Meet...Beth Walter Honadle

Beth Walter Honadle, director of the Institute for Policy Research and professor of political science, says that her “passion is conducting research that is policy-relevant and then making it accessible to policy makers.” Her diverse career prior to working at UC clearly prepared her for that task.

Before her arrival here in September 2004, she served as director of the Center for Policy Analysis & Public Service at Bowling Green State University, where she was also a professor of political science. This was preceded by several years as professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota and 11 years in research and program leadership for the federal government in Washington, D.C. She has also worked in Egypt and Ukraine and published several books and articles in her field. In March she will present a paper at the International Atlantic Economic Society conference in London, England, thanks, in part, to a grant from the Taft Memorial Fund.

A native of upstate New York, Honadle received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her graduate degrees from Syracuse University. She notes that having spent so much time in places like New York, Syracuse, and Minnesota, she was attracted to Cincinnati because of is relatively mild climate and her “fondness for hills and the great outdoors.”

This means that in addition to her responsibilities in the college, she still has time to hike and canoe around her home near the Little Miami River. But that's not all. She participated in the Thanksgiving Day 10-K run through downtown and northern Kentucky and hopes “to make it a tradition.” But she's not planning any time soon to give up the work she's been able to do through organizations like the Chamber of Commerce and the United Way.

Honadle adds that she's able to carry such a heavy load because George Honadle, her husband of 28 years, understands the demands on her time. He's worked in over 27 countries as a consultant with organizations like the U. S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund, and the United Nations. Currently he serves as an adjunct professor in the environmental studies program, and together with their seventh grade son, Jeff, they enjoy travel and reading.

All in all, Honadle is excited about both her personal and professional lives. She has big plans for the Institute for Policy Research: “I hope to bring the IPR and academic departments closer together with creative partnerships. We're doing this through visiting faculty appointments, collaboration on research proposals, and research colloquia. I also hope to increase our visibility in policy analysis and management by getting us more involved in professional organizations and conferences. In short, I want us to be recognized as a national leader in public policy research by building on our excellence since 1971.”