Policy Studies Undergraduate Program News

Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate scholarship program at Stanford University. Each Knight-Hennessy scholar receives up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world.

The scholarships, now in their 36th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The founder of the policy studies program received the Chancellor’s Medal at the recent One University Awards Ceremony.

The One University Awards Ceremony, an annual event to honor members of the Syracuse University community who are making a difference through academics, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service, will be held Friday, April 11, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel.

 “You have to have social promotion. You have no choice. And the only place I would be in favor of making them repeat is if they can't read,” says Bill Coplin, professor of policy studies.

Valerie earned a bachelor’s degree in policy studies in the spring of 2024 after just three years and with a 4.0 GPA, and was in her first year with the organization Teach for America. She passed away on Dec. 23, 2024.

Andrea-Rose Oates, a policy studies major, was selected as one of the award winners. The Unsung Hero Award is given to community members, students, faculty and staff who have made a positive impact on the lives of others but are not widely recognized for their contributions. 

Baldanza, a longtime Maxwell supporter and innovative business leader who helped transform the airline industry, passed away on Nov. 5, 2024. He was 62.

Dean David M. Van Slyke signed memorandum of understandings with two top Korean universities on a recent trip to the republic in an effort to increase academic collaboration. 

Assistant Teaching Professor of Policy Studies Austin Zwick and alumna Karina Freeland '23 B.A. (PSt). investigate what conditions are needed for local government to take on leadership and policy innovation in environmental regulation. Published in Sustainability.

Despite its size, Syracuse asserts “a larger dreaming of possibilities, punching above their weight, acting like a bigger city,” says Austin Zwick, associate teaching professor of policy studies. “[There's been] a real alignment and agreement between multiple levels of government...for the last 10 years or so,” he says.

The undergraduate and graduate students received the recognition at the school’s Syracuse Centennial Celebration.

Among those selected are Maxwell students Tommy DaSilva, a policy studies and citizenship and civic engagement major, and Sabrina Lussier, a triple major in geography, citizenship and civic engagement, and environmental sustainability and policy. 

“Since nonpartisan primaries include candidates from all parties, and many voters are entrenched in their partisan loyalties, fewer voters are susceptible to changing their votes based on persuasion efforts funded by wealthy donors” writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

The Maxwell School’s 100th anniversary celebration will be held on Oct. 18 in Goldstein Auditorium.

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, suggests that Trump could decide to “do whatever he wants and let somebody file a lawsuit and bring it to the Supreme Court, who have been pretty favorable to Trump on matters of executive power.”

“The cost to the private sector is quite high,” says Kristen Patel, professor of practice of policy studies. “Former President Trump has not coherently explained how tariffs would benefit us, companies and consumers.” Daniel McDowell, professor of political science, says, “The idea of using tariffs to deter countries from invading other countries, it’s pretty out there.”

The Maxwell School welcomes several new faculty members for the start of the 2024-25 academic year.   

“Levelling Up Innovation in Local Government: An Evaluation of International Smart City Competitions,” co-authored by Austin Zwick, associate teaching professor of policy studies, and Aaron Eben, Maxwell undergraduate student in policy studies, was published by the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance.

“It was a pivotal moment,” Kristen Patel, Donald P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professor of Practice in Korean and East Asian Affairs, says of President George W. Bush's targeting of a North Korean bank in 2003. “Treasury got the go-ahead to start pounding things with this hammer.”