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Robert M. La Follette
School of Public Affairs
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Telephone:  608.262.3581
Fax: 608.265.3233


Last updated:
October 6, 2009

© Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

La Follette School News: Fall 2007

Public health experts to speak

Local and national experts in public health preparedness will highlight research findings and initiatives, as well as ongoing policy challenges at an Evidence-Based Health Policy Project breakfast briefing on Thursday, January 10, “Public Health Preparedness: Progress and Challenges for State Policy," 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the State Capitol, room 330 SW.

Dr. Kristine Gebbie, director of the Center for Health Policy at the Columbia University School of Nursing, will provide an overview of national issues in public health preparedness and describe her research findings from evaluations of clinical workforce training and a recent study on legal issues in preparedness.  Gebbie has served as the national AIDS policy coordinator and held cabinet-level positions in health administration in Washington and Oregon.

In addition, two speakers will focus on several Wisconsin initiatives in public health preparedness.  Bill Bazan will review the Wisconsin Hospital Association's efforts in workforce training and education.  Lisa Pentony from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services will discuss inter-disciplinary preparedness efforts, including the pandemic influenza program.

The Evidence-Based Health Policy Project is a partnership among the University of Wisconsin-Madison's La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Population Health Institute, and the Wisconsin Legislative Council.

— posted December 18, 2007

 

La Follette School welcomes Chinese officials

Provincial Chinese officials in charge of environmental protection, soil conservation, city and county administration, metereology, personnel and farming were hosted by the La Follette School on Dec. 10 at the Memorial Union.

The 19 visitors, all from the Xinghai Province in west central China, stopped in Madison on a three-week training tour that included visits across the country with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, the American Bar Association and California State University in San Bernardino.

Acting at the request of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Outreach Director Terry Shelton set up a three-hour briefing that included speakers from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; and the Environmental and Public Health Network of Chinese Students and Scholars.

La Follette School Outreach: China Connections

— posted December 14, 2007

1992 alum Steve Semmann dies

Steven Semmann, 44, of McFarland, Wisconsin, passed away in November 2007 at home surrounded by his loving family. He graduated in 1992 from the La Follette Institute of Public Affairs. He went on to work for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and continued his career as court administrator for District V, then assistant director of the Sentencing Commission. He most recently held the position of director of the Statistical Analysis Center for the Office of Justice Assistance.

Part of a close, extended family, Steve enjoyed watching his daughter dance and his sons play hockey and soccer. He was a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church where he served as Sunday school teacher, and as vice president and president of the church council. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer in May 2006. Throughout his journey and struggle with this disease, Steve taught people about faith, courage and grace, all with a touch of humor. Survivors include his wife of 15 years, Beverly; a daughter, Kristin; two sons, Brian and Jacob; and his parents.

— posted December 14, 2007

Moynihan shares insight on environmental policymaking

La Follette School professor Donald Moynihan gave the opening presentation at the first of what is expected to be three dozen “grassroots dialogues” around the country to examine what is right and wrong about the current system for solving environmental problems.

During the two-hour discussion on November 27 in Madison, people called for a democratization of responsibility for the environment by that responsibility to communities and the people living in them. Attendees said they can do better than the government at reducing environmental damage and at making improvements beyond the government-required minimums.

The session was part of the Path to Washington, a three-year effort by the Multi-State Working Group on Environmental Performance to produce a new set of legal and policy tools to help solve serious environmental problems, improve ecological conditions, and sustain communities and quality of life. MSWG will present those tools in a report to the nation in 2009.

Building on the theme of “Ecological Federalism,” Moynihan challenged the group to understand its potential role in changing the debate on environmental decisions. He is a nationally recognized expert on citizen participation, new governance, and groundbreaking network theory.

Moynihan offered that something could be gained by thinking of our environmental issues — and other societal problems — in a “center and edge” relationship. While he said policies and law are set at the center, the actual work and implementation is done at the edge, i.e., locally. Approaching problems with that understanding opens up a variety of new collaborations.

The La Follette School of Public Affairs was a co-sponsor of the event.

Wisconsin Eye archive, November 27, 2007

— posted December 14, 2007

Nemet welcomes private investment in renewables

Recent forays by Google and other private companies into the development of renewable energy technology is a good step toward addressing global climate change and improving energy independence, La Follette School professor Gregory Nemet tells the journal Nature.

Public and private investment in energy research has been in decline for the last 10 years, research by Nemet and co-author D.M. Kammen shows, so interest by venture capitalists is important. However, more is needed, Nemet notes. “The magnitudes of the challenges of energy independence and climate change are so large that we are still orders of magnitude away from devoting the societal resources we need to deal with them,” Nemet says in the December 6 Nature article.

Solar power: California's latest gold rush, December 6, 2007, Nature

— posted December 6, 2007

Dresang to serve on judicial ethics committee

La Follette School professor Dennis Dresang has been appointed to the newly formed the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee to help keep an eye on this spring's race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The State Bar of Wisconsin established the group as an independent of monitor judicial elections with a focus on the April race for the state Supreme Court. It will watch for campaigning by candidates and third parties that might compromise the tradition of an independent, nonpartisan court, and it will educate voters about the role and responsibilities of judges.

"Judges are different than other elected officials, such as county board members, legislators and governors," Dresang says. "In our system of government, the role of judges is to apply the rule of law fairly and impartially. Other elected officials represent various constituencies and advocate policy goals."

In addition to educating the public about judges, the committee will seek pledges from candidates to adhere to the Judicial Code of Conduct's definition of permissible judicial campaign activities. The committee will also review judicial campaign materials produced by candidates and their supporters to determine if any such materials violate the code.

Serving with Dresang are: chair Tom Basting, president of the State Bar of Wisconsin; vice chair David Deninger, a former state appeals court judge; former Governor Tony Earl; national and state League of Women Voters official Carol Toussaint; former state senator Tim Cullen; Bill Kraus, co-chair of Common Cause in Wisconsin; and Joe Heim, professor of political science and public administration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Task force to keep judge races in check, December 6, 2007, Capital Times

Citizen committee will promote sound standards for 2008 state Supreme Court election campaign, December 6, 2007, Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee

— posted December 6, 2007

New York Times highlights child support research

Congress is looking toward child-support policy evaluated by a team of researchers headed by La Follette School professor faculty Maria Cancian and La Follette School faculty affiliate Daniel R. Meyer, the New York Times reports. The research was carried out at the Institute for Research on Poverty.

The 2006 Deficit Reduction Act permits states, beginning in 2009, to pass along up to $100 for one child and $200 for two or more children of the child support the states collect from noncustodial parents. The state and federal governments giving up a share of welfare repayments they have retained in the past.

La Follette School professors Robert Haveman, Geoffrey Wallace and Barbara Wolfe also contributed to the evaluation of the policy that, with permission from the federal government, let Wisconsin pass through to the families all the money the state collected from noncustodial parents. That experiment ended in 2007, the Times notes.

“Studies of the Wisconsin experiment showed that when support payments were fully passed along to mothers, more fathers came forward and paid more of the support they owed, said Maria Cancian, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. As families receive more support money, they are less apt to require public assistance, she and other experts say, making up for any short-term loss of revenues. And fathers are more likely to establish lasting patterns of payment and connection with their children, Ms. Cancian said,” the Times reports. “Using child support for revenue collection ‘is penny wise and pound foolish,’ she added.”

Mothers Scrimp as States Take Child Support, December 1, 2007, New York Times

— posted December 6, 2007

Citing Chinn report, economists keep their eyes on the euro

As the dollar continues to lose value against other world currencies, journalists and currency experts keep turning back to a 2006 report by La Follette School professor Menzie Chinn and co-author Jeffrey Frankel of Harvard University. Unlike losses in value in earlier decades, the December 4 Christian Science Monitor notes, the euro offers healthy competition for the dollar. Bloomberg News cited the same report in November.

However, for American currency to lose out to that of Europe, the world has to be willing to use the euro as a global reserve currency, the Monitor reports. Right now, international manufacturers price their goods in dollars and about two-thirds of foreign currency reserves are dollars. This lets the United States run up debt, IOUs that other countries finance.

"The willingness of Asians and others to continue financing the U.S. current account deficit in the future is certainly related to the dollar's continued role as premier international reserve currency," Chinn and Frankel conclude.

