Dr. René Pérez Rosenbaum
Associate Professor

Dr. Rosenbaum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies (CARRS) and Senior Scholar with the Julian Samora Research Institute (JSRI) at Michigan State University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Notre Dame University and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Radford University before he joined Michigan State University in 1990, as Postdoctoral Fellow with the Julian Samora Research Institute. Since 1992, he has served as faculty in CARRS, where he has taught environmental and natural resource economic issues and community economic development. He currently teaches RD 470: The Theory and Practice of Community and Economic Development.

Dr Rosenbaum's research interests are in fields of community economic development, community-based studies, farm worker studies, and Latino issues. He is lead faculty for the farm worker research and outreach initiative at JSRI. He currently serves as PI on two research grants funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and another by MAES that deal with access to health care issues of migrant farm workers, college credentialization barriers for Migrant Head Start teachers, and labor needs in the Michigan green industry.

Dr. Rosenbaum has recently served as consultant to the Institute for Children, Youth and Families and the Council for Professional Recognition, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. He served as reviewer and conference observer to "Migrant Farmworkers, Medicaid, and State Children Health Insurance Programs: Barriers to Enrollment, Lack of Portability and Possible Solutions" prepared by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-Intra-DHHS Workgroup on Migrant Farmworker Health. He also serves as a reviewer for the following refereed journals. Azlan Journal, the International Migration Review, and Agriculture and Human Values. Among his publications in 2003, individually or co-authored, are the following: "Bringing Communities into Agriculture-Local Food and Farming Systems", "Crossing the Borders in Education: Addressing the Barriers of Credentialization Among Migrant Head Start Teachers", "The Economic Impact of Migrant Farm Workers on Southeastern Michigan", and "Green Industry Labor Summary Report". Among his presentations at professional national conferences in 2003 are the following: "Studying Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers" Hispanic Health Services Research Conference: Improving Health Outcomes and Reducing Health Disparities", "The Economic Impact of Migrant Farm Workers in Oceana County", and "Innovative Education Models for Hispanic Head Start Teachers".

Dr. Rosenbaum also conducts extensive service and outreach work with community and state organizations across Michigan. In addition to numerous presentations before these groups, he recently served as Chair of the 2002 and 2003 Michigan Farmworker Appreciation Month Statewide Steering Committee, Committee Member for the 2003 Conference Organizing Committee of the Michigan Farm and Farm Worker Annual Conference, and the Interagency Migrant Services Committee for the State of Michigan. He also served as Advisory Board Committee Member for Michigan Farm Worker Legal Services, Community Council Member to the Policy Council of Telamon Corporation, Michigan Migrant Head Start, and Member of the Ingham Regional Healthcare Foundation Council.

Courses Rosenbaum Teaches:

• RD 470 - Theory and Practice in Community and Economic Development

René Rosenbaum's Curriculum Vitae (coming soon)