Students Present Research, Moderate Panels at Regional APPAM Conference

April 28, 2017

Pardee RAND students made an impressive showing at the inaugural APPAM California Regional Student Conference, held at the University of California Riverside. The conference was jointly hosted by area policy schools, including Pardee RAND, Claremont Graduate University, Pepperdine University, University of California Irvine, University of California Los Angeles, University of California Riverside, University of California San Diego and University of Southern California.

Over twenty Pardee RAND students either presented their research or moderated panels, and most were able to participate in networking activities. Additionally, alum Ricardo Basurto-Davila (cohort '03) and professor Jill Cannon spoke on a well-received panel on careers in public policy, and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Gery Ryan and professor Phil Armour moderated panels.

The APPAM Student Conference came to Southern California in part thanks to the efforts of Pardee RAND associate dean Rachel Swanger and alum Michael Shires (cohort '90), an associate professor at Pepperdine. They worked with USC professor Juliet Musso, a fellow Institutional Representative for APPAM, to have Los Angeles selected as the second site for the student conference. They used the success of the L.A. Policy Symposium as the basis for their application.

Students found the conference to be a great opportunity to hone their presentation and networking skills and receive feedback on their work. As Diana Carew (cohort '15) said after the conference, “It was the perfect platform for students to test drive papers and dissertation ideas, providing a forum for thoughtful questions and discussion that can help shape future work.”

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All photos courtesy of Mark Manalang, UC Riverside. A full photo gallery is available on the UC Riverside website.