Dollar slips, euro gains credibility as viable rival, December 4, 2007, Christian Science Monitor

Intertia helps dollar hang on, as Chinn predicted, November 18, 2007, La Follette School News

Will the Euro Eventually Surpass the Dollar as Leading International Reserve Currency?, La Follette School Working Paper No. 2006-001, by Menzie Chinn and Jeffrey Frankel

— posted December 3, 2007

Public affairs professor’s book documents economic, health disparities women encounter in old age

Gender gaps women experience on the job and in the home continue into old age. Women older than 65 are twice as likely as men to live below the poverty line. They receive smaller Social Security benefits and are less likely to receive private pensions. Efforts in Washington to shrink and privatize social welfare programs likely would worsen this gender gap and increase inequality among women by race, class and marital status.

The reasons behind the gap and how policy proposals would affect older adults are outlined in a new book by La Follette School assistant professor Pamela Herd and Madonna Harrington Meyer of Syracuse University. Herd is a nationally recognized expert on the effects of Medicare and Social Security on gender, race, and class, and the relationship between socioeconomic status and health.

The book, Market Friendly or Family Friendly? The State and Gender Inequality in Old Age, published this fall by Russell Sage, documents the cumulative disadvantages that impede women from achieving economic and health security when they retire. These disadvantages include wage discrimination and occupational segregation that reduce lifetime earnings, and, therefore, depress savings and Social Security benefits.

“While more women are employed today than a generation ago, they continue to shoulder a greater share of the care burden for children, older adults and people with disabilities,” says Herd. “Moreover, as marriage rates decline, more working mothers raise children single-handedly. Women face higher rates of health problems due to their lower earnings and the high demands associated with unpaid care work.”

While the authors examine popular policies on the current agenda, they also evaluate proposals that policymakers discussed less frequently. One of these is reforming Medicare so it covers long-term care.

Medicare reform that addresses problems with long-term care insurance is the subject of a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed by Herd and Harrington Meyer.

Medicare does not cover long-term care, and most older Americans don’t purchase private long-term care insurance policies because of the expense, the myriad options and potential for fraud, Herd and Harrington Meyer write. Fewer than 10 percent of seniors purchase the plans, and complaints about improperly denied claims have increased in recent years, prompting calls for government investigation of the long-term care industry.

A universal, federal long-term care insurance plan is needed, Herd and Harrington Meyer say in the op-ed. A first step would be to expand Medicare to cover fully all of the first 100 days a nursing home stay. Expanding Medicare to provide mandatory universal long-term insurance coverage would encourage care based in the home and community, rather than nursing homes. This could be funded through the payroll tax.

Book documents economic, health disparities that women encounter in retirement, November 20, 2007, University of Wisconsin-Madison news release

Can the private market handle long-term care?, November 16, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle

— posted November 19, 2007; updated November 30, 2007, March 6, 2008

Inertia helps dollar hang on, as Chinn predicted

The U.S. dollar continues as the world's preferred currency, despite its continuing decline in value against the euro and the currencies of Britain, Australia, Canada, Sweden and Norway. The dollar has weathered sharp declines and held onto its No. 1 slot, notes an article from Bloomberg News reprinted in the International Herald Tribune.

One reason may be inertia, the article notes in reference to a report by La Follette School Associate Director Menzie Chinn and Jeffrey Frankel of Harvard University. "There is a strong inertial bias in favor of using whatever currency has been the international currency in the past," the economists say in a 2006 La Follette School working paper.

Even a weakened dollar still rules, November 12, 2007, Bloomberg News, International Herald Tribune

Will the Euro Eventually Surpass the Dollar as Leading International Reserve Currency?, La Follette School Working Paper No. 2006-001

— posted November 18, 2007

Economic development plan relies on La Follette research

Research by La Follette School faculty plays a large role in the “Competitive Mandate for Wisconsin” released this week by Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a non-partisan consortium of agriculture, business, education and labor leaders that develops and advocates statewide policies to retain, grow and create businesses.

Research by emeritus professor Donald Nichols as part of the La Follette School’s Competitive Wisconsin Project informs much of the mandate’s recommendation that Wisconsin focus on growing the state economy by importing high-wage earners, producing or recruiting more residents with college degrees and increasing the state’s per-capita income. These higher wages would mean more income tax for the state and that gain would more than offset the $756.6 million the mandates suggests that the state spend.

Wisconsin residents in the most highly paid occupations earn less than their national counterparts — $81,432 is the national average vs. $71,732 in Wisconsin, Nichols says. Furthermore, Wisconsin employs less than its share of people in those highly paid occupations. On average 10 percent of the workforce nationwide is employed in the most highly paid occupations compared to 7.44% of Wisconsin’s workforce, an employment gap of 65,000. If Wisconsin had 65,000 more people working in these highly paid occupations at the national average of $81,432, Wisconsin’s overall income would have been $6.3 billion higher in 2002.

Another of Nichols’ papers puts Wisconsin’s taxes as part of household income into perspective. While business taxes are low for the Midwest, Wisconsin’s personal taxes are high and that affects the ability of the state to attract employees. The total of all taxes and fees Wisconsin businesses and residents pay to all of Wisconsin’s state and local taxing entities is about 16.5 percent of personal income. This is about 10 percent higher than the national average of 15 percent.

Other research for the Competitve Wisconsin Project shows that Wisconsin traditionally has been more attractive to the married-with-children group than to the young singles. A paper by La Follette School alum Yeri Lopez and John Karl Scholz of the economics department shows that Wisconsin has outmigration of young (22-29) college educated workers and in-migration of somewhat older (30-49) college educated workers.

Group forms plan to plug brain drain, November 14, 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. Announces Bold New Vision for Economic Development, November 15, 2007, Competitive Wisconsin Inc. news release

Getting mileage out of proximity, January 6, 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

— posted November 16, 2007

Higher education is good investment for state, Haveman tells Wisconsin Senate panel

The State of Wisconsin should increase its investment in higher education, La Follette School professor emeritus Robert Haveman told the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Economic Development, Job Creation, Family Prosperity and Housing on November 13.

“Providing educational services to residents is one of the primary functions of government,” says Haveman, an economist. “Without public intervention, private choices by schools and students would lead to less spending than is economically efficient, and students, the state and the broader society would be forgoing gains that meet a benefit-cost test.”

Haveman was one of several people who testified before the committee. Former La Follette School advisory Board of Visitors member Thomas Hefty, president of the Kern Family Foundation, gave the welcome address and introduced the committee to the correlation between academics, industry and a strong economy. He also noted the need for training more people in science and engineering.

La Follette School alum and faculty affiliate Douglas Harris, now an assistant professor with the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gave an overview of how education at every level directly and indirectly affects economic development.

Harris urged lawmakers to think about education and the economy in the broad context of quality of life. “The public education system contributes to the quality of life by producing many and diverse skills,” he says. “Our public schools have long seen these diverse skills as part of their educational mission.”

All aspects of education — early childhood, kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education — are interconnected, Harris says. While evidence suggests that educating children before they enter kindergarten is the best investment, K-12 and higher education cannot be ignored.

Investment in higher education pays off in large returns for individual students, the state and to society as a whole, Haveman says. “It makes sense to think of investing in human capital — in the schooling of young people, for example — in the same way that businesspeople think of investing in their plants and equipment.”

To show the large gains from additional schooling, Haveman demonstrated a web site under development at the the La Follette School that allows young people to see the financial return they would realize by earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as opposed to stopping their schooling with a high school degree.

The web site provides tailor-made financial “payback” estimates for youths with a wide variety of characteristics, ranging from race and gender, through parental income, high school grades and the field of study the student is likely to choose. The payback reflects the “present value” of the individual’s increased earnings during her or his lifetime. The calculations use an appropriate interest rate to adjust for the delay in experiencing these future gains, the tuition and fees while attending college, and an estimate of the financial aid one could expect to receive while attending the university.

For example, a white man from a high-income Wisconsin  family with a high grade-point average in high school, high test scores and a business degree would have a lifetime payback of more than $500,000 if he graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, rather than stopping his schooling with a high school degree.

A black woman from a low-income Wisconsin family, with modest high school grades and test scores who earns an education degree, will have a payback of nearly $250,000.

