Community Notes

Welcome

To new faculty members

• Associate Professor Kerwin Charles, a labor economist, comes from the University of Michigan’s economics department and the Ford School of Public Policy. He was also the Harris School’s 2005-06 Emmett Dedmon Visiting Professor. For more on his research, see “The Economics of Marriage”.
• Associate Professor William Howell was previously at Harvard University’s government department and his current research focuses on American politics and the balance of powers. For more on his research, see “Power Plays”.

To new visiting faculty

• Visiting Assistant Professor Ioana Marinescualso comes to Chicago from Harvard (the economics department). Her research focuses on the effect of institutions and policies on economic outcomes.

To new postdoctoral fellow

• With the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy, Rebecca Ryan is here on a National Institute of Health fellowship and is working with Associate Professor Ariel Kalil.

To new staff

• Krista Donahue, Center for Policy Practice Director, was previously in Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) Washington, D.C. office as an advisor on health care and Social Security issues.
• Originally from Brazil, Elisandra Albani, Admissions Coordinator, received her degree in Law and prior to coming to the United States worked as a Judicial Assistant in both the Lower and Superior Courts and the Office of the Civil Notary.

Awards

• Accomplishing a rare repeat appearance in a very exclusive winner’s circle, Professor Tomas Philipson has won his second Kenneth J. Arrow Award for Best Paper in Health Economics for “The Quantity and Quality of Life and the Evolution of World Inequality” (The American Economic Review).
• Professor and Deputy Dean Charles Glaser has been named the Emmett Dedmon Professor in Public Policy.
• Harris School affiliated faculty member James Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor, was awarded the Ulysses Medal from University College Dublin for his contribution to research in economics and human behavior.

Events

• In September, His Excellency President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic gave the 2006 King Abdullah II Annual Leadership Lecture (video available).
• New students were busy as usual during orientation week this year. Professor Colm O’Muircheartaigh gave the Annual Aims of Public Policy Address (video available). The Dean of Students Office arranged a trip to see NPR’s political quiz show, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me. And students attempted to find solutions to rebuilding New Orleans as part of the Dean’s Challenge.
• In October, mentors, students, and alumni attended the 2006 Mentor Dinner. The keynote address—“Crime and Justice in Illinois”—was given by Paula Wolff, Senior Executive at Chicago Metropolis 2020.
• The Dean’s International Council met in Paris, France in October at the University of Chicago Center in Paris. During the three-day meeting, members, attendees, and speakers discussed a number of thought-provoking issues impacting the European Union, the development of equitable labor laws, current Franco-U.S. relations, as well as international migration, integration, and the growing needs of refugee populations.
  Speakers and panelists included The Honorable Craig Roberts Stapleton, U.S. Ambassador to France; John Vinocur, columnist at the International Herald Tribune; The Honorable Armen Sarkissian, former Prime Minister of Armenia and former Armenian Ambassador to the UK, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and The Vatican; and Laurent Fabius, former Prime Minister of France and current Assemblée Nationale Member.
• In November, the Harris School co-sponsored the Chicago stop on the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour, a series of public forums on the future of U.S. fiscal policy organized by the Concord Coalition. The panelists included David Walker, U.S. Comptroller General and Harris School Visiting Committee member, as well as representatives from the Concord Coalition, the Heritage Foundation, and the Brookings Institute.

Alumni Events

• In July, alumni, students, and friends met in Grant Park for dinner and a movie— a potluck picnic and Rebel Without a Causeat the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival.
• In November, Women in Public Policy (WIPP) hosted an evening of networking and chocolate at Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge with Harris School alumnae, sponsored by the offices of Alumni Relations and Professional Development.

Upcoming

• The Center for Human Potential and Public Policy will be sponsoring a new series of Careers in Child and Family Policy Luncheons, and in December will host a policy and practice roundtable, featuring psychologist Walter Gilliam of the Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Gilliam’s research involves studying state variations in programs and services for young children and their outcomes.
• The School’s Distinguished Speaker Seriesfor 2006-07 will include a number of notable policymakers from the U.S. and beyond. Keep an eye on harrisschool.uchicago.edu for details.
• The offices of Alumni Relations and Career Services are planning a series of “policy connection” networking receptions for students and alumni around the country modeled after last year’s “Capital Connections” event in Washington, D.C. For this year, students will write proposals to visit organizations and cities. Career Services staff will screen the proposals and select the best for the series.
• And look for audio from selected Harris School events online at chicagopublicradio.org/. Starting this year, Harris School will be part of a new Chicago Public Radio initiative— Chicago Amplified, a web-based audio archive of public events sponsored by organizations throughout the region.