Syracuse University Maxwell Perspective Fall 2022

Maxwell Perspective

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Perspective

Maxwell FALL 2022

DAVID M. VAN SLYKE

Dean

JESSICA SMITH

Director of Communications and Media Relations

JESSICA YOUNGMAN Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

John Boccacino

Jewell Bohlinger

Steve Buchiere

Rob Enslin

Lenore Friend

Renée Gearhart Levy

Wendy S. Laughlin

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Jewell Bohlinger

Jennifer Congel

Sarah McLaughlin

PHOTOGRAPHY

Matt Coulter

Marilyn Hesler

Ross O. Knight

Cable Risdon

Angela Ryan

Rikki Van Camp

Charles Wainwright

Marlee Faye Warwick

DESIGN

Kiefer Creative

Maxwell Perspective is published twice yearly by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Direct written correspondence to: Editor, Maxwell Perspective

200 Eggers Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y., 13244; or MaxwellPerspective@syr.edu

Class Notes, personal news and other updates may be submitted at maxwell.syr.edu/alumni-update

Contents © 2022 Syracuse University, except where noted. Opinions expressed in Maxwell Perspective are those of the authors and sources and do not necessarily represent the opinions of its editors or policies of Syracuse University. ON THE COVER: Vector illustration by Shutterstock.com contributor, Katsiaryna Kashtalyan, re-colored by Colleen Kiefer, Kiefer Creative

Bridging the Divide

Aphoto in our archives shows Maxwell School building designer Dwight James Baum and one of my predecessors, Dean William Mosher, gazing at the statue of George Washington and the Oath of the Athenian City-State.

The black and white image was taken in the foyer just after the building opened in 1937. Though the pair appear contemplative and proud, it’s impossible to know what they were thinking. I can’t help but wonder if they knew that the statue and oath would serve as a beacon of the Maxwell School for decades to come.

Indeed, through the years, the foyer has served as the backdrop of myriad academic conversations, moments of pensive reflection and study, and celebratory photographs by students after graduation ceremonies and Maxwell milestones.

But in recent years, we’ve come to better understand how this centerpiece of our building evokes a range of sentiment among those who pass through. The Washington statue is intended to honor our first president, who led Patriot forces to victory in the Revolutionary War and played a critical role in crafting and adopting the Constitution. Yet, as is taught in our American history courses, he was also a slave owner who sought to assimilate Native Americans to Anglo-American culture. The original version of citizenship inscribed in the Constitution didn't include many Americans.

Just over two years ago, we endeavored on a three-year strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion. On page 6, you’ll read about an exhibition that resulted from the ongoing work—titled “A Conversation with George Washington,” that features a collection of portraits of Americans who have fought for inclusion and demanded access to the rights of citizenship. It is one of several recent initiatives designed to build inclusion and widen perspectives through active listening, reflection and action—all central to our mission of cultivating a community of engaged citizens.

As I look back on the past several months, I’m proud of the ways our community has worked to build mutual understanding and bridge the deep political and social divide.

We’ve sharpened our focus on important research with the launch of five new research centers and institutes just in the past three years that are addressing the most pressing issues of our time, such as threats to American democracy (see related story on page 8).

We’ve brought together a range of faculty from across disciplines to share diverse viewpoints in events that have drawn hundreds of students, alumni and other community members. The Center for Policy Research’s new “What’s at Stake?” series has offered insights on Supreme Court rulings on abortion rights and U.S. climate goals. Chris Faricy, our inaugural Hicker Family Professor in Renewing Democratic Community, organized a series of events aimed at fostering mutual understanding on issues like disability rights, gender and race; his first guest was Syracuse University Men’s Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim ’66 B.A. (Hist)/’73 M.S.Sc. for a discussion on “Basketball, Leadership and Citizenship.” And, in October, we welcomed Congresswoman Liz Cheney for a discussion about her courageous actions in defense of American democracy.

As I said in my introductory remarks during Congresswoman Cheney’s talk: We live in a polarized environment, in which understanding is no longer a North Star by which we seek to engage one another in respectful ways. On the pages that follow, you will read about the many ways we’re combatting this retreat from ideas that disagree with our own and convening conversations aimed at creating space for discussion and understanding.

I can’t help but think back to that 1937 photo in the Maxwell foyer. The Athenian Oath inscribed on the wall behind the Washington statue is a timeless reflection of our enduring mission: “We will transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.”

Sincerely,

David M. Van Slyke Dean, Maxwell School

Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy

Celebrating Policy Studies and Its Chief ‘Do Gooder’

Colleagues and alumni came together to mark the 45th anniversary of the undergraduate program and its founder, Professor Bill Coplin.

Bill Coplin long ago established a routine of taking his introductory policy studies class to the Maxwell School’s first-floor foyer at the end of the semester. There, he has them recite the Oath of the Athenian City-State that’s engraved on the wall behind the iconic statue of first president George Washington.

The oath’s ending promise, to “transmit this city…more beautiful than it was transmitted to us,” mirrors the often repeated and simple message Coplin has imparted to his students since he joined the faculty in 1969: “Do good.”

Dozens of his former students, who refer to themselves as “do gooders,” joined faculty and staff in the Maxwell School auditorium to celebrate Coplin and the 45th anniversary of the Policy Studies Undergraduate Program he founded.

The event was part of Syracuse University’s annual Orange Central alumni weekend festivities. Those who attended paid homage to Coplin while affectionately recounting his well-known and often repeated sayings about making the world a better place. The event included a short video presentation that included a snippet from Coplin’s appearance on “Larry King Live” in 2009. The late talk show host asked him if “do gooders” are motivated by ego. Coplin replied: “Your motives don’t have to be pure, you can enjoy it. …You don’t have to be Mother Theresa.”

The TV show segment also showed Coplin’s car at the time, with a close up of his vanity license plate, “DO GOOD,” that is now framed in his office on the second floor of Eggers Hall.

Coplin, professor of policy studies and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, launched the undergraduate policy studies major in 1977 with the goal of incorporating public service into the curriculum.

The Policy Studies Undergraduate Program is now part of the Public Administration and International Affairs (PAIA) Department with Peter Wilcoxen, professor in PAIA and Ajello Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, as its new director. Coplin will continue to teach and mentor students in the program.

“He shares the same visions and that’s very fortunate,” Coplin said of Wilcoxen. “I’m very happy.”

After a pause, he added that he appreciates, too, that Wilcoxen let him have the bigger office.

The gentle ribbing was evident at the event, where Wilcoxen shared how he first met Coplin 15 years ago, while advising undergraduates majoring in economics. “I quickly realized that many of my econ students also were

double majoring in policy studies,” he told the audience. “They were great students: smart, hardworking and engaged. And they were super excited about policy studies.”

Added Wilcoxen, “At the same time, I also learned that the person who ran policy studies was a little unusual. I found that out when students would send me emails that started out ‘Dear Wilcoxen.’ Dear Wilcoxen? Really? The last time someone yelled ‘Hey Wilcoxen’ at me it was a coach in eighth grade PE class. I had to take the students aside and tell them about professional email etiquette.”

Wilcoxen quickly learned that Coplin had directed his own students not to call him professor or doctor Coplin—he hates pretension. He preferred to simply be called “Coplin.”

Those who spoke at the event also included Colleen Heflin, chair and professor of PAIA. She shared how the addition of policy studies creates synergy with the PAIA faculty and with graduate professional degree programs. “As we have prepared for this transition over the past nine months, Bill and I have met regularly, and it has been a joy to discover that we share a very similar philosophy of education,” she said.

Coplin has been recognized with myriad teaching honors, including the Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence and the Chancellor’s Citation for Distinguished Service, and, at the 2020 One University Awards, he was celebrated for 50 years of service to the University.

His chief accomplishment, however, is the policy studies major. “Bill and the program have received national attention,” said Wilcoxen, “and are adored by thousands of devoted students and alumni.”

What has always been clear, added Wilcoxen, is that Coplin “believes deeply in his students.”

“He has their backs, and they know it,” he said.

—Jessica Youngman

Bill Coplin, professor of policy studies and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, is shown at the event celebrating the Policy Studies Program he launched in 1977. Seated next to the podium are Colleen Heflin, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs, and Maxwell School Dean David M. Van Slyke.

Basketball Legend’s Gift Turns ‘Frustration to Hope’

George Hicker ’68 and his wife, Kathy, have created the Hicker Family Professorship in Renewing Democratic Community.

Chris Faricy, left, and Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73 shared the stage on Friday, Sept. 9, for a conversation-style event titled “Renewing Democratic Community: Basketball, Leadership and Citizenship.” Faricy is associate professor of political science and the inaugural Hicker Family Professor in Renewing Democratic Community, while Boeheim is the head coach of the Syracuse University men’s basketball team.

BY JESSICA YOUNGMAN

On the first day of his Introduction to American Politics class, Chris Faricy imparts a message to his students that will serve as a guide for the semester.

“We will not speculate on how American government should work or evaluate whether what the government does is good or bad,” he tells them. “Instead, we will investigate what the government is and how it works.”

Faricy, associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School, takes a similar approach in his own scholarly work: he examines how, when and for whom American democracy works. His forthcoming book will examine whether the creation of new social and economic benefits for citizens will revitalize public trust in the federal government and democracy.

For his teaching and subject area expertise, Faricy has been selected to hold a new professorship created in hopes of advancing civil discourse and mutual understanding in today’s polarized political climate. Syracuse University basketball legend George Hicker ’68 and his wife, Kathy, have created the Hicker Family Professorship in Renewing Democratic Community.

Combined with funds pledged by the University in support of the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program, the endowment totals $2 million. Launched in early 2022, the program strives to advance academic excellence by generating the resources needed to recruit and retain diverse and talented faculty in a highly competitive academic landscape.

“The generosity of George and Kathy Hicker will go far to advance our work at Maxwell,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “Their goals align with Professor Faricy’s work to bring evidence to promote dialogue and understanding. He is especially skilled at cultivating a learning environment in which students are engaged in understanding our political systems and the impacts of public policies on different communities and stakeholders.”

Faricy will hold the professorship for its inaugural term of five years. In addition to American politics, he researches social policy, income inequality, tax policy and public opinion on government spending. He authored Welfare for the Wealthy: Parties, Social Spending, and Inequality in the United States (Cambridge University

From left to right are men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim ’66, G’73, Associate Professor Chris Faricy, Kathy Hicker and her husband, George Hicker ’68, and Maxwell School Dean David M. Van Slyke. With a generous gift, the Hickers created the Hicker Family Professorship in Renewing Democratic Community in hopes of advancing civil discourse and mutual understanding in today’s polarized political climate.

“The Hickers’ gift supports our work to examine how American democracy can better function during an era of increasing diversity, social stratification and political polarization.”

CHRIS FARICY

Press, 2015) and co-wrote The Other Side of the Coin: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditures (Russell Sage Foundation, 2021).

“The Hickers’ gift supports our work to examine how American democracy can better function during an era of increasing diversity, social stratification and political polarization,” says Faricy.

Hicker, who received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences, is president of the Los Angeles-based Cardinal Industrial Real Estate. He played for the Orange in 1966 when the team averaged 99.9 points per game and advanced to the NCAA’s Elite Eight regionals in Raleigh, North Carolina. Hicker remembers his elation turned to disappointment when he and teammates arrived at the hotel.

The check-in clerk told Coach Fred Lewis that the team’s four Black players had to stay at a different hotel. “I’ll never forget his words—he said, ‘Tell them to keep our plane warm, then, because we’re not playing,’” recalls Hicker.

Lewis’ words forced the hotel to reconsider, and the team got to stay together.

Hicker has reflected on the hotel scene throughout his life, especially amid the social reckoning of recent years. “More than 50 years have passed since that hotel incident and yet we as a nation are still plagued by racism and intolerance,” says Hicker. “It is not where I’d hoped our country would be—it is deeply unsettling, especially combined with what seems like weekly mass shootings and a deep political divide.”

Hicker says funding the professorship is an investment in the future. “It turns some of our frustration to hope,” he says.

MORE ONLINE: Visit maxwell.syr.edu/hicker-professorship to read more about the Hicker Family Professorship in Renewing

Coach Boeheim: 'You

have to do what your heart tells you to do'

In December 2012, the Syracuse University men’s basketball team narrowly defeated the University of Detroit in front of almost 18,000 cheering fans in the Dome. It was the 900th win for head coach Jim Boeheim—but he didn’t feel celebratory.

Just a few days earlier, a 20-year-old gunman walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and took the lives of 26 people, including 20 children.

Boeheim ’66 B.A. (Hist)/’73 M.S.Sc. reflected on his feelings in the shooting’s aftermath before a packed Maxwell School auditorium in early September. He shared the stage with Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science and inaugural Hicker Family Professor in Renewing Democratic Community.

Faricy told the audience of mostly students that Boeheim wrote about the shooting in his 2015 memoir, Bleeding Orange. He then asked the coach, “As someone who isn’t just a basketball coach but a leader in the University and a leader in the community, when do you decide to wade into political issues and when do you decide to take a pass?”

“You know, you just do what your heart tells you to do,” replied Boeheim. “I felt it that night, and I still feel that way. …We have more gun violence deaths than all the other countries in the world put together and that’s not changing until the politics change. I am realistic about that.”

The event, titled “Renewing Democratic Community: Basketball, Leadership and Citizenship” was the first to be offered in the Hicker Family Professor Speaker Series that celebrates the creation of the professorship with a generous gift from Boeheim’s former Orange teammate, George Hicker ’68 B.A. (PSc), and his wife, Kathy. Read more at maxwell.syr.edu/jim-boeheimhicker and for more on upcoming events, visit maxwell.syr.edu/events.

George Washington Finds Company

A new exhibit featuring portraits from artist Robert Shetterly’s ‘Americans Who Tell the Truth’ collection focuses on citizenship.

BY JESSICA YOUNGMAN

At the start of the fall semester, members of the Maxwell School community were greeted by new figures joining the statue of George Washington that has served as the focal point of the school’s north entrance since the building was completed in 1937.

Framed prints of iconic changemakers like Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, alongside lesser-known advocates for social justice and other “Americans Who Tell the Truth” from the collection of artist Robert Shetterly flank the first president’s stately figure.

“Over the past two centuries, we have witnessed individuals— including those depicted in the portraits—struggle for inclusion and demand access to the rights that come with citizenship.”

—GLADYS MCCORMICK

Portraits of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and suffragist Susan B. Anthony are positioned next to George Washington in the new installation in the Maxwell School foyer.

The new exhibition, titled “A Conversation with George Washington,” is part of an ongoing, wide-ranging effort to foster inclusion and elicit conversations over a central theme of importance to the Maxwell community: citizenship. One of several initiatives to make Maxwell’s building space more representative of its diverse community, the project was born from extensive conversations with students, alumni, faculty and staff during the past

two years. During that time, Maxwell leadership has developed a strategic plan for ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion are integrated into all aspects of the school’s mission and operations.

“Through this exhibition, we hope to encourage our community to think critically about how we can dialogue from a place of respect and active listening over thorny and complicated issues,” says Gladys McCormick, asso-

ciate professor of history and associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion. “To have difficult conversations and acknowledge the shades of grey is inherent in our work as social scientists, teachers, researchers and students.”

McCormick, also the Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, says she is heartened by feedback from colleagues and students who’ve shared how they’ve had discussions about how citizenship has evolved since Washington and others drafted the Constitution in 1787. “Over the past two centuries, we have witnessed individuals—including those depicted in the portraits—struggle for inclusion and demand access to the rights that come with citizenship,” she adds.

McCormick collaborated with a team of colleagues including Laura Walsh, academic operations coordinator, to select the 10 portraits displayed. The display includes Grace Lee Boggs, a community activist who in 1992 founded Detroit Summer, a community movement bringing together people of all races, cultures and ages to rebuild Detroit—a city Boggs has described as “a symbol of the end of industrial society.”

Other projects underway to promote inclusivity in Maxwell and Eggers halls include an installation called “Voices of Maxwell.” It recently went up in the entryway to Eggers Hall from the Lincoln courtyard and features a rotating display of quotes by Maxwell community members who have made significant contributions to the school throughout its history.

“These physical changes are part of a wider effort to signal our commitment to ensuring all members of our community feel represented,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “They make diversity, equity and inclusion part of our collective everyday lived experience in Maxwell.”