Wisconsin taxpayers benefits from these large paybacks, Haveman notes, in the form of increased tax revenues. In Wisconsin, for every high school graduate, the state collects about $56,000 more in taxes than it does from a dropout. For every college graduate, the figure climbs to $160,000, Haveman says. “From the state’s perspective, investing in education also pays off.”

— posted November 14, 2007; updated November 18, 2007

Dresang moderates state government forum

Political involvement by students is important, La Follette School professor Dennis Dresang says in a Daily Cardinal article about a state government forum he moderated Monday, November 12. Political leaders should persuade students to engage and informthem about important issues.

Panel of legislators say student involvement in politics needs to be at Vietnam era levels, Daily Cardinal, November 14, 2007

— posted November 14, 2007

Civil access to justice workshop brings 2 alumni together

Two La Follette School grads met at a workshop for leaders in the civil access to justice community in early October. 1997 alum Matthew Weber organized the gathering in Traverse City, Michigan, as part of his job as manager of program assessment for The Resource for Great Programs Inc. 2007 alum Kevin Murphy blew into town after honeymooning for a week in Mexico. He is grants coordinator for the Louisiana Bar Foundation. “We joked about whether they'd even recognize him when he returned to work in New Orleans,” Weber says. “It was fun to see a fellow La Follette grad outside Wisconsin.”

— posted November 5, 2007

Faculty, alumni head to Washington, D.C, for research conference

La Follette School professors are traveling to Washington, D.C., this week to attend the fall research conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. The theme of this year’s conference is “What Else Shapes Public Policy Analysis and Management?” Presentations include:

Maria Cancian presents “The Stability of Child Support Order” and “Recent Trends in Family Behavior and Poverty.” She also chairs a session on Immigrant Assimilation: Cross-National Comparisons of Public Policy and Child Outcomes.

Thomas DeLeire is giving several papers at the conference. One is “Variability in Workers’ Earnings: The Frequency of, Trends in, and Causes of Large Earnings Reductions.” Another is “Health Insurance, Pensions, and Paid Leave: Access to Health Insurance at Small Firms in a Broader Benefits Context.” The third is “The Association Between Children's Earnings and Fathers' Lifetime Earnings: Estimates Using Administrative Data.” He also is a discussant on a panel exploring food assistance programs.

Carolyn Heinrich, is presenting papers on two panels and a roundtable. One paper is “Taking a Couples Rather than an Individual Approach to Employment Assistance,” while the other is “Supplemental Education Services: Who Signs Up, and What Do They Gain?” As editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, she is participating in a roundtable discussion called Surviving and Thriving in Peer-Reviewed Journals.

Melanie Manion is participating in a round table on "Teaching in the Globalized Classroom: The U.S. Experience." It will cover such topics as balancing national versus multi-national and comparative content, and teaching styles.

Gregory Nemet is chairing a session on "Collaboration Patterns in Science & Technology Policy."

Geoffrey Wallace presents “Level, Trend and Composition of Poverty—Trends in the U.S. & the U.S. in Comparative Perspective.”

Robert Haveman chairs a session called Applying Tools from Modern Finance to Policy Analysis. A paper he wrote with La Follette School Director Barbara (Bobbi) Wolfe, 2007 La Follette School alum Deven Carlson, and Institute for Research on Poverty scientist Thomas Kaplan will be presented.

Carlson is co-author of a second paper to be presented. He wrote “Competition for Students in Public School Districts: A Multi-State Study” with 2007 alum Matthew Steinberg and professor John Witte.

Heinrich and Wallace serve on APPAM’s Policy Council, and Cancian is vice president.

— posted November 5, 2007

Halloween characters haunt La Follette house Costumed students, faculty and staff recaptured their youth by "Bob"bing for apples, carving pumpkins and munching on goodies on October 31. The La Follette School Student Association organized the Halloween party.		Miss Liberty (aka Alexis MacDonald) and Fozzie Bear (aka Sam Austin) pose next to the display of partygoers efforts to craft clever commentary in speech bubbles attributed to headshots of professors Geoffrey Wallace and Bob Haveman, purveyors of PA 818 Quantitative Tools for Public Policy Analysis and PA 880 Microeconomic Policy Analysis.
Left: Rocky Rocco (Michael Rodriguez) turns up without pizza in hand. Above: Arlo Guthrie, aka professor Bob Haveman, prepares for a round of pin the nose on the witch while, right, Katie Davis she is indeed a smarty-pants.
Below from left: Carrie Traud as "Emo," Carissa DeCramer as a Brazilian soccer player, Catherine Hall as lifesaver, Meghan Stritchko with skunk ears (or are those feline?), and, in front as Mario, Jennie Mauer with her remote control.

— posted November 5, 2007

Economist shares observations on international finance, career path with students

La Follette School students spent some time talking with international finance expert Brad Setser while he was visiting the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Setser spoke on whether the United States, as the world's biggest borrower, can remain the world's only superpower at the La Follette School Seminar on October 30.

Setser, an economist with expertise in finance, global capital flows and emerging economies, is a fellow for geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He works in the Council's Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, focusing on the foreign policy consequences of capital surpluses in East Asia and oil exporting states.

Setser spoke to three public affairs classes. In PA 856 Trade, Competition, and Governance in a Global Economy he addressed sovereign wealth funds and in PA850 International Governance he explored international financial institutions. In the La Follette School's one-credit professional development workshop he talked about international careers in public service.

Several students talked with him one on one. After the presentation in PA 856, Setser and second-year international public affairs student Kavan Kucko discussed Setser's statistical techniques and his career path. "He shed some light on the importance of the public affairs degree that we are working towards and explained to me what he would look for in a job candidate when he was hiring for the U.S. Treasury department," Kucko says.

In addition to serving in the U.S. Treasury from 1997 to 2001, Setser was a senior economist for RGE Monitor, an online financial and economic informational company. In 2003, he was an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he wrote, with Nouriel Roubini, Bailouts or Bail-Ins: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Markets, a book examining International Monetary Fund policy toward crises in emerging market economies. Setser has been a research associate at the Global Economic Governance Programme at University College, Oxford, and a visiting scholar at the IMF.

The La Follette School, the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy, and the Center for International Business Education and Research sponsored Setser's visit to the university.

— posted November 5, 2007

Public affairs writer takes up one-week residency

La Follette School faculty and students are spending time this week with Kenneth T. Walsh, the chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report. He has covered the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and, currently, George W. Bush.

Walsh is spending the week of November 4 in Madison as the fall 2007 public affairs writer in residence.

Walsh joined U.S. News in 1984 as a congressional correspondent and has covered the presidency, presidential campaigns and national politics since 1986. He makes television appearances on ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News Channel and C-SPAN, and on radio outlets that include NPR. He gives frequent lectures around the country.

Walsh is the author of four books, From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History Of The Presidents and Their Retreats, 2005; Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes, 2003; Ronald Reagan: Biography, 1997; and Feeding the Beast: The White House Versus the Press, updated in 2002.

He has won the two most prestigious awards for White House coverage: the Aldo Beckman Award in 1991 and 2007, and the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 1992 and 1998.

Before joining the magazine, Walsh was a political reporter, columnist, and Washington correspondent for the Denver Post, and, earlier, a Denver-based newsman for the Associated Press. As an adjunct professor of communication at American University in Washington, D.C., Walsh has taught courses on politics and the media, media ethics, the presidency and the media, and how the media shape history.

— posted November 2, 2007

Students volunteer at haunted house, hold Picnic Point campfire

In addition to analyzing public policy, La Follette School students have been volunteering, selling pizza and enjoying a temperate fall.

The proceeds from the October 23 pizza sale will help fund the graduation celebration in May. As part of the La Follette School Student Association's emphasis on community building this fall, the group convened on Picnic Point for a barbecue and campfire.

In addition, several members volunteered at the West Madison Jaycees' annual haunted house at Olin Park. Proceeds benefited the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which works with religious organizations to house, feed and give employment opportunities to homeless families in Madison.

— posted November 2, 2007

 

 

La Follette outreach office coordinates seminar series for DOA staff

In light of the enthusiastic response from Wisconsin Department of Administration employees last spring, the La Follette School Outreach Office is organizing a series of First Friday seminars this year.

