The Harkin Institute announces three new research fellows

The Harkin Institute is pleased to introduce three research fellows, who are beginning their work for the organization this fall.

These fellows will study issues in policy areas that were priorities for Senator Tom Harkin throughout his career in public office – labor and employment and people with disabilities.

“The research conducted by these fellows will help provide sound, unbiased recommendations to policymakers in the U.S. and internationally,” said Joseph Jones, executive director of The Harkin Institute. “Providing high-quality nonpartisan research and analysis is at the core of The Harkin Institute’s mission and we are excited to be working on these endeavors.”

Meet Our Fellows:

Dr. Xuan Zheng

The Harkin Institute is pleased to introduce three research fellows, who are beginning their work for the organization this fall. These fellows will study issues in policy areas that were priorities for Senator Tom Harkin throughout his career in public office – labor and employment and people with disabilities.

“The research conducted by these fellows will help provide sound, unbiased recommendations to policymakers in the U.S. and internationally,” said Joseph Jones, executive director of The Harkin Institute. “Providing high-quality nonpartisan research and analysis is at the core of The Harkin Institute’s mission and we are excited to be working on these endeavors.”

Meet Our Fellows:

Shelley Horak, a seasoned community health expert with a Master of Public Health from Des Moines University, has been researching the child care and family assistance cliff effects and their impacts on family and societal economic stability. Horak and The Harkin Institute are partnering with the Iowa Department of Human Services to complete a comprehensive study and provide a policy recommendation related to family support and investment programs in Iowa. The research helps further The Harkin Institute’s work in the area of labor and employment. Horak is a member-at-large of the Iowa Public Health Association. She has worked for the Iowa Department of Public Health in the Bureau of Family Health and is a former local public health director.

Dr. Amy Hebert Knopf and Dr. Xuan Zheng are The Harkin Institute’s inaugural George H.W. Bush Disability Policy Fellows. They are researchers from St. Cloud State University, are conducting research aimed to build support for people with disabilities in China by examining the core values and principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Focusing specifically on people who are deaf, Zheng and Hebert Knopf will analyze the Chinese government’s efforts in improving the education and employment for people with disabilities, teacher training and bilingual and bicultural deaf education. The research coincides with The Harkin Institute’s focus area on people with disabilities.

Hebert Knopf’s research will focus on Vocational Rehabilitation outcomes in the U.S., primarily the impact of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Hebert Knopf is an associate professor and program coordinator for the Rehabilitation and Addiction Counselor Education Program within the School of Health and Human Services at St. Cloud State University and chair of the university’s Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy Department.

Zheng’s primary research will analyze services and outcomes for people who are deaf in a comparative analysis between China and the United states. Zheng is an associate professor for the Special Education Department at Chongqing Normal University in Chongqing, China and a visiting professor at St. Cloud State University. She is the first Deaf person to receive a PhD in linguistics in China and is considered a pioneer by academic peers.

The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement at Drake University is dedicated to the study of issues that define our public life and to engaging students and citizens in constructive dialogue regarding these issues. The Institute seeks to create opportunities for thoughtful policy discourse in a nonpartisan environment.