Spring 2006 / www.lafollette.wisc.edu
LaFollette Notes
News for Alumni & Friends of The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison alumni reception draws more than 90
M
ore than 45 alumni from as far back
as 1974 and as recent as 2005—plus
two who predate the 1969 establishment
of the La Follette School’s predecessor,
the Center for the Study of Public Policy
and Administration—attended the Feb. 2
reception at Inn on the Park in Madison.
They joined more than 45 students, faculty, staff and friends of the school at the
program that featured presentations by two
high-ranking state officials and a professor.
“We appreciate all the alumni and
friends who gathered for the reception,”
says Director Donald A. Nichols. “The
evening was a great opportunity for alumni
to get reacquainted.”
Donations from alumni and friends
of the school made the evening possible.
In addition to bringing former classmates together, the reception gave alumni
and students the chance to talk one on one.
“The students enjoyed talking with
alumni and finding out about internships
and jobs, and hearing what suggestions
alumni have for students as they get ready
to graduate,” says Jennifer Leavitt-Moy,
president of the La Follette School Student Association, which hosted the event.
Presentations started with Leavitt-Moy
and Nichols welcoming the group.
Professor Melanie Manion discussed
“Changes Observed: Three Decades of
Research in Mainland China.”
Dave Mills, class of 1975, explored
public policy challenges for the State of
Wisconsin Investment Board, of which
he is executive director.
Secretary of the Department of
Employee Trust Funds Eric Stanchfield,
class of 1982, discussed health-care innovations, including BadgerRx and Pharmacy
Benefit Manager. Š
New building in
works for La Follette
I
f all goes well, La Follette will occupy
a new building in the fall of 2011.
The recently released Campus Master
Plan includes several new buildings in the
center of campus, a new La Follette
School among them.
After extensive development of the
west campus—the hospital, the new Med
School and all medical-related activities—
and after announcement of a dramatic
plan to re-develop the
east campus with new
arts and humanities
building—the updated plan addresses
central campus and
the La Follette
School.
From the Director
Our building will
Donald A. Nichols
not be large. It will fit
on a small piece of lawn left on Charter
Street adjacent to Ingraham Hall near the
intersection of Observatory Drive. No
deconstruction will be required. (Oldtimers need to know that what is now
See From the Director on page 6
Grad helps Sri Lanka communities rebuild
La Follette School graduate Shisir Khanal, right, talks with residents of a Sri Lankan community hit
by the December 2004 tsunami. He traveled to Sri Lanka as part of his job with Sarvodaya USA, an
organization that supports a Sri Lankan community development agency. Story on page 6.
Bequest honors La Follette training, TLC
W
hen the telephone rang that March
morning, Ana Carricchi hadn’t yet
looked outside. She was in Madison to
visit the La Follette Institute to see if the
University of Wisconsin-Madison would
be the best place for her to earn a master’s
degree in public affairs.
Student services coordinator Bonnie
Cleary was on the phone. “Have you
looked outside yet?” Cleary asked Carricchi.
“It snowed. Do you have a warm coat?”
“I couldn’t believe it,” says Carricchi,
who was visiting from St. Louis, Missouri.
“I arrive, and it snows the next day. I only
brought a sweater. Bonnie said, ‘I’ll be
right over.’ She brought me gloves, a jacket
and an umbrella.
“At that moment, I knew La Follette
was for me.”
See Giving on page 4
2 / La Follette Notes
Faculty analyses draw
questions from media
Several La Follette School
faculty have been quoted in
the media in response to their
analyses of gasoline taxes,
proposals to limit government
spending and the U.S. current
account deficit.
Director Donald A. Nichols
suggested in September that
perhaps gasoline prices were
a little high after Hurricane Katrina, compared to the cost of a
barrel of oil. “The disconnect
between gasoline and crude oil
prices is quite remarkable,” he
noted in his regular economic
forecast, given when gas was
as much as $3 a gallon.
Nichols then appeared on CNN
and noted that gas prices would
fall substantially if crude prices
did not rise. "Who is pocketing
the windfall?" he asked.
Andrew Reschovsky burned
the midnight oil to complete a
study of a proposed amendment
to Wisconsin’s constitution to
limit the annual growth of revenue that local governments
could collect. If enacted 20
years ago, the amendment
would have held state revenue
growth to 3.8 percent a year, as
opposed to the actual 5.3 percent annual growth. That kind
of limit would lead to severe cuts
in public services, he says.