Americans Who Tell the Truth

Artist Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” collection has traveled the country since 2003, and has been displayed in university museums, grade school libraries, sandwich shops, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, and the Superior Court in San Francisco.

All told, the collection includes over 260 portraits, painted over the past two decades. Historic icons like Helen Keller and Rosa Parks are joined by contemporary changemakers such as author and climate activist Naomi Klein and civil rights lawyer Van Jones. Shetterly has shared through the years how the portraits have given him an opportunity to speak about the necessity of dissent in a democracy, the obligations of citizenship, sustainability, history and how democracy cannot function if politicians don’t tell the truth, if the media don’t report it and if the people don’t demand it.

The 10 portraits displayed in the foyer include, left, author and activist Grace Lee Boggs, and right, Latino community organizer Gladys Vega.

Another installation, “Voices of Maxwell,” features a rotating display of quotes by community members who have made contributions to the school throughout its history.

O. KNIGHT

Marguerite Fisher, the first woman to be promoted to full professor at the Maxwell School, is among those featured in a new display, “Voices of Maxwell.”

The Cost of Defending What’s ‘Constitutionally Indefensible’

During a visit hosted by the Maxwell School, Congressswoman Liz Cheney talked about the political divide, citizenship and more.

BY JESSICA YOUNGMAN

As the House of Representatives prepared to reconvene on the evening of Jan. 6, 2021, Congresswoman Liz Cheney walked through the Capitol to assess the aftermath of the insurrection.

In an area known as Statuary Hall, she found members of the National Guard intermingled with officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local SWAT team members. She said they leaned against statues representing every state, “exhausted because they had spent the day engaged in hand-to-hand combat with our fellow citizens and because they had spent the day defending our Capitol building and our democratic process of counting electoral votes.”

“I walked around Statuary Hall, and I thanked them for what they had done,” recalled Cheney, “but there were

not words to express the emotion of the fact that they had to engage in that battle.”

Cheney described the scene to hundreds of students, alumni and other members of the Syracuse University community during an event in early October, titled “Courage in Defense of Democracy.” Held in the University’s Goldstein Auditorium, it was hosted by the Maxwell School and had Cheney sharing the stage with Provost and Vice Chancellor Gretchen Ritter for an interview-style conversation. Ritter is a leading expert in the history of women’s constitutional rights and contemporary issues concerning democracy and citizenship in American politics.

In his introductory remarks, Dean David M. Van Slyke pointed out that the school is the only academic institution in the country with “citizenship” in its title and mission.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney is shown with, from left to right, Dean David M. Van Slyke, University Professor Sean O’Keefe, Syracuse University Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter and Mike Haynie, vice chancellor of strategic initiatives and innovation.

“Our reverence for others, intellectual humility, modeling dignity and embracing diversity make us a school that cares deeply about ideas, evidence and working across all levels of government and all sectors of our economy to make a positive difference for the public good,” said Van Slyke, who is also the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy. “As such, we are committed to fostering civil dialogue and meaningful exchanges in an increasingly polarized society.”

Sean O’Keefe, University Professor, took the stage after the dean and spoke of the iconic statue of Abraham Lincoln that serves as a “sentinel” in the Maxwell courtyard. “During our nation’s nearly 250 years engaged in this great experiment of democracy, Lincoln presided during an extraordinary threat to the continuation of our unique form of citizenship governance,” he said before sharing a quote from the president in 1861, before the start of the Civil War. “It is within that context that this is a particularly unique occasion for us to welcome a remarkable public servant who has literally lived up to the oath of office to preserve these principles.”

Cheney is vice chairwoman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. She recently lost her bid for re-election in the Wyoming primary to a Republican candidate backed by former President Trump.

Ritter asked Cheney if “we should be surprised” that she was stripped of her leadership position after taking the unpopular stand in the GOP of supporting Trump’s impeachment and serving on the select committee. “Many people thought you were a likely next speaker of the House and then it all changed,” said Ritter.

Cheney said she continues to find it inexplicable that so many in the GOP continue to defend the former president. “What is so important is for people to understand and recognize that there’s a real cost to the Republic of defending behavior that’s simply constitutionally indefensible,” she said. “And the cost of it is a constant chipping away at the foundations of the country.”

In a moment of levity, Ritter asked Cheney how painful it is to now have liberal Democrats in her fan club. “I’m not choosy these days,” said the congresswoman, eliciting laughter from the audience.

The conversation later turned to a salient topic, given the venue: the role universities play in encouraging civil discourse and a com-

mitment to citizenship. “One of the things we don’t do very well in this country anymore is teach American history and teach the duties of citizenship, and I say that as the mother of five—someone who’s watched my kids in different schools go through social studies classes and learn about America’s role in the world,” said Cheney, adding, that’s “one of the reasons why places like the Maxwell School are so important.”

In another light moment, Ritter quipped, “You’ve just made the Maxwell dean very happy.”

Ritter and Cheney discussed the role of social media and mainstream media in polarization. Cheney issued a condemnation of Fox News, specifically for reports she said seem to defend Russia in its siege against Ukraine. And she criticized social media outlets for using algorithms to drive subscribers to radicalized content.

“I think all of us have to step back,” she said, admitting her own past partisanship. “We saw on Jan. 6 that words matter. We have to recognize that in the world in which we’re living today, political violence increasingly is becoming part of our politics, and it cannot be that way.”

Other topics covered during the roughly 90-minute conversation included climate change and same-sex marriage. Ritter asked Cheney about her changed stance on the latter. Her opposition a decade ago caused a public rift in her own family—her sister, Mary, is gay and married with children.

“Obviously, this is an issue that touches my own family,” she said. “I believe that freedom means freedom for everybody. I believe that we have to protect the rights for people to marry who they love.”

As the event wrapped up, Cheney brought up another member of her family: She shared that one of her sons is taking a forensics class in which he has been tasked with memorizing a speech. His pick: Democrat Al Gore’s 2000 presidential election concession speech, given after the Supreme Court ruled against his protest, effectively making George W. Bush the nation’s 43rd president.

Gore spoke of how Sen. Stephen Douglas conceded to Lincoln upon his defeat, telling him, “Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism.” Of his own situation, Gore said, “Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision, I accept it.”

“What is so important is for people to understand and recognize that there’s a real cost to the Republic of defending behavior that’s simply constitutionally indefensible.”

—LIZ CHENEY

“I’m sure it was a very a painful speech for him to give,” said Cheney.

The anecdote echoed Cheney’s earlier description of her walk through the Capitol on the evening of Jan. 6. In addition to taking note of the exhausted police officers and security guards, she paused to survey a familiar painting in the Rotunda that depicts when first president George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. The action was a significant moment in establishing a longstanding tradition of the peaceful transition of power, honored by every president except for one.

“I think that the vast majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle believe in those honored institutions of our democracy,” said Cheney to much applause. “We will get through this period, and we will elect people who are going to protect us.”

New Center Seeks to Address Governance Challenges

Anew Maxwell School research center integrates policy, political and computational sciences to help scientists and practitioners better understand and address critical governance challenges.

The Center for Policy Design and Governance is a hub for scholars, policymakers and students to examine the design and impact of policies that address community needs or solve public problems.

Researchers, for instance, can explore state laws adopted to address issues like climate change. In addition to providing analysis, they can share best practices for the creation and application of policies, including how government entities engage NGOs and citizens in problem solving and policy formulation and implementation. Individuals, municipalities and other entities can engage with the center through its outward facing Policy Design Studio. It offers workshops, individualized training programs and consulting services—especially beneficial to current and aspiring policymakers, says the center’s founding director, Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy.

“I’m excited to bring these new opportunities to study policy design and governance to the Maxwell School and Syracuse University,” says Siddiki, who also directs the Maxwell School’s M.P.A. program.

The new center, situated in Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research, supports Siddiki’s work with two affiliated research initiatives also under her leadership—the new Computational Institutional Science Lab, which is focused on developing and applying computational methods to study how societies are governed, and the Institutional Grammar Research Initiative, an international consortium of scholars who are funded by the National Science Foundation and work to define the commonalities, or “grammar,” of policies and social norms.

The center also serves as the institutional home for the Policy Studies Journal, partnering with the publication’s editorial team to co-sponsor research activities and events and to support student engagement.

the code to learn about workshops and customized training for policymakers.

USDA Funding Promotes Climate-Smart Commodities

J ay Golden, Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance and director of the Dynamic Sustainability Lab, is a principal investigator for a $60 million, multi-university project, supported by a new grant from the USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities. The project aims to increase supply and demand for climate-smart commodities produced and manufactured in New York state and is being led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Agriculture and Markets.

A climate-smart commodity is an agricultural commodity that is produced using farming, ranching or forestry practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. As project partner, Syracuse will lead one of the four primary focus areas. Over the next five years, University researchers will develop and expand existing markets and develop new markets for climate-smart commodities produced in New York state—benefiting the environment, farmers and manufacturing sectors alike.

“Both governments and industry around the world are rapidly committing to a net-zero carbon economy, and in order to meet these grand challenges, the industries of today will need to find low carbon and green-tech alternatives for which biobased feedstocks and products will play a critical role,” says Golden.

The interdisciplinary team from Syracuse, working in collaboration with Cornell University, SUNY-ESF, New York State agencies and addi-

tional public and private partners, includes faculty and student researchers from the Maxwell School, the School of Information Studies, the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Whitman School of Management. In addition, the team will work in partnership with Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad to develop a pipeline of new green tech and climate-smart innovators with a focus on developing new climate-smart businesses in underserved communities.

In addition to Golden, several faculty members from Syracuse University are participating as investigators, including Maxwell’s Carmen Carrión-Flores, who is a research assistant professor in the Economics Department as well as a senior research associate for the Center for Policy Research, and Peter Wilcoxen, Ajello Professor in Energy and Environmental Policy and professor of public administration and international affairs.

“Our Syracuse team will be at the global forefront of this effort by providing public and private decision makers the ability to track and verify low and zero carbon feedstocks through the value chain; to develop important incentives and policies to support market demand; and to model the environmental, climate and economic/jobs benefit to New York and America,” says Golden.

Saba Siddiki

Jay Golden

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In Search of Common Ground

The Maxwell and Newhouse schools have partnered to launch the Syracuse University Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute in Washington, D.C.

BY WENDY S. LOUGHLIN

Americans on opposite sides of the political divide may not agree on anything other than the divide itself. And what may have at one time felt like a crack now feels like a chasm.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center this past summer, 72 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Democrats consider members of the other party to be more dishonest than Americans generally. Six years ago, the numbers were 42 and 45 percent, respectively.

The erosion of civil discourse, democratic engagement and trust in government and journalism, alongside the proliferation of misinformation, threatens our democracy and the institutions on which it relies.

Syracuse University can and should play a role in navigating the country through this perilous time in its history. That’s part of the vision behind the new Syracuse University Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute, a joint effort of the Maxwell School of Citizenship

and Public Affairs and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Based in Washington, D.C., the institute will promote nonpartisan, evidence-based research and dialogue in the public interest and support the work of faculty and students in the nerve center of American democracy.

“At this point in the history of democracy, it is critical that our nation’s research universities lead dialogues that bring people together. We are educating the next generation of engaged citizens and producing knowledge that enables individuals, a free press and government institutions to work together in the public interest,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter.

“As a scholar and educator who has focused on the U.S. Constitution, I firmly believe that opportunities to study and work in our nation’s capital provide an essential experience that shapes faculty engagement with key issues and students’ views of their purpose and career path.”

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AT THE FOREFRONT

A bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln sits in the Maxwell School courtyard, in a contemplative posture steeped in melancholy, suggesting the heavy burden of a divided nation.

“It makes an indelible impression on all who enter Maxwell aspiring to a life of service and impact in the public interest, and it serves as a timely reminder of the imperative for civically engaged citizens to work together for justice and equity,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “It embodies the mission and ethos that drives the research and teaching at Maxwell.”

The statue gazes down the hill toward the Newhouse School, which sits at an entryway to Syracuse University, with the words of the First Amendment emblazoned on its exterior. The school, which began as the Department of Journalism in 1919, has always been both a champion and a defender of journalism.

“With the combined strength of the Newhouse and Maxwell schools, this institute will provide paths to repair what is broken while giving our students a valuable experience in the process.”

—MARK J. LODATO

“As a school that trains generations of future journalists, Newhouse is compelled to be at the forefront of these issues,” says Newhouse Dean Mark J. Lodato. “We are obligated to tackle the challenges facing communications and journalism. Frankly, I think we would be remiss to sit idly by as our country struggles with this loss of civil discourse and distrust in journalism. With the combined strength of the Newhouse and Maxwell schools, this institute will provide paths to repair what is broken while giving our students a valuable experience in the process.”

Indeed, due to the excellence of both the Newhouse and Maxwell schools, important scholarship in the areas of journalism and democracy is a hallmark of the University. Events like Newhouse’s Social Media and Democracy colloquium and Maxwell’s State of Democracy Lecture Series provide forums for the exploration of these issues.

Publications like Democracy in the Disinformation Age, co-authored by Jon Glass and Regina Luttrell from Newhouse with Lu Xiao from the School of Information Studies, examine social media’s impact on American politics. Luttrell and co-investigator Jason Davis are now working on a theoretical framework for the creation and testing of AI algorithms that can identify manipulated media.

Posing in front of the Capitol, from left to right, are Gretchen Coleman ’22 B.A. (PPhil/PSc), junior political science major Gina Tette and senior international relations major Addie Cosgrove. They completed internships while taking Maxwell classes at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Student opportunities in the nation’s capital expand with the addition of the Syracuse University Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute.

At Maxwell, Shana Kushner Gadarian, professor and chair of political science and Merle Goldberg Fabian Professor of Excellence in Citizenship and Critical Thinking, received a prestigious Carnegie Fellowship in 2021 for her work on the impact of partisanship on attitudes and health behaviors related to COVID-19. In her political science courses, Gadarian strives to help her students understand democratic citizenship as the responsibility to stay informed and participate in civil life.

Associate Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Catherine Herrold, named a Fulbright Scholar earlier this year, leaves for Serbia in the spring semester to study how the work of volunteers in local philanthropic entities leads to social change and to advance civic dialogue and engagement.

AN EXPANDED PRESENCE

Syracuse University already has a strong presence in the Washington area—it is home to tens of thousands of alumni, donors and others with strong connections. Hundreds of students, including those in the joint Newhouse-Maxwell public diplomacy and global communications master’s degree program, study and intern there every year.

Maxwell maintains offices and year-round classroom space at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where the school hosts undergraduate students for a semester of courses and internships in the nation’s capital and offers an executive M.A. in international relations in partnership with the think tank—the only program of its kind in the U.S.

David M. Van Slyke

Mark J. Lodato

“The legacy of Maxwell and Newhouse alumni across a range of media who are making an impact on the national and international stage is a testament to the natural synergies between our two schools and the commitment that a firm grounding in citizenship, public affairs, critical thinking and the ability to contextualize complex assignments is vital to any type of reporting and analysis.”

—DAVID M. VAN SLYKE

Graduate students in Newhouse’s broadcast and digital journalism program spend a summer reporting from the capital for local news outlets. This fall, a new Newhouse D.C. semester program sent undergraduates to Washington as well.

The Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute will expand and formalize this robust presence, helping to advance thought leadership and the student experience. The institute aims to strengthen trust in journalism and democracy to reduce political polarization and promote civil discourse and engaged citizenship. It will be characterized by five pillars:

s SCHOLARLY RESEARCH: Faculty and students will conduct nonpartisan, evidence-based research that informs dialogue and shapes decision making around networks and institutions, parties, voting, speech, journalism, truth and fact.

s APPLIED RESEARCH: Applied research projects as well as briefs and white papers will be distributed broadly through university, commercial and nonprofit channels, to better inform political leaders and citizens of challenges and possible solutions. A broad range of diverse perspectives will be included, and opportunities for collaboration with organizations whose missions align with the institute’s will be explored.

s FACILITATION AND CONVENING: To place Syracuse University in a public-facing thought leadership position, regular forums—such as symposia, conferences, speaker series and media programming—will be developed. These events will promote exchange, discussion and understanding of research conducted at the institute and its real-world applications. The institute will also leverage other Syracuse University intellectual assets, such as the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the Burton Blatt Institute and the College of Law.

s EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: This important component of the institute will provide students with crucial hands-on experiences in Washington. Newhouse students, under faculty direction, will participate in collaborative, project-based work with some of the nation’s premier news providers, while others will intern with media outlets and agencies. Maxwell students, who already intern with more than 100 D.C.-based organizations each year, will have new opportunities for engagement with organizations whose missions are at the intersection of journalism and democracy.

s TEACHING AND INSTRUCTION: Students from the Newhouse and Maxwell schools studying and interning in Washington will engage with the institute’s scholars, including full-time faculty and adjuncts.

