Pardee RAND News & Events

Pardee RAND Graduate School students, alumni, and faculty are often in the news, writing blogs, publishing research, speaking at events, and more. Other pages (student blog posts, alumni news, faculty blog posts, featured research) provide filtered views of Pardee RAND news and announcements; here we present a complete compilation of ALL the news that's fit to share.

  • Asian teacher standing at the front of a middle school classroom teaching students, photo by Hero Images/Getty Images

    Social Studies Achievement Has Plummeted Nationally. Four Reasons This Trend Will Not Be Reversed Without Systemic Action

    Results from the latest national social studies assessments show U.S. history scores continued a previous pattern of decline and civics scores declined for the first time ever. Student Melissa Diliberti and senior policy researcher Julia Kaufman say reversing these trends will require concerted effort and increased investments at all levels of the U.S. education system.

    May 22, 2023

  • Hillsborough High School students protest a bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in Tampa, Florida, March 3, 2022, photo by Octavio Jones/Reuters

    Woo and Diliberti: 'Don't Say Gay' Law Will Hurt Students and Teachers Across the U.S.

    The Florida Board of Education recently expanded the scope of the state's Parental Rights in Education law, which restricts classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation. Research by students Ashley Woo and Melissa Diliberti suggests the so-called “Don't Say Gay” bill is bad for students and educators—and not just in Florida.

    May 13, 2023

  • ChatGPT user interface is seen on a smartphone screen over a keyboard, photo by Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Reuters

    AI, ChatGPT, and Language as Technology: Q&A with William Marcellino

    William Marcellino, a senior behavioral and social scientist at RAND and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, discusses the rapidly expanding reach of artificial intelligence, the challenges it could pose for both society and policymakers, and how the research community is poised to help.

    May 12, 2023

  • Scholarship Fund Aims to Strengthen Connections Between IIASA, RAND, and Pardee RAND

    Since 2015, a donation from RAND alum Roger Levien has provided summer fellowships for Pardee RAND students to work at the International Institute of Advanced Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria. Now, a scholarship fund seeks to extend the reach of Levien’s generosity.

    Apr 11, 2023

  • A teacher using a tablet computer in an elementary school lesson, photo by Getty Images

    Amplifying Teachers' Voices: Q&A with Ashley Woo

    Ashley Woo, an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, aims to bring teachers' perspectives into policymaking. In this interview, she discusses her research on teachers' responses to state restrictions on how they can address topics related to race and gender in the classroom.

    Mar 16, 2023

  • A man's profile in front of an abstract image of branches and hundred dollar bills, illustration by Kekeli Sumah/RAND Corporation, from Andre Hunter/Unsplash and Pete Soriano/RAND Corporation, from Atlas Illustrations/Adobe Stock and dar/Adobe Stock

    Faculty, Students Investigate the U.S. Racial Wealth Gap

    Policy interventions to address current wealth disparities must understand the long-standing inequities that contributed to them. A series of discussion papers by professors Jonathan Welburn, Kathryn Edwards, and a team of faculty and students investigated how wealth is accumulated, the potential effects of particular policy responses, and the social mobility prospects of African Americans.

    Feb 25, 2023

  • People work at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, February 14, 2023, photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

    Earthquake in Turkey, Syria: Insights from Pardee RAND Faculty

    Thousands of people have been confirmed dead in one the strongest earthquakes to hit Turkey and Syria in the past century. As search-and-rescue missions ended and recovery began, Pardee RAND faculty and RAND researchers shared some of their initial thoughts.

    Feb 13, 2023

  • A voter waits to cast his ballot in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections at Considine Little Rock Recreation Center in Detroit, Michigan, November 8, 2022, photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

    Whether Democracy Is Eroding or on the Upswing Depends on What State You Live In

    Voter laws, civic education opportunities, and trust in government are all important aspects of democracy that impact individuals' civic participation. If policymakers had better ways to measure and monitor this “civic infrastructure” beyond just voter turnout, a different, more complicated but complete picture of our democracy would likely emerge.

    Dec 13, 2022

  • Black woman teacher in a classroom, photo by NappyStock/Pexels

    Keeping Teachers of Color in the Classroom Will Take More Than a Pay Raise

    All students—but particularly Black and Latinx students—benefit academically and socially from having teachers who are people of color. Policymakers and education leaders can help these teachers stay in the profession by making teaching more financially sustainable and fostering collegial relationships within school communities.

    Dec 1, 2022

  • Railway workers repair the tracks damaged by Russian shelling in the northern direction, Kharkiv Region, northeastern Ukraine, November 25, 2022, photo by Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Ukrinform/Abacapress.com via Reuters

    Politics of Ukrainian Reconstruction

    When fighting subsides, Ukraine may undergo reconstruction on the scale of the post–World War II Marshall Plan. Debate is ramping up about core issues, such as the scope of reconstruction, sources of funding, and reforms needed for success. Ukraine and the West might begin now to forge consensus on these issues.

