Student Research–2012

In the classroom and in the community, Mills MPP students develop their analytical skills while helping government and nonprofit organizations address important policy problems.

In the Local Politics, Planning, and Management graduate seminar, Mills MPP students are collaborating to help community groups participate in the City of Oakland's Zoning Update process.  Students are helping residents and business owners in the Laurel District to envision how their neighborhood might change and grow under different zoning scenarios.  Student work on this project was recently featured in the MacArthur Metro community newspaper.

Under faculty supervision, each Mills MPP student produces a Master's Policy Report (MPR), a professional paper that meets both the school's academic standards and the needs of a practitioner who acts as a client for the project. Recently completed MPRs include:

• Divinia Anderson, MPP '12.  Creating A Collaborative New Media Lab for the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation.  Client:  East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. Executive Summary
• Veronica Beaty, MPP '12.  Parking Policy in Downtown Oakland. Client:  City of Oakland, Planning Division. Executive Summary
• Rocelyn De Leon, MPP '12.  Comparative Analysis of Wage Theft, Workplace Injuries, and Environmentally Hazardous Working Conditions.  Client:  Worksafe. Executive Summary
• Dyana Delfin-Polk, MPP '12.  Dreams for Sale: Evaluating the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) for Reducing Foreclosures in the United States. National Asian American Coalition. Executive Summary
• Dana Doughty, MPP '12.  Neighborhood Disaster Planning in Hayward. Client:  City of Hayward. Executive Summary
• Laura Flynn, MPP '12*.  A Healthy Oakland: Examining the Intersection between Health and Land Use Policies. Client: Office of Rebecca Kaplan, Councilmember At-Large for the City of Oakland. Executive Summary
• Julia Globus-Sabory, MPP '12.  The SF Juvenile Probation Department's Effort to Reach First Time Probationers. Client: San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department. Executive Summary
• Kimberly Kerry-Tyerman, MPP '12. Smart Practices in Community Engagement Among B Corporations. Client: B Lab. Executive Summary
• Amelia Lopez, MPP '12. Expanding Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Education in California. Assembly Member Susan Bonilla. Executive Summary
• Susan Ma, MPP '12. "Kopp"ing Out: Amending California's Hospital Language Access Policy. Client: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. Executive Summary
• Lili Mano, MPP '12.  "A Comparative Policy Analysis of Basic Skills Education in Peralta Community College District".  Client: Peralta Community Colleges, Office of Institutional Research. Executive Summary
• Jill Nevins, MPP '12.  "A Traffic Impact Analysis for the City of Oakland". Client:  Oakland Public Works. Executive Summary
• Maru Salazar, MPP '12.  "Core Competencies for Behavioral Health Programs Serving Women and Girls in San Francisco". Client: San Francisco Mental Health Board. Executive Summary
• Rose Sutton, MPP '12.  "A Comprehensive Assessment of Onsite Youth Programming". Client: Oakland Housing Authority. Executive Summary
• Marian Tarbox, MPP '12. "An Analysis of Microvolunteering's Potential". Client: St. Anthony Foundation of San Francisco. Executive Summary
• Linda Tran, MPP '12. "Hayward Greenhouse Gas Inventory". Client City of Hayward. Executive Summary

Complete reports are available upon request. The opinions expressed in the reports are those of the authors and not necessarily endorsed by the Mills Public Policy Program or the client organizations.  Asterisk (*) denotes Outstanding Thesis Award winner.

Faculty Research

Several members of the Mills faculty who teach public policy have conducted research that is typical of the work done in this field. Program Director Carol Chetkovich has studied the workings of affirmative action policy in the urban fire service, and her book on the subject is widely used by public managers trying to enhance diversity in uniformed services. Dr. Chetkovich has also produced several reports for federal and state government agencies in a number of social service areas, including childcare, healthcare, and services for people with disabilities. Her most recent work (with coauthor Frances Kunreuther of the Building Movement Project) is a book that explores the social-change work of small nonprofit organizations. This work is intended to inform nonprofit activists, funders, and researchers seeking to understand and support this sector.

Among their other work on organizational performance and reliability, Professor Paul Schulman and former program director Emery Roe recently have investigated California's restructuring of its electricity sector. Their findings are reported in High Reliability Management: Operating on the Edge(Stanford University Press, 2008).

Professor Siobhan Reilly has conducted a number of studies relating to family and child well-being, including work on welfare policy, child support, family structure and living arrangements, resource allocation within the family, and the risks of infant formula use. Her work has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and has significant implications for a number of social policies.

The challenge of interagency collaboration is the focus of one longitudinal, in-depth research project by Professor Dan Ryan. Studying community organizations working jointly on the problem of substance abuse, Dr. Ryan identified important factors constituting both obstacles and supports for cooperative work. Findings from this and other work have been used by foundations, local government agencies, and policy designers.

Among other Mills faculty, Professor Lorien Rice has reported on education and transportation policy for the Public Policy Institute of California, and Professor Mark Henderson contributed to strategic planning for the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.