Month: February 2017

The Decade of Behavior Award

Sharyn O’Halloran

A chaired professor of political economics at Columbia University in New York City, Sharyn O’Halloran holds a bachelor of arts in economics and political science and both a master of arts and a doctorate in political science from the University of California, San Diego. In 2005, the American Political Science Association named Sharyn O’Halloran recipient of the Decade of Behavior Annual Research Award.

A partnership between approximately 70 behavioral and social sciences organizations, the Decade of Behavior celebrated its official launch at the Cannon House Office Building amid hundreds of Capitol Hill professionals on March 25, 2000. This multidisciplinary initiative concentrated on promoting the ability of the behavioral and social sciences to meet pressing societal challenges.

Beginning in 2000 and ending in 2010, the Decade of Behavior featured a different theme each year. The Decade of Behavior Research Award honored the accomplishments of up to five professionals who made significant contributions within these annual themes. Any of the roughly 70 organizations that supported and endorsed the Decade of Behavior were able to nominate potential awardees.

The Arthur Liman Policy Institute

Arthur Liman Policy Institute pic
Arthur Liman Policy Institute
Image: lac.org

Experienced in economics and political science, Sharyn O’Halloran has served as a George Blumenthal professor of political economics at Columbia University since 1993. As a community-minded individual, Sharyn O’Halloran lends her support to several charities and community service organizations including the Legal Action Center.

A nonprofit law and policy organization that fights discrimination against people with criminal records, histories of addiction, or HIV/AIDS, the Legal Action Center opened its doors in 1973 under the direction of Arthur Liman. In 1998, the Legal Action Center honored its founder by launching the Arthur Liman Policy Institute, a state-of-the-art research group that significantly expanded the Center’s public policy work through a combination of publication and education.

Major initiatives of the Arthur Liman Policy Institute include helping people with criminal records reenter society, examining the relationship between welfare reform and recovery from chemical dependence, and studying the effects of syringe exchange programs on regional drug use and the spread of HIV. It also has analyzed the effectiveness of New York State’s controversial Rockefeller drug sentencing laws.