La Follette Notes
Spring 2015 / www.lafollette.wisc.edu
News for Alumni & Friends of The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
Hunter earns alumni recognition as culinary innovator
2
011 alum
Jonny Hunter
has received the
Forward under 40
award from the
Wisconsin Alumni
Association for his
innovative Underground Food Collective and work in
food policy.
Jonny Hunter
The Madison
collective includes
Underground Butcher; Forequarter Restaurant, which was nominated for best new
restaurant by the James Beard Foundation
and named among the nation’s 50 best new
restaurants by Bon Appétit magazine; Underground Meats, which has won three Good
Food Awards for its charcuterie; and Underground Catering. The collective works
with more than 100 small Wisconsin farms,
returning around $800,000 to producers
every year.
Hunter earned a bachelor’s degree in
English in 2005, then returned to graduate
school for a master of public affairs because
of his interest in food policy. “The University of Wisconsin has been the defining institution in my life,” Hunter says. “As an un-
dergraduate in the humanities, it challenged
my limited perspective of the world. My
graduate studies at the La Follette School
of Public Affairs not only augmented my
newfound curiosity with the analytical tools
critical for decision-making, but provided
me lasting mentorships that have supported
me through my career as a small-business
owner.”
Hunter was named in February as a
semifinalist for the James Beard Award for
Best Chef-Midwest, one of only 21 people
nominated. Results were to be announced
in May. w
Hunter photo by Andy Manis
School builds on
successes of faculty,
alumni, students
W
e at the La Follette School are excited
about our prospects as a research institution and as a school that trains policy analysts
and public managers.
The university has recognized our faculty’s
dedication to innovative research that advances
our knowledge about public
affairs. As detailed elsewhere
in this issue of La Follette
Notes, Pamela Herd won
two campus awards. She was
named a Vilas Associate and
she received a Mid-Career
Investigator Award. Gregory Nemet is one of eight
From the Director university faculty members
Susan Yackee
to receive the prestigious
Romnes Faculty Fellowship.
For our students this fall, we will be reprising our exciting La Follette in D.C. program
through which we bring students to Washington
to talk with alumni and friends at their workplaces. Through this career development opportunity, students see firsthand where their degrees
in domestic and international public affairs can
See Director on page 7
Alum directs university cleanup after tornado
1992 alum Robert Cramer, second from right, surveys damage from the June 16
tornado that struck the University of Wisconsin–Platteville campus where Cramer
is vice chancellor for administrative services. With him on June 17 are Wisconsin
Governor Scott Walker, state representative Travis Tranel and others. “I directed the
recovery efforts starting the night of June 16,” Cramer says. “Three residence halls
sustained heavy damage. Ralph E. Davis Stadium and Engineering Hall were also
heavily damaged. The goal was set on June 17 to be ready for our students, faculty
and others by August 15. We accomplished that goal thanks to remarkable teamwork
and dedication by university employees, the UW-Platteville Real Estate Foundation, numerous companies, a great insurance team, UW System, and the Wisconsin
Department of Administration.”
2 / La Follette Notes
Alum publishes
award-winning article
An award-winning article by
2012 alum Alex Marach has
been published in Transportation Research Record:
Journal of the Transportation
Research Board.
Marach wrote the article,
“Critical Rural Freight Corridors Designation: Implications of Truck Percentage
Calculation,” with Teresa M.
Adams and Ernest B. Perry
while working for the National
Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education. The study analyzes
and evaluates three methods
for identifying and designating roadways for inclusion
in the U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Critical Rural
Freight Corridors program.
They won a Best Paper
Award in recognition of an
outstanding paper in the
area of freight modeling at
the 2014 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. This award is presented
by the Transportation Research Board Freight Planning and Logistics Committee
and co-sponsored by the
Urban Freight Transportation
Committee and the Network
Modeling Committee.
