These days, state and local policy leaders and program implementers are facing untold pressures. And yet they shouldn’t feel like they have to face these alone, without the support of their state’s public university.
The Evans School is leading a national effort that mobilizes public affairs schools across the country to help. The Public Impact Research Network, founded by Dean Jodi Sandfort and Dean Stephanie Moulton at the Ohio State University, brings together 15 public research universities around the country. It’s focused upon building faculty skills, encouraging new scholars, and enabling these schools to propel their universities to deliver more public value in their state and local communities.
“This initiative is a career defining one for me, enabled by the Evans School’s national reputation among its peers,” said Dean Sandfort. “It reflects my scholarly and practical commitments to being of service to Washington and the University as it implements our new strategic plan. It also shows how we are poised to lead the country from Washington state.”
In early September, the Network hosted a workshop in Columbus, Ohio to launch the inaugural Public Impact Research Training Institute, by bringing together an inaugural cohort of Fellows as well as network leaders to build community and celebrate public impact research in action. Dean Sandfort was joined by Evans Fellows Amanda Bankston, Crystal Hall, Ines Jurcevic, Karin Martin, Elizabeth Meza, and Cory Struthers, as well as Emerging Fellows John Downes and Julia Karon.
During their fellowship, our inaugural class of Public Impact Fellows will support the Network by sharing resources, tools and tactics to advance the public impact of their own research while also building the institutional capacity of their home universities.