The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Category: Events

Watch for CPPA events, such as guest speakers, throughout the semester.

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Events

March 6 Panel to Address Popularity of Local Foods

Everyone from school cafeteria workers to First Lady Michelle Obama seems to be talking about local food these days. But is this just an upper-middle class consumer trend, or is a long-term social movement taking root? Is it actually healthier to eat locally grown foods? What role does the food industry have in creating our current food system, and how can industry help to improve our food system?

To address these questions and more, the UMass Amherst Food Access Research and Engagement (FARE) Partnership is hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 6, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The event is titled “Local Food: Cultivating an Economy, an Industry or a Movement?” and will be held in Campus Center 165-69.

Each panelist comes from a different department on campus, bringing with him or her a unique and valuable perspective on local food systems.

M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of economics and director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA), will moderate.

The FARE Partnership convenes scholars, community partners, policymakers and students to create multidisciplinary initiatives that promote healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems, from production to consumption. This event is coordinated by CPPA, the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at UMass Amherst.

 

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Events Faculty Research Springfield Initiative

Panel Explores Research in and Partnership with City of Springfield

About 60 members of the UMass faculty and staff and the wider Pioneer Valley community attended a panel discussion last week that addressed ways that social scientists from the university are conducting research in and partnering with the city of Springfield, Mass. Two members of the Center for Public Policy and Administration faculty sat on the panel.

Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy welcomed the audience, reminding the crowd that UMass has a long history of working with the neighboring towns and communities in mutual partnership. He stressed that the relationship can’t be one way, and that UMass has neither the funds nor the ability to fix widespread problems by itself. But the chancellor also said that he remains optimistic about the work that UMass can do in Springfield.

“As a land grant university, we can’t change everything, but we can be the catalyst,” Subbaswamy said.

That is the idea behind the UMass-Springfield partnership, which was formalized in 2010. At that time, university and city officials agreed to promote collaborations that would lead to the revitalization of Springfield’s economy. The goals of the partnership include positioning the city in the long term as a center for environmentally beneficial green industries; boosting the city’s arts and creative economy; and expanding relevant university teaching and outreach initiatives.

CPPA Researcher Fred Rose, one of last week’s panelists, is directly involved with efforts to revive Springfield’s economy. Rose co-directs the Wellspring Collaborative, an economic development project that aims to strengthen the area’s local economy by channeling the purchasing power of Springfield’s largest employers through new worker-owned businesses in city neighborhoods.

Another panel participant was Assistant Professor Frank Sleegers (landscape architecture and regional planning), who works with the Springfield-based UMass Design Center. The center is a collaborative effort between UMass Extension, the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, the Art and Architecture program and the City of Springfield Planning Department. Together, they are working to revitalize the cultural and commercial heart of the city.

The final panelist was Associate Professor Sylvia Brandt (resource economics and public policy), who spoke about childhood asthma in Springfield. Through partnerships with Springfield-area health care facilities, Brandt has worked directly with many families in the city who have children with asthma. She cited that Springfield is the 12th worst city in the U.S. to live in for asthma sufferers, because manufacturing and traffic-related pollution, among other factors, irritate their sensitive airways.

The panel was hosted by the UMass Institute for Social Science Research. By highlighting the work of three social scientists who are conducting research through public engagement projects in Springfield, the event aimed to address the needs and strengths of the city, and to assess the current state of the UMass-Springfield partnership.

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Care policy Events Faculty Research

Bushouse to Speak During “Mothers in Academia” Panel

Associate Professor Brenda Bushouse (political science and public policy) will speak on a panel called “Mothers in Academia” on Friday, Feb. 15, in Campus Center Room 803 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The panel is presented by the UMass Center for Teaching and Faculty Development’s Mutual Mentoring Initiative. It will feature contributors to the forthcoming book Mothers in Academia (Columbia University Press, May 2013) who will discuss their experiences with the conditions of working motherhood and academic life.

