WINTER 2022
WICKED BRINGING VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO WICKED PROBLEMS
DEFENSE AND SECURITY INITIATIVES
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOCUS GROUPS
OUR HOMES, OUR HEALTH SERIES
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ABOUT WICKED Wicked, the annual magazine of the Purdue Policy Research Institute, highlights the Institute's projects, partnerships, events, and publications, along with its faculty affiliates' achievements over the past year. Contact PPRI for access to previous issues of Wicked: Spring 2018 | Breaking Through: an innovative approach to scholarly communication Autumn 2019 | Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: exploring ethical, legal, and societal impacts
Acknowledgements
2022
Special thanks to former PPRI Communication Interns, Christopher Garrett and Danielle Graber for their contributions to shaping this issue of Wicked!
ABOUT PPRI Mission The Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) convenes researchers and policy influencers to catalyze research that influences data-driven policymaking and assessment.
Vision PPRI will be the go-to resource for developing innovative research to inform data-driven policymaking, and assessing policies that solve pressing grand challenges.
Connect With Us Email: ppri@purdue.edu Phone: (765) 494-1610 Web: www.purdue.edu/dp/ppri Twitter: @PurduePPRI Facebook: @PurduePolicy LinkedIn: @purduepolicyresearchinstitute Instagram: @purdueppri
FEATURED CONTENT 01 MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
With lessons learned from 2020-21, we press forward in 2022 on wicked problems both global and domestic.
11 INDIANA POLICY COLLABORATIVE This initiative connects the best of research and policy analysis undertaken by Indiana higher education institutions.
12 SCHOLARS STRATEGY NETWORK PPRI's latest partnership aims to improve democracy by connecting scholars, journalists, and policy makers across fields.
15 DIPLOMACY LAB
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This partnership with US Department of State explores realworld challenges, informing the policymaking process.
DEFENSE AND SECURITY INITIATIVES
27 PPRI FACULTY FELLOW DR. KATHRYN BROWNELL 17 INDOT PROJECT: PUBLIC SAFETY PPRI is collaborating with INDOT to develop educational materials and messaging for a public safety campaign.
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AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE FOCUS GROUPS
OUR HOMES, OUR HEALTH
A research project with a major US motor vehicle company studies seniors' preferences for shared autonomous vehicles.
A summer webinar series with Penn State and Habitat for Humanity (Asia Pacific) explored the intersection of health and housing today.
19 CONTEMPORARY MATTERS SERIES PPRI's signature series seeks to bring together scholars from across Purdue to discuss matters of contemporary significance.
24 AMBASSADOR DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
In this series, distinguished diplomats share first-hand knowledge and experience with the Purdue community.
25 PPRI PEOPLE Meet the faculty, staff, and students who work with PPRI to bring viable alternatives to wicked problems.
two years' overview
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR Welcome to Wicked, our continued effort to share our most recent thinking about solutions to wicked problems. At PPRI our goal is to illustrate the connections between technology and society, and the role they play in finding solutions to global challenges. We connect researchers and scholars from across the University with expertise in both technological and social dimensions in order to holistically address these challenges. This issue will provide a snapshot of some of these efforts from 2020 and 2021.
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I took over as Director of PPRI in July 2019 and since then I have been fortunate to be surrounded by a team of dedicated professionals and a supportive group of administrators, faculty, and staff in the Discovery Park District and across the research community at Purdue. In both my research and leadership of PPRI, I am committed to bringing transdisciplinary research to bear on some of the world’s most pressing problems and using evidence from that research to help inform sound policy at the local, state, national, and global levels. These efforts have become even more critical in the last two years. In 2021, my blog post titled ‘Attending to the Great American Divide’ on University of Sheffield’s Centre for Freedom of the Media’s blog site discussed how empirical research in communication and peacebuilding often conducted outside the US can and should be applied to help address various divisions within the United States. The years 2020 and 2021 have thus far presented great challenges to the global community. As communities across the world have reeled from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing disparities in
wealth, health, access, security, and policies have become very clear. During this time, PPRI, like other peer institutes, universities, and think tanks, has endeavored to understand the myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; raise questions about those impacts; and collaborate with scholars to develop actionable outcomes and solutions to those questions. We have held workshops and panel discussions on how COVID-19 has impacted work and the future of well-being; discussed social justice issues in institutes of higher education; examined the impacts of COVID-19, and regional and global responses to it; and analyzed vaccinations in the state of Indiana to present policy considerations to relevant policymakers, among others. We are collaborating with colleagues across the Purdue campus and beyond to address pressing challenges related to COVID-19 and beyond in the sectors of food security, rural and urban health, global peacebuilding, security, and mis/disinformation. As we look ahead to 2022, we will continue to work on the most pressing issues around defense, security, space, health, well-being, work, sustainability, development, and peacebuilding, engaging with scholars and policymakers across our region and beyond.
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Dr. Stacey Connaughton Director, The Purdue Policy Research Institute, Discovery Park District Director, The Purdue Peace Project Professor, Brian Lamb School of Communication
UPDATES PROJECTS
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: Ethics, Technology, and Policy Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) had the opportunity to convene some of the leading researchers and practitioners in the areas of greatest interest and concern to policymakers in developing policy around connected and autonomous vehicles. Following a series of workshops led by these thinkers and doers, the PPRI team provided reports and presentations including insightful and impactful research contributions along with recommendations and considerations for policy development. Additionally, and in spite of the challenges brought forth in the 2020-2021 academic year, our research and communication team successfully collaborated to provide key regional knowledge on the ongoing
regulations and legal implications faced by industry associates looking to expand their interests within autonomous and selfdriving vehicle innovation. States that were highlighted within this initiative through digitally published profiles include California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In addition to major automobile manufacturers, influential technology and software companies were analyzed for general clarification on their projections with ongoing autonomous vehicle product development. Currently on the PPRI website, our readers can access a series of report transcriptions on the aforementioned state legislations and precautionary measures that have been instituted thus far. Presented by PPRI’s former postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Dustin Souders as well as our undergraduate research fellows, the findings of this research highlighted the creative adaptations in strategy that stakeholders within this new industry sector have had to navigate.
through the establishment of clear legal language, ethical principles, and regulatory efforts that a risk averse rollout of autonomous transportation can take place within domestic markets.