The seminars give members of the DOA's Division of Executive Budget and Finance background and context on a variety of issues the state faces.

“After months of number crunching to get the state budget in place, these folks are ready to get some other types of stimulation,” says Terry Shelton, outreach director of the La Follette School and organizer of the series. “We hope this smattering of policy lectures infuses them with new enthusiasm and information for their work.”

Working with Jennifer Krause, deputy administrator for the Division of Executive Budget and Finance, Shelton has organized sessions on issues as varies the notion of private property and on relations between China and Wisconsin.

Topics vary according to speakers but each seminar involves 20 minutes of presentation followed by 40 minutes of discussion. These background briefings may apply directly or indirectly to topics with which the budget team must wrestle now or in the future.

Topics, speakers and dates for this fall are:

October 5 – “An Unfair Start in Life: Why Pollution Matters for Child Development,”
Professor Colleen F. Moore, Psychology Department

October 26—“Badger Fortune: Look East for Success,” Ying Chan, adjunct professor of Law, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai

November 2 – “Globalization of an American Ideal? Private Property in the 21st Century,” Professor Harvey Jacobs, Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

— posted October 31, 2007

South African educator visits La Follette

The head of government relations for the University of Johannesburg in Johannesburg, South Africa, visited the La Follette School in October to study how University of Wisconsin-Madison professors work with elected representatives.

The official, Rudy Petersen, was in the United States to learn about the Wisconsin Idea and assess the level of partnership and cooperation between the university and local, state and national governments. He made similar visits to the University of Texas and the University of Illinois.

Petersen says he chose the La Follette School and the others “based on their respective level of close collaboration with their local/regional government for the betterment of its surrounding communities and society at large.

“It appears,” he says, “that your institution has a strong working relationship with your external community, including your local/regional governments, and is therefore useful to me to obtain a closer insight.”

Petersen said he had four goals:

• to benchmark the La Follette School’s collaboration with local and regional governments for the betterment of society as well as the impact of these partnerships;
• to obtain more intimate knowledge of the La Follette School’s  projects, programs and liaison efforts with local and regional governments;
• to forge international networking opportunities that could mutually benefit the respective institutions;
• to assist in positioning the newly merged University of Johannesburg in the international arena; and
• to obtain more information on the impact of the La Follette School’s community engagement efforts.

Petersen visited with Associate Director Menzie Chinn to discuss research and teaching efforts by La Follette faculty that have an impact on local governments. And he spent an hour with Outreach Director Terry Shelton, learning about the history and practice of the Wisconsin Idea.

— posted October 31, 2007

La Follette School trains legislators in partnership with Council of State Governments
For the 13th year, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, in partnership with the Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments, offered an intensive leadership and professional development seminar for a select group of representatives.

Thirty-seven legislators from 11 states and three Canadian provinces gathered in Madison for five days in July for the Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development, the only leadership training program exclusively for Midwestern legislators. It helps newer legislators develop the skills necessary to become effective leaders, informed decision-makers and astute policy analysts.

“Every year we look forward to bringing together lawmakers from around the Midwest,” says Dennis Dresang, the main La Follette School faculty member involved in the institute. “They learn about policy initiatives underway in other states and provinces, share ideas and give us academics insight into research to conduct.”

The 2007 alumni include these Wisconsin lawmakers: Rep. Joan Ballweg, Rep. Louis Molepske, Jr.; and Sen. Lena Taylor. Many BILLD alumni have moved into top leadership positions within their legislatures, Dresang says. Others have become lieutenant governors, members of Congress and heads of executive agencies.

Through the program, lawmakers explore issues with nationally renowned scholars, professional development experts and legislative leaders and colleagues from across the region.

This year, fellows heard from Professor Walter Dickey, the Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law, on ways to ease the corrections problems many states face. Other topics included immigration policy, research parks and educational issues for high-flyers and underachievers.

The political and cultural characteristics of the Midwest were the focus of a presentation by Dresang, who also addressed leadership types, legislative decision-making and legislators as change agents. Another session helped lawmakers understand the basics of ethics, work on practical applications in the legislative workplace, and recognize, navigate and resolve ethical dilemmas.

La Follette School Director Barbara Wolfe and Outreach Director Terry Shelton greeted the lawmakers at the opening reception at the governor’s mansion.

— posted October 31, 2007

Student workshop report basis of Madison budget proposal for development services

The $1.6 million for a one-stop Development Services Center that is wending its way through the City of Madison’s capital budget approval process is based on a recommendation from a 2005 report by six La Follette School students.

The students prepared the report, Evaluation and Analysis of Madison's Development Review and Permitting Process, for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and his Department of Planning and Development. In requesting the report, city officials were responding to frequently heard criticisms that the city’s development process was cumbersome, overly lengthy, and, in some cases, too heavily influenced by the preferences of neighborhood associations.

In evaluating Madison’s permitting process, the students conducted detailed case studies of development review and permitting procedures in eight American cities that are similar to Madison and that had recently reformed their permitting procedures. Based on the other cities’ experiences, the students made a number of recommendations for streamlining Madison’s development review and permitting procedures.

One of the report’s recommendations was that the City of Madison establish a one-stop shop for developers and other members of the public wanting to initiate development projects. Officials from agencies involved in the development review and permitting process would be housed in one location.

According to the city’s capital budget proposal, the lower level of the Madison Municipal Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard would be remodeled to create a center with a larger lobby, counter area, conference rooms and work stations for 68 employees.

“The advantage of having a one-stop shop is its capacity to provide a more uniform and consistent process across the entire development path,” the report notes. “Additionally, a one-stop-shop fosters efficiency, as it prevents the customer from having to fill out various applications in multiple locations throughout the development process. This physical change in the development process emphasizes an important goal: serving the customer.”

Madison’s Common Council is likely to approve the capital budget in mid-November.

The six student authors were all completing the La Follette School’s master's degree in public affairs.  As part of their degree requirements, all La Follette students enroll in a public affairs workshop in which they gain practical experience applying the tools of political, economic and statistical analysis acquired during their coursework to actual problems clients face in the public, non-governmental and private sectors.

“It is particularly gratifying when students can hone their skills as policy analysts and simultaneously provide advice that helps facilitate economic development in Madison,” says Andrew Reschovsky, the La Follette professor who ran the 2005 workshop.

Madison's Capital Budget Approved, November 15, 2007, Wisconsin State Journal

Villager Tops City's Capital Budget, August 31, 2007, Wisconsin State Journal

Students present final workshop projects to clients, June 22, 2005, La Follette School News

Business Hopes City is Listening, June 12, 2005, Wisconsin State Journal

— posted October 29, 2007

U.S. debt is topic of next La Follette School Seminar

Whether the world's biggest borrower remain the world's only superpower is the topic of the Tuesday, October 30, La Follette School Seminar. Brad Setser, a fellow with the Geoeconomics Center at Council on Foreign Relations, speaks at noon in room 8417 of the Sewell Social Science Building.

A prominent person in the business and policy end of international finance, Setser was a senior economist and blogger for the Roubini Global Economics Monitor. He was an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund. He served in the U.S. Treasury Department from 1997-2001, where he became acting director of the Office of International Monetary and Financial Policy. He also co-authored Bailouts or Bail-ins? Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies.

Seminars are held most Tuesdays from noon-1 p.m. throughout the academic year. All sessions are the La Follette School conference room unless otherwise noted. Upcoming speakers include:

Tuesday, November 6: Mark Copelovitch, assistant professor of public affairs and political science, speaks on "Choose Your Weapon: Trade Policy, Exchange Rates and the Politics of Protection."

Tuesday, November 27: Thomas DeLeire, visiting associate professor of public affairs and population health sciences.

Tuesday, December 4: Donald Moynihan, associate professor of public affairs.

— posted October 29, 2007; updated November 1, November 5, 2007

35 alumni, friends expected at D.C.-area reception on Nov. 8

The La Follette School invites Washington, D.C.-area alumni and friends of the school to attend a reception on Thursday, November 8, at the Washington Marriott Hotel, 1221 22nd St. N.W. The reception is 6:30-8 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

At least 35 alumni and friends are expected thus far, says Career Development Coordinator Mary Russell. Ten faculty members also plan to attend.