Menzie Chinn’s work on the
current account deficit garnered
attention. He warns that the
United States must act to
reduce the trade deficit.
Chinn and Nichols also shared
their thoughts with journalists
about new Federal Reserve
chair Ben Bernanke.
Chinn and Charles Engel
are hosting an international
conference on current account
sustainability in April at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2006
La Follette to host national conference
T
he La Follette School of Public Affairs is
proud to host the Association for Public Policy
Analysis and Management 2006’s national research
conference Nov. 2-4, 2006, at the Monona Terrace.
The theme of the conference is “Tax and
Spend: Designing, Implementing, Managing
and Evaluating Effective
Redistributional Policies.”
APPAM brings together
policy practitioners and
researchers to address
substantive public policy
problems.
“La Follette School
alumni in Wisconsin and
nearby states may want
David Weimer
to take advantage of this
conference,” says APPAM
president and La Follette School professor David
Weimer. “APPAM’s emphasis on solving real social
problems means our alumni can learn more about
cutting-edge solutions to problems they encounter
every day on the job.”
Weimer is one of several La Follette School
faculty who contribute to APPAM’s governance.
After serving as president-elect in 2005, Weimer
became president on Jan. 1.
Maria Cancian stepped down as secretary and
was elected vice president. She co-chairs APPAM’s
Committee on Diversity and Equity.
Carolyn Heinrich and Geoffrey Wallace are on
the Policy Council, APPAM’s board of directors.
Heinrich also served on the program committee
for APPAM’s research conference in November
2005. Š
Alumni contribute to conference
La Follette School alumni Carolyn Hill and Kurt
Thurmaier were among those contributing to the
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management research conference in November.
Hill, an assistant professor
of public policy at Georgetown University, served on
the conference’s program
committee. She graduated
from the La Follette School
of Public Affairs in 1996. She
went on to earn a Ph.D. from
the University of Chicago.
Carolyn Hill
Thurmaier, a professor at
Iowa State University and
director of its Public Policy and Administration Program, had a paper, “Becoming Citizen-Centric Electronic Government: Understanding the Adoption and
Satisfaction of Electronic Government Information and
Services by Citizens,” presented by co-author Yu-Che
Chen, also of Iowa State. Thurmaier graduated in
1983 from the La Follette School. He earned his doctorate from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
For information on APPAM’s
conference in Madison on
Nov. 2-4, 2006, see www.appam.org
or e-mail conference@appam.org.
Faculty present research at APPAM’s fall 2005 conference
E
leven members of the La Follette School
of Public Affairs faculty presented papers,
served as discussants or chaired panels at the
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s fall research conference in Washington,
D.C., in November.
“Much of the research presented at the conference assessed the impact of existing public policies,” says Weimer, who, in addition to chairing a
session on regulatory outcomes and values, served
as program chair as part of his duties as APPAM’s
president-elect.
“The challenge for policy researchers and
policymakers is to reshape policy in light of
these assessments,” he says. “Another is to use
our better understanding of the policy-making
process to influence policy for the greater
good.”
In addition to Weimer, these faculty participated in the conference:
Maria Cancian
Bob Haveman
Carolyn Heinrich
Pamela Herd
Karen Holden
Clark Miller
Donald Moynihan
Andrew Reschovsky
John Witte
Barbara Wolfe Š
Spring 2006
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Alumni news
1993 La Follette School of Public Affairs graduate
Brad Kelly received the Legislative Staff Person
of the Year Award from the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. A research consultant for the Minnesota House’s Democratic
Farm Labor Caucus, Kelly holds a master’s in
public policy and administration. He staffs these
House committees: Civil Law and Elections; State
Government Finance; and Government Operations and Veterans Affairs.
Alex Conant is also in Washington, D.C., with
a new job as spokesperson for the White House’s
Office of Management and Budget. Since graduating in 2003, he also served as a speechwriter at
the U.S. Department of Commerce and as press
secretary for U.S. Sen. John Thune.