Panelists include:

  • Kirsten Isgro, SUNY Plattsburgh
  • Vanessa Adel, UMass Amherst
  • Wendy Wilde, UMass Amherst
  • Allia Matta, CUNY LaGuardia Community College
  • Brenda Bushouse, UMass Amherst
  • Mari Castañeda, UMass Amherst, moderator
Categories
Environmental policy Events Faculty Research

Brandt to Discuss Traffic, Pollution and Smart Growth in Faculty Colloquium

On Feb. 4, Sylvia Brandt will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “The Costs of Traffic-Related Pollution in Los Angeles: Implications for Smart Growth.”

Brandt is an associate professor of resource economics and public policy. Her research focuses on two areas where traditional economic theories have failed to solve difficult problems in the allocation of public goods: fisheries management and chronic illness. Brandt also considers how policymakers can increase public welfare by increasing economic efficiency, policy effectiveness, or distributive fairness.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s spring 2013 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

Categories
Events Faculty Research

CPPA Announces Spring 2013 Faculty Colloquium Series

The spring 2013 CPPA Faculty Colloquium Series offers an exciting lineup of accomplished researchers who will speak on a diversity of topics that have significant policy implications. This semester’s speakers will talk about the health care costs of pollution; land use and ownership in Gullah communities; Detroit labor; and affirmative action.

The talks are informal and often are about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

February 4
Sylvia Brandt (resource economics and public policy)
“The Costs of Traffic-Related Pollution in Los Angeles: Implications for Smart Growth”

March 4
Elizabeth Brabec (landscape architecture and regional planning)
“Commonage in Private Holdings: Land Use and Land Ownership in the Gullah Communities of South Carolina”

April 1
Lisa Saunders (economics)
“Women, Men and Work in Detroit After the Exodus”

April 29
Fidan Kurtulus (economics)
“The Impact of Eliminating Affirmative Action on Minority and Female Employment and Occupational Representation: A Natural Experiment Approach Using State-Level Affirmative Action Ban Laws”

Categories
Environmental policy Events Science, technology & society

Gano to Represent CPPA’s STS Initiative at Wilson Center Forum

CPPA lecturer Gretchen Gano will speak next week at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars about engaging the public in evaluating technology use in science and in social decision-making.

This forum, titled “Technology Assessment and Public Participation: From TA to pTA,” will be webcast live from the Wilson Center on Thursday, Dec. 6, from noon to 2 p.m. Gano and other speakers will explore ways to change the current paradigm whereby everyday people pay for technology through taxes and consumer purchases, but rarely are involved in assessing that same technology in a meaningful and influential way. The recent World Wide Views on Biodiversity project will be used as an example of how the public can be effectively engaged in these kinds of discussions.

As part of the World Wide Views project, Gano and two CPPA students worked last summer and earlier this fall to recruit 100 participants from across Massachusetts for a day-long discussion about environmental regulations and policies. The Massachusetts event, held at the Museum of Science in Boston, was one of 34 that took place that day in 25 countries around the globe. Results from all of the sessions were then compiled into a report, which was released in October at the meeting in Hyderabad, India, of the U.N. Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

CPPA has been able to participate in this innovative global project thanks to a university Public Service Endowment grant to the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, a CPPA-affiliated endeavor that conducts multidisciplinary research on the intersection of science and technology with today’s social, political and economic issues.

Other speakers at next week’s event include David Rejeski, director of the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program; Richard Worthington, professor of politics and chair of the Program in Public Policy Analysis at Pomona College; Darlene Cavalier, founder of Science Cheerleader and SciStarter and contributing editor of Discover Magazine; David Sittenfeld, Forum program manager at the Museum of Science, Boston; Tim Persons, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and Mikko Rask, head of research at Finland’s National Consumer Research Centre.

Categories
Environmental policy Events Faculty Research

Vogel to Discuss Development on the Connecticut River in Faculty Colloquium

On Dec. 3, Eve Vogel will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “The New Deal vs. Yankee Independence: The Failure of Comprehensive Development on the Connecticut River and its Legacies for River Management.”

