January 17, 2013
The Washington Post, in an Associated Press story, mentioned that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger founded the USC Schwarzenegger Institute on State and Global Policy last year. Schwarzenegger hopes to work on reforming immigration, energy and environmental policies, the story noted.
December 23, 2012
The San Jose Mercury News quoted Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about the issue of gun control after the Newtown, Conn., shootings.
December 3, 2012
The Washington Post featured research by Dana Goldman, USC Price professor and director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and colleagues which found that President Obama's Affordable Care Act could raise health insurance premiums despite insurers competing with one another. "Virginia had one of the most competitive markets in 2001, with its two largest insurers controlling only 25 percent of the market, yet premiums in the state increased nearly 140 percent over the period," Goldman and colleagues wrote.
November 23, 2012
The New York Times ran an op-ed by Professor Dana Goldman and colleagues, who wrote that the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act may be too small to be successful. "Greater competition in the insurance industry -- either through health insurance exchanges or other measures -- may not lower insurance premiums," they wrote. "Weakening insurers' bargaining power could instead translate into higher costs for all of us in the form of higher premiums."
November 4, 2012
NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran a column by Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy about competition between Proposition 30 and Proposition 38. Jeffe cited the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll.
November 3, 2012
The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School of Public Policy about Gov. Jerry Brown's strategy for getting Proposition 30 passed.
September 11, 2012
Three students in the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy were immersed in the world of nonprofit educational organizations in Los Angeles this summer, gaining valuable experience and direction for their futures while contributing to educational advancement. Jessica Papia MPP '12, Amira Resnick and Diana Wiley were among 321 graduate students and early career professionals nationwide who were awarded 10-week fellowships by Education Pioneers, an organization that seeks to improve and revamp K-12 education.
August 28, 2012
NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran a column by Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about the Republican National Convention. Jeffe noted that former California Gov. Pete Wilson has been named an honorary California campaign chair. Wilson, who supported Proposition 187 targeting illegal immigrants, will not win GOP Latino support, Jeffe wrote. "The Romney campaign's choice of a governor 14 years out of office, who has become a symbol for the GOP's hard immigration stance, sends a clear signal that the national GOP has abandoned Latino outreach," she added.
August 6, 2012
Voice of San Diego ran a column by Adjunct faculty member Murtaza Baxamusa of the USC Price School on a lack of affordable housing in San Diego. He wrote about changes that were put into place to improve the problem, and how the city is faring a decade later. "With the largest share of the increased cost of living being housing, much leadership is needed in the city to balance the income gap between home and work," Baxamusa wrote.
July 26, 2012
NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran a column by Price Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the role timing played in getting the tax-limiting Proposition 13 passed -- and how the same could be true of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative. Ideological beliefs about how government should be run led to the passage of Proposition 13, Jeffe wrote. The fight over the governor's initiative "has ideological overtones -- and they're also about the size and role of government," she added.
June 26, 2012
La Opinion quoted Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School of Public Policy about the ways in which President Obama and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney have approached the immigration debate.
May 17, 2012
NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran an op-ed by Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about the role of same-sex marriage in Californian elections. "A candidate running in the open primary -- against not only opponents from other parties and independents, but against members of his or her own party -- may try to use it as a means to differentiate from others in the race," Jeffe wrote.
April 23, 2012
The Wall Street Journal quoted Professor Roberto Suro of the USC Price School, USC Annenberg School, and John Pitkin of USC's Population Dynamics Research Group about immigration policies in the United States.
April 18, 2012
NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV ran an op-ed by Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about California's state and community colleges. "Today, higher education is fighting for state budget scraps. The anti-tax movement's hammerlock on the revenue side has squeezed higher ed resources to the breaking point," Jeffe wrote. "Tuition and fees at the University of California and State Universities have skyrocketed and some elite schools at UC's major research campuses are openly mulling going private."
March 14, 2012
U.S. News & World Report featured several USC schools and programs in its 2013 edition of "Best Graduate Schools." The USC Price School was ranked No. 4 for Health Policy and Management; No. 6 in Public Affairs, up from No. 7 last year; No. 6 for Public Management Administration; No. 7 for City Management and Urban Policy; No. 7 for Nonprofit Management; No. 9 in Social Policy; No. 12 for Public Policy Analysis; and No. 21 for Public Finance and Budgeting.
March 5, 2012
The San Diego-Tribune quoted Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC Price School about a proposed amendment to the California legislature.
February 17, 2012
The Huffington Post noted that Professor Roberto Suro of the USC Price School of Public Policy and the Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism attended a Washington, D.C., roundtable on Latino law and civil rights issues, and cited him regarding Latinos' public policy concerns. Suro is director of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, the story noted.
February 17, 2012
The Atlantic cited a study co-authored by Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett of the USC Price School of Public Policy finding that four out of 10 knowledge workers don't have college degrees.
February 9, 2012
Gridlock in Washington politics is not an American problem but an American achievement, political commentator and journalist George Will said as part of the Dennis F. and Brooks Holt Distinguished Lecture hosted by the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. The Holt Lecture aims to illuminate the intersection of public policy and communication.
February 6, 2012
Hsu Jen-hui, dean of the College of Management at Shih Hsin University in Taipei, has been appointed Taiwan's deputy finance minister. Hsu, a graduate of the doctoral program at USC Price, specializes in local government finance and new institutional economics, the story noted.
January 20, 2012
NPR News San Diego affiliate KPBS-FM interviewed Professor Dowell Myers of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy about the U.S. needing an assimilation policy for new immigrants. The story cited an op-ed that Myers wrote for the New York Times.
January 16, 2012
International Business Times quoted USC Price School Professor Dowell Myers about the political value of the illegal immigration issue.
January 12, 2012
The Dallas Morning News highlighted an op-ed by Professor Dowell Myers of the USC Price School of Public Policy about the U.S. needing to shift from an immigration policy of border enforcement to an immigrant policy of education and assimilation.
January 11, 2012
The New York Times ran an op-ed by Professor Dowell Myers of the USC Price School of Public Policy, who wrote that the U.S. needs to shift from having an immigration policy to having an immigrant policy. At the moment when the country is slashing education budgets, it needs to be redirecting border enforcement dollars toward community colleges, assimilation programs and Pell Grants, he added. "Indeed, with millions of people retiring every week, America's immigrants and their children are crucial to future economic growth," Myers wrote. Research by Myers and John Pitkin of USC's Population Dynamics Research Group found that Latinos in particular are making great strides in assimilating.
December 14, 2011
The more the president talks about saying no to drugs, the more the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. attorneys, and state and local agencies say yes to arrests and convictions. University of Georgia professor Andrew Whitford shared these and other findings at the Governance Salon Series sponsored by the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise. The presentation focused on Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda: Constructing the War on Drugs, a book Whitford co-wrote with professor Jeffrey Yates of Binghamton University.