After working for the Wisconsin Department
of Employee Trust Funds, Kari Jo Zika, class
of 1993, finds herself
in Texas enjoying the
Share the news
warmer clime. As the
city of Denton’s new
The La Follette School wants to hear about the accomplishments of our alumni and friends. If you have news
benefits administrator,
about yourself or a classmate to share, let us know.
Zika handles all health,
life, vision, dental and
Send news to alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
disability benefits for
Make sure we have your current e-mail address: See
about 1,200 employees
www.lafollette.wisc.edu/alumnifriends/intouch.html
and 100 retirees.
Next winter, Plume/
Penguin is to publish an
anthology edited by 2000
alum Jessica Berger
Gross. The collection
of 22 essays is titled About
What Was Lost: 22 Writers
on Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Loss. This spring she is
teaching a class at the Harvard Extension School
on memoir and the personal essay. Her writing has
appeared in Salon, Yoga Journal, Yoga International,
and Healing Lifestyles & Spas magazines. She and
her husband are adopting a baby from India, and
she is writing a column about international adoption for Literary Mama, an online magazine.
2004 graduate Michelle Woolery is a research
associate at the Center for Local, State and Urban
Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She presented a
paper, “Federalism and Equality: The Impact of
State Fiscal Policies on Local Governments,” at
the American Political Science Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Paul Neumann is with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Bureau of Management and Budget, where he is awash in the Water
Division’s budget and policy issues. The 1995
alum worked as a budget analyst for the University
of Wisconsin System, and the Wisconsin departments of Commerce and Revenue.
Katie Croake wrote in an essay published in the
Washington Post that she looks forward to her threemile walking commute in Washington, D.C.: She
reads a book while she treads Connecticut Avenue.
“I read In Cold Blood totally on foot. Now it’s a
biography with tiny type that’s a bit of a challenge
while moving,” she says in the Post. A 2003 grad
who taught in Lebanon before enrolling at La Follette, Croake returns to Madison periodically and
shares stories about her work as an analyst with
the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Back in Madison, Ginny White, class of 1996, is
enjoying her retirement after 30 years with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
Since graduating in 1998, Kendra Lodewick has
crisscrossed the country, working in social policy
research and evaluation, primarily on welfare
reform and workforce development. After graduation she worked for Berkeley Policy Associates,
in Oakland, California, then for Abt Associates
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, each for three years.
In fall 2004 she moved to Eugene, Oregon, and
started Program and Policy Insight LLC with a
colleague from Abt Associates. They specialize
in social policy research and program evaluation.
Edward F. Potter, class of 1974, is halfway
through his two-year term as a trustee for the village
of Mount Pleasant, the second largest in Wisconsin.
He, the president and five other trustees govern the
affairs of the village, which is just west of Racine.
Stephen Patton Scott, 1998, and Veronica
Robles Scott, 1998, welcome their first baby,
Lucas Alexander Scott. Stephen and Veronica met
at La Follette and married in 2000. Stephen is assistant to the city manager for the city of Long Beach,
and Veronica is an analyst for the county of Los
Angeles Community Development Commission.
Becky Webster was among the representatives of
more than 10 tribes and Native American advocacy
organizations who participated in a La Follette
School conference, “Tribal Interaction with State
Government,” in December in Wausau. Now an
attorney with the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin,
Webster is a 2003 alum of the La Follette School. Š
La Follette Notes / 3
Journal, lawyers
recognize La Follette
alum for leadership
La Follette School alum Timothy
F. Nixon received the Wisconsin
Law Journal’s “Leaders in Law”
award and is included in the
2006 “Best Lawyers in America.”
The law journal award is
for leadership
and education during
the transition
to new bankruptcy laws.
Timothy
The “Best
Lawyers” listNixon
ing is based
on a peer-review survey of
16,000 attorneys throughout
the country.
Nixon received a master of
public affairs degree and a law
degree in 1990. He is a shareholder and lead attorney for the
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. law firm’s
business finance and restructuring group in the Madison office.
Nixon’s practice includes
advising Dutch, Russian and
Australian clients on American
bankruptcy law, as well as
advising American clients on
foreign insolvency issues and
practice. He has represented
clients in cases before the U.S.
Supreme Court, the Court of
Appeals, and in bankruptcy
courts throughout the United
States. He has lectured and
published extensively on
bankruptcy law issues.
While attending graduate
school, Nixon was an intern
with the Office of Management
and Budget in Washington, D.C.