Among the expected guests are several members of the classes of 2005, 2006 and 2007, a 1975 grad and a few alumni from the late 1990s. The reception is made possible through donations from the school's advisory Board of Visitors, alumni and friends.

“The reception will be a great opportunity for people to network, share experiences and catch up with faculty members,” Russell says.

Faculty are in Washington for the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s fall conference, which was in Madison in 2006. A few Madison-area alumni will be at the reception because they are attending the conference.

“We look forward to talking with alumni and friends,” says director Barbara Wolfe. “Our annual reception in Madison has been so well-received that we hope that holding this reception in Washington while many faculty are in Washington will lead to a similarly successful event.”

APPAM convenes in Washington, D.C., every other year, and the La Follette School hopes to continue holding a D.C. alumni reception in tandem with the conference, Wolfe says.

“Time and again we hear about the friendships people form at La Follette,” Wolfe says. “We hope alumni see these receptions as a way to strengthen or rekindle those friendships as well as their relationship with the school.”

— posted October 24, 2007; updated October 29, November 1, November 6, 2007

Lecture to honor public intellectual Paul Offner

The legacy of former Wisconsin State Senator Paul Offner will be celebrated with a public lecture series sponsored by the La Follette School of Public Affairs. The first lecture and social event will be Wednesday, November 14, at 5 p.m. at the Pyle Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Harry Holzer and Peter Edleman, who co-authored the 2006 book Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men with Offner, will speak. The book was published after Offner died of cancer in 2004 at age 61.

Offner, who had a doctorate from Princeton, moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, to start what turned out to be a long career as a public intellectual.

He represented the La Crosse area in the Wisconsin Senate from 1977 to 1983. After a stint as deputy director of the Ohio Department of Human Services, he became an assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y. He was then chief health and welfare counselor for the Senate Finance Committee and commissioner of the District of Columbia Commission on Health Care Finance. He joined the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., and contributed to breakthrough research on poverty in America.

“Paul Offner represents the best of public service,” says La Follette School Director Barbara Wolfe. “We are honored to sponsor a public lecture in his memory with the Urban Institute.”

One of the event organizers, University of Wisconsin Regent Tom Loftus, says Offner made a difference in Wisconsin policy debates. “Paul taught us all to challenge the conventional and embrace the different way,” says Loftus, a 1972 alum of the La Follette School’s precursor, the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration. Loftus served as speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly and as ambassador to Norway in the Clinton administration.

“It was a time when debate about the future of the state and the country resulted in policy that moved us forward. He was amazing.”

— posted October 23, 2007

All in the family: La Follette professor reflects on Social Security

La Follette School professor John Witte — and his grandfather Edwin E. Witte— are featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on the history of  Social Security. Edwin Witte was the principal drafter of the legislation that created Social Security in 1934 as a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration. Before becoming the “Father of Social Security,” he was an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin.

Faith in Social Security inherited, October 18, 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

— posted October 19, 2007; updated October 22, 2007

La Follette School Seminar focuses on climate change, health

The risks and opportunites of climate change and health are the subject of the next La Follette School Seminar. Associate professor of environmental studies and population health sciences Jonathan Patz of the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment will speak at noon on Tuesday, October 23, in the conference room.

Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held on Tuesdays from noon-1 p.m. in the La Follette School conference room. Speakers include:

Monday, October 29: Timothy Smeeding, visiting scholar with the Russell Sage Foundation in New York City, will address “Recent Research on Cross-national Issues: Immigration and Old Age Poverty” as part of the La Follette School Seminar Series, noon-1:30 p.m. in the La Follette School conference room. He presents “Explaining the 21st Century American Welfare State in the Gilded Age” in a formal presentation at 4 p.m. in 104 Van Hise.

Tuesday, October 30: Brad Setser, a fellow with the Geoeconomics Center at Council on Foreign Relations, will give the presentation “Can the World's Biggest Borrower Remain the World's Only Superpower?” in 8417 Sewell Social Science at noon.

Tuesday, November 6: Mark Copelovitch, assistant professor of public affairs and political science.

Tuesday, November 27: Thomas DeLeire, visiting associate professor of public affairs and population health sciences.

Tuesday, December 4: Donald Moynihan, associate professor of public affairs.

Tuesday, December 11: Susan Webb Yackee, assistant professor of public affairs and political science.

— posted October 19, 2007; updated October 22, October 25, 2007

Seminar alum named Mrs. Oktoberfest to recognize government, volunteer work

Participation in a La Follette School class prompted Sue Schultz to run for the town of Onalaska’s clerk — and, in part, to being named Mrs. Oktoberfest as part of La Crosse’s annual celebration.

Schultz decided in 2003 to run for clerk of the western Wisconsin town after she graduated from the Wisconsin Women in Government seminar the La Follette School runs in partnership with Wisconsin Women in Government, a bipartisan organization promoting women's participation in public affairs.

“‘And after that, I thought, “Well, now it’s time to do something,” so I ran,’” she says in the Onalaska Life. She won the 2003 election and was re-elected in 2005. After voters and the town board decided to make the clerk an appointed position, the board named her clerk in March.

As clerk, Schultz keeps the town of Onalaska running. She maintains the web site (which she created), updated the town’s emergency plan, keeps records and assists residents. She serves on town’s new hall committee and as secretary for the plan commission.

Being named Mrs. Oktoberfest recognizes Schultz for more than her governmental work; it honors her volunteer and community involvement. She is a founding member of the La Crosse Hunger Task Force and Kane Street Community Garden, and she organizes the annual Brice Prairie Canoe and Bike Race.

“‘One of my goals was always to run for public office,’” she says in the Onalaska Life. “‘I guess I do a lot of community service things, and I wanted to run because I felt that I didn’t have an agenda on the right or the left, and I figured I could give a balance to whatever was going on.’”

Sue Schultz gets Oktoberfest fest honor, Onalaska Life, October 4, 2007

— posted October 17, 2007

Speakers to explore context of health-care reform

Three views of health-care reform will be the focus of a free public discussion on Thursday, October 25.

Steve Brenton, president of the Wisconsin Hospital Association, will give the opening talk on "A State-Level View of Health-Care Reform" at a program sponsored by the La Follette School and the Department of Political Science. The event opens the meeting of the school's and department's advisory Board of Visitors.

Two professors, an economist and a political scientist, will respond to Brenton’s comments. Thomas DeLeire of the La Follette School will address national economic perspectives on health-care reform. Political Science professor Charles Franklin will speak on the politics of health care.

The event starts at 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 25, in room 201 of the Fluno Center.

“Health-care reform ranks as the key political and financial issue on local, state and national levels,” says Barbara Wolfe, director of the La Follette School. “The three speakers will make for an interesting exchange of ideas and perspectives.”

The Board of Visitors comprises about 24 alumni from around the United States who meet twice a year to advise the La Follette School and Department of Political Science about development, careers and internships for students, marketing and long-range planning. The board meets October 25-27.

— posted October 16, 2007

2 alumni revel in baseball team's league championship

Two La Follette School alumni met up on the baseball diamond this summer, leading their team — the Bulldogs — to win the season championship for the Men’s Senior Baseball League of Southern Wisconsin, which is for players 28 and older.

Leftfielder and May 2007 grad Lamont Smith was one of the team’s younger members. Shortstop Mike Heifetz is vice president of governmental affairs for Dean Health System and SSM Health Care of Wisconsin. He graduated from La Follette in 1991 — when Smith was in sixth grade. “I didn’t realize how much of the generation gap we were covering this summer,” Smith says.

“What he really means is, ‘I knew the old guy had a LaFollette brain, but didn't know he could still play ball,’” Heifetz counters, adding that Smith was “an awesome addition to the team.”

With a record of 10 wins and four losses, the Bulldogs won the season against league rivals the Raptors, winners of the 2006 league title, to clinch the regular season title.

In the matchup against the Raptors, Heifetz was part of a key double play during the seventh inning. In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, the Raptors had runners on first and second, with the game-tying run on second. The Raptors' cleanup hitter lined a base hit to Smith in left field, who threw out the lead runner at home plate to end the game. The Bulldogs won the game with a final score of 5-4.

“We didn’t do as well in the round-robin tournament because we never fielded a full team,” Smith says.

