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# RAND graduates 20 doctorates
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/rand-graduates-20-doctorates/
- Published: 2004-07-19T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:44:44.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Marina del Rey, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

New York Stock Exchange Chairman John Reed delivered the commencement address Monday at graduation ceremonies for the Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS), which awarded a record 20 doctorates in policy analysis.

Reed, who also is the retired chairman and co-CEO of Citigroup, challenged the new graduates to move policy analysis in support of decision makers in both the public and private sectors to new levels of insight and usefulness.

Both public and private organizations operate at the frontiers of their competence, and are always short of “good people” and always confronting an array of seemingly intractable problems, Reed said. Santa Monica-based RAND, which pioneered much of the quantitative fact-based analysis that should underlie decisions of importance, continues to be vital in improving capabilities and in training the professionals who are essential in dealing with the complexities and subtleties of our information-rich world, Reed said.

The commencement was held at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, not far from Santa Monica where PRGS is located. The graduate school is part of the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization.

PRGS offers the only accredited doctoral program based at an independent policy research institution. Founded in 1970, it has awarded 174 Ph.D.s in policy analysis, including those awarded today — more than any graduate school in the world.

This year’s dissertations by the new graduates cover a broad range of topics including: The placement of inner city drug treatment centers, the kindergarten entrance age, factors influencing breastfeeding in the United States, health maintenance organizations, the design of clinical trials, melanoma screening, life insurance, local responses to chemical terrorism, the Chinese economy, Air Force purchasing and supply management, preparation of U.S. diplomats, and dealing with the impact of a deadly asteroid on Earth.

“There are only 20 of you, but you will have an impact on the shape of the world far out of proportion to your numbers,” RAND Corp. president and CEO James A. Thomson told the graduates.

“You’ve spent the last few years working on RAND research projects, studying some of the greatest challenges facing the world,” he added. “You’ve been trained not just to study what happened in the past, but to make new things happen in the future. You believe fiercely in getting out of the ivory tower, getting your hands dirty in the real world. You won’t just wait for the future to come to you — you will work to help create the future.”

PRGS currently has a record enrollment of 85 students, and the entering class for the upcoming academic year will be the largest since the school was founded — 26 students, chosen from about 800 applicants.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world, officials said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 19, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/071904.pdf?ref=smdp.com)