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UC Davis experts: California budget prioritiesThe following University of California, Davis, faculty members are available to comment on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 2007 California budget priorities and other state issues that the governor and Legislature will be tackling. Health care, economics, immigration
Politics and public opinion
Energy and transportation
Other environmental issues
HEALTH CARE, ECONOMICS, IMMIGRATIONHealth care economicsUC Davis economics professor Colin Cameron can talk about broader economic issues related to expansions of health insurance coverage, such as those currently being considered in California. "In terms of total dollars, movement to universal health insurance is feasible," Cameron says. "But in terms of distribution of those dollars, i.e. who pays, that is another question. And many people are reluctant to see their current health insurance changed." Cameron teaches a class on health economics and directed the UC Davis Center on Quantitative Social Science Research from 2003 to 2005. Cameron, who has developed statistical methods for analyzing health care data, points out that, nationwide, health expenditures for the uninsured account for less than 10 percent of total health expenditures and for around 1 percent of the gross domestic product. Overall, health care expenditures comprise 16 percent of GDP. Contact: Colin Cameron, Economics, (530) 752-8396, accameron@ucdavis.edu. Chicano politics and healthCalifornia's changing demographics and term limits have given Chicanos unprecedented power in the state, says UC Davis labor and health economist Adela de la Torre. Director of the Chicana/o Studies Program at UC Davis, De la Torre can talk about a range of issues regarding the Latino vote in California. These include redistricting, the relationship between Chicano political power and federal manpower and health programs, Hispanic labor and income issues, and the influence of the California Legislature's Chicano Caucus on state resource allocation. Contact: Adela de la Torre (Spanish speaker), Chicana/o Studies, (530) 752-3904, adelatorre@ucdavis.edu. Improving health-care access through technologyFamily and community medicine professor Thomas Nesbitt can discuss the expansion of health services to underserved populations and the importance of public- and private-sector collaboration in insuring the uninsured. He also is an expert on how technology can be leveraged to increase access to care. Nesbitt directs the UC Davis Center for Health and Technology and served two terms on the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health. As UC Davis Health System's executive associate dean for clinical and administrative affairs, he ensures that faculty and staff excel at providing high-quality, state-of-the-art care for millions of patients throughout health system's hospital, clinics and partners in Northern California. Contact: David Ong, UC Davis Health System Public Affairs, (916) 734-9049, david.ong@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. Immigrants' effect on state economyUC Davis growth economist Giovanni Peri can talk about the productive impact of immigrants on the California economy. A scholar of labor market effects, Giovanni has found that immigration labor is linked to robust economies, with San Jose and Los Angeles among the five top cities that have benefited the most from immigrant labor. "Our work shows that cities with more diversity -- more immigrants -- in the work force exhibit higher productivity for the American-born employees," Peri says. Contact: Giovanni Peri, Economics, (530) 554-2304, gperi@ucdavis.edu. Labor and migrationPhilip Martin, professor of agricultural and resource economics, is an authority on migration and labor issues, particularly agricultural labor. He can discuss labor and migration as they affect U.S. and Mexico relations. He has published extensively on labor, migration, economic development and immigration policy issues and has testified before Congress and state and local agencies on those issues. He co-authored a report urging California policymakers to develop strategies that will encourage and hasten the integration of immigrants into the state's economy and society. He also maintains a Web publication, Migration Dialogue, with extensive information about world migration issues. Contact: Philip Martin, Agricultural and Resource Economics, (530) 752-1530, plmartin@ucdavis.edu. Undocumented workers and civil rightsProfessor Kevin Johnson of the School of Law can talk about undocumented workers and civil rights, including immigration law reform and border enforcement. His latest book is "The 'Huddled Masses' Myth: Immigration and Civil Rights" (2004). Johnson also wrote "How Did You Get to Be Mexican?" and is editor of the anthology of readings "Mixed Race America: A Critical Reader." He is a professor of Chicana/o studies as well as the associate dean for academic affairs at the UC Davis School of Law and the Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law. In addition, Johnson is president of the board of directors for Legal Services of Northern California and a member of the board of directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He writes an immigration law professor's blog. Contact: Kevin Johnson, School