UPDATES COMMUNICATION & MEDIA
Launch of PPRI’s Policy Reports In Fall 2021, PPRI added in-depth policy reports to the variety of policy-relevant research communication we already provide. Dr. Ashima Krishna, Associate Director of PPRI, collaborates with faculty affiliates from across disciplines at Purdue University to bring the best and latest in research and discovery to bear on pressing issues. Topics are selected based upon federal and state level legislative agendas, and a critical mass of expertise at Purdue on a specific topic ensuring the
VIEW POLICY REPORT VOL 1 HERE
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These individual state policy reviews were critical expansions on the impactful ethics research that was conducted in previous years on this topic. By focusing on the ongoing domestic government relations work that takes place across states, future industry partners and trailblazers may seek out opportunities in the regions that have taken a proactive approach addressing this subject matter. Often technology will advance at such a rapid rate that the concerns of resident and legislative constituents are not considered. It is only
reports’ relevance and quality. Each report provides a more in-depth analysis than a policy brief. These PPRI Policy reports deliver an overview of the issue, existing policy and program landscape, and recommendations. All content considers multiple factors such as technology, society, ethics, culture, and more, while approaching each topic through the lens of various disciplines of study and practice. Each report aims to provide non-partisan, evidence based policy recommendations.
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PPRI’s New Blog We established a new blog site in 2020 in an effort to expand PPRI’s production of informative, non-partisan, and impactful policy-relevant materials. Sage Schneider, Former PPRI Graduate Communication Intern and Brian Lamb School of Communication graduate, led the development of the site. In her role as content creator for the blog, Sage guided the research, development, and drafting of all articles published on the site until Spring 2021. In addition to policy resources for academic, industry, and research purposes, readers can access updates and developments from the institute, major upcoming events either sponsored or cosponsored by PPRI, and professional development opportunities across various industries. The blog initiative remains an ongoing process. We encourage our audiences to reference all of the policyrelevant research and content on the site.
VISIT THE PPRI BLOG HERE
Social Media Over the course of the past two years, PPRI has leveraged its social media channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with audiences on policy-relevant topics of global impact. PPRI’s social media platforms are currently spearheaded by Communication Specialist Nandhesh Subash, a recent graduate of the Brian Lamb School of Communication and former PPRI Communication Intern. In 2020, topics were primarily of a culturallyconscious theme, keeping in mind key public issues and concerns prior to and following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, such as domestic policing reforms, COVID-19 global response strategies, environmental policy, and workplace norms. In addition, PPRI had the opportunity to highlight impactful local leaders and contributors to the field of government relations and policy development, through our monthly-themed highlights. The in-house team of communication interns produced social
Connect with us @PurduePPRI @purduepolicyresearchinstitute @purdueppri @PurduePolicy
media content in honor of Black History Month, International Women’s History Month, and in conjunction with our other partnered Discovery Park-housed institutes and external industry associates. In 2021 we also redeveloped social media accounts for PPRI Director Dr. Stacey Connaughton and the Purdue Peace Project (PPP). Dr. Connaughton’s social media accounts have provided a new avenue to convey to her followers her insights and interests regarding events of major historical precedent, ongoing sociocultural influences, as well as personal and professional developments. The revamped PPP accounts feature curated topics which change on a weekly basis to raise awareness about global issues and observances in line with PPP’s areas of focus, such as peacebuilding, preventive violence, health inequity, diplomacy, etc.
A policy brief is a 2-4 page document connecting relevant research to important questions in public policy. First, it seeks to outline objectives and key points in an executive summary to hook the audience. Second, it maintains readers' interest while providing background information to describe the problem being introduced. It then illustrates how the research was done and summarizes key findings. In the conclusion it examines the findings’ benefits, limitations, and opportunities. Finally, it offers research-based policy suggestions for what could or should happen in an "Implications and Recommendations" section. Policy briefs should be short and simple, laying out concise research and actionable steps. Both persuasive and factual, briefs guide policymakers by making research accessible. We invite scholars to partner with us in the publication of topical policy briefs.
Continued Publication of Policy Briefs In addition to ongoing research contributions and academic programming in the field of policy developments, PPRI has also invested resources and labor toward the review of current government proposals. To support this endeavor, our communication and research teams have worked to develop policy briefs.
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VIEW POLICY BRIEF LIBRARY HERE
DEFENSE & SECURITY PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS
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FEATURE
US Strategic Command While crafting effective strategies to achieve and maintain deterrence has always been tricky, the increasing pervasiveness of disruptive technologies, grey zone tactics, and new domains of conflict have further complicated deterrence theory development, policy making, and application in the post-Cold War era. This opens up a new realm of unexplored possibilities in the area of policy research, engagement, and academic programming within Purdue. In response to these opportunities, PPRI has partnered with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the Purdue Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation (i-GSDI) on issues regarding national and global security related to nuclear and other forms of weapon deterrence. Specializing in ongoing research and development within areas such as hypersonic, quantum, microelectronic, cyber security, and data mining engineering, Sandia accesses a wealth of knowledge on a variety of crosscutting technological innovations. The ongoing Sandia-Purdue Academic Alliance Partnership has long served to provide select students a pathway to contribute their vital perspectives and research on the subject matter. Now PPRI and I-GSDI will also offer an accessible network of
experts in areas related to technology/engineering, global impact, and policy development to invite and exchange viewpoints on the general direction of how ongoing obstacles that relate to the proliferation of nuclear arms will unfold. Industry and academic knowledge that has or will be applied within real-world settings can be viewed as a critical launchpad for future academic programming and university co-sponsored research. PPRI will continue to report on the ongoing developments of this engaging and valuable partnership.
Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) collaborates with these units in Purdue's partnership with USSTRATCOM.
Institute for Global Security and Defense Innovation (i-GSDI) FORCES (4S): Strategy, Security, and Social Systems Sandia National Labs US Strategic Command logo courtesy US Strategic Command Website https://www.stratcom.mil/About/History/Command-Emblem/
Honors College Courses: “Dialogues of War” and “Security, Technology, and Society”
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Spring 2021 In spring 2020 and 2021, Dr. Roberts also co-taught with Dr. Dwaine Jengelley a course titled “Security, Technology and Society” (STC). As part of this course, Drs. Roberts and Jengelley hosted a wide range of seminars that covered issues related to national security, international economics, modern weaponry, university-housed research, surveillance programs, and future projections on modern technological developments. PPRI is proud to have shared this academic partnership with the Honors College for the greater fulfillment of impactful and applicable undergraduate experiences, and looks forward to similar future endeavors.