C-SPAN featured a centennial celebration of President Ronald Reagan held earlier this year that highlighted a partnership between the USC Price School and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. USC Price School Dean Jack Knott said, "It's been a great opportunity for my school and the university to partner in putting on the first event of the Reagan Centennial Celebration and to focus on an academic examination of President Reagan's life and legacy." Knott added that USC Annenberg School Dean Ernest J. Wilson III and Dan Mazmanian of the Price School played an important role in the event.
November 5, 2011
The Los Angeles Times ran a Q&A with Dana Gioia, Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at USC and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Gioia said that he strove for reconciliation when he presided over the NEA, hoping to help people see why supporting the arts is the right thing to do. "We created a bicameral, bipartisan national consensus to support the NEA, not simply the budget but also the authority of the agency," Gioia added. He said that at USC, he hopes to teach a class on how young artists can make a living in the United States.
October 30, 2011
CNN quoted SPPD Senior Fellow, Sherry Bebitch Jeffe on the leaderless nature of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
August 14, 2011
The San Diego Union Tribune ran an op-ed by SPPD alum Chris Van Gorder, MPA '86. Van Gorder wrote, if a long-term plan is not agreed upon by Dec. 23, "the Defense Department and health care delivery - doctors and hospitals - will pay a significant price... Congress has designed a spending or cost reduction 'trigger' that will cut military spending by billions in addition to cutting Medicare reimbursement to hospitals and physicians by 2 percent, or $50 billion a year on top of cuts already planned in current legislation. This solution puts both the military and health care organizations in the middle of the debt-ceiling debate." Van Gorder is president and CEO of Scripps Health and the immediate past chair of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
July 12, 2011
NPR San Diego affiliate KPBS-FM cited SPDD Professor Dowell Myers regarding California's Proposition 13, which limits taxes on real estate.
July 10, 2011
The Los Angeles Times reported that after L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa read an article about SPPD Professor Dowell Myers, he talked with Myers about the professor's findings regarding California's Proposition 13, which limits taxes on real estate.
July 6, 2011
The Wall Street Journal quoted Richard Green, SPPD professor and director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, about the federal government's efforts to cut back on its involvement in the mortgage market.
June 21, 2011
The Alaska Dispatch quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about Controller John Chiang's ruling that California state lawmakers must forfeit their salaries from June 15 until they pass a balanced budget.
June 15, 2011
The Bay Citizen quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the impact of California's budget crisis on its higher education system, noting that Jeffe studied the implementation of the Master Plan in 1966 as a staff member of the Joint Committee on Higher Education.
June 14, 2011
The Jewish Journal cited Professor Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development regarding California's Proposition 13, and mentioned the Annual Demographic Workshop at USC.
June 8, 2011
The Sacramento Bee stated that editors for the new online publication, "Statistics, Politics and Policy," will come from highly regarded statistics and public policy programs such as those at USC, Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon.
June 1, 2011
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Professor Dowell Myers about California's Proposition 13, which limits taxes on real estate.
June 1, 2011
The Orange County Register cited SPPD Professor Dowell Myers regarding California's Proposition 13, which limits taxes on real estate.
May 31, 2011
The Huffington Post ran an op-ed co-written by SPPD Professor Dana Goldman and SPPD graduate student Veeral Shah, about Congress' attitude toward Medicare. "Both Republicans and Democrats agree that rising Medicare costs are the principal long-term driver of the federal deficit," Goldman and Shah wrote. "They just don't agree on how to rein in the spending."
May 26, 2011
KPCC-FM featured a recent conference on public pensions that was held at USC. Part of the problem is that the public pension issue has become a political lightning rod, said Juliet Musso, associate professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. "People either view pension reform as being anti-union on the one hand, or they perceive it as being pro-government, pro-union, and people vilify public employees as getting pension benefits that are too generous," she added.
May 18, 2011
Education has been driven by special-interest groups with no one advocating for the children, said Michelle Rhee, former D.C. schools chancellor and founder of StudentsFirst, at a recent Distinguished Speaker Series event by the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy. "She shared the lessons she's learned in the trenches and had some insights about what's possible," said James M. Ferris, director of the center and professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development.
April 29, 2011
Judith Feder, one of the nation's foremost experts on the U.S. health insurance system, discussed the Affordable Care Act and Medicare on April 14 at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center as part of the 2011 seminar series at the USC Schaeffer Center, jointly housed at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the School of Pharmacy. Drawing on her political experience and health policy expertise, Feder provided an overview of the 2010 health reform law and described the challenges facing those who remain uninsured.
April 12, 2011
Bloomberg News quoted SPPD Professor Richard Green about a new Los Angeles ordinance that will limit new hillside homes to roughly 3,000 square feet on a typical 5,000-square-foot lot. Green is director and chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
April 6, 2011
While the U.S. reforms its health care system, the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development is following suit with a revamp of its Master of Health Administration program. "We've revised the curriculum to emphasize some of the key areas that are going to be health system priorities for the foreseeable future: issues around the quality of care, health finance, health policy analysis, management and the use of health information technology," said Michael Nichol, director of graduate programs in health.
April 3, 2011
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about late legislative analyst A. Alan Post.
March 30, 2011
KPCC-FM's "AirTalk" featured research by SPPD Professor Gary Painter and Jill Cannon of the Public Policy Institute of California, which found that compared with half-day kindergarten, full-day programs provided no meaningful gains on second-grade test scores or English fluency for English-language learners in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The story also highlighted a 2006 study by Painter and colleagues which indicated that while full-day kindergarten provided initial educational gains for kids and parents, by the third grade those who attended half-day classes had caught up to their peers. Painter is director of research of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
March 30, 2011
Bloomberg News quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about Gov. Jerry Brown's efforts to bridge California's spending gap.
March 25, 2011
Faculty, staff and graduate students from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development took part in a focus-group discussion of proposed regulations for President Obama's executive order to reform student pathways into government. SPPD Dean Jack Knott played an integral part in calling for this reform of federal hiring in his role as chair of NASPAA's policy issues committee.
March 24, 2011
A longer kindergarten day offers few educational benefits for most students learning English as a second language, a new USC study shows, despite a broad national push toward an extended day to help at-risk children. The study, co-authored by SPPD Professor Gary Painter, published March 9 in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, found no meaningful gains on second-grade test scores or improvement in English fluency for the bulk of English-language learners who spent a full day in kindergarten compared to those in a half-day class.
