Pardee RAND Faculty

The Pardee RAND faculty is composed of a unique body of individuals. At many universities, some faculty members view teaching as a chore and try to "buy out of it" by obtaining research grants to cover their time. Because there are no teaching requirements at RAND, all Pardee RAND faculty members teach for only one reason: they love to.

Drawn principally from the doctoral staff of RAND's research units, Pardee RAND faculty members possess extensive experience both in conducting research and in teaching. A few distinguished scholars from outside RAND are also members of the faculty. Pardee RAND offers a faculty-student ratio that is probably among the best in the country. We have more than 220 faculty members who teach, mentor, and work side by side with a student body of just over 100.

RAND researchers can become Pardee RAND faculty members by teaching courses, mentoring and serving on dissertation committees, and/or supervising on-the-job training (OJT). Through these and other mechanisms, students have ready access to Pardee RAND's extensive faculty as well as RAND's staff of nearly 1,000 full-time researchers, who help with OJT and with dissertations.

Faculty Blog Posts

Hand touching icon health care medical concept, photo by marchmeena29/Getty Images

Tech Assets Might Help Make Public Health Data More Equity-Centered

Sep 9, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified broad societal inequities and trained a spotlight on the strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. public health system. Tara Blagg (cohort '19) and professors Doug Yeung and Chris Nelson ask, what would more equity-centered, tech-engaged public health data look like?

Woman using smartphone with social network icons, photo by Vladimir Vladimirov/Getty Images

Platforms Should Use Algorithms to Help Users Help Themselves

Jul 20, 2021

Social media users generate massive volumes of content, which then spreads at extraordinary speeds. Yet platforms generally rely on a slow process of human moderation to remove prohibited content. Student Hilary Reininger and Prof. Christopher Paul ask, What if moderation could happen before the content is even posted?

The “LUKE” prosthetic arm developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, photo by DARPA

Biden's Proposed New Health Agency Would Emphasize Innovation. Here's How It Might Work

May 24, 2021

President Biden has proposed a new health agency modeled on DARPA to work on groundbreaking research. This agency could pursue the kind of high-risk research that can lead to high-reward results and help get more medical treatments to market sooner.

A healthcare worker holds syringes with COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination center, in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021, photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

Will the United States Declare Freedom from COVID-19 Too Soon?

May 21, 2021

Pardee RAND students Lawrence Baker and Pedro Lima, and professors Jeanne Ringel and Rafael Vardavas, used their COVID-19 model to analyze what could happen with COVID-19 deaths in the United States if restrictions all go away on July 4. Here's what they saw: Fully reopening the economy before Biden's vaccination target was met doubled the average number of COVID-19 deaths between Independence Day and the end of the year.

Food blogger Katy McAvoy reaches to hang up daughter Paige's jacket after her return from school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, March 2, 2021, photo by Emily Elconin/Reuters

Should Mothers Work? We've Been Asking the Wrong Question

May 10, 2021

As schools and day cares closed due to the pandemic, millions of women were driven from the labor market. What is it worth to the United States to have mothers in the workforce?