Six students benefited from the generosity of alumni and friends

of the La Follette School during the 2010-2011 school year. The students’ interests include shaping institutions, crafting anti-poverty policy, solving problems, and using neuroscience to inform public policy.

The students all appreciate the transferable technical skills they are learning at the La Follette School and the opportunity to expand their abilities to analyze public policy,

evaluate public programs and make policy recommendations.

Four students received funds given by a number of alumni and friends of the school. One, Alex Hartzman, was profiled in the fall 2010 issue of La Follette Notes. He received the Ina Jo Rosenberg and Shiri Eve Leah Gumbiner Fellowship to help his pursuit of a dual degree in public affairs and public health.

Ryan Schowalter is thankful for a dona-

The importance of how societies, nations, states and universities make decisions about who benefits from shared resources has never been more evident than this spring as people in countries across North Africa and the Middle East gathered to demand greater political freedom and attention to economic problems. In the United States, Congress and the president struggle with balancing the budget, while state governments nego-tiate cuts and labor rights. At the Wisconsin Capitol, legislative procedures and protests have drawn global attention. Even people in Egypt tuned in to Wiscon-sin events, alum Katie Croake reported at a La Follette

School seminar presentation she made over the internet about her work in the Egyptian struggle for liberation.

As Wisconsin policymakers debate approaches to han-dling the state’s expected structural deficit and the univer-sity presses for more flexibility in dealing with impending budgetary challenges, many of our alumni and friends are on the front lines in producing the analysis and recom-mendations that our elected officials will rely on to ascer-tain the ramifications of various proposals and to evaluate the effectiveness of policy initiatives. Regardless of one’s

Spring 2011 / www.lafollette.wisc.edu

La Follette NotesNews for Alumni & Friends of The Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

From the Director Carolyn Heinrich

See Student Support on page 6

See From the Director on page 4

Donations and bequests help students pursue careers in public affairs

Save the Dates for Alumni & Friends

Social Events

Summer picnic is July 12, 2011, at the La Follette School

Reception in Washington, D.C., likely will be November 3, 2011

Reception in Madison is February 2, 2012 4:30-7 p.m., Inn on the Park, 22 South Carroll St.

Information and to update contact infoalumni@lafollette.wisc.edu, (608) 263-7657

Alumni share insights with students

Alum Saul Wolf, right, talks with students (from left) Anne Chapman,

Liz Hartjes and Justin Rabbach after giving a presentation at the La Follette School about his work in the nonprofit sector. Wolf is one of many La Follette

School alumni to talk with students about his career and job during the 2010-11 school year. The 2008 grad earned a dual degree in public affairs and law,

and is remittances manager at the World Council of Credit Unions.

For more on connections between alumni and students, see article on page 5.

Alumni craft analysis, recommendations for decision-makers

2 / La Follette Notes www.lafollette.wisc.edu Spring 2011

’92 grad publishes book on Federal Home Loan Bank SystemMark Cassell, 1992, has published Mission Expansion in the Federal Home Loan Bank System with co-author Susan M. Hoffmann. He is an associate professor of political science at Kent State

University where he teaches courses in public policy and adminis-tration, compara-tive public

policy and urban politics. His scholarship is mainly con-cerned with understanding public sector transformations.

w

Herd joins Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, national survey boardLa Follette School sociolo-gist Pamela Herd is the new co-director of the Wiscon-sin Longitudinal Study, a long-term examination of a random sample of 10,317 men and women who gradu-ated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. It tracks people throughout their lives by collecting survey data from the graduates and their relatives.

She also has been appointed to the Board of Overseers for the General Social Survey, a long-running omnibus survey of the U.S. adult population funded by the National Sci-ence Foundation.

Mark Cassell

Mooney recognized for scholarship, service

Ulrike Nischan and Rebecca McAtee will pres-ent their group’s capstone workshop report at

the Law and Society Association conference in San Francisco in June.

“We will be presenting as part of a panel with three international academics who have done re-search on Transparency International, and Advoca-cy and Legal Advice Centers in particular,” McA-tee reports. “The head of the panel approached us in December about presenting when he found our paper on the La Follette web site and our paper was approved at the beginning of March.”

McAtee and Nischan prepared the 2010 report for Transparency International with Jonathan Mc-Bride and Jonathan Hoechst. Their cost benefit analysis evaluates the effect of Advocacy and Legal Advice Centers as an anticorruption strategy. The analysis suggests that the centers are an extremely cost-effective method of reducing corruption.

