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 serve a student body of just over 100.

RAND researchers can become Pardee RAND faculty members by teaching courses, 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

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) honor guards at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, April 28, 2019, photo by Parker Song/Reuters

Getting to Know the Competition

May 13, 2019

Americans are facing a new reality in global great power relations that will define the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy for the foreseeable future. Prof. Cortez Cooper argues that understanding China's threat perceptions, while remaining clear-eyed regarding differences in objectives, is essential to developing strategies to deter conflict.

Used Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride) containers and syringes sit in a case, after paramedics revived a man in his 40s, who was found unresponsive, after overdosing on opioids in Salem, Massachusetts, August 9, 2017, photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

(Grey's) Anatomy of an Opioid Crisis

Apr 8, 2019

More than 130 Americans die every day after overdosing on opioids. So when one of the most popular shows on network television made opioid misuse a major plotline, alum Bradley Stein (cohort '97) and Prof. Sarah MacCarthy paid especially rapt attention to how the show would present this public health crisis. How closely would it mirror reality? Pretty closely, for the narrow slice of the opioid crisis it addressed.

A medical bill showing balance due, photo by DNY59/Getty Images

Addressing Surprise Medical Bills Without Raising the Cost of Health Care

Apr 1, 2019

Patients who try to stay within their insurers' networks can be hit with surprise bills when they unknowingly receive care from out-of-network physicians. Erin Duffy (cohort '15) and Profs. Chapin White and Mark Friedberg ask how much a physician should be paid for providing a service that is critical but rendered without the patient's ready ability to choose an in-network provider.

Five glasses of water, with dirty water in the center, photo by hdere/Getty Images

How to Ensure Quality Drinking Water Service for All? One Option Is Fewer Utilities.

Mar 26, 2019

California's Human Right to Water Bill declares that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” One clear barrier to reaching this target is the sheer number of small water utilities that pose service sustainability and public health risks to their customers.

Department of Water and Power employees assess the damage from a broken 30-inch water main on Sunset Boulevard, next to the UCLA campus in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, July 30, 2014, photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Lessening Leakages: How Water Systems Can Learn From Smart Electric Grids

Mar 22, 2019

As drought and population growth place increasing pressure on water supply, the need to save and efficiently manage Southern California's water resources becomes increasingly critical. Student Jalal Awan (cohort 17) and professors Miriam Marlier and Michelle Miro suggest that a single information and communication technology platform could go a long way toward moving water utilities from reactive to proactive maintenance practices.