Baker Institute Building, front face (north side)
Courtesy of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
THINKING
THE
BOX
by Alison Bieser
Rice University’s Baker Institute
is Thriving as a Premier Global Policy Institute
Alison Bieser is a communications
professional with interests in
marketing, higher education and
health care.
In February 2016, as concerns about the Zika virus began to enter the
public’s awareness, after the world had mourned the victims of the Paris
attacks and daily headlines in Houston bemoaned the fallout from the
worst oil bust ever, a report that ranks think tanks worldwide was released
with little fanfare. In the latest index of “Go To Think Tanks” compiled by
the University of Pennsylvania, the Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice
University had broken into new territory, entering the top five among
university-affiliated think tanks in the world, rising to No. 4 from No. 9 in
the previous year.
Established just 23 years ago, the Baker Institute is coming into its own.
The ranking index places it in the top echelon among its peers of around
850 university-affiliated think tanks worldwide (including think tanks at
Harvard and the London School of Economics) and ranks it 18th among
the top think tanks in the United States. In another rankings coup, the
institute’s Center for Energy Studies came in second globally among
energy resource think tanks.
Baker Institute Director and former Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian cited
the institute’s commitment to excellence in delivering research, programs
and policy recommendations to decision-makers in the public and private
sectors as contributing to the rise in the rankings. Djerejian, a career
diplomat and Middle East scholar, has good reason to feel optimistic.
Last year had been the institute’s best yet, with an increase in funding,
collaborations and engagement. The institute also graduated its first
class of students with a master’s degree.
With its focus on health and disease, energy and the environment, the
Middle East, Mexico and business, among other areas, the Baker Institute
seeks to increase awareness and understanding of these crucial issues. As
a non-partisan organization involved in the study, formulation, execution
and criticism of public policy, the Baker Institute aims to shed light on
factors driving key trends, processes and events to help guide policy
formation on the challenges that face governments, non-governmental
organizations, non-profits and industry at home and abroad.
Especially in uncertain times, organizations as well as individuals
increasingly seek out the most reliable sources of news and information
on which to base their actions and opinions. The Baker Institute is a
Honorary chair James A. Baker, III
Courtesy of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
credible, local voice that brings fresh ideas and original thinking to the
critical issues of the times.
James Baker III’s hope, to develop the institute into “a nationally recognized center
that would draw statesmen, scholars, and students from around the world to its
innovative and integrated activities,” has come to pass.
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A Think Tank by Any Other Name
anywhere else. The Baker Institute develops non-partisan,
What is a think tank? Originally conceived as a place
unbiased research to measure key markers or analyze
of pure research focused on studying a key
difficult issues and provide decision-makers with a way
issue, the think tank has evolved along with the
forward. With its deep analysis of and astute approaches to
times. The first think tank was the seed of the
policy challenges, it is producing work that is reaching the
Brookings Institute, which was formed to
highest levels of the government and private sector, as well
aid the U.S. government in preparing for a
as educating and informing the general public.
wartime economy in the years before World
War I. The phrase “think tank” came into
The institute including its 37 fellows and scholars in
being after World War II and usually referred
residence, plus 44 non-resident scholars and 31 Rice faculty
to an organization that offered military
scholars affiliated across the campus, are the engine that
advice to the government. Soon after, think
drives the data gathering, research and policy guidance for
tanks became trusted advisers to presidents,
which the institute is becoming increasingly recognized.
heads of state, prime ministers and the U.S.
Its body of scholars and fellows is extended through a
Congress. In the 1970s and ‘80s, the creation of
cadre of research analysts and interns. In all, the institute
think tanks exploded, and today there are more than
includes 121 resident and non-resident fellows and scholars
conducting its important work, which helps to cement Rice
6,846 such organizations worldwide.
as one of the nation’s premier research universities.
The meaning of think tank, now synonymous with policy
institute, generally refers to a research-based center
“Compared with our peers, we are small,” Djerejian said. “I
with a social or public policy focus. Think tanks conduct
think we have proven the Buddhist principle: less is more.
important research that may not be able to be created
We do more with less.”
“I think we have proven the Buddhist principle: less is more. We do more with less.”
Edward P. Djerejian
Inside the Baker Institute
institute’s primary areas of research include energy,
With the goal of bridging the worlds of action and ideas, the
health, conflict resolution, science and technology, tax and
mission of the Baker Institute is broad but is closely tied to
expenditure policy, and Latin America and China studies,
Houston’s core strengths and inherent assets.
among others. Its scholars, fellows and students study a
broad range of factors related to these areas that provide
Nestled in the heart of the Rice University campus, the
the base for the institute’s public policy recommendations.
Baker Institute building is a traditional brick structure
designed
in
keeping
with
the
Rice
architectural
The
Baker
Institute
works
closely
with
Rice
and
style. Housing its fellows, scholars, researchers and
collaborating institutions to educate and develop the next
administration, as well as hosting conferences, seminars
generation of policymakers and informed citizens. The
and classes and incorporating a state-of-the-art media
Master of Global Studies program, in conjunction with
center, the building is home to 121 experts that constitute
the School of Social Sciences, is in its second year. The
five centers and nine programs representing the institute’s
institute also engages Rice undergraduate and graduate
major areas of research.
students. Its fellows and scholars, including Djerejian,
taught more than 100 multidisciplinary courses on the Rice
36
The centers include the Center for Energy Studies, the
campus during the 2015-2016 school year. In 2015, the
Center for the Middle East, the Mexico Center, the Center
Baker Institute supported 52 student interns in several on-
for Health and Biosciences and the McNair Center for
and off-campus internships in Washington, DC, the Middle
Entrepreneurship and Research, the latter two being
East, France and Moscow, allowing them opportunities to
significant areas of strength in Houston and at Rice. The
experience a variety of pre-career work environments.
