News from 2016
An End-of-Year Message from Dean Henry E. Brady
Dear Alumni and Friends of the Goldman School: Like many of you, I find myself reflecting on the state of our nation and world as 2016 draws to a close. I deeply believe in decency toward others, tolerance, respect for each and every person, the value of freedom, and the need for equal opportunity. I also believe in the importance of knowledge and information in the policy process, the opportunities for government to make the world better, and the importance of…
Bringing City Government to the Classroom
Too often, policy analysis is at high levels of abstraction. At the local level, there is little abstraction -- everything is excruciatingly real. Policies affect individuals with names and addresses who raise their concerns and struggles directly to your face. As President Obama once told visiting mayors, “being president is tough, but thank goodness I’m not a mayor.” Using my experiences as a former Oakland city manager, I introduce Goldman students to the world of…
The Truth About Young Immigrants and DACA
Maybe you’ve heard this story line before. With the blithe stroke of a pen and without congressional approval, President Obama gave legal status to a vast population of immigrants who entered the country unlawfully—because he wanted to, and because he found a way. I’m referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program is called DACA, which until the recent presidential campaign was an acronym known by few beyond the nation&rsquo…
A New Way to Improve College Enrollment
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&rsquo…
Advice for the Next President: Expand Social Security
Photographer: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images The next U.S. president and Congress will face a serious test: What to do, if anything, about the nation's retirement crisis? Americans aren’t saving nearly enough in their 401(k)s, while wide swaths of the workforce aren't saving at all, because they don’t have access to a retirement plan. Social Security, meanwhile, faces a financial shortfall as the baby boomers enter retirement. On the Democratic side…
Summer Internship with The Reach Trust (USAID Global Development Fellowship)
In the past summer, over ninety Goldman School students interned in government, nonprofit and private agencies throughout the US and the world. Max Aaronson spent his summer completing a USAID Global Development Fellowship in South Africa. Through USAID’s Global Development Fellowship, Max interned at the Reach Trust in South Africa. The Reach Trust was established in 2012 to inspire and improve lives through the development of innovative and cost-effective mobile solutions. Max’s projects included the…
Coal makes global poverty worse
On the eve of the Marrakech Climate Conference (COP22) the global energy and development community has an opportunity to embrace and launch a new era of clean energy and energy equity. We all need energy. Without affordable, reliable, safe sources of electricity which can be easily accessed, people remain stuck in poverty. There aren’t lights in homes for children to do homework nor energy for economic opportunity and advancement. Health clinics don’t have refrigerators…
Nudges That Help Struggling Students Succeed
When I was in high school, I earned A’s in all my math classes—until I took calculus. In algebra and geometry, I could coast on memorizing formulas, but now I had to think for myself. It was disastrous, culminating in my getting a charity “C,” and I barely passed my college calculus class. The reason, I was convinced, was that I didn’t have a math mind. I have avoided the subject ever…
Summer Internship with Year Up’s Veterans Initiative
In the past summer, over ninety Goldman School students interned in government, nonprofit and private agencies throughout the US and the world. John Parker (second from left) poses with members of the Year Up Bay Area Veterans Initiative team. Johnathon Parker was part of a small team piloting an initiative to recruit young adult veterans into the Year Up program. Year Up is a non-profit organization that provides low-income young adults who are disconnected from stable career pathways with…
CSHE is Now Part of Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy
UC Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) was established in 1957 as an Organized Research Unit (ORU), and the first research institute in the world devoted to the study of systems, institutions, and processes of higher education. CSHE is now part of the campus’ Goldman School of Public Policy, in part reflecting the Center’s long history of interdisciplinary and policy relevant research. Previously, CSHE reported directly to the UC Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and…