shape and we pay large membership fees to gyms that we stop using two months later. Thaler and Sunstein develop strategies to “nudge” people to make better decisions. In addition to a standard microeconomics textbook I will assign Nudge for students in my course. I want them to develop an understanding of when markets succeed to advance the social good, when they fail, and when markets simply do not exist in areas like climate change to best serve society and how to design and implement public policies that are effective. Hopefully, students will learn standard tools of economic analysis but also practical insights on how to design and implement effective public policy to address essential issues and have fun in the process.
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Ambassador Thomas Graham at the Memorial Union |
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Nuclear Policy in the Pacific Northwest
SPP is proud to work with the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL). One of our MPP students won the prestigious Nuclear Security Graduate Fellowship, which led to a permanent position with the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy.
With PNNL grants, SPP faculty member David Bernell has created innovative partnerships with OSU faculty in nuclear engineering, as well as staff at PNNL, in developing new graduate and undergraduate courses to help educate people in nuclear security.
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Additionally, PNNL has worked with SPP to bring retired nuclear arms control negotiator Ambassador Thomas Graham to OSU to co-teach a class with Dr. Bernell for several years on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. This is now a regular part of our Political Science curriculum. Ambassador Graham and PNNL staff also continue to serve as guest lecturers in the class. SPP students have also participated in other PNNL programs, getting the opportunity to engage with staff at PNNL who have experience in many aspects of nuclear nonproliferation – export controls, treaty compliance, and even inspections in places such as North Korea and Iran. This is yet another example of the fantastic partnerships SPP fosters to benefit our students and Oregonians as a whole.
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Faculty Research Spotlight |
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The management of public lands in the West is a matter of long-standing and often contentious debates. Its chapters explore issues such as endangered species, land use, and water management and recent challenges like renewable energy siting, fracking, Native American sovereignty, and land use rebellions.
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Using three decades of research, the books focuses on the marital realities confronted by women married to male professional athletes. Often portrayed in unflattering or unrealistic terms, these women face enormous challenges as they attempt to establish and maintain their marital and family lives around their husband's all-consuming careers.
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Paul Thompson leads the four-day school week project, which is funded by NIH and the Spencer Foundation, will examine the impacts of the use of four-day school weeks in Oregon and across the United States on child health behaviors (e.g., diet, physical activity), risk behaviors (e.g., crime, substance use), socioemotional factors, achievement, attendance, graduation/dropout decisions, physical education exposure, and food insecurity. Focus groups conducted with families in four-day schools will contextualize the four-day school week experience of families and communities.
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Alison Johnston has been named the Ulysses G. Dubach Chair of Political Science. The resources from this three year position are a recognition of her excellence in the field political science and enables her to pursue a variety of ambitious public scholarship goals.
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Meet Elise Hillinger - a Political Science major from Los Angeles, California!
Bexell Bulletin asks: Why Political Science?
Elise: I turned 18 just in time to vote in the historic Bush v. Gore election, and I haven’t stepped off of my political soapbox since, so Political Science was an obvious choice for me.
BB: What makes OSU the right fit for you?
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Elise: When I decided to go back to school, as an “older” student my biggest concern was distance learning, given that I work full time and have two kids. OSU not only checked that box, but had a great Political Science program as well. I’m a 6th year senior, going on 7, and I am cautiously optimistic about graduating some time in 2021. My daughter graduated high school this year, so the clock is ticking if I want to graduate college before she does.
BB: What's next for you?
Elise: I currently work in Human Resources in the non-profit sector, and have a passion for helping people develop professionally. I have tentative plans to get an M.A. in HR Management and then attend law school. We’ll see what happens after that. I might have to stay in school until we elect a president who forgives all student debt.
BB: Thanks Elise! We look forward to celebrating your graduation with you!
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SPP Alumni - Making a Difference in Our World |
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Jim Scanlan (Sociology '18) curently works for the US Census Bureau as an Information Technology support specialist. Previously, he worked for the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) on the National Survey of Early Care and Education, an in-depth study of the state of child-care in the US,, and Nielsen, where he conducted orientation, interviewing, and on-boarding for panelists participating in the Nielsen Television Ratings.
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Of his major, Jim says, "I’m very thankful for the opportunities the School of Public Policy has given me: my time TA-ing for Allison Hurst, the research opportunities presented by Mark Edwards, and the numerous and wonderful instructors, courses, and resources which helped me develop the skills and perspectives I use every day!"
