La Follette Notes
Fall 2010 / www.lafollette.wisc.edu
News for Alumni & Friends of The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
La Follette guests enjoy
Bob and Belle’s hospitality
More than 80 alumni, incoming and
continuing students, faculty, staff,
family and friends gathered outside the
La Follette School for a picnic dinner
“hosted” by Bob and Belle La Follette
on July 20. Thanks to donations from
alumni and friends of the school, the
La Follettes could provide beverages,
brats, hamburgers, hot dogs, soy
burgers and the fixings, while guests
contributed salads and desserts.
School officials hope to make the
hillside fest an annual event.
Romanski leads
Wisconsin ag agency
1
995 grad Randy Romanski is the new
secretary of the Wisconsin Department
of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Romanski had been deputy secretary
of the department since December 2007.
Governor Jim Doyle named him to replace
Rod Nilsestuen, who drowned in July.
“Randy was Rod’s second in command,
and an integral part of DATCP recent successes,” Doyle says. “I am confident that in
the coming months Randy will work hard
to continue Rod’s great work, and follow
through on efforts to further strengthen
Save the Date
Reception for Alumni
and Friends in the
Madison Area
Thursday, February 3, 2011
4:30-7 p.m., Inn on the Park
22 South Carroll St.
Madison
Information
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
(608) 263-7657
See Agriculture on page 7
Grads take relevant skills to job market
G
“
From the Director
Carolyn Heinrich
raduate With Skills, Not
Just a Degree” was the
headline of an August 26, 2010,
Wall Street Journal article. Among
the “relevant skills” the author
emphasizes are some key ones
that La Follette School students
polish while earning their master’s degrees: communication,
analysis, teamwork and technical skills.
The beauty of a public affairs degree is that it prepares
people for a range of professional opportunities, whether in
the public, private or nonprofit
sectors, in domestic or international public affairs, and across
a breadth of policy domains.
But today more than ever, prospective employers are taking
See From the Director on page 8
Donation of funds
for fellowship honors
sister, niece
E
ven though Noah Rosenberg has been
a health-care attorney in California
for 30 years, he keeps a warm place in his
heart for Madison. Realization of how
the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s
at the University of Wisconsin helped to
shape the attorney he became, plus the desire to remember his sister and niece have
prompted Noah and his wife, Shelley, to establish the Ina Jo Rosenberg and Shiri Eve
Leah Gumbiner Fellowship for a health
policy student at the La Follette School.
The fellowship honors Noah’s younger
sister, Ina Jo Rosenberg, and her daughter, Shiri Eve Leah Gumbiner. They both
passed away too
Fellowship recipient
soon, Ina in 2002
appreciates gift as he
and Shiri in 2005.
starts health policy
The Rosenprogram.
bergs share a comSee story page 5
mitment to education. Although
Shelley is a Michigan State Spartan, she
concurred with her husband’s suggestion to
make a donation to the University of Wisconsin, Noah’s alma mater, to help someSee Fellowship on page 5
2 / La Follette Notes
From the students
La Follette shirts,
mugs for sale
Alumni and friends can purchase Fighting Bobs T-shirts
and sweatshirts with a Bucky
Bob image on the back and
school name on the front.
Ceramic coffee mugs and
bumper stickers with the La
Follette School logo also are
available. Information: Sarah
Hurley, sfhurley@wisc.edu.
Orders must be received by
December 1.
Students will use the funds
for activities throughout the
school year, including a
graduation ceremony and
reception in May. Merchandise also will be sold at the
Madison reception for alumni
and friends on February 3.
w
Students seek contact
with alumni, friends
The La Follette School Student Association is organizing
one-time dinners or workplace
visits with alumni and small
groups of students in the
Madison area. “Whether it’s
dinner with some La Follette
students at a restaurant on
the Square, after-work drinks
or a site visit at your workplace, we’d love to meet up,”
says Kristina Krull, chair of
the alumni outreach committee. For information, contact
Krull at kkrull@wisc.edu.
w
Blog explores issues
Alumni and friends are
encouraged to read and contribute to the La Flog blog,
laflog.wordpress.com/.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Fall 2010
’03 alum uses gender roles to reduce landmine risk
A
little gender analysis mixed with hip-hop and
Rasmussen says. The volunteers built on their vilrap music can go a long way in making the
lage and gender networks to gather information.
world more peaceful.
