The Rocky Team is Growing

The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences welcomes Professor Herschel Nachlis, Ph.D., and two new Postdoctoral Fellows, into new roles at the Center. 

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Professor Nachlis, a longtime Dartmouth faculty member, began serving as the Rockefeller Center's Associate Director on July 1, 2023, in addition to continuing to serve as Senior Policy Fellow in the Rockefeller Center and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Government.  As Associate Director, Professor Nachlis will oversee the Center's Curricular and Research offerings, and work with the Director and other organizational leaders in central areas including partnerships with academic Departments, Centers, Institutes, and other campus organizations, strategic planning, and law and policy-related programming.  Nachlis assumes the role of Associate Director from Professor Ronald Shaiko, Ph.D., who recently began his retirement from Rockefeller and Dartmouth after spending nearly two decades guiding and growing the Rockefeller Center and mentoring thousands of Dartmouth students.

The Director of the Rockefeller Center, Professor Jason Barabas, said, "I am thrilled to have Professor Nachlis join the Center's Senior Leadership Team, and to rely on his experience and knowledge across Dartmouth to help guide the Center into its next phase."

Nachlis joined Dartmouth in 2015 as a Postdoctoral Fellow, and previously served as Policy Fellow and Assistant Director in the Center and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Government.  His research and teaching focus on public policy, American politics, and law, and particularly health politics, policy and law, regulation, and political institutions.  His work has been published in journals including JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and Studies in American Political Development, as well as public outlets including STAT, The Washington Post, and Health Affairs Forefront.  Professor Nachlis holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Politics and Social Policy from Princeton University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Macalester College.

"I'm thrilled to assume responsibilities as the Rockefeller Center's Associate Director," Nachlis said.  "The Rockefeller Center is an amazing place and the focal point for public policy and social science-related efforts at Dartmouth.  I'm excited to work with the Center and College's incredible faculty, staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders in this new role, and with the Director and other organizational leaders to help the Center grow and evolve."

Two new Postdoctoral Fellows are also joining the Center this year to work on research projects and teach and mentor public policy and social science students:

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Elizabeth (Elle) Pfeffer, Ph.D., joins the Center from Yale University, where she served as a Postgraduate Associate with the Leitner Program on Effective Democratic Governance at Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs.  Pfeffer studies the interplay between welfare state institutions and the criminal legal system.  In addition to conducting her own research, Pfeffer will mentor students as Manager of the Class of 1964 Policy Research Shop, and teach a class related to her research.  Pfeffer holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Politics from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. in International Studies and Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University.

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Hwayong Shin, Ph.D., joins the Center from the University of Michigan.  Shin studies the social dynamics that surround uninformed and misinformed beliefs about politics.  In particular, Shin's work examines ways to mitigate partisan divides and increase public trust in evidence-based sources, including via fact-checking, as well as the roles of shared experiences and emotions in facilitating common ground across party lines.  In addition to conducting her own research, Shin will work with the Center Director and other faculty to establish a new cutting-edge survey research platform, and teach a class related to her research.  Shin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, an M.A. from Seoul National University in Political Science, and a B.A. in Economics and Hispanic Literature and Language from Seoul National University.