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Some of the most contentious policy issues of the day are among the featured topics of this semester’s Distinguished Public Policy Series sponsored by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Boston College Law School.
Economic development, healthcare, women in public office, and changes in the legal field will be addressed by the speakers and forums offered by the center, which moved to BC Law earlier this year as a result of a $7.53 million gift from the Phyllis & Jerome Rappaport Foundation.
There are five events remaining this semester, many of which take place at the law school on the Newton Campus; others take place in Boston-area locations. All are open to the BC community.
“We’re hoping to raise dynamic conversations that have public policy implications on big issues that affect Boston and Massachusetts – economic development, healthcare, criminal justice, women in politics and public service,” said Executive Director Elisabeth J. Medvedow. “We want to showcase the perspectives of practitioners and scholars, and engage decision makers in these conversations to bring issues forward for the good of the city and the Commonwealth.”
The center will hold its ceremonial kick-off event Nov. 6, when US Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift and former lieutenant governors Kerry Healey and Evelyn Murphy headline a discussion titled “Breaking Barriers: Gender Politics in Government,” at 3:30 p.m. at the Law School.
Additional upcoming speakers include Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on Nov. 9, and former US Attorney for Massachusetts Donald Stern on Nov. 12, as well as BC Law faculty including Professor Mary Bilder on Dec. 8.
Earlier speakers in the series included former Massachusetts’ attorneys general Scott Harshbarger and Martha Coakley.
“We have exciting speakers addressing dynamic, provocative issues,” said Medvedow. “These are open to the BC Law community, but also faculty and students from BC’s undergraduate and graduate programs. We hope people will join us to discuss these special topics we’re presenting and be inspired to be leaders in public policy.”
Earlier this month, the center presented “Beyond Obamacare: Moving from Access to Cost Containment,” and on Sept. 30, “The Impact of Transit on Economic Development in Dudley Square,” in the square’s Roxbury neighborhood, with Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack and Boston’s Chief of Economic Development John Barros, as well as neighborhood business and non-profit leaders.
The speakers and panels are just one aspect of the Rappaport Center’s mission to provide educational programs, career mentoring and financial support to law students interested in government and public policy.
The center, which began its work in 2000, is home to the popular Rappaport Fellows Program in Law and Public Policy, which provides 12 paid summer internships to talented law students from seven Greater Boston law schools interested in public service.
The Rappaport Center’s faculty director, Professor of Law Michael Cassidy, said the forum series supports the education of BC Law students and builds on the school’s tradition of service to the Greater Boston region.
“I view our mission as two-fold: one is to inspire law students to go into public service,” said Cassidy. “The other is to create a venue for conversations between academics and policy makers to help solve pressing public problems. We want the forums to bring these two groups together to create solutions together.”
For more information about the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy.