La Follette Notes
Spring 2011 / www.lafollette.wisc.edu
News for Alumni & Friends of The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
Save the Dates
for Alumni & Friends
Social Events
Summer picnic is July 12, 2011,
at the La Follette School
Reception in Washington, D.C.,
likely will be November 3, 2011
Reception in Madison is February 2, 2012
4:30-7 p.m., Inn on the Park, 22 South Carroll St.
Information and to update contact info
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu, (608) 263-7657
Donations and bequests help students
pursue careers in public affairs
S
ix students benefited from the
generosity of alumni and friends
of the La Follette School during the
2010-2011 school year. The students’
interests include shaping institutions,
crafting anti-poverty policy, solving
problems, and using neuroscience
to inform public policy.
The students all appreciate the
transferable technical skills they are
learning at the La Follette School
and the opportunity to expand their
abilities to analyze public policy,
evaluate public programs and make policy
recommendations.
Four students received funds given by
a number of alumni and friends of the
school. One, Alex Hartzman, was profiled
in the fall 2010 issue of La Follette Notes.
He received the Ina Jo Rosenberg and Shiri
Eve Leah Gumbiner Fellowship to help his
pursuit of a dual degree in public affairs
and public health.
Ryan Schowalter is thankful for a donaSee Student Support on page 6
Alumni share insights
with students
Alum Saul Wolf, right, talks with
students (from left) Anne Chapman,
Liz Hartjes and Justin Rabbach after
giving a presentation at the La Follette
School about his work in the nonprofit
sector. Wolf is one of many La Follette
School alumni to talk with students about
his career and job during the 2010-11
school year. The 2008 grad earned a
dual degree in public affairs and law,
and is remittances manager at the World
Council of Credit Unions.
For more on connections between alumni
and students, see article on page 5.
Alumni craft analysis, recommendations for decision-makers
From the Director
Carolyn Heinrich
The importance of how societies, nations, states and
universities make decisions about who benefits from
shared resources has never been more evident than this
spring as people in countries across North Africa and
the Middle East gathered to demand greater political
freedom and attention to economic problems. In the
United States, Congress and the president struggle with
balancing the budget, while state governments negotiate cuts and labor rights. At the Wisconsin Capitol,
legislative procedures and protests have drawn global
attention. Even people in Egypt tuned in to Wisconsin events, alum Katie Croake reported at a La Follette
School seminar presentation she made over the internet
about her work in the Egyptian struggle for liberation.
As Wisconsin policymakers debate approaches to handling the state’s expected structural deficit and the university presses for more flexibility in dealing with impending
budgetary challenges, many of our alumni and friends are
on the front lines in producing the analysis and recommendations that our elected officials will rely on to ascertain the ramifications of various proposals and to evaluate
the effectiveness of policy initiatives. Regardless of one’s
See From the Director on page 4
2 / La Follette Notes
’92 grad publishes
book on Federal Home
Loan Bank System
Mark Cassell, 1992, has
published Mission Expansion
in the Federal Home Loan
Bank System with co-author
Susan M. Hoffmann. He is
an associate professor of
political science at Kent State
University
where he
teaches
courses
in public
policy and
administration,
Mark Cassell comparative public
policy and urban politics.
His scholarship is mainly concerned with understanding
public sector transformations.
w
Herd joins Wisconsin
Longitudinal Study,
national survey board
La Follette School sociologist Pamela Herd is the new
co-director of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, a
long-term examination of a
random sample of 10,317
men and women who graduated from Wisconsin high
schools in 1957. It tracks
people throughout their lives
by collecting survey data
from the graduates and their
relatives.
She also has been appointed
to the Board of Overseers for
the General Social Survey, a
long-running omnibus survey
of the U.S. adult population
funded by the National Science Foundation.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2011
Grads to present report at transparency conference
U
lrike Nischan and Rebecca McAtee will present their group’s capstone workshop report at
the Law and Society Association conference in San
Francisco in June.
