Pardee RAND News & Events

Pardee RAND Graduate School students, alumni, and faculty are often in the news, writing blogs, publishing research, speaking at events, and more. Other pages (student blog posts, alumni news, faculty blog posts, featured research) provide filtered views of Pardee RAND news and announcements; here we present a complete compilation of ALL the news that's fit to share.

Truth Decay and the Spirit of the Law
Mar 23, 2018
The widening gap between how the law is expected to be (and generally is) practiced, and certain events transpiring in America's political and policymaking realms, is of increasing concern, writes Executive Vice Dean Dan Grunfeld.
Tackling Gender-Based Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Mar 22, 2018
Student Mahlet Woldetsadik (cohort '13) writes that increased poverty and major shifts in traditional gender roles for Syrian refugees have worsened interpersonal tensions, increased the risk of domestic violence, and caused challenges for aid workers.
Can Dirty-Air Discontent in New Delhi Push India Toward Greener Days?
Mar 22, 2018
The dirty downside to India's dramatic economic growth is New Delhi's horrific off-the-charts air pollution, writes student Gulrez Shah Azhar (cohort '14). Public health officials comparing the harms of breathing in India's capital to smoking dozens of cigarettes a day. How bad must things get before Indians demand change and make it stick?
Winter 2018 Issue of Findings Now Online
Mar 16, 2018
With details about Commencement Weekend; features on alumni Mark Schuster and Josh Weed; photos from the APPAM regional conference, the holiday party, and the inaugural ping pong tournament organized by Brown Faculty Chairs; and much more, the winter issue of our quarterly newsletter continues Pardee RAND's goal of informing and entertaining alumni.
Q&A with Mark Schuster, Founding Dean of Kaiser Med School
Mar 15, 2018
Alum Mark Schuster (cohort '91) says he sees many similarities between the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, where he is the founding dean, and Pardee RAND: "The school is innovating and reinventing public policy graduate education much like we are reinventing medical education." He also shares how Pardee RAND has influenced his career.
Students Shine at APPAM California Regional Conference
Mar 13, 2018
Pardee RAND students had a great showing at the APPAM regional conference March 9-10, and Sara Turner (cohort '15) won 2nd prize in the poster competition.
Evaluation of Mental Health Service Act in L.A. County Shows Services Reaching Those in Need
Mar 13, 2018
Los Angeles County uses Mental Health Services Act funds programs to reach at-risk populations. Students Gulrez Shah Azhar and Margaret Chamberlin found that the county was able to offer services and prevention efforts that lowered both homelessness and the need for psychiatric hospitalizations, while improving employment and wellbeing.
Gaza on the Brink
Mar 9, 2018
The combined risk of violence and pandemic in Gaza makes this small coastal enclave a ticking time bomb, writes Prof. Shira Efron (alum, cohort '11). While neither Israel nor the U.S. has the solutions to all of Gaza's water and health woes, the United States' decision to withhold funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency could only make things worse.
Open Science and a Culture of Health: You Two Should Talk
Mar 7, 2018
By working together, writes Prof. Sean Grant, the Culture of Health and Open Science movements could increase their potential to accelerate the use of scientific evidence to address impediments to population health and collective well-being.
One Belt, One Road, One Ruler: China Term Limits Ban Imperils Progress
Mar 6, 2018
The abolition of presidential term limits in China represents a sea change in Communist Party politics and signals the consolidation of personalist rule by President Xi Jinping. Student Bill Gelfeld (cohort '14) explains that deviations from term limits are deleterious for good governance, political rights, and accountability.
Dean's Movie Night Features The Post
Mar 6, 2018
Pardee RAND held a special screening of the recent movie about the Pentagon Papers. Prof. Molly Selvin moderated a post-screening panel that featured RAND president Michael Rich and media rights attorney and former LA Times First Amendment counsel Karlene Goller. They discussed the film, first amendment law, and how the Pentagon Papers impacted RAND.
Giving Spotlight: Josh and Kristin Weed Continue Family Tradition
Mar 6, 2018
For alum Josh Weed (cohort '01) and his wife Kristin, giving back to Pardee RAND is a family affair. They have a strong sense of giving back to the school, and are regular donors. They also attend commencement whenever possible, and Josh conducts alumni interviews with applicants to school.