Prior to graduate school, Nixon
served as a ship’s officer in the
Merchant Marine for nine years.
4 / La Follette Notes
Student interviews for
Rhodes Scholarship
Though he wasn’t named a
Rhodes Scholar, La Follette
student Sam Hall says that
interviewing and meeting other
candidates was a great experience. “I’ve never had to look at
myself so intensely, and it forced
me to really think about my own
philosophy of life,” Hall says.
Applicants learned whether they
were selected at the end of the
two-day interview.
“In the end, the letdown of not
being chosen was not actually
that painful,” says Hall, who is
working on a public affairs degree
through La Follette’s program that
enables undergraduates to earn a
master’s degree with a fifth year
of study. “By that time I was too
exhausted to feel anything but
relieved, and everyone I met
there deserved the scholarship.”
Each of the 16 U.S. districts may
nominate one or two individuals,
says Julie Stubbs, director of
undergraduate academic awards
in the University of WisconsinMadison’s provost’s office.
“It is a great honor to be asked for
a district interview,” Stubbs says.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2006
U.S. Rep. Obey
talks policy
at La Follette
F
aculty members shared
their research and concerns about federal policy with
U.S. Rep. David Obey when he
visited the La Follette School
of Public Affairs on Feb. 9.
The ranking minority
member on the House Com- U.S. Rep. David Obey looks at a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Workmittee on Appropriations,
force Development requesting approval for welfare participants to continue to
Obey represents northwest
receive all their child support, while professor Maria Cancian explains how a
Wisconsin’s 7th District.
federal policy change will affect Wisconsin families and university research.
La Follette School Professor
more likely to establish paternity and pay support.”
Maria Cancian took advantage of Obey’s visit to
The expiration of an earlier waiver would mean
share a letter that Wisconsin Department of Workthat
Wisconsin would not be able to pass through
force Development Secretary Roberta Gassman
all
the
child support to the families. Cancian and
wrote to the head of the federal Administration for
Gassman
would like to see a new waiver so that
Children and Families. Gassman’s letter asked that
most
Wisconsin
families may receive all their child
Wisconsin be granted another waiver to allow famisupport
and
so
that
researchers can continue to
lies receiving cash assistance under the Wisconsin
evaluate
the
effects
of
the policy.
Works welfare program to receive all their child sup“The
extended
conversation
our faculty, staff
port, rather than the state and federal governments
and
students
had
with
Dave
Obey
was a great mix
keeping a portion to offset welfare costs.
of
talk
about
Congress,
political
and
policy issues in
Cancian explained to Obey that research by the
general,
and
the
work
La
Follette
does,”
says Direcfederally funded Institute for Research on Poverty,
tor
Donald
Nichols.
“Later,
after
meeting
with peoof which she is director, shows that families on
ple
all
over
campus,
when
Obey
spoke
at
the
chanwelfare benefit in many ways from receiving their
cellor’s
reception,
he
singled
out
La
Follette
for
spefull child support. “Our research shows that lowcial
attention
as
a
terrific
institution
and
an
example
income mothers receiving all their child support
of how the university should serve the state.” Š
may get off welfare sooner,” she says. “Fathers are
Giving / from page 1
Almost 10 years after graduating, Carricchi attributes her professional success to La
Follette’s supportive learning environment.
“My adviser, Professor Maria Cancian,
always made herself available. She made
sure I had the necessary resources to
undertake my studies as well experiential
research opportunities,” she says.
This kind of support from faculty, staff
and classmates continues to resonate with
Carricchi, so much so that she designated
the La Follette School, through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, a beneficiary of her estate through a trust.
Early estate planning is a lesson Carricchi
learned when she was with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
Administration on Aging, where she studied
health care and finances of older adults.
“While at the Administration on Aging,
I learned the value of an estate trust. It’s a
good tool to use to transfer property to
organizations and loved ones while avoiding
taxes and probate expenses,” says Carricchi.
“I also learned the value of setting up a
trust early in life. You don’t want to wait.”
When Carricchi acquired some assets a
year or so ago, she considered the people
and organizations she valued. “I immediately thought of La Follette and incorporated the school into my trust.”