“This new institute is a natural extension of work already going on throughout the University on issues and research areas of national and international impact,” Van Slyke says. “As a nationally ranked R1 research university, Syracuse University and its faculty will benefit enormously from a collaborative hub in our nation’s capital.”

This fall, the Newhouse School announced the hiring of Margaret Talev as the Kramer Director of the Syracuse University Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute. Talev will join the University in January, following a 30-year career covering American politics and the White House, most recently as the managing editor for politics at Axios and a CNN political analyst.

The institute’s leadership team will also include Beverly Kirk, who was appointed director of Newhouse’s Washington programs in August, and two new faculty members—one based in Syracuse and the other in Washington—who will be associated with the institute and also be part of the University’s Citizenship and Democratic Institutions research cluster. Other institute faculty will include a research director from the Maxwell School.

In fall 2023, the institute will host the inaugural Symposium on Advancing Civil Discourse. In addition, a faculty fellows program, bringing in postdoctoral and

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visiting researchers, will be launched, and funding for faculty research via seed grants will begin. Specific research and programs will focus on areas such as ethics, civil discourse and diversification of the journalism workforce.

MOVING FORWARD

The launch of the institute has been made possible, in part, by the generosity of two alumni: Cathy L. Daicoff ’79 M.P.A. and Larry Kramer ’72 B.A. (PSc).

Daicoff, a longtime member and vice chair of the Maxwell School Advisory Board who retired as a managing director at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, has established the Marguerite Fisher Faculty Research Fund with a gift and endowment totaling $1.2 million. Named for the first woman to have been promoted to full professor at Maxwell, the fund will support faculty engagement with the institute as well as faculty and student research.

“We take great leaps forward with the partnership of these two schools at a time when the nation needs it,” says Daicoff. “The Maxwell School and Newhouse are well-positioned to lead research and advance discourse about citizenship, the constitution and the media.”

Kramer, former president and publisher of USA Today, is supporting the institute director position held by Margaret Talev with a $1 million endowment. He says the significance of establishing the institute is clear.

“This country must restore the ability of people with differing opinions to respectfully debate these important issues. We must revive respect for truth and trust,” says Kramer, who also majored in magazine journalism in the Newhouse School and serves on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees and the Newhouse Advisory Board.

Syracuse University is the right institution to lead this charge, Kramer says. “The combination of two powerhouse schools—Newhouse and Maxwell—puts us in a

Institute Tackles a ‘Daunting Problem’

As a Los Angeles Times political writer, Seema Mehta ’98 B.A.

(PSt) used to hear grumbling about the press at campaign events, but voters still understood she had a job to do.

“They would say, ‘Oh, the media’s so biased, but I’m not talking about you, honey,’” she laughs. “There was more of a back-and-forth, and I feel that is not as true anymore. We want to represent all voters’ viewpoints, and if a segment of the electorate won’t talk to you, that makes it really challenging.”

Distrust in the media, fueled by disinformation and partisan outlets, is among the reasons Syracuse University is opening the Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship Institute in D.C.

Journalists like Mehta counter distrust by doubling down on the basics of the craft: checking facts, evaluating sources and questioning assumptions.

“We’re trying to be as accurate as possible and as fair as possible,” agrees CBS Saturday Morning co-host Jeff Glor ’97 B.A. (Econ). “There is division, for sure, but I do think that just talking to people can help bridge some of those gaps.”

Mehta engages some readers who challenge her facts, for example, sending them links to documents. “Sometimes it works, but not often. That’s the reason the institute is coming to fruition. It’s such a daunting problem,” she adds.

Daunting, but perhaps not new.

“This is a country that had a Civil War, that went through the Civil Rights struggle,” says Michael Kranish ’79 B.A. (PSc).

Like Mehta, Glor and hundreds of other working journalists, Kranish dual majored at Newhouse. He has covered D.C. for three decades, first for The Boston Globe and more recently as a national political investigative reporter for The Washington Post. Ten years ago, he chronicled Capitol infighting that doomed an international treaty in support of accommodations for the disabled as part of a Boston Globe series. “Today’s divisions are different than they were before, but you could argue that they

build upon things that were unresolved in the previous fights of many decades ago.”

The challenge today may be more a matter of pace and volume.

“We’re just dealing with more information than we’ve ever dealt with, and I think it’s how we make sense of it that is really important,” says Ghael Fobes ’22, who earned a Newhouse degree in broadcast and digital journalism with a minor in political science from Maxwell. He’s now a researcher with NBC’s White House unit.

To that end, Mehta says the institute could promote media literacy, helping voters understand, for example, the difference between a news article and an opinion piece.

Los Angeles Times political writer Seema Mehta ’98 B.A. (PSt) is shown at the 2016 Republican National Convention. She has covered every presidential campaign since 2008, as well as several gubernatorial, senate, congressional and mayoral races.

It is also crucial to reinforce with the public the function of a free press in a democracy, Kranish says, adding, “The role the press plays in shining a light on what’s gone wrong, what could be done to make things right, that is absolutely vital.”

The design of the Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship

Cathy L. Daicoff

“This country must restore the ability of people with differing opinions to respectfully debate these important issues. We must revive respect for truth and trust.”

LARRY KRAMER

perfect position to launch this new institute and to host the debate over the biggest problems our democracy is facing today. Trust in our governing institutions, our political system and the media is at an all-time low. By raising the level of respectful debate and discussion, we will seek to find constructive solutions to restoring that trust.”

Van Slyke agrees. “The legacy of Maxwell and Newhouse alumni across a range of media who are making an impact on the national and international stage is a testament to the natural synergies between our two schools and the commitment that a firm grounding in citizenship, public affairs, critical thinking and the ability to contextualize complex assignments is vital to any type of reporting and analysis,” he says.

Ultimately, the institute will create new knowledge, foster a more informed and engaged citizenry and better equip students for success in media, communications, policy, governance and citizenship. Says Lodato, “I’m proud to be a part of an institution that is prepared to tackle these challenges head-on.”

—Includes reporting by Lenore Friend

Institute as a collaboration between Maxwell and Newhouse offers up-and-coming journalists the broad perspectives these alumni developed while taking classes at both schools.

“There’s no question that the education that I got at Maxwell has played a huge role in the reporting I’ve been able to do and the work that I’ve done,” says Glor.

“Maxwell specifically has grounded me in a civic understanding. What does it look like when democracies are under strain?” adds Fobes. “The professors I had gave us a pretty clear-eyed outlook that we’re at a really perilous time, and it was important to have that context going into a professional career in journalism.”

That said, all four see plenty of opportunity for faculty, students and others who engage with the new institute to promote dialogue and understanding, ideally by helping tackle real-world local problems.

“Just because things may seem bleak at one moment, you can never stop trying. It’s the nature of our democracy that people have to come together,” Kranish says.

“Democracy is always going to have its challenges, but there’s a reason why this country has endured,” Glor adds.

Mehta cites a 2020 Trump fundraiser she covered where she witnessed a moment of promise between political opponents.

“There were two neighbors, and one had a Trump sign up, and one had a Biden sign up,” she says. “One of their signs was falling off, and the other went over to help them fix their sign. You can still be helpful and be neighbors if you have opposing views. I think sometimes we forget that.”

—Lenore Friend

Above: CBS Saturday Morning co-host Jeff Glor ’97 B.A. (Econ), right, is shown during a recent interview with author Lee Child, center.

Left: Michael Kranish ’79 B.A. (PSc)

Larry Kramer

CONNECTED IN THE CAPITAL

Washington, D.C., is home to a thriving academic program and the greatest concentration of Maxwell School alumni outside of New York.

When Maxwell Advisory Board member and former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala

arrived in Washington, D.C., in 1977 as the newly appointed assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she found an empty office.

To help get settled, Shalala called on a former Maxwell School classmate and friend, Astrid Merget ’68 M.P.A./’73 Ph.D. (SSc). Merget, who was teaching at Columbia University, placed a few phone calls.

“Astrid tracked down the Maxwell alumni at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and 40 people showed up,” recalls Shalala, who earned master’s and doctoral degrees in social science in 1970, followed by an honorary degree in 1987. “Within 24 hours, I had furniture, I had computer systems up and working. Maxwell alumni had delivered, and they delivered for me for all four years during my period at HUD.”

Shalala shared the anecdote before a crowd of fellow alumni, students and friends of Maxwell who gathered last April at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

(CSIS) in Washington, D.C., for the school’s inaugural Awards of Excellence celebration.

During her remarks, Shalala pointed out the greater Washington, D.C., area is home to roughly 4,000 Maxwell alumni—the largest concentration outside of New York state.

“This community within a community perfectly exemplifies the power of Maxwell School alums and our network—and no one knows that better than me,” she said.

Washington, D.C., is something of a natural epicenter for graduates of the Maxwell School—it is a draw, of course for politicians, policy analysts and policymakers, lobbyists, foreign services officers, and plenty of others in related fields. Alumni like Shalala have held positions at the highest levels of government: Maxwell alumni also include former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux ’03 Ph.D. (PA), among others.

Maxwell’s capital community also includes those who’ve put the school’s teachings to good use to launch successful nonprofit and private sector careers as consultants, analysts, journalists, entrepreneurs, community organizers and program managers.

And, the nation’s capital is home to the Mawell-in-Washington Program, which offers a range of opportunities for undergraduate

and graduate students, including intersession courses, semester-long internships and a signature executive master’s degree in international relations. Top faculty practitioners like former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe teach at Maxwell’s D.C. home, CSIS.

Back in Syracuse, students benefit from the synergy that comes from numerous faculty connections to the capital by way of scholarship and appointments at the highest levels of government.

One such appointment was announced this past October: Peter Wilcoxen, Ajello Professor in Energy and Environmental Policy and director of Maxwell’s Policy Studies Undergraduate Program, was named to the newly formed Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee tasked with providing information and analysis to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Last summer, a White House summit included Jamie Winders, professor of geography and the environment and associate provost for faculty affairs at Syracuse University, as a presenter on advanced air mobility technologies.

Sociology Professor Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Heath and director of the

Center for Policy Research, served as a panelist for a Congressional briefing on demographic trends in rural America.

Mary Lovely, professor emerita of economics, recently completed a nine-month appointment as the Library of Congress Chair in U.S.-China Relations at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress.

And, Maxwell’s own dean, David M. Slyke, is an appointed member of the Defense Business Board advising the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense.

“Maxwell faculty take their commitment to objective, evidence-based research very seriously, but equally so, they’re concerned with ensuring the findings are accessible and

relevant for shaping policy dialogue and decision making,” says Van Slyke. “Our students benefit from faculty that are not only teaching and researching on a range of important topics, but on their ability to contribute to the public impact that policy decisions have on communities and individuals.”

Shalala’s classmate and friend, Merget, died in 2014, but her legacy is continued in full-circle fashion, fueling the connection between Syracuse and Washington. O’Keefe established the Astrid Merget Fund that supports Merget Fellowships for Maxwell faculty to learn and teach in the school’s Washington programs. Next spring, Brian Taylor will serve as a Merget Fellow, teaching

GINA TETTE

A Maxwell-inWashington class poses in front of the Capitol this past spring. Shown, from left to right, in the back, are Justin Mitchell ’22 B.A. (Hist/IR) and John Nipper. In the middle row, from left to right, are Ghael Fobes ’22, Christian Andreoli, Max Goldberg, Evan Greenberg, Edward Yu ’22 B.S. (Econ)/ B.A. (IR), Gina Tette, Addie Cosgrove and their instructor James Keagle. Joah Burkhart and Emilien Laragé are shown in the front.

a course on post-Soviet Russian politics. Taylor, professor of political science and director of Maxwell’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, taught as a fellow in Washington, D.C., in 2019.

“I am excited about returning to CSIS and Washington, D.C., to teach our outstanding students,” he says. “The format is an ideal one for drawing on the expertise of the broader community of Russia and Eurasia experts in Washington, both in and outside government.”

What’s more, Taylor says, “These connections also help facilitate my own research and Moynihan Institute programming activities back in Syracuse.”

—Jessica Youngman

The diversity of academic programs and pursuits of Maxwell alumni in D.C. are as robust as their commitment to leave the world better than they found it. The stories that follow are of alumni and students who share in their passion for living and working in the heart of the nation.

CROSSING PATHS AND FINDING COMMUNITY

The Maxwell School’s strong presence in Washington, D.C., is such that it’s not uncommon for students, alumni and faculty to cross paths on the job—and on the street.

Hugo Brousset ’13 M.P.A. was looking forward to these types of chance encounters with his Maxwell friends when he relocated back to D.C. from his home country of Peru. But he never imagined that he’d one day be walking to his office at the World Bank, where he works as a social protection specialist, happen upon Dean David M. Van Slyke, and find himself a few hours later surrounded by close to 100 fellow alumni.

Van Slyke was in town for an alumni awards celebration and gathering. Brousset happily accepted the dean’s invitation to the annual event held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies—home to Maxwell’s D.C. programs.

A few months later, Brousset accepted another invitation: he returned to Syracuse to support Maxwell’s annual M.P.A. colloquium for incoming students. “It was nice on the personal side to have this opportunity to speak to this younger version of myself, when I was about to start the M.P.A.,” he says.

Born and raised in Peru, Brousset pursued his interest in social issues throughout his education and early career—from undergraduate

studies in anthropology, to a master’s degree in public policy, to four years working with a government-connected national organization on anti-poverty and early childhood development programs. By his mid-20s, ready to take his career to the next level, he resolved to broaden his perspective and experience beyond his native country.

“I wanted to get this international exposure,” he says. “The first step, the way I saw it, was an M.P.A. that had these kinds of international conversations about the topics I was interested in.”

Brousset was drawn to Maxwell for its scholars, unique research and experiential opportunities, and its top ranking. “Maxwell gave me an opportunity to test myself

and complement my background and training,” he says. “The program is also very focused on practical tools, like statistics or different approaches that can help you analyze policy. This, combined with more theoretical debates around governance, gives a broader perspective on development. It was definitely helpful for the type of work I wound up doing.”

Brousset started with a World Bank consultancy based in Washington, D.C., in 2014, and then returned to Peru for five years, serving as a social protection specialist for programs in Latin America and Rwanda. In 2021, he shifted to a position with the bank’s Partnership for Economic Inclusion team, again focusing on social protection but with a global scope. He now supervises a portfolio of country teams, many of which are working in Africa and Asia.

Brousset’s relocation to Washington was delayed due to the pandemic. But as of last summer, he’s been settling again into life in Washington, as well as resuming travel through his work on projects in Malawi and elsewhere.

And it is no surprise to Brousset that his colleagues at the World Bank include fellow Maxwell alumni.

—Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

DRAWN TO THE ENERGY

While finishing her Maxwell School M.P.A. in the spring of 2007, Teena Curry was given the opportunity to stay in Washington, D.C., to complete her capstone project.

She and a team of classmates spent six weeks in the capital, conducting an impact analysis for the nonprofit organization Emmaus Services for the Aging. “Despite it being May and hot and humid, it was then that I decided I wanted to live in D.C.,” she says.

“I loved the energy there.”

Curry now lives in D.C. and is a private enterprise officer for USAID, an organization whose charge is ending extreme global poverty and enabling “resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.” She says her Maxwell courses, paired with her humanitarian work with the Peace Corps in Madagascar after graduation, prepared her well for the public service role. “The courses I took at Maxwell helped develop skill sets for public service,” she says. “It was very relevant and useful. Maxwell made my journey to Washington, D.C., possible.”

Hugo Brousset ’13 M.P.A. is shown third from left with project staff and social workers he worked with during a trip to Guatemala in 2019.

GRATEFUL TO A MENTOR

In 2011, when Zuleika Rivera came to Syracuse from Puerto Rico for her undergraduate studies, she planned to pursue political science as a step toward the law career and social justice work she’d long envisioned, and she also hoped to learn more about the history of her native island. But she had no idea that it was possible to combine all these interests—until she connected with Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history; associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion; and Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations at Maxwell.

