Same-sex couples in 16 countries and 13 American states (as well as Washington, D.C.) can now legally marry, and other places are also considering making same-sex marriage legal. M.V. Lee Badgett, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has done considerable research in the U.S. and Europe on marriage equality among same-sex couples. She draws on that research to try to help bridge the gap between opponents and proponents of same sex marriage. Please join us at ISER to hear her talk about her work.
News and Announcements
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News and Announcements
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Gunnar Knapp has been appointed director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), after acting as interim director since January. He is a long-time professor of economics at ISER, widely respected for his studies of Alaska’s commercial fisheries and other aspects of the state’s economy.
ISER is part of UAA’s College of Business and Public Policy, and Rashmi Prasad, dean of the college, praised the appointment: “Dr. Knapp is uniquely qualified to lead ISER at this point in its history. In addition to his outstanding academic credentials, he has proven himself to be a leader among the CBPP faculty and in his role as interim director of ISER.”
Gunnar Knapp says he is honored to be named director, and sees his job as “an opportunity to work with wonderful colleagues on complex and fascinating social and economic issues—and to make a real difference in helping Alaskans understand and address those issues.”
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In recent times ISER has broadened its research capacity in economics and public policy by adding three new faculty members.
Diwakar Vadapalli is an assistant professor of public policy at ISER. His PhD in social welfare is from Case Western University. Before coming to ISER he worked as a community planner and local government specialist in rural Alaska.
Mouhcine Guettabi is an assistant professor of economics at ISER, with a PhD in economics from Oklahoma State University. His fields of specialization are regional and urban economics, applied microeconomics, and health economics.
Matt Reimer holds a PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis. He is an assistant professor of economics at ISER, with interests in environmental and resource economics, focusing on fisheries policy.
Read more about the work these new faculty members are doing.
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In early April, Northrim Bank made a grant of $100,000 to ISER for its ongoing research initiative, Investing for Alaska's Future. Northrim has now granted ISER a total of $1 million for this research, which is examining the importance of investment for building a strong Alaska economy. Scott Goldsmith, professor emeritus of economics at ISER, directs the initiative. See more about this announcement at the UAA Archive.
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After three years as director of ISER, Heather Hudson has decided to step down at the end of 2012. Gunnar Knapp, a professor of economics at ISER, has been appointed interim director effective January 1, 2013.
Heather Hudson will be on leave during spring 2013, writing a book on the history of telecommunications in Alaska and carrying out other research projects before returning to the ISER faculty later in the year. Dr. Hudson came to ISER from the University of San Francisco, where she founded the Telecommunications Management and Policy Program.
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Vic Fischer talked about his new autobiography and signed copies October 30 in the UAA Consortium Library, at an event attended by about 200 people. The book, written with Charles Wohlforth, traces Fischer’s life from his early days in Germany and Russia to his decades in Alaska, where he was a delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, a member of both the territorial and state senates, and the first director of ISER. Today he is a director emeritus at ISER and continues to study state and local government policy and Alaska-Russia issues.
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ISER has received a $288,000 check from the estate of Roxolana Pomeroy, for the Harold E. Pomeroy Public Policy Research Endowment. Dolly Farnsworth and John Havelock, longtime friends of the Pomeroys, presented the check to ISER on October 17. (In photo, left to right, John Havelock, Dolly Farnsworth, ISER Director Heather Hudson, CBPP dean Rashmi Prasad.)
Roxolana Pomeroy established the endowment in 1985, to honor her husband, Harold Pomeroy, who died in 1983. Both Harold and Roxolana Pomeroy took a keen interest in public policy in Alaska and were active in state and local government during the early decades of statehood. The endowment supports faculty research on Alaska public policy.
For more information, download the PDF (11KB).
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Columbia University’s Institute of Tele-Information (CITI) has appointed ISER’s director, Heather Hudson, as one of about 20 Inaugural CITI Fellows.
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David K. Shipler is a best-selling author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and former foreign correspondent for the The New York Times. Please join us at ISER to hear Mr. Shipler talk about alleviating poverty by recognizing and dealing with the multiple interacting problems families have. His book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, was a finalist for the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award.
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Please join us at ISER to hear Kirsti Westphalen, the Consul General of Finland in Los Angeles, talk about Finland’s Arctic policy. Ms. Westphalen has worked in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs for three decades, and has had postings in Paris, Beijing, New York, Damascus and Rabat. Since 2008 she has been the Consul General of Finland in Los Angeles, where she has focused on sustainable and clean technology solutions, educational excellence, and exchanges between Finland and the United States.
When: Monday, September 10, 12 to 1