After graduating from La Follette in
1997, Carricchi spent 18 months with
President Clinton’s Initiative on Race and
another 13 months with the Administration on Aging. From there she headed to
California and worked for the president
of the Los Angeles city council.
In 2001 she joined the Puerto Rican
Federal Affairs Administration, which
advocates for Puerto Rico’s government
and people in the United States, says Carricchi. The administration was opening an
office in the western United States for the
first time to better represent the 250,000
Puerto Ricans who live west of Colorado.
After assessing community interests,
Carricchi and her agency “determined that
the broader community wanted to focus
on arts and culture.” They collaborated
with organizations to promote films, art,
children’s activities and music that showcased Puerto Rican culture.
Carricchi parlayed that into relationships
with California legislators. She crafted a
partnership with Assemblywoman Bonnie
See Giving on page 5
Spring 2006
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 5
Faculty news
Don Moynihan presented research on crisis management at the Public Management Research Conference in Los Angeles, where he was elected to the
board of directors of the Public Management
Research Association. He is beginning a research
project that examines the use of incident command
systems in different types of emergencies.
Dennis Dresang and the La Follette School,
in partnership with Wisconsin Women In Government, just completed the sixth annual leadership
seminar for women who are and will be leaders in
state and local governments. At the request of the
Wisconsin State Court System, Dresang also conducted two daylong training sessions for system
supervisors to help them implement recommendations made in a study by Dresang and La Follette
students. He also was a witness for the prosecution
in the trial of former Assembly speaker Scott Jensen.
Dresang’s job was to inform the jury about the relationship between campaigning and legislating.
Menzie Chinn presented at a conference on
Global Savings and Investments Patterns and the
Changing Structure of the World Economy, cosponsored by the World Economic Forum, the
Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee, the Reserve
Bank of Australia and the Australian Treasury. The
gathering took place in Adelaide, Australia, in March
as part of the meeting of the G-20 finance deputies.
He also presented a paper analyzing new Federal
Reserve chair Ben Bernanke’s “global savings glut
hypothesis” at the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, the Atlanta Federal
Giving / from page 4
Garcia, the only Puerto Rican member of
California’s Assembly, to display art in her
Sacramento office. “That opened the door.
We then succeeded in lobbying for a resolution that recognized Puerto Rico’s contributions to California, that eventually resulted
in conversations to set up a trade mission,”
Carricchi says.
After three years with Puerto Rico’s
government, Carricchi is now running
her own marketing firm, Carico Holdings,
which specializes in Hispanic audiences
and holds an interest in a Costa Rican
environmental tour company, Caricotours.
She plans to channel her energies and
skills into improving environmental health
factors in the Latino community through
health promotion and policy studies.
Throughout what she calls her career
Reserve Bank, and will present it at the Federal
Reserve Bank in Cleveland. He was invited to join
the Advisory Committee of the Washington, D.C.based Institute for International Economics, the
pre-eminent think tank on the global economy.
Social Security and how it works was the topic
of a presentation Karen Holden gave last fall
to University of Wisconsin-Madison employees
at the annual employees benefits fair.
Clark Miller is working with a cross-campus
network of faculty and graduate students that
received $1 million from the National Science
Foundation to create a Center for Nanotechnology in Society. He also is helping to recruit the first
class of students for the La Follette School’s new
Neuroscience and Public Policy program.
Dave Weimer continues to research health policy issues, including a study underway to estimate
people’s willingness to pay to eliminate addiction
to cigarettes.
Donald Nichols and Graham Wilson spoke
to a group of University of Wisconsin-Madison
alumni in Chicago in March.
In January and February, Barbara Wolfe and
Bob Haveman were at Australian National University, where they hold adjunct appointments at
the Research School of Social Sciences. They presented two seminars, consulted with researchers,
presented a paper at a health-care conference in
Sydney and conducted research. Š
Poverty unit wins
federal grant
Thanks in part to the leadership
of La Follette School of Public
Affairs professor Maria Cancian,
the Institute for Research on
Poverty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been designated as one of three Area
Poverty Research Centers by
the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services.
IRP will receive $500,000 per
year for three years.
Cancian has been IRP director
since 2004, the third La Follette
School of Public Affairs professor to lead the center. Bob
Haveman served as director
from 1971 to 1975; he continues
his affiliation as a research
associate. Barbara Wolfe
directed IRP from 1994-2004
and is a faculty affiliate.