“We will be presenting as part of a panel with
three international academics who have done research on Transparency International, and Advocacy and Legal Advice Centers in particular,” McAtee reports. “The head of the panel approached us
in December about presenting when he found our
paper on the La Follette web site and our paper
was approved at the beginning of March.”
McAtee and Nischan prepared the 2010 report
for Transparency International with Jonathan McBride and Jonathan Hoechst. Their cost benefit
analysis evaluates the effect of Advocacy and Legal
Advice Centers as an anticorruption strategy. The
analysis suggests that the centers are an extremely
cost-effective method of reducing corruption.
All four authors graduated with master’s degrees in international public affairs. Nischan is a
program specialist with the IRIS Center at the Uni-
Ulrike Nischan, left, and Rebecca McAtee will present
their 2010 workshop report on Transparency International
at a research conference in San Francisco.
versity of Maryland. Hoechst is a budget analyst
with the Wisconsin Department of Administration. McAtee is an analyst with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. McBride works at the
State Department. w
Mooney recognized for scholarship, service
F
or Christopher Z. Mooney, 2010 was a very
good year.
The State Politics and Policy section of the
American Political Science Association recognized
the 1985 La Follette alum for his efforts in establishing, editing and managing State Politics and Policy
Quarterly. The section began awarding the Christopher Z. Mooney Award for the Best Dissertation in State Politics and Policy, thanks to a new
$25,000 endowment.
Mooney is a professor of political science with
a joint appointment in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Springfield. He studies U.S. state politics
and policy, with a focus on legislative decisionmaking, morality policy and legislative term limits.
Mooney was honored with a second award, the
Christopher Z. Mooney Award Endowment for
Comparative State Politics and Policy Research,
made possible through a $40,000 endowment fund
at the University of Illinois at Springfield for UIS
faculty and student research in the field.
In addition, the University of Illinois recognized Mooney for his own outstanding research
during the course of his career with the University Scholar Award, a three-year award of $10,000
a year. No more than one University Scholar is
named on each UI campus each year. In addition,
he was named the first W. Russell Arrington Distinguished Professor of State Politics at the Insti-
Chris Mooney, right, is a professor at the Springfield
campus of the University of Illinois in the heart of the Land
of Lincoln.
tute of Government and Public Affairs.
He has published dozens of articles and books,
including Lobbying Illinois – How You Can Make a
Difference in Public Policy, written with Barbara Van
Dyke-Brown. Mooney, Todd Donovan and Daniel
S. Smith are co-authors of the leading textbook
State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reform.
Mooney is working on two research projects.
One is on legislative leadership. The second explores legislative decision-making. “I want to try to
understand the psychology of American legislators
as they think about cause and effect in public policy,” Mooney says, and “why they think a given policy is going to work the way they think it will.” w
Spring 2011
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 3
News from alumni and friends
1950s
2000s
In spite of being “retired” as a city manager
and Denver department head, John Hall has
been recruited by the City of Denver to serve on
an advisory committee for the renovation and
improvement of the city’s Buffalo Bill Museum.
He holds a 1958 bachelor’s degree in public policy
and administration from the University of Wisconsin. The museum is located on Lookout Mountain
and features Buffalo Bill’s grave.
As the special events coordinator for the American
Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, Emily Plagman, 2010, organized and hosted its annual Bill of
Rights Celebration in March. The keynote speaker,
Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show with Jon
Stewart, gave an entertaining and on-point speech
about the importance of protecting civil liberties
and rights to a crowd of more than 300 people.
1980s
Jeff Appelquist, 1986, has published his second
book, Wisdom Is Not Enough: Reflections on
Leadership & Teams. The book is an outgrowth of
his business Blue Knight History Seminars, LLC, a
company that offers leadership and team development training centered on visits to great American
battlefields.
