While most of their peers were busy studying for winter finals, a team of students from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy was in Philadelphia taking part in the National Invitational Public Policy Challenge. The team advanced to the Policy Challenge’s Final Four, winning a $5,000 prize, with their proposal for Effortless Energy, a social venture that seeks to expand the adoption of home energy efficiency nationwide.
J. Mark Hansen, the Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor in Political Science, and Derek Douglas, the University of Chicago’s Vice President for Civic Engagement, have received appointments to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Hansen, whose research has focused on interest groups, citizen activism and public opinion, will join the Chicago Harris faculty. Douglas, who was President Obama’s senior adviser on urban policy from 2009 to 2011, will join Chicago Harris as a Senior Fellow.
Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, stopped by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy on Tuesday, February 19, for a Q&A event with Chicago Harris students, faculty and staff.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was on campus on Feb. 7 for a wide-ranging discussion with Chicago Harris Distinguished Senior Fellow Henry M. Paulson Jr. about international affairs and her path-breaking career.
The "Effortless Energy" team, comprised of Chicago Harris students Claire Tramm and Matt Gee, has been named the Illinois winner of the 2013 Clean Energy Student Challenge.