Four Accomplished Scholars and Policy Leaders Join Core Faculty
The depth and breadth of expertise represented by CIPA core faculty members has been enhanced by the addition of four professors. Ralph Christy joined CIPA in the fall of 2009 and just completed his inaugural year with the program. The other new members will begin their tenure this fall, 2010. They include Kieran Donaghy, Robert Harris Jr, and Per Pinstrup-Andersen.
"CIPA is fortunate to have Professors Christy, Donaghy, Pinstrup-Andersen and Harris joining the core faculty, as each brings a wealth of real-world experience to complement their academic excellence and insights," says incoming CIPA Director Norman Uphoff. "They are each providing leadership within Cornell -- directing or chairing major programs -- so we are very pleased to have them joining in the teaching and advising provided to CIPA Fellows."
Ralph D. Christy is director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development and Professor of Emerging Markets. He teaches and conducts food marketing research and educational programs on the economic performance of markets and distribution systems. He has advised industry leaders and public policy makers on food marketing strategies, economic development, and the organization of the global food economy. A PhD graduate of Michigan State University's Department of Agricultural Economics, Christy is past president of the American Agricultural Economics Association, and is currently a board member of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, WinRock International, and the Agribusiness Capital Fund. He is the author of three books, A Century of Service: Land Grant Colleges and Universities, 1890-1990 (1992); Achieving Sustainable Communities in a Global Economy (2004); and Emerging Markets (forthcoming). His most recent research calls attention to the role of creating an enabling environment for accelerating agro-industries' contributions to sustain economic growth and development.
"Much of my work in economic development relates to public policy -- as it influences the organization and structure of markets, economic behavior of participants, and resulting performance," says Christy. "For students interested in a professional program, CIPA is one of the few places in the country that combines the study of economic development and public policy," he adds. His course AEM 4420 -- Emerging Markets has long been popular with CIPA Fellows. When Christy joined the faculty, it became a CIPA core foundation course in the area of Economics and Public Finance.
Kieran Donaghy is a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning, where he currently serves as chair. In his teaching, research, and subsequent publications, Donaghy often focuses on constructing, estimating, and simulating nonlinear dynamic systems models to test theoretical propositions, evaluate policy interventions, and support planning decisions. Much of this work has been of an applied nature, addressing such issues as housing, transportation, land use, the physical environment, employment, public finance, climate change and migration.
A prolific writer and editor, Donaghy is currently editing the Oxford Handbook of Urban Economics and Planning along with two colleagues, including fellow CIPA core faculty member Nancy Brooks. In addition, he's working with four Cornell faculty members on a three-year research project to investigate the impact of freight movement evolution on regional air quality.
Donaghy teaches two courses that will be of particular interest to CIPA Fellows. The first is CRP 5250 -- Introduction to Methods of Planning Analysis, which will serve as a core foundation course in the area of Quantitative Analysis. The second is CRP 6011 -- Ethics, Development, and Globalization, which will count as a foundation course in the area of Administration, Politics, and Public Policy.
Donaghy feels that there is a good fit between the teaching and research that he conducts and the needs and interests of the MPA program. "I am looking forward to meeting and working with CIPA faculty, Fellows and staff in engaging and responding to some of the many problems that challenge all of us who are working for a more peaceful, more just, and more environmentally sustainable planet," he says.
Robert Harris Jr. has been a professor of African-American history at Cornell since 1975. The vice provost for diversity and faculty development from 2000 to 2008, he was recently reappointed director of the Africana Studies and Research Center (ASRC) for a five-year term; he previously served in this capacity from 1986 to 1991.
Harris is interested in how African-Americans have come to their current cultural, socio-economic and political position in the United States; how they have coped with enslavement, segregation, discrimination and poverty; and how they have developed the rich heritage that has challenged and improved the country. His course ASRC 3304 -- African American History: From Booker T. Washington to Barack Obama will serve as a foundation course in the area of Administration, Politics, and Public Policy. "This class examines human and civil rights, as well as public policy during the 20th century," says Harris.
The author of more than 50 academic articles and book chapters, Harris' most recent book is The Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939, co-edited with Rosalyn Terborg-Penn. He received his PhD in US history from Northwestern University.
Per Pinstrup-Andersen is the J. Thomas Clark Professor of Entrepreneurship and the H.E. Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy; he shares a joint appointment with the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Department of Applied Economics and Management.
In 2001, Pinstrup-Andersen was awarded the World Food Prize for his contribution to the improvement of agricultural research, food policy, and the lives of the poor. Widely considered the Nobel Prize of the agricultural world, this award came as a result of his work at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC, where he served as director general from 1992 to 2002. There he launched the 2020 Vision Initiative, which is credited with bringing about policies and programs that have reduced the hunger and suffering of more than 8 million people.
At Cornell, Pinstrup-Andersen's research interests are focused on government policy related to food, nutrition, and agriculture. Currently, he is examining the impact of globalization on the nutritional status of low-income people in developing countries. He is also interested in the impact of agricultural research and technological change on poverty and nutrition in developing countries.
CIPA Fellows have been a staple in two of Pinstrup-Andersen's courses for several years now: NS/AEM 4450 -- Food Policy for Developing Countries and NS/AEM 6420 -- Globalization, Food Security and Nutrition. "I have been very impressed by the professional quality and motivation of the CIPA students I have interacted with in these courses and as a graduate field advisor," he says. "I am yet to meet a CIPA student who disappointed me. Those I know are all first rate and I like to collaborate with them."