FEATURE
Fall 2020 PPRI placed a strong focus during the 2020-2021 academic year on developing academic courses and seminars in partnership with Purdue’s Honors College, led by PPRI’s former Bement Senior Policy Fellow, Dr. Allison Roberts. Drawing on extensive knowledge and expertise in areas of political science, sociology, and history, Dr. Roberts emphasized real-world, modern applications of humanities curricula in her teaching. In addition, these courses were able to host experts from a variety of fields in both remote and inperson formats. Dr. Roberts designed and taught the spring 2020 course titled “Centuries of War: Knowing War through Shared Experiences”. The course analyzed historical precedents set through years of international and domestic conflicts. In addition to reviewing materials that reference major war related events and timelines, the class applied that knowledge to the current influences that are driving national security policies today.
FEATURE
Honors College Course: “Deterrence and Disruption” As part of PPRI’s relationship with Sandia National Labs, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, Director of PPRI, and Dr. Jason Reinhardt, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Labs, co-taught “Deterrence and Disruption”, an undergraduate multi-disciplinary course offered through the Honors College. The course was designed to explore how disruptive technologies present grand challenges to the US and the impacts those technologies could have on international security and US strategy. The class focused on the intersections of technology, conflict, security, and policy in the sectors of space, cyber, and missile defense with the understanding that deterrence today is different than it was during the Cold War.
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“Deterrence and Disruption”, during the
first eight weeks, was driven by case studies and offered a range of guest speakers from experts in academia to key military officials, including a brigadier general. In the second half of the semester, students began developing novel responses to dealing with challenges from disruptive technologies. The course culminated in a wargaming event which introduced students to a potential threat facing the US and tasked them with devising a strategy for the US government to use in response to this threat. At the end of the wargame, teams presented and defended their strategy to a panel of subject matter experts and received feedback. US Strategic Command supported the students’ learning through insightful briefings and by providing the opportunity for students to submit abstracts of their final papers for their Academic Alliance conference to be held virtually in March 2022.
Photo By: Airman 1st Class Evan Lichtenhan . Source: US Strategic Command https://www.stratcom.mil/Newsroom/Images/igphoto/2002895074/
GIVEN THE RENEWAL IN GREAT POWER RIVALRY, IT IS VITAL FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY PRACTITIONERS TO HAVE A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF STRATEGIC DETERRENCE. PURDUE’S DETERRENCE AND DISRUPTION COURSE, CO-TAUGHT BY DR. JASON REINHARDT AND DR. STACEY CONNAUGHTON, IS AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF HOW TO PREPARE TOMORROW’S LEADERS TO WIELD THE ECONOMIC, INFORMATIONAL, DIPLOMATIC AND MILITARY INSTRUMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER TO ADDRESS COMPETITIVE, COERCIVE AND MILITARY THREATS FROM NEAR-PEER CHALLENGERS.
BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN W. WEIDNER, PH.D., P.E. J5P, USSTRATCOM
CURRENT WORK PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Indiana Policy Collaborative (IPC)
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The institute has expanded the reach of our policy research and development contributions through external academic partnerships. An example of this is the Indiana Policy Collaborative (IPC). The IPC connects the best of research and policy analysis done by Indiana-based higher education institutions to Indiana policymakers for Hoosier growth and wellbeing. Institutions that have agreed to contribute toward this collective program include Purdue University, Indiana University, Ball State University, and Ivy Tech Community College. Still in its formative stages, the Indiana Policy Collaborative aims to leverage the collective strengths of participating universities in Indiana to provide deep knowledge in a digestible and translational format.
Providing the necessary expertise and relevant policy research areas of focus, the association’s members will establish a coalition of human capital that can properly meet the support demands for policymakers of the great state of Indiana. Decisions on a wide range of complex issues affecting Hoosiers will be addressed including resource maintenance, privatesector growth, environmental concerns, and social services. The Collaborative will ultimately guide policy makers toward solutions and developments that are backed by empirical research while also centering policy-relevant discussions on a variety of topics that have impactful and long-lasting implications for the state’s voter constituents.
Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) PPRI Director, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, and Operations Manager, Krista Kelley, are leading the Indiana Chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network (SSN) for the next three-year term (Fall 2021-Spring 2024). PPRI faculty affiliates, Dr. Rosalee Clawson and Dr. Leigh Raymond most recently provided this leadership, expanding SSN offerings and support across campus and with other university faculty in the Hoosier state. Prior to Drs. Clawson and Raymond, Dr. Laurel Weldon, former director of PPRI, Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, and Dr. Robin Stryker served in this leadership role and first established the Scholars Strategy Network in Indiana. This national organization works to improve democracy, government functions, and constituent relations through a nuanced approach of connecting scholars, journalists, and policy makers across a variety of intersecting fields. Experts can be accessed from across 30 chapters and 47 states. The central function of SSN is to train researchers and scholars to communicate many complex topics regarding government functions in a clear and digestible manner for general audiences.
SSN MEMBERSHIP WEBSITE
SSN INDIANA CHAPTER WEBSITE
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Expanding upon existing work to date, SSN Graduate Fellow, Kayla Garganus, has developed a legislative log. Indiana Chapter SSN members will be provided this log as a tool that captures pertinent details of the state’s current legislative agenda. More information on the chapter as well as further details on future projects will be provided at later dates via social media and our monthly newsletter.
Publication Opportunities Scholars interested in publishing a policy brief or op-ed through the Scholars Strategy Network to reach policy influencers and media members can do so as a member of the Indiana Chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network.