Smith and Heifetz plan to play again next summer. “We had a great time,” Smith says, “and our being on the same team was a pretty funny chance meeting of two alumni.”

“We are lobbying to change the team name to the Fighting Bobs,” Heifetz adds, “but the other guys aren't going for it.”

— posted October 16, 2007; updated February 20, 2008

Research links religion, better outcomes for disadvantaged children

Research by new La Follette School faculty member Thomas DeLeire and his co-authors is featured in the Boston Globe. The study finds that involvement in religion can help disadvantaged children.

The statistical analysis shows that while a disadvantaged childhood correlates to problems later in life, "children from religious families were buffered against some negative outcomes. For instance, disadvantaged children from religious families were less likely to smoke and were more likely to finish high school or seek higher education," the Globe says.

Religious also increased the likelihood of children attending college, though no improvement was found for income, health, health care or psychological well-being.

DeLeire's co-authors are Erzo F.P. Luttmer, an economist at Harvard's Kennedy School; Rajeev Dehejia of Tufts University; and Josh Mitchell, a doctoral student in economics at Harvard. The study was based on a review of the National Survey of Families and Households, conducted by University of Wisconsin demographers, which surveyed 13,000 Americans in 1987-88 and then reinterviewed many of them in 1992-94 and 2001-03.

Religious upbring found to aid children, Boston.com, October 13, 2007

— posted October 16, 2007; updated October 24, 2007

La Follette School sponsors talk, reception with U.S. Rep. Obey

La Follette School student quizzed U.S. Representative David Obey about his life of public service and listened to his firsthand account about his experiences crafting federal public policy a session hosted by the La Follette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Political Science.

Obey talked with La Follette School students, faculty and staff on October 14. He discussed his life as a student of policy, including stories from his book, Raising Hell for Justice: The Washington Battles of a Heartland Progressive, just published by the University of Wisconsin Press.

“I appreciate a good storyteller, and Representative Obey does a great job of presenting information in the form of a good story,” says Lindsay Read, a first-year master of public affairs student. “Whether he was discussing his travels to Central America, his current work on appropriations or his thoughts about the upcoming presidential election, his stories were matter-of-fact, informative and interesting.”

“We’re pleased that Representative Obey shared his perspective on public service with La Follette School students, faculty and staff, as well as other members of the university community,” says Director Barbara Wolfe. “We had a great turnout, especially late on a Sunday after the Green Bay Packers played.”

La Follette School Professor Bob Haveman introduced Obey and then emceed the question-and-answer session that followed Obey's remarks, giving students priority to ask the member of Congress thoughtful — and sometimes tough — questions.

“Obey was very candid about his experiences and what it's like to work in the real world of policy-making," says Carrie Traud, a second-year international public affairs student. “I particularly liked that he felt he's become more radical in his politics as the years have passed. … While he was very upfront about the difficulties and challenges of making progress in today's political system, he still seems to believe that change was possible.”

At the reception afterward, students talked further with Obey, and Traud and Read won the lottery to go to dinner with him, aide Rene Daniels, Wolfe, Haveman, assistant professor Susan Yackee, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, and College of Letters and Science Dean Gary Sandefur. The talk, reception and dinner were made possible with donations by alumni and friends of the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Wolfe says Obey clearly enjoys speaking with La Follette students. “He sees great importance in training students in public affairs,” she adds.

The students appreciate his interest. “Representative Obey took the time to ask Carrie and me about our interests at La Follette, which gave us a chance to ask his perspective on issues we care about,” Read says.

U.S. Rep. Dave Obey discusses policy with La Follette faculty, students, February 9, 2006, La Follette School news

— posted October 15, 2007; updated October 17, October 18, 2007

Student wins scholarship to Dubai conference on leadership

First-year international public affairs student Alison Patz will be going to Dubai for the Women as Global Leaders Conference in March.

Patz is one of four University of Wisconsin-Madison students who won scholarships from the campus’ Center for International Business Education and Research. “I am thrilled to have been selected, and excited about representing La Follette at such an important international forum,” she says.

As part of her master of international public affairs degree, Patz is pursuing a certificate in Middle Eastern studies and studying classical Arabic. “This conference will be a good practical application for my language studies,” she says. “It will help me complete a fuller picture of Middle Eastern culture and traditions.”

After graduating, she plans to pursue a career in international education policy. “My long-range goal is to work for an organization that better prepares teachers through local assessment and dialogue; that increases enrollment, particularly for girls, at the primary, secondary and collegiate levels; and that monitors and evaluates improvements made by communities in teaching life skills, especially in the Middle East,” she says.

Patz is originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin. After graduating from Smith College in 2004, she joined the Peace Corps and served two years in Morocco as a youth development volunteer, which entailed teaching English as a second language.

“As a ESL teacher, encouraging my female students to understand the importance of respecting each other and working together to improve their communities was an important classroom objective for me,” she says. “In attending the Women as Global Leaders 2008 conference, I look forward to discussing how best to help girls explore their ideas about themselves and their roles within their families and communities with today's top women leaders.”

— posted October 15, 2007

New York Times highlights member of school's advisory board

A graphic in the Sunday New York Times Week in Review illustrates the bipartisan breadth of Bob Barnett's client base. Barnett and his wife, CBS News report Rita Braver, are members of the La Follette School's advisory Board of Visitors, which meets in Madison October 25-26. The October 14 Times notes that Barnett, a Democrat, recently added Laura Bush and Jenna Bush as clients, to help them seal book deals, which he has done for many people in the public and private sectors, including Hillway and Bill Clinton, George Will and Dan Quayle. Barnett has played George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney in mock debates for their Democratic challengers.

New York Times Week in Review, October 14, 2007

— posted October 15, 2007

Governor names alum to judicial post

La Follette School alum Mitch Metropulos has been appointed circuit court judge for Outagamie County by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

The 1986 alum has been an assistant district attorney in Wisconsin since 1987, most recently in Winnebago and Outagamie counties. He holds a joint degree in law and in public policy and administration. He is active in restorative justice and domestic violence prevention and has taught courses at Fox Valley Technical College. He and his family live in Appleton.

“Mitchell will serve as an outstanding judge for Outagamie County,” Doyle says. “He has a proven track record, and I know he will do what is right for the people of Wisconsin.”

Metropulos succeeds Judge Joseph M. Troy, who resigned to take a position with Habush, Habush & Rottier. His term ends July 31, but he plans to run for re-election to a six-year term in the spring.

“I want to thank Governor Doyle for having confidence in me to serve as a circuit court judge in Outagamie County,” Metropulos says. “I will do my best to protect and serve the citizens of the community.”

Metropulos plans to build on crime prevention programs established by his predecessors. “I hope to start a drug court to help drug addicts convicted of non-violent crimes address their chemical dependency through strict supervision, intense counseling, routine testing and weekly court hearings,” Metropulos says. “The community benefits from such a program by reducing crime and incarceration costs.”

Judiciary welcomes seven new judges, August 28, 2007, Wisconsin Court System

Governor Doyle Appoints Nancy Krueger, Mitchell Metropulos as Outagamie County Judge, August 24, 2007, Office of the Governor

— posted October 5, 2007; updated February 5, 2008

La Follette professors contribute chapter to book on retirement

A new book on the retirement of the Baby Boom generation includes a chapter by three La Follette School professors.

Robert Haveman, Karen Holden and Barbara L. Wolfe with co-author Andrei Romanov contributed the chapter "The Sufficiency of Retirement Savings: Comparing Cohorts at the Time of Retirement" to the book Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? It is published by Oxford University Press and the Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

They compare the savings adequacy of two groups of retirees, one of people who retired in 1980-81, the other of people retiring 20 years after that. Their results suggest that single people and those with low education and skills and periods of unemployment are the most likely to not have enough savings for retirement.

An earlier version of the chapter is part of the La Follette School Working Paper Series.

— posted October 1, 2007

La Follette School plays role in National Institutes of Health grant at UW

La Follette School faculty will help administer a piece of a $41 million National Institutes of Health grant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The grant, given to the new Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, is one of the largest grants in the history of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, making UW-Madison a key player in an ambitious NIH plan to transform the country's clinical and translational research enterprise.

