Students in a new environmental policy workshop will learn the tools necessary to conduct research on environmental issues while preparing to present their findings to the Vermont and New Hampshire legislatures. The course, launched by the Rockefeller Center and the environmental studies department, will serve as a prerequisite for students hoping to continue their projects in the Policy Research Shop.
Workshop professor Michael Cox said the course guides students through the basics of environment-based social science research and helps them formulate research proposals based on requests from public officials.
One potential project from the Vermont legislature includes an analysis of lakeshore development policies with the goal of improving water quality.
Prior to the course’s introduction, students could choose between two courses that qualified them to join the Policy Research Shop, both of which focused on state and local government. This course is the first to focus on a specific policy area and was added due to student interest in environmental policy, Cox said.
The 11 enrolled students will be divided into three or four teams, each of which will develop a project based on requests from Vermont and New Hampshire policy makers.
Sustainability director Rosi Kerr said she was excited to see a partnership between the public policy and environmental studies programs and added that the workshop would provide students with practical experience.
“Students are passionately interested in getting their hands on real sustainability problems and solving them,” she said. “The environmental policy research workshop is an awesome opportunity to get real world experience with the challenges and realities that come with change making via effective policy.”
Class member Hui Cheng ’16 said she chose to take the course because of her interest in environmental policy and its potential applications to her home state of Tennessee.
“I’m interested in social justice and I’m interested in learning about how we can shape public policy in a way that’s reflected of our environmental justice ideals,” she said.
The Policy Research Shop started in spring 2005 when a group of students decided they wanted to engage in research outside the classroom, public policy professor Ronald Shaiko said. Since then, it has produced over 100 reports and has received $1 million in funding, including a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Shaiko and his students reach out to legislators and agency commissioners to ask if they need assistance with projects they are working on.
“It’s totally nonpartisan, non-advocacy, so we don’t tell the legislature what to do,” he said. “We simply provide additional information on topics they’re interested in.”
Shaiko said it can be challenging for students to have their work scrutinized by actual policy makers who may not agree with their findings, but added that it can be a very influential part of the legislative process. Past projects have determined the success or failure of bills.
Cox said the program’s hands-on nature makes it a unique opportunity, and is an ideal form of education.
“We need to complement the traditional classroom model with opportunities for students to think creatively with each other about how to address issue and problems,” he said.
Shaiko added that the program reflects College President Phil Hanlon’s stated inaugural goals to increase the College’s focus on experiential learning.
“This is probably one of the better models that exists on campus, and we’re happy that is being replicated in other departments,” he said.