Center for History & Policy
Founded in 1990, the Center for History and Policy has played an important role in stimulating research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students interested in the intersection of history and policy. In addition, the Center sponsors events that bring historical analysis to bear on critical policy issues.Students have participated in a wide variety of research projects on such topics as policies concerning the evolution of youth gangs in American cities between the 1920s and the present; the historical controversies surrounding the participation of blacks, women, and gays in the military; the formulation and implementation of environmental regulations during World War II; changes in rates of infant mortality in 20th century Pittsburgh; cocaine use, manufacture, and regulation in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the transformation of American business schools during the past century; and innovations in correctional treatment programs in juvenile and adult prisons between the 1880s and 1950s. Financial support has come from diverse public and private organizations, including the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, the Graduate Management Admission Council, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, the National Defense Research Institute (RAND), the Drug Policy Research Center (RAND, and the RAND Graduate Institute.
In 2008, the Center sponsored the first annual History and Policy Case Competition. Teams of undergraduate students developed historical and policy analyses of the problem of funding for public transit in Allegheny County. Each team prepared a written analysis and delivered an oral presentation of its findings. The competition, which will be conducted each academic year, exemplifies the center’s commitment to rigorous, historically grounded policy analysis that addresses important community challenges.
For more information on the Center for History & Policy, contact the Director of the Center, Caroline Acker at acker@andrew.cmu.edu.