March 16, 2011
When it comes to regulating health care, the common perception is that Democrats trust the government while Republicans rely on the market. But as Daniel McFadden - winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economics and Presidential Professor of Health Economics at USC - recently explained to USC students, faculty and staff, government interference and private market shortcomings are both "serious contributors to the dysfunction of our health care system." In his first presentation since joining USC's faculty, McFadden presented an economist's view of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act during a recent seminar at SPPD.
February 17, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about California Gov. Jerry Brown.
February 14, 2011
With the help of Keith Hwang MS '83, Ph.D '92, the Cheonggye stream -- buried for more than a half-century beneath six kilometers of elevated highway -- is flowing again in downtown Seoul. Hwang, president of the Korean Transport Institute, recently visited USC to give a presentation on the stream restoration and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Jack H. Knott, the C. Erwin and Ione L. Piper Dean and professor at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
February 11, 2011
Ronald Reagan's life, leadership and legacy were analyzed at USC by former members of the Reagan administration, journalists who covered the Reagan era, political scholars and historians at a conference Feb. 1-2 as part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. The event was co-presented by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
February 2, 2011
When hospitalized for a major acute medical condition -- including heart attack, stroke and pneumonia -- patients were less likely to die in high-spending hospitals, according to a new study appearing in the Feb. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings inform the ongoing discussion on how to curb health care spending. SPPD Research Professor John Romley, an economist at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, authored the study.
January 24, 2011
To commemorate former President and California Gov. Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday,
the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the Reagan Presidential
Foundation have partnered to present the Reagan Centennial Academic Symposium, a
two-day examination of his leadership and legacy, Feb. 1 and 2. The symposium will
bring more than 25 outstanding scholars, pundits and former Reagan staffers to the USC
campus and conclude with a special panel at the Reagan Library moderated by former
NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw Feb. 2. All events are free and open to USC students,
faculty and staff, as well as the public.
January 20, 2011
USA Today highlighted the upcoming "Ronald Reagan Centennial
Celebration Academic Symposium on Leadership and Legacy," presented by the USC
School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Foundation, and quoted Richard Reeves of the USC Annenberg School about the paper
he will present at the event.
January 10, 2011
Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel McFadden has been appointed the Presidential Professor of Health Economics at USC by President C. L. Max Nikias. The title of Presidential Professor is a rare USC honor bestowed upon an individual who combines the highest academic recognition with landmark contributions to society. McFadden will have joint appointments at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the Department of Economics at USC College. He will work with Dana Goldman, who holds the Norman Topping/National Medical Enterprises Chair in Medicine and Public Policy at SPPD and director of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
January 10, 2011
City News Service reported that Nobel Prize-winning economist David McFadden has joined the faculties of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and USC College, and was named by USC President C. L. Max Nikias to the post of Presidential Professor of Health Economics. "His appointment reflects the university's solid commitment to its economics program, as well as its goal of strengthening the social sciences at USC," Nikias said. "He will be a resource and a colleague for the many USC scholars and graduate students who study economics, statistics, choice modeling and psychology," added USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett.
January 7, 2011
Pharmaceutical companies and generic drug manufacturers have long been at odds over regulations about data exclusivity, the period of time before generic manufacturers can make use of valuable clinical trial data. A new study by USC health affairs researchers -- the first to calculate the financial and social costs of limiting access to trial data -- found that extending the term of exclusive access will lead to higher drug costs in the short term but also to more than 200 extra drug approvals and to greater life expectancy in the next several decades. SPPD Professor Dana Goldman was the study's lead author.
January 3, 2011
La Opinion quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about California Governor Jerry Brown.
December 20, 2010
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Professor Richard Green about the home mortgage tax deduction. Green directs the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, the story noted.
December 8, 2010
RedOrbit featured an upcoming USC Center for Sustainable Cities event, at which Daniel Mazmanian of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development will present a report on climate change adaptation.
December 8, 2010
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Terry Cooper was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Cooper, the Maria B. Crutcher Professor in Citizenship and Democratic Values at SPPD, was formally inducted Nov. 18 at the academy's annual conference in Washington, D.C. Fellows are chosen for their sustained and outstanding contribution to the field of public administration through public service or scholarship.
December 6, 2010
On Nov. 17, the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, the USC Office of State Government Relations and the USC College's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics presented a panel discussion in Sacramento titled "A Transition of Governance in a Time of Crisis." The event, the fifth and last in a series on "Civil Discourse on the California 2010 Elections," drew more than 100 attendees to the USC State Capital Center.
December 5, 2010
The Hartford Courant mentioned a research project by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development graduate students, on economic development policies in Hartford, Conn.
November 29, 2010
The State of California's advisory panel on climate change adaptation, led by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Daniel Mazmanian, recently released the report "Preparing for the Effects of Climate Change - A Strategy for California." Mazmanian, the holder of SPPD's Bedrosian Chair in Governance, whose research and teaching focus largely on environmental policy, served as co-director for the Pacific Council on International Policy's Task Force on Adaptation to Climate Change and helped draft the council's 71-page report.
November 21, 2010
The Sacramento Bee highlighted research by SPPD Professor David Sloane and a colleague about the community impact of an anti-gang injunction, and quoted Sloane on the subject.
November 19, 2010
AOL News quoted SPPD Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about the defeat of California's marijuana legalization proposition.
November 5, 2010
The New York Times cited research by SPPD Professor Glenn Melnick on effects of the allocation of market power among insurers and hospitals. Melnick found that health plan market concentration reduces hospital prices, while higher hospital market concentration results in higher prices. The widely held notion that more insurers in a market area will reduce the premiums paid by the insured isn't supported by economic theory or empirical research, the story stated.
November 5, 2010
The New York Times cited research by SPPD Professor Glenn Melnick on effects of the allocation of market power among insurers and hospitals. Melnick found that health plan market concentration reduces hospital prices, while higher hospital market concentration results in higher prices. The widely held notion that more insurers in a market area will reduce the premiums paid by the insured isn't supported by economic theory or empirical research, the story stated.
November 3, 2010
The United States faces a Herculean challenge in trying to bend the curve on health costs, and it may take a national emergency before something finally can be done about it, health policy experts warned at a recent conference hosted by the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC. The Schaeffer Center is a collaboration between the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the USC School of Pharmacy.
October 29, 2010
With foreclosures taking a toll on homeownership, Richard Green -- USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor, and director and chair of the Lusk Center for Real Estate -- emphasized that the rental housing market has serious problems as well. Green delivered research findings during the White House conference on rental housing in October.
October 26, 2010
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development hosted a panel -- featuring SPPD faculty, public officials and Los Angeles Times writers -- that addressed the checks and balances needed to prevent government corruption scandals like the one in the City of Bell. The event was co-sponsored by the American Society for Public Administration and the USC Judith and John Bedrosian Center for Governance and the Public Enterprise.
October 18, 2010
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development faculty members Richard Little and Mark Pisano spoke at a "Funding and Financing Solutions for Surface Transportation in the Coming Decade" conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. The conference, held last month, was co-sponsored by the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy.
October 14, 2010
NBC Los Angeles news reporter Conan Nolan and political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe addressed the highly contested gubernatorial and senate races, as well as the ballot initiatives, during a recent discussion hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The event, "The Political Future of California," was part of SPPD's 2010-11 Dean's Speaker Series, presented by the Athenian Society, the school's premier philanthropic support group.
October 6, 2010
The Sacramento Bee quoted Professor Dana Goldman about new legislation that would make California the first state to establish a health benefits exchange. Goldman is director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, the story noted.
October 5, 2010
Researchers at the USC METRANS Transportation Center and the USC Integrated Media Systems Center have received a three-year, $1.8 million grant from L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Authority to create an integrated data system that ultimately could improve traffic flows in and around Los Angeles. The work will include development of applications in regional planning, traffic management, system performance and policy analysis. METRANS is directed by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor and senior associate dean Genevieve Giuliano.
September 20, 2010
American Public Media's "Marketplace" interviewed SPPD Professor Dowell Myers about the place of undocumented workers in society.
September 16, 2010
On Sep. 8, the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development and the USC Office of Government and Civic Engagement co-sponsored a policy briefing for the Sacramento policymaking community featuring professor Dana Goldman. The event, which was held at the California Chamber of Commerce, drew more 110 guests from the state capitol, state agencies, local health-related private and non-profit organizations, as well as USC students and alumni.
August 27, 2010
NBC News San Diego affiliate KNSD-TV interviewed SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe on whether a proposal designed to facilitate voting by college students would benefit Democrats.
August 7, 2010
The New York Times quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe on how the overturning of Proposition 8 affects political strategy for the upcoming election.
July 26, 2010
Members of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development's class of 2010 are ascending the ranks at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, thanks to the Presidential Management Fellowship program. The PMF program, administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is designed to groom future government leaders.
July 26, 2010, 2010
In the latest Health Policy Outlook from the American Enterprise Institute and the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC, Schaeffer Center researchers and SPPD professors Dana Goldman and Darius Lakdawalla investigated whether geographic variations in use of health services and spending differed between Medicare and the private sector.
July 23, 2010
The Hill featured research by SPPD Associate Professor Darius Lakdawalla and Professor Dana Goldman that suggests that one of the main arguments of the healthcare reform debate, that regions of the country currently spending more on medical care without getting better results should emulate low-use areas, may be fundamentally flawed. The assumption is based on Medicare data but private health insurance plans show no such variations, according to the study by the researchers from USC's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and a University of Chicago colleague.
July 23, 2010
New greenhouse gas emissions policies at the federal level could generate as many as 2.5 million new jobs and $134 billion in economic activity in the United States while keeping energy costs down, according to a new report from the Center for Climate Strategies published jointly with Johns Hopkins University and co-written by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development research professor Adam Rose.
July 6, 2010
The Los Angeles Times quoted SPPD Professor Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, about an effort to mobilize Latino voters in Arizona.
June 25, 2010
The New York Times highlighted work by SPPD Professor Dowell Myers in a story on global migration. Myers has studied Proposition 55, a 2004 California ballot initiative that sought $12.3 billion in bond sales to relieve overcrowding and upgrade older schools. Myers found that voters who saw immigration as a burden were nearly 9 percentage points more likely to oppose the measure than those who called immigration a benefit. "That's a big effect -- it was almost enough to take it down," he said, adding that the measure passed with barely 50 percent of the vote.
June 18, 2010
National Public Radio interviewed SPPD Professor Dowell Myers about a proposal to raise the minimum retirement age for state workers.
June 10, 2010
The Bell Gardens Sun featured research by SPPD students Josefina Campos, Jasmine Kim and Lauren Yokomizo, who found that street vendors have thrived in Boyle Heights in part due to the compassion and complicity of residents and legally permitted businesses.
June 8, 2010
The Wall Street Journal cited Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about the passage of California's Proposition 14, which replaces party primaries with open elections.
June 7, 2010
The Financial Times (U.K.) quoted Richard Little, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about infrastructure spending included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Little is director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at USC, the story noted.
June 5, 2010
National Journal magazine quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about California politics. California is one of only three states that require a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature to approve a budget or increase taxes, making it very difficult to pass the kind of sweeping compromises needed to put the state on sound fiscal footing, the story noted. Term limits also contribute to the problem: Lawmakers can rely on bonds to finance state spending knowing that the bills won't come due until they've moved on, according the story. "You [approve] the bonds and get the political gain, and economic pain occurs when you are gone or in an office that is far away from Sacramento," Jeffe said.
May 28, 2010
Newsweek quoted Professor Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development about changes to the demographic trends that drove an influx of illegal Mexican immigrants to the United States in recent years.
May 24, 2010
Eleven graduate students representing the various master's programs in the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development launched the school's first student-adjudicated academic journal. The USC Policy, Planning, and Development Review, an online publication, aims to promote discourse among students of SPPD's professional degree programs by encouraging them to produce work that addresses important social topics.
May 14, 2010
The Los Angeles Times quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, about the role of California's lieutenant governor.
May 11, 2010
Bringing together diverse perspectives from across the health care industry, the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development held a panel discussion focusing on leadership in health care policy. Co-hosted by the SPPD Athenian Society and the Camden Group, the discussion touched on topics such as the role of emerging technology, the recently passed health care bill, and reasons for rising health care costs.
May 7, 2010
During spring semester, 15 graduate students from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development collaborated with students from the Technical University of Berlin on a comparative study of transit-adjacent urban redevelopment. "The overall focus of the Berlin planning studio was the large-scale redevelopment of inner-city rail station sites," said Deike Peters, a SPPD adjunct and director of the planning studio.
April 18, 2010
National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" interviewed SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about California's initiative process. "It's always been a part of the political DNA of California that we want to participate in democracy and we don't trust those special interests up there in Sacramento to respond to what citizens need," Jeffe said.
April 15, 2010
Nearly 30 percent of LAUSD students in English Language Learning programs are not reclassified as proficient by the end of middle school, according to a report by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute. More surprising, the majority of these students are born in the U.S. Six months after the report's release in October '09, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has announced the launch of an investigation to determine whether the district's ELL students are being denied equal educational opportunities. The San Francisco office will meet with USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor and TRPI president Harry Pachon to discuss the report's findings.
