NEW CENTER TO EXAMINE PUBLIC POLICY AND THE ROLE OF INTEREST REPRESENTATION IN POLITICS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Faculty will develop research and outreach programs devoted to the study of public policy and the representation of interests in government through the newly created Center for the Study of Representation at the University of Arkansas.

The center’s mission will be to conduct more extensive research into how people with disabilities are represented and the role they play in politics, and to examine how public bureaucracies represent the interests of traditionally disadvantaged persons, such as women and ethnic minorities.

Faculty in the department of political science, who developed the center, are conducting research projects with both a national and international focus -- from the extent and health of democracy and democratic movements in the former Soviet Union, Latin America, and the Middle East to the relationship between democracy and economics.

"We hope to develop the new knowledge necessary to improving democratic governance and representation," said Brinck Kerr, center coordinator.

Through civic education programs, center’s researchers hope to foster a broader understanding of how diverse interests are represented in democracies.

"Our civic education programs will be designed to reach members of the general public, especially Arkansans. We want to help Arkansans learn more about the issues that affect their lives," said Kerr.

The center will sponsor lectures, speakers, symposia, television and radio appearances, and publications designed to contribute to public education and developing a better informed and more active citizenry.

The centerpiece of the center’s civic education program is The Arkansas Poll, a semi- annual survey of the opinions and attitudes of Arkansans on matters of politics and public policy. The results of the first such survey are being analyzed now and will include the views of more than 750 randomly sampled people contacted by telephone. Results of the survey - which addresses property taxes, term limits, and gambling, among other topics -- will be publicized late in October.

The center officially approved by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees earlier this year, is sponsored by the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the U of A. The Arkansas Poll project is funded by the UA Graduate School. Individuals interested in learning more about the center can visit its web address at http://plsc.uark.edu/csr