All four authors graduated with master’s de-grees in international public affairs. Nischan is a program specialist with the IRIS Center at the Uni-

Grads to present report at transparency conference

Ulrike Nischan, left, and Rebecca McAtee will present their 2010 workshop report on Transparency International at a research conference in San Francisco.

versity of Maryland. Hoechst is a budget analyst with the Wisconsin Department of Administra-tion. McAtee is an analyst with the Wisconsin De-partment of Health Services. McBride works at the State Department. w

For Christopher Z. Mooney, 2010 was a very good year.

The State Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association recognized the 1985 La Follette alum for his efforts in estab-lishing, editing and managing State Politics and Policy Quarterly. The section began awarding the Chris-topher Z. Mooney Award for the Best Disserta-tion in State Politics and Policy, thanks to a new $25,000 endowment.

Mooney is a professor of political science with a joint appointment in the Institute of Govern-ment and Public Affairs at the University of Il-linois at Springfield. He studies U.S. state politics and policy, with a focus on legislative decision-making, morality policy and legislative term limits.

Mooney was honored with a second award, the Christopher Z. Mooney Award Endowment for Comparative State Politics and Policy Research, made possible through a $40,000 endowment fund at the University of Illinois at Springfield for UIS faculty and student research in the field.

In addition, the University of Illinois recog-nized Mooney for his own outstanding research during the course of his career with the Univer-sity Scholar Award, a three-year award of $10,000 a year. No more than one University Scholar is named on each UI campus each year. In addition, he was named the first W. Russell Arrington Dis-tinguished Professor of State Politics at the Insti-

Chris Mooney, right, is a professor at the Springfield campus of the University of Illinois in the heart of the Land of Lincoln.

tute of Government and Public Affairs.He has published dozens of articles and books,

including Lobbying Illinois – How You Can Make a Difference in Public Policy, written with Barbara Van Dyke-Brown. Mooney, Todd Donovan and Daniel S. Smith are co-authors of the leading textbook State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reform.

Mooney is working on two research projects. One is on legislative leadership. The second ex-plores legislative decision-making. “I want to try to understand the psychology of American legislators as they think about cause and effect in public poli-cy,” Mooney says, and “why they think a given poli-cy is going to work the way they think it will.” w

Spring 2011 www.lafollette.wisc.edu La Follette Notes / 3

1950sIn spite of being “retired” as a city manager and Denver department head, John Hall has been recruited by the City of Denver to serve on an advisory committee for the renovation and improvement of the city’s Buffalo Bill Museum. He holds a 1958 bachelor’s degree in public policy and administration from the University of Wiscon-sin. The museum is located on Lookout Mountain and features Buffalo Bill’s grave.

1980sJeff Appelquist, 1986, has published his second book, Wisdom Is Not Enough: Reflections on Leadership & Teams. The book is an outgrowth of his business Blue Knight History Seminars, LLC, a company that offers leadership and team develop-ment training centered on visits to great American battlefields.

John Norquist, 1988, is putting the final touches on Congress for the New Urbanism’s 19th gather-ing. This year’s event will be in Madison June 1-4 and will focus on linkages that urban communities have with local food production, the food economy and the infrastructure that has developed around this symbiosis. The former mayor of Milwaukee, Norquist is chief executive officer of the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism.

1986 alum Jan O’Neill co-founded QLD in 1998 with Anne Conzemius. The Madison-based national educational consulting firm specializing in public school improvement was featured in the Wall Street Journal in March. The article focused on the power of student goal setting. O’Neill and Conzemius wrote three books, Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning, The Handbook for SMART School Teams, and The Power of SMART Goals. They developed one of QLD’s classic and longest selling products, “Making Meaning Through Measurement.” In her role as co-founder of QLD, O’Neill develops com-munications, is involved in client development and serves as secretary on QLD’s board of directors. In the field she is a keynote speaker and a lead consultant for long-term clients.

2000sAs the special events coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, Emily Plag-man, 2010, organized and hosted its annual Bill of Rights Celebration in March. The keynote speaker, Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, gave an entertaining and on-point speech about the importance of protecting civil liberties and rights to a crowd of more than 300 people.

