Notable speakers enrich the AYSPS experience
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

In any given week, particularly on Friday, it is not unusual to find a seminar room full of students, faculty and often other visitors listening to an outstanding visiting scholar, government or business leader invited to campus through one of several seminar series. The departments and centers at AYSPS are currently conducting several distinct series, helping to expand knowledge in areas as specialized as econometrics or environmental and experimental economics, or as broad as health and education policy.

"Our guest speakers deliver expertise and insights in subject areas that complement our curriculum, adding great value to our program," says Associate Dean Robert Moore. "It makes a significant difference to our students and faculty that they receive so many opportunities to interact with leading policy experts and practitioners in their chosen academic field."

Series hosted by the Andrew Young School include the Applied Econometrics Workshop, the Microeconomics Seminar Series, the Fiscal Research Center Seminar Series, the Environmental and Experimental Economic Seminar and the new Dan E. Sweat Lecture Series, all coordinated by faculty in the Economics department. The International Studies Program runs the ISP Lecture Series, and the Georgia Health Policy Center hosts an annual Child Policy Speakers Series, which this year is sponsored by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

FRC Director David Sjoquist says the school finds it desirable for faculty and graduate students to be exposed to the ideas and research of faculty from beyond AYSPS. "It is part of the intellectual life of the university," he says. "The actual seminar is part of that, but informal discussions during the day with the visitor, who is normally an expert on a specific policy topic, are perhaps even more important."

For the Sweat lectures, Sjoquist says the principal purpose is to expose students and the community to the research and ideas of an expert on some significant education or community policy issue. The inaugural speaker for this series was Dr. Ronald Ferguson (pictured above), economist and senior research associate at Harvard University, whose topic was, "The Racial Gap in Education Outcomes: Confronting the Challenge."

Speakers come to Georgia State University from around the world. All seminars and lectures are free and open to the public.

More event information is available online under "Seminar Series". AYSPS also posts a monthly calendar.