Rucker Johnson, a University of California-Berkeley public policy professor specializing in education economics, received the prize for ideas set forth in 鈥淐hildren of the Dream: Why School Integration Works,鈥� his 2019 book written with Alexander Nazaryan and co-published by Basic Books and the Russell Sage Foundation.

studied the progress of more than 15,000 schoolchildren through adulthood. He found those who attended integrated schools experienced greater educational attainment, earned more income, faced less poverty, enjoyed better health and were not as likely to go to prison as adults than those who attended segregated schools.

鈥淢any people believe integration was a failure when in fact it was actually a success,鈥� Johnson said.

Although the United States is more racially diverse today than ever, school segregation has increased and educators are still witnessing significant student achievement gaps linked to socioeconomic status and race, he noted. The best way to fix the problem is to restore integration, boost funding for high-need schools and improve preschool education, he suggests.

鈥淥ur public schools can play a transformative role in creating opportunity, lowering poverty and encouraging upward mobility, or they can reinforce inequality. The choice is up to us.鈥�

Johnson, who has studied topics ranging from federal spending on the Head Start program to the effects of school reform on education and the economy, has been invited to give policy briefings at the White House and Capitol Hill.

Despite a belief held by some Americans that the school integration of several decades ago did more harm than good, 听Johnson found the opposite to be true, said Jeffrey Valentine, who directs the education award.

鈥淗is study offers compelling evidence of how integration and more equitable school funding can improve life outcomes for black students without harming other students,鈥� Valentine said. 鈥淗e also makes a strong case for improving our nation鈥檚 educational system through public policies that encourage integration, strengthen early education and create a fairer funding model for schools.鈥�

Recipients of next year鈥檚 are being named this week pending formal approval by university trustees. The annual, $100,000 prizes also honor seminal ideas in music, world order, psychology and religion. Winners will visit Louisville in April to accept their awards and give free talks on their winning ideas.

UofL News: Can you provide a brief synopsis about this new book?

Patel: The book makes an effort to broaden the COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 potential impact on different sectors worldwide, particularly in India. It intends to prepare all critical areas like economics, public health, education, digital strategies,听psychology and telemedicine, by providing insights through valuable research and opinions of authors worldwide. This way, it will offer a single author鈥檚 perspective and the richness of research qualities from multiple experts.

UofL News: How did you get involved as co-editor?听

Patel: The lead editor reached out to me with a proposal for the book. I accepted and reviewed all potential papers for conceptual work and originality. I then provided feedback to the shortlisted papers, which qualified the first pass inclusion criteria. We also developed the editor鈥檚 note, table of contents, book summary and preface. Additionally, we reached out actively to experts in the field with the book’s impact report for the potential foreword and sponsorships. I also applied for a couple of book grants and reached out to potential N.G.O.鈥檚 involved in COVID-19 work. We finally received a foreword and book sponsorship from India professor, , Padma Shri Award winner and renowned economist.

UofL News: How did you become interested in this field of study?听

Patel: During my final year of dental school, I took a public health dentistry course, through which my interest developed. I continued to explore by earning a Master鈥檚 degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) and publishing my research work in several journals. I was honored to graduate with an Academic Excellence Award. Additionally, I got the opportunity to work in the corporate world through Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical company, which introduced me to health management as a feasibility specialist in clinical trial optimization. I鈥檝e continued my interest by undertaking doctoral coursework at UofL through a merit-based scholarship.

UofL News: Tell us how you landed at the University of Louisville.

Patel: I hold a Bachelor鈥檚 in Dental Surgery (B.D.S), and was accepted at NYU for an M.P.H Epidemiology major. I completed one semester, continued working as a graduate assistant for the NYU Tobacco SEED lab and completed one publication with the lab. I then wanted to pursue general public health rather than a specific major and NYU wasn鈥檛 offering it at the time. I accepted a transfer student offer with a merit-based scholarship to Long Island University鈥檚 M.P.H. program.

At LIU, I graduated with Alpha Eta honors, the Academic Excellence Award and worked as a GRA. I have one publication in a reputable pedagogy journal through that position. Over this period, I explored health management in oncology as a feasibility specialist intern (clinical trial designing) at a top pharmaceutical company. This led me to study health management and systems science as a doctoral degree at UofL. I thank the faculty who interviewed me, Drs. Johnson, Creel and Jennings. Without the golden opportunity of acceptance, it wouldn鈥檛 have been possible to be part of this wonderful academic environment at UofL.

UofL News: What are your future career goals?听

Patel: I鈥檓 yet to decide as I am in the second year of my coursework. However, I would love to continue working in academia or a health policy research-intensive position in the industry like my previous position as a feasibility specialist or a Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) professional.