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Teddy Badege (Political Science, 2011) is a Legal Fellow with the Washington DC Housing Authority. After graduating, he worked for the Obama reelection campaign in 2012, then served on the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and later the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. After returning to Oregon and working for the OSU Research Office, he returned to DC to attend George Washington University Law School, where he earned his degree in 2019.
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Regarding his time at OSU, Teddy says, "Studying at the School of Public Policy at Oregon State university has prepared me for the real world in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Through coursework in political science, sociology, and economics, I have become knowledgeable of the challenges facing society and have become equipped with skills necessary to provide real world solutions to real world problems."
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~Economics Networking Night~ April 27, 5:30-7 p.m., online (information to be sent out on Economics Alumni list)
Please join us for a virtual economics networking night and help current students reach their potential. By sharing your career journey, providing an insider’s look at your job or industry, and offering career advice, you can contribute to the future success of your fellow beavers. At this virtual mixer, there will be a general discussion featuring all economics alumni and then we’ll break out into virtual rooms by career field.
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Current and Alumni Graduate Student Updates |
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PhD student Rafiuddin Najam won first place in the 2020 PAPOR student paper competition!
The first place paper author is awarded a cash prize of $250, up to $250 for travel expenses to attend the 2021 PAPOR conference, an opportunity to present the research at the 2021 PAPOR conference, and an honorary one-year PAPOR membership.
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Leanne Giordono (PhD 2018), continues pathbreaking policy research as a Post-Doctoral Scholar with the Oregon Poverty Measure Project developing a supplemental poverty measure for Oregon. She publishes on the factors that have led to state-level policy changes regarding services for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD), and on community-level attention to climate change.
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Anna Kelly is the Head of Measurement and Verification for Power TakeOff, an industry leader in the creation of non-residential utility data products, services and efficiency programs. Anna also works with energy efficiency regulation efforts, recently contributing to the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) Option C methods update; identifying electric savings as low as 3% of facility consumption.
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Warda Ajaz (PhD 2019) is an Assistant Professor in the U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Pakistan. She teaches graduate classes and supervises MS research projects. She is also working on developing a new master's program concentration in Energy Policy and Management.
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Recent Graduate Student Publications
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SPP students continued their prolific publication activity in 2020! Here are a few highlights, with grad student names in bold:
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Warda Ajaz and David Bernell (2021). “Microgrids and the transition toward decentralized energy systems in the United States: A Multi-Level Perspective,” Energy Policy, 149.
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Boudet, H. S., L. Giordono, C. Zanocco, H. Satein and H. Whitley (2020). Event attribution and partisanship shape local discussion of climate change after extreme weather. Nature Climate Change 10: 69–76.
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Stelmach, G., C. Zanocco, J. Flora, R. Rajagopal and H. S. Boudet (2020). Exploring household energy rules and activities during peak demand to better determine potential responsiveness to time-of-use pricing. Energy Policy 144: 111608.
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Giordono, L., A. Gard-Murray and H. S. Boudet (2020). Local Adaptation Policy Responses to Extreme Weather Events. Policy Science 53: 609–636.
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Spalding, A. K., & de Ycaza, R. (2020). Navigating Shifting Regimes of Ocean Governance: From UNCLOS to Sustainable Development Goal 14. Environment and Society, 11(1), 5-26.
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Zehra Gardezi, Brent S. Steel, and Angela Lavado (2020). “The Impact of Efficacy, Values and Knowledge on Public Preferences Concerning Food-Energy-Environment Policy Tradeoffs,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17.
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Alexandra Buylova, Brent S. Steel and Christopher A. Simon (2020). “Public Perceptions of Energy Scarcity and Support for New Energy Technologies: A Western U.S. Case Study,” Energies.
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Your Support Makes a Difference!
Thank you to our alumni, friends, and generous donors who support the School of Public Policy and our students! We welcome your engagement from attending events, to mentoring students, to making donations. Contact Maureen Nikaido at [email protected] to get involved or click below to make a gift.
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Discover
innovative undergraduate programs in Economics, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology
Develop
leadership and research skills to address evolving policy challenges though our graduate degrees in Public Policy
Deliver
groundbreaking research into emerging policies, practices, and understandings of the world that will improve local to global policy decisions
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School of Public Policy
https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/spp/about-us
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