Raul Leon heads to Eastern Michigan University this summer to start a tenure-track position as an assistant professor in higher education and student affairs. After completing his master of international public affairs degree in 2007 he went on to earn a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis in 2010. He is spending the 2010-11 academic year as an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Nina Carlson is working full time at the Wiscon-sin Office of Energy Independence as the senior policy analyst and federal liaison. She and her husband, Deven Carlson, are expecting their first baby — a girl — in July. Both earned master of public affairs degrees in 2007. Deven is pursuing his doctorate in political science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Brian Quinn, 2010, is an executive policy and budget analyst in the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Budget Office. His assigned areas include the Department of Revenue, shared revenue, property tax relief, property tax exemp-tions, individual and corporate income taxes, state lottery, tribal gaming, excise taxes, and economic research.

Jessica Berger Gross, 2000, has been writing the twice weekly Enlightened Motherhood blog for yogajournal.com. Her writing has also appeared in The Globe and Mail, and on Salon and Babble.

Daniel Bellefleur, 2010, is working in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the American Chamber of Com-merce in Jakarta. “My position is quite dynamic,” he reports. “My primary responsibility is to build a working relationship with APINDO (an Indonesian labor and policy organization) and KADIN (an Indonesian chamber of commerce) to conduct joint policy analysis to improve the business environ-ment in Indonesia.” He is working with chamber’s young professionals to set up outreach, social and professional events. In addition to assisting cham-ber committees with position papers and meetings, he is trying to get the chamber involved with new Global Entrepreneurs Partnership in Indonesia.

News from alumni and friends

2009 alumni marryMaggie Carden and Kevin Luecke were mar-ried on October 2, 2010. The ceremony was held in the conservatory at Olbrich Gardens in Madison. Since graduating in 2009, they have been living and working in Madison. Luecke is the lead planner at the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, and Carden is an AmeriCorps program officer with the Wiscon-sin National and Community Service Board. When not working they can be found bicycling around Madison and southern Wisconsin.

2006 graduates Karyn (Kriz) and Rob Dall’Asta had twins in July 2010, a girl and a boy. “Their names are Abigail and Alexander, and they are great,” Dall’Asta reports. The family lives in Chicago, where he practices law. Karyn and Rob met and started dating during student orientation in 2004.

After serving in the Peace Corps in Peru, Paul Stanchfield, 2006, is off to Nicaragua to start in June as program director of Bridges to Community, a non-governmental organization that employs about 50 people to oversee about 1,000 volunteers on service-learning trips. Bridges to Community activities include building houses, refurbishing schools and building latrines. The agency also distributes small business loans and maintains educational scholarships.

Jan O’Neill

Share your story: alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu

4 / La Follette Notes www.lafollette.wisc.edu Spring 2011

Alumni attend classmate’s weddingLa Follette School classmates attended the wedding of 2009 alum Lauren Benditt and Rachel Vallens in June in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Front row from left are Lilly Shields, Megan Stritchko, Lauren Benditt, Rachel Vallens and Catherine Hall. Back row from left are Emily Engel, Tom Robinson, Dan Bush, Andy McGuire and Jennifer Hassemer. After working for the Minnesota Department of Revenue as a tax research analyst for a year, Benditt started work on a Ph.D. in sociology at Stanford University in fall 2010.

As president of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, alum George

Lightbourn leads the nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization as it works to engage and energize Wisconsinites and others in discussions and timely action on key public policy issues critical to the state’s future, growth and prosperity.

A former senior fellow and executive vice president of WPRI, Lightbourn be-came president in early 2009. After earn-ing his master’s degree in 1976 from the Center for the Study of Public Policy and Administration, a La Follette School pre-decessor, Lightbourn worked for the Wis-consin departments of Transportation and Administration. He served as secretary of Administration under two governors.

Lightbourn was a member of a panel the La Follette School organized in Febru-ary to discuss policy implications of Wis-consin budget legislation.

He has shared his experience and in-sight with La Follette School students throughout his career. “Serving as a men-tor helps to attract the best possible stu-dents to careers in public service,” Light-bourn says. “Those of us in public service have an obligation to give the students a look behind the curtain of government.”

Student Nathaniel Inglis Steinfeld worked with Lightbourn in the summer of 2009 as an intern, research-ing Virginia’s higher education governance as part of a WPRI study that promotes greater autonomy and accountability for the 150,000-student Uni-versity of Wisconsin System.