Vogel is an assistant professor of geography in the Department of Geosciences. Her research focuses on the human-environmental dynamics and histories of rivers, and she explores the ways that public policy and regulations intersect with ecological processes and social needs.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s fall 2012 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

Categories
CPPA & university administration Events

UMass Community to Honor Rep. John Olver During Nov. 19 Symposium

The University of Massachusetts Amherst will host the campus community and area organizations, elected officials and residents as it honors retiring Rep. John Olver during a symposium on Monday, Nov. 19. For a full schedule of the day’s events, click here.

Through panel discussions, lunchtime tributes and a reception, this symposium will highlight the many contributions that Olver has made to the western Massachusetts region during his 21 years in Congress. In particular, the event will focus on the areas of transit-oriented economic development, environmental conservation and sustainability, renewable energy, human rights and the Knowledge Corridor, the swath of the Connecticut River Valley that runs roughly from Amherst, Mass., to Hartford, Conn. The symposium will also recognize Olver’s donation of his papers to the W.E.B. Dubois Library at UMass Amherst.

CPPA Director M.V. Lee Badgett will speak about Olver’s strong record at home and abroad when it comes to fighting for social justice and defending human rights. Earlier this year, for example, Olver was arrested with actor George Clooney while protesting in front of the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C. Olver, Clooney and other entertainers and elected officials were speaking out against the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

CPPA faculty members Jane Fountain (political science), Michael Ash (economics) and Charles Schweik (environmental conservation) will moderate the panels and introduce those participating.

Registration for the symposium is required and space is limited. To reserve your space, please contact the Office of External Relations and University Events at (413) 577-1101 or events@admin.umass.edu by Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

Categories
Events Faculty Research

Pader to Address Housing Policies and Discrimination in Faculty Colloquium

On Nov. 5, Ellen Pader will discuss her recent work in a talk titled “Household Definitions, Zoning and Discrimination: How Housing Policies can Prevent Us from Being our Sibling’s Keeper, Create Waste and Cause Hate.”

Pader is an associate professor in the Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department and is a member of the CPPA faculty. Her research focuses on the cultural, social and political facets of housing policy and design, particularly housing discrimination. Pader teaches courses on social issues in planning from inter-ethnic and cross-cultural perspectives, including identifying discriminatory practices on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender and class; social change; housing policy and social policy; and critical legal applications to social policy.

This lecture is part of CPPA’s fall 2012 Faculty Colloquium series, which consists of informal talks, often about works-in-progress, with presenters providing a significant amount of time for audience discussion and feedback. All talks will be in Thompson 620, from noon to 1 p.m. They are open to the public and brown bag lunches are welcome.

Categories
Events Faculty Honors & Awards Faculty Research Science, technology & society

Fountain to Give UMass Distinguished Faculty Lecture on Oct. 24

Professor Jane Fountain (political science and public policy) will kick off this year’s UMass Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series on Wednesday, Oct. 24 with a talk titled “Technological Change as a Variable in State Development.” The lecture will start at 4 p.m. and will be held in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center.

This talk will examine the implications of technology for the future of the state, citizenship, democracy, the relationship between individual and society, and personal freedom. Fountain will show how information and communication technologies could help solve policy problems such as disaster preparedness, disease outbreaks and environmental degradation. She will also explore the impact of powerful surveillance and aggregation systems, which now track individuals and groups at a level of detail never before imaginable.

After her lecture, Fountain will be presented with the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest recognition bestowed to faculty by the campus. This event is free and open to the public.

Fountain is an internationally recognized expert when it comes to using information and communication technologies to transform democracies and improve government services around the globe. In recent years she has served as chair and vice chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government. Last spring, she was named to Gov. Deval Patrick’s Council for Innovation, an appointed body that advises the governor on ways to improve government efficiency and use technology to streamline delivery of services to people, businesses and local governments.

In addition to these posts, Fountain directs the National Center for Digital Government and heads the Science, Technology and Society Initiative, both of which are based at the Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA). The National Center was created with support from the National Science Foundation to develop research and infrastructure for the emerging field of information technology and governance. The Science, Technology and Society Initiative conducts multidisciplinary research on the intersection of science and technology with today’s social, political and economic issues.

CPPA is the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The CPPA program is the 2011 recipient of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration’s Social Equity Award, created to honor a public administration, affairs or policy program with a comprehensive approach to integrating social equity into its academic and practical work.