    Nov 30, 2022

  • Collage illustrating communication between police and community, photo by freshidea/Adobe Stock

    Equity Hackathon Examines 'Justice Reinvestment'

    Justice reinvestment is a data-driven approach to reducing spending on corrections and reinvesting the savings in evidence-based strategies designed to increase public safety and hold offenders accountable. Pardee RAND students explored this concept with undergraduates from Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, and Spelman in RAND's second annual Equity Hackathon sponsored by the Tech + Narrative Lab and RAND's NextGen Initiative.

    Nov 10, 2022

  • U.S. service members climb an obstacle at Camp Johnson, Vermont, July 23, 2021, photo by Calvin Reimold/U.S. Army Reserve Command

    Alum Develops Tool to Address Disparities in the U.S. Military

    Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in military career success and representation are a long-standing problem. To help inform efforts to address this, David Schulker (cohort '07) created the Military Demographic Equity Machine tool.

    Sep 6, 2022

  • Russian service members ride an armoured vehicle in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, July 23, 2022, photo by Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

    Understanding Russia's Motivations, and Using Them

    The concept of ontological security could help explain Putin's war on Ukraine and his regime's reasoning, write Khrystyna Holynska (cohort '20) and Professor Pauline Moore. It's about maintaining a continuous sense of self, and in this case, of state identity. Putin may have deemed the invasion necessary to maintain a sense of continuity and order, where order is Russia's continued adversarial relationship with the West.

    Aug 19, 2022

  • A Ukrainian army officer looks at a destroyed SS-24 missile silo near the town of Pervomaisk, Ukraine, October 30, 2001, photo by Gleb Garanich CVI/CLH//Reuters

    How Russia's Nuclear Double Cross of Ukraine Teaches Dangerous Lessons

    Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the West's support for Kyiv has been tempered by an ace up Vladimir Putin's sleeve: the potential use of nuclear weapons. But Khrystyna Holynska says other countries are taking notice, which could imperil world stability even further.

    Aug 16, 2022

  • The words Hacking Equity on a black background with abstract lines and squares, image by Peter Soriano/RAND Corporation

    RAND, Pardee RAND, and AUCC Partner for Equity Hackathons

    By connecting emerging leaders of color from Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, and Spelman with experienced policy analysts from RAND and doctoral candidates from Pardee RAND Graduate School, the equity hackathon series run by the Pardee RAND Tech + Narrative Lab and RAND's NextGen Initiative spark a wide range of fresh insights and creative explorations.

    Aug 15, 2022

  • A young woman waiting for a nurse to get a syringe ready for an injection, photo by Lacheev/Getty Images

    Does Racism Affect Patient Safety?

    Rates and types of patient safety events vary across patients from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, with minority patients more likely to experience safety issues. The factors that lead to these disparities are complex and intertwined, but there is growing sentiment that racism may play a role.

    Aug 8, 2022

  • Students making their way through a hallway at Ridgeview STEM Junior High in Pickerington, Ohio, December 21, 2021, photo by Shane Flanigan/USA Today via Reuters

    School Districts Still Struggled in Year Three of the Pandemic

    Research by student Melissa Kay Diliberti and Professor Heather Schwartz found that 90 percent of school districts changed operations in 2021–2022 because of teacher shortages. They increased substitute teacher pay and their number of staff above prepandemic levels. They also struggled with political polarization around critical race theory, student and staff mental health, and student learning loss.

    Jul 19, 2022

  • Hanging lightbulb with connecting dots in foreground, many hanging lightbulbs out of focus in background, photo by onurdongel/Getty Images

    Embracing Intrinsic Cultural Advantages in Innovation

    The United States has long enjoyed the benefits of novel technology, but it could lose ground soon as other countries advance. Will Shumate and Tim Marler ask, could it be time for the United States to embrace the advantages in innovation that it holds relative to near-peers like China?

    Jul 15, 2022

  • Smoke rises from the pipes of a heat power plant, Kiev, Ukraine, November 27, 2015, photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

    Rebuilding Ukraine for a Changing Climate

    When the war in Ukraine ends, the country will in all likelihood undergo a massive reconstruction. Ukraine could rebuild in a way that would both lower its carbon footprint and construct infrastructure resilient to the effects of climate change.

    Jul 8, 2022

  • Alum Uses Game Theory and AI to Gain Insight on Space Competition

    Bonnie Triezenberg (cohort '14) and colleagues use game theoretical models to focus on the dynamics of space competition. They describe strategic interaction patterns, where possible; the conditions that give rise to them; and how investments shape those conditions.

    Jul 6, 2022