John Norquist, 1988, is putting the final touches
on Congress for the New Urbanism’s 19th gathering. This year’s event will be in Madison June 1-4
and will focus on linkages that urban communities
have with local food production, the food economy
and the infrastructure that has developed around
this symbiosis. The former mayor of Milwaukee,
Norquist is chief executive officer of the Chicagobased Congress for the New Urbanism.
1986 alum Jan O’Neill co-founded QLD in 1998
with Anne Conzemius. The Madison-based national
educational consulting
firm specializing in public
school improvement
was featured in the Wall
Street Journal in March.
The article focused on
the power of student
goal setting. O’Neill and
Conzemius wrote three
books, Building Shared
Responsibility for Student
Jan O’Neill
Learning, The Handbook
for SMART School Teams,
and The Power of SMART Goals. They developed
one of QLD’s classic and longest selling products,
“Making Meaning Through Measurement.” In her
role as co-founder of QLD, O’Neill develops communications, is involved in client development and
serves as secretary on QLD’s board of directors.
In the field she is a keynote speaker and a lead
consultant for long-term clients.
Share your story:
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
Raul Leon heads to Eastern Michigan University
this summer to start a tenure-track position as an
assistant professor in higher education and student
affairs. After completing his master of international
public affairs degree in 2007 he went on to earn a
Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis
in 2010. He is spending the 2010-11 academic year
as an assistant professor of higher education at the
University of Southern Mississippi.
Nina Carlson is working full time at the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence as the senior
policy analyst and federal liaison. She and her
husband, Deven Carlson, are expecting their
first baby — a girl — in July. Both earned master
of public affairs degrees in 2007. Deven is pursuing
his doctorate in political science at the University
of Wisconsin–Madison.
Brian Quinn, 2010, is an executive policy and
budget analyst in the Wisconsin Department of
Administration’s Budget Office. His assigned
areas include the Department of Revenue, shared
revenue, property tax relief, property tax exemptions, individual and corporate income taxes, state
lottery, tribal gaming, excise taxes, and economic
research.
2009 alumni marry
Maggie Carden and Kevin Luecke were mar-
ried on October 2, 2010. The ceremony was held
in the conservatory at Olbrich Gardens in Madison.
Since graduating in 2009, they have been living
and working in Madison. Luecke is the lead planner
at the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, and Carden
is an AmeriCorps program officer with the Wisconsin National and Community Service Board. When
not working they can be found bicycling around
Madison and southern Wisconsin.
Jessica Berger Gross, 2000, has been writing
2006 graduates Karyn (Kriz) and Rob
Dall’Asta had twins in July 2010, a girl and
a boy. “Their names are Abigail and Alexander,
and they are great,” Dall’Asta reports. The family
lives in Chicago, where he practices law. Karyn
and Rob met and started dating during student
orientation in 2004.
Daniel Bellefleur, 2010, is working in Jakarta,
After serving in the Peace Corps in Peru, Paul
Stanchfield, 2006, is off to Nicaragua to start in
the twice weekly Enlightened Motherhood blog for
yogajournal.com. Her writing has also appeared in
The Globe and Mail, and on Salon and Babble.
Indonesia, with the American Chamber of Commerce in Jakarta. “My position is quite dynamic,”
he reports. “My primary responsibility is to build a
working relationship with APINDO (an Indonesian
labor and policy organization) and KADIN (an
Indonesian chamber of commerce) to conduct joint
policy analysis to improve the business environment in Indonesia.” He is working with chamber’s
young professionals to set up outreach, social and
professional events. In addition to assisting chamber committees with position papers and meetings,
he is trying to get the chamber involved with new
Global Entrepreneurs Partnership in Indonesia.
June as program director of Bridges to Community,
a non-governmental organization that employs
about 50 people to oversee about 1,000 volunteers
on service-learning trips. Bridges to Community
activities include building houses, refurbishing
schools and building latrines. The agency also
distributes small business loans and maintains
educational scholarships.
4 / La Follette Notes
From the Director
continued from page 1
political perspective, we all can be reassured that La Follette School alumni and
friends are employing the highest quality
data and skills available to appropriately inform policymakers’ decisions.