Project to study preferences of older adults for autonomous vehicles
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PPRI, in collaboration with partners from Engineering and industry, is contributing research for industry developments in the sector of autonomous transportation. Alongside project PI Dr. Konstantina (Nadia) Gkritza, Professor of Civil Engineering, PPRI's Associate Director Dr. Ashima Krishna is working on a project that aims to discover the needs and preferences of older adults in utilizing shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). This focus group-based study is being conducted in collaboration with a major American motor company. The project will use an interdisciplinary approach that will account for socio-cultural, psychological, physiological, and technological factors that can impact the successful roll-out of user-friendly interiors across shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs). The research team will undertake this via focus group studies. Once participants are vetted and hosted for the relevant focus group discussions, all information and data collected will be reviewed in detail to draw conclusions and inferences about the components that consumers will prefer in SAVs. This project has the potential to contribute to innovative and accessible design of SAVs for use by senior adults and adults with reduced or impaired mobility. Current project team members include: Dr. Konstantina (Nadia) Gkritza, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, Dr. Ashima Krishna, Krista Kelley, Nandhesh Subash, and graduate students Arianna Rambaram, Ping-chun (Jim) Chang, Matthew Cheng. Former team members include Dr. Dustin Souders and Dr. Allison Roberts.
LASER PULSE/USAID Ethiopia Led by PPRI Director Stacey Connaughton as Principal Investigator, with the support of the LASER PULSE program at Purdue, PPRI is engaging with a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project. This project focuses on a systems, networks, and human-centered design approach to assessing the resilience of Ethiopian communities experiencing recurring violent conflict shocks. The Ethiopian government, supported by the international community, is building resilience to address these shocks to alleviate the suffering and setbacks experienced by Ethiopian women and men and their communities. There is a pressing need to enhance the effectiveness of development assistance by incorporating scientifically sound measures of community resilience through translational research. The drivers of conflict include limited access to resources and food insecurity as well as social, cultural, economic, political, health, and environmental factors.
Anti-human trafficking project In 2021 PPRI started a collaborative project with the Krenicki Center for Business Analytics & Machine Learning in the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University, under the leadership of Center Director Dr. Karthik Kannan. Once implemented, the project will bring together policymakers, lawmakers, law enforcement officials, non-profit groups, and technology groups from academia and industry. This group will identify pressing needs to tackle human trafficking in Indiana, and to design solutions accordingly. This effort follows on the heels of a critical discussion moderated by Dr. Stacey Connaughton in February 2021, dealing with sexual exploitation and extortion. The session featured panelists Laura Donatelli-Bow from the Indiana Youth Services Bureau and Dr. Kathryn SeigfriedSpellar of Purdue Polytechnic Institute.
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These conflict drivers are interrelated with each other, and preliminary research in Ethiopia shows that all shocks are nestled in a system of recurring shocks and factors. In addition to Search for Common Ground and a locally-based team of Ethiopian researchers and practitioners, Dr. Connaughton will conduct research in partnership with Purdue experts who have worked with local communities on conflict prevention and post-conflict reconciliation and resilience (Gary Burniske, College of
Agriculture’s Assistant Director for Program Development, International Programs in Agriculture (IPA), and Dr. Seungyoon Lee, Associate Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication). This collaborative research endeavor will work on the principle that community resilience to violent conflict is fundamental to prevention and reconciliation processes, and thus aims to co-design a framework for assessing community resilience with participating communities facing recurring and potentially compounding shocks.
Diplomacy Lab
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In June 2021, Purdue University, through PPRI, began its collaboration with the U.S. Department of State to bring the Diplomacy Lab (DipLab) initiative to the West Lafayette campus. This program, already under way, will involve teams of Purdue students supervised and led by a faculty member to conduct research in areas of interest relevant to the State Department’s affairs. Topics will cover a wide array of international issues and challenges, including climate change, sustainable development, human rights, economic policy, global health, energy security, and conflict and stabilization. Students who participate in the Diplomacy Lab program explore real-world challenges identified by the State Department, and stand to contribute directly to informing the policymaking process. Upon completion of research projects, teams present their findings to State Department officials. Exemplary teams are invited to present for a wider Department audience at the annual DipLab Demo Day showcase. The DipLab initiative had a soft launch in Fall 2021, and the inaugural project of the partnership was 'Telling the (Bioengineered) Story' — a hybrid gradundergrad venture with an interdisciplinary focus on agricultural biotechnology and narrative communication, led by Dr. Sorin Matei, Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA).
DIPLOMACY LAB WEBSITE
In October 2021, PPRI invited prospective faculty to formally bid their interest on a semester-long project for Spring 2022. The bidding saw a grand total of 5 project bids submitted on behalf of Purdue University, all of which were accepted by the State Department. They are as follows: Strategies for Identifying Mis-/Disinformation Prof. Bethany S. McGowan and Prof. Matthew N. Hannah, Libraries and School of Information Studies Recruitment of Native Hawaiians Prof. C. Robert Kenley, College of Engineering Recruitment of Hispanic/Latinx Americans in California Prof. C. Robert Kenley, College of Engineering Where are the Freely Associated States (FAS) students? Prof. Anne Traynor, College of Education Explore BIM and GIS Integration for US Embassies Prof. Cory Clark, Polytechnic Institute
DIPLOMACY LAB INFO SESSION
Advisory roles, committee working groups Health and Wellbeing initiatives with PPRI Faculty Affiliate, Dr. Jasmine Gonzalvo PPRI has had the honor to participate in an advisory role with several initiatives spearheaded by Dr. Jasmine Gonzalvo, Director of Center for Health Equity and Innovation (CHEqI) and Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice. In particular, PPRI has been involved with CHEqI’s Community Health Workforce Development Institute and Wellbeing Informed by Science and Evidence in Indiana (WISE).
DR. CONNAUGHTON'S WORKSHOP
PILOT PROGRAM OUTCOMES
Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (CUPSO) PPRI has joined the Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (CUPSO), which includes 40 other member institutions across the US. Member institutions share best practices and resources supporting our shared mission of supporting evidence-based policy development.
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Energy Corridor initiative with PPRI Faculty Affiliate, Dr. Luciano Castillo PPRI supports the policy-relevant approaches to research and engagement as needed on projects stemming from the collaborative group organized by PPRI Affiliate, Dr. Luciano Castillo, Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems in Mechanical Engineering. In particular, PPRI serves in an advisory role for Dr. Castillo’s Energy Corridor and Texas project. This project aims to address how our energy corridor could solve existing challenges in Texas in terms of energy and water security and involves innovative engineering and technology informed by societal needs and supported by informed policy.