Lightbourn’s goal for WPRI is “to produce sound, nonpartisan, respected research that will influence the way in which government operates.” The institute emphasizes that competitive free markets, limited government, private initiative and personal responsibility are essential to a democratic way of life. Its research and public education identify and promote public policies in Wisconsin that are fair, accountable and cost effective, he says.

People can make an impact by working in public service, Lightbourn says. “While the world seems to relish a noisy partisan argument, thoughtful, often contrarian analysis is much more rewarding and will likely lead one to a better career path.” w

Alum leads Wisconsin research institute

George Lightbourn

From the Director continued from page 1political perspective, we all can be reas-sured that La Follette School alumni and friends are employing the highest quality data and skills available to appropriately in-form policymakers’ decisions.

At the university, we are debating the proposal for a new governance structure for the Madison campus and, perhaps, a new model for the entire state university system. The governor’s budget proposal for 2011-2013 would establish the Uni-versity of Wisconsin–Madison as a public authority and allow for more flexibility in its management of tuition, personnel poli-cies, facilities and purchasing. Administra-tors and policymakers anticipate that better management tools would lead to greater economic efficiencies that would ultimately reduce the campus’ reliance on state taxes. The rest of the UW System also seeks more operational flexibility, and system representatives are sharing concerns about the effects of the Madison campus operat-ing under a separate governance structure. Here, too, in system and Madison campus offices, our alumni, friends and faculty are sharing their expertise as the state works out the best way to deliver quality public higher education.

La Follette School faculty and staff are attending closely to these developments, with an eye to protecting resources es-sential to student support and continu-ing excellence in our graduate education programs. However these debates and decisions play out in the public arena, the La Follette School’s faculty remain com-mitted to pursuing cutting-edge research, our high-quality, personalized approach to graduate instruction, and outreach and public service in a collaborative setting. More than ever before, your donations to the school through the University of Wis-consin Foundation will bolster our recruit-ment of top applicants to the school’s two degree programs and our level of service to continuing students. Your commitment of time through participation in career de-velopment activities and social gatherings likewise helps our students in considering and launching their careers. Your questions and analysis feed back into our faculty’s re-search agendas, as we all look for new and better ways to solve the problems of our campus, state, nation and world. w

Spring 2011 www.lafollette.wisc.edu La Follette Notes / 5

Alumni and friends have been helping students

make career connections and decisions through-out the school year. Here is a sampling of Alumni Network activities. To get involved, contact career development coordina-tor Mary Russell, 608-263-2409, mrussell@lafollette.wisc.edu.

“These connections between students and alumni are invaluable,” Russell says. “We appreci-ate the time and energy our many alumni give to help students.”

Seminar talksIn the spring, alumni made presentations at two La Follette School seminars. Saul Wolf (’08), remittanc-es manager for the World Council of Credit Unions, discussed engaging policy in the non-profit arenas in April. Joining him was Kristen Joiner of Sustain-Dane.

Appearing via the inter-net from Washington, D.C. in March, Katie Croake (’03) discussed events in Egypt and the implications of the revolution for her employer, the National Democratic Insti-tute for International Affairs, the United States and the Middle East. Croake has been program manager at NDI since 2006.

Workplace visitsAlumni coordinated field trips for students to visit two Wisconsin legislative bureaus in the fall so they could learn about entry-level positions and what students can do to prepare themselves for the job market.

Alum Emily Pope (’06) coordinated a December visit to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Director Bob Lang gave a brief overview of the office. Nine alumni then described their jobs and the students asked the panel questions. In addition to Pope, the alumni were: Al Runde (’87), Sean

Alumni, friends connect with students at school, workplaceAlumni, friends conduct mock interviews with studentsForty students sat down with 13 alumni and friends in December to practice their interviewing skills as part of the professional development workshop.

“Participating in mock interviews is an important way job seekers can prepare themselves,” says career development coordinator Mary Russell. “People can never get too much practice telling about themselves, outlining their strengths and illustrating how well they work under pressure.”

The required one-credit-course, taught by Russell and associate director Don Moynihan, helps first-year students build their résumés, crystallize their career goals and practice the skills they need to get jobs and internships.