Seven other La Follette School
professors are involved with IRP.
Carolyn Heinrich is the center’s
associate director of research
and training. Pamela Herd, La
Follette School Associate Director Karen Holden, Andrew
Reschovsky, Joe Soss, Geoffrey Wallace and John Witte
are faculty affiliates.
UW Foundation offers estate, other donor information
The best way to support the La Follette School is
to give via the University of Wisconsin Foundation
and designate the donation is for the La Follette
School. The nonprofit foundation is the university’s fund-raising and gift-receiving organization.
For information about estate planning and
trusts, contact UW Foundation development
director Steve Kean at (608) 265-3526 or
steve.kean@uwfoundation.wisc.edu.
“We can work with individuals to help them devise
“montage,” Carricchi remembers what she
learned at La Follette.
“Every time I write a report, I think of
La Follette, and I hear Andrew Reschovsky
say ‘Everything must be clear and concise.’
When I survived my class on cost-benefit
the giving strategy that best meets the needs of
the donor and the La Follette School,” Kean says.
Checks should be payable to the UW Foundation and have “La Follette” written on the
memo line. They can be sent to the La Follette
School, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225
Observatory Drive, Madison WI 53706.
To make a gift online, go to www.uwfoundation.
wisc.edu/giving. Under Gift Designation, select
Other, then type La Follette School in detail box.
analysis, Bob Haveman taught me that a situation is not as difficult as I had thought.”
“At La Follette I got the academic skills
and social support I needed,” Carricchi
says. “I’m pleased to be in a position to
return that support through my estate.” Š
6 / La Follette Notes
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2006
Grad helps Sri Lanka communities rebuild after tsunami
W
$3.2 million in donations to Sarvodaya Sri Lanka for disaster relief
ithin a few months of graduating from the La Follette
and long-term rehabilitation of people and communities.
School, Shisir Khanal finds himself in an office on Williamson Street in Madison doing a little bit of everything to help people
Khanal traveled to Sri Lanka in late 2005. “I wanted to see the
half a world away.
effects of the tsunami and understand what had happened
Khanal is the sole employee of Sarvodaya USA, a
for the year afterwards, and to find out what Sarvodaya USA
nonprofit organization whose mission is to support
should do and what would be the best way to help,” he says.
Sarvodaya Sri Lanka, an agency that, in part, coordiSri Lanka and other countries the tsunami hit had poor
nates ongoing relief efforts after the December 2004
infrastructure to start with, Khanal notes. Now, supplies
tsunami that killed 40,000 people in Sri Lanka alone.
and skilled labor are hard to find. “I visited places where
Under the board of directors’ supervision, Khanal
village after village was completely wiped away,” he says.
handles budgeting, accounting, donor relations, com“Just to restore what was lost is a big challenge.”
munications, web-site and database development, fundOne man’s story stays with Khanal months after meetraising and coordination with Sarvodaya Sri Lanka.
ing him. The man is a village administrator who lost his
Shisir Khanal
“La Follette definitely prepared me for the work I
wife, three children, a sister and a nephew in the tsunami.
do, especially my concentrations on international devel“He survived only because he had gone to town to fill
For information on
opment and the class on nonprofit management,” he
up
the tank of his motorbike,” Khanal says. “Of the people
Sarvodaya USA, see
says. “Many of the issues we discussed in class I see
I
met,
he was not the worst off. Matter of fact, he is quite
www.sarvodayausa.org.
every day on my job.”
well off, has a government job, lives in a rented place,
La Follette School Career Development Coordinator Mary
unlike others who live in temporary shelters,” Khanal says. “At the
Woodward helped connect Khanal to Sarvodaya USA. “Until
same time, he was the first person in whom I saw the deep effects
after the tsunami, volunteers ran Sarvodaya USA,” Woodward says.
of the tsunami. Only when talking with him did I really realize how,
“They did such a great job fund-raising that they needed an employeven after one year, the psychological effects and trauma lingered.”
ee to help provide some structure. I knew that Shisir, with his inter“People in the United States and elsewhere recognize that longnational background and interests, would be a good fit.”
term healing must take place in Sri Lanka and other countries hit
In the year that followed the tsunami, Sarvodaya USA sent
by the tsunami,” he adds. “Their ongoing support is gratifying.” Š
From the Director / from page 1
called Ingraham was once the Commerce
Building that housed the Business School.)