Purdue’s Advancement of Research Impact on Society (P-ARIS) – Office of Engagement PPRI Director, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, and Operations Manager, Krista Kelley, served in the working group tasked to develop ways to capture instances of engagement, measure impact, and cultivate an environment which encourages scholarly engagement and promotes impactful research. Purdue was one of a small cohort of universities participating in the pilot program, Advancement of Research Impact (ARIS). The work of the Purdue team, PARIS, helped to lay the foundation for future participating institutions of higher education to promote impact with the research conducted on their campuses.
INDOT PROJECT: WORK ZONE SAFETY According to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), nationally, four out of five people killed in work zones are drivers and passengers–not highway workers. Areas where traffic is entering or leaving work zones are often more dangerous because drivers may be changing lanes and merging. Further, studies have shown that rear-end crashes in the advance warning area for a work zone are the most common type of work zone crashes. Driver inattention (or distraction) is reported as the most common issue and a major contributing factor to those types of crashes. As warning signs and technologies for alerting drivers approaching the back of a queue already exist, educating drivers when they are obtaining/renewing their license would be a good opportunity to further improve work zone safety.
TEAM MEMBERS PI Dr. Konstantina (Nadia) Gkritza Lyles School of Civil Engineering
Co-PI Dr. Stacey Connaughton
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Brian Lamb School of Communication
Engineering Team Ricardo Chahine Wonsang Cho Communication Team Prince Adu Gyamfi Nandhesh Subash Project Liaison Krista Kelley
knowledge about work zone safety behaviors, signs, and laws. The team will make recommendations to INDOT on how to implement these campaign messages and incorporate the educational curriculum into Indiana’s driver's manual. CAMPAIGN MESSAGING SAMPLES
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Given this urgent need in the area of work zone safety, PPRI partnered with Dr. Konstantina (Nadia) Gkritza, Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, to design educational materials and public awareness campaigns for improving driver safety in Indiana work zones. This project, funded by Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), has two aims. The first aim is to prepare and test educational materials to be incorporated into the driver’s educational manual used prior to taking the driving test. The second aim is to design and test campaign messages on driver safety in work zones seeking to increase drivers’ knowledge and influence positive attitudes about work zone safety practices and driving behaviors. The research team, assisted by Prince Adu Gyamfi, doctoral candidate in the Brian Lamb of Communication, has designed campaign messages which target behaviors such as speeding, distracted driving, unsafe lane changing, yielding right of way, and tailgating or following too closely in work zones. These safety campaign messages are currently being tested through a survey to determine their effectiveness in influencing positive attitudes and behavioral intentions about work zone safety practices. The survey will also assess the most appropriate and effective channels for message disseminations. The Team has also designed a driver educational curriculum which is currently being tested through a survey to determine its effectiveness in increasing drivers’
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EVENTS & PROGRAMS
DR. BROWNELL'S WORKSHOP
Op-Ed Workshops
Contemporary Matters
Dr. Kathryn Brownell, PPRI Faculty Fellow, Professor of History, and Co-Editor of the Washington Post column, Made By History, joined the PPRI team at the beginning of Summer 2021. Building from the interest and success of past opinion-editorial (oped) introductory and overview sessions, we launched in-depth op-ed workshops, and supported over a dozen op-eds that are now ready to be submitted for publication. Dr. Brownell developed an intensive, hands-on workshop program aimed to guide faculty and graduate students through the process of communicating their discovery in a compelling way, by sharing why their research matters.
PPRI has long prided itself on acting as an intermediary liaison, bringing together knowledgeable researchers and industry experts across a range of intersecting fields. Although much of our programming had to be reimagined in 2020 and 2021 in accordance with the recommended CDC guidelines, the institute was able to host our Contemporary Matters Discussion Series in an online format. This signature series hosts faculty across various disciplines, from cross-cutting STEM fields, humanities, and social sciences. PPRI brings them together to discuss a modern and relevant topic through the lens of their respective areas of expertise.
PART 1: Regional Response to COVID-19 In November 2020, we virtually hosted a range of subject-matter experts:
Dr. Dorothy Teegarden Professor of Nutrition Science, Director, Women's Global Health Institute
Dr. Kathleen Abrahamson Associate Professor of Nursing
Dr. Hwanseok Song Assistant Professor of Communication
Khala Hochstedler Health Administrator, Tippecanoe County Health Department
Dr. Nicole Adams Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing
READ OUR EVENT REPORT HERE PART 2: Global Response to COVID-19 In December 2020, we again virtually hosted a range of subject-matter experts:
Dr. Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth Distinguished Professor of Human Development & Family Studies; Director, Center for Families; Executive Director, Family Impact Institute Dr. Ellen Ernst Kossek Basil S. Turner Distinguished Professor of Management Dr. Karthik Kannan Associate Dean for Research and Partnerships; Thomas Howatt Chaired Professor in Management
Dr. Kali Rubaii Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Dr. Swati Srivastava Assistant Professor of Political Science The panelists discussed various intersecting topics related to the recent COVID-19 pandemic at a global level. During this session, subjects discussed included the WHO's role in global governance, geopolitical tensions, global digital and supply chain technologies,
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Khala Hochstedler discussed the regional health care systems and challenges faced by them in terms of testing and treatment throughout 2020; Dr. Song discussed his pilot research project examining faculty and student compliance with the Protect Purdue guidelines, and the impact of those guidelines on the Purdue community. Dr. Adams proposed a systems approach to designing a COVID-19 response. Dr. Teegarden discussed the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women in the workforce, particularly those in academia. Dr. Abrahamson discussed the challenges faced by nursing homes across the state.
REGIONAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19
displacement and migration, as well as familial bonds as a form of resilience to defend against the growing risks of COVID-19 among others. Both events were well-attended and well-received, inviting engagement from scholars representing a variety of fields and expertise at Purdue University.