Risks from landmines change by age as well
Again and again, La Follette School alum Krisas gender. Boys and men ages 12 to 22 have the
ten Rasmussen sees how understanding the differgreatest incidence of injuries related to tamperent roles Cambodian men and women can play in
ing with unexploded ordnance. To better inform
village life can translate into fewer villagers being
them about the dangers of landmines, Rasmussen
killed or maimed by landmines left from nearly 30
organized a music competition, “Rapping Against
years of war.
Risk,” in three villages with the
Rasmussen spent more than
highest mine fatalities. Particithree of the six years she has
pants submitted original songs
lived in Cambodia since graduabout the danger of landmines.
ating from La Follette in 2003
A concert featured the songs,
helping people devise better
and the winning piece was used
strategies for clearing landmines
in a radio ad broadcast in areas
and unexploded ordnance. As
of Cambodia contaminated with
a project coordinator with the
landmines.
International Women’s Devel“Tampering with landmines
opment Agency, Rasmussen led
is a specific behavioral activity
the Community Strengthening
people, especially young men,
and Gender Mainstreaming in
carry out for thrills,” Rasmussen
Integrated Mine Action Project
says. “If one thinks about the
and organized a music competisituation structurally, young men
La Follette School grad Kristen Rastion to remind young men about mussen demonstrates a rap for the
tamper as a way of forming their
the dangers of tampering with
gender identity. Others tamper
youth involved in the “Rapping Against
landmines.
with mines to make money from
Risk” anti-landmine music competition.
One of every 300 Cambodiselling the scrap metal.”
ans is an amputee because of landmines.
“Rapping Against Risk” has been the highlight
Eighty percent of people hurt in mine explosions
of Rasmussen’s consulting work in Cambodia, she
had attended an education session about the risks
says. The project’s dual focus on mainstreaming
of mines.
gender considerations at the policy level and at the
“In the villages, women and men face different
project level was unique. It also was the first time
risks from landmines,” Rasmussen says. “Men are
Rasmussen worked so closely with youth. “I was
more at risk of accidents in fields and forests, while
inspired by their commitment to making posiwomen are more likely to be injured or killed closer
tive change,” she says. “Working in a developing
to villages or water sources. It’s imperative that
country with extremely high levels of corruption
planning for landmine clearance factor in these difand low social capital can be very discouraging at
ferences and that officials setting the priority areas
times, so it was great to see such genuine engagefor clearance hear from men and women.”
ment, commitment, and integrity among young
“Rural Cambodian women are often not
Cambodians.” w
involved in political
and public affairs,”
Rasmussen says, “so
we focused on helping
women feel confident
in speaking up about
their priorities for
mine clearance.”
The 2009 pilot
project trained local volunteers about
gender awareness and
effective meeting facilitation to increase
involvement in plans
Young rappers in Cambodia’s Battambang Province celebrate with Kristen Rasmussen.
for clearing mines,
Fall 2010 www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 3
Family, friends mourn 2010 graduate Julie Ruder
F
uneral services for 2010 graduate Julie K. Ruder,
26, were held July 22, 2010, in Madison after she
died unexpectedly.
Ruder graduated from the La Follette School in May
with a master of public affairs degree. She first enrolled
at La Follette in fall 2006 while working for the Wisconsin State Elections Board. After working for the
U.S. Election Assistance Commission in Washington,
D.C., she returned to Madison to complete her degree.
She worked for the city of Milwaukee’s budget office
after graduating in May.
“Julie was an exceptionally bright student and a friendly and caring individual,” says La Follette School associate director Don Moynihan. “She cared very much about
public service. Hers is an extraordinary loss.”
Ruder was the daughter of Gary and Lucy
(Shookman) Ruder and a 2001 graduate of D.C.
Everest High School in Schofield, Wisconsin. She
earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from
the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2006.
In her free time, she enjoyed traveling, participating in outdoor activities, cooking, entertaining
friends and family, reading and taking care of her
cats, Charles and Jack.
She will be forever loved and missed by her fiancé, Richard Avramenko; parents, Gary and Lucy
Ruder; sister, Jennifer (Jason) Pauls; maternal grandmother, Ruth Shookman; and paternal grandmother,
Lorraine Ruder. She will also be deeply missed by
many other loving family and friends. w
Julie Ruder
News from alumni and friends
1970s
1990s
Edward Madinger, 1976, retired in April 2010
John Elliott, 1989, is back working in the public
after nearly 33 years with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), serving mainly in East Africa and South America. His last posting was senior
advisor at the UNICEF Regional Office in Panama.
