Awards
Carolina’s Finest Annual Awards, Best Professor, 2012, 2013; Best Course (PLCY 101), 2013
John L. Sanders Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching & Service, UNC-CH, 2008
Lola Spencer and Simpson Bobo Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UNC-CH, 2004
Courses (Undergraduate)
PLCY 61 (Honors) First-Year Seminar: Policy Entrepreneurship and Public/Private Partnerships
The theme of this seminar is to define “policy entrepreneur” and examine strategies used by policy entrepreneurs to achieve policy change or innovation in the policy-making process. We will also explore models of innovative public-private partnerships in the delivery of public goods. The seminar will examine nonprofit policy entrepreneurs within policy advocacy organizations who push innovation and change in public policy. We will evaluate the ways policy and non-profit advocacy entrepreneurs advocate for their ideas causes and attempt to achieve lasting policy change. Students will write mock grant proposals for funding to develop a model public-private partnership or new policy innovation. We will host several leaders of successful public-private partnerships and other key innovative non-profit organizations in North Carolina.
PLCY101/PLCY 101 (Honors) Making Public Policy (PWAD 101)
Overview of the policy-making process and of major public policy issues. Study of policy and political challenges in areas such as economic and tax policy, the social safety net, income support and the minimum wage, health care, education, environment and energy, foreign policy and national security, and homeland security.
PLCY 352H: Seminar on Public Policy and Global Affairs
Three (3) graded credit hours are awarded for satisfactory completion of the weekly morning seminar, which focuses on a study of domestic and global affairs within the U.S. political and policy-making process.
PLCY 353H: The Role of Experts and Advocates in Solving Public Policy and Global Challenges
Three (3) graded credit hours are awarded for satisfactory completion of the weekly afternoon seminar, which focuses on meeting with public, private and non-profit actors and understanding their role in solving domestic and global problems.
PLCY 395H: Research in Public Policy and Global Affairs
Two (2) additional credits will be awarded for satisfactory completion of the weekly research skills development section to provide students with the mentoring and practice to enhance their research, analytical, writing and presentation skills.
PLCY 493H: Internship in Public Policy and Global Affairs
Six (6) graded credit hours are awarded for the successful completion of an internship program at a public, private or non-profit organization. Students are expected to work four days per week following a program of work directed by a mentor at the host organization.
PLCY 394. The Intersector.
This course aims to empower undergraduates to explore ways that local public, private, and nonprofit sectors collaborate to address problems that cannot be solved by one sector alone. Students will utilize the Intersector toolkit to gain an understanding of how to diagnose, design, implement, and assess successful cross sector collaborations.
PLCY 425 Risks, Shocks, and the Safety Net
Many risks and shocks can make individuals and families vulnerable to economic hardship. This course examines America’s social policy regime through a wide-ranging investigation of the origins, development, and future of critical features of our social safety net. We pay particular attention to challenges emerging in the era of globalization.
PLCY 691H. Honors in Public Policy.
In preparing their honors theses, students will formulate a testable policy research question, design a study to answer this research question, and learn to think critically about causal inference.
Courses (MPP)
PLCY 702: Professional Development for Public Policy II
This course will help prepare MPP candidates for the job search and future employment opportunities. Students will revise professional resumes and cover letters; create a LinkedIn professional identity; search for and create a list of available online opportunities; network with UNC alum; and apply for post-graduate job positions.
PLCY 725: Politics, Advocacy and Public Policy
This core course provides an overview of politics, advocacy, and public policy. The primary objective is to empower students with the knowledge and skills necessary for advocating for and/or influencing public policy. The course is divided into (5) thematic sections, each with the following objectives:
(1) To understand the relationship between policy and politics; the role of causal narratives, deliberation, and collective conscience; and the incentives, motivations, and behavior of policymakers.
(2) To understand the role of policy entrepreneurs and executive action in the making of public policy; the importance of time and sequence in political/policy development; and the opportunities and constraints imposed by prior choices/policy feedback.
(3) To understand the art/science of lobbying.
(4) To understand how to advance a cause and corporate advocacy.
(5) To understand the role of advocacy networks across national boundaries.
PLCY 795: Leading for Impact
Leading for Impact will help students understand the power of cross-sector collaboration and effective strategies to lead social and environmental change. Co-taught by an academic and practitioners, the syllabus uses seminars, case studies, and outside speakers to explore evolving models of collaboration to make an impact. Students will learn the motivations, operations, and engagement models for stakeholders in different sectors and effective strategies to advance societal change. Classes will provide tangible leadership skills and insights that students can use to achieve impact outside of the academic seminar.
Courses (Ph.D.)
816 New Institutionalism: Politics, Institutions and Public policy (POLI 816)
Examines leading theoretical approaches to study institutions and public policy. Draws on “new institutionalism” scholarship from political science, economics, and sociology to analyze public policy in historical and comparative perspectives. Emphasis on applying these theoretical insights to substantive public policy issues.
820 American Welfare State
This course will examine the American welfare state through a wide-ranging investigation of the origins, development, and future of the most critical features of U.S. politics, social policy, and law.