Dr. Mohan Dutta Dean’s Chair in Communication, Massey University
GLOBAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Grace Burleson Research Manager, Engineering for Change
READ OUR EVENT REPORT HERE
Morgan Donatelli-Bow Indiana Youth Services Association
Courageous Conversations
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strategic approach to this topic. Part 2 of the event featured the following distinguished panelists:
THEME 1: Social Justice in Higher Education "Courageous Conversations" is a panel series hosted by Purdue's Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership and co-hosted by PPRI. The first panel series focused on "Social Justice in Higher Education,” and was split into two sessions a week apart. Part 1 delved into fair and just relations between an individual and society, as measured by the distribution of wealth and social privileges. The purpose of this initial event was to broaden audience understanding of the practicality and utility of assessing these important matters. THEME 1 / PART 2 Part 2 was hosted and led by PPRI, and the topic transitioned towards measurable change and action that can take place with key stakeholders to improve academia’s
Dr. Theon Hill Associate Professor of Communication, Wheaton College Dr. Paaige Turner Dean of the College of Communication, Ball State University
THEME 2: Future of Work and Well-being The second panel series was titled “Future of Work and Well-Being”. It analyzed the extenuating circumstances that resulted from the proliferation of COVID-19, and called for resolutions on racial injustice that greatly impacted workplace settings. Part 1 was led by the Butler Center, and speakers introduced the aforementioned topics by identifying critical areas of concern for workers and full-time employees across a range of industries.
THEME 2 / PART 2 Part 2, led by the Purdue Policy Research Institute, had panelists rely on policyrelevant data and social science research to survey what areas of policy improvement could be made. Data was considered from both a societal and organizational standpoint, to resolve the matters brought forth by the first set of panelists. Part 2 of this event featured:
Blair Milo Then-Indiana Secretary for Career Connections and Talent
Claudia Cummings President and CEO of Indiana Philanthropy Alliance
Dr. Gary Bertoline Then-Dean of Purdue Polytechnic Institute, and Professor, CIT Dr. Joseph Grzywacz Professor and Associate Dean in the College of Human Sciences, Florida State University
READ OUR EVENT REPORT HERE
Mohamed Hilmi Senior Coordinator and Technical Specialist for Shelter, Settlements, and Disaster Risk Reduction, InterAction Kathleen Kirsch PhD Candidate in Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado
Gary Burniske Assistant Director for Program Development, International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA)
development issues, and was dedicated to moving discussion to action, especially in policymaking on topics such as access to water, food, housing, and leadership in enabling equity. The discussion featured a panel of engaged researchers, practitioners and policy influencers. The first panelist was Sanjeevani Singh, Director of International Housing Programs at Habitat for Humanity, whose presentation highlighted the plight of children living in inadequate housing, and the health, well-being, and climate-related implications of living in housing that is not adequate. Mohamed Hilmi, Senior Coordinator and Technical Specialist for Shelter, Settlements, and Disaster Risk Reduction at InterAction, discussed locally-led, meaningful advocacy, and action from a human rights and social development perspective.
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THEME 3: Global Development and Global Justice The third panel series, titled “Global Development and Global Justice”, similarly featured Part 1, hosted by the Butler Center, and Part 2 hosted by PPRI. Held on October 27, this session focused on global
Sanjeevani Singh Director of International Housing Programs, Habitat for Humanity
The third panelist, Kathleen Kirsch, focused on the principles of Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH). Gary Burniske, Assistant Director for Program Development, International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA), College of Agriculture, Purdue University, presented the equity of food aid as a part of humanitarian responses, particularly through his work in Colombia.
PPRI, alongside the Penn State College of Engineering (PSCE) and Habitat for Humanity (HFH), had the pleasure to host a digital webinar series to raise awareness on the importance, context, and feasibility of achieving an internationally-inclusive housing agenda in the future. The series brought together Anna Konotchick, Director of Housing and Human Settlements for HFM’s Asia Pacific Regional Office, Dr. Esther Adhiambo Obonyo, Director of the Global Building Network, Rachel Swann, Youth Congress Representative at the Asia Pacific Housing Forum, Rebecca Ochong, Senior Manager of Urban Land & Policy for the Asia-Pacific region at HFM International, and PPRI’s Director and Professor of the Lamb School of Communication, Dr. Stacey L. Connaughton.READ TheOUR webinar seriesHERE was split EVENT REPORT into several parts that developed a way to begin to envision many of the concerning obstacles, and proposed solutions to the current global housing crises.
Part 1 of the discussion series laid the groundwork for a modern context to ongoing impacts of housing inequity. It emphasized how socio-cultural influences, as well as regional political/environmental challenges cannot sustain health, wellbeing, and prosperity without current policy and industry leaders devising a short-term and long-term strategy for housing development. Part 2 analyzed further details on individual case examples in the Asian Pacific and African continental regions. Although this matter ought to be looked at as a global issue, individual cases provided a detailed description of how climate concerns, pandemic-related challenges, economic hardship, and policy restrictions have all played critical factors in the ways that certain groups become displaced. The discussions explored improved global access to internet technologies and mass communication interfaces, reallocation of resources to metropolitan areas with overpopulation issues, and finally an improved plan for reducing emissions and adapting to dangerous climate conditions.
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Our Homes, Our Health
With around 1.6 billion people living without adequate shelter, the spread of COVID-19 has only worsened these numbers. The discussions were streamed live with general audiences being provided the opportunity to submit questions.
Ambassador Distinguished Lecture Series The Ambassador Distinguished Lecture Series at Purdue was developed to bring ambassadors and other distinguished diplomats into the Purdue University community to share their first-hand knowledge and experience on various topics of diplomatic challenge and opportunity, particularly those for which Purdue has the capacity to affect positive change. The series invites an engagement with real world issues and the strengths of Purdue across disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and agriculture, along with the social sciences and humanities. This series is hosted and sponsored by a collaboration between the Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue (CTDP), Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI), Office of Global Partnerships (OGP), College of Engineering, and College of Liberal Arts.
Each month, PPRI and our collaborators will host a distinguished diplomat on campus. Visit the PPRI events page for upcoming lectures.
Former Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar Former Indian Ambassador, most recently to the EU, Belgium, and Luxembourg
Ambassador Karin Olafsdotter Swedish Ambassador to the United States
Maria Brogren Counselor at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington DC
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To date, the following diplomats have engaged in this series: Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter, Swedish Ambassador to the United States (October 13, 2021) The Honorable Bonnie Glick, Former Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (November 10, 2021) Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar, Former Indian Ambassador, most recently to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg (December 6 2021)
The Honorable Bonnie Glick
PPRI PEOPLE PPRI Faculty Affiliate Publications and Achievements Robin Patric Clair
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Professor, Brian Lamb School of Communication #MeToo, sexual harassment: an article, a forum, and a dream for the future This past year brought Dr. Clair’s 2019 Journal of Applied Communication Research article a number of viewers which has surpassed any article published by the journal (43,462). Among other things, this article includes various responses of government interventions based on new policy and new definitions concerning sexual harassment.
