At this moment, a Carolina faculty member may be providing recommendations to a federal agency or drafting federal legislation. Most of this work is unpaid and often goes unsung. Here's a glance at how four professors shape public policy.

John D. Kasarda, director of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, finds advisory work richly rewarding. "I receive cutting-edge information that enhances my research and teaching, and it gives me an opportunity to use knowledge gained through research to benefit others," Kasarda said.

He currently serves on a National Research Council committee that is considering the viability of a Small Aircraft Transportation System for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The committee is assessing whether small-aircraft ownership can be both economically feasible and safe for middle-income families. Kasarda is weighing "the project's business implications and factors such as the impact on economic development."

Sometimes advisory work yields unexpected benefits. Kasarda's work implementing new forms of foreign aid evolved into the Kenan Institute Asia (KIAsia). Endowed by both the U.S. and Royal Thai governments, the KIAsia replaced the U.S. Agency for International Development in Thailand and provided myriad opportunities -- faculty members conduct research and do case studies there, students take courses there, and the Carolina Environmental Program operates a major program from its offices.

And Carolina's Kenan Institute in Washington (KIWashington) maintains offices in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to facilitate the University's work with federal agencies. Funded through private sources and self-generated contracts and grants, KIWashington advises numerous federal agencies and Congress, working with them on trade, labor and environmental issues. The institute is particularly active in international environmental issues, and its director--Jennifer Bremer--sits on the federal Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee.

Michael Stegman, chair of the Curriculum in Public Policy Analysis, acknowledges the demands of working with the government but appreciates the chance to influence public policy. "This work is enormously time consuming and very high pressure, but it offers opportunities that are simply too important to turn down," Stegman said.

Last year he testified before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services on proposed legislation that would create incentives for financial institutions that serve low- and moderate-income individuals. "I was invited to testify by the bill's sponsor, John LaFalce, because of my expertise and because I was working with the Department of the Treasury to develop and fine-tune the proposal," Stegman said.

Stegman, who helped draft the Savings for Working Families Act of 2000, often draws on his firsthand knowledge when teaching. "I wrote a casebook around my experiences in affordable housing, and I'm now using my own cases in financial services in my public policy seminars," Stegman said.

For Richard Kohn, chair of the Peace, War and Defense Curriculum, serving as a government adviser provides the satisfaction of seeing his research put to practical use. "I sometimes see direct results of my advisory work, and with scholarship and teaching the results aren't as readily visible," Kohn said.

A consultant to both the Air Force and the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum, Kohn also serves on the National Security Study Group, which is assisting the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century craft a new national security strategy.

One project that proved especially satisfying was his work for the Army investigating why no Medals of Honor were awarded to black soldiers for World War II service. "Working with Shaw University, I helped put together a team of scholars and guide the research; later I edited the final report," Kohn said. The report was so persuasive that the army reopened old records, and President Clinton awarded medals to seven soldiers.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto, professor of epidemiology, has served on several Institute of Medicine (IOM) committees that examined the health effects of Agent Orange. Most recently she chaired an IOM committee that weighed a possible link between the herbicide and cancer in veterans and their children.

Hertz-Picciotto enjoys the way this work puts her closer to the real-world applications of epidemiology. "I like the opportunity to use my skills directly at the interface of science and policy, even though I am primarily a researcher and not a science policy analyst," she said.

To influence policy, research must be applicable to problems the government is tackling. "This constrains in many ways my own intellectual agenda, and not everyone is interested in doing that--nor should they be," Stegman said. Hertz-Picciotto, who may design a study with an eye to what's useful to the government, noted that some scientists "are loath to reach decisions that directly affect the public."

So, rewarding though it may be, this work isn't for everyone. "What's magnificent about this University," Stegman said, "is the range of intellectual resources -- from people who have no interest in influencing policy but whose work is often cited to people who are directly engaged."