Working in partnership with communities, university researchers will improve the transfer of biomedical and health sciences discoveries into practical use in health-care providers' offices, clinics, hospitals and communities where the new knowledge can be used most rapidly and effectively to improve peoples' health.

The La Follette School will work with the Community Academic Partnerships core, a component of the ICTR. This year, La Follette School professor Thomas DeLeire will represent the campus’ Health Policy Group on the grant’s steering committee. La Follette School professors collaborated with other University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty in preparing the original grant proposal, including Director Barbara Wolfe, David Weimer, Pamela Herd and Carolyn Heinrich.

The steering committee will identify opportunities to assess the adoption of health-care innovations in Wisconsin. Each year the Community Academic Partnership core will support studying the value of health-care interventions in designated priority areas.

“Every year, the grant will fund two faculty-student teams that will collaborate with clinicians to analyze benefits, costs and/or cost-effectiveness,” Wolfe says. “These projects are an ideal way for La Follette School students to contribute to this important undertaking.”

Two La Follette students are working this academic year with faculty to study the cost effectiveness of early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and improvements in the care of diabetes patients. Funding from the School of Medicine and Public Health's Medical Education and Research Committee supports their work.

With $41 million over five years, ICTR will support clinical and translational research in Wisconsin by first building a network of key partners across campus and around the state. The institute will then expand training programs and coordinate resources and services for investigators.

“Engagement with consumers, providers and public health departments and community health offices throughout Wisconsin will be essential to ensuring that the research is relevant and reaches people and areas with the greatest needs,” says professor Maureen Smith, director of the Community Academic Partnership.

“A critical aspect of this grant is to improve our understanding of how new research findings make their way into clinical health-care practice,” Wolfe says. “Many academic institutions overlook this ‘translational research,’ even though we all know a gap exists between our knowledge and our actions. The La Follette School will provide the analysis we need to determine when an intervention is worth implementing in practice.”

Major grant advances UW’s clinical and translational research enterprise, September 18, 2007, University of Wisconsin-Madison news service

UW-Madison approves new research institute, March 21, 2007, University of Wisconsin-Madison news service

— posted September 27, 2007; updated September 28, 2007

Association newsletter features Holden

The Population Association of America features La Follette School professor Karen Holden in a profile in its fall 2007 newsletter. Holden discusses how she became interested in population issues, her current work, her involvement with the Population Association of America and her Cajun band.

Her research on the economic well-being of older persons looks specifically at the role of Social Security, pension plans, and personal savings in how well off individuals are in retirement and as they experience risky events. Her current projects include the adequacy of retirement savings, and the efficacy of financial literacy programs, and the effects of early widowhood on economic and psychological well-being.

PAA People, Fall 2007, PAA Affairs, page 4 of pdf

— posted September 26, 2007

Property tax helps citizenry control local services

The governor of Massachusetts recently proposed allowing casino gambling as a way of generating revenue for property tax relief. In an op-ed piece in the September 22 Boston Globe, La Follette School professor Andrew Reschovsky and co-author Joan Youngman argue that states should not rush to replace the property tax as a way of funding local governments. They point out that the property tax's visibility is a virtue; relative to other taxes, it is easier for taxpayers to compare the taxes they pay with the local public services they receive. It is also a more stable source of revenue than state aid, which is often cut during periods of economic downturns.

Reschovsky is on leave from La Follette for the 2007-08 school year, spending his sabbatical leave as a visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a nonpartisan think tank in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The strengths of the property tax, September 22, 2007, Boston Globe

— posted September 25, 2007

President nominates 2 La Follette alumni as ambassadors

Two La Follette School alumni are on tap to become ambassadors to Greece and Angola.

The White House has announced President Bush’s intent to nominate Dan W. Mozena to be ambassador to Angola and Daniel V. Speckhard to be ambassador to Greece.

Speckard, class of 1982, is a special advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, having previously served as attache there. He is a career member of the Senior Executive Service. Earlier in his career, he served as director of policy planning for the secretary general of NATO. Speckhard would replace Charles Ries, whose term expires in mid-June.

Mozena, class of 1973, is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He serves as country director of the Office of Southern African Affairs at the Department of State. He earlier served as deputy chief of mission in Lusaka, Zambia, and as the political and economic counselor in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The U.S. Senate is considering both nominations.

President George W. Bush today has nominated nine individuals and announced his intention to appoint six individuals to serve in his Administration, September 12, 2007, whitehouse.gov

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate three individuals to serve in his Administration, August 16, 2007, whitehouse.gov

— posted September 20, 2007

La Follette School economist predicts recession in '08

The slumping housing market will drag the U.S. economy into recession next year, says La Follette School emeritus professor Donald Nichols. He spoke at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's semiannual economic forecast conference.

“'My money is on a near-term collapse in housing, a related decline in consumer spending[, and] a typical accompanying response (downturn) from inventories,' he said, noting that some sectors of the economy remain strong. As for Wisconsin, Nichols said the impact of the housing slide and related credit crunch will be felt much less than in other areas of the country,'" Wisbusiness.com reports.

WisBusiness: Economist Nichols predicts recession for 2008, September 14, 2007, wisbusiness.com

— posted September 20, 2007

Seminar to explore sustainability risk management

Corporate management of environmental and social responsibility risks is the topic of the Tuesday, September 25, La Follette School Seminar.

Dan Anderson, Leslie P. Schultz Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, will discuss “Sustainability Risk Management: Reducing Risks and Building Business Opportunities Using Sustainable Strategies” from noon-1 p.m. in the La Follette School conference room.

The La Follette School Seminar Series engages participants in discussion of public policy issues and showcases the research of faculty from La Follette and other departments, as well as invited guests from outside the University of Wisconsin-Madison community. Faculty, students and visitors take part in lively conversation about topics that include poverty and welfare, health, education, international affairs, trade and finance, and the environment.

Seminars begin at noon on most Tuesdays throughout the academic year, in the La Follette School conference room unless noted otherwise. Speakers include:

• October 2: Gregory Nemet, assistant professor of public affairs and environmental studies at the La Follette School, will discuss energy policy and innovations in wind power in California.
• October 9: Laura Dresser, associate director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, will discuss policy options for improving the condition of workers at the bottom of the labor market. Her presentation is titled “The Gloves-Off Economy: Problems and Possibilities at the Bottom of the Labor Market.”
• October 23: Jonathan Patz, associate professor of environmental studies and population health sciences, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, speaks on “Climate Change and Health: Risks and Opportunities.”
• October 30: Brad Setser, research associate at the Global Economic Governance Programme at University College, Oxford, will address “Can the World's Biggest Borrower Remain the World's Only Superpower?” He will speak in 8417 Sewell Social Science Building.
• November 6: Mark Copelovitch, assistant professor of public affairs and political science at the La Follette School.

• November 27: Tom DeLeire, visiting associate professor of public affairs and population health sciences.

• December 4: Donald Moynihan, associate professor of public affairs.

• December 11: Susan Webb Yackee, assistant professor of public affairs and political science.

— posted September 20, 2007; updated September 27, September 28, October 1, October 3, 2007

La Follette School sends 8 from class of 2007 on to Ph.D. programs

Eight students from the La Follette School of Public Affairs class of 2007 are pursuing doctorates this fall.

“For such a small program, this is an impressive number of students to go on to pursue Ph.D.s,” says La Follette School professor Carolyn Heinrich, who is also associate director of the Institute for Research on Poverty.

“The high quality of the doctoral programs to which these students have been admitted and their ability to compete successfully for prestigious fellowships suggests that the La Follette School does an excellent job of preparing its master’s students for the rigors of doctoral-level studies,” Heinrich says. “It also reflects the top-rate student body that the La Follette School attracts.”

The La Follette School graduates about 50 students each year with master’s degrees in public affairs or international public affairs.

One student, Matthew Steinberg, is at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He is a pre-doctoral educational fellow as a member of the University of Chicago Committee on Education.

Dani Fumia is at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs focusing on how public policies affect marginalized groups, specifically racial minorities. She also is working as a research assistant on a project about the determinants of high school course-taking and the effects of course-taking on postsecondary achievement.

The other six are continuing their graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, three of them continuing their education in the Department of Political Science. A fourth, Callie Gray, is pursuing a special committee Ph.D. in public policy.