He has moved to Austin, from where he will do
some consulting and perhaps a bit of teaching.
Ronald Luskin, 1979, joined the University of
Wisconsin Foundation as a development director
for the College of Letters and Science. His primary
focus is working with the Economics Department and the Center for Jewish Studies. Luskin
previously served on the Political Science and La
Follette Board of Visitors and the City of Madison
Urban Design Commission. He serves on the
Downtown Madison Inc. board of directors.
1980s
John Norquist, 1988, gave the Paul Offner
memorial lecture at the University of Wisconsin–
Madison in September. Norquist is president of the
Congress for the New Urbanism and was Milwaukee’s mayor from 1988–2004 after serving several
terms in the Wisconsin Legislature. The La Follette
School sponsors the lecture with the Urban Institute.
Tony Carroll, 1980, is teaching a course on the
“Politics of Foreign Aid in Africa” at Johns Hopkins
University’s School of Advanced International
Studies. He continues to serve as co-director of the
Washington, D.C., Semester in International Affairs
for University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduates. “I remain active on the UW board of visitors
for the international studies program,” he says.
“My day job remains vice president of Manchester
Trade Limited.”
sector after eight years in the insurance industry.
As the senior policy advisor to the secretary of the
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families,
Elliott is leading an initiative to reform child welfare
in Wisconsin. “We are looking for ways to promote
greater consistency and improvement in outcomes
for children and families,” Elliott says. “I am working
with county human service directors, social workers, advocacy groups, higher education, non-profits
and private providers to identify and implement
new programs and governance structures in child
welfare.” In addition, he has helped start a nonprofit education foundation for the Mount Horeb
School District.
Tamarine Cornelius, 1999, is a research ana-
lyst with Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, a policy research organization that focuses
on issues affecting Wisconsin’s low- and middleincome families. She conducts fiscal analysis of
state budget issues for the Wisconsin Budget Project. She previously worked in program evaluation
for Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, a nonprofit
organization in Madison that assists police and
social workers investigating child abuse cases. She
earlier worked for the Wisconsin Legislative Audit
Bureau. Her second child was born in 2010.
As the planning manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Donna L. Brown,
1994, is leading statewide planning of Wisconsin’s
new high-speed rail system. Current projects
include environmental studies for the stations along
the Madison to Milwaukee high-speed-rail corridor
and the development of the service-level National
Environmental Policy Act study for the Twin Citiesto-Milwaukee corridor.
Marci McCoy-Roth, 1997, is senior director of
public policy and communications with Child Trends,
a research organization in Washington, D.C.
For seven years, Saad I. Samatar, 1996, has
been a business reference librarian with the Hennepin County library system in Minneapolis. He
graduated with a master’s degree in development
policy and public administration and worked for the
state of Wisconsin before returning to the University
of Wisconsin–Madison to earn a master’s degree in
library science. “I am enjoying it up here with my family, although I still come down to Madison for a good
Badger game when time allows me to,” he says.
2000s
Becky McAtee, 2010, is settling into her
position as a consultant at the Office of Health
Care Reform in the Wisconsin Department of
Health Services. The state established the office
in response to the federal reform passed in 2010.
“We are analyzing the federal legislation and how it
will affect the state,” McAtee says. “I’m working on
public health initiatives, including workforce development and preventive care measures, facilitating
state-tribal communications, as well as many other
facets of the legislation. And so far, I’m loving it!”
After graduating in 2008, Will Sierzchula
moved to ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, and
worked for a social housing corporation as a junior
researcher. In July 2010, he began a Ph.D. in
transportation policy looking at the early adopters of
electric cars in the Netherlands. “I am now engaged
to the lovely and talented Brynne DeNeen and will
be returning to Madison for our wedding in July
2011,” he says. “In Holland I spend my time playing
ultimate frisbee and failing at container gardening.”
More Alumni-Friends News on page 4
4 / La Follette Notes
Share your story:
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
News from alumni
and friends
2000s continued from page 3
Liz Elwart, 2007, is a field director for Washing-
ton’s House Democratic Campaign Committee and
lives in Seattle.