In May 2014, Marach joined
CPCS Transcom as a consultant analyst. He specializes
in transport policy, economics
and related research. He has
contributed work on projects
related to the Great Lakes,
oversize and overweight
trucking policy in the United
States and Canada, and
emergency management of
transportation incidents.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2015
Endicott helps shape national legislation
H
and 2007 energy bills I drafted helped increase enighways are paved, people are fed and homes
ergy supplies and efficiency in the United States.”
are energy efficient due to the vigilance of
Endicott also developed a professional drafting
1980 alum Gary L. Endicott, who became legislative
relationship between the Office of the Legislative
counsel of the U.S. Senate on January 1.
Counsel and the committees on Agriculture, NutriEndicott had been serving as counsel since 1981.
tion, and Forestry; Energy and Natural Resources;
Now he is in charge of managing the Office of the
Environment and Public Works; and Indian Affairs.
Legislative Counsel of the Senate. “That role includes ensuring the office provides high quality legis- Other highlights of his work include client assistance, policy analysis, nonpartisan
lation to meet the needs of the Senate
work and legal computer developand maintaining professional relation“I am deeply grateful to the
ment.
ship with the core legislative offices of
La Follette School and Law
Endicott’s experience in Wisconsin
the Senate,” Endicott says.
School of the University of
shaped his career goals. “In particular,
As senior counsel, Endicott drafted
Wisconsin for giving me the
my internships with the Wisconsin
professional quality legislation for combackground and skills that
Director of State Courts Office develmittees, senators and their staff, with an
have enabled me to draft
oped my strong interest in public seremphasis on natural resources. “I also
and manage legislation for
vice, especially working for legislative
have advised clients on legal and conthe U.S. Senate for my
bodies that combine my public policy
stitutional issues, and on budgetary and
34-year career.”
and law degrees from the University
Senate rules and procedures,” he says.
Gary Endicott, 1980 alum, of Wisconsin,” says Endicott. “The La
“I trained and supervised attorneys in
legislative counsel of the Follette School significantly affected
drafting, research and client assistance
U.S. Senate and helped form my career goals by
as a team leader.”
allowing me to enroll in courses and
Endicott earned his master of arts
internships that developed in me a strong interest in
in public policy and administration in 1980 from
combining my public policy and law degrees to assist
the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Adlegislative bodies in developing public policy through
ministration, a La Follette School precursor. He also
the drafting of legislation.”
completed his law degree in 1980.
“I have devoted my professional career to public
Endicott has worked on several major farm, enservice because I have found it highly interesting and
ergy and highway bills over the years. “Each bill required a significant amount of hard work and energy rewarding,” he says. “I am deeply grateful to the La
Follette School and Law School of the University of
over a long period of time throughout the legislative
Wisconsin for giving me the background and skills
process,” he says. “I worked with many committees, members and staff of Congress, and established that have enabled me to draft and manage legislation
for the U.S. Senate for my 34-year career.” w
farm, energy, and highway programs for the United
States for multiple years after enactment. The 2005
Department honors Leon as outstanding graduate
2
007 alum Raul Leon received the Outstanding
Recent Graduate Award from the University of
Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education in April.
Leon earned his Ph.D. through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
in 2010 after completing a master of international
public affairs in 2007. Leon just received tenure and
promotion to associate professor of higher education
and student affairs at Eastern Michigan University.
Leon brought national recognition to UW–Madison’s Department of Educational Leadership and
Policy Analysis by being selected as a graduate policy
fellow for the Association for the Study of Higher
Education 2009 and as an emerging scholars fellow
for the American Educational Research Association
in 2011.
He won a competitive EMU research grant in
2012 that led to the article “Black Males Abroad:
Building a Theoretical Foundation for Success,”
which examines the experiences of American males
of color who have studied abroad.
“I conduct research that focuses on study abroad,
student success and the role of chief diversity officers in institutions of higher education,” Leon says.
“I have taught courses including Introduction to
Higher Education, Student Development Theory,
Contemporary College Students, and Current Issues
and Problems in Higher Education.”
Off campus, Leon led 13 professors and administrators for a spring tour exploring higher education
in Ecuador, where he was born and raised. He is
director of My Ecuador Trip. w
Spring 2015
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 3
News from alumni and friends
After working for the Wisconsin Department of
Justice, 2012 alum Teague (Harvey) Mawer is
now the new director of budget and planning for the
University of Wisconsin Colleges. “Also, I got married in June … what a busy year!” she reports.
