Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy

Founded in 1987, the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy is among the College's most interdisciplinary and collaborative programs, designed to address what the National Commission on the Public Service identified as the "quiet crises" in government -- the need "to attract, develop, and retain professionals of the highest caliber." To respond to this challenge, in 1991 the Jefferson Program enrolled its first class of graduate students. Since that time, over 120 students have graduated from the Program with a Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) degree. Of these students, 20 graduated with a joint degree in public policy and another specialty area, such as business (M.P.P./M.B.A.), law (M.P.P./J.D.), marine science (M.P.P./M.S.), or operations research (M.P.P./M.S. - Computational Operations Research).

The Program draws heavily from the Departments of Economics and Government and the School of Law, as well as other professional schools (Business, Education, and Marine Science) and several other departments (History, Philosophy, Sociology). The Program's health policy course has been taught by two faculty members, Leonard Schifrin and Jennifer Mellor. Professor Schifrin, Chancellor Professor of Economics, has conducted research in health and medical policy, testified on the health care industry, and consulted on various health policy issues. Professor Mellor, an Assistant Professor in Economics and a former Scholar in the Health Policy Research Program at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, currently teaches the Program's health policy course, which, among other things, examines changes in the provision of health care occurring with the growth of managed care. Last year, Professor Mellor was awarded a grant from the National Institute on Aging to examine the factors associated with the decision of elderly individuals to obtain privately-financed insurance for long-term care.

Faculty, students, and staff of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy and its research arm, the Center for Public Policy Research, conduct numerous evaluation studies related to health services and the delivery of health care. Research has focused on broad national health policies and the delivery of health care services within the Commonwealth and its localities. The Program has investigated both public and private sector issues in the delivery of those services and has developed recommendations to improve their availability and quality.

The Center also has the capability to evaluate science and technology programs. For example, Center faculty have evaluated the NASA Langley Research Center's Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). This research examined and evaluated several outcomes and patterns of SBIR awards and awardees, including commercialization, financing issues, and the degree of customer satisfaction. Center faculty and staff have also worked with Sandia National Laboratories in developing performance measures for the U.S. Department of Energy and reviewing cost-benefit studies.

Select Projects Completed by the Thomas Jefferson Program Program in Public