Taubman Center for Public Policy AND AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 INSIDE Taubman’s new director signals change PAGE 1 Senator Olympia Snowe on how to fix Congress PAGE 19 FROM THE INCOMING DIRECTOR New Directions, New Connections I’m thrilled to have been named the new director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy. The study of public policy is so exciting — to me and to most of you — because it’s about imagining a better world. The whole point of a center like ours is to combine our policy dreams with the skills to make them reality. I want to thank Professor Marion Orr for his inspiring There is one thing that will never change. We will always leadership. For six years, Marion raised the profile of the return to the same powerful idea: Individuals can make a Center — developing new educational programs and find- difference. Our mission, first and foremost, is to train students ing fresh ways to engage the broader community. Professor who can make a difference, and to engage in scholarship Orr will remain a vital part of our program. that opens minds and builds a better world. In that spirit, let me invite you to participate in the life What lies ahead? We’re planning to introduce many of the Center. The Center thrives on lively discussion. Please innovations. We’ll broaden our focus to include interna- Contact us About the Taubman Center feel free to come visit us, to engage our many speakers, and tional public policy. Perhaps it made sense to limit public 67 George Street, Box 1977 to share your ideas about education, about policy, about Since 1984, the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and policy to American institutions back in the 1980s when the Providence, Rhode Island 02912 change, and about building a better future. American Institutions has been Brown’s hub for connecting students, Center was founded. But we now no longer stop at the water’s phone faculty, the community, and distinguished visitors for interdisciplinary edge. So we’ll be getting more ambitious: Our studies, sur- Jim Morone 401-863-2201 study, research, and advocacy of sound public policy and the veys, and education programs will stretch from Providence Director, Taubman Center for Public Policy website betterment of American institutions. across the United States and around the world. We have John Hazen White Professor of Political Science and Public Policy www.brown.edu/taubman-center begun preliminary discussions with colleagues in France, The Center administers an undergraduate degree in Public Policy email India, Brazil, China, and Sweden in the hopes of facilitating and American Institutions as well as Master of Public Affairs and [email protected] easy interchange with public policy studies abroad. Master of Public Policy degrees. The Center brings together Find us on Facebook We’ll also be strengthening our ties around campus. distinguished professors in political science, education, economics, We’re looking to make more robust connections with the Follow us on Twitter sociology, community health, and related areas. Our faculty are a @TaubmanCtr Schools of Public Health and Medicine, Engineering, the mix of published scholars and experienced policy practitioners. Swearer Center for Public Service, Environmental Studies, © 2014 Taubman Center for Public Policy. We are most grateful to our benefactor, A. Alfred Taubman, a pioneer Urban Studies, History, Economics, the Watson Institute, Text, photography, design by Ellen Dessloch. in America’s shopping center industry who remains active in many and other departments and centers at Brown. We’ll be put- ting a new emphasis on governance, economic development, business, civic, cultural, and educational activities around the world. ethics, and law. After all, one of the joys of life at Brown is the collaboration across departments and centers. Above: The A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at And we’ll continue to pay special attention to issues of 67 George Street, Providence. Front cover: Senator Olympia Snowe speaks with governance. Policy plans don’t do anyone much good if they public policy students before the Noah Krieger ’93 Memorial Lecture. Back cover: Kimberly Fayette PPAI ’14 (second from left) helps carry the class of 2014 banner in are not carefully attuned to the real world of politics — Brown’s Commencement procession. Right: Photo of James Morone by Gabby Salazar. and markets. 