1998 alum Kelly Flowers is still a Foreign Service
officer, serving as senior development advisor to
the U.S. Agency for International Development in
Honduras. His wife, Flora, a 1998 graduate of the
University of Wisconsin Children’s Hospital’s pediatric critical care fellowship program, is head of the
pediatric emergency and pediatric critical care departments at the local university children’s hospital.
She also is cofounder and head of the pediatric critical care fellowship program at the same university
hospital. Their daughter, Adriana, is a sophomore at
one of the local bilingual high schools.
Share your news
Email alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu
or call 608-263-7657
Photo credit to MaryJanes and Galoshes Photography
http://maryjanesandgaloshesphotography.com/
Alumni Dan Molzahn and NormaJean Simon married in the summer
of 2014. The two completed their
master of public affairs degrees in
2013. After completing his doctorate
in electrical engineering, Molzahn
became a postdoctoral researcher
with the University of Michigan–
Ann Arbor’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science. Simon worked as a
research associate with the University of Michigan’s Child Health
Evaluation and Research Unit.
Now they are off to Chicago, where
Molzahn has accepted a position
as a staff researcher in electric
power system engineering at
Argonne National Laboratory
in Chicago.
Knutson’s emphasis on improvement strengthened county services
W
hen La Follette School alum Craig
Knutson took a position as assistant
to the county administrator in 1979, he
had no idea that 35 years later he’d be looking back on a lifelong career serving residents of Rock County, Wisconsin.
When Knutson began his career, he was
surprised at the scope of Rock County services, as Wisconsin is one of a dozen or so
states that administer state Health and Human Services as part of the county’s services
and budget.
“Quite often people have a vision of
the county courthouse, fairgrounds, squad
cars and dump trucks,” says Knutson, who
retired in August 2014 after 30 years as
county administrator. “Those are all part
of the picture, but fully 60 percent of our
budget is health and human services—
child protective services, support for those
with a disability, mental health and/or substance abuse challenges.”
Knutson earned a bachelor’s degree
from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. “I
studied history and social science,” he says.
“I was prepared to teach secondary school,
but I had a strong interest in public administration. After working for a few years, I
knew I wanted to go back to school to get
my master’s degree and change course.”
A native of Clinton in Rock Coun-
ty, Knutson
headed to the
University of
Wisconsin–
Madison’s
Center for the
Study of Public Policy and
Administration, a precursor of the La
Craig Knutson
Follette School.
He completed
his master’s degree in 1978. “The center’s placement office suggested I apply to
be the assistant to the county administrator in Rock County,” he says. “Like most
new grads, I thought I’d spend a few years
in Rock County and gain some experience—35 years later, here I am. I’ve never
been bored for even one day. It was the best
kind of challenge to have the opportunity
to have an effect on county operations and
the services Rock County offers residents.”
Knutson is consistently praised in Rock
County for his ability to bring stakeholders
together and navigate competing interests
while managing budgets that oftentimes
appeared almost impossible to maintain.
He managed Rock County through a recession and the 2008-09 job losses without
overspending or slashing services. Today,
Rock County is stable and strong, with an
AA1 Moody’s bond rating.
“Without resources, you can’t provide
services,” says Knutson, who notes that his
wife, Julie, was an essential support during
his service as county administrator. “One
of the primary goals of my job was to keep
the county in good financial shape.”
Perhaps one of the keys to Knutson’s
success is his commitment to continuous improvement. “The process of looking hard at operations, investigating best
practices across the country and bringing
those practices to our work is something
we’ve been doing and will never cease to be
needed,” he says.
“In Rock County, continuous improvement is more than just words. Procedures,
practices and needs change,” he says.
“Projects like consolidating countywide
emergency dispatch into the centralized
Rock County Communications Center and
streamlining public health service delivery can be enormously complex and have
many stakeholders. Our excellent cooperation among county municipalities sets us
apart in many ways.” w
Portions of this article are adapted from a piece
by Laura Barten published in Forward Janesville
Report. Photo is by Dennis McDougall
4 / La Follette Notes
Two students
are finalists for
of Presidential
Management Fellows
Two graduating master of
public affairs students, Don
Eggert and Ben Emmel,
have reached the finalist
stage of the prestigious
Presidential Management
Fellows Program that places
recent graduates with federal
agencies for two-year assignments. It accepts applicants
who are committed to
excellence in the leadership
and management of public
policies and programs.