April 15, 2010
Yin Wang, a doctoral student at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, won the ninth annual paper award competition of the American Society for Public Administration's Section on Transportation Policy and Administration. She won the honor for her essay "Determinants of Utilization of Private Finance in Toll Road Development: Evidence From the United States."
April 12, 2010
The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage.
March 18, 2010
Covering many complex questions facing the nation in areas like the financial crisis, health care reform, transportation and regulation, Congressman Gary Miller spoke at a recent event sponsored by SPPD. The discussion was part of the Dean's Speaker Series presented by the SPPD Athenian Society.
March 17, 2010
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal quoted SPPD Professor Robert Myrtle about health care reform. "... until we have everyone covered with a standard level of care, it will not get any better," Myrtle said.
March 16, 2010
The Trojan League of Los Angeles showcased the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development on Feb. 27 at its annual benefit, which featured the theme "Creating Ideas That Shape the World." Each year, the alumnae group selects a distinguished USC department, school or individual to honor.
March 10, 2010
The Center for Sustainable Cities and its affiliated Sustainable Cities Graduate Certificate Program have been transferred from USC College to the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, where it will continue to engage in multidisciplinary research and education on one of the most pressing issues of our time: the environmental, social and economic sustainability challenges facing metropolitan regions.
February 19, 2010
The Christian Science Monitor quoted SPPD Professor Richard Green about the Obama aid package for homeowners facing foreclosures and how it may not be enough to fix the problem. Green is director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, the story noted.
February 4, 2010
The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development celebrated its 10th anniversary with a forum on "Philanthropic Leadership: Exploring Opportunities in Uncertain Times." More than 200 leaders from the nonprofit sector, government, business and academia attended the two-day conference. The keynote speaker was Sonal Shah, deputy assistant to the U.S. President and director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
January 30, 2010
The Columbus Dispatch quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the use of the filibuster in voting. In the story, Jeffe noted that if the filibuster is "used selectively by the minority as a means to check the majority, then it can result in good government. But if it's used consistently as a means to block movement, it could result in the same frustration and anger again we see in voters."
January 29, 2010
The Wall Street Journal quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Richard Little on California receiving stimulus funding to seed high-speed rail plans. "There's a huge push for electric systems in the state to get emission-free transportation," said Little, who directs the USC Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. Little also said it was "dicey" that California would be able to garner all the funding through conventional means; he expects other sources to be tapped, including more user fees, the story noted.
January 22, 2010
La Opinion quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about health care reform.
January 19, 2010
The New York Times ran an op-ed by SPPD Professor Dana Goldman and Aaron Edlin of UC Berkeley about health care reform. "Whenever we call our physicians, we can't get in to see them for several months. Our colleagues have a similar experience. This raises a simple question: Who is going to treat the approximately 30 million newly insured?" they wrote. "It isn't just physician practices that are full; nurses are also in short supply. The Institute of Medicine sounded the alarm about a shortage of health care professionals way back in 2002, and pointed out its adverse effects on the quality of care. When we asked one of our doctors if he will care for these newly insured, he said it won't be him he is plenty busy already unless someone offers him a lot of money. And that is precisely what will happen. Health care is not immune from the fundamental laws of supply and demand. If demand for care rises and supply cannot increase, then prices rise."
January 15, 2010
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development research professor Adam Rose and postdoctoral research associate Dan Wei have found that the implementation of the Michigan Climate Action Plan could do more than battle global warming. It could also give a much-needed boost to the state's economy -- creating a projected net increase of 129,000 jobs, a $25 billion net gain in the Gross State Product.
January 11, 2009
Peter Robertson was one of three USC professors who have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2009-10. Robertson spent four months in Brazil, where his research focused on the development of a network of people and organizations interested in promoting the sustainable development of tourism in Rio de Janeiro.
December 21, 2009
The Wall Street Journal noted that Professor Dana Goldman was one of two dozen economists who wrote a letter to Sen. Harry Reid expressing their support for his latest proposed health care reform bill. Goldman, who holds the Norman Topping/National Medical Enterprises Chair in Medicine and Public Policy at SPPD, directs of the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
December 18, 2009
La Opinion noted that Professor Dowell Myers participated in a national teleconference on immigration reform. Myers said that immigration reform drives the development of countries. Latinos are major buyers of housing in California, he noted.
December 16, 2009
The Arizona Republic quoted SPPD Professor Harry Pachon about a new bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens and end a controversial program that enlists local police to enforce immigration laws. "I don't think that even Congressman Gutierrez expects his bill to pass," Pachon said. "He's showing a willingness to fight. And he's putting pressure on the Obama administration to act." Pachon is president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
December 4, 2009
Speaking before an audience of more than 100 at the California Chamber of Commerce in Sacramento, Professor Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, discussed how the history and future of Prop. 13 are headed in divergent directions. The lecture, "Demographics of Proposition 13: Rewriting the Old Script for a New Future," was part of the Critical Issues in Public Policy series at the USC State Capital Center.
November 10, 2009
Roll Call quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about abortion rights groups that were angry over a last-minute decision by the U.S. House of Representatives to include language that bars publicly subsidized health care plans from offering elective abortions. Jeffe said that abortion rights groups may be at a disadvantage in the fight, because their supporters are unlikely to desert the Democratic Party even if party leaders make the decision to placate the other side to get the health care bill through. Democrats may be banking on their perceptions that women have no other place to go, Jeffe noted.
October 15, 2009
Dana Goldman, a professor with the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, has been named to the Institute of Medicine -- one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Goldman directs the newly-created Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
October 12, 2009
American Public Media's "Marketplace" interviewed Professor Dana Goldman about current health care reform efforts. "This is a rather historic effort to provide insurance to most Americans. But this is not an effort to do anything on cost containment," said Goldman, director of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. Rather than being paid based on the quantity of services they provide, doctors should be rewarded for using treatments that save money and lives, Goldman added. "If the patient does well, then the hospital gets paid, the doctor gets paid," Goldman said. "And if the patient doesn't do well, then they're going to have to bear the cost. And ultimately, that would've been a really valuable change."
September 30, 2009
La Opinion quoted Professor Richard Green and cited research by Professor Dowell Myers in a story about Proposition 13, which limits property tax rates. Most economists and experts agree that property tax is a less regressive option compared with sales tax, said Green, who is director and chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. Myers, who has studied the subject, said that Proposition 13 needs reform because new generations will buy homes at higher prices and pay more taxes than previous generations. Young people will subsidize those who paid less for older homes, he explained.
September 28, 2009
The Riverside Press-Enterprise featured a report by Professor Dowell Myers on Proposition 13, which limits property tax rates for existing homeowners. Myers wrote that Proposition 13 has typically worked against newer homeowners, who have had to pay thousands of dollars a year more in property taxes than neighbors who have owned similar homes for several decades. Myers added that the pain is worst for the two million Californians who bought houses during the price bubble between 2003 and 2007, then saw the price of their property tumble by about 40 percent.
