Oct. 9, Karen Bogenschneider

Karen Bogenschneider – “Universities as Honest Knowledge Brokers: The Case Study of the Family Impact Seminars”

Karen Bogenschneider, Ph.D., Human Development & Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Families are the cornerstone for raising productive workers in a sound economy and responsible citizens in a strong democracy. Yet many families today are struggling. Public policy provides the conditions for families to deal with stressful conditions: the inability to find a job, afford health insurance, secure quality child care, or send their kids to good schools. Yet public policy is not working as well as it could for families. Most Americans would agree that policymaking is less effective and more polarized than it should be. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Policymaking could be better if it were based on rigorous research and dispassionate analysis. Unfortunately, a substantial disconnect exists between the production of research and its utilization. My passion is using research to build better public policy for families. I study it, I teach it, and I do it. I direct the award-winning Family Impact Seminars that communicate high-quality, objective research to policymakers.