Next steps include attending
PMF job fairs and interviewing with federal agencies
seeking to hire PMFs.
w
Neuroscience, program
best in country
The University of Wisconsin–
Madison Neuroscience and
Public Policy Program has
been honored as this year’s
top graduate program in neuroscience in the country by
the Society for Neuroscience.
w
Dates set for gatherings
of alumni, friends
The La Follette School will
hold Hill Fest on Thursday,
July 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. on
the school grounds. Families
are encouraged to attend this
annual picnic.
The 2016 Madison alumni
reception will be Thursday,
February 4, at the Madison
Club, a new location.
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2015
University recognizes Nemet with faculty fellowship
P
rofessor Gregory Nemet is one of eight university faculty members to receive the prestigious
Romnes Faculty Fellowship.
Romnes awards recognize exceptional faculty
members who have earned tenure within six years.
Nemet is an associate professor of public affairs
and environmental studies who studies energy, environmental and technology policy. “I use empirical analysis to identify influences on technological
change,” Nemet says. “I model the effects of public
policy on technological outcomes, and I examine the
relationships between incentives and international
governance related to energy. “
Understanding the confluence of technology and
public policy is at the core of Nemet’s research. In
one project, he is exploring why the prices of solar
systems are so different across the United States.
“Prices have dropped dramatically, by a factor of
100 since the technology was first commercialized
in the 1970s and by half in just the past two years.”
Nemet says. “But in looking simply at prices paid
today, it is remarkable how much of a better deal
some consumers are getting compared to others—
for the exact same good, electricity. This current work is trying
to understand why this apparent
price dispersion exists, whether it
is changing, and to what extent
public policy might be needed.
For example, there may be a role
for government in providing better information about purchasing
choices to potential consumers,
Greg Nemet
since, for some reasons, markets
appear to not be providing this information very effectively.”
In other work, he is looking at the effect of policy
credibility on incentives for long term investments,
such as those affecting climate change and energy.
A look at the past 40 years of U.S. energy policy
provides ample evidence of volatility, including rapidly changing budgets, moving targets and shifting
incentives, Nemet notes. “Changing policy to address energy concerns has its pros and cons. It can
incorporate new information, but also can generate
incentive-weakening uncertainty.” w
Herd wins two Vilas awards from university
S
ociologist Pamela Herd has
won two prestigious Vilas
awards from the university.
The first is $100,000 for a
Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Provost’s
Office. Funded by the William
F. Vilas Trust Estate, the award
recognizes exceptional scholarly
Pamela Herd
accomplishments and provides
flexible research funding.
The second award, the Graduate School’s Vilas
Associates Competition, recognizes new and ongoing research of the highest quality and significance.
Herd will use the funds to conduct research on the
relationships among the human microbiota, obesity
and cognitive functioning in later life.
Herd is the principal investigator of the nearly
60-year-long Wisconsin Longitudinal Study that examines how early and mid-life experiences influence
later life well-being, income security, health, and
cognitive functioning. The WLS is the most comprehensive cohort longitudinal study in existence.
Herd and collaborator Federico Rey, an assistant
professor of bacteriology, are leading an effort to
facilitate research on the microorganisms inhabiting the human body—the gut microbiome. “This
research will then examine the links between the
microbiome, and obesity and diabetes, diseases that
correlate to low levels of educational attainment,”
Herd says. “WLS’s comprehensive lifetime profiles of
our participants will allow a range of innovative and
potentially important analyses to better understand
how the microbiome links to health.” w
Fletcher elected to APPAM Policy Council
L
a Follette School economist Jason Fletcher has
been elected to the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management’s Policy Council, the
organization’s governing body.
Fletcher’s term runs through 2018. He serves as
an early career academic representative.