September 24, 2009
Dana Goldman, a widely respected expert in health economics, has been named director of the new Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC, according to an announcement from USC Executive Vice President and Provost C. L. Max Nikias. Goldman most recently served as director of the RAND Corp.'s Health Economics, Finance and Organization Division.
September 23, 2009
A major new research center focused on health policy and economics has been established at USC, Executive Vice President and Provost C. L. Max Nikias announced. The center is funded by a $1.2 million operating gift from health care industry leader Leonard D. Schaeffer and his wife, Pamela. The Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics is a collaboration between the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the USC School of Pharmacy.
September 18, 2009
The Sacramento Bee quoted Professor Glenn Melnick on whether the current health care reform proposals will curb escalating medical costs. The proposed plans contain vague notions of improving efficiency and increasing competition, Melnick said. However, there's no guarantee that a government-run insurance plan or other overhaul proposals will bring costs down, he added.
September 16, 2009
Los Angeles Downtown News featured the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate's launch of its new blog, which will focus on trends in finance, urban planning and policies shaping residential and commercial real estate markets worldwide. The center "is responding to a need from real estate decision makers who increasingly turn to social media sites to help them track rapid swings in the global property markets," said Richard Green, director and chair of the Lusk Center.
September 10, 2009
The Wall Street Journal featured research by SPPD Professor Dowell Myers. The study found that California's falling home prices have widened the generational wealth gap created by the state's Proposition 13, which limited property tax rates. According to the research, people who recently bought homes have suffered the greatest loss of housing value but are getting the least tax relief. The study concluded that if the price of California property stays depressed for a while, the most recent buyers will suffer the most.
September 9, 2009
Richard Callahan, associate dean and director of leadership programs at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, has been appointed to a newly formed advisory board for the California Environmental Protection Agency's Department of Toxic Substances Control.
August 24, 2009
The Columbus Dispatch quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about the White House indicating that it would accept a health care bill without a public option. This has infuriated liberal Democrats who supported Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, the story stated. "These guys on the left invested an awful lot in Barack Obama, and I think they feel as if they own a piece of him," Jeffe said. "He's not delivering from their perspective."
August 3, 2009
In his new role as assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, USC's Raphael Bostic will face a huge task: helping policymakers come up with ways to bring stability back to the nation's housing market. Bostic, a professor at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, was sworn into his new government position on July 16.
July 14, 2009
As the U.S. Congress considers enacting historic "cap and trade" legislation, a new book by research professor Adam Rose provides valuable lessons and reference points in evaluating the economic impacts of climate change policy. Rose is considered to be one of the preeminent scholars in the field, and the book - The Economics of Climate Change Policy: International, National and Regional Mitigation Strategies - represents much of his 20 years of research and involvement in policy design on the many aspects of the subject.
July 5, 2009
The New York Times highlighted SPPD alum Hilda Solis and her unique road to becoming Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. After overcoming many obstacles, Solis, MPA '81, a former four-term congresswoman, has become the first Hispanic woman to serve as a cabinet member, the story noted.
June 17, 2009
Philanthropy Journal featured research by Assistant Professor David Suarez in a widely carried story. United States nonprofits are increasingly using their Web sites to encourage community engagement and civic participation, Suarez found. Regulations dictate much of what nonprofits may do in the advocacy field, but many are finding it legal to use the Internet to boost civic engagement, according to the study. "Websites provide a novel opportunity for nonprofits to scale their social impact and expand their civic purpose," Suarez said.
June 11, 2009
Nonprofit groups are becoming increasingly active through the promotion of causes on their online sites and serving as bridges of civic engagement, according to a new study by David Suarez, assistant professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
June 8, 2009
A group of 150 USC alumni and prominent Trojans gathered at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on May 21 to hear a panel of experts assess the early accomplishments of the Obama administration and offer their prognosis for its future.
June 8, 2009
The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and Dan Schnur of the USC College about the possibility that a same-sex marriage initiative on the 2010 California ballot would make life difficult for the gubernatorial candidates. Possible Republican contenders Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman probably wouldn't be happy to have the focus on social issues, Jeffe said. "Candidates normally try to move toward the middle as quickly as possible after winning their party primary," Schnur said. "But an initiative on the November ballot would probably slow that process considerably if candidates are reaching out to the middle on the economy but playing to their respective bases on same-sex marriage."
May 27, 2009
The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and Dan Schnur of the USC College and on whether California gay marriage supporters would prevail if they put a new proposition on the ballot next year. "The age breakdown on the vote suggests that public opinion is trending toward supporters of same-sex marriage. The question is how fast it's trending," Schnur said. Jeffe added: "I don't think it's too soon. It's a year and a half away. ... The more states that get in line behind it, the more credible the argument that everyone ought to be allowed to marry becomes, especially if there's no evidence that the world is going to end."
May 16, 2009
The San Antonio Express-News cited Professor Dowell Myers about demographics and the future of Social Security. The ratio of retired persons to workers will "compound to a 67 percent growth over the 20-year period," Myers said. "The implications for mass retirements and the struggle for replacements in the work force are profound as well," Myers wrote in his book Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future.
April 2, 2009
Los Angeles' "transportation transformation" was the subject of a recent panel discussion hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The event took place at the downtown headquarters of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It was the third event in the SPPD Dean's Speaker series, which has focused on the revitalization of Los Angeles.
March 25, 2009
Foundations and Public Policy: Leveraging Philanthropic Dollars, Knowledge and Networks for Greater Impact, a new book edited and co-authored by USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development faculty, explores the implications -- and potential impact -- involving the efforts of nonprofit organizations to shape public policy.
March 26, 2009
The New Statesman (U.K.) featured a talk by Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid delivered at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London. Currid's book, The Warhol Economy, argues that New York's art scene is a major economic engine, and in her talk, she suggested that the same may be true of London, the story noted. In big cities, where the arts generate billions, urban policymakers need to recognize the role that networking plays in the creative sector, she said.
February 19, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the USC Annenberg School for Communication hosted the inaugural Dennis F. and Brooks Holt Professorship Lecture in Communication and Public Policy on Feb. 11. The Holt Professorship, a joint undertaking between the two schools, focuses on the role of communication in the policymaking process of a democratic society and market-based economy.
February 4, 2009
Faculty and students at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development took part in a leadership training conference to help local government officials find solutions for public problems afflicting cities nationwide.
January 26, 2009
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development marked its 80th anniversary by hosting a special colloquium Jan. 16 at the Davidson Conference Center. During the conference, Dean Jack H. Knott noted that SPPD remains dedicated to advancing academic theory and making a vital impact in the world.