At the university, we are debating the
proposal for a new governance structure
for the Madison campus and, perhaps, a
new model for the entire state university
system. The governor’s budget proposal
for 2011-2013 would establish the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a public
authority and allow for more flexibility in
its management of tuition, personnel policies, facilities and purchasing. Administrators and policymakers anticipate that better
management tools would lead to greater
economic efficiencies that would ultimately
reduce the campus’ reliance on state taxes.
The rest of the UW System also seeks
more operational flexibility, and system
representatives are sharing concerns about
the effects of the Madison campus operating under a separate governance structure.
Here, too, in system and Madison campus
offices, our alumni, friends and faculty are
sharing their expertise as the state works
out the best way to deliver quality public
higher education.
La Follette School faculty and staff are
attending closely to these developments,
with an eye to protecting resources essential to student support and continuing excellence in our graduate education
programs. However these debates and
decisions play out in the public arena, the
La Follette School’s faculty remain committed to pursuing cutting-edge research,
our high-quality, personalized approach
to graduate instruction, and outreach and
public service in a collaborative setting.
More than ever before, your donations to
the school through the University of Wisconsin Foundation will bolster our recruitment of top applicants to the school’s two
degree programs and our level of service
to continuing students. Your commitment
of time through participation in career development activities and social gatherings
likewise helps our students in considering
and launching their careers. Your questions
and analysis feed back into our faculty’s research agendas, as we all look for new and
better ways to solve the problems of our
campus, state, nation and world. w
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2011
Alum leads Wisconsin research institute
A
s president of the Wisconsin Policy
Research Institute, alum George
Lightbourn leads the nonpartisan, not-forprofit organization as it works to engage
and energize Wisconsinites and others in
discussions and timely action on key public
policy issues critical to the state’s future,
growth and prosperity.
A former senior fellow and executive
vice president of WPRI, Lightbourn became president in early 2009. After earning his master’s degree in 1976 from the
Center for the Study of Public Policy and
Administration, a La Follette School predecessor, Lightbourn worked for the Wisconsin departments of Transportation and
Administration. He served as secretary of
Administration under two governors.
Lightbourn was a member of a panel
the La Follette School organized in February to discuss policy implications of Wisconsin budget legislation.
He has shared his experience and insight with La Follette School students
throughout his career. “Serving as a mentor helps to attract the best possible students to careers in public service,” Lightbourn says. “Those of us in public service
have an obligation to give the students a
look behind the curtain of government.”
Alumni attend classmate’s wedding
Student Nathaniel
Inglis Steinfeld worked
with Lightbourn in
the summer of 2009
as an intern, researching Virginia’s higher
education governance
as part of a WPRI
study that promotes
greater autonomy and
George
accountability for the
Lightbourn
150,000-student University of Wisconsin System.
Lightbourn’s goal for WPRI is “to
produce sound, nonpartisan, respected
research that will influence the way in
which government operates.” The institute
emphasizes that competitive free markets,
limited government, private initiative and
personal responsibility are essential to a
democratic way of life. Its research and
public education identify and promote
public policies in Wisconsin that are fair,
accountable and cost effective, he says.
People can make an impact by working
in public service, Lightbourn says. “While
the world seems to relish a noisy partisan
argument, thoughtful, often contrarian
analysis is much more rewarding and will
likely lead one to a better career path.” w
La Follette School classmates attended the wedding of 2009 alum Lauren Benditt and Rachel Vallens
in June in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Front row from left are Lilly Shields, Megan Stritchko, Lauren
Benditt, Rachel Vallens and Catherine Hall. Back row from left are Emily Engel, Tom Robinson,
Dan Bush, Andy McGuire and Jennifer Hassemer. After working for the Minnesota Department
of Revenue as a tax research analyst for a year, Benditt started work on a Ph.D. in sociology at Stanford
University in fall 2010.
