“A big part of education is learning about the world, getting interested in the world, and making your brain a more interesting place to live for the rest of your life,” says Stephen Bird, professor of political science and incoming Director of the Carsey School of Public Policy. If his life and career are any reflection, then Bird’s mind must be a richly varied and interesting place to be.
Bird comes to Carsey from Clarkson University, where he taught for 15 years, focusing on energy policy, conflict, and social acceptance of energy projects. In addition to his professorship, he is a research faculty affiliate with the Positive Energy Project at the University of Ottawa. Decades before establishing himself as an expert on electricity policy and lecturing to thousands of students, Bird cut his teeth performing for a very different crowd.
“I was a bass player. I've done everything from studio work, to indie rock bands, to ska bands, to playing with the stars of the Lawrence Welk show. There were times I was gigging literally every day. I worked cruise ships. I even played live karaoke which, as a musician…” Bird says, leaning in as if to tell a secret, “...I brutally hated.”
The world-trotting work as a rock bassist may seem out of place for a poli-sci professor, but Bird’s first forays into higher education were actually in music. Raised in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States to attend renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, Bird double majored in bass performance and arranging, focusing his thesis on a wave of African music breaking out on American charts.
Over the next decade, Bird stayed in Boston and worked a variety of jobs in and out of the arts. In addition to the countless gigs playing music, he drove a cab in the early years, and worked at many of Boston’s art institutions, eventually ending up at Harvard’s famed Fogg Museum where he would find a measure of stability, working as a preparator and lighting designer. After a few years at the job, Bird felt himself at an inflection point.
“I said to myself ‘I don’t know if I want to be on the road as a bass player for a really long time. I don’t know if I want to be at the museum doing lighting in a cherry picker for the next 15 years,’” he recalls.
The work at the museum was engaging enough that he decided to push further into the field, enrolling in Harvard’s master’s program for museum studies—a degree he began, but very fortunately, never completed.
“I was really excited about [museum studies,] and then I took a course on ethics and public policy. I said to myself ‘What is this?’” Bird remembers. That first course soon led to another and another still. “By the time I’d taken the third one, I knew...."
“I was really excited about [museum studies,] and then I took a course on ethics and public policy. I said to myself ‘What is this?’” Bird remembers. That first course soon led to another and another still. “By the time I’d taken the third one, I knew. That’s when I changed my degree… and went over to the Kennedy School of Government.”
Bird describes the decision as a “not-quite-epiphany” and is quick to credit the university for encouraging his transition from art history to public policy, with a focus on energy. What compelled him about electricity policy was the combination of complexity and ubiquity. As the force that propels modern society, there are few things as universal in the country as electricity. Yet the policies that go into its production, distribution, and use require a set of expertises so varied that it’s a wonder decisions get made at all. Bird himself admits needing over two years of study “just to understand the basic landscape.” However, it was exactly these intricacies that he found most engaging, especially where energy policy intersects with the environment and conflict.
“It’s intermixed with geopolitics, different kinds of regulatory schemes, shifting dynamics in technology,” he says. “Ultimately, energy is the linchpin of society. And it has been the lynchpin of human survival.”
Bird turned his curiosity into a new career path, beginning with a master’s degree from Harvard in 2004 and doctorate from Boston University in 2009. During those years, he also lent his perspective on the complexities of energy policy to a number of institutions devoted to the public good, such as Mass Energy, and leading think tanks, such as the Harvard Electricity Policy Group (HEPG). After completing his PhD, Bird was offered a professorship at Clarkson University in upstate New York, where he would remain for the next decade and a half.
Though a far cry from the cruise ship or concert stage, teaching at a small university suited his gift of performance well. Bird is at his most animated diving into the details of any concept he explains, whether it be about mitigating the severity of climate change or the advantages of electric over standup bass. It’s not hard to understand why he settled so deeply into a role at the head of a classroom of attentive students. It’s an aspect of himself that Bird plans to hold onto, even as he transitions to his new position as Carsey’s director.
“I’m still going to try to teach one class a year, just to keep my feet in the swimming pool so to speak,” he says smiling. “I don’t want to lose touch of what it feels like [to be a professor].”
Beyond the chance to keep teaching, Bird is thrilled to begin the next step in his personal journey and help Carsey continue its tradition of incredible work for students and policymakers. He finds the school’s range of academics engaging in influential research especially exciting.
“The research portion of the work: it’s having an impact on people’s lives right now. We’re doing stuff that is impacting governance and government, impacting implementation of policy, helping to guide policy. Policy is critical to creating higher-functioning societies and creating better outcomes for people’s lives.”
“The research portion of the work: it’s having an impact on people’s lives right now. We’re doing stuff that is impacting governance and government, impacting implementation of policy, helping to guide policy,” he says, enthusiasm spilling over. “Policy is critical to creating higher-functioning societies and creating better outcomes for people’s lives.”
To help bolster the already-outstanding influence Carsey has among policymakers, Bird sees a lot of potential in collaborations with other institutions. He knows firsthand the benefits of making connections to nonprofits, governments, and other organizations with real sway over large scale decisions. Beyond his affiliations with Harvard, the University of Ottawa, Mass Energy, and the Positive Energy Project, he has also consulted for the U.S. State Department, the European Commission, and more than a dozen private companies.
Bird appreciates the incredible breadth of knowledge at Carsey. He believes there are untapped ways of getting that knowledge integrated with other experts both at UNH and in the wider world.
“I don’t think policy people should only work with policy people. If a policy person is working with an electrical engineer, with a psychologist, with an economist, then you’re going to get much better solutions. And I bring some of that kind of collaborative experience with public administration, government, and community development.”
“I’m excited about building partnerships with departments and other components of UNH overall. I want to work with the engineering school and the business school and connect to programs like the Changemaker Collaborative,” he says. “I don’t think policy people should only work with policy people. If a policy person is working with an electrical engineer, with a psychologist, with an economist, then you’re going to get much better solutions. And I bring some of that kind of collaborative experience with public administration, government, and community development.”
When pressed for hopes and plans for his time at Carsey, Bird’s thoughts always come back to the faculty, staff, and students who make the school what it is. It’s the faculty who are driving the amazing research, the students whom he wants to connect to through teaching, and the entire staff who can make future partnerships successful.
“I'm really excited about the people,” he says. “I want Carsey to be strong and resilient going forward so that Carsey keeps doing the amazing work it does.”
Reported by Benjamin Scott Savard, ‘23G