Blood into Water: A Case of Social Justice (2021) This book deals with water issues from various audience standpoints (cultural, postcolonial, engineering, feminist studies). Buried Together: A Story of Quarantine and a Question of Conscience (2021) This book lends itself to discussions of racial inequities, voting rights, issues of illness and care, as well as what constitutes the family of humanity. Stacey Connaughton wrote one of the brief reviews which can be found in the front materials.
Konstantina “Nadia” Gkritza Professor, Lyles School of Civil Engineering Could Roads Recharge Electric Cars? The Technology May Be Close. Readers with a subscription to New York Times can see this article featuring Dr. Gkritza on wireless road technology.
Losada-Rojas, L. L., and Gkritza, K. (2021). “Individual and location-based characteristics associated with autonomous vehicle adoption in the Chicago Metropolitan Area: Implications for public health.” Journal of Transport & Health, 22, 101232. Another of her articles informs planning strategies and health interventions to help mitigate adverse impacts on public health that may come with autonomous vehicle implementation. Losada-Rojas, L. L., Ke, Y., Pyrialakou, V. D., and Gkritza, K. (2021). “Access to healthy food in urban and rural areas: An empirical analysis.” Journal of Transport & Health, 23, 101245. This piece draws conclusions from publicly accessible data about how transportation innovations could increase urban and rural access to healthy food.
Ellen Ernst Kossek
Boundaryless Work: The Impact of COVID-19 on Work-Life Boundary Management, Integration, and Gendered Divisions of Labor for Academic Women in STEMM. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences
James A. McCann Professor, Political Science Dr. McCann has been on a Fulbright appointment as the Research Chair in North American Politics during fall 2021, focusing on immigration policy. Earlier in 2021, he published an article with implications for immigration policy and the wellbeing of American democracy. Political Incorporation, Interrupted? The Effects of Loss and Distress Following the 2016 U.S. Elections on the Civic Attitudes and Involvement of Latino Immigrants
Basil S. Turner Distinguished Professor, Krannert School of Management
Transnational Political Engagement and the Civic Incorporation of Mexican Immigrants in the United States
Along with a promotion to University Distinguished Professor, 2021 brought recognition to Dr. Kossek for her research in work-life-family boundaries and employment practices. Among other honors, she won the policy-focused Lu Ann Aday Award at Purdue.
Another piece examined whether remote political engagement in an immigrant’s country-of-origin helps shape the trajectory of integration into civic life in the United States.
Highlights of just a few of PPRI's Faculty Affiliates are captured in this publication. See the full list of affiliates, their research areas, and social media handles on the next page to learn more.
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Dr. Kossek has also been cited and published in The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and Journal of Applied Psychology, to name a few. She wrote a report commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences on the impact of COVID-19 on work-life considerations.
Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth Distinguished Professor, Human Development and Family Studies The Center for Families, under the direction of Dr. MacDermid Wadsworth, produced a report focused on the connection between housing, finances, and well-being for Hoosier families. As an outcome of the 2020 Indiana Family Impact Seminar, the Center for Families (on behalf of the Indiana Consortium of Organizations) published the policy brief The Digital Divide: How Does it Divide Hoosiers? focused on broadband access across Indiana, and its effects on K-12 education and health care. Center for Families also hosted the 2021 Indiana Family Impact Seminar, which provided useful policy strategies regarding labor force dynamics as a result of the “Great Resignation” to Indiana state legislators and policymakers.
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A FULL LIST OF FACULTY AFFILIATES
PPRI Faculty Fellow Dr. Kathryn Brownell PPRI is pleased to welcome Dr. Kathryn Brownell, who joins as the newest addition to an impressive list of faculty fellow researchers. Dr. Brownell is an Associate Professor of History at Purdue University, and teaches courses on recent American history, the American presidency, and American politics and media. Her pedagogical approach focuses on the relationships between media, politics, and popular culture, with an emphasis on American political history and the American presidency. A historian of the twentieth-century United States, Dr. Brownell's research explores the intersection of political and cultural history, with a particular interest in how media and popular culture influence American political institutions, electoral strategies, and voter experiences. She additionally serves as a co-editor of the ‘Made By History’ column at the Washington Post. During her time as PPRI Faculty Fellow, Dr. Brownell is leading faculty members in small-group, intensive workshops to develop a strong op-ed, and provides guidance on how to get published.
PPRI Communication Interns and Program In January 2020, PPRI launched its inaugural Communication Internship Program. The program sought to recruit students with backgrounds in various areas of Communication, to extend PPRI’s creative output. To that end, the 2020 Spring semester welcomed Sage Schneider, Christopher Garrett, Danielle (Stevenson) Graber, and Nandhesh Subash as part of PPRI’s new Communication Intern Team. In her role as a graduate student intern, Sage pioneered PPRI’s new blog by leading the creative process, and regularly updating the site with policy-relevant content. The undergraduate interns comprised of Chris, Danielle, and Nandhesh, were tasked with optimizing PPRI’s social media, drafting news releases, reorganizing the PPRI website for easier content categorization, and producing state profiles and literature summaries pertaining to autonomous transportation. The following 2020 Fall semester saw the Communication Intern Team expand, with recent Purdue graduate Luis Zarate and undergraduate students Mateo Ramirez, Ramisa Reza, and Taylor McLaurin all joining PPRI. The team’s operations were subsequently revamped, with Chris, Danielle, Ramisa, and Taylor working on Internal Communication deliverables, while Nandhesh, Luis, and Mateo pursued External Communication efforts. The Communication Internship Program underwent its most seismic change at the end of the 2021 Spring Semester, as Sage, Chris, Danielle, Nandhesh, Ramisa, and Taylor all graduated from Purdue, while Luis and Mateo pursued new opportunities.
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Upon receiving her Master’s Degree in Communication, Sage is presently employed as an Associate Consultant at AST LLC. Chris graduated with a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management, and will begin his employment as a HR Business Partner at KLA in Milpitas, CA. Danielle earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Communication, Taylor earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication, and Ramisa and Nandhesh both earned their Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Relations and Strategic Communication. Ramisa currently works as a Core Technology Consultant for Oracle in Austin, TX, and we are delighted that Nandhesh has come onboard as a staff member with PPRI in his new role as a Communication Specialist. We wish all of our former Communication Interns the very best in their future endeavors, and look forward to their successes and achievements!