Melissa Gavin, 2009, is executive director of the
State Environmental Leadership Program, a national
network of environmental advocacy organizations.
Natalie Feggestad, 2008, has been the fi-
nance director for the city of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin,
since August 2010. She prepares the city’s annual
budget and long-term financial forecasts, maintains
the accuracy of financial records, serves as the
city’s risk manager and supervises the finance
department. Other responsibilities include recommending and implementing financial management
policies, administering the issuance of the city’s
long-term debt and working with bond rating agencies. A key part of her job is presenting financial and
budget information to the mayor and city council.
Kim Zamastil, 2008, has been named 2010
Volunteer Director of the Year by the St. Louis
Metropolitan Volunteer Management Association
for her accomplishments as volunteer coordinator
for the St. Patrick Center, the largest provider of
homeless services in Missouri. To help manage
3,200 volunteers, Zamastil wrote new individual
and group volunteer interest forms, plus a comprehensive volunteer handbook. She works with every
department in a very large agency to find volunteer
needs and expand agency capacity by matching
qualified volunteers to these new positions.
2000 alum Fumihiro Ono helped a colleague
translate a presentation on biomass into English.
The colleague is part of a delegation that visited
Wisconsin in September as part of the sister-state
relationship between Wisconsin and Chiba, Japan.
The two states carry out a grassroots exchange
every year. Ono is assistant director of Chiba
prefecture’s International Affairs Division. In May,
he provided logistical support from Japan when
Chiba Governor Kensaku Morita was in Wisconsin
to mark the 20th anniversary of the sister-state
relationship. While Ono earned his master’s degree
in development policy and administration, he took
courses from professors Paul Soglin and Dennis
Dresang. “Although it’s already 10 years since
I graduated from UW-Madison, I still remember
those good old days I spent on a beautiful campus,” Ono says.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Fall 2010
Book explores immigration experience
D
estinations and results are often unexpected, Leslie Albrecht Huber finds
as she applies aspects of her La Follette
training to her career as a freelance writer.
The 2002 alum has published The Journey Takers, a narrative nonfiction book
that tells the story of the Western European immigrants through the story of one
family — her family. Huber traced her
ancestors’ travels from Germany, Sweden
and England to their destinations in the
United States in the 1800s. As she followed
in their footsteps, walking the paths they
walked and looking over the lands they
farmed, Huber found herself on a journey
she hadn’t expected.
“Learning about my ancestors, who they
were and what mattered to them, ultimately changed my perspective on my family
now,” says Huber, who weaves her own
story into the narrative, including scenes
from her travels and her personal life as she
struggled to balance family and research.
The Journey Takers has been Huber’s
project-in-the-making for more than 10
years. It represents thousands of hours of
research in libraries and archives across the
country and the world. She uses this research to recreate the lives of the common
people in Western Europe, their ship voyage across the ocean, and their experiences
as they settle into the United States. “The
Journey Takers gives voice to the experiences
of my family — and to the experiences of
the group of people they represent — the
Western European immigrants,” she says.
Despite the book’s emphasis on journey,
much of the story takes place in Madison,
Wisconsin, where Huber wrote most of it.
She launched two of her “journeys,” one to
Sweden and one to England, from Madison.
Leslie Albrecht
Huber
After she graduated from La Follette in
2002 with a master of public affairs degree,
Huber and her family stayed in Madison
until 2005, while her husband finished
his Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Huber
started freelance writing for magazines in
addition to working on The Journey Takers.
She, her husband and their four children
now live in Massachusetts.
During her research, travels, writing
and marketing of her book, Huber finds
aspects of her La Follette training to be
useful. “I feel like many of the things I
learned at La Follette have helped me get
to the place I’m in now — some in unexpected ways,” she says. “Many of the critical thinking skills I learned at La Follette
have helped me put my book together and
shape my approach to marketing.”
Huber regularly gives PowerPoint presentations about The Journey Takers and
family history. She put her first slides together at La Follette. “I remember well the
tips we got — particularly Paul Soglin telling us that you should NEVER, EVER go
over your allotted time,” she says. “I think
of this often and make sure to follow his
advice.” w
Network via LinkedIn.com
You’re invited to join the La Follette Alumni Group on LinkedIn, a professional networking web
site. Joining allows you to find and contact more than 275 other La Follette members. You can
wreach other members of the La Follette community — students, alumni and friends
waccelerate careers and business through referrals from La Follette group members
wknow more than a name — view rich professional profiles of fellow La Follette
group members
Here’s the link to join: www.linkedin.com/e/gis/39199/57C421450A06; or go to
www.linkedin.com, sign in and search groups for La Follette.