December 22, 2008
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development signed a formal agreement to participate in Fellows/USA, the Peace Corps' graduate fellowship program. This agreement will enable former volunteers to pursue a graduate education in public administration, public policy, urban planning, health administration and real estate development.
November 20, 2008
The impact of Hurricane Katrina continues to be felt in the New Orleans region and beyond as researchers and policymakers examine what went wrong and how to deal with the effects of a similar disaster in the future. The latest contribution comes from a team of professors at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, who edited and wrote chapters for Natural Disaster Analysis After Hurricane Katrina: Risk Assessment, Economic Impacts and Social Implications.
November 20, 2008
The Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, a new student organization at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, hosted its inaugural event -- a panel discussion at Lewis Hall addressing key issues currently facing the Asian American community.
November 4, 2008
BusinessWeek quoted Professor Raphael Bostic about what would happen if the federal government renegotiated troubled mortgages. Such a move would help put a floor under housing prices, Bostic said. "Everyone is trying to figure out where the bottom is," he explained. "People are not going think there's a bottom if they know there's a flood of distressed assets still coming up for sale." Bostic is director of the master of real estate development program at SPPD.
October, 31, 2008
Bloomberg News quoted Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid about public support of the arts. "In a time of economic turmoil, the arts is the last thing on anyone's mind, and yet it's the most important time to support the arts," Currid said. The extent to which the arts contribute to the economy is well documented, the story stated. "In Los Angeles and New York, the arts account for 5 percent of the workforce, about the same as the financial sector," Currid noted. "The artists make cities more attractive to live in and they are incredibly important for tourism. Nobody comes to New York to look at the law firms."
October 29, 2008
During an Oct. 21 panel hosted by the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry said that the goal of downtown's revitalization effort is to restore "the excitement of an earlier time." The changing downtown landscape was the focus of the panel discussion, which took place inside City Hall. The event was part of the SPPD Dean's Speaker Series.
October 24, 2008
The Los Angeles Times quoted Assistant Professor Elizabeth Currid about Barack Obama's and John McCain's positions on arts funding. McCain's near silence on the issue shows indifference toward the arts, Currid said. "No one says they don't support the arts. But they say it implicitly," she added. Obama's proposals to bolster the arts with federal money and programs show that he has put his left foot forward to support the arts, Currid said.
October 22, 2008
METRANS celebrates 10 years of research and education on metropolitan transportation. For the past decade, the center has aimed at "generating the highest quality basic and applied research," according to METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano, professor and senior associate dean at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
October 15, 2008
The Wall Street Journal quoted Professor Richard Green about how government intervention in the housing and financial markets will affect homeowners. Green said that over time, the government's rescue effort could make it easier for borrowers in high-cost markets such as California, New York and Boston to get a mortgage, by reducing rates for jumbo loans, those too big for government backing. The government needs to push mortgage companies to take advantage of the Hope for Homeowners program, which aims to put borrowers into affordable loans, but requires that they share any resulting price appreciation with the federal government, Green added. The program "pretty much gets the incentives right," he said.
October 14, 2008
A panel of preeminent financial experts, including USC faculty, weighed in with their insights on how Wall Street plunged into a tailspin -- and also how to remedy the ailing markets. "Multi-party greed" drove the downturn, says Raphael Bostic, professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development.
October 1, 2008
Professor Harry Pachon was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about the new citizenship test being phased in by U.S. immigration authorities. Some fear that the new format, which emphasizes concepts rather than facts, could result in examiners denying citizenship based on whims or prejudices, the story stated. For that reason, the new test is a "step backward," Pachon said. "There's latitude in answering the questions and that's where the problem lies," he explained. "There's potential for abuse and not knowing what to prepare for." Pachon is president of the Tomas River Policy Institute.
This past summer, more than 40 master's students representing all programs of study with the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development took part in the school's international lab program, doing research in Foshan, China, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
September 7, 2008
SPPD Senior Fellow Sherry Bebitch Jeffe was quoted about California's Proposition 8, which would amend the state's constitution to ban same-sex marriage. "Republicans and conservatives tend to support it more," Jeffe said. "Hispanics are a potential group of supporters," she added. "Democrats tend not to. Moderates and liberals tend not to. Independents are more receptive to the idea of single-sex marriage."
July 18, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in a widely carried Associated Press story in USA Today about Web sites that use government data to provide potential home buyers with maps of criminal activity in a neighborhood. One site includes the residences of people who were arrested for crimes but not convicted, the article noted. The wealth of data provided these sites can distort what's happening in a given community, Myers said. "It amounts to a rumor that's constructed out of real data, but presented in a way as though it represents a level of threat, that's how people read it. And whether it actually represents risk to the buyer is totally uncertain."
June 22, 2008
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, was quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune about whether the presidential election will affect the outcome of the California initiative banning gay marriage. "If the young kids come out and vote for Obama - and I think they will - that could turn it around," Jeffe said.
May 15, 2008
Prof. Dowell Myers was quoted in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about immigration policy. Public discourse on the subject can be colored by what Myers calls the "Peter Pan Fallacy," the story stated. "Many of us assume, unwittingly, that immigrants are like Peter Pan, forever frozen in their status as newcomers, never aging, never advancing economically, and never assimilating," Myers said. In this naive view, "the mounting numbers of foreign-born residents imply that our nation is becoming dominated by growing numbers of people who perpetually resemble newcomers," he said.
USC President C. L. Max Nikias is pleased to announce a $25 million gift from Leonard D. Schaeffer, the Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair and Professor at USC, to endow and support the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. The gift bolsters the university's commitment to using rigorous research to develop policy solutions, including controlling health care costs and improving patient outcomes in the United States and worldwide. Established in 2009, the Schaeffer Center is jointly housed in the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the USC School of Pharmacy.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy's Athenian Society hosted a panel to discuss an issue that affects every person in the United States, regardless of age or economic status -- the changes in health care due to the Affordable Care Act. The event was part of the Dean's Speaker Series presented by the Athenian Society, the premier philanthropic support group for USC Price.
Los Angeles has a reputation of being an unplanned city, a sprawling metropolis that evolved spontaneously. Urban planners, of course, know better. USC Sol Price School of Public Policy professor David Sloane discussed his book Planning Los Angeles during a recent panel hosted by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Planning Association. For the book, Sloane enlisted more than 40 prominent essayists to detail the history, contemporary issues and current policy questions regarding planning in L.A. Two of those contributors -- Elizabeth Currid-Halkett and Ken Bernstein -- joined him on the panel to discuss their chapters and address economic development.
