ISER Policy Research Award

This award is presented to an exemplary student in the social sciences and other applicable fields interested in the analysis of public policy issues. The student will be contributing research and analysis skills to forthcoming publications published by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and will be awarded a $1500 stipend.

Spring 2012

Kent Spiers (Sociology) will be working with Virgene Hanna on the 2011/2012 Kids Count Data Book.

Fall 2011

Lillian Sloth (Sociology) will be working with Virgene Hanna on the 2011/2012 Kids Count Data Book.

Spring 2011

Erica Mitchell (Sociology) will be working with Rosyland Frazier and Diane Hirshberg.

Fall 2010

Kim Pitney (International Studies) will be working with Lexi Hill and Diane Hirshberg.

Spring 2010

Leigh Coppola (Sociology) will be working with Rosyland Frazier.

Melissa Bradley (Sociology) will be working with Ginny Fay.

Fall 2009

Colin Haughey (Philosophy) will be working with Scott Goldsmith.

Kate Sanders (Socialogy/Gender Studies) will be working with Marie Lowe.

Spring 2009

Grant Varvil (Sociology) will be working with Dr. Gunnar Knapp on a study of Alaska Fisheries. 

Katie Marquette (Sociology) will be working with Dr. Diane Hirshberg on a study of the availability of domestic partner benefits and antidiscrimination policies in the private sector in Anchorage. This study builds on work being done around the provision of domestic partner benefits in the public sector, which was mandated by the Alaska Supreme Court in 2005. The Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and the ACLU are serving an advisory role on this study.

Irina Ikatova (Sociology) will be working with Virgene Hanna on a Kids Count Alaska Project.  She will be looking specifically at the different methods of calculating high school graduation and drop-out rates and the consequences of using the different methods. She will prepare a research note outlining the different methods and discussing the consequences of policy decisions based on using different rates. 

Fall 2008

Cristina Gaina (Economics) is the Fall 2008 recipient of the Policy Research Internship Award.  Cristina will be working with Lance Howe and Colin West. 

Spring 2008

Kelcie Ralph
Kelcie Ralph
will be working with Dr. Steve Colt on an environmental economics project. 

Michelle Steffens
Michelle Steffens will be working with Dr. Diane Hirshberg on a school funding study. 




Spring 2007

Nataliya Udovyk (Economics), Cami Woolam (Economics) and Brit DelMoral (Sociology) were the recipients of the 2006 Policy Research Internship Award.  This award is presented to exemplary students in the social sciences and other applicable fields interested in the analysis of public policy issues.  Each recipient will be contributing research and analysis skills to forthcoming publications published by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) and will be awarded a $1500 stipend. 

Nataliya UdovykNataliya assisted Dr. Vic Fischer and Andrew Crow in various aspects of rural development projects.

Brit DelMoralBrit assisted Dr. Diane Hirshberg on a study of recent graduates of Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska.





Cami assisted Dr. Sharman Haley on projects concerned with jobs and economic development in rural Alaska (not pictured).