“I took a class on modern Latin American history with Professor McCormick, and I was in awe,” recalls Rivera. “I just fell in love with the region, and she became a mentor. When I was trying to figure out which law school I wanted to go to, she helped me find the ones that had human rights programs, for example. It was through her that I discovered there are careers in the human rights field.”

Rivera ’15 B.A. (PSc/PSt) also spent a semester in the Maxwell-in-Washington program, which, she recalls, “opened up a lot of doors in terms of learning the lay of the land in D.C. and what are the organizations working on the issues that most interest you.”

Inspired by her introduction to Washington and guided by McCormick’s advice, Rivera got her law degree at American University. She also did an internship in Peru where,

she says, she fell in love with a woman for the first time and came to identify as bisexual—an experience that stoked her interest in LGBTI issues. All these facets of her professional and personal background came together in her current work as senior LGBTI program officer for the D.C.-based International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, a position that involves frequent travel throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

“We have a very particular focus on combatting discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression,” she says. “We do litigate cases, but we’re also a capacity-building organization, so we do a lot of training for small organizations on how international protection mechanisms work.”

Rivera continues to stay connected with fellow alumni in Washington, and she regularly shares her own perspective with McCormick’s current students who are aiming to work in the human rights field.

Reflecting on her career path, Rivera says she feels strongly that she’s in the ideal location for pursuing her passions. “If you’re doing political science, human rights law and LGBTI rights as well, D.C. is the place to be,” she says.

“It’s a very cosmopolitan, international city. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”

—Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

INTERNSHIP IN AN ‘AMAZING CITY’

While working as an intern with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, political science major Gina Tette assisted in research for the criminal case against Guy Wesley Reffitt, the first defendant to be tried for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tette transcribed recordings of Reffitt that were made by his son and used as evidence in the case. “It definitely made me want to go into prosecution,” says Tette, who is in her junior year of undergraduate studies at the Maxwell School. “I was seeing my work reflected in indictments. It was big stuff.”

This and other unique experiential opportunities afforded through the Maxwell-in-Washington program not only solidified Tette’s interest in pursuing a legal career but also brought into focus her aspiration to return to Washington, D.C., for a career in government.

“Washington is an amazing city. I’d love to work for the U.S. Attorney’s Office or really any unit in the Department of Justice,” she says. “This program is one of the most important experiences I’ve had and one of the most formative overall in helping me decide what I want to do in my career.”

about her Maxwell experience.

Zuleika Rivera ’15 B.A. (PSc/PSt), right, with Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations, at the Maxwell School’s inaugural Awards of Excellence event in Washington, D.C., this past April.

PUTTING CURRENT EVENTS INTO CONTEXT

While finishing her bachelor’s degree in history, Amy McKeever researched Pulitzer and Nobel prize-winning writer Saul Bellow and the New York intellectual community for her capstone thesis.

The assignment “was my first real exposure to an intense research project and helped me understand how to dig for historical documents and other primary sources,” says McKeever ’06. It provided a taste of what would become her career: McKeever is a fulltime senior writer and editor for National Geographic.

The job is based in Washington, D.C., and brought McKeever full circle. The daughter of D.C.-based foreign service officers, she attended high school in the nearby suburbs of northern Virginia. “I never really wanted to come back to this area,” she admits. Now, she can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Just before joining National Geographic full time in 2020, McKeever wrote a piece for Conde Nast Traveler titled “14 Best Things to do in Washington, D.C.,” in which she directs readers to “Forget whatever it is you think you know about what there is to do in Washington, D.C.”

“Yes, America’s capital city is brimming with memorials, museums and watering holes for the high-powered,” she continues. “But

there’s much more than politics driving the energy here. Residents will tell you it’s supremely livable, full of leafy, trail-filled parks, hip food markets and breweries, stateof-the-art rock venues, and tiny jazz clubs— to say nothing of the booming dining scene of recent years. There are stellar options on and off the beaten path when you’re in town, and really, something for everyone. “

At National Geographic, McKeever has worked across all content areas, including science, environment, animals, history and travel.

“The first year I got a crash course in epidemiology covering COVID-19, but also wrote a lot about politics and the Supreme Court,” says McKeever, who started as an intern factchecker for the former magazine, National Geographic Traveler.

McKeever’s byline has also appeared in publications such as Eater, Travel + Leisure and Thrillist. In addition to history, she majored in magazine journalism in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and French in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“There have been so many historic events in the last two years. It’s been useful to turn back to what I learned at Maxwell to help our readers put current events into context,” she says.

Will she look to relocate? Not likely.

“There’s so much opportunity and so many interesting people who are here to make the world a better place” she says. “People tend to think of Washington in terms of politics, but it’s very easy to carve out your own little D.C. that has nothing to do with Capitol Hill.”

—Renée Gearhart Levy

MAPPING A PATH TO WASHINGTON

As a sophomore at Syracuse University, two things happened that would shape Andy Paladino’s future: he took his first geography class at the Maxwell School, and he bought a drone.

Paladino focused his studies on geographic information systems (GIS), using his drone for several self-initiated projects, including a year-long study mapping the depth and flow velocity of Onondaga Creek, under the mentorship of Peng Gao, professor and chair of geography and the environment.

An opportunity to work for a drone start-up company drew Paladino to Washington, D.C., after he earned his bachelor’s degree in geography in 2018. “I was able to

take everything I had done in undergrad and apply it to industry, using drone imagery to analyze renewable assets for damage and develop data products for clients. It was basically my dream job,” he says.

When that company was acquired, he worked for a time with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Andrews Air Force Base, but he found he missed the fast pace of private industry.

This past June, Paladino returned to the start-up world, working as a customer success manager at Orbital Insight, a firm that uses geolocation information—like cell phone pings and GPS data—in combination with vision data and other software to provide location,

Andy Paladino helps gather and turn geolocation data into actionable insights for government and businesses.

Amy McKeever poses in the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.

AT THE INTERSECTION OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

As a high school senior in suburban Syracuse, Heather Fischer took her first Maxwell School course in public affairs through a program called Project Advance. Today, she is enrolled in Maxwell’s executive master’s in international relations program in Washington, D.C., studying to gain a policy perspective to underpin her professional work fighting human trafficking and other human rights crimes in the national security space. Fischer is senior advisor for human rights crimes at Thomson Reuters Special Services (TRSS), where she advises the company strategy to use data for good. Through federal

behavior and usage analytics for commercial and government clients.

“We have geolocation data that can tell you the volume of people in any given area at any point in time—information that could be valuable to someone considering opening a business in the area or planning for a large event,” says Paladino. “We work with businesses interested in people’s behavior patterns before and after the onset of the pandemic. We can track supply chains. Basically, we can use our fusion of data sources to create a full snapshot of site intelligence or facility monitoring.”

—Renée Gearhart Levy

contract work, TRSS helps inform U.S. government efforts to combat human trafficking, safeguard children from online sexual exploitation, pursue human rights violators, and promote women, peace and security.

“Holding perpetrators accountable and being a part of securing justice for victims and survivors of human rights crimes is about the most rewarding work I can think of,” says Fischer. “Seeing the resiliency and courage in some of the survivors I’ve had the privilege of working with is what fuels me.”

Fischer began that work at Love146, a nonprofit that combats child sex and labor trafficking worldwide. She gained the notice of Ambassador Cindy McCain, who subsequently enlisted her to serve as program manager at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. That position led to roles as special advisor for human trafficking at both the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Justice, before Fischer was tapped by the Trump administration to serve as the first White House special advisor or “czar” for human trafficking.

“Suddenly, my issue, which was known but not well understood to most, became a top priority on the platforms of the nation’s leaders,” she says.

She’s hoping her master’s degree will provide valuable theory to guide her decision making. “Obviously, my time in government provided valuable public affairs experience, but I was really thrown into the deep end of the pool,” she says. “When I saw Syracuse was offering an executive master’s program in conjunction with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, I knew this would be a great opportunity to work on the theory around the intersection of national security and human rights.”

It has been even more valuable than anticipated. She says Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington programs, and faculty “have taken me under their wing and encouraged and challenged me to stay in the arena in Washington, D.C., and continue to be a leader.”

“The Maxwell School has provided me with a network of support that I didn’t even know I needed,” she adds. “The experience has been priceless.”

Renée Gearhart Levy

Left: Alumnus Andy Paladino shot this image with his drone in Patuxent, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. Below: He captured this image in Occoquan, Virginia.

Graduate student Heather Fischer is the senior advisor for human rights crimes at Thomson Reuters Special Services.

WELL-SITUATED

A NEARLY 10-YEAR-OLD PARTNERSHIP WITH A WASHINGTON, D.C., THINK TANK OFFERS UNIQUE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

As the nation’s highest ranking military officer, U.S. Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley keeps a busy schedule that includes briefings and strategy sessions with other top officials in the Pentagon and White House.

But, on a Thursday in early October, he carved out four hours to share his expertise with a group of Maxwell School graduate students and fellows from the school’s home in Washington, D.C., the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“He spoke with openness about an incredibly broad range of regional security and Department of Defense programmatic issues,” says Mark Jacobson, assistant dean for Maxwell’s Washington programs. “I still have students coming up to me and saying this was the greatest part of their graduate education so far.”

Jacobson has also heard from fellows at CSIS who were pleased to have been included. In other instances, it has been Maxwell students sitting in on CSIS-led events.

The visit by Milley is representative of the unique experiences and exposure that benefits students in Maxwell’s Washington programs. It’s also a prime example of the mutually beneficial relationship between Maxwell and CSIS that began in 2013, when the think tank moved into its new home on Rhode Island Avenue.

The partnership paved the way for the launch in 2018 of Maxwell’s successful executive master’s in international relations (I.R.) degree program for mid-level professionals. Students benefit from exposure to seasoned practitioners like Stephen Lennon, who served as coordinator for the International Organization for Migration’s efforts to support Afghan evacuees in the United States, and CSIS fellows who teach in the program.

Hundreds of students participate in coursework at CSIS every year. They include executive master’s in I.R. students spending a summer, semester or intercession taking courses or completing faculty-supervised internships, as well as students interested in public diplomacy, who complete an intense, one-week journalism practicum at CSIS. Undergraduates also take part in the Washington Semester Program.

Jacobson joined the program two years after the executive master’s program was launched. His hiring was strategic: Maxwell Dean David M. Van Slyke said at the time that his “expertise can further strengthen our connections to CSIS, grow the strength and visibility of our academic programs, and deepen the school’s relationships with the D.C. community.”

Jacobson played a critical role in the addition last year of former Secretary of the U.S. Army Ryan D. McCarthy as a Dean’s Scholar in Residence. Jacobson and McCarthy drew Milley as a speaker.

Likewise, Jacobson has also overseen the hiring of an impressive roster of adjunct faculty including Lennon, James-Christian Blockwood, executive vice president of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service; and Danica Starks, senior U.S. commercial liaison and advisor to the U.S. executive director of the World Bank.

In November, Jacobson hosted a post-election panel featuring top political analysts and journalists with moderator Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology, Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health, and director of the Center for Policy Research. Titled, “The Midterms of 2022: What Happened and What’s Next?” its audience included alumni from the D.C. area and fellows at CSIS.

“Our relationship with CSIS brings a lot of synergy to our programming in Washington, D.C., and unparalleled opportunities for our students,” says Jacobson. “We are fortunate to be housed within one of the greatest think tanks in the world.”

John Hamre, president of CSIS, echoes his sentiment. He says, “CSIS is committed to improving public policy and quality governing. Our efforts are greatly strengthened by the partnership with Maxwell.”

—Jessica Youngman

U.S. Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley met with Maxwell School graduate students and invited guests from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in early October. Mark Jacobson, assistant dean for Maxwell’s Washington programs, is shown on the right.

MARLEE FAYE WARWICK

GAINING A DEEPER PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS

F

or more than 25 years, Ashan Benedict worked in federal law enforcement for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), where he was involved in responses to many major crises, including the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the 2015 mass shooting in San Bernadino, California. As head of the ATF office in Washington, he led the bureau’s deployment at the U.S. Capitol during the riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

In the spring of 2021, Benedict began a new chapter in his career when he was invited to join the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., as executive assistant chief of police—the second in command overseeing a department of more than 4,000 individuals, with a particular emphasis on suppressing violent crime. His new position is very much focused on the city itself but, he says, also has a much broader scope.

“We’re unique in that here is the nation’s capital, with the Supreme Court, White House and U.S. Capitol,” he says. “Every government’s embassy is here, and we have visitors from across the world. People come to exercise their First Amendment protected rights, and we help them do so safely. It’s best to know what the issues are related to Russia, China, Iran, Ukraine, our Five Eyes partners...All of that comes into play.”

These dynamics inspired Benedict to deepen his perspective on global affairs by enrolling in the Maxwell School’s executive master’s in international relations program, offered in Washington, in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“Just having a good understanding of how we can best protect the citizens and visitors of this nation’s capital is really what drew me to the Maxwell program,” says Benedict. “Very specifically, it was the partnership with Maxwell and CSIS that took me over top as far as picking a graduate program. It is in person, working in conjunction with a well-respected think tank, and it’s nonpartisan.”

Benedict is now juggling his work for the Metropolitan Police Department with his studies, and he’s impressed by the deep experience of all involved in the graduate program.

The faculty are “writing briefing papers and advising the executive and legislative branches on issues,” he says. “That’s really important to me. They’re practitioners; right now, for instance, we have Secretary [Ryan] McCarthy, the former Army secretary, teaching a class.” Fellow students have a wealth of professional experience that they share too, he adds, such as a classmate who worked with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Even in the midst of the program, Benedict says he is applying knowledge from his international studies—about the Russia/ Ukraine war, for instance—to his daily work. “To know the ins and outs of that particular conflict and how NATO factors into it, and to be able to talk to folks here in front of the White House—it’s extremely important to put all of that in context,” he says.

“There’s almost a daily protest in front of the Cuban Embassy, or at the Chinese Embassy over the suppression of the Uyghurs. ...Our deployment is going to rise and fall based on the nature of what’s happening in the world at

any given moment. So, I’m applying what I’m learning in real time.”

All of these experiences have also deepened Benedict’s ties to Washington, where his family has resided for 20 years.

“We’ve had a very close connection with the community while we raised our kids together, but now this position with the police department draws me even closer,” he says. “Just getting out there and talking to folks about community policing, how we strategize, how we deploy—it’s eye-opening for my neighbors, my friends who live in the city, co-workers who come in and out of the city. I think it helps make the connection stronger with law enforcement and the community.”

—Jeffrey

Pepper Rodgers

MORE ONLINE: Visit the Perspective online to watch a video of Ashan Benedict talking about his Maxwell experience.

Ashan Benedict, executive assistant chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., is pursuing an executive master’s in international relations through the Maxwell-in-Washington program based at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Early Experiences Inspired 2022 Robertson Fellows

While attending a high school in Kennesaw, Georgia, that specializes in international studies, Andrew Gasparini took advantage of multiple opportunities to travel abroad. The trips expanded his worldview and fueled his interest in global affairs.

Likewise, Melissa Alvisi became interested in travel and public service before college—a mission trip to El Salvador while a high schooler in her home country, Italy, solidified her interest in seeing the world and working in public service.

Gasparini and Alvisi have joined the ranks of incoming graduate students at the Maxwell School, pursing dual master’s degrees in public administration and international relations. Both are Robertson Foundation for Government Fellows.

Robertson awards are among the most generous and prestigious available to professional graduate students at the Maxwell School, covering full tuition for two years of study, a living stipend, health insurance and assistance in finding a summer internship. In exchange, fellows agree to work in the U.S. federal government for three of the first seven years following graduation. Since the program began in 2010, the program has funded 35 students, including Gasparini and Alvisi.

Gasparini says Maxwell is the perfect fit for his academic and career aspirations. “This is an honor. The resources available at Syracuse University, including its renowned centers, initiatives and faculty, give it a distinct appeal,” he says, adding that he was drawn to the dual M.P.A./M.A. (IR) program for its interdisciplinary focus on research design, policy analysis and management. “The dual degree option is a unique opportunity that allows its students to synergize their classroom learning with professional experience as part of their coursework while completing the program in an efficient two years.”

