"Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy", also known as the "Baker Institute", is an American think tank housed on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1993, it functions as a center for public policy research. It is named for James A. Baker, III, former United States Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and White House Chief of Staff. It is directed by Ambassador David M. Satterfield and funded mainly by donor contributions, endowments, and research grants.
The institute employs scholars and researchers from a variety of backgrounds. Its current research includes centers for different areas: the Center for Energy Studies, the Center for Health and Biosciences, the Center for the Middle East, the Center for Public Finance, the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the Mexico Center. Other programs include Biomedical Research, China Studies, Domestic Health Policy Analysis, Drug Policy, Global Health, International Economics, the Latin America Initiative, Presidential Elections, Religion & Public Policy, Science & Technology Policy, Space Policy, and Women's Rights in the Middle East. The University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ranked the Baker Institute third among university-affiliated think tanks from 2017 to 2018.
Alongside the institute's focus on research, it provides programs for undergraduate and graduate students to engage with the world of policy and organizes events in which political, diplomatic, and community leaders speak on Rice's campus.
History
The Baker Institute was founded in 1993. The idea for a public policy institute on campus came from Rice University Political Science professor Richard Stoll. James Baker stated a wish for the institute to bring together “statesmen, scholars, and students” and to be “a bridge between the world of ideas and the world of action.” In 1994, a ceremony to honor the groundbreaking for the new building brought together four U.S. presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush). Bush and Ford were present, while Carter and Reagan contributed video messages.
In 1994, Ambassador Djerejian was selected as the institute's founding director.
Research programs
Center for the Middle East
The Baker Institute Center for the Middle East has been involved in conflict resolution projects. The focus of the Center includes the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Levant, and Women and Human Rights in the Middle East. Research has focused on the civil war in Syria, security in Afghanistan, U.S. relations in the region, energy as it relates to the Middle East, and analysis of the Iran nuclear deal. The program brings together well-known speakers and researchers to offer their insights into the complex challenges facing the Middle East.
Staff in the Center for the Middle East include Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian and Yair Hirschfeld.
Center for Energy Studies
The Center for Energy Studies was founded in October 2012 and provides policymakers, corporate leaders and the public with "data-driven analysis of issues that influence energy markets." In 2017 and 2018, the CES was ranked the No. 1 energy- and resource-based think tank according to the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program's Global Go To Think Tank Index
China Studies
The Transnational China Project studies contemporary China and the changes that the nation is undergoing. The Transnational China project is also working on transcribing public service announcements from various cities in China. The transcripts are available at the Center for Digital Scholarship at Fondren Library at Rice University.
Drug Policy
The Drug Policy Program focuses on implications of the War on Drugs and “pursues research and open debate on local and national drug policies based on common sense, driven by human rights interests, and focused on reducing the death, disease, crime. and suffering associated with drug use.”
Center for Health and Biosciences
The Center for Health and Biosciences (CHB) focuses on developing health policy recommendations. It combines researchers from Rice University and the Texas Medical Center, who are intended to address four major research themes: U.S. health care, global health, public health, and the future of medicine.
Staff include Vivian Ho and Peter Hotez.