Participating La Follette School alumni

Participating La Follette School friends

wMary E. Burke, 1989, assistant attorney general, State Programs, Administration and Revenue Unit, Wisconsin Department of Justice

wCharlie Carlson, 1976, human resources consultant

wBill Cosh, 1993, communications of-ficer, Wisconsin Department of Justice

wKen Hammond, 1999, director, Train-ing and Standards Bureau, Wisconsin Department of Justice

wJennie Mauer, 2008, coordinator, Program LAUNCH, Wisconsin Depart-ment of Children and Families

wKim Reniero, 1995, program and policy analyst, Wisconsin Department of Transportation

wBob Soldner, 1990, director, School Management Team, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

wJohn Tuohy, 1983, director of region-al operations, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

wAndrew Turner, 2008, attorney, corpo-rate practice group, Godfrey and Kahn

wGreg Wise, 1985, director, Center for Community and Economic Develop-ment, University of Wisconsin–Extension

wKathy Lemkuhl Pedersen, human resources specialist, Human Resources Bureau, Wisconsin Department of Justice

wCynthia Moore, recycling program coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

wKristin Ruesch, communications direc-tor, Ron Johnson U.S. Senate campaign

Moran (’08), John Dyck (’96), Darin Renner (’00), Erin Probst (’06), Paul Ferguson (’08), Sam Austin (’08) and Rick Olin (’76).

Students visited the Legislative Audit Bureau in November. They talked with 2009 alumni Andy McGuire and Tom Hinds and other staff in entry-level positions. They also heard from program evaluation director Kate Wade and state auditor Janice Mueller.

Classroom visitsMark Nicolini (’83), budget director for the city of Milwaukee, spoke to students in the performance management course.

The one-credit professional develop-ment workshop brought a number of alumni and friends to campus in the fall.

An October session ex-plored the political realm. Nina Carlson (’07) talked about her position as pol-icy advisor to the gover-nor, and John VanderMeer (’06) shared his experienc-es as a research assistant for a member of the Wis-consin Assembly. Kirstin Nelson (’02) spoke about her position with the Con-gressional Budget Office in Washington, D.C. Mark O’Connell (’85), executive director of the Wiscon-sin Counties Association shared his thoughts on networking.

Dane County contract compliance officer Wesley Sparkman (’00) joined a panel on city and county government. A panel on international public af-fairs included Jean-Rene Watchou (’06), director of the Community Immigra-tion Law Center and of international outreach for Christ Presbyterian Church in Madison. Tommy Win-kler (’07) of the Wisconsin Government Accountabil-ity Board joined professor Dennis Dresang to discuss ethics and leadership.

Three alumni and Wisconsin Women in Government gradu-ate Joanie Burns of the Department of Natural Resources discussed working for the state of Wisconsin. The three alumni were Andy McGuire (’09) of the Legisla-tive Audit Bureau, Karina Silver (’06) of the Department of Administration’s Bud-get Office, and David Stepien (’08) of the Department of Health Services. The last panel discussion focused on the nonprofit sector. Speakers were Marianna Smirnova (’08) of the Wisconsin Coalition against Sexual Assault, Peter Shively (’92) of the Interactivity Foundation and Ann Conway (’89) of the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care. w

6 / La Follette Notes www.lafollette.wisc.edu Spring 2011

Former publications director publishes book on bicycle tripFormer La Follette School publications director Alice Honeywell and her friend Bobbi Montgomery invite readers to follow their ride by bicycle across the United States in their 2010 book, Across America by Bicycle: Alice and Bobbi’s Summer on Wheels. Since retiring from the La Follette School in 2003, Honeywell has worked as a writing consultant in Madison, Wisconsin.

w

Cancian named associate dean for social sciencesLa Follette School professor Maria Cancian is associate dean for social sciences in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The social welfare expert oversees four professional schools, including La Follette, 12 academic departments or programs, more than 20 so-cial science research centers, and 10 international and area studies centers.

In announcing the appoint-ment, Letters and Science dean Gary Sandefur cited Cancian’s outstanding contributions to the college and state since joining the La Follette School of Public Af-fairs and the School of Social Work faculty in 1993. She served as director of the Insti-tute for Research on Poverty from 2004 to 2008, and is a faculty affiliate of IRP and the Center for Demography and Ecology.

tion to the La Follette School that provided him with a scholarship for his first year, he says. “I ap-preciate the donor’s generosity, without which my studies might not have been possible.”

He is pursuing a master of public affairs, with an eye on working in education policy. Prior to enrolling at La Follette, he worked as a tutor and teaching assistant and interned in a U.S. senator’s office. These experiences melded into a challenge for him to engage more fully with national education policy.

