Category: News and Information

U.S. News & World Report released its 2020 rankings of the country’s 275 graduate public affairs programs, and the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance will proudly maintain its overall top-ten ranking this year.

Five of our specialization areas were ranked in the top ten, including Environmental Policy and Public Finance & Budgeting, and we have been recognized for our school’s growing expertise with two newly ranked specializations: Local Government Management and Urban Policy.

We are proud that our perennially ranked, top-ten graduate program continues to demonstrate the relevance of our curriculum, the influence of our alumni and the impactful research of our faculty. While this is just one of many ways we track and evaluate our reputation and impact, it is an important reflection of how our academic peers view us, and it is evidence that we continue to receive recognition for the influential work that we do.

These rankings are released annually and are based on reputation and respect among peer institutions. These rankings are representative our leadership and expertise in these areas as an institution. See the full rankings here.

In the first two months of 2020, three things have become very clear to me: policy processes and regulatory actions are taking place in an increasingly complex landscape; the integrity of science and the value of evidence-based research has never been more contested or more important; and we must persist in defense of our environment and health policy processes. 

As a long-time scholar in environmental policy at a proudly public institution, I join my colleagues in serving the public good by providing scholarly research and insights applicable to policy decisions being made at state and national levels. My position as a scholar has allowed me to work directly in the policy process and to impact its outcomes. 

Five years ago, I agreed to serve on the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB), and this most recent year, I joined the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Climate Resilience Advisory Council. Despite the challenges the current political climate presents, both organizations have engaged in deeply interesting work. It is incredibly inspiring and gratifying when tangible progress is eked out. By contrast, it can be challenging, frustrating, and disheartening when science is disregarded in the development of policy. 

The charge of the SAB is to review the scientific underpinnings of proposed regulatory actions and give evidence-based advice to the EPA administrator and the agency regarding the best available science relevant to these actions. It is of course possible to agree about the best available body of science relevant to a policy or regulatory decision while disagreeing about the tradeoffs inherent in policy design and implementation. SAB review does not dictate a particular outcome; however, given the extremely public nature of the process, our findings make their way into related executive, legislative, and legal processes, and often media outlets. Thus, the impact of our efforts to ensure a sound scientific and technical underpinning for regulatory action can only be truly gauged over time. 

For example: the SAB recently reviewed the newly proposed definition of “Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS)” under the Clean Water Act, a key definition in determining which waters are jurisdictional. We assessed the scientific basis of this new definition and publicly presented our findings regarding a lack of consistency with established hydrologic science pertaining to the sub-surface connections between certain bodies of water, and the responsive nature of particular streams to precipitation events. In effect, the proposed WOTUS definition omitted some previously jurisdictional waters without a new body of supporting science. Though the EPA has not changed course based on our comments – citizens, state agencies and non-governmental bodies have already begun to integrate them into legal challenges of the proposed rule.  

This is a particularly arduous time for defending the value and integrity of science in decision-making. As noted in a recent Washington Post article on the Trump era EPA, “the government body [is] at the epicenter of complaints about improper political interference” by the administration. The article describes how, in the face of staffing cuts and the dissolution of climate change working groups, some employees have fled the institution while others have requested an EPA Workers’ Bill of Rights that embraces science and the investment and preservation of scientific advancement.  While national political pressures raise concern, there are bright spots for environmental health protection and preservation at the state level. 

Just last week I celebrated as the DNR released its “Plan for Climate Resilience,” a blueprint to ensure that Washington’s lands supporting forestry, agriculture, and aquatics continue to benefit education, citizens, businesses, and communities in the face of a changing climate.  The DNR’s call to action and acknowledgement of unprecedented threats associated with a changing climate are compelling: “Wildfire and smoke are threatening the health and welfare of people throughout the state. Orca and salmon runs are in decline. Communities are confronting coastal flooding, water shortages, and drought. As these impacts mount, already highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations will face increasing risks.” It has been inspiring to contribute to Washington State’s strategy to cope with these potential impacts, and I look forward to engaging in adaptation planning moving forward, as the legislature decides whether to invest $100M in climate resiliency as they have proposed. 

Now more than ever, developing sustainable, evidence-based environmental policy and regulatory actions requires an awareness of the full landscape and timeline of these processes. We must strive to shape current policies with a sound scientific basis and take the long view when necessary. This work can be profoundly challenging, but there is nothing that I find more meaningful than the protection of our air, water, and natural resources, which ultimately support the health and wellbeing of us all. 

Thanks to a new grant from the University of Washington, faculty from the Evans School, the Foster School and the I-School will come together for a deep dive into how to infuse issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their teaching and courses. By participating in the interactive multi-day workshop, faculty will learn and share best practices for inclusive teaching.  

Faculty in these schools face common challenges in teaching professional school students about current issues of equity and inclusion facing public and private, US and global institutions. Leadership from all three schools agreed that faculty are best positioned to create inclusive and equitable learning environments for all students and design courses and curriculum that can incorporate critical issues of equity, power, and privilege. By working across school boundaries, academic partners hope to share resources and knowledge, create a rich learning environment for faculty, and deepen faculty understanding of race, equity, and inclusion. 

Through the four-day workshop, faculty will focus on teaching and classroom strategies that effectively and equitably engage all students. Potential sessions include leading difficult classroom discussions, positionality statements and actions, and inclusive grading and assessment. The workshop will also incorporate expert speakers on the session topics (including students), group discussion, and self-reflection.

The workshop will be an intensive learning opportunity for faculty, who often do not have time devoted to learning about pedagogy or content on equity and inclusion outside of their area of expertise. The desired result is a framework for better-designed classroom activities, student assessment, and course content that extends beyond the core workshop group to other faculty, teaching assistants, and associates as faculty share their new methods and materials.