Barry Rabe, professor of public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, has been inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
In addition, Rabe will collaborate with more than a half-dozen other fellows to assess and provide recommendations for the organizational design of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Service.
The 600 individuals in the nation who are NAPA fellows include top leaders, policymakers and public managers in federal, state and local government; distinguished scholars of public policy and public management; and leading corporate and labor leaders.
"We're so pleased that the National Academy has recognized Barry's distinguished contributions to the field of public administration," said Susan Collins, dean of the Ford School. "Barry is a terrific teacher whose scholarly work has had important impacts on environmental policy, and I know he'll bring that same rigor and dedication to his work for the National Academy."
Rabe's research examines state and regional development of policies to reduce greenhouse gases. In 2006, he became the first social scientist to receive a Climate Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in recognition of his contribution to both scholarship and policymaking.
Rabe, who is also a professor of the environment in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, has written extensively about nuclear and hazardous waste management, cross-border and cross-media transfer of pollutants in federal regulatory systems, and the conditions necessary to achieve intergovernmental cooperation in the implementation of federal grant and regulatory programs.
At U-M, he has served as director of the Program in the Environment and interim dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment. In 2007, he received the Daniel Elazar Award for Career Contribution to the Study of Federalism from the American Political Science Association.
Established by Congress, the National Academy of Public Administration and its fellows assist the federal government with complex management problems through the work of commissions and panels.
Other U-M faculty who have been previously named NAPA fellows are Edie Goldenberg, professor of political science and public policy; Sallyanne Payton, the William W. Cook Professor of Law and professor of art and design; and Sally Katzen Dyk, intermittent lecturer in law and political science.
With the climate service study, Rabe and other fellows will assess how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Service should organize its climate capabilities to meet the rising demand for climate services. The group will conduct a six-month study utilizing an approach to organizational assessment that focuses on three key elements: the agency mandate; baseline assessment of current and desired performance; and stakeholder expectations.