Hobby School of Public Affairs

Meet the 2024-2026 Next Generation Leadership Academy members, 11 UH undergraduates seeking innovative careers rooted in public service and social impact. They join a national network led by The Volcker Alliance, a collaborative initiative closely aligned with the Hobby School's mission to increase civic engagement participation and real-world experience across industries and sectors. Program Director Emily Janowski helps guide students on paths to impactful careers by facilitating gatherings, site visits and other opportunities that educate them on policy issues and empower them to lead in their communities. Learn more about the third cohort of aspiring leaders: https://bit.ly/3Bb0qyE

Welcome back to the fall semester with the Hobby Headlines featuring an anticipated lecture series on the future of democracy kicking off this Thursday with The Atlantic journalist George Packer, followed by former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro in October and closing with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger in November. We invite you to get ballot-ready at the Civic Engagement Boot Camp on Friday, where you will build your civic leadership skills and learn important voter education information. Find a summary of the August Texas Trends Surveys, recap the month's activities or look ahead for other opportunities at https://bit.ly/47nD1q7.

Texans who cast their ballot in November will have a say in who will represent them in federal, state and local government. To empower University of Houston students and community members with the knowledge and tools to increase voter participation and become civic leaders, the Hobby School is hosting a day-long workshop with local experts and Harris County Volunteer Deputy and Voter Registrar training on Friday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the University of Houston.
Registration is free but required.
INFO: https://bit.ly/3e1ORyr

Hobby School students, staff and alumni were immersed in thoughtful-provoking conversations at the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival about what it means to be a Texan, the state of democracy and a range of relevant policy issues, from climate change and infrastructure to immigration and the economy.

They engaged with peers and speakers, asked questions and will return to campus inspired about the future and empowered with knowledge from listening to diverse ideas and perspectives. Go Coogs!

Political strategist and author Luis A. Miranda Jr. detailed his new memoir "Relentless: My Story of the Latino Voice that is Transforming America" with students in the public policy lab course taught by Instructional Associate Professor Sara Sands.

Miranda discussed his extensive work in politics and political campaigns, Latino culture, community building and insights on Latino voters ahead of the 2024 election with moderator Sergio Lira, a retired educator and former Houston ISD board member. Donated books were available for the author to sign for students after the discussion.

Hobby School students experience deepened learning through classroom visits. These unique opportunities foster reflection and offer targeted conversations on policy issues.

Social Economy and Enterprise Academy interns wrapped up their summer assignments at five local nonprofits, concluding their team projects with presentations featuring their key findings and recommendations. Twenty-two participating undergraduates and graduate candidates worked in groups to perform research and data analysis for Asia Society Texas, East Harris County Empowerment Council, Center for Community and Public Policy Improvement and Workforce Solutions. Campus and community members voted for the participants working with Workforce Solutions on investing in targeted programs that align with industry sectors in high growth and demand over the next ten years as the winning team. Explore the project library: https://bit.ly/3Tgx88l

This fall, we welcome a record 58 undergraduates from various academic disciplines and backgrounds across campus to the Civic Houston Internship Program. Led by the Hobby School's Jessica Ruland O'Connor, the University of Houston students are eager to gain public service experience working part-time at governmental offices at local, state and federal levels in the Houston region and with area nonprofits, public affairs firms and electoral campaigns. As we close in on the 2024 election, Civic Houston Interns will volunteer on voter education initiatives and engage in other exciting experiential learning opportunities on and off campus. Nine interns are returning to the program, and over twenty are first-generation college students.

Start the fall semester with Hobby Happenings, first with an in-depth lecture on political polarization with acclaimed journalist and author George Packer on Sept. 12. Build your toolkit for election season at the Civic Engagement Boot Camp, where you will learn how to get involved in your community and take part in voter registration training. Sit in on the first Hobby Hour of the season on Sept. 25 with panelists covering immigration and the 2024 elections. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3AJnFjv.

Join the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership for a lecture series examining the state of democracy and political climate. The Future of American Democracy will feature prominent speakers committed to strengthening political participation and democratic institutions.

Journalist and author George Packer will kick off the fall series. Packer will discuss his latest book, "Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal," which seeks to understand the current moment and offers a path forward for overcoming the country's fractures, injustices and divisions on Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. at the M.D. Anderson Library. The events are free and open to the university and surrounding communities. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3XmIPwo.