While studying history and political science as an undergraduate at Clemson University, Gasparini gained experience and solidified his future plans through a variety of experiences. He served as editor-in-chief of the university’s international affairs magazine, The Pendulum, and founded the Clemson Diplomacy Club. He also traveled to Serbia to study post-conflict, post-communist societies in Belgrade and to intern at The Workshop, an educational non-governmental organization for refugees.

After he earned his degree in May 2020, Gasparini returned to his Georgia hometown to work as the assistant to the city manager. He remained involved in public and subnational diplomacy by establishing the Kennesaw

“The dual degree option is a unique opportunity that allows its students to synergize their classroom learning with professional experience as part of their coursework while completing the program in an efficient two years.”

—ANDREW GASPARINI

Sister Cities Commission, serving on the World Affairs Council of Atlanta’s Young Leaders Executive Board and participating in the Global Ties U.S. Emerging Leaders program and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Next Gen Global Leaders Network.

After completing his studies at Maxwell, Gasparini hopes to work at the Department of State’s Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs.

Alvisi was born in the U.S. but raised in Italy. While in high school, she returned to the states through a study abroad program to improve her English to prepare for college—she attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland and earned a bachelor’s degree this past May.

At Cortland, Alvisi participated in the international and Spanish clubs and served in the Student Government Association, including as its chief financial officer. She also served as a delegate for SUNY Model European Union for three years, worked for the International Programs Office as an orientation assistant for international students, and was named an undergraduate research fellow for the economics department.

Alvisi additionally took advantage of a study abroad trip to Sevilla, Spain, immersing herself in the culture and gaining greater fluency in the language.

“My career goals align with the Robertson Foundation for Government, as it puts public service as a primary objective, and public service within the federal government has been my final goal after graduation,” says Alvisi, who wants to work in foreign service. She says the dual degree will “broaden my public service career goals on an international level.”

—Steve Buchiere

Andrew Gasparini

Melissa Alvisi

Juniors Selected as Inaugural Voyager Scholars

The scholarship supports educational expenses, leadership training and travel opportunities.

Two Maxwell School students are among three recipients of the Voyager Scholarship: the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, a new award for juniors committed to public service funded by the Obama Foundation.

The recipients are Ka’ai Imaikalani I, a double major in international relations and policy studies, with minors in biology and information management and technology, and Iona Volynets, a history and international relations major, with a museum studies minor.

A third student, Yasmin Nayrouz, was also selected for the award. She is majoring in English and public relations with a minor in global security studies at Maxwell.

The Voyager Scholarship was created by President Barack and Michelle Obama and Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, to help shape leaders who can bridge divides and help solve the world’s biggest challenges together.

The scholarship provides $25,000 a year for two years toward education expenses, $10,000 for research/ service travel between junior and senior year (Summer Voyage), $20,000 in travel funding for the next 10 years, and leadership training.

I, who is from Honolulu, Hawaii, plans to use the scholarship to gain more skills and experience navigating the nonprofit sphere, particularly as it pertains to housing.

“As someone who has been able to view the failures of the housing market firsthand, I plan on using the opportunities given to me to combat the lack of access to affordable housing in Hawaii,” he says. “This also takes on a more personal dimension, as I plan to focus most of my efforts

on serving Native and Indigenous populations (as these communities are at far greater risk to lack affordable housing).”

Professor Bill Coplin’s Policy Studies 101 class was especially meaningful, I says. “The policy studies program has allowed me to get a better grasp on what effective and feasible change can look like, particularly on a community-wide scale. Through an emphasis on skills, experiential learning and servant leadership, I was able to not only discern a shortcoming in my community, but through collaboration, devise a manageable and creative solution,” he says.

Volynets, a Coronat Scholar and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, plans to use the scholarship opportunity to pursue an interest in preserving and celebrating cultural heritage, particularly of Ukrainian refugees during the current conflict. “Next summer, I hope to travel to Germany to speak to Ukrainian refugees to create a virtual museum celebrating the culture that is threatened or lost during the conflict,” they say.

Volynets, who is from Washington, D.C., is also gaining experience through their experience as a 2021-23 Lender Center Fellow. Their project involves creating a culturally sensitive food pantry for low-income refugee and New American women in Syracuse. And their experience in the museum studies program here showed them that it is possible to reconcile their love of art and their passion for public service.

—Kelly Homan Rodoski

Gaining Insights Abroad

Christopher Beardsley, a student pursuing a joint master’s degree in public administration and international relations, has been named a 2022 Boren Fellow. Boren Awards fund students to study critical languages through immersive experiences abroad.

Beardsley studied Kiswahili at the University of Gainesville in Florida from June to July and lived in Arusha, Tanzania, from August to November to continue his language studies.

By studying Kiswahili in Tanzania, he gained insights into Tanzania’s historical role in the Non-Aligned Move-

ment and as a Front Line State in its struggle against colonialism, both of which are significant to the future liberation of the Global South.

“Much like my opportunities with the Peace Corps in Rwanda and the Fulbright in South Africa, the Boren Fellowship furthers new opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and connection,” Beardsley says.

Ka’ai Imaikalani l

Iona Volynets

Christopher Beardsley

Forging a Rich Academic Path

An aspiring journalist pursuing multiple degrees makes the most of every day on campus.

Junior Dominic Chiappone trusts his gut. It rarely fails him.

Like when he was weighing college admissions offers. No sooner had the Florida native visited three other campuses than the pandemic sidelined his trip to Syracuse University, where he was supposed to participate in a Leadership Scholars Spring Reception. No tour, no problem.

“I did my homework and knew that Syracuse was where I was supposed to be,” says the University 100 ambassador. Despite having never toured campus as a prospective student, Chiappone has since shown it to thousands of others and their families. “Ours is a Goldilocks campus,” he continues. “It’s not too big and not too small, but just right.”

Chiappone is making the most of his undergraduate experience. A member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, he is a double major in history at the Maxwell School and broadcast and digital journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

He also plans to round out his minor in Spanish with one in sport management. “I’m like a cheerleader,” says the aspiring journalist, who works for the student-run Daily Orange, WAER radio and CitrusTV. “I never get tired of talking about Syracuse University.”

He adds, “I’ve been able to forge my own academic

path, connect with soon-to-be lifelong friends and discuss the wonders of the world with professors,” he says. “There aren’t enough words to describe what Syracuse means to me—how it’s changed my life and made me into the person I am today.”

Chiappone says he became fascinated with history and politics in high school, where he competed on the debate team. He started out as a history major, later adding journalism given his interest in sports and political journalism.

He says his Maxwell School studies have allowed him to see the country and world “through a new lens.”

“I learn about responsible citizenship by exploring different views and perspectives,” he says. “I’m also able to connect with Maxwell faculty outside of class, often over lunch or a cup of coffee. My professors are genuinely interested in my academic development.”

Some of the most influential Maxwell faculty members have included Paul Hagenloh, associate professor of history, who Chiappone says was “engaging and provided constructive feedback. …My research papers are so much better because of his guidance,” he adds.

Another favorite is Tessa Murphy, associate professor of history. “She gets props for making The Age of the American Revolution come alive,” he says. “Her course is a deep dive into the peoples and ideas of British America.”

Chiappone has taken advantage of opportunities such as a summer session abroad at Syracuse Madrid. He said it was great living in an international city, immersing himself in the language and studying Spanish history and film. “I loved taking the Metro to different parts of Madrid and meeting its people, many of whom were immigrants from around the world,” he adds.

More is on the horizon: Chiappone has recently been invited to intern for U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and to cover men’s and women’s basketball for the sports blogging juggernaut SB Nation. “I’m also working on a book— my first—about the history of the NBA,” he adds.

His favorite aspect of the University? The people.

“From serving as a campus tour guide to greeting families at open houses, I meet many fascinating people in my role at University 100. Most of them are excited to visit Syracuse for the first time; some are a little nervous. That I get to help them make a life-changing decision is a big honor. I don’t know how many students have recently come up to me and said, ‘You might not remember me, but I remember you, Dominic. You convinced me to come here.’ That makes me proud.”

—Rob Enslin

Dominic Chiappone is majoring in history as well as broadcast and digital journalism.

MARILYN HESLER

Three Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars

Three faculty members have been named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars: Margarita Estévez-Abe, Scott Landes and Emily Wiemers.

Each was selected for outstanding teaching, scholarship and other accomplishments, including success with external grant support and service to the institution. The scholars hold the title for three years and receive supplemental financial support for teaching and research.

The O’Hanley Endowed Fund for Faculty Excellence was created with a major gift from Ron O’Hanley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street and a 1980 graduate of the Maxwell School with a B.A. in political science. For O’Hanley, who is currently chair of the Maxwell Advisory Board and a trustee of the University, the fund serves to help recognize and support high-caliber academic and research talent.

Estévez-Abe, associate professor of political science, is also co-director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs’ Center for European Studies. She specializes in the comparative political economy of advanced industrial countries with an interest in how political and economic institutions are constructed differently across countries and their varying effects on politics and ordinary people’s lives. Her publications include an award-winning book, Welfare and Capitalism in Postwar Japan (Cambridge University Press, 2008), two edited volumes, “Outsourcing Domestic Work (Care): The Politics, Policies and Political Economy” and “Beyond Familialism: Recalibrating Family, State and Market in Southern Europe and East Asia.” She has also published articles on topics such as gendering the varieties of capitalism, outsourcing of domestic tasks, and gender and social policy in Southern Europe and East Asia. She has served as visiting fellow/ professor at Harvard University, the University of Tokyo, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the University of Konstanz and the University of Turin. She received a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1999.

Landes, associate professor of sociology and director of undergraduate studies for the department, researches health and mortality trends for veterans and those with

intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). His work includes the IDD Age at Death Data Tracker, which provides a stark picture of the younger age of death for people with IDD across the U.S., as well as by disability status, sex and race-ethnicity. He also serves as a senior research associate for the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health as well as a faculty associate for the Aging Studies Institute. His work has been supported by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and has been published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, JAMA Open, Preventive Medicine and other journals. He has also been cited by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic. He received a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Florida in 2014.

Wiemers, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, is a faculty associate in the Aging Studies Institute and a research affiliate in the Center for Policy Research. Her work examines intergenerational ties and economic well-being across the life course. Recently, she has focused on how changes in health and disability affect economic well-being and the role families play in providing support in response to these changes in health. Her work has been published in the Journal of Human Resources, Population Development Review and other publications. She is a recipient of research grants from the National Institute on Aging, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009.

“We are grateful to Ron O’Hanley for his continued support of Maxwell faculty,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “His investment in Maxwell underscores his confidence in our work to support excellent scholars who are educating and inspiring our students to be engaged citizens. Professors Estévez-Abe, Landes and Wiemers are doing important work in their respective fields and are well-qualified and have earned this appointment.”

Margarita Estévez-Abe

Scott Landes

Emily Wiemers

New Leader, New Name for Lerner Center

The Lerner Center has a new leader and a new name meant to better reflect its mission. Alexandra Punch has taken the helm as director of the renamed Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. Her appointment in July coincided with the addition of “population health” to the center’s title.

Punch joined the center in 2019 as its associate director. Her predecessor, Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, will continue her scholarship in the field as Maxwell’s Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health and in her new role as director of the Center for Policy Research.

Before joining Maxwell, Punch served as director of drug user health for ACR Health and worked as a research technician for the Onondaga County Health Department. She also chaired the Harm Reduction Subcommittee for the Onondaga County Drug Task Force. She is pursuing a doctorate in social sciences with a concentration in health policy at the Maxwell School.

“My biggest hope is to continue to bridge the gap between the community and research,” says Punch. “What makes the Lerner Center so unique is our focus not just on population and public health research, but the fact that we also develop and implement community resources that promote health. Research is often not translatable for communities to understand, and the Lerner Center does an amazing job of disseminating research for public consumption and using research findings to develop actionable programming.”

The Lerner Center was established in 2011 with a gift from the late Sidney “Sid” Lerner ’53 and his wife, Helaine, an environmental activist and philanthropist. Lerner, who died in January 2021, was an advertising executive who developed a strong interest in how lifestyle habits contribute to chronic disease.

The center’s mission is to improve the health of the community through service, research, education, advocacy and policy. It collaborates with public and health professionals to identify needs, develop programming and deploy initiatives across the U.S.

Over the past several years, the center has launched numerous health promotion programs and community partnerships, including the Monday Mile walking routes developed in partnership with the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, city parks, local hospitals and the Madison County Rural Health Council.

Monnat says the name change reflects a more comprehensive approach to addressing health and health disparities. Beyond programming, the center’s numerous interdisciplinary faculty affiliates are deeply involved in research on topics such as mortality, childcare and diet. Their work has been funded by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, cited by major media outlets including The New York Times and used to guide all levels of policymaking. The center shares this research online and through an electronic newsletter to subscribers who include a wide range of stakeholders.

“Population health programs extend traditional scholarship and training in public health to better incorporate the full range of disciplines that contribute to understanding and addressing large disparities in sickness and death, including the social sciences,” says Monnat.

Alan Allport Named Montgomery Gruber Professor

Alan Allport, professor of history, has been named the Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History at the Maxwell School.

The professorship was established by Walter Montgomery ’67 B.A. (PSc) and his wife, Marian Gruber. Montgomery said he created it out of “deep appreciation for the importance to our education system of teaching, research and scholarship.”

Allport’s research interests include 20th-century British history with a focus on the first and second world wars. His recent book, Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War: 1938-1941 (Knopf Doubleday, 2020), was awarded the Historical Writers’ Association 2021 Crown Award for nonfiction.

Previous books, published by Yale University Press, include: Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War

1939-1945 and Demobbed: Coming Home

After the Second World War, for which Allport received the Longman History Today Book of the Year Award.

“Alan is a brilliant writer, scholar and teacher,” says Carol Faulkner, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of history. “His books have transformed the understanding of the British experience of World War II. I’m thrilled we can recognize his contributions with the Montgomery-Gruber professorship. The Maxwell School is lucky to have him.”

Allport received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007.

He succeeds Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history, who was named the Montgomery Gruber Professor in 2017.

Alexandra Punch

Brian Taylor Leads Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, has been named director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, which is a research center endowed by the U.S. Congress to honor the legacy of its namesake and provide research and experiential learning opportunities to examine global challenges and interdependence. He succeeds founding director Margaret “Peg” Hermann, professor of political science and Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs, who will retire from Maxwell in January 2023. Hermann has led the center since it was the Global Affairs Institute and was among those on hand to celebrate its renaming in March 2005.

“In addition to being a top scholar and exemplary teacher, Professor Taylor has a deep familiarity with the Moynihan Institute,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “He is exceedingly well qualified to serve as its next leader—we’re excited to see him bring it into its next chapter.” The torch passing brings an opportunity, Van Slyke says, to consider, “what do successful global affairs institutes do well in the 21st century?” Working with Taylor, he hopes to further leverage the endowment to increase its visibility, influence and research capacity. In addition, he hopes to strengthen relationships within Maxwell and across the University because, he says, “Global affairs should reach every school and college on campus.”

Van Slyke believes the institute can benefit from added synergy with Maxwell’s Washington, D.C., programs and their think-

tank home, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Nearly 10 years of partnership with CSIS has brought expanded programming and opportunity, including an executive master’s in international relations degree and top practitioners as teachers. Taylor hopes to build on these relationships and seek new ways to bring the expertise of Maxwell faculty into policy debates about pressing global issues.

A leading expert on Russian politics, Taylor has been cited in major outlets including Forbes, Newsweek, Fox and The Washington Post. He has penned three books, including, The Code of Putinism (Oxford University Press, 2018), and serves on the editorial board of Problems of Post-Communism and on the scientific board of The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies. He has received numerous honors, including selection as a Fulbright Scholar to study at European University at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011.

The Moynihan Institute includes seven regional centers that provide scholarly, linguistic and internship experiences focused on areas such as the Middle East, East Asia and Latin America. In 2005, it was named for Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the longtime New York senator who served as a U.S. ambassador to India and the United Nations, among other roles. He had a long relationship with the Maxwell School, beginning as an assistant professor in 1959 until he entered public service at the U.S. Department of Labor in 1961. Upon retiring from the Senate in 2001 after 24 years of service, Moynihan re-joined the Maxwell School as University Professor, a position he held until his death in 2003.

New Montonna Professor

Azra Hromadžić, associate professor of anthropology, was recently awarded the Dr. Ralph E. Montonna Endowed Professorship for the Teaching and Education of Undergraduates. She will hold the professorship for the 2022-23 academic year.