Information
Career development coordinator Mary L. Russell w 608-263-2409 w careerdev@lafollette.wisc.edu
Fall 2010 www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Fellowship recipient
Student pursues health policy dual degree
A
vid debate about health-care
Shiri Eve Leah Gumbiner Fellowship.
reform gave Alex Hartzman
“The Rosenbergs’ gift means a lot
the career focus he was seeking.
to me,” says Hartzman, who is using
As an intern for a member of the
the money for food and textbooks.
U.S. House of Representatives, Hartz“It’s nice to know an alum cares
man found himself caught up in disenough about the university and what
cussions with co-workers about the
I am studying to make a donation. It’s
pros and cons of the federal governa big boost to me.”
ment overhauling the U.S. health-care
Hartzman is focusing on systems
system and expanding access to health
analysis. His course on the economics
insurance. The discussions so inspired
of health care was a thorough applicathe astrophysics major that he decided
tion of a macro, institutional perspecto study health policy.
tive. His experience with the Center
“The Rosenbergs’ gift
“I had been considering my opfor
Patient Partnerships gave him
means a lot to me. …
tions for what to do after I finished
perspective
on the challenges individuIt’s a big boost.”
my bachelor’s degree,” says Hartzman,
Alex Hartzman, first als face as they negotiate the healthrecipient of the Ina Jo care system. “A systems approach to
who graduated from the University of
Rosenberg and Shiri Eve health care cannot be all that meaningWisconsin–Madison with a bachelor
Leah Gumbiner Fellowship ful without understanding the patients’
of science degree in 2009. “I thought
about law school, but it was not a
perspective,” he says.
good fit for me.”
Hartzman ultimately hopes to work for the U.S.
This fall he began his dual degree in public
Department of Health and Human Services. “I
affairs and public health. He added the master of
come from a family of government workers,” he
public affairs to ensure he gained the policy edge
says. “I have a lot of trust in government, a strong
and perspective on federal government. His interbelief in government services. If private industry
est in health policy and commitment to public serdoes not provide services, the government needs
vice helped to win him the Ina Jo Rosenberg and
to step in and make sure systems are in place.” w
Fellowship continued from page 1
one get a good, quality education, he says.
Established through a multiyear pledge, the fellowship is supporting its first student, Alex Hartzman who started a dual master’s degree program in
public affairs and public health this fall.
Noah Rosenberg knows well the value of
good health policy. Since graduating in 1980 from
Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, he built a law
practice based on health care. He represents physician groups, hospitals, hospital systems, and physician and hospital trade associations. “I live, eat and
sleep health care,” he says, “so supporting a public
health student is a good fit for Shelley and me. All
of my practice is about the business, law and public policy side of health care, working to keep hospital doors open, doctors practicing medicine and
getting people access to health care.”
Rosenberg loved his time in Madison during
the heyday of the anti-war movement. “The UW–
Madison shaped me academically, culturally, socially and politically,” says Rosenberg, who earned
a bachelor’s degree in history in 1972 and master’s
degree in social work in 1975. He studied under
historians Harvey Goldberg and George Mosse
and did his share of protesting and advocating
change while on campus.
Neither Rosenberg’s sister nor his niece attended the university, but Ina did live in Madison
for a few years when Noah was a student there.
“The activism and the politics made living in Madison one of the more interesting times in her life,”
Rosenberg says. “Madison was a wonderful part of
our life in the years she lived there. Her daughter,
my niece, only heard stories from me and her older
brother, who did graduate from Madison, but our
family has roots in Milwaukee and relatives who
graduated from Madison 50 to 60 years ago.”