Fletcher is an associate professor of public affairs
with appointments in sociology, applied economics
and population health sciences. A specialist in health
economics, economics of education, and child and
adolescent health policy, Fletcher focuses his research
on examining social network effects on adolescent
education and health outcomes, combining genetics and social science research, estimating long-term
consequences of childhood mental illness, and child
and adolescent mental health policy. w
Spring 2015
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
La Follette Notes / 5
Donations from alumni, friends help school recruit top students
S
tudents arrive at the La Follette School each fall with a passion for public affairs.
Their career experiences and goals are varied, but all share a commitment
to public service. Donations from alumni and friends to the school through
the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association help the school recruit
some of the world’s top students, including these seven first-year students.
Nong applies math
skills to public
affairs, policy
analysis
Xin Nong is exploring his wide-ranging
interests through the La
Follette School’s international public affairs
Xin Nong
program. “As an undergraduate at Peking University, I studied a lot of history, philosophy
and political thought,” Nong says. “Those
fields gave me a good foundation for my
major in international political economics.”
Nong also has been very interested in
mathematics. “While philosophy pushes me
to explore uncertainty, maths provides me
with stability and unity,” says Nong, who
graduated from Peking University in 2014.
He spent the 2012-13 school year at Waseda
University in Japan, during a time when
Chinese nationalism culminated into violent
anti-Japanese demonstrations.
To further his studies in quantitative analysis, Nong chose the La Follette
School’s MIPA. “The program is highly
ranked, and the University of Wisconsin–
Madison has good academic reputation,”
Nong says.
A scholarship offer made possible by
donations to the Doris J. Hanson and the
Alumni-Friends scholarship funds helped
Nong decide to attend the La Follette School.
“I am grateful for the scholarships, which are
softening my economic burden and have inspired me to study harder,” he says. w
Serakos works
at nexus of
community
engagement,
scholarship
Because Maria Serakos
wants her research to
make a difference in pubMaria Serakos
lic policy, she is pursuing
a master of public affairs
degree at the La Follette School before she
goes on to a Ph.D. program.
“My interests in social policy, nonprofit
service, and academic research led me to
La Follette,” the first-year student says. “I
hope to deepen my policy analysis skills and
knowledge of the public and nonprofit sectors before pursuing a doctorate.”
Serakos graduated from the University
of Notre Dame in 2012 with a degree in
mathematics. She spent a year teaching
in a high school in Yakima, Washington,
through Lasallian Volunteers, then headed
to Washington, D.C., to work as a research
assistant at the Urban Institute’s Justice
Policy Center.
Serakos is working as a project assistant
with La Follette School professors Barbara
Wolfe and Jason Fletcher. Serakos also received a scholarship from funds donated by
a friend of the La Follette School. “The support I am receiving motivates me to make
the most of my time here in terms of both
contributing to the La Follette community
and preparing myself for my future work
and research,” Serakos says. w
To Donate
Donations can be made online or by mail with a check payable to
WFAA-La Follette sent to: La Follette School, 1225 Observatory Drive,
Madison WI 53706.
For information, go online at www.lafollette.wisc.edu/giving, call
608-263-7657 or email giving@lafollette.wisc.edu
Vincze tackles
homelessness,
inequality
An interest in reducing structural inequality
brings Demetri Vincze
to public affairs and
public service. “There is
Demetri Vincze
a fundamental inequality of opportunity in this
country that is profoundly unjust,” the firstyear student says, “particularly in relation to
race and poverty.”
Prior to enrolling in the La Follette
School’s master of public affairs degree
program, Vincze spent a year in Racine,
Wisconsin, with AmeriCorps*VISTA. He
graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2013, with a degree in
political science.
Vincze came to the La Follette School
in fall 2014 to acquire policy analysis skills.
“The La Follette School’s strong interdisciplinary foundation in policy analysis fits
nicely with my background in political
science,” says Vincze. He is applying his
quantitative skills to evaluate efforts to end
homelessness, an issue he worked on in Racine, through his project assistantship with
Institute for Community Alliances, a nonprofit organization that trains and supports
homeless service agencies.
