Newsmakers

Jennifer Kuzma: Small bites, bigger questions

One problem is that a lot more money is being spent on development than on safety research. Another is that the safety studies that are done tend to be narrowly focused: for example, dosing a zebrafish embryo with high levels of one nanomaterial might not offer a lot of insight about the impact of a consumer product.

A Veterans Day message from Dean Schwartz

November 11 is Veterans Day. On behalf of the Humphrey School, I want to express our deepest appreciation for the contributions and the sacrifices of those members of our community who have served in the armed forces. Over the past two years, in my former position at the U.S. Department of State, I traveled to many regions in conflict, from Iraq, to Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, and others.

Humphrey School wins NASPAA Diversity Award

The Humphrey School of Public Affairs has been chosen to receive the inaugural Diversity Award given by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the 275-member organization that promotes excellence in education and training for public service. The newly created award recognizes the public affairs or public policy program that "exemplifies the highest standards of promoting and supporting diversity in research, teaching, and/or service." The School will receive the award at NASPAA's annual conference in Kansas City the week of October 17.

Pakou Hang

Humphrey School alumni among 18 recently announced Bush fellows

Two Humphrey School graduates and a former employee are among 18 newly selected to receive prestigious Bush Fellowships from the Bush Foundation. Fellows receive funding of between $25,000 and $75,000 over a two-year period to carry out their proposals to build their leadership capacity to mobilize others in their community and find solutions to the tough problem/issue they’ve identified.

Eric J. Ostermeier

Smart Politics has a new look

The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance has launched a new design of the acclaimed non-partisan political news site Smart Politics as it approaches its 5-year anniversary. The revamped site offers Smart Politics readers a more user-friendly design as well as new features such as "Political Crumbs," which highlights interesting political trivia in state and national politics. Smart Politics, authored by CSPG Research Associate Eric Ostermeier, Ph.D., J.D., was created in September 2006 with the mission to publish original, research-based, data-driven reporting and analysis of public policy, campaigns, and elections for Minnesota, upper Midwestern, and national politics.

Research Fellow Adeel Lari

Supporting telework brings 9-to-1 return on investment

eWorkPlace Minnesota announced today that it was delivering at least nine dollars in benefits for every one dollar invested in encouraging teleworking. eWorkPlace Minnesota is a state-sponsored program for metro area employers. Its purpose is to reduce congestion on the highways in and around the Twin Cities. It encourages employers to offer the option of either 1) working from home or other remote locations via the Internet or other technology or 2) a more dramatic workplace culture shift, through the adoption of a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) strategy.

Senior Fellow Art Rolnick

Senior Fellow Art Rolnick testifies in front of the U.S. Senate

Senior Fellow Art Rolnick recently testified in front of the Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee of the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. Watch as Minnesota's junior Senator Al Franken questions Rolnick on the costs and benefits of early childhood education.

Eric P. Schwartz

Eric P. Schwatrz named dean of the Humphrey School

University of Minnesota Provost Tom Sullivan today named Eric P. Schwartz, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in the U.S. Department of State, as dean of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Both President Bob Bruininks and President-Designate Eric Kaler joined in the consultative process and support enthusiastically the selection of Eric Schwartz as dean. Pending approval by the Board of Regents, which is expected to act at its June meeting, Eric Schwartz will begin his service as dean on October 10, 2011.

Julie Harrold

University of Minnesota and Peace Corps collaborate to bring graduate training to returning volunteers

The University of Minnesota has joined forces with the Peace Corps to offer graduate degrees to returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) through its Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Selected students will be part of the growing Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, a partnership between the Peace Corps and graduate schools nationwide, and will have the opportunity to earn degrees in fields as diverse as regional planning, environmental policy, and public affairs. “The Peace Corps is delighted to have the University of Minnesota as a partner in the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams.

Professor John Bryson

Bryson receives prestigious Dwight Waldo Award

John M. Bryson, McKnight Presidential Professor of Planning and Public Affairs in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, was awarded the 2011 Dwight Waldo Award from the American Society for Public Administration. The Dwight Waldo Award is presented to persons who have made outstanding contributions to the professional literature of public administration over an extended career. To be eligible the nominee must have had at least one article published in Public Administration Review and a minimum of 25 years of active scholarship that has furthered the discipline of public administration. The name and career summary of the Waldo Award winner will be published in Public Administration Review.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Wilson

While U.S. energy and climate policy flounders, China forges ahead

By Elizabeth Wilson

I stood in awe as a thin strand of metal was sheared from the outside of the 40-foot-high AP-1000 nuclear reactor vessel, landing in a 5-foot-high pile of curly steel shavings. In the background, my tour group could see huge hunks of Japanese steel being molded into five other reactors in various states of construction. Our guide told us this facility, a building the size of several city blocks in an industrial area outside Shanghai, could produce seven to nine 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors each year. All told, 25 nuclear plants are currently under construction in China, with 60 more in the planning stage.

Judge John Tunheim

Tunheim Receives University's Outstanding Achievement Award

Friends and colleagues joined The Honorable Judge John R. Tunheim on Monday evening, November 15, as he was awarded the University’s Outstanding Achievement Award. The award is the highest nondegree award conferred upon distinguished alumni by the University of Minnesota. It recognizes graduates or former students of the University who have attained unusual distinction in their chosen fields or professions, or in public service, and who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and leadership on a community, state, national, or international level.

New Year, New Name

On January 18, 2011—the first day of spring semester—the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs became the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Outgoing dean J. Brian Atwood sought the name change to reduce confusion among prospective students and constituents outside of Minnesota. “This confusion is particularly acute in Washington, D.C., where ‘institutes’ are more likely to be ‘think tanks’ than degree-granting institutions, like ours,” Atwood says. “Also, as we recruit a growing number of international students—especially for our new Master of Development Practice degree program—we need to have a clear academic identity in the minds of prospective students.”