Hromadžić’s research interests include political anthropology, youth and education, aging and care and the Balkans. Her book, Citizens of an Empty Nation: Youth and State-Making in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), is an ethnographic investigation of the internationally directed postwar intervention policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the response of local people, especially youth, to these policy efforts.

Hromadžić spent the spring semester of 2017 as a Fulbright Scholar in Bosnia and Herzegovina where she conducted research and taught at the University of Bihać. The experience inspired a new research project on riverine citizenship, war ecologies, love and politics, ecotourism, and water infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2017, she received the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Award for Teaching

and Research and the Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award. In 2014 she received the Meredith Teaching Recognition Award.

Her articles have been published in numerous scholarly journals, and she is the recipient of several research grants from institutions such as the Social Science Research Council, the American Council of Learned Societies, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Spencer Foundation, and the Josephine de Karman Foundation, among others. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009.

The Dr. Ralph E. Montonna Endowed Professorship for the Teaching and Education of Undergraduates was established with a gift from the honoree’s daughter, the late Mary Lou Williams ’50 B.A. (AmSt). Montonna earned a B.S. in chemistry from Syracuse University in 1916 followed by a Ph.D. from Yale University. In 1946, he was named director of research at Syracuse University. He died in 1952.

Brian Taylor

New Department Chairs, Full-Time Faculty

Three new department chairs were appointed ahead of the fall semester, coinciding with the announcement of several new faculty members.

Peng Gao, professor of geography and the environment, was named chair of the department. He focuses on physical geography, specializing in river dynamics and fluvial systems as well as geospatial-based urban studies. Recently, he has researched morphodynamical processes of braided and meandering rivers in China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the socioeconomic equality in various urban managements. His work has been published in numerous journals, including Geomorphology, Water Resources Research, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, and Catena. Gao earned a Ph.D. from the University of Buffalo in 2003.

Colleen Heflin, associate dean and professor of public administration and international affairs, was named chair of the department. She is also a senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. She researches food insecurity, nutrition and welfare policy, as well as the well-being of vulnerable populations. Heflin has published over 70 research articles and her work has appeared in leading journals such as the American Sociological Review, Social Problems, Health Affairs, Medical Care, and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2002.

Devashish Mitra, professor of economics, was named chair of the department. He is also Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs and a senior research associate in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. He served as chair of economics previously, from 200610. He researches international trade, political economy, development economics and the Indian economy. His research has been published in top general-interest and field journals. He has served as an editor and on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly publications, including Economics & Politics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development Economics and European Economic Review. Additionally, he has written opinion pieces and has been quoted in numerous media outlets, including a July 2022 Bloomberg article exploring how changes in government policies on military recruitment led to violent protests, despite a recent announcement of the government’s plan to create a million jobs. Mitra received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1996.

In addition, the appointment of the following fulltime faculty members has enhanced the Maxwell School’s research and teaching excellence in key areas such as political economy, history, climate change and international relations.

RICHARD BARTON ’16 M.A. (PSC), assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs

AARON BENANAV, assistant professor of sociology and senior research associate for the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute

OMAR CHETA, assistant professor of history

SELINA GALLO-CRUZ, associate professor of sociology and co-director of the advocacy and activism research group in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration

JOSS GREENE, assistant professor of sociology

VIVIAN IKE, assistant teaching professor in the international relations undergraduate program

LIONEL C. JOHNSON, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs

MINJU KIM, assistant professor of political science

AARON LUEDTKE, assistant professor of history

KYRSTIN MALLON ANDREWS, assistant professor of anthropology

THOMAS PEARSON, assistant professor of economics

GREGORY SMITH, assistant professor of political science

LAUREN WOODARD, assistant professor of anthropology

MORE ONLINE: Scan the code to learn more about the research interests of Maxwell’s newest faculty members.

Peng Gao

Colleen Heflin

Devashish Mitra

New Books

MONA BHAN, associate professor of anthropology, co-edited and is a contributing author to the Routledge Handbook of Critical Kashmir Studies (Routledge, 2022). Bhan co-edited the handbook with Haley Duschinski, associate professor of anthropology at Ohio University and Deepti Misri, associate professor of women and gender studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The trio co-wrote the introduction, “Critical Kashmir Studies: Settler Occupations and the Persistence of Resistance.” Bhan also co-wrote the section, “Third World Imperialism and Kashmir’s Sovereignty Trap” with Duschinski and wrote the opening to the section “Militarism, Humanism, Occupation.”

MATT HUBER, professor of geography and the environment, has written a new book, Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet (Verso Books, 2022) that focuses on the material struggle of the working-class over access to energy, food, housing and transportation. Huber argues that these necessities are core industries that need to be decarbonized. The climate crisis is not primarily a problem of believing science or individual carbon footprints, says Huber, but rather a class problem rooted in who owns, controls and profits from material production. As such, he says, it will take a class struggle to solve. The capitalist class is the most significant driver of climate change, asserts Huber. Planetary working-class solidarity and the unionization of the energy industry will be the greatest tools in the climate movement, he says.

LOUIS KRIESBERG, professor emeritus of social conflict studies, and Bruce W. Dayton ’99 Ph.D. (PSc), senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, have published Constructive Conflicts: From Emergence to Transformation, Sixth Edition (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2022). The book explains how large-scale political and social conflicts can be waged more constructively, with more positive consequences for those involved. Drawing on research from political science, sociology, social-psychology, neuroscience, cultural studies and other disciplines, Kriesberg and Dayton follow the lifecycle of social and political conflicts as they emerge, escalate, de-escalate, become settled, and often emerge again in new forms. The sixth edition presents new examples and cases of conflict episodes that have avoided extreme coercion or violence.

SHANA KUSHNER GADARIAN, professor and chair of political science and Merle Goldberg Fabian Professor of Excellence in Citizenship and Critical Thinking, has co-authored Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID (Princeton University Press, 2022). The book is the culmination of research by Gadarian and co-authors Sara Wallace Goodman, professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine, and Thomas B. Pepinsky, Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government and director of the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University, and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. It draws on new data on public opinion to show how pandemic politics have touched all aspects of Americans’ lives—from the economy to race and immigration.

SABA SIDDIKI, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy, is author of a new book, Institutional Grammar: Foundations and Applications for Institutional Analysis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). The book provides a general background on institutional analysis and institutional grammar (IG), both of which are approaches applied to understand the design and impact of institutions, or rules, used in governance. In addition to providing an introduction to these approaches, the book offers a comprehensive overview of a revised version of the IG developed by the authors, called the IG 2.0. The IG 2.0 is particularly well-suited for studying policy design drawing on diverse theoretical and analytical approaches, Siddiki says.

SIMON WESCHLE, assistant professor of political science, has published a new book, Money in Politics: Self Enrichment, Campaign Spending, and Golden Parachutes (Cambridge University Press, 2022). He maintains in the book that money in politics should be analyzed in a singular framework, widened to include how politicians enrich themselves while in office, spend campaign money to finance their re-election and accept lucrative jobs after leaving office. Putting these different forms of capital in one framework helps explain how money in politics impacts democracy, he asserts. Weschle explores cases of this internationally, using causally identified quantitative studies, qualitative cross-national comparisons and original survey experiments to follow the money in politics.

Also in the News

JOHANNES HIMMELREICH, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, received the Birkhead-Burkhead Teaching Excellence Award and Professorship.

The annual honor recognizes outstanding teaching in the Public Administration and International Affairs (PAIA) Department. Recipients are nominated by current students and selected by a committee comprised of former award winners. Honorees hold the professorship for four years.

The award honors two former Maxwell School PAIA professors: Guthrie Birkhead and Jesse Burkhead. Guthrie Birkhead was a faculty member in the PAIA and Political Science departments from 1950 until his death in 2013. He was dean of the Maxwell School from 1977 until 1988, and he served as director of the Metropolitan Studies Program (now part of Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research). Jesse Burkhead was a faculty member in the Department of Economics from 1949 until his death in 1996. An expert on public budgeting, he retired as Maxwell Professor of Economics. In 1956, he authored the highly acclaimed book, Government Budgeting.

Himmelreich’s research focuses on the ethics of autonomous systems such as drones, self-driving cars or artificial intelligence.

DANIEL MCDOWELL, associate professor of political science, was selected to be a member of the 2022-23 Wilson China Fellowship class, a China-focused nonresidential fellowship supporting the next generation of American scholarship on China. It is made possible by the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

McDowell’s study is titled “Lending Tree: Understanding Chinese Bank Branch Growth in Foreign Markets” and will explore what is behind Chinese bank expansion abroad while probing the implications of branch presence in these markets.

The project will focus on the links between the Belt and Road Initiative and branch locations while also considering how branch presence may affect the use of China’s currency in cross-border trade settlement. Growing influence for Chinese banks around the world would mean increased competition for U.S. financial institutions in those markets. In time, this could lead to a diminished role for the dollar in these economies, weakening the effectiveness of U.S. financial sanctions.

The Wilson Center, chartered by Congress as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, is a non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actionable ideas for Congress.

CATHERINE HERROLD, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, has received a Fulbright Scholar award to live and study in Serbia for seven months starting in the Spring 2023 semester. She will interact extensively with local residents and collaborate with scholars at the University of Belgrade.

Herrold spent five years doing similar research in Egypt and Palestine for her award-winning book Delta Democracy: Pathways to Incremental Civic Revolution in Egypt and Beyond (Oxford University Press, 2020).

A senior research associate in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration, Herrold examines how people cultivate democratic citizenship through their work with voluntary grassroots groups and local philanthropic entities, as opposed to in professional nongovernmental organizations.

SABA SIDDIKI, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy, is co-principal investigator for a research project that has been awarded $750,000 from the National Science Foundation.

The project, titled “Strengthening American Electricity Infrastructure for an Electric Vehicle Future: An Energy Justice Approach,” will investigate, among other things, how the widespread adoption of electric vehicles may impact those who continue to use gas-powered vehicles—in particular, those in low- to moderate-income communities.

Siddiki and a team from George Mason University will integrate social and techno-engineering approaches to holistically assess and help mitigate energy injustice introduced by a transition to electric vehicles. “While the widespread adoption of electric vehicles is seen as a key strategy to curb carbon emissions, reduce air pollution and improve public health,” says Siddiki, “existing research has not shown how it may contribute to energy injustice and widen existing equity gaps.”

LEONARD LOPOO, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics and professor of public administration and international affairs, is among the co-investigators on a new $240,000 National Science Foundation grant supporting peer-to-peer academic coaching.

The grant was awarded to the University’s Center for Learning and Student Success to expand a coaching program that acquaints students with effective learning strategies and helps them adopt those tactics in their STEM and other classes.

The grant for “Coaching to Learn: A Peer-to-Peer Intervention to Help College Students Apply and Transfer Effective Learning Strategies Across STEM Courses” builds on the center’s pilot work of the past three years and adds an expanded research component to measure outcomes.

Leonard Lopoo

Saba Siddiki

Johannes Himmelreich

Daniel McDowell

Catherine Herrold

State and Local Matters

Dear alumni and friends,

As I write this, the fall semester is in full swing with a busy schedule of on- and off-campus alumni activities. First on Maxwell‘s calendar this season was an alumni event held in Columbus, Ohio, coinciding with the 2022 Annual Conference of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), an organization of professional city and county managers and local government professionals. Maxwell has a legacy of producing local government leaders and has long been well-represented within ICMA. Our alumni working in city and county management frequently attend or speak at annual, regional and state conferences, and informal alumni gatherings occur regularly thanks to the organizing efforts of alumni volunteer Wally Bobkiewicz ’89 M.P.A.

The 2022 conference was particularly special as Jeff Towery ’85 M.P.A., city manager of McMinnville, Oregon, was inducted as president of ICMA—the second Maxwell alumnus to serve in this role. The late John E. Dever ’50 M.P.A. served as president in 1985-86, and numerous alumni have served in other ICMA volunteer capacities.

The Maxwell reception provided another opportunity for our alumni community to come together and connect, celebrating those working in local government and honoring Jeff as president. Joining the reception were more than two dozen Maxwell alumni attending the conference, almost 20 students associated with the school’s ICMA student chapter, and several alumni from the Columbus area. Also in attendance were faculty and staff, including

Scan the code to learn how you can make a gift and support the next generation of local government leaders with a gift to Maxwell’s State and Local Government Public Administration Scholarship

Dean David M. Van Slyke, Assistant Dean for Advancement Laine Norton, Director of Accelerated Learning, Global Engagement and Maxwell’s State and Local Initiative Dan Nelson, Professor Minch Lewis and Professor Tina Nabatchi, who also serves as faculty advisor for the ICMA-Maxwell student chapter. (Tina’s presentation on “Strategic Conflict Management” was so popular among conference attendees that the meeting room quickly filled to capacity!) Other events bringing Maxwell alumni and students together during the conference included a networking social and lunch to facilitate local government connections.

Over 2,000 Maxwell alumni work in a field or in a role intersecting with state and local government. With so many alumni connected to and having an interest in this sector, we are committed to continuing our partnership with professionals working in this area. For the latest state and local news, visit maxwell.syr.edu/state-and-local and, while you’re visiting our website, be sure to click on the “alumni” tab at the top of the page to share your professional accomplishments.

Stay well,

Jessica Murray Director of Alumni Relations

Jessica Murray

Maxwell students, alumni, faculty and staff present at the ICMA reception included, from left to right: Moise Laub ’20 B.A. (IR) and current M.P.A. student; Andrea Veach, online executive M.P.A. student; Dan Nelson, director of accelerated learning, global engagement and state and local initiative; M.P.A. students Shirley Chavarria, Fatima Muradi, Wahid Ishrar and Jessica Whitley; Dean David M. Van Slyke; alumnus Jeff Towery ’85 M.P.A.; Professor Tina Nabatchi; M.P.A. students Ana Caballero, RJ Thacker, Ashley Mathew and Gabriela Wemple; Yuliia Bychkovska, M.P.A./M.A. (IR) student; and Josephine Galdamez, M.P.A. student.

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTE

Online: maxwell.syr.edu/ alumni-update

Email: maxalum@syr.edu

Post Office: 200 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, N.Y. 13244

KEY TO DEGREES

Alumni are designated by year of graduation, degree level and (in parentheses) discipline—for example: Joan Smith ’87 M.A. (Soc). A few of the degree abbreviations indicate both level and discipline, such as M.P.A. and M.S.Sc. Alumni with more than one degree from Maxwell are listed under the year of the latest degree.

AmSt American Studies

Anth Anthropology

CCE Citizenship and Civic Engagement

ESP Environment, Sustainability and Policy

E.M.I.R. Executive Master’s in International Relations

E.M.P.A. Executive Master of Public Administration

DFH Documentary Film and History

Econ Economics

Geog Geography

Hist History

IR International Relations

J.D. Law

LAS Latin American Studies

M.A. (IR) Master of Arts, International Relations

M.A. (IR)/

M.S.P.R. International Relations/ Public Relations (dual)

P.D.G.C. Master of Public Diplomacy and Global Communication

MES Middle Eastern Studies

M.P.A. Master of Public Administration

M.P.A./

M.A. (IR) Joint M.P.A. and M.A. (IR)

MPH Master of Public Health

M.Phil. Master of Philosophy

M.R.P. Master of Regional Planning

M.S.Sc. Master of Social Science

PA Public Administration

P.D. Public Diplomacy

PPhil Political Philosophy

PSt Policy Studies

PSc Political Science

RusSt Russian Studies

Soc Sociology

SPsy Social Psychology

SSc Social Science

UrSt Urban Studies

50s

Roma Y. Stibravy ’54 B.A. (IR/ PSc) founded and serves as president of NGO Sustainability, an organization whose mission is to “help preserve planet earth for future generations by advocating for and promoting environmental stewardship globally, together with government, business and civil society.”

60s

Leo Kanawada Jr. ’65 M.A. (Hist) has published a new book, George Clinton: An American Founding Father and American Independence (AuthorHouse, 2022).

Jesse Duane Baker ’68 B.A. (Hist) was named guest manager of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum in Santa Barbara, Calif.

70s

Bruce Dearstyne ’74 Ph.D. (Hist) just published a new book, The Crucible of Public Policy: New York Courts in the Progressive Era (SUNY Press, 2022). The book describes the story of New York State courts, specifically the Court of Appeals in its discussion and decision making of key state statutes. Dearstyne specializes in New York state history. He has also published The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State’s History, second edition (SUNY Press, 2022), which describes New York state history in 19 key events from founding to present day.