The scholarship Vincze received through
a donation by a friend of the school is another benefit of the school. “If not for this
funding, I may not be working on a master
of public affairs at La Follette today,” he
says. “I greatly appreciate the added flexibility that it affords, particularly when it comes
to internship opportunities: I will be able to
consider a wide assortment of internships,
including unpaid positions, and as a result
I am confident that I will be able to partake
in the most rewarding opportunity possible.
I am grateful for the opportunities
the scholarship affords me.” w
Profiles continue on next page
6 / La Follette Notes
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2015
Donations from alumni, friends help school recruit top students
Continued from previous page
Bower plans to apply management skills in sustainable agriculture
Japinga gaining
quantitative skills
to improve work
in public policy
Alisha Bower has a plan
that will take her to Latin
America and then bring
her home to the United
States, ultimately to run a
farm. “I want to work in
international agriculture
development,” the firstAlisha Bower
year student says, “then
I will return to the U.S.,
put down roots and work on sustainable agriculture issues, eventually transitioning into
farming myself.”
While an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus, Bower got involved with environmental issues
and held three internships with two sustainable agriculture non-profits and a farm-torestaurant business. “I knew I was interested
in international travel and world affairs,”
says Bower, who grew up on a hobby farm
The possibility of working in the Wisconsin Legislature, the La Follette
School’s focus on social
policy, and the offer of a
Mark Japinga
fellowship and a scholarship all prompted Mark
Japinga to choose the La Follette School.
“I also wanted to get out of D.C. for a
couple years and move to a new city,” he
says.
“So much of policy work now is datadriven to the point where if you don’t know
how to compile data, communicate your
findings and effectively display your results,
people who do will be way ahead of you,”
the first-year student says. “A master’s degree will help me develop the quantitative
skills I have not developed in the real world
and focus more on my policy area of interest.”
After graduating from Grinnell College
in 2009, Japinga got a firsthand look at policymaking as a research assistant in the office
of a Texas state senator, helping to prepare
for the 2011 legislative session by factchecking policy proposals, and researching
and writing policy memos.
Japinga then worked as a bill analyst for
the Texas Legislative Council before heading to Washington, D.C., to join Stateside Associates as a legislative associate. “I
tracked and researched health-care legislation in state legislatures across the country,”
he says. w
Neupane hopes to improve lives, environment
For Kaubin Neupane, his time in the United States helps him see how life in his native
Nepal can be different.
“When I was growing up in Kathmandu,
I took the local environmental problems for
granted and accepted them as another facet
of difficult life,” the first-year student says.
“Now I am here, learning about political
economy of the environment, and I realize
life in Nepal and similar countries doesn’t
have to be that way.”
After graduating in 2013 with a degree in
environmental policy, politics and managerial economics from the University of California, Davis, Neupane went to central Borneo, Indonesia, on an internship with the
United Nations to work on an incentive-
Pearson develops skills to better shape public policy, institutions
After graduating from the University of
Chicago in 2011, Mike Pearson worked for
political campaigns and nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin and Minnesota, including the Minnesota Orchestral Association
and the Fox Valley Literacy Council.
To have more of a positive impact on the
causes he believes in, he decided to pursue
an advanced degree. “The MPA is a good
doorway into political careers,” says Pearson,
who graduated in political science. “Also, academically I am a generalist who is interested in political science, history and econom-
in southwestern Wisconsin. “That led me
to major in political science and Spanish. I
picked up a minor in sustainability studies
and found that my true passion called me
back to my roots in food production.”
To gain nonprofit management skills,
Bower looked at public affairs programs for
graduate school. The La Follette School’s
flexible curriculum prompted her to choose
its master of international public affairs degree program.
The offer of a fellowship and a scholarship coupled with in-state tuition was
another incentive. “I am grateful to the
donors to the Clara Penniman Scholarship
Fund,” says Bower. “I have high hopes that
my degree from La Follette will allow me to
forge my career in non-profit work in advocacy on behalf of sustainable agriculture,
and the scholarship is helping to making it
all possible.” w
ics. Public policy draws in all those things
when one has to analyze an issue.”
Receiving a scholarship offer made a difference in his selection of La Follette’s MPA
program. It also allowed Pearson to accept
an unpaid internship at the Capitol.