2013–2014 ANNUAL REPORT l 1 CONTENTS FROM THE DIRECTOR Annual Report From the Director 3 Director Marion Orr reflects on a productive year and a shift in leadership at the Center. Undergraduate Program 4 Taking Leave Graduates in the concentration presented outstanding honors theses (including Amy Senia, right) and made a It has been my privilege to be steward of the Taubman number of contributions at Brown and beyond. Center for the past six years. Year after year, I have been awed by the enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity, and achievements Master’s Program 10 of the students and faculty associated with the Center, and Our graduate students aided the community through this year has been no different. government consulting, capstone projects, and more. 4 In this report, we feature some of our undergraduate con- centrators, among them Todd Harris, Brown’s outgoing student Lectures and Events 18 council president; Jean McCabe, a top-ranked college debater; Marion Orr and A number of top policy experts and politicians, and Sam Gilman, who co-founded a national political advo- Senator Olympia including Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, right, Snowe, who cacy group for millenials. As I write this, eleven students are delivered this year’s came to campus this year. engaging in internships around the country and abroad Krieger Lecture. through the Happy and John Hazen White, Sr. internship Public Opinion Polls 22 program. The program provides financial support for stu- The Center’s statewide and city polls gauged dents to pursue an unpaid summer internship with a public, Our faculty has had an extremely productive year. A major public opinion on issues affecting Rhode Island. private sector, or nonprofit organization involved in the for- highlight is the publication of The Witch Hunt Narrative: mulation, implementation, or evaluation of public policy. Politics, Psychology and the Sexual Abuse of Children, a book Faculty News 23 authored by my esteemed colleague Ross Cheit. Taubman faculty, including Ross Cheit, right, 18 Two master’s capstone projects reached far The product of 15 years of research conducted with have published and presented ground-breaking the assistance of 81 Brown students, the book was research that will shape tomorrow’s policy debates. beyond Rhode Island’s borders, to the published by Oxford University Press and subse- White House Office of Management and Budget quently reviewed in the New York Times. Alumni Careers 26 This year, we welcome Postdoctoral Research Career news from Taubman alumni, including and BRAC Microfinance in Bangladesh. Associate Steven White, who earned his PhD from Arsalan Faheem MPP ’10, right. Columbia University. Professor White’s research Our master’s students have been active in the greater Rhode examines the impact of World War II on civil rights, how Commencement 2014 32 Island community — our own “learning laboratory” — non-southern, state-level Democratic elites viewed civil Photographs from the annual Pre-Campus through research projects with Brown’s Center for Prisoner rights in the immediate postwar period, and the development Dance Mixer. Health and Human Rights, the Rhode Island Public Expen- of agricultural taxation in the post-bellum South. He will 26 23 diture Council, and the Senate Fiscal Office, among many teach Race and Public Policy this fall. other organizations. This year, two master’s capstone projects This year completes my second and final three-year term reached far beyond Rhode Island’s borders, to the White as director of the Center. Next year, I will be on sabbatical House Office of Management and Budget and BRAC Micro- leave. During the past six years, the Center has continued to finance in Bangladesh. carry out its mission of training students to better under- In February, it was my honor to welcome Senator Olympia stand public policy. The Dean of the Faculty has appointed Snowe to campus to deliver the Noah Krieger ’93 Memorial my long-time colleague Professor James Morone to succeed Lecture. She spoke about her efforts to foster bipartisanship me as director. Jim is an outstanding scholar of public policy. and move our country forward through her political reform I am looking forward to returning to the Taubman faculty work with the Bipartisan Policy Center and tirelessly an- in the fall of 2015. swered questions long after concluding her formal presenta- tion. The Center’s lunchtime lecture series, which features Marion E. Orr academics and practitioners presenting new policy research, Director and Frederick Lippitt Professor of Public Policy 32 16 drew crowds to 67 George Street this year. Professor of Political Science and Urban Studies 2 l A. ALFRED TAUBMAN CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS • BROWN.EDU/TAUBMAN-CENTER 2013–2014 ANNUAL REPORT l 3 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM SENIOR AWARDS Eyes on the Prize This year, the Center awarded prizes to two outstanding seniors. Established in honor of Noah Krieger ’93, the Krieger Prize recognizes a graduating senior for academic achievement in the concentration. The Frederick Lippitt Prize, in honor of the late Mr. Lippitt’s long career in public service, recognizes a student dedicated to public service. Alvina Pillai opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. In 2013, Noah Krieger Prize for Academic Excellence he interned at Alameda County Probation, where he devel- oped case plans for youth offenders. “Since graduating in Pillai graduated with honors and won the Krieger Prize for December, my efforts have focused on racial and economic her outstanding senior thesis “The Role of School Resource justice.