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The following feature story appeared in the campus publication Mosaic in March, 1997. Although some of the courses, students, and faculty members referenced in the story may have changed in the meantime, it still provides a full and accurate picture of the Public Policy Studies Program. For the most current course information and faculty listing, we encourage you to visit the program's homepage.Interning at a Glastonbury law firm specializing in workers' compensation, Helen M. Limoncelli '97 was able to do something that no one else there had been able to do. Needing to develop a policy on asbestos exposure but having no one with science training on staff, the firm asked Limoncelli, a biology major taking public policy courses, for help. Triangulating her expertise in public policy, biology, and the environment, she reviewed numerous case studies, summarized them, and provided the firm with information crucial to its efforts to develop a policy.
Multidisciplinary training in civic literacy
Limoncelli's ability to combine her interests in science and in public policy exemplifies one of the key features of the Public Policy Studies Program at Trinity - its ability to incorporate a wide range of student interests within a demanding core curriculum. "Because public policy can play itself out in so many areas," says the Program's director, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy Andrew J. Gold, "it is best to provide students with a disciplined set of options so that they can specialize their own education to prepare for whatever branch of public policy that they are interested in investigating."
A conversation between economics, political science, philosophy
It is fairly rare for a small liberal arts college like Trinity to offer a program in public policy. Trinity's program is even more distinctive in its multidisciplinary foundation of economics, political science, and philosophy. At large universities, where the vast majority of public policy programs are offered, the emphasis tends to be on the vocational "craft and technique" of public policy, according to Gold. At Trinity, the program is designed to produce a more theoretical understanding that nonetheless has broad applicability. And the program's "conversation" between its three core disciplines provides students a "system of intellectual checks and balances" for moving between abstract principles and ideals and the real world applications and implications of public policy, explains Gold.
"In any public policy matter," Gold continues, "at some point someone is going to ask 'But is it worth what it will cost?' - and that's where economics comes in as the most powerful tool. But we also will want to know what are the governmental processes and institutions best for deciding and implementing policy Ñ and here is where political science is most powerful. And we will always want to be able to ask 'What are the human consequences? Is it right? Is it just? Is it fair? Is the problem or issue properly framed?' - and here training in philosophy provides the strongest tools."
With America becoming more multiethnic and the world more globally interrelated, anthropology has become an increasingly interesting contributor to this multidisciplinary conversation. Gold explains, "We need to give students a fully informed sense that not every society is like the United States. People define, address, and solve their problems in vastly different ways." The core course offered by Jane H. Nadel-Klein, associate professor of anthropology, provides students with this essential multicultural and multinational awareness.
The city: where ideas bubble and hum
To marry students' theoretical and abstract learning to practical concerns and to encourage students to test out their career interests, the program requires a policy implementation workshop and a public policy-related internship. "We're in an excellent location," says Gold, "to take advantage of real-world opportunities and show students how public policy is actually formed, debated, and implemented. We can do things here in Hartford that cannot be done elsewhere." Whether a student is interested in urban issues, environmental policy, issues of law, gender, race, or policy regarding the arts or sports, there are learning opportunities in abundance. "The city," says Gold, "is where the complexities of life are carried out, where ideas bubble and hum, and where culture is created. Students can learn about justice, for example, in real, concrete ways that just aren't available elsewhere. It makes the abstract real."
Training in civic literacy
Visiting Lecturer in Political Science and Public Policy Edward Clayton speaks of the Program's "commitment to produce better informed and more active citizens. Students learn civic literacy by coming to understand how the American political system works, how policy is determined, and how they can be actively involved in those processes."
Key to that effort is understanding the essentially "argumentative" nature of public policy, according to Associate Professor of Philosophy Maurice L. Wade, who teaches the core course "Moral Theory and Public Policy." Wade explains that "public policy is more than a mechanical enterprise of considering and selecting the best solution. Ultimately, public policy in this nation is an argumentative enterprise about getting people to act collectively (or at least not to resist a policy), and that means public policy professionals need to convince people - through language, rhetoric, and arguments - to understand the issues as the professionals do."
Multidisciplinary and multilayered
Offering both bachelor's and master's degrees, the Program attracts not only undergraduates aspiring to public policy expertise but also experienced professionals (as graduate or Individualized Degree Program [IDP] students) seeking to expand their understanding and to gain credentials enabling them to practice in the public policy arena. Any class in the Program will thus likely feature a lively mix of ages and experiences, and this helps considerably in discovering real-world applications for classroom theories.
IDP student Marguerite Ann Veil '99, a professional with 16 years of experience in corporate health care policy, thinks that the mix of students encourages each to develop "the critical skills of thinking and communicating that are absolutely essential in the professional workplace."
Public Policy enlists faculty from a number of disciplines and with diverse backgrounds and interests. In addition to Clayton, Gold, Nadel-Klein, and Wade, other teachers in the Program include Visiting Lecturer in Italian Studies John Alcorn, Senior Lecturer in Political Science Adrienne Fulco, Vice President for Student Services James H. Mullen, and President Evan S. Dobelle. Lending particular legal expertise are Visiting Lecturer Russell L. Brenneman, L.L.B. and Lecturer Glen A. Gross, J.D.
Destinations
Public Policy majors have been successful in a number of fields: government, politics, nonprofit organizations, and advocacy groups. Perhaps not surprisingly, the destination of many majors is law school. It is there that Limoncelli, for example, plans to pursue her interests in science and public policy after graduation. She is quick to point out how important the Public Policy Program has been to her decision: "I discovered how I could apply my interests in science to my concerns for the environment. It opened up a whole new thinking process for me!"
-- Mark Warren McLaughlin