The Rosenbergs value supporting a professional master’s degree student. “By the time someone is in graduate school, they are ready to focus
their energy on a topic,” Noah says. “For graduate
school, many students are making a life change and
a sacrifice, if they have been working for a while,
to spend time to concentrate on one particular
area, public health in this case. Shelley and I appreciate the opportunity to facilitate the education
of somebody who is committed to making a difference in someone’s health care, whether through
research or through policy.” w
La Follette Notes / 5
Wisconsin measure
finds greater poverty
A new method for measuring
poverty developed in part
with La Follette school expertise shows the rate of poverty
in Wisconsin worsened in
2008. More than one in nine
of the state’s population was
living in need, including one
in seven children and one in
10 elderly residents.
Produced by the Institute for
Research on Poverty, Wisconsin Poverty Report: New
Measure, Broader View uses
a more complete accounting
of resources and need to determine the state poverty rate
than traditional measures.
The new measure was developed by IRP director and
La Follette School professor
Timothy Smeeding; 2010
La Follette School alum and
IRP assistant researcher
Joanna Marks; Julia
Isaacs of IRP and the Brookings Institution; and the IRP
programming team.
w
DC alumni hold happy
hour for interns
About 15 alumni from 2007–
2010 met for happy hour in
July to welcome La Follette
School students and recent
grads spending the summer
in the Washington, D.C., area.
w
Alum touts blog
’72 grad Eugene Steuerle
encourages readers to subscribe to “The Government
We Deserve,” his public policy
column published by the Urban
Institute. Subscribe at
www.governmentwedeserve.org.
6 / La Follette Notes
Professors comment
on Social Security
Professors Pamela Herd and
John Witte marked the 75th
anniversary of Social Security
by talking with the media in
August about the program’s
history, impact and future.
Herd discussed the Wisconsin connection to the creation
of Social Security models in
the 1930s and the current
financial and political state of
the program. The sociologist
has studied Social Security
for more than a decade and
is part of a network of researchers who are examining
policy proposals to improve
the program.
Witte, a political scientist, is
the grandson of Edwin Witte,
who chaired the Committee
on Economic Security that
created Social Security.
w
Copelovitch’s book
explores IMF role
The role of the International
Monetary Fund in managing
the many crises that have
accompanied the growth and
increasing complexity of the
world’s financial markets is the
subject of a new book by professor Mark Copelovitch.
The International Monetary
Fund in the Global Economy:
Banks, Bonds, and Bailouts
demonstrates how IMF
politics and policies have
evolved since the 1980s in
response to financial globalization. Using an original
“common agency” perspective, Copelovitch explores
IMF decision-making, which
is driven by major shareholder governments and by the
fund’s bureaucratic staff.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Fall 2010
Harris returns to La Follette as faculty member
1
996 grad Doug Harris is back at La Follette,
standing at the podium rather than taking down
lecture notes on educational policy analysis.
Motivated by the La Follette School’s emphasis on applying economic analysis to public policy,
Harris went on to earn his Ph.D. in economics
from Michigan State University in 2000. He taught
at Florida State University, then joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Educational Policy Studies in 2007. He accepted a joint
appointment with the La Follette School in 2010.
Harris’ recent research has informed many of
the major education issues of the day: improving
teacher education and performance, designing educational accountability, reducing achievement gaps,
reforming affirmative action higher education and
making colleges run more efficiently.
Measuring educator performance is one topic in
the headlines and high on Harris’ agenda. “Valueadded” measures of teacher performance have
become popular because they are based on student
test scores but are adjusted to
more accurately reflect educator contributions. Harvard
Education Press will publish
his book, Value-Added Measures
of Educator Performance: Clearing Away the Smoke and Mirrors,
in 2011. Harris is beginning
to study school and principal
value-added measures with
Doug Harris
funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
“It all started with the 819 course that I took
from Maria Cancian,” he says. “That’s where I first
got interested in econometrics.”
La Follette’s intellectual culture is an important
influence, Harris says. “It’s not just the courses,
but the mindset. Most economists focus narrowly
on formal modeling and statistical methods, which
are important, but the policy implications often get
lost. Because of La Follette, I can do both.” w
Nemet wins NSF grant for climate, technology study
P
rofessor Greg Nemet has
won a three-year $183,000
grant from the National Science
Foundation to explore options
for public policy mechanisms
to address climate change.
Nemet will examine how different technology policies could
affect climate and the economy.
One of the challenges of deGreg Nemet
termining how best to address
climate change is the high degree of uncertainty
involved with the outcomes of technology policies
and the effects of climate change.