STACEY L. CONNAUGHTON Director
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PPRI LEADERSHIP AND STAFF
sconnaug@purdue.edu Stacey L. Connaughton (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University and Director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute in Purdue’s Discovery Park District. Her published research examines leadership, community-based organizing, and communication campaigns, most recently in the context of political violence prevention initiatives. Dr. Connaughton also serves as Director of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP), housed in the Purdue Policy Research Institute. As Director of PPP, Dr. Connaughton has led multi-stakeholder relationship building, project development, and monitoring and evaluation for locally led political violence prevention initiatives in Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. In that work, she has worked closely with government, private sector, media organizations, NGOs, civil society, and everyday citizens--both those who affect violence and those affected by it. From that body of work, she has developed what she calls the Local Leadership Model of political violence prevention and the Relationally Attentive Approach to doing engaged scholarship (i.e., academic-practitioner political violence prevention collaborations). Her published work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Small Group Research, Journal of Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, JASIST, Health Communication, Public Relations Review, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Cross-Cultural & Strategic Management, Military Psychology, among other outlets. She is the author of three books, Inviting Latino voters: Party messages and Latino party identification (2005); Locally led peacebuilding: A closer look (2019) with chapters from scholars, practitioners, and donors in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom; and Transforming conflict and building peace: Community engagement strategies for communication scholarship (2020). She has also published in The Conversation, The Diplomatic Courier, and the G20 Executive Talk Series. Dr. Connaughton’s work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Russell Sage Foundation and she has secured more than $3 million in gift funds. Dr. Connaughton served as a thought leader on distributed leadership for the U.S. Army Research Institute’s Leader Development Unit (Crystal City, VA). She has been a consultant to USAID’s Liberia Strategic Analysis program where she led the development of a multi-year mentorship program and leadership curriculum designed to develop the next generation of Liberian leaders. She has been invited to present her research on virtual teams and virtual leadership to industry, military, and higher educational audiences, and has facilitated workshops and written guidebooks in the areas of virtual teams, leadership, teambuilding, strategic planning, and effective communication in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. At Purdue, Dr. Connaughton teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in qualitative research methods, leadership, and political violence prevention. She is the recipient of several teaching awards: Purdue’s 2017
Faculty Engaged Scholar Award, the 2020 Purdue Provost’s Graduate Mentor Award, and Purdue’s 2018 Trailblazer Award--an award given to a midcareer tenured faculty member for innovation and impact in research. Dr. Connaughton has served as the Associate Head and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue and as the Associate Chair of Purdue University’s Social Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB).
ASHIMA KRISHNA Associate Director
Ashima Krishna (Ph.D., Cornell University) is Associate Director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute and Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. She is an architect, historic preservation planner, and urban planner whose research spans the management of historic urban landscapes and adaptive reuse of religious historic structures and landscapes, with a particular focus on intersection with community development issues and resulting policy challenges. Dr. Krishna has examined issues related to historic preservation planning and urban conservation in the United States and India and continues to highlight the ways in which the historic built environment can be preserved, managed, and planned for. Her published work has been featured in Journal of Urbanism, Preservation Education and Research, Change Over Time, and Journal of American Planning Association among others. Dr. Krishna’s essays and other written works have also been featured in digital platforms like The Conversation, CNN, CityLab, and others. Dr. Krishna co-edited a book with Dr. Manish Chalana titled Heritage Conservation in Postcolonial India, published by Routledge in 2020.
KRISTA KELLEY Senior Operations Manager
PPRI LEADERSHIP AND STAFF
krish191@purdue.edu
kokelley@purdue.edu
PPAAGGE E 4 3 •0 W • IW CK I CEKDE D
Krista Kelley joined PPRI at its transition from the Global Policy Research Institute (GPRI) in 2017 and assists in strategic planning, operations management, and events and networks management. Krista has a background in office management and administration and in industrial and organizational psychology. She has experience in airline administration, property management, and in academic administration. Before joining PPRI, at Purdue University, she served in the Graduate School, and in the Office of the Provost in Faculty Affairs with program management. Krista has served on university committees, the latest involving developing a plan for promoting, supporting, and measuring engagement work (Advanced Research Impact on Society). Krista was also part of the steering committee which began the Clerical and Administrative Assistant Mentoring Program (CAAMP) at Purdue, and served on the CAAMP leadership team with a focus on technology. She has presented and served on panel discussions with CAAMP,
mentored Purdue support staff members, and is a trained Clifton StrengthFinders coach (Krista’s top five “Signature Strengths” are Strategic, Ideation, Woo, Positivity, Communication). Krista serves on several community advisory committees including the Civic Theatre’s Events Committee.
NANDHESH SUBASH Communication Specialist
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PPRI LEADERSHIP AND STAFF
nsubashb@purdue.edu Nandhesh Subash first joined PPRI as part of its inaugural Communication Internship Program in January 2020, where he worked in tandem with an undergraduate team of Communication interns to assist on and further develop PPRI’s creative output across social media, web content, and published materials. Upon graduating from Purdue in May 2021 with a B.A. in Public Relations and Strategic Communication, Nandhesh joined PPRI full-time as Communication Specialist. In this role, he manages PPRI’s social media presence, monitors PPRI-related web traffic and social media analytics, drafts and proofreads news releases, curates web design modifications, and presents internal communication solutions. In addition to his core responsibilities, Nandhesh’s experience in communication research, as well as background in campaign planning and strategies are leveraged to work with and provide input for university-wide events and Indiana state-funded projects.
KATE MITSCH Administrative Assistant kmmitsch@purdue.edu Kate Mitsch earned her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Southern Indiana. After graduation she worked as a field recruiter for the Indiana Migrant Education Program and as a bilingual specialist for Marion Community Schools. She joined Purdue in an administrative role at the Honors College in 2017 before coming to PPRI in 2018. In addition to her responsibilities at PPRI, she has also helped to organize and facilitate the Discovery Park Undergraduate Research Internship Program since 2019.
Contact us email: ppri@purdue.edu web: https://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/ppri/ blog: https://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/ppri/blog/
Connect with us @PurduePPRI @purduepolicyresearchinstitute @purdueppri @PurduePolicy