There is a quite a stretch of grass between
Ingraham and Charter Street, and it is on
that grass that our new building will go—
currently planned at four stories with a
10,000-square-foot footprint.
The site keeps us close to the many
departments and units with which we share
faculty, such as Economics and Sociology
and the Institute for Research on Poverty.
By moving half a block east, we will be
closer to Political Science in North Hall.
We need to find a major donor for the
building—we are looking for $4.5 million
(I almost said only $4.5 million, because
many buildings on campus each require
$20 million in gifts), and the other tenant
is looking for $3 million. With this money
in hand we hope the state will match and
a $15 million building can be built.
Naturally, we love our old house on the
hill, but it provides offices to only half of
our faculty and to none of our student
project assistants. Ten years ago La Follette
was cramped when it had 4.5 full-timeequivalent faculty and about eight FTE
This view from the
corner of Observatory
Drive on the left and
Charter Street on the
right shows the site for
the La Follette School’s
new building, inside the
“U” of Ingraham Hall
that faces Charter
Street. Ingraham used
to be known as the
Commerce Building.
staff. We now have 19 faculty and 10 staff
who are full or part time. All need office
space. Having the whole school under one
roof will be good for our many mutually
supportive missions, and faculty who have
offices near each other will be better able
to share ideas and collaborate on crafting
policy solutions.
A new facility also will better serve our
alumni, many of whom work in Madison.
More meeting space and an accessible,
central location for faculty and staff in a
building wired for modern technology
means we will be better able to respond
when alumni and friends of the school
bring questions or ideas to us.
I should note that this is my last year
as director of the La Follette School. This
summer I will retire after 40 years with the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, most of
them as an economics professor. For the
last 16 years I’ve held a joint appointment in
public affairs, and it is my pleasure to conclude my career while holding the top spot
of this top-notch school of public affairs.
I thank our alumni and friends for their
ongoing support of the school, financial
and otherwise, and I hope you will be
proud of what the school, its faculty, staff,
students and alumni will accomplish in the
next 10 years, no small part of which is
construction of our new building. Š
Spring 2006
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Alumni crucial to student career development
Alum finds variety adds up
W
hile Sara Schnoor’s primary responsibility
is the village of Whitefish Bay’s budget, the
village management assistant and La Follette
School alum is not surprised to find herself helping to plan community events or handling human
resources issues.
“I’ve worked on the redesign of the village web
site, human resources, development projects and
the streetscape design of Silver Spring Drive (our
business district), as well as property maintenance
and event planning such as the Fourth of July celebration and the Holiday Stroll,” she says. “Whitefish Bay’s small size means that every day is different for me.”
She spoke to La Follette School students in
March about her many roles. She was in town for
the Wisconsin City/County Management Association’s March conference.
After earning her
master’s of public
Alum, prof give
affairs in 2003, Schnoor
presentation
worked as a senior associate and bond rating
La Follette alum Amy
analyst for Moody’s
(Zeman) Schanhofer,
class of 2003, also
Investors Service in
was in Madison for the
Chicago. This job built
Wisconsin City/County
on her internship with
Management Associathe city of Chicago’s
tion’s spring conferbudget office.
ence.
She encourages
alumni to return to the
She and La Follette
School professor
La Follette School to
Dennis Dresang
talk with students.
presented “Reaching
“I believe that it is
Out to Your Residents.”
very important for
alums, especially those
Schanhofer is
involved in the managecommunity resource
ment of local governdevelopment agent
ment, to meet with stufor the University of
Wisconsin Extension
dents to let them know
in Monroe County.
what opportunities are
available,” she says. Š
La Follette School
notes 20th anniversary
of Penniman Prize
May’s graduation of La Follette
School students marks the 20th
anniversary of the Clara Penniman Prize, which is awarded to
the graduating student who has
written the most outstanding
paper while a graduate student
in public affairs.
1993 La Follette alum Jim Pingell is one of the public
affairs practitioners who spoke to students last fall.
Speakers series includes alumni
T
wo alumni are among the professional public
affairs practitioners speaking to students this
spring through a series students organized.