Spring 2011
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 5
Alumni, friends connect with students at school, workplace
A
An October session explored the political realm.
Alumni, friends conduct mock interviews with students
Nina Carlson (’07) talked
Forty students sat down with 13 alumni and friends in December to practice
about her position as poltheir interviewing skills as part of the professional development workshop.
icy advisor to the governor, and John VanderMeer
“Participating in mock interviews is an important way job seekers can prepare
(’06) shared his experiencthemselves,” says career development coordinator Mary Russell. “People can
es as a research assistant
never get too much practice telling about themselves, outlining their strengths
for a member of the Wisand illustrating how well they work under pressure.”
consin Assembly. Kirstin
Nelson (’02) spoke about
The required one-credit-course, taught by Russell and associate director
her position with the ConDon Moynihan, helps first-year students build their résumés, crystallize their
gressional Budget Office
career goals and practice the skills they need to get jobs and internships.
in Washington, D.C. Mark
O’Connell (’85), executive
Participating La Follette School alumni
director of the WisconMary E. Burke, 1989, assistant
Kim Reniero, 1995, program and
w
w
sin Counties Association
attorney general, State Programs,
policy analyst, Wisconsin Department
shared his thoughts on
Administration and Revenue Unit,
of Transportation
networking.
Wisconsin Department of Justice
Bob Soldner, 1990, director, School
w
Dane County contract
Management Team, Wisconsin
Charlie Carlson, 1976, human
w
Seminar talks
compliance officer Wesley
Department of Public Instruction
resources consultant
Sparkman (’00) joined a
In the spring, alumni made
Bill Cosh, 1993, communications ofJohn Tuohy, 1983, director of regionw
w
panel on city and county
presentations at two La
ficer, Wisconsin Department of Justice
al operations, Wisconsin Department
government. A panel on
Follette School seminars.
of
Children
and
Families
Ken Hammond, 1999, director, Trainw
international public afSaul Wolf (’08), remittancing and Standards Bureau, Wisconsin
Andrew Turner, 2008, attorney, corpow
fairs included Jean-Rene
es manager for the World
Department of Justice
rate practice group, Godfrey and Kahn
Watchou (’06), director of
Council of Credit Unions,
Jennie Mauer, 2008, coordinator,
Greg Wise, 1985, director, Center for
w
w
the Community Immigradiscussed engaging policy
Program LAUNCH, Wisconsin DepartCommunity and Economic Develoption Law Center and of
in the non-profit arenas
ment of Children and Families
ment, University of Wisconsin–Extension
international outreach for
in April. Joining him was
Participating La Follette School friends
Christ Presbyterian Church
Kristen Joiner of Sustainin Madison. Tommy WinDane.
Kathy
Lemkuhl
Pedersen,
Cynthia
Moore,
recycling
program
w
w
human resources specialist,
coordinator, Wisconsin Department
kler (’07) of the Wisconsin
Appearing via the interHuman Resources Bureau,
of Natural Resources
Government Accountabilnet from Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin Department of Justice
ity Board joined professor
in March, Katie Croake
Kristin
Ruesch,
communications
direcw
tor, Ron Johnson U.S. Senate campaign
Dennis Dresang to discuss
(’03) discussed events in
ethics and leadership.
Egypt and the implications
Three alumni and
of the revolution for her
Wisconsin Women in Government graduemployer, the National Democratic InstiMoran (’08), John Dyck (’96), Darin Renner
ate Joanie Burns of the Department of
tute for International Affairs, the United
(’00), Erin Probst (’06), Paul Ferguson (’08),
Natural Resources discussed working for
States and the Middle East. Croake has
Sam Austin (’08) and Rick Olin (’76).
the state of Wisconsin. The three alumni
been program manager at NDI since 2006.