In this week's political roundup on Houston Matters, the Hobby School's Renée Cross and Senior Research Fellow Mark P. Jones examined local and national political headlines, including the tightening presidential race, voter eligibility, transparency at the polls, election oversight in Texas and more.

Political Roundup: How RFK Jr. leaving the race could affect the outcome in Texas | Houston Public Media After ending his campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has successfully removed his name from the ballot here in Texas. Will that affect the presidential race in Texas? Houston Matters discusses that and other developments in politics in our weekly roundup.

The latest Texas Trends survey highlights the growing impact of climate change on Texans, especially among lower-income communities and those who have experienced power outages.

“As temperatures continue to rise, educating Texans on how to protect themselves becomes increasingly critical,” said Maria Perez Argüelles, research associate at the Hobby School of Public Affairs.

Texans Grapple with Rising Heat and Climate Change Concerns, Survey Finds Texans are increasingly feeling the heat—literally and figuratively—as the latest Texas Trends survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs reveals.

The latest Texas Trends Survey examines temperature perceptions and climate change awareness among Texans. Researchers found that those more vulnerable are disproportionally more affected by experiencing hotter temperatures. Similarly, those who have been more affected by blackouts due to major extreme weather events are feeling hotter summers. Report findings: https://bit.ly/4g2UhEH

It's the second week for Coogs and Nora Reikosky, who joins the Hobby School as the 2024-2025 Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center Visiting Professor on Ethics and Leadership. She is teaching contemporary political philosophy and policy to undergraduates. To celebrate being back in the classroom, she shares her childhood school memories. 📚

In celebration of a new academic year 📚, we’re traveling back in time to Scott Mason’s days as a Civic Houston Intern. A two-time Coog 🐾, Scott now serves as the program director for academic advising, guiding Hobby School students through their academic journeys to the commencement stage. 🎓

Did you know Scott is a UH football and men’s basketball season ticket holder? 🏀 🎟️ He earned his Master of Public Administration, completing the very program for which he is an advisor.

Beyond helping students fulfill their degree requirements, he works with the other program directors to share how students can integrate real-world experiences to enhance classroom learning. Let’s go, Coogs!

In an opinion editorial authored for the Houston Chronicle Opinion, Instructional Associate Professor Sara Sands examines teacher policies at Houston ISD, focusing on the potential of the Teacher Leader Academy.

Innovative Houston ISD program could be a game changer The first year of the state takeover of Houston ISD has been rocky, but one of Mike Miles' innovations has great potential, writes a UH professor

Who loves a school portrait? 🙋‍♀️🖼️

We're celebrating the new semester with throwback photos of our student affairs team and spotlighting their roles.

Jessica Ruland O'Connor oversees the school's undergraduate internships in Houston, Austin and Washington, D.C., leads civic engagement projects and builds relationships with alumni and community partners. Jessica is a two-time Coog who started her public service journey as a Civic Houston Intern and later as a Leland Fellow on Capitol Hill. She's passionate about experiential learning opportunities and investing in student success beyond a program. Learn more about her journey and commitment.

A new statewide survey in the Texas Trends series examined the vote intention of Texans in the general election. The survey was conducted between Aug. 5 and 16, after Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and Kamala Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination. Read the findings at https://bit.ly/3Axdle5.

Hobby School team members are going back in time with throwback photos and insight into their student-centered roles to mark the beginning of a new semester. 📚 Over the next week, meet the program directors who help fulfill our mission through internships, executive education, public service opportunities, and mentorship.

We first turn the spotlight on Emily Janowski, who directs the Next Generation Leadership Academy for undergraduates who are interested in public service careers. The leadership development program is a national collaboration with The Volcker Alliance and a network of 21 participating universities across the country. She also co-directs the Certified Manager Program, an accredited professional program for emerging public sector managers representing local government and nonprofit offices to learn and apply best practices. Learn more about Emily.

The Hobby School caught up with a new faculty member, Assistant Professor Valentine Gilbert, during his first week at the University of Houston. Gilbert teaches economics and policy analysis and theory and practice courses to undergraduate students interested in public policy. He also brings a research focus on urban and public economics, specifically on housing affordability and understanding the geographic and distributional consequences of changes in housing supply and costs. Read more at https://bit.ly/3M8VUTO.

Happy first day, Coogs! 🐾

We welcome new and returning students to campus for an exciting and productive fall semester 📚 filled with events, research and student-centered opportunities.

As the general election approaches 🗳️, we lean into what makes the school a thriving resource for public affairs education and civic engagement. We spotlight key races, issues, voter education initiatives, and distinguished speakers addressing the state of democracy.

