Researcher Wins Fellowship to Study in New Zealand

Beginning in January of 2002, Paul J. Saucier, senior policy analyst at USM’s Muskie School of Public Service, will spend nine months in New Zealand with the Ministry of Health there.

Working through an Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy, Saucier will examine how New Zealand’s disability support policies and services help or hinder the goals in that country’s Public Health and Disability Act of 2000.

The Fellowships were established in 1995 by the New Zealand government in cooperation with the United States to provide fresh perspectives on important civic issues and to facilitate the sharing of professional expertise and experience.

Robert L. Woodbury, dean of the Muskie School, says, “This highly competitive fellowship is an outstanding achievement and opportunity for Paul. His public policy work relating to chronic illness, disability, and aging is nationally recognized.”

Saucier’s project, “Promoting a National Vision for People with Disabilities,” will analyze how regional information needs, payment policies, program incentives, and competing health priorities affect the implementation of national legislative goals for assisting disabled populations.

For more information about this fellowship or the Muskie School, contact Andrew Coburn at (207) 780-4435.