Students visited the Legislative Audit
were Andy McGuire (’09) of the LegislaBureau in November. They talked with
Workplace visits
tive Audit Bureau, Karina Silver (’06) of
2009 alumni Andy McGuire and Tom
Alumni coordinated field trips for students
the Department of Administration’s BudHinds and other staff in entry-level
to visit two Wisconsin legislative bureaus
get Office, and David Stepien (’08) of the
positions. They also heard from program
in the fall so they could learn about entryDepartment of Health Services. The last
evaluation director Kate Wade and state
level positions and what students can do
panel discussion focused on the nonprofit
auditor Janice Mueller.
to prepare themselves for the job market.
sector. Speakers were Marianna Smirnova
Classroom visits
Alum Emily Pope (’06) coordinated a
(’08) of the Wisconsin Coalition against
Mark Nicolini (’83), budget director for the
December visit to the Legislative Fiscal
Sexual Assault, Peter Shively (’92) of the
city of Milwaukee, spoke to students in the
Bureau. Director Bob Lang gave a brief
Interactivity Foundation and Ann Conway
performance management course.
overview of the office. Nine alumni then
(’89) of the Wisconsin Association
The one-credit professional developdescribed their jobs and the students asked
for Perinatal Care. w
ment workshop brought a number of
the panel questions. In addition to Pope,
alumni and friends to campus in the fall.
the alumni were: Al Runde (’87), Sean
lumni and friends have
been helping students
make career connections
and decisions throughout the school year. Here
is a sampling of Alumni
Network activities. To get
involved, contact career
development coordinator Mary Russell, 608-2632409, mrussell@lafollette.
wisc.edu.
“These connections
between students and
alumni are invaluable,”
Russell says. “We appreciate the time and energy
our many alumni give to
help students.”
6 / La Follette Notes
Former publications
director publishes
book on bicycle trip
Former La Follette School
publications director Alice
Honeywell and her friend
Bobbi Montgomery invite
readers to follow their ride
by bicycle across the United
States in their 2010 book,
Across America by Bicycle:
Alice and Bobbi’s Summer
on Wheels. Since retiring
from the La Follette School in
2003, Honeywell has worked
as a writing consultant in
Madison, Wisconsin.
w
Cancian named
associate dean
for social sciences
La Follette School professor
Maria Cancian is associate
dean for social sciences in
the College of Letters and
Science at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison.
The social welfare expert
oversees four professional
schools, including La Follette,
12 academic departments or
programs, more than 20 social science research centers,
and 10 international and area
studies centers.
In announcing the appointment, Letters and Science
dean Gary Sandefur
cited Cancian’s outstanding
contributions to the college
and state since joining the La
Follette School of Public Affairs and the School of Social
Work faculty in 1993. She
served as director of the Institute for Research on Poverty
from 2004 to 2008, and is a
faculty affiliate of IRP and the
Center for Demography and
Ecology.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2011
Student Support continued from page 1
tion to the La Follette School that provided him
with a scholarship for his first year, he says. “I appreciate the donor’s generosity, without which my
studies might not have been possible.”
He is pursuing a master of public affairs, with
an eye on working in education policy. Prior to
enrolling at La Follette, he worked as a tutor and
teaching assistant and interned in a U.S. senator’s
office. These experiences melded into a challenge
for him to engage more fully
with national education policy.
“I came to recognize the
unlikely nature of my private-school education,” says
Schowalter, who graduated
from a small private school
in Racine, Wisconsin, before
earning a bachelor’s degree.
“America’s public school system suffers almost universally Ryan Schowalter
from a lack of effective teachers, academic resources and government funding.
I want to help reform the policies shaping America’s education system.”
Hope Harvey wants to fight poverty by improving public policy. The MPA candidate finds
that the quantitative methods she is learning are
strengthening her understanding of the theoretical aspects of poverty and the policies formed to
alleviate it.
The La Follette School is a good fit for her
interests and goals, she says, especially its multidimensional approach in its
emphasis on quantitative
program evaluation, plus the
consideration of politics and
ethics. “I will graduate from
La Follette with the knowledge and experience I need
to contribute to the betterment of anti-poverty policy
through analysis, advocacy and
Hope Harvey
research,” she says.
