Research
Scholars at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy produce research that is grounded in evidence and solution-oriented.
Research Spotlights
First Jain Family Institute (JFI)-Brooks Fellowships: Regulatory schemes governing artificial intelligence in order to develop a new theoretical roadmap for U.S. policymakers (Sarah Kreps and Adi Rao). Impact of the welfare-to-work policies (Pauline Leung, Zhuan Pei, and Lexin Cai)
National Institutes of Health (NIH): School-Based Health Centers – An approach to address health disparities among rural youth (Sharon Tennyson and colleagues)
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Developing rapidly responsive community-engaged research on media-messaging and narrative-change strategies to promote health and racial equity (Jeff Niederdeppe and colleagues)
Brooks School Working Groups
The Brooks School has an open call to support faculty with small grants broadly aimed at building stronger research connections within our areas of policy expertise. Our first five awards will support Education Policy and Big Data, Health Policy, Junior Faculty, Migration Policy, and Tech Policy Working Groups.
The Education Policy and Big Data Interdisciplinary Working Group focuses on major empirical questions in K12 and Higher Education policy, providing a meeting space to learn about education-related research on campus, discuss data and methods for education policy analysis, and identify policy issues of highest priority for future research.
- Faculty Organizers: Maria Fitzpatrick, Mike Lovenheim, and Peter Rich
The Health Policy Working Group hosts seminars in health policy with internal and external experts in the field, and it provides training opportunities for graduate students, including a series of professional development activities and a program for visiting PhD students in health policy.
- Faculty Organizers: Nico Bottan, Colleen Carey, and John Cawley
The Junior Faculty Working Group creates a space for junior faculty to share feedback on work in progress and discuss ideas and topics of common interest. Monthly meetings are devoted to a mix of research and professional development, and some include senior colleagues invited to share their experiences with the research process.
- Faculty Organizers: Nico Bottan, Max Kapustin, and Peter Rich
The MigLab is an interdisciplinary working group for researchers, including students, postdocs, visiting scholars, and faculty, who are interested in the social scientific study of migration.
- Faculty Organizers: Matt Hall and Shannon Gleeson
- Co-sponsored by the Cornell Population Center
The Tech Policy Working Group brings in tech policy speakers from across campus and from around the Northeast to discuss interdisciplinary issues around emerging technology, providing a center of gravity on campus for addressing policy-related tech issues.
- Faculty Organizers: Sarah Kreps and James Patton Rogers
- Tech Policy Working Group Events
Research Support
The Brooks School is strongly positioned in its resources, scope, and focus to be a leader in policy research. Our research infrastructure aims to foster cutting-edge research in public policy, support policy scholars from diverse demographic and disciplinary backgrounds, nurture synergies across policy faculty and research areas, and grow collective resources for faculty and graduate students.
Brooks School Research Support: JFI-Brooks Fellowship Program
With the support and collaboration of the Jain Family Institute, we launched the JFI-Brooks Fellowship Program in 2022 to advance research and public engagement on policy questions related to climate change, education, social policy, and digital ethics. Our inaugural award recipients research teams are: Sarah Kreps and Adi Rao, and Pauline Leung, Zhuan Pei, and Lexin Cai.
Research on X (Twitter)
; Reynolds Foundation Commits $1.25M to Fund Brooks School Initiatives
The Reynolds Foundation, established by Tim MBA '94 and Caroline Reynolds, and led by Dr. @AlvaroSalas Castro MPA '14, has committed to fund a range of initiatives at the Brooks School.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/05/reynolds-foundation-commits-125m-fund-brooks-school-initiatives
Initiatives include:
📍 Funding for @CornellTPI research on financial freedom & virtual currency
📍 Funding for the launch of Brooks' Center on Global Democracy
📍 Underwriting for the establishment of the Reynolds Leadership Scholarships to support @CornellMPA students
Congratulations to Brooks faculty members Michael Richards and Max Kapustin on their affiliate appointments to the National Bureau of Economic Research (@NBER).
https://www.nber.org/news/nber-appoints-71-new-affiliates
The spring issue of the Brooks School Magazine is live!
📖 Flip through the 30-page magazine here: https://issuu.com/cornellbrooksschool/docs/brooksmagazine_s24_pp25
Story highlights include:
📕 Students live, learn, and intern on Capitol Hill with @CornellinWashDC
📕Brooks School launches center to combat democratic decline with @BeattyRiedl
📕 Michener to direct new Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures with @povertyscholar
Cont'd
📕 U.S. Secretary of Transportation @SecretaryPete encourages students to participate in local politics
📕 Stricter abortion laws link to increase in unintended births w/ @SasslerSharon & @julia_edd
📕 @CornellTPI focuses on intersection of national security & tech policy