Recent News

As I’ve done for the last few years, I’d like to take a moment on this day before Thanksgiving to think about the spirit of the day and to reflect on our mission and purpose as a School of Public Policy. As a School of Public Policy, we have a special duty to think about how we can create and restore good government and a sense of community in localities, states, and nations.  The…

The 31 US governors who have refused to accept Syrian refugees, the majority of whom are women and children, seem to have forgotten that we are a nation made up entirely of people who have traveled from far and wide - perhaps during this generation or perhaps generations ago - to seek refuge from persecution and conflict. As one of millions of Afghan refugees fleeing the Soviet war of 1979-1989, I would not be here today if it were not for…

Thanks to the generosity of alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students, the Goldman School raised more than $20K in the BIG GIVE for student fellowships! The GSPP community also banded together to campaign on social media on behalf of the school. Our efforts garnered an extra $4K in prize money for fellowships!

American public schools do a good job of getting students into college, but a poor job preparing them to succeed once they’re there. While more than two-thirds of high school graduates enroll in college, nearly two-thirds of those arrive on campus unprepared for college-level rigor. Instead of trying to solve this problem together, high schools and colleges typically operate in silos — high schools concentrate on increasing graduation rates, while universities pay little attention to what’s…

Gov. Jerry Brown talks with University of California president Janet Napolitano during a UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco on March 18. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) This year's very public showdown between Gov. Jerry Brown and University of California President Janet Napolitano over raising UC's tuition ended in a compromise that in no way addressed the real issue: Where will the money come from to keep the state's world-class public colleges and universities…