My goal is to produce academically rigorous and policy-relevant knowledge to address crucial problems facing society. The overarching focus has been on the politics and policies surrounding health access issues. Within this theme, there are currently three major strands: health access for vulnerable populations, the impact of provider networks on health access, and school-based health access. In addition, I continue to pursue my interest in regulatory policymaking with increasing connections to my work on healthcare issues. Overall, my work has led to almost forty publications in leading journals across a number of disciplines. Moreover, I have persistently sought to expand the reach of my work beyond the confines of academia by actively engaging a broader policy audience including via interviews, policy reports, and dialogues with policymakers from both parties.

 

I am excited and enthusiastic about my work, and I seek to share this enthusiasm with my students to encourage them to become actively engaged in the classroom and beyond to reach their own educational and professional goals. I enjoy teaching because interacting with students is truly invigorating and allows me to learn from their experiences and become inspired for future research. My teaching evaluations have been consistently high, and students state that they enjoy my teaching style, my commitment to their educational development, and the substantive knowledge they gain. My diverse research interests and training make me well-suited to teach a number of substantive courses, while my extensive methodological training qualifies me to teach courses across a wide methodological spectrum. Equally important, my own experience in a professional program as well as my broader professional experiences in the field and the U.S. Congress and California State Senate enable me to connect well with students and allow me to teach courses in a manner that blends a practical focus with academic rigor.

​

In line with the mission of a land-grant university and a school of public policy, I conduct myself as an engaged scholar whose research interacts with policy developments and politics in the real world. I have persistently sought to expand the reach of my work beyond the confines of academia by actively engaging a broader policy audience. This work has been recognized with my acceptance into an RWJF’s fellowship program, as well as into the American Enterprise Institute’s Emerging Poverty Scholars program. I am a frequent writer for various media outlets including The Conversation. Locally, I write a column for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. I am also an expert contributor for the Milken Institute, a non-partisan think tank, and I have authored reports for various programs and groups. 

 

I deeply care about my students, my colleagues, and my community. Grounded in my personal and professional experiences, my entire body of work spanning research, service, and teaching is infused with concerns about improving equity, diversity, and inclusion. Given this commitment, I continuously strive to reflect on my own actions, improve my understanding of issues related to EDI, and seek to update all facets of my work accordingly. My experience in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program as well as my training through Penn State World Campus have been great assets in this regard.

​

Immediately prior to his current appointment at Penn State, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Rockefeller School of Policy & Politics at West Virginia University. He also worked for more than two years as a project manager at Fresno Healthy Communities Access Partners, where his focus was on systemic health policy change, the implementation of telemedicine projects, farm worker health care, and access to care. Simon also worked for The Maddy Institute for Public Policy and Central California Legal Services. In addition, he served  in several political offices including those of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Dennis Cardoza, California State Senator Dean Florez, and Member of the German Bundestag Josef Göppel. 

 

Simon is a proud graduate of the College of the Desert, California State University, Fresno, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received an M.A. in International Relations (2007) and a Master’s in Public Administration (2010) as well as a Bachelor’s in Political Science (2006) from California State University, Fresno. He also received a Master's in Political Science (2011) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Ph.D. in Political Science with a minor in Applied and Agricultural Economics (2016). In the past, Simon has been a Carl Albert Congressional Graduate Fellow, a Jim Costa Scholar, and a Dean's Medalists. He is also the recipient of the MPSA Harrell Rodgers Graduate Scholarship, the Phyllis Watts Eudy Award, the Dan Quigley Graduate Studies Scholarship, and the Harlan Hagan Memorial Scholarship. 

 

Simon can be reached at sfh5482@psu.edu.   

 

You can also follow him on Twitter @SimonFHaeder