of Law, (530) 752-0243, krjohnson@ucdavis.edu. Education financeA member of the Stanford study group examining the current system of school funding in California, UC Davis education professor Tom Timar is an expert in education finance and governance. He has published on school governance, the politics of school restructuring, categorical funding and other equity issues. Timar also wrote "Categorical School Finance: Who Gains, Who Loses?" published by Policy Analysis for California Education. Other studies on California school finance include "Policy, Politics and Categorical Aid: New Inequities in California School Finance" in the journal Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and the chapter "Allocation of Educational Resources and School Finance Equity in Ohio" in "Where Does the Money Go? Resource Allocation in Elementary and Secondary Schools." Contact: Tom Timar, School of Education, (530) 754-6654 office, (707) 259-1067 home, (707) 299-9473 cell, tbtimar@ucdavis.edu. POLITICS AND PUBLIC OPINIONPolitics, taxes and new ideasEdmond Costantini, UC Davis professor emeritus of political science, specializes in political parties and public opinion, particularly in regard to California electoral politics. He can discuss the current political stakes for Democrats, Republicans and Gov. Schwarzenegger, as well as the trade-off issues for the universal health insurance proposals. "Part of the governor's resurrection is to look very liberal and forward thinking but from the beginning, he has made a commitment to no new taxes," Costantini says. "It is hard to do the two things simultaneously, except with the solution of hoisting the costs down the line to the next generation." For nearly two decades, Costantini was program adviser to the Political Campaign Management Institute, which was offered each July through UC Davis Extension. Contact: Edmond Costantini, Political Science, (530) 752-0974 office, (530) 756-2009 home, egcostantini@ucdavis.edu. About the speechJohn Theobald, a lecturer in the Department of Communication, can comment on the effectiveness of the governor's "State of the State" speech. He can also discuss how the governor uses the media to promote his political aims. Theobald teaches "The Media Industry," "Media Analysis" and "News Policies and Practices." Theobald, chair of the UC Oil Forum and a former television news producer, often provides television commentary on debates and public speeches. Contact: John Theobald, Communication, (530) 752-4916 office, (707) 322-6340 cell, theobald@att.net. Gubernatorial greatnessWhat does it take to be the governor of California? Dean Simonton, the author of "Why Presidents Succeed," and "Greatness: Who Makes History and Why" can offer some insights into leadership qualities. Simonton is a psychology professor who studies genius, creativity and leadership -- the cognitive, personality, developmental and socio-cultural factors behind exceptional personal influence and historical eminence. Contact: Dean Simonton, Psychology, (530) 752-1677, dksimonton@ucdavis.edu. Public opinionUC Davis political science professor Robert Huckfeldt can comment on public opinion and participation in California politics. He is especially concerned with voting, public opinion and the dynamics of political communication among citizens. He is the author of several books, including "Race and the Decline of Class in American Politics" and "Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication." Contact: Robert Huckfeldt, Political Science, (530) 752-0975, rhuckfeldt@ucdavis.edu. Effect on local governmentsUC Davis political scientist Al Sokolow can talk about the ramifications of state government policies -- and budget -- on local governments and the consequences of new policies for the balance of power between state and local governments. Sokolow has expertise in local and state government, state and local finances, and growth and land use. He is also a leading authority on farmland protection policies. Contact: Al Sokolow, Human and Community Development, (530) 758-3246 home, ajsokolow@ucdavis.edu. Election lawLaw professor Christopher Elmendorf's research focuses on the roles that ongoing advisory bodies can play in fostering governmental accountability and sustaining the foundational commitments of liberal democracy. In "Representation Reinforcement Through Advisory Commissions: The Case of Election Law," published in the New York University Law Review, he examines advisory commissions as a source of political process reforms. His forthcoming article, "Advisory Counterparts to Constitutional Courts," traces the emergence in many nations of permanent investigatory and advice-giving bodies with the kinds of missions -- to reinforce democracy, safeguard rights and protect minorities -- that legal scholars more typically ascribe to constitutional courts. Contact: Christopher Elmendorf, School of Law, (530) 752-5756, cselmendorf@ucdavis.edu. ENERGY AND TRANSPORTATIONBiomass in California's energy futureIn November, the California Biomass Collaborative, based at UC Davis, gave the California Energy Commission a draft plan for greatly increasing biofuels production and the generation of electricity from biomass. California Biomass Collaborative director Bryan Jenkins is a UC Davis professor of biological and agricultural engineering, and the director of