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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Ostrom workshop directors announced

From IDS Reports

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has appointed Tom Evans and Burney Fischer as new co-directors of the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.

Prior to this appointment, Evans served as an associate professor of geography in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the IU Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change.

Fischer, who was a research collaborator with Elinor Ostrom, is a clinical professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Evans and Fischer will replace former workshop director Michael McGinnis.
They will resume office July 1, and their term will last two years.

“The future of the Ostrom Workshop could not be in better hands,” McGinnis said in a press release. “Both Tom and Burney are longtime ‘Workshoppers,’ and I know they have exciting plans for new programs and initiatives. The Ostroms both studied and practiced collaboration throughout their long and distinguished careers. For several years, we have been implementing a plan to transition to a collective team of leaders.
We are committed to the goal of ensuring that the Ostrom Workshop will continue its co-founders’ legacy of path-breaking multidisciplinary research and graduate training.”

In 1973, the workshop was co-founded by distinguished professor and 2009 Nobel Prize recipient Elinor Ostrom and her husband, Vincent. It was named in their honor earlier this year.

The workshop allows scholars and researchers to investigate how human behavior is shaped by institutions and to analyze how public policies affect people’s lives.

Research delves into the topics of self-governance, democratic reform and collective action in the context of sustainable natural resources.

Evans’ responsibilities will focus on coordinating the workshop’s expanding research activities and initiatives.

Fischer will focus on managing the workshop’s programming schedule, as well as managing operations of the workshop building complex and staff.

“Although all of us in the IU community feel the loss of ‘Lin Ostrom’s leadership keenly, we are pleased and grateful that Professor Evans and Professor Fischer have accepted this important co-leadership role at the Workshop,” said Sarita Soni, vice provost for research, in a press release. “I look forward to working with both of them to continue developing the Workshop’s research programs as well as solidify its structure and governance for the future.”

The workshop is supported in part by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

— Nona Tepper

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