Harvey also appreciates
that a donation to the La Follette School helped
to make her enrollment financially possible. “I am
grateful for the opportunity to attend La Follette,”
she says. “I am amazed by how much the school
offers, from my course on statistical analysis to
weekly open talks presented by the Institute for
Research on Poverty.”
Questions about good and evil and how — or
whether — they manifest themselves in human nature are among those that attract C.P. Frost to the
study of neuroscience. His desire to use science to
influence public policy led him to the La Follette
School to begin the six-year endeavor that results
in an MPA and a doctorate in neuroscience. “The
La Follette School and the University of Wisconsin–Madison offer the only curriculum based in
policy and neuroscience that
enables scientists to learn how
to work with policymakers,”
he says.
Frost received support
from the Doris J. Hanson,
the Clara Penniman and the
Alumni-Friends Student Support funds.
Penniman was the founder and first director of the
Clara Penniman
Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration, which became the
La Follette Institute of Public Affairs in 1983. A
specialist in taxation and public finance, Penniman was the first female chair of the University
of Wisconsin–Madison’s (then otherwise all male)
political science department. She retired in 1984
and passed away in 2009. Penniman established the
fund in 1998, and alumni and friends of the school
continue to contribute to it in her honor.
Donations made to meet
the challenge issued in 2007
by La Follette School faculty and staff contributed
to Frost’s support through
the Alumni-Friends Student
Support Fund. The support
helped to make it possible for
Frost to pursue his academic
career. “Making ends meet on
a research stipend is challengC.P. Frost
ing, and every cent counts,”
Frost says. “The donors’ gifts have helped me get
the head start I need to put all my energy into my
academics, research and career.”
For Lara Rosen, a bequest from Ed Johnson
to the La Follette School funded her project assistantship. With professor Carolyn Heinrich and
the Institute for Research on Poverty, Rosen has
contributed to an evaluation of the Families Forward project, a nationally recognized pilot child
support debt reduction program in Racine County,
Wisconsin, and studied the expansion of Families
Forward into a statewide program. “I am on the
front lines of the policy-making process, learning
about the nuanced ways in which research, data
and policy interact,” says Rosen, who is earning a
double degree in public affairs and urban and regional planning. “The assistantship allows me not
only to pursue my formal education, but also to
See Student Support on page 7
Spring 2011
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
First award made from Doris J. Hanson Fund
C
.P. Frost is the first student to receive scholarship funds from the Doris J.
Hanson Fund. Community
leaders established the fund
after the longtime public servant passed away in 2006.
Hanson served in the cabinets
of four Wisconsin governors
and was the first woman to
Doris Hanson
head the state Department of
Administration.
Hanson was the catalyst for one of the La Follette School’s premier outreach activities, the annu-
al Wisconsin Women in Government seminar that
the school conducts with the nonprofit organization of the same name. As a member of WWIG’s
executive council, Hanson helped conceive of the
seminar as a way to develop leadership among
women working in Wisconsin government. She
approached the La Follette School to see if the
school would be interested, and professor Dennis
Dresang and outreach director Terry Shelton proceeded to get the series of classes up and running
in partnership with WWIG.
More than 35 Wisconsin leaders and residents
have contributed to the fund. w
Student Support continued from page 6
perform applicable research
and experience the policymaking process firsthand,” she
says. “I am incredibly grateful
for the opportunities.”
The Ed Johnson fund supports teaching and research in
the area of local government.
Johnson, who passed away in
2006, was executive director
Lara Rosen
of the League of Wisconsin
Municipalities from 1955 to 1984 and later lobbied
for the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty.
Known as a stickler on ethical issues, he tracked
legislation that affected local government and paid
special attention to balancing the interests of constituent municipalities.