“An important aspect of the project’s approach
is that it will provide a framework for evaluating
policy options,” Nemet says, “even though we still
do not know exactly how severe climate change
will be or which new technologies will turn out
to be most useful and efficient.”
“Addressing climate change without damaging
the economy will require substantial investments in
new knowledge to devise improvements to energy
technologies,” Nemet says. “Because knowledge
produced in the laboratory and in commercial settings is notoriously difficult for private firms to
control and exclusively profit from, many stakeholders argue government support is required.” w
Yackee discusses rule-making in YouTube video
P
rofessor Susan Yackee is featured on a YouTube video discussing bureaucratic rule-making in terms of the process, who participates and
why bureaucratic rule-making matters. The video
is part of a series publisher W.W. Norton put
together as a companion to the textbook
American Politics Today.
In the 17-minute interview Yackee shares how
she came to be interested in studying bureaucracy,
which scholars seldom examine despite its importance. She describes the rule-making process and
the role of the public in shaping policy issued by
federal agencies, and she reflects on the role of
regulatory rule-making in a democracy.
A new study by Yackee
looks at how regulated entities
influence rule-making before a
proposed rule is released. “Sure
enough, there’s lots of active,
engaged, regulated entities
that are speaking, having telephone conversations as well as
face-to-face conversations and
e-mail with regulators before
Susan Yackee
the promulgation of this draft
rule,” Yackee says, “and it turns
out to be a very important political venue for influence in the policymaking process.” w
Fall 2010 www.lafollette.wisc.edu
1977 alum serves as vice president at Cornell
E
lmira Mangum, 1977, is Cornell University’s
vice president for budget and planning.
An administrator with more than 25 years of experience in executive higher education financial and
resource management, Mangum says the training she
received from what is now the La Follette School
has proven invaluable throughout the years of her
professional work and completion of her doctorate.
“Those initial courses in public policy, budgeting and administration gave me an excellent
grounding in the basic tools that I use every day in
bringing people together to solve tough problems
and manage resources,” Mangum says. “My educational experience at UW was life changing,
to say the least, and it prepared me for the future.
It nourished my desire and passion for service.”
Mangum started with Cornell in February 2010,
joining the university at a challenging time, when it
is “reimagining” itself to strengthen its academic
enterprises with reduced resources. Mangum sees
opportunity in the challenge. “It’s kind of like a ball
of clay,” she says. “You can look at it like it’s a lump;
or you can look at it as a creative opportunity.”
Agriculture continued from page 7
Wisconsin’s agriculture industry.”
“Rod was a generous mentor and his leadership
as DATCP secretary set a great example,” Romanski says. “I am deeply honored to take on this
important role and will work hard to continue the
great progress made under Governor Doyle and
Rod Nilsestuen to diversify and grow our state’s
agricultural economy.”
Romanski has a broad range of government
and senior administrative experience. Legislation
related to agricultural, rural and consumer issues
that he helped to enact includes the landmark
Working Lands Initiative; investment tax credit assistance for dairy farmers, meat processors, dairy
cooperatives, food processors and beginning farmers; and the Farm to School program. He also
helped secure funding for the Buy Local, Buy Wis-
Mangum had been an administrator and senior associate provost at the University
of North Carolina since 2001.
Among her administrative
positions at the State University of New York at Buffalo,
from 1984 to 2001, she served
as associate and assistant provost for resource management
Elmira Mangum
and as vice provost. She also
served as senior budget and
management analyst for the Dekalb County, Georgia, finance department.
Mangum graduated in 1977 with honors from
the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a
double master’s degree in public policy and public
administration and in urban and regional planning.
She received her Ph.D. in education administration
from SUNY Buffalo. Mangum is a graduate of the
Harvard Graduate School of Education Management Development Program and Cornell’s Administrative Management Institute. w
consin program at DATCP.
Prior to joining DATCP,
Romanski served as the executive assistant for the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources; deputy chief of
staff for Doyle; executive assistant for the Department of
Transportation; and spokesperson and policy analyst for
Randy Romanski
the Wisconsin Department
of Justice. He was chief of
staff for state Senator Alice Clausing and legislative assistant for state representative Al Baldus.
Romanski holds a master’s degree in public
policy and administration from what is now the
La Follette School. w
Support the La Follette School
Student Career Development
The La Follette School Career Development Office
seeks alumni and friends to serve as ongoing mentors or to meet on a one-time basis with students.
