With the fall semester under way, Rice students are actively engaged in public policy research and related activities at the Baker Institute — both virtually and in person. From the start, a core mission of the Baker Institute has been to connect with and involve students, our next generation of leaders. “An understanding of public policy is important for achieving growth inside and outside of the classroom,” says Baker Institute Director Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian. “We hope the paths of all Rice students lead to the institute, where they can stop by, listen and add their own voices to the ongoing public policy discussion.”
Twenty-four Rice students are Baker Institute research and administrative interns this semester, many engaging directly with our experts on a range of critical policy issues. At the Center for Energy Studies (CES), six interns are assisting fellows in the Energy, Minerals & Materials, Energy & Environment, and Latin American Energy programs, gathering research data on topics such as China’s role in mineral mining and supply chains; electric vehicles; life-cycle analysis of plastics; global circular economy frameworks; national oil companies in Latin America; and emissions from Latin America’s oil and gas operations. Six CES graduate fellows in Rice’s economics doctoral program will also provide research support to the center this fall.
Through the Child Health Policy Program at the Center for Health and Biosciences, four student interns will draw upon several quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate the social determinants of health — including food insecurity, housing conditions and neighborhood safety. They will also work with teachers and administration in a Harris County school district to track long- and short-term trends in health-related behaviors in school-age children, and will seek to understand the legal complexities of the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the interns will participate in a collaboration between Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell, III, Fellow in Drug Policy, and the Child Health Policy Program on the impact of cannabis policy reform on drug treatment referrals.
“Creating opportunities for students to work on research projects allows them to apply what they are learning in class to real-world contexts,” says Quianta Moore, the Huffington Fellow in Child Health Policy and the director of the Child Health Policy Program. “Researchers also benefit from student interns as they bring new perspectives, excitement and curiosity to the work, which fosters a stimulating work environment.”
This past summer, the 18th cohort of the Baker Institute’s Jesse Jones Leadership Center Summer in D.C. Policy Research Internship Program saw 10 future policy experts intern with government agencies and NGOs in the nation’s capital. The goal of the Summer in D.C. program is to offer Rice undergraduates hands-on experience in the world of public policy research and analysis, integrating classroom theory and real-life application. The 2021 participants completed internships with the U.S. Department of State; Resources for the Future; the Urban Institute; the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; American University; the Wilson Center; and the office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz. The students will virtually present written reports of their summer research to Baker Institute fellows and Rice faculty at the end of October.
On September 21, the Baker Institute Student Forum (BISF) will kick off the academic year with its annual trivia contest. (Be sure to check its Events page for details!) The BISF was founded nearly 20 years ago to connect the Rice student body with the Baker Institute through policy-related events. Today, its calendar can include exclusive lectures by institute fellows; informal debates; the opportunity to meet national leaders and other distinguished speakers; an annual policy competition; and publication in the Rice Journal of Public Policy. BISF events planned for the semester also include a September 23 panel with institute experts on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; a “Policy as a Profession” panel discussion; a moderated conversation on the legal challenges to Texas’ Senate Bill 8, the state’s new abortion law; and a biannual debate between Rice’s College Republicans and Young Democrats.
BISF’s annual policy competition, which challenges students to develop and present a proposal addressing a major policy issue, is set for April 10. Authors of the top three proposals receive a cash prize. The 2022 essay topic: election policy. Contact the BISF for early details about entering the competition, to join the BISF — it’s open to all Rice students — or for more information about its fall schedule. “We hope that whether it is through our events, the policy competition or the Rice Journal for Public Policy, all Rice students will have an opportunity to engage with public policy in a meaningful way,” says BISF president Andrew Wan, Rice ‘22.
Learn about the Baker Institute’s other student opportunities, including — travel permitting — summer 2022 internships in Washington, D.C., Paris and Moscow, here.