News
Professor Currid-Halkett’s book tackles ‘inconspicuous consumption’
June 26, 2017
In her latest book, The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class, which launched in launched June 8 with a book signing in New York City, Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett identifies a new elite class that is defined by cultural capital rather than by income bracket — people who practice “inconspicuous consumption,” finding value not in flashy cars but in buying organic food, taking yoga and Pilates classes, listening to the right podcasts, and investing their children’s education. She found that by making wise decisions about education, health, parenting and retirement, this “aspirational class” reproduces wealth and deepens an ever-widening class divide.
SCI instructor Ehsan Zaffar joins Council on Foreign Relations
June 23, 2017
Ehsan Zaffar, an instructor with the USC CREATE Homeland Security Center, USC Price Safe Communities Institute, and frequent speaker at the USC Bedrosian Center on Governance, has been invited to join the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. CFR is a nonpartisan think tank specializing in foreign policy and international affairs.
New social justice courses advocate cultural competency, challenge assumptions
June 23, 2017
To position USC Price at the forefront of advancing social justice through producing culturally competent professionals, USC Price School of Public added three new courses for the 2016-17 academic year: Social Justice in Public Policy and Urban Planning (PPD 300) taught by Professor LaVonna Lewis; Race, Arts and Placemaking (PPD 499) instructed by Associate Professor Annette Kim; and Inequality, Policy and Administration (PPD 599) led by Assistant Professor Kathleen Doherty.
Boarnet, Rose elected fellows of Regional Science Association International
June 21, 2017
Two USC Price School of Public Policy faculty members have been elected as fellows of the Regional Science Association International, the most prestigious honor in the field. Professor Marlon Boarnet and Research Professor Adam Rose were among three distinguished scholars named as 2017 RSAI fellows, a worldwide sign of scientific recognition that is bestowed on a regional scientist with outstanding research credentials.
Planning students earn national APA award for community outreach
June 21, 2017
The USC Price School of Public Policy’s Associated Students of Planning and Development (ASPD) received a national distinction, winning the 2017 Outstanding Planning Student Organization award in the category of community outreach for its Planning for College program. The award is presented by the American Planning Association’s Student Representatives Council.
Currid-Halkett’s new book addresses rise of ‘aspirational class,’ widening class divide
June 15, 2017
In her latest book, The Sum of Small Things, USC Price School of Public Policy Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett addresses the rise of society’s “aspirational class” – individuals defined by cultural capital – and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, this segment reproduces wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide.
Nonprofit grad dedicated to engaging, supporting immigrant communities
June 14, 2017
Melody Klingenfuss entered the USC Price School of Public Policy’s Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management program knowing exactly what she wanted to get out of it, down to the organization at which she wanted to work. After completing a college internship with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), she found her life’s calling to support immigrant communities. But first, she needed further education in leading a nonprofit.
Documenting flow of money through pharmaceutical distribution chain
June 14, 2017
The rapid increase in spending on prescription drugs has been widely recognized, prompting calls for government intervention. But little is understood about how much the various players in the pharmaceutical distribution chain are making. A new report published by the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics – co-authored by Neeraj Sood, Tiffany Shih, Karen Van Nuys, and Dana Goldman – found that for every $100 spent on retail prescription drugs in the U.S., the manufacturer received $58, of which about $17 goes direct production costs. The remaining $41 accrues to intermediaries in the pharmaceutical distribution chan.
Southers quoted in NASPAA article on addressing hate crimes on campus
June 12, 2017
USC Price Professor Erroll Southers, director of homegrown violent extremism Studies at the Safe Communities Institute, was quoted in an article by NASPAA, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, that addresses “rejecting hate and divisiveness on every campus and work, through public affairs education, to foster a civil society.”
Award-winning capstone projects analyze refugee perception, homeless services
June 12, 2017
Two award-winning capstone projects in the Master of Public Administration program at the USC Price School of Public Policy are having an impact that extends far beyond the classroom. One team delivered their report, “Austria and the Refugee Crisis: An Analysis of American Sentiment in Social versus Print Media,” for the Embassy of Austria to the U.S., traveling to Washington, D.C. to make their presentation. Another team addressed “Servicing Homeless Families with Young Children: Exploring Smart Practices for Use in Los Angeles County,” and had their work passed on to the state and federal level.