“I came to recognize the unlikely nature of my pri-vate-school education,” says Schowalter, who graduated from a small private school in Racine, Wisconsin, before earning a bachelor’s degree. “America’s public school sys-tem suffers almost universally from a lack of effective teach-ers, academic resources and government funding. I want to help reform the policies shaping Ameri-ca’s education system.”

Hope Harvey wants to fight poverty by im-proving public policy. The MPA candidate finds that the quantitative methods she is learning are strengthening her understanding of the theoreti-cal aspects of poverty and the policies formed to alleviate it.

The La Follette School is a good fit for her interests and goals, she says, especially its multi- dimensional approach in its emphasis on quantitative program evaluation, plus the consideration of politics and ethics. “I will graduate from La Follette with the knowl-edge and experience I need to contribute to the better-ment of anti-poverty policy through analysis, advocacy and research,” she says.

Harvey also appreciates that a donation to the La Follette School helped to make her enrollment financially possible. “I am grateful for the opportunity to attend La Follette,” she says. “I am amazed by how much the school offers, from my course on statistical analysis to weekly open talks presented by the Institute for Research on Poverty.”

Questions about good and evil and how — or whether — they manifest themselves in human na-ture are among those that attract C.P. Frost to the study of neuroscience. His desire to use science to influence public policy led him to the La Follette

School to begin the six-year endeavor that results in an MPA and a doctorate in neuroscience. “The La Follette School and the University of Wiscon-sin–Madison offer the only curriculum based in policy and neuroscience that enables scientists to learn how to work with policymakers,” he says.

Frost received support from the Doris J. Hanson, the Clara Penniman and the Alumni-Friends Student Sup-port funds.

Penniman was the found-er and first director of the Center for the Study of Pub-lic Policy and Administration, which became the La Follette Institute of Public Affairs in 1983. A specialist in taxation and public finance, Penni-man was the first female chair of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s (then otherwise all male) political science department. She retired in 1984 and passed away in 2009. Penniman established the fund in 1998, and alumni and friends of the school continue to contribute to it in her honor.

Donations made to meet the challenge issued in 2007 by La Follette School fac-ulty and staff contributed to Frost’s support through the Alumni-Friends Student Support Fund. The support helped to make it possible for Frost to pursue his academic career. “Making ends meet on a research stipend is challeng-ing, and every cent counts,” Frost says. “The donors’ gifts have helped me get the head start I need to put all my energy into my academics, research and career.”

For Lara Rosen, a bequest from Ed Johnson to the La Follette School funded her project as-sistantship. With professor Carolyn Heinrich and the Institute for Research on Poverty, Rosen has contributed to an evaluation of the Families For-ward project, a nationally recognized pilot child support debt reduction program in Racine County, Wisconsin, and studied the expansion of Families Forward into a statewide program. “I am on the front lines of the policy-making process, learning about the nuanced ways in which research, data and policy interact,” says Rosen, who is earning a double degree in public affairs and urban and re-gional planning. “The assistantship allows me not only to pursue my formal education, but also to

Ryan Schowalter

Hope Harvey

C.P. Frost

Clara Penniman

Student Support continued from page 1

See Student Support on page 7

Spring 2011 www.lafollette.wisc.edu La Follette Notes / 7

Alumni, friends win electionsTwo alumni and an adjunct professor won their election bids in April’s election.

2002 grad Shawn Pfaff won his bid to become mayor of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, by a 55 percent margin, defeating incumbent Jay Allen in April’s election. “I am honored and humbled to be given such an awesome opportunity and responsibility by our commu-nity’s residents,” says Pfaff, who is a senior associate at Capitol Consultants.

Pfaff adds that he looks forward to working with his mentor and former graduate school advisor, Paul Soglin.

Soglin, an adjunct professor of public affairs, also toppled an incumbent to become mayor of Madison for the third time. He won with 49.77 percent of the vote, compared to Dave Ciesle-wicz’s 48.97 percent. Soglin served as Madison’s mayor from 1973-79 and 1989-97. He taught public finance, management and personnel for La Follette from 1997-2002. He returned in 2008 to teach public management and public budgeting.

Brian Solomon, a 1992 alum, won re-election to the Madison Common Council.

In November, Kathleen Madden won her first re-election bid as clerk of circuit court, running unopposed after Waukesha County’s 12 judges unanimously selected her in October 2008 to fill the position when the incumbent retired. Madden attended the Wisconsin Women in Government seminar in 2007.

Student Support continued from page 6

perform applicable research and experience the policy-making process firsthand,” she says. “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities.”

The Ed Johnson fund sup-ports teaching and research in the area of local government. Johnson, who passed away in 2006, was executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities from 1955 to 1984 and later lobbied for the University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty. Known as a stickler on ethical issues, he tracked legislation that affected local government and paid special attention to balancing the interests of con-stituent municipalities.

Alex Marach came to the La Follette School right after graduating from Ripon College, drawn by the emphasis on technical skills and a practi-cal approach to public policy issues. “I like that La Follette combines economics and political sci-ence,” he says. “For me, a strength of the program is the focus on policy and its applications.”

His pursuit of an MPA and a certificate in energy analy-sis and policy is made easier thanks to financial support from the La Follette School’s John Gaus Public Service Fund that honors the political scientist’s emphasis on com-bining practice in government with teaching and research. University of Wisconsin–Madison alum Emanuel “Manny” Lerner estab-lished the Gaus fund in 1999 to honor the onetime UW political scientist’s memory and support for students planning public service careers.

“I appreciate the support of the John Gaus Public Service Fund because it does ease the finan-cial worries that I had coming to graduate school,” Marach says. “The support has afforded me greater time to devote to school rather than em-ployment. Lastly, I sincerely appreciate the fund’s emphasis on service-minded individuals and its support of continuing education.” w

Lara Rosen Alex Marach

Support the La Follette School with a Financial Gift

Information on supporting the La Follette School financially via the University of Wisconsin Foundation is available by calling 608-262-3581 or by going online to www.lafollette.wisc.edu/giving.

Online giving is welcome.

Checks payable to UW Foundation-La Follette can be mailed to:

La Follette School, 1225 Observatory Drive, Madison WI 53706

C.P. Frost is the first stu-dent to receive scholar-

ship funds from the Doris J. Hanson Fund. Community leaders established the fund after the longtime public ser-vant passed away in 2006. Hanson served in the cabinets of four Wisconsin governors and was the first woman to head the state Department of Administration.

Hanson was the catalyst for one of the La Fol-lette School’s premier outreach activities, the annu-

al Wisconsin Women in Government seminar that the school conducts with the nonprofit organiza-tion of the same name. As a member of WWIG’s executive council, Hanson helped conceive of the seminar as a way to develop leadership among women working in Wisconsin government. She approached the La Follette School to see if the school would be interested, and professor Dennis Dresang and outreach director Terry Shelton pro-ceeded to get the series of classes up and running in partnership with WWIG.

More than 35 Wisconsin leaders and residents have contributed to the fund. w

First award made from Doris J. Hanson Fund

Doris Hanson

La Follette NotesRobert M. La Follette School of Public AffairsUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison1225 Observatory DriveMadison WI 53706

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PaidMadison WI

Permit No. 658

8 / La Follette Notes www.lafollette.wisc.edu Spring 2011

Grads gather in D.C.A few alumni from the classes of 2009 and 2010 got together at a Mediterranean restaurant in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown. Maggie Carden was in town from Madison for a work conference. Left to right in the front row are Alison Patz, Lilly Shields and Allie Bagnall. In the back are Lindsay Read, Maggie Carden, Jeramia Cibulka and Kao Phetchareun. Justin King was at the dinner but didn’t make it in time for the picture.

Be a Mentor to Public Affairs

StudentsEvery year the La Follette School Career Development Office matches about 50 new students with mentors.

If you are interested in being a mentor or in meeting on a one-time basis with students, please contact career development coordinator Mary Russell by e-mailing mrussell@lafollette.wisc.edu or calling 608-263-2409.

Seeing Double?Hotmail cool off?Missed the party?

Seeing Double?

wIf your household is receiving two copies of La Follette Notes or the La Follette Policy Report, let us know the names and address if you want us to send only one.wPlease be sure to share and update your

e-mail address.wWe use postal addresses to generate

guest lists for receptions — although all alumni and friends are invited. wUpdate your records by e-mailing

alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu or by calling 608-263-7657.wAnd if you’d rather not receive a publica-

tion or other postal or electronic mail, let us know which lists to exclude you from.

Alumni can control their contact information via the Wisconsin Alumni Association, www.uwalumni.com.

Send us your news and high-resolution photos

alumni@lafollette.wisc.edu