Mark Emmert ’76 M.P.A./’83 Ph.D. (PA) recently retired as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a position he held since 2010.

Jode S. Millman ’76 B.A. (Soc) has released a second thriller, titled Hooker Avenue (Level Best Books, 2022). The book is the sequel Millman’s award-winning debut, The Midnight Call (Immortal Works, 2020).

Syedur Rahman ’77 Ph.D. (PA) has retired after a 40-plus year career in international education administration. He served as director of international sponsored programs at Northern Virginia Community College and, before that, was director of international programs and coordinator of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State University.

Robert Cashel ’78 B.A. (PSc) is president and chief executive officer of Family and Children’s Agency, an adoption agency based in Norwalk, Conn. He is also currently on the board and executive committee of the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies.

80s

Benjamin Diokno ’81 Ph.D. (Econ) is the fifth governor of the Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas and has begun his term as secretary for the department of finance in the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Debra Rahmin Silberstein ’81 B.A. (Econ), an estate planning attorney, was named Family/Elder Law Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, a periodical based in Washington, D.C. Michelle Thompson ’82 B.A. (PSt) is a professor at the University of New Orleans in the Planning and Urban Studies Department. She was recently interviewed for the Business World article, “15 minute city in Noire de Paris,” where she describes the 15 minute city as an urban design that reduces carbon emissions, increases walkability and incorporates education and social needs within a reasonable distance from home. This model focuses where social and economic gaps occur in cities to provide more sustainable and equitable models of city life.

Robert Rupp ’83 Ph.D. (Hist) has published a book, The Primary That Made a President: John F. Kennedy and West Virginia (University of Tennessee Press, 2020). The book details how, besides propelling Kennedy to the 1960 Democratic nomination, the primary changed the face of politics by advancing religious tolerance, foreshadowing

future political campaigns and focusing national attention on a misunderstood region. Professor emeritus at West Virginia Wesleyan College, Rupp is past chair of the West Virginia State Election Commission.

Margaret FitzPatrick ’88 B.A. (PSt) was appointed to the board of directors of AN2 Therapeutics, a biomedical company based in Menlo Park, Calif., that develops treatments for rare, chronic and serious infectious diseases.

John Mandyck ’89 B.A. (PSt)/’92 M.P.A. published an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “What If Banks Had to Disclose the Climate Impact of Their Investments.” Mandyk is the CEO of Urban Green Council, a visiting scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an adjunct faculty member for the University of Connecticut School of Business.

Charri Hern Shairer ’89 M.P.A. joined Providence CommunityHousing, an organization that provides affordable homeownership in New Orleans, La.

90s

Amy Bernstein ’90 B.A. (PSc) is a board member for the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation. She also works as a senior professional staff nurse for the inpatient medical surgical oncology floor at UPMC Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. Additionally, she serves as a board member and volunteer for One Day to Remember, an organization that helps children have one free day to make memories with parents who have cancer.

Timothy Robb ’90 B.A. (PSc) has joined World Insurance Associates LLC as general counsel. World Insurance Associates LLC is a national brokerage specializing in personal and commercial insurance lines, bonding, employee benefits, financial and retirement services and human capital management solutions.

Robin Lamott Sparks ’91 M.P.A. was named executive director of the Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation.

Terrence Guay ’92 M.A. (IR)/’96 Ph.D. (PSc) was appointed associate dean for international programs at Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business.

Scott Shuster ’92 B.A. (PSc), through his real estate company, 11 Development, completed the conversion of a church and rectory in Cambridge, Mass., into a singlefamily residence and condominiums. In addition, Shuster has continued his 20-year relationship in a leadership role with the Jimmy Fund, an organization which raises funds for pediatric cancer research for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Jennifer Rafael ’94 B.A. (PSc) is working at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association as the director of communications and marketing. The Alexandria,

Va., organization is dedicated to the general welfare of federal workers and retirees.

Ian Forsyth ’96 J.D./M.A. (IR) started a job as professor of national security studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

Robyn Moore ’96 M.P.A. was appointed managing director of Piper Sandler Companies, an investment bank headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn.

Kaya Adams ’98 M.A. (IR) started at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as mission director in the Kyrgyz Republic. Adams has been with USAID since 1999, having served in Rwanda, the Central Asia Regional Mission in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Iraq and the Southern Africa Regional Mission based in South Africa. Her career is focused on advancing democracy, governance and humanitarian affairs in post-conflict settings.

00s

John Hall ’00 M.P.A. is the new director of the city of Spokane’s Neighborhood, Housing and Human Services division and oversees the city’s housing, homelessness and community development initiatives.

Andrea Hickerson ’01 B.A. (IR) was named dean of the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.

Robert Simpson ’01 M.P.A. has been confirmed to serve on the Empire State Development Board of Directors. Empire State Development promotes job creation and business development to create a strong and growing economy for the state of New York.

Alejandro Perez ’02 M.A. (IR) is the senior vice president of policy and government affairs at the Washington, D.C.-based World Wildlife Fund, an organization that seeks to preserve wildlife globally.

Kimberlin Butler ’03 M.P.A. wrote an article for the Center for Effective Philanthropy titled, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Delivering Lasting Change for Radical Accountability.” Butler is a senior director of foundation engagement at Mathematica, an organization based in Princeton, N.J., that partners with organizations to deliver solutions that improve programs, refine strategies, and deepen understanding across sectors.

Derick C. Villanueva ’03 M.A. (Econ) is a naval reserve officer with Defense Contract Management Agency in Boston, Mass. His previous tours of duty include multiple deployments to eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Korea and Afghanistan. Lieutenant Commander Villanueva, who earned a juris doctorate from the College of Law, also practices law and manages a real estate investment company with properties in the U.S. and Europe.

JET BLUE PRESIDENT RECEIVES ARENTS AWARD

J

oanna Geraghty ’97 J.D./M.A. (IR) was presented with Syracuse University’s highest alumni honor, the George Arents Award, during the 2022 Alumni Awards Celebration held during Orange Central on Sept. 30. She was among four Arents Award recipients; hers was for “excellence in business leadership.”

Geraghty is president and chief operating officer of JetBlue, responsible for the company’s operations and commercial performance including airports, customer support, flight operations, inflight service, system operations and technical operations. She also oversees safety and security; network and airline partnerships; advertising, brand and marketing; and revenue management and sales.

Geraghty’s focus is on delivering a leading customer service experience and enhancing operational and commercial performance while nurturing Jet-

Blue’s unique culture and standing as one of the best places to work. Prior to being named president and COO, she served as JetBlue’s executive vice president, customer experience. She served as executive vice president, chief people officer from 2010-14, after serving as vice president and associate general counsel and director of litigation and regulatory affairs. Geraghty has been with the New York-based airline since 2005.

In addition, she serves on the board of directors of L3Harris Technologies, is a member of the board of the JetBlue Foundation and chairperson of the board of Concern Worldwide, a nonprofit international humanitarian organization. Before joining JetBlue, she was a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight.

Joanna Geraghty

TRIP INSPIRES BUSINESS VENTURE

Married Maxwell alumni Fabiola Lara ’13 B.A. (IR) and Sabith Khan ’11 M.P.A./ M.A. (IR) provide a sales platform for Mexican artisans.

During a 2018 visit to Oaxaca, Mexico, Fabiola Lara and Sabith Khan soaked up the rich cultural traditions of artisans who sell handmade goods like baskets, rugs, coverlets and clothing.

But the married Maxwell alumni pair were troubled by the artisans’ lack of access to platforms to sell their goods and by customers’ apparent lack of knowledge about the items they were buying.

Last year, Khan and Lara launched a business, Tlali Pani, that offers handmade goods from the community they visited. They work directly with women-led artisan families who set their own prices based on the pieces they design together. Khan and Lara are committed to sustainable processes and materials, and they work to educate their customers about the traditions connected to their wares.

Both say their education and experiences at the Maxwell School have been foundational in the business endeavor. Lara earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations in 2013, while Khan earned master’s degrees in public administration and international relations in 2011.

“We both had a life-transformative educational experience,” says Khan, who attended Maxwell after finishing undergraduate studies in his home country, India.

Lara adds, “For me, it was being exposed to global issues and perspectives around cultural exchange, empathy, and deep understanding of systemic inequalities that keep people from having equitable access to resources that can be transformative for future generations.”

The pair likely crossed paths in the halls of Maxwell while both were students, but they didn’t meet until the summer of 2011, just after Khan graduated. He had relocated to Washington, D.C., for work but returned to New York to attend and help facilitate a peace-build-

ing retreat co-organized by the Maxwell School. Lara also decided to attend. She was in her junior year; in addition to international relations, she was majoring in French and francophone studies at the College of Arts and Sciences.

Khan and Lara have now been married seven years and have laid roots in southern California, near Lara’s hometown.

In addition to the business venture, Khan is a professor of public policy at California Lutheran University. He recently published a book that harnesses research conducted in Oaxaca during a 2019 visit. Lara continued graduate studies after Maxwell, earning a master’s degree in international education development at the University of Pennsylvania in 2014.

“Sabith and I both come from families that value the art of the handcrafting process as well as the knowledge and craft traditions of artisans,” says Lara. “It’s exciting that we’ve started our work in Mexico, Oaxaca specifically, and can offer these premium goods to the public while promoting the economic empowerment of the communities that we partner with.”

—Jewell Bohlinger

Fabiola Lara ’13 B.A. (IR) and her husband, Sabith Khan ’11 M.P.A./ M.A. (IR), have launched a business that sells artisan goods from Mexico. Its name, Tlali Pani, translates to earth in Nahuatl and water in Hindi and Urdu.

On their business’ website, Fabiola Lara and Sabith Khan offer artisan-made goods such as table runners, rugs, baskets and curtains.

LaVasia Bullard ’05 B.A. (PSt) has been part of the Horizons Atlanta group since 2016, serving as a site director for Horizons’ Purpose Built Schools Atlanta program. During this time, Bullard also served as a K-2 instructional coach at Thomasville Heights Elementary School.

Seth Mulligan ’05 M.P.A. is the new director of innovation and partnerships at the Griffiss Institute, a talent and technology development company based in Rome, N.Y.

Tapan Ray ’06 M.A. (PA) was re-appointed to the board of directors of CMS Info Systems, a cash management and payment solutions company based in Mumbai, India.

Ife Olatunji ’06 B.A. (Anth) has spent the last four years as a media educator with Facets Multimedia, a Chicago, Ill.-based nonprofit that connects people to independent ideas through transformative cinema. Olatunji teaches media literacy, narrative editing and documentary filmmaking.

David Whitmore ’06 M.P.A. was named vice president for advancement, academic affairs at Syracuse University. In this position Whitmore will work closely with Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter, among others, to advance Syracuse University’s academic and research enterprise. Whitmore came to Syracuse from Cornell University, where he served as the associate vice president for major gifts and alumni affairs and development.

Aleksei Filippov ’07 M.A. (IR) leads the project management department at Milrem Robotics, a company based in Tallinn, Estonia, that aims to provide innovative robotics for challenging environments.

Mark Newsome ’07 E.M.P.A. was promoted to vice president and senior partner of U.S. Federal Healthcare, IBM Consulting. The Armonk, N.Y.-based business discovers, designs and develops advanced information technology through consulting services.

Edward Yoshio Uechi ’08 M.P.A. joined the United States Department of Labor as a federal project officer, charged with managing grants implemented by state governments and nonprofits.

Zeina Koinis ’09 M.P.A. is the leading managing director of Definitive Results, a marketing consulting firm based in Leesburg, Va.

Brian J. Reil ’09 B.A. (PSc) was named managing director of external communications at the Edison Electric Institute, a Washington, D.C.based nonprofit association that represents the nation’s investorowned electric companies.

10s

Jihoon Yu ’10 M.A. (PSc)/’14 Ph.D. (PSc) is a commander in the Republic of Korea Navy. He is currently working as a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. He is also a member of the Republic of Korea’s Navy task force on the CVX light aircraft carrier project.

Patrick Fiorenza ’11 M.P.A. has joined Research and Marketing Strategies Inc. as the research analytics manager. Research and Marketing Strategies is a market research and healthcare consulting firm located in Central New York.

Amy Stormes Kremenek ’11 E.M.P.A. was named the fifth president of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, N.Y.

Kathleen Walpole ’12 B.A. (Hist/ PSt/PSc) is the director of program strategy, impact and evaluation for Home HeadQuarters, a nonprofit housing and community development organization in Syracuse.

Emma Goldbas ’14 B.A. (Anth/IR) is the director of operations at The Potter’s House, a Washington, D.C., bookstore focused on solidarity, justice, spirituality and care for the earth. The bookstore also runs a soup kitchen and has educational programming.

Jonathan Edelberto Martinex ’14 B.A. (IR/PSt/PSc) is head of U.S. federal affairs for Haleon, a healthcare company based in Washington, D.C. He previously served as the director of federal government affairs at GlaxoSmithKline, a global biopharma company.

Claire Rupert ’14 B.A. (IR) is the country director for parts of Europe/ NATO in the office of the Regional Affairs Directorate, for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs. Rupert oversees foreign military sales cases for Italy, prepares senior leaders for engagements with their Italian counterparts, and serves as the main point of contact for the Italian air attaché to the U.S. in the Pentagon.

Debbie Truong ’14 B.A. (PSc) joined the education reporting team at the Los Angeles Times. She has focused her reporting career on higher education and challenges facing universities in California.

Maidel De La Cruz ’15 M.P.A. is the senior director of government and community affairs at New York City Health and Hospitals and was also named to the Nonprofit 40 Under 40 list, by City & State, a nonpartisan media outlet dedicated to covering New York’s local and state politics and policy.

Jeffrey Patrick Kurkjian ’15 B.A. (PSc) was named the new co-host of the Andie Summers Morning Show on 92.5 WXTU-FM in Philadelphia. Sawyer Lily Cresap ’16 B.A. (PSt) has been named AdkAction executive director. AdkAction is an organization that addresses unmet needs, promotes vibrant communities and preserves the natural beauty of the Adirondacks. It is based in Keeseville, N.Y.

Joseph Serbun ’16 M.P.A. has joined CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., as a market research and customer insights consultant. Prior to this, Serbun served as a project manager and research lead for the federal elections team at Fors Marsh Group, a market research firm in Arlington, Va.

Sarah Baumunk’17 M.P.A./M.A. (IR) is a research and policy advisor for the Baltimore, Md.-based Catholic Relief Services, an organization that seeks to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas.

Camila Urbina Escobar ’17 M.P.A./M.A. (IR) married fellow alumnus Maxwell Rupersburgh ’16 M.P.A. in Cartagena, Columbia, on June 25, 2022.

Raymond Levine ’18 B.A. (PSt/ PSc) is starting his last semester at the University of Michigan Law School and is managing executive editor of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Volume 27. He is currently a research assistant for Professor Patrick Barry in the legal writing department.

Adam Miller ’19 M.A. (IR) is a research analyst at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an organization that tracks political violence globally.

20s

Christopher R. Sponn ’20 M.P.A. is deputy workforce development director for Tompkins County, N.Y.

Parker Leland Nash ’21 M.P.A. is a program assistant for the German Marshall Fund’s security and defense policy team in the Washington, D.C., office. The German Marshall Fund is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works on issues critical to modern transatlantic interests, such as democracy, security and geopolitics, technology, and innovation. It drives policy debate through analysis, community-building and cultivating leadership.

Megan Joyce ’22 M.P.A. is a communications officer for Reverse the Red, a global movement led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, that organizes conservation efforts and supports international biological diversity.

ALUMNUS JOSH AVIV

INTRODUCES PRESIDENT BIDEN

The White House’s famous Rose Garden turned Orange on a Tuesday afternoon in early August as Josh Aviv ’15 B.A. (Econ), the founder and CEO of SparkCharge, introduced fellow Syracuse University alumnus, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68, before a packed crowd.

Aviv, who launched SparkCharge in 2017 to provide portable electric vehicle chargers, is a respected entrepreneur, innovator and inventor who has played a critical role in developing easy-to-find and easy-to-use charging stations for electric vehicles.