Price research examines challenges to performance management reforms in LA
June 12, 2017
USC Price School of Public Policy researchers presented findings from a recently completed three-year study of the data-driven management reforms in the City of Los Angeles during a May forum. They conducted several rounds of surveys of mid-level managers to find out whether they had taken the steps required in the implementation process in order to allow them to achieve reform. They found that all the indicators got stronger from the first survey in 2015 to the most recent. Departments had improved in the way they used data and more people had become involved in performance management.
Los Angeles Urban Funders: Lasting effects, lessons learned after ’92 civil unrest
June 9, 2017
In the wake of the 1992 Civil Unrest, 21 Los Angeles foundations united to help heal the social ruptures that drove it, working collaboratively to improve socioeconomic conditions in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, including disbursement of $25 million in grant funding. On June 1, the USC Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy hosted foundation and community leaders for “Los Angeles Urban Funders in Retrospect: Lasting Effects, Lessons Learned After the 1992 Civil Unrest” — marking the 25th anniversary of this watershed moment in the city’s history.
Price co-hosts symposium focused on supporting military veterans, families
June 8, 2017
Despite the many cultural and societal differences among nations of the Pacific Rim, they share at least one major commonality: the pressing need to support and enhance the health and well-being of military veterans and their families. During a two-day symposium, co-hosted by the USC Price School of Public Policy and the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, leaders from universities throughout the region focused on strategies to improve policies and practices affecting men and women who served in the armed forces, particularly regarding health, housing, education and employment.
USC Price alumna Aja Brown reelected mayor of Compton
June 8, 2017
USC Price School of Public Policy alumna Aja Brown ’04, MPL ’05 has been reelected as the mayor of the City of Compton, Calif. — securing 60 percent of the vote, the Los Angeles Sentinel
reported. “I’m humbled and grateful that Compton residents have put their trust in me to serve as their mayor for another term,” said Brown via a statement. Brown earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy, urban planning and development in 2004, and a master of planning with a concentration in economic development in 2005 from USC Price.
Krieger turns the camera on New York City’s transit-oriented development
June 6, 2017
Martin Krieger, professor of planning at the USC Price School of Public Policy, took an unconventional approach to studying transit-oriented development around New York City Subway stations. He picked up a camera and snapped tens of thousands of photographs, documenting actual patterns of development.
2017 USC Price School Outstanding Performance Awards
June 5, 2017
The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy’s Outstanding Annual Performance Awards were created by Carl and Sterling Franklin through a gift from the Morris S. Smith Foundation. Since 1998, the Price School has honored faculty and staff for their exceptional achievements and contributions to the school. The luncheon for the 2017 Outstanding Annual Performance Awards was held May 8 at Franklin Garden Courtyard. In addition to faculty, staff and students, Sterling Franklin and Margaret […]
Myers’ paper focuses on shifting demographic trends 25 years after LA civil unrest
June 2, 2017
It has now been 25 years since civil unrest roiled Los Angeles, triggered by the Rodney King verdict and the shooting death of teenager Latasha Harlins. In his new paper, “From Boom Crash Injustice to the New Maturity of Los Angeles,” sponsored by the Price Center for Social Innovation, USC Price School of Public Policy Professor Dowell Myers explores the roots of those racial tensions and the demographic changes that have shaped the city since. He finds a city transformed, with new priorities to focus on in the next quarter century.
Myers explains growth of millennial population
June 1, 2017
Time quoted Professor Dowell Myers about why society is seeing a spike in the millennial-aged population.
Currid-Halkett talks to KPCC-FM about her new book The Sum of Small Things
June 1, 2017
KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk” featured an interview with Professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett about her new book, The Sum of Small Things. Currid-Halkett argues that instead of focusing on “conspicuous consumption,” the new cultural elite want to be seen as the “aspirational class.”
Lakdawalla discusses costs, access under potential single-payer CA healthcare
June 1, 2017
Los Angeles Times quoted Darius Lakdawalla of the USC Schaeffer Center on how the proposal to change health care in California to a single-payer model would affect the state’s economy and how residents will access and pay for health care.