APSU summer public policy class to examine U.S. response to COVID-19 pandemic

 Dr. Chinyere Ogbonna-McGruder

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Dr. Chinyere Ogbonna-McGruder, Austin Peay State University professor of political science, public management and criminal justice, likes to keep a close eye on public policy trends. Her books have analyzed issues such as the Affordable Care Act and TennCare, and when the global coronavirus pandemic struck earlier this spring, she decided to change the honors public policy class she planned to teach this summer.

Now that class – POL 2040, offered during Summer 1 – will not only introduce students to the fundamentals of U.S public policy; it will include a critical examination of the federal government’s response to the pandemic.

“This class will provide students the opportunity to research and delve into the current COVID-19 pandemic and how specifically the U.S. president has responded to the outbreak,” Ogbonna-McGruder said. “There will also be analyses of epidemiological-driven policies that have been utilized by past U.S. presidents to deal with outbreaks – for example, the 2014 Ebola outbreak – and how such polices may or may not possibly be applied within the current outbreak to help mitigate spread and mortality.”

Ogbonna-McGruder previously worked for the World Health Organization in Africa and as a bioterrorism epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health. In 2015, she presented a research paper, “Ebola 2014 Outbreak, Discourse and Policy,” at the Critical Issues roundtable at Oxford University, England. She also served as a member of the round table.

Her three books – “Voices from the Inside: Case Studies from a Tennessee Women’s Prison,” “TennCare and Disproportionate Share Hospitals in Tennessee” and “A Different Perspective on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” – are currently available at amazon.com.

For more information, contact Ogbonna-McGruder at ogbonnac@apsu.edu.