the UC Davis Bioenergy Research Group. Jenkins can discuss what biomass is (such as forest trimmings, rice straw, tree prunings, animal manures and urban waste), how it can be used to produce renewable fuels (ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, biodiesel, syngas, synfuels and biomethane) and basic materials for products (plastics, solvents, inks and construction materials), and how it can be employed to help meet state goals (expand renewable energy, reduce petroleum dependency, provide economic development and improve environmental quality). Contact: Bryan Jenkins, California Biomass Collaborative, (530) 752-1422, bmjenkins@ucdavis.edu. Clean auto fuels and technologiesGov. Schwarzenegger launched the state's Hydrogen Highways program at UC Davis because of its Institute of Transportation Studies and the institute's international leadership in research, teaching and public education that focus on clean vehicle fuels, technologies and policy. Experts on hydrogen systems, including institute director Daniel Sperling, are listed online. Experts on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are Tom Turrentine, ITS-Davis, (831) 685-3635, tturrentine@ucdavis.edu, and Andrew Frank, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, (530) 752-8120, aafrank@ucdavis.edu. Using existing energy supplies betterGov. Schwarzenegger presided at the grand opening in April 2006 of the world's leading university-based Energy Efficiency Center at UC Davis. The new center is dedicated to speeding the transfer of new energy-saving products and services into the homes and lives of Californians. The Energy Efficiency Center's founding director is Andrew Hargadon, an associate professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management who is an expert on innovation in business and technology transfer. He can discuss how the state can bring together the people who devise new ways to save energy, those who finance their development, the manufacturers who make the products, and the industries and consumers who buy and benefit from them. (More energy efficiency experts). Contact: Andrew Hargadon, Energy Efficiency Center and Graduate School of Management, (530) 752-2277, abhargadon@ucdavis.edu. Transportation infrastructure and air qualityDeb Niemeier, a UC Davis professor of civil and environmental engineering, can discuss transportation project priorities and transportation air-quality issues. Niemeier's research is focused on quantifying the effects of transportation on air quality and studying the processes used to select projects and to manage major transportation infrastructure. She recently oversaw the analysis of two transportation propositions on the Nov. 7 California ballot http://www-news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=7943; another such analysis (on the air-quality effects of vehicle emissions standards) is expected in early 2007 http://johnmuir.ucdavis.edu/policy/policygrants.html. Niemeier, a UC Davis associate vice chancellor for research, is director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment and the UC Davis-Caltrans Air Quality Project. Contact: Deb Niemeier, Civil and Environmental Engineering, (530) 752-8918, dniemeier@ucdavis.edu. OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESFlood risks for CaliforniaUC Davis geologist Jeffrey Mount, a watershed expert and a vocal critic of building in floodplains, was fired last year by Schwarzenegger from the State Reclamation Board. (The board is charged with controlling flooding along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.) Mount, who holds the Roy J. Shlemon Chair in Applied Geosciences, says it is a mistake to trust the levees, channels and dams built to protect Sacramento and many other California communities. "New Orleans lost the battle with the inevitable; the same will eventually occur here," says Mount, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Contact: Jeffrey Mount, Geology, (530) 752-7092, jfmount@ucdavis.edu. California's environmental historyUC Davis historian Louis Warren can give historical context to important environmental issues in the state. Warren teaches about 20th century California history: immigration, environmental issues and demographic impacts. Warren, the UC Davis W. Turrentine Jackson Chair in Western U.S. History, wrote "Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show" (2005) and "The Hunter's Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth-Century America" (1997). The "Buffalo Bill" book recently won the 2007 Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Association. Contact: Louis Warren, History, (530) 752-1633, lswarren@ucdavis.edu. Water wars and social issuesUC Davis sociologist John Walton can talk about the history and issues behind Los Angeles securing water sources from the Owens Valley. An expert on the political economy of development, Walton can also discuss the broader sociological issues behind the state's growth and the social rebellions it has produced. He is the author of "Western Times and Water Wars: State, Culture and Rebellion in California" (1992), which received an award from the California Historical Society. Contact: John Walton, Sociology, (831) 659-1519 home, jtwalton@ucdavis.edu. Media contacts:
Last updated Jan. 9, 2007 |
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