Louise Nelson Dyble Joins USC's Keston Institute For Public Finance And Infrastructure

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2007

Dyble To Head Research And Support The Institute's Development And Growing Influence

LOS ANGELES -- The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California (USC), announced today that Louise Nelson Dyble, Ph.D., has been named Associate Director for Research. Dyble will oversee research and outreach activities and will facilitate communication between academics, practitioners, and policy makers.

"When I envisioned this Institute, not only did I see us increasing basic infrastructure awareness among policymakers and the public, but I saw the potential to be innovators within the field," said Michael Keston, Chairman of the Board of The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy "Richard G. Little and Louise Nelson Dyble are those best and brightest individuals I'd hoped would be leading the charge."

"Louise brings with her a wealth of knowledge, an historical perspective, and a tireless passion for the subject," said Richard G. Little, Director of The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California. "Her expertise on the past, present and future of infrastructure will be an invaluable aid in our expansion efforts."

Dyble currently serves on the Steering Committee of the California Studies Association. She spent two years as a fellow in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, investigating land use policy in Northern California as part of a collaborative project funded by the National Research Initiative. She was appointed as the Kevin Starr Fellow in California Studies in 2005 and as the Weisman Postdoctoral Fellow in American History at the California Institute of Technology in 2006.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Keston Institute as it continues to play a crucial role in California's progress towards improved infrastructure," said Dyble. "I have been impressed with the Institute's ability to shine a focused light on the web of complex infrastructural issues while formulating plausible and thought provoking solutions during this important policy-making and voting period in our state."

Dyble graduated magna cum laude from the University of California Berkeley, where she had been recruited to play basketball. She continued her studies there to pursue a PhD in History. Her dissertation, "Paying the Toll: A Political History of the Golden Gate Bridge, 1923-1971," won the 2004 Award of the Urban History Association for Best Dissertation in Urban History. Paying the Toll: Power, Politics, and the Golden Gate Bridge, 1923-1971, is a forthcoming book from the University of Pennsylvania Press, in which Dyble discusses the controversial independent government agency, The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, and how it has shaped the Bay Area physically and politically.

Some of Dyble's other publications include: "The Defeat of the Golden Gate Authority: A Special District, a Council of Governments and the Fate of Regional Planning." Journal of Urban History 34(1): 38-66. (2008); "Revolt Against Sprawl: Transportation and the Origins of the Marin County Growth Control Regime." Journal of Urban History, 34(1): 38-6 (2007).

About the Keston Institute

The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California is a non-partisan research center that actively addresses California and the nation's public finance and infrastructure challenges. It is specifically focused on regional and national transportation and water issues and promoting economic viability, livability and environmental sustainability.

The University of Southern California (USC), which houses The Institute within its School of Public Policy, Planning and Development (SPPD), whose faculty collectively ranks third at USC in terms of per capita research grants, is one of the nation's leading research facilities for issues relating to public finance and infrastructure finance in the nation.

Together with the Keston Institute, the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development, has created the only educational and policy degree track in the field of civil infrastructure, with the goal of making USC a world leader in infrastructure and policy development.

The Institute's ongoing research is exclusively focused on analyzing core infrastructure challenges facing California and the nation, while presenting realistic, objective recommendations to voters and policymakers. For more information about The Keston Institute, please visit http://www.usc.edu/keston