Brenda Bushouse, associate professor of political science and public policy, has received the 2011 Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize for her book, Universal Preschool: Policy Change, Stability, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Virginia Hodgkinson Research Prize is awarded annually by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) for the best book on the nonprofit sector that informs policy and practice.
The committee making the award noted that “in addition to the obvious merits of the work as research, [we are] impressed by your strong and well-considered discussions of the policy implications of your findings.”
ARNOVA is a national organization founded in 1971 to bring together theory and practice related to the third sector and is one of the premier associations for scholars conducting research on nonprofits.
The prize recognizes the pioneering role of Virginia Hodgkinson in the research on philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. In her role as vice president of research at Independent Sector, Virginia played a leading part in advancing our understanding of the role of the nonprofit sector in the United States and abroad. She also was instrumental in developing many of the important institutions and organizations supporting research on philanthropy, volunteering and nonprofit organizations and was a mentor to many scholars and policymakers in the field.
Bushouse is an expert on the national universal preschool movement. Universal Preschool: Policy Change, Stability and the Pew Charitable Trusts was published by SUNY Press and examines the rise of state-funded preschool education and the role of private foundations in policy change.
Bushouse is a past recipient of an Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy (New Zealand) and has served as a researcher for Zero to Three, a national nonprofit that advocates for infants and toddlers.
Her current research is on governance issues and how they impact nonprofit accountability, effectiveness, and decision-making in nonprofits. Prior to coming to UMass, professor Bushouse worked in economic development for both local and federal government.
Bushouse will receive the ARNOVA prize at an awards luncheon on November 18.