Read more about what’s ahead from the latest message from Dean Jim Granato at https://bit.ly/3YPJsQs.

Former Civic Houston Interns A***n Trivedi and Cierra Jackson participated in community outreach efforts that helped the Acres Homes Community Advocacy Group fulfill its mission of empowering residents through resources and education. Today, in honor of National Nonprofit Day, we spotlight the nonprofit working to address the needs of those who call the historic northwest neighborhood home.

In celebration of National Nonprofit Day, we spotlight the League of Women Voters of Houston, a valued community partner and a Civic Houston Intern host office. The area nonprofit serves the Houston community through voter outreach initiatives and information about elections and public policy issues. LWV-Houston hired former Civic Houston Intern and recent UH alumna Emily Cruz as an outreach coordinator. We appreciate their investment in civic engagement and growing young leaders like Emily.

In honor of National Nonprofit Day, the Hobby School celebrates our nonprofit community partners working with Civic Houston Interns to fulfill their organizations’ missions.

Meet Taylor Laredo with Texas Housers, a nonprofit dedicated to meeting the state’s housing and community development needs. Taylor went from a former Civic Houston Intern with Air Alliance Houston in the fall of 2022 to employing and mentoring the next generation of public service professionals in the Civic Houston Internship Program.

The UH alumnus has worked with Civic Houston Interns on engaging, educating and mobilizing tenants in the Houston area, helping them gain valuable experience in research, community outreach and compiling resources to empower fellow Houstonians.

We welcome a dynamic group of graduate candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The incoming Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy candidates and those pursuing dual degrees and graduate certificates in public policy learned about the school’s history, culture and opportunities inside and outside the classroom.

They met faculty, staff and future classmates, toured the building, and heard from MPP candidate Lorenzo Salinas and Hobby School Alumni Association President Leonard Chan about maximizing their experience.

See you Monday, Coogs! 🐾

We're counting down the days until the first day of classes! Get a preview of an eventful semester with the latest Hobby Headlines featuring a speaker series on the state of democracy and the political climate and a hands-on workshop on increasing voter participation and civic leadership ahead of the general election.

There are updates on professors and student programs and opportunities to apply for the Richard Murray Endowed Scholarship and become a Hobby Fellow in Austin during the 2025 legislative session. Read that and more at https://bit.ly/4dKqJd0.

With the presidential election less than three months away, immigration policy remains one of the most contentious issues on the campaign trail. The focal point of the divisive debate is Texas, where a new Texas Trends survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs and TSU Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs finds immigration remains highly polarized along partisan lines.

New Texas Trends Survey Finds Texans Remain Deeply Divided Over Immigration and Border Security Issues A new Texas Trends survey, conducted by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston and the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, finds Texans remain deeply divided over immigration and border security issues.

With less than three months until the general election, the latest Texas Trends survey examines public opinion on national and state immigration policies and evaluations of border security. Researchers found support for how President Joe Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott handle the border differs by party identification.

Read the findings, including where likely Texans stand on the contentious issue in the Lone Star State based on partisanship and demographics, at https://bit.ly/3yIPKGT.

Public policy scholars Michelle Gabriel and Divya Valipe are two of twenty-two interns completing their summer research assignments with area nonprofits Asia Society Texas, Center for Civic and Public Policy Improvement, the East Harris Council Empowerment Council and the Gulf Coast Workforce Board through the Social Economy and Enterprise Academy (SEEA).

Michelle and Divya have worked in cross-disciplinary groups with fellow UH students to gather research and analyze data on affordable housing in targeted neighborhoods for the Center for Civic and Public Policy Improvement. Divya was part of a team performing a cost-benefit analysis of property tax relief, while Michelle contributed to a team analyzing trends in property appraisals across Houston.

Michelle is a Master of Public Policy candidate and former educator. Divya is a dual public policy and data science undergraduate. SEEA is a co-curricular partnership between the Hobby School and the UH Department of Economics that matches students interested in quantitative research on community-forward projects.

In an opinion editorial co-authored for the Houston Chronicle, Jim Granato, Mark P. Jones and Michael O. Adams shared the findings of a recent Texas Trends survey on school vouchers and educational savings accounts. The researchers highlight the complex politics of school vouchers as state lawmakers prepare for the 2025 legislative session.

Why school vouchers will tie Texas politicians in knots Both Republican and Democrat legislators must choose: Will they stick to their positions or risk alienating their party's primary voters?