At La Follette, Pearson is gaining good
policy analysis skills while he pursues his
interests in health, education and antipoverty policy. “After graduation, I may work
for a nonprofit as a policy advocate or shape
and analyze policy on the state government
level.” w
driven finance approach
to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions from degradation of peatland and
forests. That experience
helps Neupane focus his
studies in the La Follette
School’s master of international public affairs
Kaubin Neupane
degree program. He is
studying environmental
and development policy, and how the two
fields intersect.
These opportunities are why he chose the
La Follette School. “When I was looking at
schools, the MIPA program was appealing
— it offers exactly what I want, the opportunity to go into more depth with my studies. The school has a really good program
and faculty.”
The offer of a fellowship and scholarships also made the La Follette School attractive. “Without that funding, I could not
be here,” Neupane says, noting he is grateful
to those who have donated to the Penniman, Dresang and Alumni-Friends scholarship funds. “With this fortunate opportunity, I am now more determined to do the
best I can to get myself into the position
where I hope to be of help to those who
need it the most.” w
Spring 2015
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Research examines responses to health-care reform
P
olitical partisanship partly
explains states’ different responses to the federal Affordable
Care Act, which seeks to change
fundamentally the U.S. healthcare system, new research by La
Follette School Professor David
Weimer finds.
Partisanship is less important
David Weimer
in the case of Medicaid expansion, Weimer and Simon F.
Haeder, a University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate student, find in research published by the Journal
of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
Haeder and Weimer examine the decision-mak-
ing of states concerning the creation of Pre-Existing
Condition Insurance Plan programs and insurance
marketplaces, as well as the expansion of Medicaid
in historical context. They identify characteristics of
state-federal grant programs, including slow and uneven implementation, variation across states, federal
accommodation, ideological conflict, state responses
to incentives, incomplete take-up rates of eligible individuals, and programs as stepping-stones and wedges.
Weimer and Haeder conclude by applying the
themes to the ACA and offer an outlook for its continuing implementation. “Specifically, we expect
a gradual move toward universal participation by
states in the ACA, especially with respect to Medicaid expansion,” Weimer says. w
Director continued from page 1
take them. As I write this column, our staff is just
gist Mike Massoglia, while Professor Harry Holzer
beginning to put together ideas for the two-day afof Georgetown University lectured on whether and
fair, which will be November 12 and 13.
how we can improve the employment prospects of
In 2013, students visited the Millennium Chaldisadvantaged men.
lenge Corporation, Urban Institute, World Bank,
This symposium marks the launch of our new
Government Accountability Office and CongressioBoard of Visitors. Across the university, these groups
nal Budget Office, all of which employ La Follette
of dedicated volunteers help departments with raising
School alumni. In 2014, students connected with
much needed funds and enhancing their stature. We
alumni in Chicago.
are excited about this opportunity
These efforts are paying off: For
to extend the mission of the La
To Donate
the class of 2014, of the 46 graduFollette School and to share our
For information, go online at www.
ates who reported entering the
successes with our board memlafollette.wisc.edu/giving, call
workforce, 93 percent reported by
bers, some of whom are alumni of
608-263-7657 or email giving@
lafollette.wisc.edu.
December they had secured jobs
the school, others of whom will
or internships in their fields. Their
be learning more about the school
Donations can be made online or by
employers include the Congressioand its vision to be a leading acamail with a check payable to WFAA-La
Follette sent to: La Follette School, 1225 demic institution in improving
nal Research Service, the National
Observatory Drive, Madison WI 53706.
Nuclear Security Administration,
the design, implementation, and
the Export-Import Bank of the
evaluation of public policy and
United States, Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit and Fiscal the practice of governance worldwide.
bureaus, and our state departments of Health Services,
Like the members of our new Board of Visitors,
Workforce Development and Public Instruction.
you can help us achieve this vision. Many alumni
We expect our class of 2015 to do just as well.
and friends give of their time to the school to help
Indeed many students have accepted positions, and
our students with career development by conducting
others are interviewing and weighing job offers.
mock interviews, mentoring and speaking in classes.
