Configuration & Governance

The MPC is a University-wide research unit. It was established by the Vice President for Research (then Christine Maziar) under the program for "New Initiatives in Interdisciplinary Research." Ten colleges at the University participate in the MPC: the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, the College of Human Ecology, the Law School, the Carlson School of Management, the School of Public Health, the College of Agriculture, the Institute of Technology, the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and the Medical School.

As a cooperative organization, control of the MPC is vested in the membership. Members of the Center are faculty, research scientists, research associates, post-doctoral fellows and advanced graduate students who are deeply engaged in demographic research and who agree to participate in the life of the Center. MPC members elect an Advisory Committee, which in turn nominates the MPC Director. The Dean of Liberal Arts appoints the nominee to a three-year renewable term. The first Advisory Committee was composed of the founding members of the Center, Dennis Ahlburg, John Adams, Lynn Blewett, Deborah Levison, and Steven Ruggles. In addition, the directors of each center core are ex officio members of the Advisory Committee.

The MPC Director is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the day-to-day activities of the Center. The Director consults with the Advisory Committee about major budgetary issues and new Center initiatives. The Advisory Committee is responsible for approving admission of new members. The membership as a whole ordinarily meets once a year and the Advisory Committee once a month or as needed. The substantial delegation of power to the Director means that there are minimal administrative demands on most MPC members. We want MPC members to devote their energy to research and training, not to administration. At the same time, we keep all members informed about administrative decisions via e-mail and Intranet, and we actively seek input from the membership on policy issues. All members are welcome to attend and participate in Advisory Committee meetings, and major issues that arise between membership meetings are decided by email balloting of the members.

MPC provides support for research through seven shared cores: the Administrative Core, the Information Technology Core, the User Support Core, the Data Access Core, the Spatial Analysis Core, the Data Services Core, and the Data Integration Core. All MPC members have full access to core services. The User Support and Data Access Cores also serve outsiders, although MPC members receive priority. Each of the five major units of the MPC is headed by a professional director. Core directors and other senior staff meet with the Center Director weekly to coordinate activities.