Vanderbilt Law School welcomes Russell DeGraff as a Vanderbilt Law School Visiting Scholar for fall 2023. The Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation is supporting his appointment and coordinating two visits to campus.
DeGraff worked for nearly 20 years on Capitol Hill, serving the last 12 as the chief climate and technology advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. DeGraff was a key player in orchestrating the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS & Science Act.
“We are excited to welcome Russell Degraff to Vanderbilt Law School this year,” said Ganesh Sitaraman, Director of VPA. “Russell has invaluable experience driving public policy in Washington, and he is passionate about engaging with the Vanderbilt community and sharing his insights.”
Born and raised in Nashville, DeGraff has deep ties to the Middle Tennessee region.
DeGraff made an initial visit to Vanderbilt on Tuesday, September 19th. During his visit, he spoke with Professor Leah Rosenstiel’s political science course, “The Legislative Process,” and Professor JB Ruhl’s law school course, “Climate Change Governance.”
VPA will host DeGraff for a second visit on Nov. 6-7, 2023. DeGraff will meet with student groups, including the College Dems, outLaw, and the Energy and Environmental Law Society, in addition to engaging with an interdisciplinary group of faculty interested in climate change issues from across the University. DeGraff will also join Professor Ganesh Sitaraman in a public talk titled “Climate in Congress.”
The Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation (VPA) focuses on cutting-edge topics in political economy and regulation to swiftly bring research and policy proposals from infancy to maturity.
More information is available at vu.edu/vpa.