On the policy side, our April 24 symposium,
Others donate funds, and we encourage more of you
Urban Men in Poverty, held in partnership with
to make monetary donations to the school via the
Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee exWisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
amined the situation of low-wage and low-income
In the last five years, the percentage of alumni who
urban men, whose economics status has not been
donate to the school has ranged from 2.45 percent in
widely documented. After a welcome by La Follette
2010 to 3.54 percent in 2012, when we asked alumni
School economist Geoffrey Wallace, we heard from
and friends to donate to the Dennis Dresang and
Charles Franklin of Marquette University who gave
Clara Penniman scholarship funds. We would love to
a national overview. David Pate of the UW–Milget that percentage up to 4 or even 5 percent, and for
waukee’s Department of Social Work discussed the
more of you to give on an annual basis.
uneasy relationship between early trauma and unemWe look forward to seeing many of you in the
ployment. The effects of incarceration on neighnext year. Thank you for your gifts of time and
borhoods was explored by UW–Madison sociolomoney. We are grateful for all you do. w
La Follette Notes / 7
Policy practitioners
share their expertise
as adjunct faculty
Leslie Ann Howard,
president of United Way of
Dane County, is having her
Nonprofit Leadership students share their impressions
about the nonprofit sector in
entries on Badger Blogs: The
Wisconsin Idea in Action.
In a new seminar, former
Wisconsin Governor Jim
Doyle is sharing his perspective on state policy on
health care, early childhood
and K-12 education, higher
education, the environment
and energy, economic development, budget and taxes,
criminal and juvenile justice,
and poverty.
Wisconsin state government
veteran Bob Hanle is teaching Public Budgeting. Hanle
spent 25 years with the Wisconsin State Budget Office,
serving five governors. He
specialized in issues related
to elementary and secondary
education, higher education
and children and families.
Valerie Kozel, who retired
from the World Bank after 25
years focusing on social programs and poverty reduction
policies in Asia and Africa,
is teaching the International
Development course.
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
Paid
Madison WI
Permit No. 658
1225 Observatory Drive
Madison WI 53706
8 / La Follette Notes
www.lafollette.wisc.edu
Spring 2015
Federal budget proposal cites Moynihan research
P
resident Obama’s proposed budget references Professor Donald Moynihan’s
research on the use of performance management data by federal agencies.
In an assessment of the Government
Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010, Moynihan and co-author
Alexander Kroll of Florida International
University found that as federal managers
experience a series of performance routines
the act established, the managers are more
likely to report using performance data to
make decisions.
Moynihan’s work is cited in the “Analytical Perspectives” section of the budget,
which details the government’s efforts to improve analysis and management practices to
raise federal performance. The budget cites
Moynihan and Kroll’s 2014 working paper
to illustrate how the use of performance
data is higher for managers who have been
asked to implement high priority goals, and
for managers who taken part in data-driven
reviews.
These findings stand
in contrast to prior performance management
efforts, which have
shown little correlation
between performance
routines and the use of
performance data, says
Moynihan, who has
Donald
presented the paper at
Moynihan
the World Bank and the
Organisation of Co-operation and Economic Development.
“The federal government has an explicit
goal of encouraging its managers to make
better use of performance data, but up to
now there has been little strong evidence
that management reforms have made a difference,” Moynihan says. “Our paper has a
lot of policy relevance because it offers an
early assessment as to whether the current
wave of reforms are making a difference or
not. There is always appetite to come up
with a new performance framework, but our
research suggests that the current approach
should be given more time.”
The study, “Performance Management
Routines that Work? An Early Assessment
of the GPRA Modernization Act,” is available as La Follette School Working Paper
No. 2014-005. Moynihan received support
from the Jerry and Mary Cotter Faculty Fellowship for this research. w
La Follette Notes (vol. 18, no. 2) is
printed twice a year for La Follette School
alumni and friends. Online news is
published continuously.
Information:
alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu / 608-263-7657
© 2015 Board of Regents of the University
of Wisconsin System. The University of
Wisconsin-Madison is an equal opportunity
and affirmative-action educator and
employer. We promote excellence through
diversity in all programs.