Aviv was invited to introduce Biden before the president signed off on the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which promises to “boost American semiconductor research, development, and production, ensuring U.S. leadership in the technology that forms the foundation of everything from automobiles to household appliances to defense systems,” according to a statement released by the White House. Indeed, in early fall, a historic deal bringing the largest chip manufacturing plant in the country to Clay, New York, just outside of Syracuse, was signed. The deal promises to bring nearly 500,000 jobs and up to $100 billion in investments to Central New York.

“I was extremely nervous and yet extremely happy to have the honor of introducing President Biden. It was such a surreal moment, two Syracuse University alumni at the White House. It was a huge honor, not only for me but for my family. Knowing that the story of my company and the work we’re doing would be heard was absolutely amazing,” Aviv said of his second trip to the White House during the Biden presidency.

It was during that first trip to the White House, at an event last year, when Aviv discussed with Biden and his staff the need to address the troubling shortage in semiconductor chips and the supply chain issues that were both driving up the cost and the wait times to receive the chips.

The CHIPS and Science Act will increase the country’s production of semiconductors while fueling efforts to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. While America created the semiconductor, today the country relies on East Asia for 75 percent of its advanced semiconductor chips.

About SparkCharge

J

osh Aviv launched SparkCharge as a Syracuse University student, working closely with the Blackstone LaunchPad to develop his business roadmap. He incubated after graduation at the Syracuse Center of Excellence, where he built his prototype. His company is valued at more than $100 million, with operations across the country.

SparkCharge’s application brings EV charging directly to drivers whenever they need a charge, regardless of location. The app is part of the company’s pledge to enable EV drivers, companies and entire cities to become greener places by delivering convenient, easy access to EV charging.

Aviv was an ideal choice to introduce his fellow Orange alumnus. Thanks in part to the passage of the bill, Aviv said SparkCharge will double the productivity at its Buffalo, New York, factory over the coming months, part of its commitment to create jobs and opportunities that will “lead our economy’s transition to clean, electric transportation.”

“I believed in the power of my product, and I believed in the American dream. For years, my industry has been at the mercy of supply chains, making semiconductors that are critical to our chargers, and I wanted to change that,” Aviv told the audience. “This is a country where innovation thrives, with the most capable and creative workforce on Earth.”

The ceremony was a homecoming of sorts for Aviv, who was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up admiring the entrepreneurial spirit of his grandfather, Hubert Dade, who for more than 20 years ran a freight logistics company that shuttled airplane parts between Dulles International Airport and the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Those days spent watching his grandfather instilled in Aviv the drive and work ethic required to be an entrepreneur, and inspired Aviv to launch SparkCharge, the world’s first mobile, ultra-fast EV charger, in 2017, when he was still a Syracuse University student. Aviv credits the initial idea for his company, in part, to his undergraduate experience and a class in environmental and resource economics.

After earning his undergraduate degree from Maxwell and the College of Arts and Sciences, Aviv received a master’s degree in information management from the School of Information Studies. He is a member of the LaunchPad’s Founders Circle and serves as a LaunchPad Entrepreneur in Residence. During Orange Central 2019, Aviv was honored as a recipient of the Generation Orange Award, which recognizes graduates of the last 10 years for their continued commitment to Syracuse University.

Before turning the press conference over to his Orange counterpart, Aviv made a special ask of the president.

“If you ever need a charge for your electric Corvette one day, I’ve got your back,” said Aviv, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“Josh, thank you for the introduction,” said President Biden. “Josh loves electric cars, he graduated from Syracuse, he’s my kinda guy, what more do you need? Syracuse and electric cars.”

—John Boccacino

Josh Aviv ’15 B.A. (Econ), G’17 introduces President Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68 during a ceremony at the White House before the president signed off on the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.

Ira Harrison, Activist, Scholar and Poet

Ira Harrison ’67 Ph.D. (SSc) spent the later years of his childhood in Syracuse, where his father and stepmother worked as social workers and instilled in him a drive to solve problems and make a difference in his community. Their influence and his inquisitive nature set him on a path to become a pioneer activist, scholar and poet.

Harrison died on April 22, 2020; the Perspective recently learned of his passing.

Harrison was professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He began his education at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1951. He served as president of the Academic Sociology Honor Society while majoring in sociology. After earning a bachelor’s degree, he served in the U.S. Army until 1957. Upon his return, he earned a master’s degree in sociology and anthropology at Atlanta University.

Harrison taught history and geography at Boggs Academy in Keysville, Georgia, and then moved back to Syracuse in 1960. He attended the March on Washington in 1963; the protest fueled his activism. A few years

Also Greatly Missed

later, he and others were reportedly water hosed and beaten while protesting the removal of low-income housing for what was known as “urban renewal” in the City of Syracuse. At the time, Harrison was pursuing a doctorate at Maxwell. He studied Black churches and storefront churches to write his dissertation, “A Comparative Case Study of Church Desegregation in a Midwest Metropolitan Area.” While a student, he worked as a course coordinator and taught introductory courses in sociology. After completing his Ph.D., he enrolled in Johns Hopkins University’s School of Hygiene and Public Health and earned a master’s degree in public health in 1971.

His numerous accomplishments include the launch of the Association of Black Anthropologists and its integration into the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the publication of eight books of poetry. He received numerous awards for his academic and professional contributions, including the Distinguished Fellow Award for his 50-year membership in the AAA and the Legacy Scholar Award from the same organization.

Since our last edition, the following deaths have been reported:

Rita Heller Denerstein ’43 B.A. (Soc)

Clayton Brower ’47 B.A. (Soc Studies Ed)

Jane Eyerly Kennedy ’47 B.A. (PSc)

William Kaplan ’48 B.A. (PSc)

Paul Palma ’49 B.A. (PSc)

Morton Janklow ’50 B.A. (PSc)

Zachary Fromberg ’51 B.A. (PSc)

Donald Heller ’51 B.A. (PSc)/’52 M.P.A.

Joseph Zimmerman ’51 M.A. (Econ)/’54 Ph.D. (SSc)

Jane Allen Clark ’53 B.A. (Hist)

John Raycroft ’53 B.A. (Geog)

Patricia Erickson Wertz ’53 B.A. (IR)

Rosalina Lalinga Brummer ’54 B.A. (Soc)

Eugene Kaplan ’54 B.A. (AmSt)

Richard Einhorn ’55 M.P.A.

Donald Keuch ’55 M.P.A.

Gail Briggs Crayton-Brownell ’56 B.A. (Soc Studies Ed)

Ronald Gillespie ’56 B.A. (Hist)

Richard Koelling ’56 B.A. (Geog)

Louise Eaton Potter ’56 B.A. (Soc Studies Ed)

Richard Reintsema ’57 B.A. (Geog)

James Snyder ’57 B.A. (Soc)

Joan Connor Toenniessen ’57 B.A. (AmSt)

David Bell ’58 B.A. (Hist)

Henriette Fischer Blair ’59 B.A. (Hist)

Harriet Beardsley Hawkins ’59 B.A. (Soc)

Esther Koury ’59 M.P.A.

Ned Pantelich ’59 B.A. (AmSt)

Thomas Pinckney ’59 M.A. (IR)

Richard Sheeran ’59 B.A. (Econ)

Sandra Hanrahan Stack ’59 B.A. (Soc)

Stanley Corwin ’60 B.A. (Hist)

Seymour Semilof ’60 B.A. (Hist)

Linda Masoner Smith ’60 B.A. (Geog)

Gordon Van Amburgh ’60 B.A. (Soc Studies Ed)

John Anderson ’62 B.A. (Econ)

Hoyle Martin ’62 M.S.Sc.

Ralph Orlando ’62 B.A. (Geog)

Mark Blau ’64 B.A. (Econ)

Gerard Hanlon ’65 B.A. (PSc)

Peter Kosseff ’65 B.A. (PSc)

Marilyn Jensen Wadsworth ’65 B.A. (Geog)

Paul Wustrack ’65 B.A. (Econ)

Thomas Fox ’66 Ph.D. (Econ)

Paul Kernaklian ’67 Ph.D. (SSc)

Edward Reardon ’68 B.A. (Soc)

Frederick Drew ’69 B.A. (Econ)

Henry Seherr-Thoss ’69 B.A. (Hist)

James Tuck ’69 Ph.D. (Anth)

William Barnes ’70 M.A. (Hist)/’77 Ph.D. (Hist)

Richard Duncan ’70 Ph.D. (SSc)

Linda Hebel ’70 M.A. (PSc)

John Horner ’71 B.A. (PSc)

Peter Watson ’71 B.A. (Anth)

Sarah Muther Brown ’72 B.A. (PSc)

David Connell ’72 B.A. (PSc)

Richard Zaretsky ’72 B.A. (Econ)

Vincent Barone ’73 M.P.A./'79 Ph.D. (PA)

Marlene Stone Evans ’73 M.A. (Geog)/ ’78 Ph.D. (Geog)

Philip Gross ’73 B.A. (SSc)/’74 M.P.A.

Masahiro Horie ’73 M.P.A.

David Katz ’73 Ph.D. (SSc)

Stewart McHenry ’73 Ph.D. (Geog)

Dominic Gugliuzza ’75 M.C. (PA)/’76 M.P.A.

Eugene Barrington ’76 M.A. (SSc)/’76 Ph.D. (SSc)

Murray Zitver ’76 B.A. (Hist/PSc)

Cathy Kelly ’77 M.A. (Geog)/’82 Ph.D. (Geog)

Vincent Cole ’78 B.A. (PSc)

Mary Coleman ’78 M.C. (PA)/’82 M.P.A.

Kenneth Kogut ’79 B.A. (PSc)

Stuart Kitchner ’80 B.A. (PSc)

Laurel Saiz ’82 M.P.A.

Thomas Hubbard ’83 B.A. (PSc)

Helene Degutz Shulkin ’83 M.P.A.

Stephen Reid ’88 M.P.A.

Kelly Britton ’92 B.A. (PSt)

Miho Kawai Iwazaki ’94 M.A. (Soc)/ ’00 Ph.D. (Soc)

John Wesche ’96 M.A. (Hist)

Bonnie Green Carver ’00 M.A. (PA)

Jon Ross Wilson ’00 B.A. (Soc)

Kathryn Cressman ’02 B.A. (Hist)

Jacob Rosen ’21 M.A. (PSc)

Maxwell School Advisory Board

B. Ben Baldanza ’84 B.A. Former CEO, Spirit Airlines

Carol Becker ’76 B.A. Owner, William Greenberg Desserts

Stephen Brodsky ’93 B.A. Chief Financial Officer, Encyclopedia Britannica

John H. Chapple* ’75 B.A./’11 Hon. President, Hawkeye Investments, LLC

Nicole Collier ’00 M.P.A. Vice President of Federal Government Affairs, Proctor and Gamble

Cathy Daicoff ’79 M.P.A., Vice Chair, Maxwell Advisory Board

Managing Director (ret.), S&P Global

Mary Daly ’94 Ph.D./’19 Hon. President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank –San Francisco

Alexander Demas ’18 M.P.A./ M.A. (IR)

Managing Consultant – Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure, Guidehouse, LLP

Wesley C. Dias ’74 B.A. CEO, Argosy Consulting Group, LLC

Felipe Estefan ’10 M.A. (IR)/M.S.P.R. Vice President and Head of Washington, D.C. Office, Luminate

Amma Felix ’95 B.A./’01 M.P.A. President and CEO, Collegiate Directions, Inc.

Kelly Flannery ’00 B.A. Finance Director, Metropolitan Government of NashvilleDavidson County

Javier Font ’92 M.P.A. Founder and Executive Vice President, Intelligence & Public Affairs

Michael G. Fox ’95 B.A. Chief Marketing Officer, MUD WTR

Lisa Y. Gordon ’90 M.P.A. Chief Operating Officer City of Atlanta

Stephen Hagerty ’91 B.S./ ’93 M.P.A.

President, Hagerty Consulting Allegra Ivey ’99 M.P.A.

Managing Director, Global Banking & Markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

David Kelso ’68 B.A. Vice Chairman of Private Banking (ret.), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Erik Larson ’83 B.A.

Managing Director, Management Committee Member and Global Head (ret.) for Quantitative Methodologies and Analytics, Promontory, an IBM Company

Michael Lefkowitz ’86 B.A. Managing Member, Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

Travis Mason ’06 B.A. Emerging Technology Consultant

Christopher Meek ’92 B.A./’18 E.M.P.A.

Senior Director of Global Relationship Management, S&P Global; Director/Chair, Soldier Strong, Inc.

Ronald P. O’Hanley III* ’80 B.A. Chair, Maxwell Advisory Board Chairman and CEO, State Street Corporation

John Palmer

University Professor and Dean Emeritus, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Kristen Patel ’90 B.A. Professor of Practice, Policy Studies

Donald P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professor of Practice in Korean and East Asian Affairs

Nancy Jacobson Penn ’84 B.A. Founder and CEO, No Labels

H. Lewis Rapaport ’59 B.A. CEO, Component Assembly Systems, Inc.

Andrew Regalado ’20 B.A. Partner, COR Solutions, LLC

Jeffrey Scruggs*

Managing Director and Co-Head of Public Sector and Infrastructure Group, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Donna E. Shalala ’70

M.S.Sc./’70 Ph.D./’87 LLD Trustee Professor of Political Science, University of Miami

Nate Shanok ’98 B.S. Senior Managing Director, Tishman Speyer

Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns Chair, The Judy Fund

David Sulek ’88 B.A. Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

W. Lynn Tanner ’75 Ph.D. Founder and Executive Chairman, TEC Canada

Brian White ’02 M.P.A.

Managing Director and Head of Security and Defense Technology; Technology Investment Banking, Piper Sandler

Debra Whitman ’97 Ph.D. Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer, AARP

Susan Willie ’98 M.P.A. Chief, Public and Private Mandates, Congressional Budget Office

Steve Zimba ’86 B.A./’87 M.P.A.

Co-Founder and CEO, Nulia

HONORARY MEMBERS

Alwaleed bin Talal bin

AbdulAziz Alsaud ’85 M.S.Sc./’99 LLD Founder and President, Kingdom Holding Co.

Molly Corbett Broad ’62 B.A./’09 Hon. President (ret.), American Council on Education

Samuel V. Goekjian ’52 B.A. Chairman & CEO (ret.), Intracon Associates, LLC

Susan C.V. Penny* ’70 B.A. Private Investment Consultant

Howard G. Phanstiel* ’70

B.A./’71 M.P.A./’22 Hon. Chairman and CEO, Phanstiel Enterprises, LLC

Richard L. Thompson* ’67 M.A./ ’15 Hon. Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

*Syracuse University Trustee

SCHOLARSHIP FUELS FOCUS

David Barbier Jr. came to Syracuse University determined to take advantage of academic opportunities and see the world. Pursuing bachelor’s degrees in international relations at the Maxwell School and television, radio and film at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he has made good on his goal—thanks, in part to the generosity of those like Jeff Scruggs.

Barbier is among the recipients of the Otey and Barbara Scruggs Maxwell School Scholarship created by Scruggs and his wife, Robbin E. Mitchell, in 2019 to honor his late father. Otey Scruggs was an award-winning professor of history at Maxwell from 1969 until his retirement in 1995.

The scholarship has come with a priceless addition—mentorship from Jeff Scruggs, who is managing director and co-head of the public sector and infrastructure group in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. as well as incoming chair of the University’s board of trustees and member of the Maxwell Advisory Board.

“He has been such a support—I appreciate his listening ear and hearing his insights,” says

Barbier, adding, “The financial liberty I was given because of scholarships and donors like him has allowed me to pour my focus into taking advantage of the many opportunities that come with being a student at Syracuse University.”

In his sophomore year, Barbier interviewed actor Wilmer Valderrama for the University Lectures series, started a talk show for the University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and received a fellowship from the Posse Foundation that enabled him to shadow the head of AMC Networks for six weeks. Last year, he served as an orientation leader and traveled to Korea and Spain through Syracuse Abroad. He also squeezed in a trip to Italy to work on a documentary about World War II.

Now, in his senior year, Barbier is spending a semester in Los Angeles and thinking about a future career that pairs his majors with telling the stories of people around the world.

“Thanks to the caring and supportive faculty and staff and generous friends of the University, I have been able to keep my focus where it should be. Here, it has always been, ‘How can we help?”

Learn more about giving options and priorities by visiting maxwell.syr.edu/giving or contact Laine Norton at elnorton@syr.edu or 315.443.1053.