Alex Marach came to the La Follette School
right after graduating from Ripon College, drawn
by the emphasis on technical skills and a practical approach to public policy issues. “I like that
La Follette combines economics and political science,” he says. “For me, a strength of the program
is the focus on policy and its applications.”
His pursuit of an MPA and
a certificate in energy analysis and policy is made easier
thanks to financial support
from the La Follette School’s
John Gaus Public Service
Fund that honors the political
scientist’s emphasis on combining practice in government
with teaching and research.
Alex Marach
University of Wisconsin–
Madison alum Emanuel “Manny” Lerner established the Gaus fund in 1999 to honor the onetime
UW political scientist’s memory and support for
students planning public service careers.
“I appreciate the support of the John Gaus
Public Service Fund because it does ease the financial worries that I had coming to graduate school,”
Marach says. “The support has afforded me
greater time to devote to school rather than employment. Lastly, I sincerely appreciate the fund’s
emphasis on service-minded individuals and its
support of continuing education.” w
Support the La Follette School
with a Financial Gift
Information on supporting the
La Follette School financially via the
University of Wisconsin Foundation
is available by calling 608-262-3581
or by going online to
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
Alumni, friends
win elections
Two alumni and an adjunct
professor won their election
bids in April’s election.
2002 grad Shawn Pfaff won
his bid to become mayor of
Fitchburg, Wisconsin, by a
55 percent margin, defeating
incumbent Jay Allen in April’s
election. “I am honored and
humbled to be given such an
awesome opportunity and
responsibility by our community’s residents,” says Pfaff,
who is a senior associate at
Capitol Consultants.
Pfaff adds that he looks
forward to working with his
mentor and former graduate
school advisor, Paul Soglin.
Soglin, an adjunct professor
of public affairs, also toppled
an incumbent to become
mayor of Madison for the
third time. He won with
49.77 percent of the vote,
compared to Dave Cieslewicz’s 48.97 percent. Soglin
served as Madison’s mayor
from 1973-79 and 1989-97.
He taught public finance,
management and personnel
for La Follette from 19972002. He returned in 2008
to teach public management
and public budgeting.
Brian Solomon, a 1992
alum, won re-election to the
Madison Common Council.
In November, Kathleen
Madden won her first reelection bid as clerk of circuit
court, running unopposed
after Waukesha County’s 12
judges unanimously selected
her in October 2008 to fill the
position when the incumbent
retired. Madden attended
the Wisconsin Women in
Government seminar in 2007.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Seeing
SeeingDouble?
Double?
Hotmail cool off?
Missed the party?
If you are interested in being
a mentor or in meeting on a
one-time basis with students,
please contact career
development coordinator Mary
Russell by e-mailing
mrussell@lafollette.wisc.edu
or calling 608-263-2409.
Grads gather in D.C.
A few alumni from the classes of 2009
and 2010 got together at a Mediterranean
restaurant in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown.
Maggie Carden was in town from Madison for
a work conference. Left to right in the front row
are Alison Patz, Lilly Shields and Allie
Bagnall. In the back are Lindsay Read,
Maggie Carden, Jeramia Cibulka and
Kao Phetchareun. Justin King was at the
dinner but didn’t make it in time for the picture.
Send us your news and
high-resolution photos
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
If your household is receiving two copies
w
of La Follette Notes or the La Follette
Policy Report, let us know the names and
address if you want us to send only one.
Please be sure to share and update your
w
e-mail address.
We use postal addresses to generate
w
guest lists for receptions — although all
alumni and friends are invited.
Update your records by e-mailing
w
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu or by calling
608-263-7657.
And if you’d rather not receive a publicaw
tion or other postal or electronic mail, let
us know which lists to exclude you from.
Alumni can control their contact information
via the Wisconsin Alumni Association,
www.uwalumni.com.
La Follette Notes
Be a Mentor
to Public Affairs
Students
Every year the La Follette
School Career Development
Office matches about 50 new
students with mentors.
Spring 2011
Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison WI 53706
8 / La Follette Notes
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