For information, contact Mary Russell by e-mailing
careerdev@lafollette.wisc.edu or calling
608-263-2409.
Financial Assistance
Information on supporting the school financially
is available by calling 608-263-7657 or by going
online, www.lafollette.wisc.edu/giving. Online giving
is welcome.
Checks payable to UW Foundation-La Follette
can be mailed to La Follette School,
1225 Observatory Drive, Madison WI 53706
La Follette Notes / 7
2010 alumni
achievements marked
In recognition of their academic and professional accomplishments, 10 members
of the class of 2010 joined the
La Follette School’s chapter
of Pi Alpha Alpha, the national
honor society in public affairs
and administration. The 10
are Allie Bagnall, Erika
Cheng, Erin Fifield,
Emma Hynes, Evan
Johnson, Joanna Marks,
Rebecca McAtee, Jacob
Schindler, Corey Singletary and Holden Weisman.
At the graduation celebration in May, Joanna Marks
received the first leadership
award from the La Follette
School Student Association.
Rocio Sanchez-Moyano
and Michael R. Schultz
received the Penniman
Prize for the writing the most
outstanding paper as public
affairs graduate students.
The 2010 Piore Prize for Best
Paper in Science and Public
Policy went to Scott Williams and Karen Walsh,
who is now a second-year
student. Lilly Shields won
the Director’s Award, which
goes to the student with the
most outstanding academic
record who demonstrates the
ability to apply policy analysis
and management skills.
As of mid-September,
82 percent of the class of
2010 reported they had jobs
or internships in their field
or that they were continuing
their education.
Of the 44 members of the
class, seven were continuing their studies, six of them
in doctoral programs at the
University of Wisconsin–
Madison.
8 / La Follette Notes
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Fall 2010
From the Director continued from page 1
a closer look at the courses graduate students take and the skills that they profess
to bring to the job.
In April, as chairwoman of the institutional representatives of the Association
of Public Policy Analysis and Management, I and other deans and directors of
schools of public affairs and public policy
hosted employers from the Washington,
D.C., area and other East Coast employment centers. We explored what skills and
training public- and private-sector employers are looking for in our students in a
“demand side” (employers) meets “supply
side” (graduate schools) open discussion.
Employers talked candidly about whether
we are meeting their needs in our efforts
to train and prepare students for careers in
public affairs.
Many of the employers, whether public or from another sector, expressed the
importance of a strong set of analytical skills among graduating students to
prepare them for an increasingly complex
world of policymaking that demands care-
fully considered, “data-driven” decisions
in a fast-paced and often highly politicized
context. As one employer explained, they
are looking for a set of quantitative and analytical skills among master’s-level students
that employers used to expect in students
graduating with Ph.D.s. Indeed, La Follette graduates have relayed to me that they
often find themselves moving rapidly into
positions of greater authority because of
their command of a sound approach to
policy analysis and the rigorous analytical
skills that they contribute.
The quality of our alumni and the work
they do is reflected in an e-mail I received
when a high-ranking official in the current
presidential administration contacted me
about a job opening:
“We’re looking for candidates who have exceptionally strong analytic and people skills. Your
program has consistently turned out graduates of
the highest caliber, so I want to ask you to think
about and recommend your best experienced people
whose passion for management will help achieve
our goals.”
In a recent strategic planning initiative, the La Follette School faculty confirmed their commitment to providing a
top-notch, world-recognized program of
public affairs education that maintains as
one of its hallmarks a strong, core analytical program. Our newly refined vision is to
continue to be a leading academic institution in improving the design, implementation and evaluation of public policy and
the practice of governance worldwide.
I am pleased to say that in this time of
continuing economic struggle, when even
college-educated persons are feeling the
pain of employment losses, my phone continues to ring and my e-mail in-box continues to flow with requests from prospective employers looking to hire our graduate
students. The La Follette School is not
only keeping pace with rapidly evolving
employer demands, but it is a leader among
schools of public affairs and public policy
in providing students with the high levels
of relevant skills that they need to successfully compete in the labor market today. w
Update your job and contact info
e-mail alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu, call 608-263-7657 or fill out the online form at www.lafollette.wisc.edu/alumnifriends/intouch.php
Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison WI 53706
La Follette Notes
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Madison WI
Permit No. 658