Raul Leon is with the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, in which he has an advanced opportunity fellowship. He is in the higher education track with concentrations on diversity issues, the role of student administrators of color and study-abroad experiences.

In the History Department, Yeri Lopez is focusing on 20th-century Bolivia, where he served in the Peace Corps. In addition to an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, he received a second Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education to continue his Quichua studies.

Brandon Lamson also received a FLAS, which he is using to study Chinese as part of his studies in the Department of Political Science, where Leah Larson-Rabin and Deven Carlson are also commencing their Ph.D. studies.

— posted September 18, 2007

Fulbright applications soughts

Applications continue to be accepted for some Fulbright Scholar awards for lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in public administration during the 2008-2009 academic year.  Faculty and professionals in public administration may apply not only for awards specifically in their field, but also for one of the many “All Discipline” awards open to any field. See web site www.cies.org for descriptions of available awards and new eligibility requirements.  Awards are closing daily, so relevant program officer should be consulted before applying. 

— posted September 18, 2007

Journal sees increase in citation impact

A journal edited by La Follette School professor Carolyn Heinrich was ranked No. 2 for 2006, based on its citation impact factor.

In addition, the Journal of International Economics, co-edited by professor of public affairs and economics Charles Engel, ranked 21st in economics with an impact factor of 1.562 and 62 articles.

The Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory saw an increase in its citation impact factor from 2005 to 2006. The impact rating measures the number of times authors cited articles from the journal within the past two years. Citations of published research are key indicators of the influence of scholarly work. The rankings are compiled by Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge’s Journal Citation Reports database.

The journal’s impact factor rose from 1.451 in 2005 to 1.655 in 2006, Heinrich reports. “In addition, the number of citations increased from 416 to 442, suggesting a steady upward trend.”

She notes that JPART’s drop from the No. 1 slot for 2005 occurred even though the No. 1 journal for 2006, Philosophy and Public Affairs, reported fewer citations, down from 616 in 2005 to 564 in 2006, though its citation impact factor increased. The ranking process adjusts for the number of articles each journal publishes. JPART printed 28 articles in 2006 while Philosophy and Public Affairs published 16.

— posted September 10, 2007; updated August 12, 2008

Orientation sets tone for La Follette experience

Exploring curriculum, picnicking and a little painting brought new and continuing students together at the La Follette School fall orientation, setting the stage for the friendships that often form during the two years students spend in the program.

Orientation activities spanned five days and covered the nuts and bolts of being a student, plus lots of social events.

Donations from alumni and friends made some activities possible by covering food and beverage costs.

A picnic at Tripp Commons in Memorial Union followed a daylong session at which new students talked with faculty, staff and continuing students; learned about courses and curricula; and heard about career development opportunities.

The La Follette School Student Association added a few social and volunteer activities to the orientation agenda as a way to facilitate first- and second-year students getting to know each other.

Students painted a hallway at the Lussier Teen Center and four rooms at the Salvation Army’s family shelter, both in Madison.

“I think that the experience will help to set the stage for a wide depth of experience for the La Follette community,” says Jennie Mauer, a second-year master of public affairs student and LSSA’s social chair.

The six who painted a hallway at the teen center had a great time, Mauer says.“It was nice to have a sense of accomplishment when the day was over,” Mauer says. “I also really enjoyed having an opportunity to interact with fellow students in a small-group setting and do something useful.”

The crew at the Salvation Army did such a good job on their four rooms that they were asked to return and finish another eight. “At the end of the afternoon, the volunteer coordinator gathered us together to tell us more about what the Salvation Army does in Dane County—how they’re funded, what kinds of services they provide, etc.,” reports Alexis MacDonald, also a second-year master of public affairs student and LSSA alumni chair.

Other events included a pub crawl, text book sale, potluck at professor Karen Holden’s house and another picnic after the community service day.

“We appreciate the contributions LSSA makes to orientation every year,” says Associate Director Menzie Chinn. “These opening activities encourage students to interact and help them form kinds of the friendships and professional contacts that our alumni continue to enjoy.”

— posted September 6, 2007

Alum heads to Europe for program on stability in Balkans

After nearly a year of working on bids and proposals for an international development company, Natalie Oldani is ready to re-engage in academic debate.

So, she is looking forward to heading to Berlin in September for a two-week leadership development academy sponsored by the College of Europe and Transfuse Association, an affiliate of the Robert-Bosch Foundation.

“Working is great for enhancing skills and gaining valuable experience, but it is also nice to have the time to engage in academic debate,” Oldani says.

The academy is a great opportunity, says La Follette School Professor Jonathan Zeitlin, who recommended Oldani for it. “This is an elite program for young policy professionals from both sides of the Atlantic concerned with the achievement of peace and stability in the Balkans,” he says.

After completing her master of international public affairs coursework at the La Follette School, Oldani spent the 2005-06 academic year studying in Serbia, thanks to a David L. Boren Graduate Fellowship funded by National Security Education Program.

She returned to the United States in August 2006 and started in January as a business development associate for Constella Futures in Washington, D.C. Part of the Constella Group, Constella Futures designs and implements public health and social programs in developing countries for government agencies, foundations, corporations and multilateral organizations.

She says she draws on her graduate school experience continually, “whether it be specific knowledge or information from a course or connections and networks of people I met during my years at La Follette.”

The technical skills she gained at La Follette were essential during her internship at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. “My supervisor had asked my colleague and I to perform simple regression analysis based on information gathered by municipality on economic and polling data,” Oldani says. “Had I not taken the econometrics class with Carolyn Heinrich I would have been completely overwhelmed!”

Oldani appreciates the chance to build her network of people interested southeastern Europe. “I hope to one day utilize the knowledge gained and the network of individuals I meet to help ensure continued stability and prosperity in that region,” she says, “thought at this phase of my life I am not sure what definite course this will take.”

— posted August 29, 2007

Value of dollar still in peril, despite recent gains

Despite a recent gain in value, the dollar is still in danger of losing its status as the world's reserve currency, La Follette School Associate Director Menzie Chinn tells the Chicago Tribune.

The dollar's value improved against the euro and other currencies as financiers hedged their bets by buying dollars during the mortgage and credit crisis in August. Experts say the improvement is temporary, given the increasing trade and budget deficits.

The dollar, the Tribune reports, could give way to the euro as the currency of choice for bank reserves around the world.

"Academic studies suggest that process could take decades, if it occurs at all. And the movement of money into U.S. Treasury securities during the recent market turmoil indicates the dollar's status as the world's leading currency remains secure for now.

"That could change over time, says Menzie Chinn, professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin and co-author of a much-cited academic report on the topic. 'The euro's catching up,' he says. 'Things are working in the direction of making the dollar a less-desirable reserve currency.'"

— posted August 29, 2007

Orientation offers chance for new students to learn more about La Follette School

The La Follette School welcomes its entering class of about 55 students with an five-day orientation that includes the nuts and bolts of being a student, plus lots of social opportunities for new students to get to know continuing students, faculty and staff.

The Tuesday session provides an overview of La Follette faculty, staff, curriculum and career development options.

“New students will have many formal and informal opportunities ask questions of continuing students, faculty and staff,” says Associate Director Menzie Chinn. “We’re also pleased that the La Follette School Student Association has added social and volunteer opportunities.”

The session on Tuesday includes Chinn and professors Maria Cancian, Carolyn Heinrich, John Witte, Mark Copelovitch. They and a number of continuing students will talk with first-year students about areas of study, affiliated courses, and academic and professional opportunities for La Follette School students.

Chinn and Student Services Coordinator Mary Treleven will review curricular issues. Career Development Coordinator Mary Russell will explore how students can advance toward their career goals and outlining the course PA 799 Professional Development Workshop.

La Follette School Student Association president Joe Fontaine will introduce the organization and its officers. Orientation is where students start building their social and academic networks at La Follette, Fontaine says. Continuing students are happy to share their experiences and advice, as are faculty and staff.

A highlight of orientation is the school’s evening picnic on Tuesday, one of the few times the entire entering class and La Follette faculty meet as a group, Chinn says. This year’s picnic will be in Tripp Commons at Memorial Union.

The orientation winds up on Thursday with volunteer and social activities that LSSA has organized.

— posted August 27, 2007

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