Among the many advantages of having a major public affairs graduate program at Texas A&M University is the opportunity for faculty from the Bush School of Government and Public Service to interact with their colleagues across the Texas A&M System in research efforts.
“We have an amazing range of expertise within the Texas A&M University System,” said Dr. Arnold Vedlitz, Bush School professor and Bob Bullock Chair in Government and Public Policy. “Being able to call on our colleagues in the System universities and agencies enables us to address public policy issues from a wider perspective.”
Collaborative research projects are commonplace at the Bush School, where faculty and state agency researchers bring their unique expertise and connections with funding agencies to university-wide projects. These efforts can provide research opportunities for students in the Bush School and provide a cross-disciplinary perspective on a broad range of issues.
“Issues like health, economic development, and infrastructure require different perspectives from experts in several fields if we are to find workable and practical solutions,’ Vedlitz said. “Although the Bush School is only twenty years old, our faculty quickly adopted the collaborative research model that has been so successful at Texas A&M and the A&M System over the years.”
The Bush School’s research institutes—the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP); the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy; and the Scowcroft Institute for of International Affairs—often reach out to faculty in various academic disciplines as research partners.
Bush School Dean Mark Welsh noted that the School’s faculty brings a unique perspective to the complex issues being studied.
“Our faculty represents a unique blend of academic expertise and extensive practical experience in public service,” said Welsh. “Collaboration between Bush school faculty and others with specialized knowledge in the Texas A&M System ensures that solutions proposed through research can be effectively implemented as policies.”
ISTPP currently has a number of projects that include faculty and agency researchers. The Institute’s work investigating the connections among transportation planning and transportation policy, and their relationship with climate change mitigation and adaptation has been a collaborative effort with researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Other research has included expertise from the Texas A&M Colleges of Liberal Arts, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and Medicine.
“The Bush School’s research efforts fit perfectly with the land grant mission of Texas A&M,” said Vedlitz. “For more than 100 years, Texas A&M has been addressing problems faced by the state, nation, and the world in collaborative research efforts. We just had to prove that we could enhance those efforts, and I believe we have done that.”
For more information about collaborative research at the Bush School, see our latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1JR7whY-UI.
