FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Rockefeller Institute of Government Announces the 2018 Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellows

Fellows Come from Diverse Backgrounds with Distinguished Careers in Public Policy Research and Practice

Research will focus on topics in education policy, economic opportunity, and state and local governance

ALBANY, NY — The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government is proud to announce the inaugural fellows in the Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship program. For one year beginning in January, these five accomplished experts will partner with nationally known Rockefeller Institute staff to research pressing public policy issues in education, state and local government administration, and economic opportunity, with a particular focus on the struggles of New York’s upstate cities, towns, and rural areas.

The prestigious fellowship program, announced in October, was named after longtime Rockefeller Institute director and current Senior Visiting Fellow for Health Policy Richard Nathan. Candidates with expertise in areas such as fiscal policy, health, education, economics, law, and social policy were invited to apply to spend a year working with the Institute to advance their research and, importantly, to connect that research with policymakers.

“By connecting objective, cutting-edge research to practical policymaking, the Richard P. Nathan Public Policy fellows will follow the example set by former Rockefeller Institute Director Dick Nathan throughout his distinguished career,” said Rockefeller Institute of Government President Jim Malatras. “We are proud to welcome these researchers into the program and we look forward to supporting their important work over the coming year.”

The fellows are:

John M. Bacheller
Dr. Bacheller writes the blog “Policy by Numbers – New York,” which focuses on analysis of data for evidence-based policy, with a particular focus on New York State. He previously headed the Policy and Research division of Empire State Development, New York’s economic development agency, for 13 years. Prior to that he was a policy analyst for the New York State Senate, an assistant professor of political science at Hamilton and Kirkland Colleges, and an adjunct professor at Russell Sage College. He holds a doctorate in political science from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, an MBA from the University at Albany, and a Bachelor of Arts from Lehigh University. His work at the Rockefeller Institute will focus on social and economic issues in New York’s upstate cities and rural areas.

Manas Chatterji
Dr. Chatterji is a professor of management and adjunct professor of economics in the Asian and Asian-American Studies Program at Binghamton University, a guest professor at Peking University, visiting professor at Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, and distinguished professor at Poznan University in Poland. He is an elected member of the Polish Academy of Science – Committee on Regional Planning and a fellow of the international organization Economists for Peace and Security. He holds a doctorate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s and bachelor’s in statistics from Calcutta University. His work at the Rockefeller Institute will focus on social, political, economic, and environmental issues confronting small towns and cities in New York State.

Jaekyung Lee
Dr. Lee is a professor and former Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. He has a doctorate in education from the University of Chicago. He is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Lee is the author of the book, “The Testing Gap: Scientific Trials of Test-Driven School Accountability Systems for Excellence and Equity.” His work at the  Rockefeller Institute will focus on the alignment, or misalignment, of state policies, school goals, and classroom practices in public education in New York State.

Patrick McGuinn
Dr. McGuinn is a professor of political science and education at Drew University and a senior research specialist at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. He holds a doctorate in government and a Master of Education in Education Policy from the University of Virginia. He has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, and the Miller Center for Public Affairs. His first book, “No Child Left Behind and the Transformation of Federal Education Policy,” was honored as a Choice outstanding academic title. He is a regular commentator on education policy and politics in media outlets and was recognized as one of the nation’s top Edu-Scholars by Education Week for the past seven years. His work at the Rockefeller Institute will focus on the intersection of politics, governance, and public policy in K-12 and higher education.

Lisa Parshall
Dr. Parshall is an associate professor of political science at Daemen College in Amherst, New York, specializing in American politics, public law, and public policy. She currently serves as the chair of the State and Local Politics Section of the New York State Political Science Association and as second vice president of the Northeastern Political Science Association. Dr. Parshall’s research interest is in municipal development and reorganization in New York State. Her work with the Rockefeller Institute will focus on the fiscal stressors underlying the village dissolution movement, the effects of state processes and incentives, the role of evidence-based studies in the statewide dissolution debate, and an analysis of the post-dissolution fiscal impact for the merged communities.

Beginning in January, the fellows will have access to the Rockefeller Institute’s facilities and staff and will be able to publish reports and hold events supported by the Institute. They will be expected to build a portfolio of work addressing their selected research topics.

Richard Nathan served as director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government from 1989 until 2009. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public Policy at the University at Albany. He previously worked as a professor at Princeton University and a researcher at the Brookings Institution, served as a key official in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Health, and advised Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller.

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About the Rockefeller Institute of Government

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State
University of New York. The Institute conducts fiscal and programmatic research on American
state and local governments.