January/February 2001

Kingsley Haynes

School of Public Policy Outlines Vision for the Future By Elena Barbre With the creation of the School of Public Policy (SPP) last fall, George Mason University took the first step toward becoming the institution of higher learning that policy makers turn to for help with their problems. By expanding the scope, improving the quality, and strengthening the visibility of its programs in public policy, school administrators hope to make SPP the top public policy program in the region, competitive with the best such schools in the country. “Not a single dominant public policy school exists in the national capital region,” says Kingsley Haynes, dean of SPP. “At best, there are a few highly regarded programs in specialized fields of public policy. While the rankings published in the media are highly subjective and sometimes misleading, they indicate that no university in the policy-making capital of the world has seized the opportunity to create a first-rate program. George Mason University intends to capitalize on its prime location, strong faculty, and unique programs to do just that.” “In our democratic society, public policy is shaped by many forces, including social norms, commercial interests, and ideas,” says Haynes. “Policy makers succeed by injecting new ideas and adapting political structures and economic interests. Academia can and should play a vital role in this process.” Through educational programs, universities teach future leaders about the principles and practices that underlie democratic policy making. Through research, universities serve as a rich source of new policy ideas and an influential voice in evaluating existing and proposed policies. SPP is distinguished from other leading schools in that it places emphasis on the interactions between the stabilizing influences of diverse national, ethnic, and regional cultures on individual and institutional behaviors, and on the sustained challenges to the established order of the continual innovation of new technologies. SPP also focuses on the rapidly eroding barriers and emerging partnerships between what have traditionally been the public and private sectors in Western democracies. SPP is devoted to the study of five themes: national governance and public management, transportation and regional development policy, international commerce and policy, science and technology policy, and the role of culture and values in policy formation. “As we study the public business of the national, state, and local governments and international trade; create and maintain an environment that encourages innovation and the development of science and technology with practical application; and integrate multiple cultures, values, and ethics in a rapidly growing economy, a range of opportunities unprecedented in our area and the commonwealth will be available to students and scholars alike,” says Haynes. The school’s objectives are to provide the highest quality academic and professional graduate education, engage in research and development with broad application, and promote discussion of a wide range of intellectual views about public business and civic responsibility. Already nationally ranked in its ability to attract external research and development (R&D) funds (fifth nationally in all R&D funds and second on federal R&D funding), the school is off to a strong start. To achieve its objectives, the school will maintain and expand the Ph.D. in Public Policy; offer a consolidated master’s degree that includes the international commerce and policy program and a new program in public policy; establish a set of high-profile, short-term training courses and certificates for executive and citizen development in the public policy arena; develop a public forum for constructive policy discussion, debate, and information exchange, both on campus and through telecommunications and the media; increase research and development funding to support more students and engage more faculty in applied research; and recruit the best public policy students from Virginia, the nation, and the world by exploiting the advantages of George Mason’s faculty, programs, and location. As a catalyst for public policy activities at the university, SPP supports and complements existing policy research activities in other academic units and strengthens this collaboration with cross appointments. A visiting faculty program also will be established and shared by all public policy units across the university. Already in the works are a joint master’s program in enterprise engineering and policy with the School of Information Technology and Engineering (IT&E), a plan to expand interactions with the School of Law in the area of technology policy and law, and an effort to link current work in electronic procurement and electronic commerce to the business and technology aspects of digital interaction in IT&E and the School of Management. “Our goal is to become a preeminent school of public policy in the United States within 10 years--to be a place that the federal government comes to for advice and assistance,” says Haynes. “We want to use Northern Virginia as a test bed for policy development, implementation, and evaluation, and to act as an international beacon for integrating regional and national support to carry out domestic and global international functions in the public and private sectors.”