Ready, Set, College
Mar 5, 2018
With at least $1 billion going toward developmental education, writes alum Lindsay Daugherty (cohort '05), states and colleges have started to rethink their approaches to reform. But it may be too soon for states to put into place broad “one size fits all” policies. In the meantime, should states do nothing?
The Science of Gun Policy
Mar 2, 2018
What does the scientific evidence tell us about the effects of gun policies? Students Eric Apaydin, John Speed Meyers, and Rouslan Karimov worked on the RAND Gun Policy in America initiative, coauthoring a report that assesses the available evidence for the effects of commonly proposed gun laws on firearm deaths, violent crime, suicide, the gun industry, hunting and sport shooting, and other outcomes.
'Alexa, What Do You Know About Me, and Who Are You Telling?'
Mar 1, 2018
Professors Osonde Osoba and Bill Welser, with RAND colleague Rebecca Balebako, discussed the prevalence of artificial intelligence and how it affects privacy. They raised questions about fairness and equity in regard to privacy and data use, but also highlighted positive trends and developments in the evolving AI-privacy landscape.
Are New York Health Providers Ready to Meet Veterans' Needs?
Mar 1, 2018
Few civilian health providers in New York are ready to provide timely, quality care to veterans, according to research by student Erin Duffy (cohort '15) and RAND colleagues. More than 90 percent of providers were accepting new patients. But only about 2 percent met all criteria for effectively serving veterans.
What Next for China-Pakistan Relations?
Feb 26, 2018
The recent downgrade in U.S.-Pakistan relations will present both opportunities and challenges for China, writes student Keren Zhu (cohort '17). Beijing can use the recent strain to promote a new model of international development, but must be wary of becoming the sole external power responsible for maintaining stability in the region.
Designing and Implementing Corequisite Models of Developmental Education
Feb 23, 2018
Alum Lindsey Daugherty (cohort '05) and students Diana Gehlhaus Carew ('15) and Alexandra Mendoza-Graf ('16) examined the implementation of integrated reading and writing corequisites—a reform to developmental education that accelerates students into college-level courses, while providing academic support—in Texas community colleges.
The Long Game on Infrastructure
Feb 20, 2018
The Trump administration recently announced its Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America. But with its lack of new federal funding, write Profs. Debra Knopman and Martin Wachs, the plan may not be the best path to fixing America's most serious regional, national and long-term problems.
Where Will ISIS Seek to Establish Its Next Safe Haven?
Feb 19, 2018
Many of ISIS's surviving fighters will seek out new battlefields to continue waging jihad, writes Prof. Colin Clarke. By coordinating with its allies around the globe, the U.S. could work to help alleviate the conditions that lead states to fail, making them less appealing as sanctuaries where terrorists can rest, rearm, and recuperate.
Erdogan's Fatal Blind Spot
Feb 16, 2018
Erdogan's tolerance of ISIS fighters in Turkey amounts to tacit approval, writes Prof. Colin Clarke. The danger posed by ISIS using Turkey as a staging ground could become more formidable than the threat currently posed by Kurdish terrorism. Tolerating ISIS to fight the Kurds is therefore a dangerous and myopic policy.
How Does U.S. Military Presence Affect Conflict?
Feb 15, 2018
Stationing U.S. forces can be an effective tool in deterring state aggression, but this doesn't appear to reduce the risk of intrastate conflict, according to research coauthored by student Jakub Hlavka (cohort '14). There is also an important trade-off: U.S. troop presence may provoke more militarized activities short of war.
How Will Cannabis Legalization Affect Alcohol Consumption?
Feb 13, 2018
How will legalization of recreational marijuana affect alcohol consumption? Will drinking go down because people substitute cannabis for alcohol? Or will drinking go up because cannabis and alcohol complement each other? Prof. Beau Kilmer says these questions have important implications.
Dean's Report Highlights First Fruits of Redesign
Feb 6, 2018
Pardee RAND's redesign is intended to provide new capabilities and capacities for its students but, importantly, also to RAND. The 2017 Dean's Report showcases "the first fruits of this evolution/transformation and how they are benefiting our students and RAND researchers."
Evaluating Progress Toward Increasing Global Contraceptive Use
Feb 5, 2018
In 2013, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched two programs to help monitor progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020. Students Bill Gelfeld, Michele Abbott, Gabriela Armenta, Rouslan I. Karimov, Adeyemi Okunogbe, Uzaib Saya, and Mahlet A. Woldetsadik evaluated these programs and found opportunities for improvement.