FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2003
CONTACT: Carol Anderson
canderson@emich.edu
734.487.4400

EMU Professor Receives Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant in Public Administration

YPSILANTI – Raymond Rosenfeld, Eastern Michigan University professor of political science, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant in public administration at the Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration.

Rosenfeld is traveling to various Ukrainian cities where he is teaching classes in public policy studies, meeting with faculty groups and exploring local government research possibilities. Public policy is a new field in the Ukraine, said Rosenfeld. A number of years ago, no one had heard about public policy.

Public policy is the process by which government institutions make policy decisions, said Rhonda Kinney, EMU department head for political science at EMU. In the Ukraine, government must decide how to advance the country toward a democratic state, she said. Public policy is what state and local governments do to achieve that goal. Possible examples Kinney cited were economic development policy, tax structure and development of transportation.

Created to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, the Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two-six week grants to leading U.S. academics and professionals. The program supports curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries.

The Fulbright Senior Specialist Program differs from the traditional Fulbright Scholar competition in that candidates apply to be added to a recommended roster of specialists. As countries request specialists, the candidates are matched with appropriate programs.

During a prior trip to the Ukraine in 1995-96, Rosenfeld received a Senior Fulbright grant to lecture on public policy at the Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration. His lectures have been published in English and are the first materials to be published in Ukrainian on public policy, said Rosenfeld. He is credited in the publication by the Academy’s vice rector with introducing public policy to the country.

“I believe that I have some understanding of the challenges of creating a nation and a civil service in this nation that does not have significant modern roots upon which to build.,” said Rosenfeld,. “With the exception of the past a few years, Ukraine has not been an independent country since the 1500s.”

“Raymond’s Fulbright grant represents a success of the University and department to integrate international perspectives into our community engagement and curriculum development activities. By broadening our focus to include international communities, he is building on our department’s long tradition of maintaining close working relationships with local governments and organizations throughout southeastern Michigan,” said Kinney.

“For many faculty in the U.S., taking a semester or a full academic year is difficult on their careers and their families,” said Rosenfeld, who returns to the United States May 18. “The senior specialists grant allows for the clear identification of relatively short-term goals which can be accomplished in two to six weeks.”
In addition to his EMU professorship, Rosenfeld is director of internships and director of the master in public administration program at the University. He is a member of the American Political Science Association and the American Society for Public Administration. His most recent publication is “Derzhavna Polityka ta Analiz Polityky” (Public Policy and Policy Analysis), published in English and Ukrainian, Kyiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration, 2001).

Rosenfeld’s current research project is a survey of local governments in the United States and Canada concerning economic development programming and the concept of civic culture. It is an offshoot of his recently published book “The Civic Culture of Local Economic Development” (Sage Publications, 2001).
He has a doctorate in political science from Emory University.

The Fulbright Scholar Program, which was started in 1946, is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and managed by the council for International Exchange of Scholars. The program’s purpose is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and those of other countries.

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