Baker Institute offers plethora of opportunities

By Edward Djerejian     9/9/10 7:00pm

What does the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy have to offer Rice students? More than you would think. True, we don't grant degrees. Our focus is on high-quality public policy research aimed at informing our national debate on major domestic and international issues. The institute is a think-tank, yes. But we're a lot more. That's because education is also a core part of our mission. Our fellows and scholars teach classes in a variety of disciplines. Just last spring, for instance, I taught a class on the contemporary Middle East (POST 455). It was an experience, let me add, that reminded me how smart Rice students are and how hard their professors must work to stay one step ahead of them. This semester, institute fellows will be teaching or co-teaching courses in economics (ECON 437, 481, and 516), sociology (SOCI 314) and history (HIST 291, 352 and 425).

Our commitment to education goes well beyond teaching. Every year, the Baker Institute hosts a large number of events. Some have featured prominent national and international leaders, such as U.S. Presidents Gerald R. Ford Jr., Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, South African President Nelson Mandela and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among many others. This spring, we hosted former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson and World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Both met informally with students in addition to giving public presentations.

But the institute also sponsors less high-profile events, ranging from multi-day conferences to small-scale seminars. They address subjects as varied as energy policy, climate change, space policy, drug legalization, Middle East peace and healthcare, and almost all are of potential interest to students.

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We also sponsor a number of initiatives created to give students more hands-on experience. The first is our internship program. Every semester, we hire Rice students to work part-time with our fellows or in support of our overall activities. During the summer, we offer full-time employment. While most of our interns work on campus, several have worked in places as varied as France, Lesotho, Mexico and Morocco. We offer a program to assist Rice students who have internships with government or public policy institutions in Washington, D.C. While students are responsible for acquiring the internships, the institute provides financial support to defray their cost of living. Students in this program participate in a seminar while in D.C. We have also embarked on an ambitious new student-led initiative: This summer, a group of Rice students (including a number of interns) traveled to the American University in Cairo to attend a conference on public diplomacy with their Egyptian counterparts. Most recently, we have partnered with the new Program for the Study of Leadership in establishing the Baker Institute Leadership Fellowships. The Baker Institute is also proud to sponsor the Baker Institute Student Forum. The forum, open to graduate and undergraduate students alike, promotes interest on campus through institute programs and events. But the forum is much more than a student affiliate of the institute. It chooses its own leadership; it sponsors events tailored to student interests and it supports a lively debate among undergraduates of all partisan stripes and all ideological persuasions.

The bottom line is this: Students should consider the Baker Institute one of the many educational opportunities offered by Rice. Check out our website and blog. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Come to one of our many public events. Join the Baker Institute Student Forum. Apply for one of our internships. Take a course taught by one of our fellows or scholars.

Some of you will want to pursue careers in public policy; the institute is a perfect first stop if you are. Others are deeply engaged in specific issues in the foreign or domestic arenas. The need for America's best and brightest to go into public service could not be greater, given the daunting challenges our country faces domestically and globally. Others just want to become better informed about some of the important issues of the day; we're here to encourage your civic-mindedness.

We realize you're busy with your studies. We know that a university like Rice offers a wide array of activities outside the classroom. But whatever career you pursue, you will be working in a public policy context. So give the Baker Institute a try. You might like what you find.

Edward P. Djerejian is founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

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