UofL News: Anything else you’d like to share?听

Patel: You can now find the book on ! It wouldn鈥檛 have been possible if the University of Louisville and my department had not been so supportive. In these uncertain times, I cannot give enough thanks to the university for making sure graduate research assistants and students receive the resources we need. The people of UofL are welcoming, wonderful, and I cannot trade being part of UofL for anything in the world.听

During an interview on “UofL Today with Mark Hebert,” Lennon said he expected to find obese employees costing their companies much more for health care and, in return, being penalized with lower salaries. Instead, Lennon says, he was surprised to find overweight workers aren’t seeing the doctor significantly more than their thinner colleagues and their earnings are similar.

“What I found was a very small wage offset,” Lennon said.

But, Lennon says the United States’ employer-based health insurance does, rightly or wrongly, discriminate against job applicants who are obese, smoke or have health problems.

“If they (companies) have two people who can do the same job it incentivizes them to try and cherry pick the worker who is going to add less to the medical spending and add less to the health insurance costs,” Lennon said. “Economists are very interested in this.”听

Listen to the full interview:听

The program focuses on the three pillars of sustainability – economics, social impacts and the environment. According to Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, the interdisciplinary program helps students prepare for careers in universities, corporations and government agencies.

“It’s so exciting because students can now, not only stop ignoring but start exploring some of the key issues that are facing humanity right now,” Mog said.

Check out more about the program below:听

Elizabeth Munnich and fellow researcher Abigail Wozniak of the University of Notre Dame recently published a working paper through the on occupational segregation, in which one demographic group is over- or under-represented among different kinds of work. has been the subject of a and a story in the ; a New York Times piece is upcoming.

Munnich and Wozniak found that the share of male nurses has risen from 2.2 percent in 1960 to 13 percent in 2015.

The paper documents that men have not been going into other female-dominated careers, such as teachers, bank tellers and physicians鈥� assistants, at greater rates.

鈥淯p until the 19^th century, many men entered nursing,鈥� Munnich said, 鈥渂ut during the Industrial Revolution, they were kept out by legal barriers and cultural mores. When manufacturing jobs began to disappear, things started to shift. Nursing, by and large, offers a better wage without requiring the investment of a bachelor鈥檚 degree. It also can become a later-in-life career choice because there are more and more non-hospital programs available to obtain a nursing degree after a person has worked for a time in another career.鈥�

Notably, since 1990, median earning levels for RNs have been on par with college-equivalent workers while earnings for men with a high school degree have been declining. Another substantial factor in nursing鈥檚 attraction to men may be the shift in gender norms, the researchers said.

The researchers concluded additional research is needed to determine what makes nursing uniquely attractive to men compared to other female-dominated industries.

Because occupations with more men tend to pay better regardless of skill or education level, reducing occupational segregation will reduce the gender wage gap and contribute to higher family incomes, the researchers said. They emphasized that when jobs match a workers鈥� innate talents rather than perceptions of which occupations correspond to which gender identifications, labor force participation will go up, and productivity and growth will rise accordingly.

Forbes was a guest of the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise in the College of Business. His talk, 鈥淚nsights from Steve Forbes,鈥� was held in Strickler Hall鈥檚 Middleton Auditorium. It marked the first event of the center鈥檚 fall programming.

Forbes confidently predicted congressional Republicans would be able to pass a tax cut by the end of the year, saying it would be in the 鈥渋nterest of self-preservation.鈥� He said the cut would pass late in the year and he expected it to be retroactive to June or July.

Referencing his two runs for the Republican presidential nomination (1996 and 2000), Forbes said he remains hopeful that his flat tax proposal can become a reality. The time and money Americans spend on taxes could be used to do better things, he said.

鈥淛unk it,鈥� he said of the current U.S. tax code. 鈥淧ut in a single, simple rate.鈥�

In discussing health care reform, Forbes pointed out that while some consider health care to be in a 鈥渃risis鈥� because of high demand, high demand is usually considered an opportunity.

One problem, he said, is 听that health care is not run on a free market system 鈥� third parties such as health insurers and hospitals mandate prices and services. Additionally, patients don鈥檛 have real control over what they are paying for; Forbes recommended more transparency so patients can see prices up front for services. Making such changes would turn health care into something 鈥渧igorous,鈥� he said.

The third part of his economy fix involves monetary policy. The Federal Reserve cannot manage the economy by changing interest rates, he said, comparing the current system to a clock that changes the way it tells time every day.

鈥淟et borrowers and lenders determine the price of money,鈥� he said.

After the talk, Forbes answered several questions from audience members. Attendees were treated to free Papa John鈥檚 pizza.

The Schnatter Center鈥檚 second public program for the fall semester will be 鈥淏ourbonomics,鈥� a panel discussion on the economics of bourbon, scheduled for Nov. 15.