Natalie Walleser, 2005, an analyst with the
Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau, spoke in
February. She also participated in a La Follette
School career fair.
The second alum is Robert Cramer, 1992,
the administrator of the State Facilities Division
of the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
The four La Follette School students who organized the practitioners series this spring will receive
two academic credits. Other students can receive
one credit by attending regularly and by meeting
with and introducing one of the speakers.
This course follows the fall Professional Practitioners Series faculty and staff organize for incoming students. The spring semester enables students
to put their networking skills together as they
research and invite potential speakers.
“This series is a testament to the La Follette program and how it makes good use of being embedded in a community of accessible policymakers,”
says Associate Director Karen Holden. Š
Alumni recruit students, share advice
A
La Follette Notes / 7
mong those alumni returning to Madison to recruit employees
and give advice this year to current La Follette School students were Hilary Murrish and Bryan Gadow.
Gadow, 2005, talked about his internship with the L.P. Cookingham Management Development Program in Kansas City, Missouri.
The position is one of the most prestigious in the country.
Murrish, 2002, joined Government Accountability Office
colleagues John Wanska and Marnie Schaul on a recruiting trip. Š
Alumni sought
to aid students
Anyone interested in working with
La Follette School students should
contact Career Development Coordinator Mary Woodward at
careerdevelopment@lafollette.wisc.
edu or (608) 263-2409.
A specialist in taxation and
public finance, Clara Penniman
was the founder and director of
the La Follette School’s predecessor, the Center for the Study
of Public Policy and Administration. She was the first female
chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s (then otherwise all male) political science
department. She retired in 1984.
Penniman’s gift to La Follette
was the basis for the ongoing
award to students whose
papers, nominated by La Follette faculty, best demonstrate
the writing and analytic skills the
school emphasizes.
“Award recipients are a distinguished group of alumni, some
of whom have contributed to the
fund to ensure our ability to continue the award,” says Associate
Director Karen Holden.
These alumni received the award:
Joy Tapper, 1986
Kevin Piper, 1987
David Morrison, 1988
John Elliott and Mary Burke, 1989
Elise Jaffe and Barry Delin, 1993
Leah Bailey, 1994
Cody Rice, 1995
Ryan Weeden, 1996
Rachel Martin, 1997
Sarah Archibald, 1998
Tamarine Cornelius, 1999
David Saikia, 2000
Jeff Sachse, 2001
Lucas Szylow, 2002
Ian Crichton, 2003
Kristin Marie Berg, 2004
David Zanni, 2005
8 / La Follette Notes
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2006
Student news
Student association
raises $1,330 in
hurricane aid
Rachel Howard is listed among the
A
benefit for a Hurricane
Katrina relief fund
drew about 75 to 100 people
and raised more than $1,330,
thanks to the La Follette
School Student Association.
For a donation of $15,
guests were treated to red
La Follette School students Aditya Chandraghatgi, Louisa
beans and rice, beer and the
Kennedy and Julius Svoboda at a hurricane-relief benefit.
music of the Cajun Strangers,
were among those who attended.
of which La Follette School Associate
“This was really a team effort,” says Craig
Director Karen Holden is a member.
Johnson, LSSA’s community service chair.
LSSA organized and sponsored the
“It was great to have the two student organiSept. 30 event at Café Montmarte with the
zations working together, and we had the
student association from the Department
of Urban and Regional Planning. La Follette
support of both Café Montmarte and the
School students, staff, faculty and alumni
Cajun Strangers to keep our costs low.” Š
contributors to the 2005 International
Religious Freedom Report, which the U.S.
Department of State released in November. As a summer intern in the Office of
International Religious Freedom, the second-year international affairs student edited the report for Russia and the countries
of Central Asia. The process involved collaboration with U.S. embassies and State
Department offices.
Leah Larson-Rabin is editor-in-chief
of the Wisconsin International Law Journal.
She is a master of international public affairs
candidate enrolled in La Follette’s dualdegree program with the Law School. She
also served as a project assistant with the
campus Global Legal Studies Initiative.Š
http://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/alumnifriends/intouch.html
Alumni: Stay in touch with the La Follette School of Public Affairs by keeping your records up to date:
Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison WI 53706
LaFollette
Paid
Madison, WI
Permit No. 658
Non-Profit Org.
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