SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 26, 2001 – The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) announced today that its Board of Directors has named Dr. Mark Baldassare the first recipient of the Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy. The endowed chair – PPIC’s first – was established with a $1 million gift from the Millers in January and is awarded to a researcher who is making significant contributions toward improving public policy in California.
“The Board believes Mark is a superb example of a scholar who is producing policy-relevant research of the highest quality,” said David Lyon, President and CEO of PPIC. “This award is an acknowledgment of his outstanding work examining public opinion in California and analyzing the challenges facing the state in the new millennium – from racial and ethnic change to political distrust and disinterest.” A nationally recognized scholar and author, Baldassare is a senior fellow and director of the governance program at PPIC. Effective July 1, Baldassare is resigning his position at the University of California, Irvine, where he is a professor of urban and regional planning at the School of Social Ecology and holds the Roger W. and Janice M. Johnson Endowed Chair in Civic Governance and Public Management.
Baldassare is founder and director of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which he has conducted since 1998. For over two decades, he directed the Orange County Annual Survey for the University of California, Irvine, and surveys for major state news organizations, including the Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Orange County Register. Baldassare is the author of numerous books, including California in the New Millennium: The Changing Social and Political Landscape and When Government Fails: The Orange County Bankruptcy. His most recent PPIC reports include Finding Common Ground: Racial and Ethnic Attitudes in California and Risky Business: Providing Local Public Services in Los Angeles County.
“I am extremely honored by the Board’s decision,” said Baldassare. “The Millers’ generosity and enduring commitment to public policy are truly inspiring to me. They will continue to be a force for improved policymaking and government in California for years to come.”
Arjay Miller is Dean Emeritus of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, past president of the Ford Motor Company, and fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Along with William R. Hewlett and Roger W. Heyns, he was a co-founder of PPIC, served as the chairman of its Board of Directors from 1995 to 1998, and remains a member of the Board.
The Public Policy Institute of California is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to objective, nonpartisan research on economic, social, and political issues that affect the lives of Californians. The Institute was established in 1994 with an endowment from William R. Hewlett.