Teaching & Research Priorities

Investing in a Future of Outstanding Opportunities

The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy aims to transform student lives by preparing them for meaningful careers and leadership roles in public, non-profit, and private sectors at the local, state, national and global scale. Our research provides insights for the public and policy makers into the nation's most pressing public policy issues. Integrating research into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum is an important part of our teaching mission.

1. Develop undergraduate research certificate programs in each discipline and various interdisciplinary topics. Enrollment will be limited to 25 students who will complete 12 hours of research oriented classes and a research internship. Research interns will work one-on-one with faculty and doctoral students on research projects that are on-going in our departments and research centers. The Research Intensive Bachelor's Certificate programs will reinforce how social science informs the policy process, improve students' preparation for graduate and professional schools as well as directly prepare them for research oriented jobs in all sectors of the economy.

2. Establish a College-wide professional development program for students in our master's degree programs that will improve their readiness for the work place and their capacity for performing in leadership positions.

3. The elderly security initiative is a teaching and research program that will focus on how life course events affect the income and health status of senior citizens. Among the issues examined are income security, housing, employment opportunities, spousal loss, and access to health care and long-term care.

4. Widening disparities in income and in health outcomes, coupled with persistent poverty and inequality in education achievement, raise important challenges for America and all other industrialized countries. The College will expand its major research and outreach efforts in order to better understand the underlying causes of these problems and develop innovative solutions involving an appropriate mix of individual responsibility, non-profit sector initiatives, job creation, innovations in education, and other government policies.

5. Health policy reform is of critical concern because health care employs more people than any other industry and is expected to account for 20 percent of GNP by 2020. Medicare is bankrupting the nation. America's health care system ranks far and way first in cost, but 37th in patient outcomes among developed nations. Few fields are more influenced by policy and regulatory decisions. Moving our health care system toward one that is focused on quality and patient safety, where decisions are based upon evidence of effectiveness, and costs are controlled through effective performance incentives is a goal for which the skills and disciplinary training of our college faculty are ideally suited. Our interdisciplinary MPH and combined BS/MPH programs draw faculty from all our departments, bringing disciplinary perspectives to bear upon the core flaws in current system: organizational fragmentation, absence of performance standards and accountability, and perverse economic incentives.

6. International education. Preparing students to effectively engage in the global marketplace and to understand the increasingly complicated world of international affairs is the principal goal of the College and University's international education and dialogue programs. Improving opportunities for foreign study, student exchanges, international service projects, and internships abroad plays a pivotal role in this initiative. Our programs explore how cultural differences, poverty and political institutions combine to influence international relations, terrorism and economic development.

7. Community governance and civic engagement. Creating effective governance in communities and the state requires constructive civil engagement by all the players in our political system: citizens, business interests, developers, and other interest groups. Understanding the dynamics of political processes and exploring innovative institutional arrangements that might lead to effective solutions to Florida's social and economic problems are an integral part of the College's teaching and research mission. The LeRoy Collins Institute focuses on state-local relationships in Florida, documenting trends, diagnosing the nature of problems, and offering avenues for improvement.

8. Economic literacy. Economic literacy among students plays a critical role in their long-term financial well-being and is critical for a well-informed citizenry. Educating students, particularly those not majoring in economics or business, about personal finance is one of our goals. Developing critical analytical skills so students become astute observers of the intended and unintended consequences of public policy at the local, state, and national levels is also a priority.

9. Environmental Protection and Sustainability. Florida's natural beauty and environment are responsible for the state growing to be the nation's fourth largest state. Policies that sustain our fragile environment and minimize the impacts of hurricanes are critical to the state's long term well-being. Sustainable communities require that we explore alternative polices and institutional arrangements to deal with traffic congestion, water quality, shoreline protection, affordable housing, economic development, energy needs and many other issues related to growth management.