George C. Lamb Jr. Visiting Fellows in Regulatory Governance
Application deadline: January 22, 2016
The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, in collaboration with Duke’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the Fuqua School of Business, invites outstanding scholars of regulatory governance to apply for a residential George C. Lamb, Jr. Fellowship for the 2016-17 academic year (nine or twelve month appointment). The Fellow will work with the Rethinking Regulation Program at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, a multi-disciplinary community comprised of faculty members and graduate/professional students from many academic departments and professional schools at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. The group’s members study and assess the design and performance of regulatory systems, and “regulation in action” – the evolving politics, operations, and culture of regulatory institutions, their interactions with regulated businesses and other interest groups, and normative frameworks for the evaluation of regulatory policy.
In addition to pursuing their own research, Lamb Fellows are expected to participate in Rethinking Regulation seminars and workshops, Kenan Institute for Ethics workshops, and help shape a significant collaborative research project along with other members of the Rethinking regulation community. As part of that collaboration, the Fellow will teach a course in the Kenan Institute for Ethics and either Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences or Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Fellows can come from any relevant academic discipline, including political science, public policy/administration, history, economics, sociology, cognitive psychology, anthropology, business management, law, environmental studies, risk analysis, and engineering.
Thematic Preferences for 2016-17
We especially welcome proposals from scholars with expertise or a strong emerging interest in one of the following areas:
- Adaptive regulation: How should regulations be designed to keep up with new information and rapid change, such as in science, technology, economic or social conditions? This topic also includes how regulatory authorities learn from prior policies, such as through retrospective review, and use that information in evaluating new policies or in revising existing policies.
- Conflict/Cooperation Among Regulatory Agencies: Agencies often have overlapping regulatory jurisdictions or missions, gaps between their authorities, and related problems induced by institutional fragmentation. We are interested in both descriptive and prescriptive research on how conflict and cooperation among regulatory agencies should be managed.
- Private Regulation and Third-Party Auditing: Third-party auditing is a concept that is spreading to many forms of public and private regulation. To what extent have lessons from third-party auditing and rating services in finance been applied to these newer applications and what should the role for third-party auditing and certification be in private regulatory regimes?
- New Directions for Competition Policy: What are the appropriate approaches to regulating monopoly, oligopoly, and competition? How are different countries addressing these questions?
Fellowship Terms
We will consider applications for the full academic year (nine or twelve month appointment). All applicants should: possess a doctorate, J.D., or equivalent professional degree; be at least two years beyond their graduate training; and be based outside the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. All scholarly ranks are eligible. Residence in Durham is expected during the tenure of the fellowship. Lamb Fellows will receive office space at the Kenan Institute for Ethics, full Duke Library privileges, a modest research account, and eligibility for Duke Employee health benefits. Primary financial support will be disbursed monthly for the duration of the appointment term, and will vary according to individual circumstances. We anticipate offering awards equal to one-half of yearly salaries, up to an annually set maximum amount, which may be less than half-salary for professors at the higher end of the compensation spectrum.
Application Process
Applicants should submit all of the following to Amber Díaz Pearson (amber.diaz@duke.edu) by January 22, 2016:
- A letter of application that describes the candidate’s research areas and experience, ongoing projects, interest in collaborative research and teaching, and rationale for desiring a sustained period of engagement with Rethinking Regulation
- A 2-3 page research proposal that details the individual work to be pursued during the term of the fellowship
- A curriculum vitae
- Two to four references – these should be individuals who can speak to the candidate’s research expertise, experience in multi-disciplinary contexts, and capacity for/interest in collaborative academic work.
Selection Criteria
The Selection Committee, made up of scholars active in the Rethinking Regulation program, will assess applications on the basis of:
- The quality of their research and other achievements
- The promise of their current research, especially in bridging disciplinary divides and informing ongoing regulatory policy debates
- Their capacity for/interest in collaborative research, teaching, and writing
- The fit between their expertise and the research priorities identified by Rethinking Regulation.
An affirmative action and equal-opportunity employer, Duke University is committed to increasing the cultural and intellectual diversity of its academic community. Applications from women and under-represented minorities are strongly encouraged.