PROPERTIES | VOLUME 3 – 2016
A Storied Past
At the heart of the institute is former Secretary of State and
Honorary Chairman James A. Baker III, a standard bearer of
foreign policy expertise informed by a career steeped in ColdWar-era diplomacy. The Houston native and attorney has
decades of public service experience, having served in senior
positions under three United States presidents, most notably
Ronald Reagan. Baker was in office when the Berlin Wall was
torn down in 1989, and a piece of the wall installed near the
Baker Institute stands both as a symbol of democracy and
legacy of his service during that momentous period.
Having had a long association with Rice University through
his grandfather, who had served on its first board of directors,
Baker joined forces with Rice in 1993 to launch the Baker
Institute. In 1994, Djerejian, the former U.S. ambassador to
Israel and to the Syrian Arab Republic, became the director
of the Baker Institute. During the first years of his tenure, the
institute building was constructed and was completed in 1997,
was completed. Under Djerejian’s leadership and strategic
guidance, the institute solidified its vision and mission and
began the work that would lead to its worldwide recognition.
Honorary chair James A. Baker, III, and Director Edward P. Djerejian
©2013 Michael Stravato for Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
At the southeast corner of Baker Hall, Section of the Berlin Wall
Courtesy of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
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Baker Institute Milestones
Since
its
inception
in
1993,
the
Baker
Institute has distinguished itself as a center
of international prominence by hosting many
prestigious international visitors, a virtual
Colin Powell - 11.13.1995**
Who’s Who of renowned scholars, statesmen
and leaders who have come to the Rice campus.
Some of its most memorable and renowned
visitors and speakers have included The
Honorable
Madeleine
Albright,
former
Secretary of State; General Colin Powell,
former
Secretary
of
State
and
Madeleine Albright - 02.07.1997*
former
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Mikhail
Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union;
Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State;
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United
Nations; Nelson Mandela, former President
of South Africa; Israel’s President Shimon
Peres; President Bill Clinton; His Holiness the
Gorbachev & Kissinger - 10.15.1997*
14th Dalai Lama; and author, educator and
activist Jehan Sadat, widow of the late Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat. Other visitors have
included Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president;
international leaders from China and Mexico
and domestic leaders such as Janet Reno,
Nelson Mandela - 10.26.1999*
Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry. Every president
except Barack Obama has visited the campus,
and he is expected to do so after he retires.
A high point for Djerejian was the day in 1999
when Mandela, an icon for reconciliation and a
symbol of world peace, visited the Rice campus.
Held in the Rice gymnasium, the event was
Dalai Lama - 05.01.2007*
attended by more than 5,000 visitors, including
scores of students from Houston-area schools
who participated in a lively Q&A session.
Jehan Sadat - 11.12.1999*
*Courtesy of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
**©2015 Michael Stravato for Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
38
PROPERTIES | VOLUME 3 – 2016
Engaging with the Community
Committed to engaging a wide audience of decision-makers and followers,
the Baker Institute’s experts provide in-depth analysis on world issues and
events in real time. In addressing significant issues and policy challenges
for decision-makers, the institute’s fellow and scholars write a myriad of
analyses, articles, reports, speeches, papers, books and blogs annually,
and hold workshops and lectures throughout the year. The institute’s
strong blogging initiative encourages engagement among its audiences.
The institute also hosts an active speaker program for its membership
groups as well as the general public.
The Baker Institute Blog shares the institute’s expert analysis and
commentary on breaking news, events of national and global significance
and issues of public note. The blog features posts covering topics as
wide-ranging as health and nutrition policy, the Brexit decision, the U.S.
perspective on the Turkish coup attempt and the upcoming election.
Contributors include Joe Barnes, the institute’s Bonner Means Baker
Fellow; Mark Jones, the institute’s fellow in political science and the Joseph
D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies at Rice University, and Quianta
Moore, the Baker Institute Scholar in Health Policy. Interested readers can
follow and engage with Baker scholars on the institute’s Twitter feed.
On a wider stage, the institute’s scholars and fellows are frequently
interviewed by the world’s top radio and news outlets, and their comments
appear in outlets including U.S. News and World Report, Forbes.com,
CNBC, Marketplace public radio, the Washington Post and others.
Vivian Ho
Courtesy of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
Connected to Houston
Djerejian expressed his hope that the institute is
Hospital, telemedicine providers and other
When asked about the Baker Institute’s
viewed as an essential entity and an important
local organizations on novel projects to
greatest milestone, Djerejian spoke about
part of the city, “akin to universities, akin to
improve the health of children in Houston and
its founding. “We have been able to create a
the Houston Grand Opera, the Alley Theatre,
across the country.
premier public policy institute for the city of
the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and all the
Houston,” he said. “And when you think that
arts,” he said.
The Baker Institute’s rise lends prestige to
Houston, not only as a place of scholarship,
Houston, the fourth largest city in the country,
didn’t have this before the Baker Institute;
The institute has a history of collaborating
but also as a place of influence, delivering
there was no public policy institute in this state.
with Houston institutions and experts to
data-driven
And we have created it.”
study issues of local and as well as broad
and penetrating insights that are increasingly
significance. With its expertise in health policy,
earning a global audience. As the rankings
The Baker Institute, Djerejian said, is “local,
the Baker Institute is working with the Houston
suggest, the Baker Institute has found its voice,
national and global.”
Independent School District, Texas Children’s
and it is being heard in all the right places.
research,
thoughtful
analysis
The Baker Institute, Djerejian said, is ”local, national and global.”
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