After the financial crash of 2008, Leonard Hyman developed a strong interest in economics. He decided to combine that with his longtime affinity for politics by pursuing his MPP degree from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Hyman, who graduated in May, fused these interests with his background in communications to create Crowdvocate, a novel and promising way to fund advocacy efforts for a variety of causes. It's an approach that combines crowdsourcing -- the mass solicitation of contributions online -- with crowdfunding, people pooling their money to support a cause.
The USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy brought together 30 leaders for a high-level intersectoral conversation about the interplay of foundations and government in solving community problems. The roundtable included the director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation (SICP); representatives from the U.S. departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services; academic researchers; and individuals working as "philanthropic liaisons" in city and state government.
From social media in Africa to "fracking" in California, the 2012 Policy Analysis Practicum challenged MPP students from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy to grapple with the most pressing issues of the day. During the practicum, small groups of MPP students worked together to put theory into practice, serving as consultants for high-profile clients and performing in-depth policy analyses of real-world issues. This year, clients included the Congressional Research Service, the RAND Corp., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, among many others.
Three members of the USC Price School of Public Policy's class of 2012 will put theory into practice in new positions at departments within the federal government. Raabia Budhwani MPA/MPL '12, Steven Shepherd MPL '12, and Robert Trombley MPP '12 have accepted high-level positions through the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) program designed to groom future government leaders and administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Shepherd will serve as a housing program policy specialist the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Trombley accepted an offer as a budget policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Education. And, Budhwani will work as a foreign affairs officer at the Department of State.
Three USC Sol Price School of Public Policy MPP graduates will spend their upcoming year working toward a healthier future for people and the planet thanks to the Clinton-Orfalea Fellowships. Allison Kwan will apply her talents to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which aims to eliminate childhood obesity and promote healthy habits. Kerem Yilmaz will work for the Clinton Climate Initiative, which is currently partnering with the C40 Climate Leadership Group to help large cities reduce their carbon emissions. And, Kathryn Urquhart will also work for the Clinton Climate Initiative.
For many local elected officials, political office means solving complex problems with tight budgets while cultivating trust with constituents who increasingly are wary of those in power. With these challenges in mind, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy this week will launch its Executive Education Program for local leaders to help elected city officials develop a vision for their cities. The first class of elected officials includes 18 mayors, mayors pro tem and council members from cities across Southern California.
The Athenian Society, the premier philanthropic support group for the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, discussed the need for sound policy solutions to address the political and economic challenges facing California in the school's third Dean's Speaker Series event of the year titled "How Can California Prepare for a Future That's Already Here?" on April 23. The event featured University Professor Kevin Starr, a longtime California historian, and Dowell Myers, USC Price professor of demography and urban planning.
Andre Birotte Jr., United States attorney for the Central District of California, invoked the words of one of America's greatest civil rights crusaders during the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy Dean's Distinguished Lecture on April 3 at Doheny Memorial Library. "It was Martin Luther King who so profoundly observed that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," Birotte said. His talk, "Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in 21st Century Los Angeles," introduced his office, which aims to promote justice.
Following decades of bipartisan consensus, federal transit policy has turned into a hot-button issue in a presidential election for the first time. Lisa Schweitzer, associate professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, took a look at what the various proposals and candidate positions mean for the future of U.S. infrastructure during a recent discussion. The event was part of the "Road to the White House 2012: Politics, Media and Technology," a weekly conversation series presented by USC's Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise, the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, and the Unruh Institute of Politics.
The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, housed at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, and New York University's Immigration Studies project looked at the recession's impact on immigrants in a recent conference at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. "Immigration in the Wake of the Great Recession" offered perspectives of scholars and journalists during three panel discussions covering the immigrant experience.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy advanced its work of "shaping the world" during Dean Jack H. Knott's recent trip to Israel. Knott traveled in the company of USC leaders, including President C. L. Max Nikias. During the trip, Knott forged relationships with policymakers, as well as representatives from top educational institutions, to create new opportunities for collaboration. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel's first private college.
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy was among several USC schools and programs that ascended in the latest national rankings released by U.S. News & World Report . The Price School climbed to sixth place (from seventh in 2008) in the newest edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools" for public affairs.
USC celebrated the life of professor Harry Pachon with a memorial symposium discussing politics and policy from a Latino perspective. Pachon, who died in November at age 66, was a pioneer in researching Latino culture and politics. He joined the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy in 2003, bringing with him the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI). He served as president of the institute from 1993 to 2010, turning it into the nation's premier think tank on policy issues relevant to Hispanics. He also was a founding board member and executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund from 1983 to 1993.
Harry Pachon, professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and president of the nation's oldest and most recognized think tank on Latino issues, died Nov. 4 following an extended illness. He was 66. "USC is saddened by the loss of professor Harry Pachon, an inspiring teacher, researcher and humanitarian who served both our university and our community at large," said USC provost Elizabeth Garrett. "His pioneering and celebrated career as a scholar of Latino culture and politics has heightened our understanding of the issues and challenges facing the Latino community, and he translated this work to society by encouraging local activism and advancement through education. Professor Pachon's dedication and character has left a lasting impact on the world."
How can an online game educate Californians about carbon emissions? What's the best way for the California government to prepare for the baby boomer retirement? Can private canine companies provide an effective and reasonably priced screening method to enhance airline security? These are a few of the real-world issues that USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development MPP students tackled during the 2011 Policy Analysis Practicum.
The nation's biggest employer - the federal government - already has snapped up four members of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development's Class of 2011. Master of public administration graduates Kristina McBoyle, Marie Mazwi and Yuliya Zingertal and MPA/master of social work graduate Juliet Bui have been selected to participate in the Presidential Management Fellowship program administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and designed to groom future government leaders.
USC's Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise and ASPA recently hosted a panel discussion on California's public pension crisis. Moderated by professor Dan Mazmanian, the panel included Stuart Drown of the Little Hoover Commission; Ed Derman of the California State Teachers' Retirement System; Julie Butcher of the Service Employees International Union; Bruce Channing, Laguna Hills city manager; and Juliet Musso from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Shui Yan Tang was named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Established in 1967 and chartered by Congress in 1984, the academy consists of professional and academic leaders in public management.
More than a decade ago, when sustainability issues were still a specialized curiosity, USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development professor Daniel Mazmanian turned his attention to the emergence of locally-based environmental policies in several communities and regions across the nation.
The USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean government to provide graduate education and training for selected officials from Korea's Ministry of Public Administration and Security.
Raphael Bostic, a professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and Elizabeth Garrett, USC's vice president for academic planning and budget and a professor at the USC Gould School of Law, have been asked to join President Obama's administration in Washington, D.C.