Professor Receives Fulbright
Dr. Dianne Rahm, a professor in the department of Public Administration, has received a Fulbright Award for the 2008 Fulbright German Studies Seminar. The topic of this seminar is “Science and Society: The Impact of Science on Policy Formulation.”
The Fulbright Commission states that the two-week program will begin in Berlin, includes visits to other German cities, and will end in the headquarters of the European Union (EU), Brussels. The seminar will focus on the formulation of policies on issues such as climate change, genetically modified food, stem cell research, as well as scientific and technological education. The seminar will explore how Germany and the other EU-member nations view the role of science in their societies, what factors might explain differing approaches to scientific or technological issues, and the challenge of conforming different national approaches to a uniform EU policy. The seminar will also examine the nature of relationships between national and sub-national governments, private sector organizations, and research and development institutions including universities and governmental research laboratories.
Fulbright awards are highly competitive. The Fulbright commission reports that the selection process includes evaluation of the applicant’s written project statement; training, academic rank, and position; reputation as a scholar; and quality of professional accomplishments as demonstrated by publications, research grants, and conference papers. Review of applications is multi-stage and multinational. First, a peer review committee at the U.S.-based Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) reviews the applicant’s credentials and written project statement. Second, review of CIES-recommended candidates is conducted by the Fulbright bi-national commission. Finally, applicants are reviewed and officially selected by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a twelve-person committee appointed by the President of the United States. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State oversees the operations of the Fulbright Program.
Dianne Rahm has published two edited books in the last several years. These include Globalization and the Environment (with Khi Thai and Jerrell Coggburn) published in 2007 and Sustainable Energy and the states: Essays on Politics, Markets, and Leadership published in 2006. In addition, Dr. Rahm has published several articles and book chapters including “Environmentally Preferable Procurement: Greening U.S. State Government Fleets,” in Public Works Management & Policy, (with Jerrell Coggburn), “Water Resources Management in Botswana: Balancing Sustainability and Economic Development,” in Environment, Development and Sustainability, (with Larry Swatuk and Erica Matheny), and “Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: The Critical Role of the Nonprofit Community in the San Antonio Disaster Response,” in Disaster Management Handbook (with Sandra Palomo-Gonzalez). Dr. Rahm has also contributed articles to Encyclopedia of Issues in U.S. Public Policy and Social Issues: An Encyclopedia of Controversies, History, and Debates. She is currently writing a book on U.S. climate change policy.
Submitted by Chris G. Reddick, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Public Administration.