Faculty Today
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The new fall line-up: Young School adds six faculty

The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies added a half-dozen new faculty members to its team of academicians this fall, representing research interests ranging from community health policy to taxation. Here's a round-up:

Professor of Economics Jim Alm's research area is public economics - the study of what government does and how people respond to government actions. "I find this exciting because government affects virtually everything we do, so understanding it is essential in virtually all areas. Only half-jokingly, I tell my students - and colleagues - that all other fields are sub-fields of public economics," says Alm, a former economics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

A native of Danville, Ill., Susan Laury, an assistant professor of economics, comes to the Young School from a faculty post at the University of South Carolina. She teaches principles of macroeconomics and experimental economics. "Running economic experiments is a lot of fun," Laury says. "It's interesting to see how people actually behave when they're put into the types of environments that our theories describe. I like to explore the ways in which theory correctly predicts behavior, but also ways in which people may be motivated by factors not described in our theories."

A Minneapolis native, Judith Ottoson is an associate professor of public administration and urban studies and works closely with the Young School's Applied Research Center. Ottoson comes to the Young School from the University of British Columbia, where she was an associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies. Ottoson, who served as a psychiatric and public health nurse for several years before receiving her Ed.D. from Harvard University in 1984, teaches evaluation research and also has interests in community health promotion and education.

Christine Roch, an assistant professor of public administration and urban studies, teaches introductory courses in urban policy, education policy and research methods. A native of Splendora, Texas, she recently received a doctoral degree in political science from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Roch says people "often respond to the news that you're a political scientist by asking whether your future aspirations include a nice, big, comfortable office on Capitol Hill." Regardless, her favorite book is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

A native of Beacon, N.Y., David Van Slyke, assistant professor of public administration and urban studies, teaches nonprofit leadership, privatization, and public management systems and strategies. He recently received his Ph.D. in public administration and policy from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany. He's also an avid hockey player and rollerblader.

Yongsheng Xu, associate professor of economics, comes to the Young School from the University of Manchester in England. A native of Gansu, China, Yongsheng teaches microtheory and mathematics for economists. "Students are more responsive to questions here than in Japan and England,'' he says. He received a doctoral degree in economics from Tulane University in 1992. Yongsheng is a fan of Charlie Chaplin movies, and also enjoys hiking and practicing Tai Chi.

Photo above: NEW RECRUITS: This year's additions to the Young School faculty include (left to right) Yongsheng Xu, Susan Laury, David Van Slyke, Christine Roch and Judith Ottoson. Economics professor Jim Alm joined the Young School from the University of Colorado.