Public Administration and International Affairs Department News, Media Commentary and Research

"Powering the next wave of green energy innovation," co-authored by David Popp, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in PLOS Climate.

Public service isn’t about something you do today and then you’re done. It’s about improving our society, improving the world…for the people that live in it.” Words attributed to Walter Broadnax G’75 that defined the way he approached life, education, work and volunteer service. The esteemed Syracuse University alumnus, professor, trustee and benefactor passed away on Dec. 2, 2022, at the age of 78.

"The Problem with Primaries," written by Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in American Purpose. "To free political parties from fringe candidates, we need to eliminate primaries that favor extremes," says Barton.

"Screening for food insecurity can at least provide the clinician some sense of the risks their patients might be facing and their potential negative health consequences," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

"If the U.S. had not worked with our allies and provided substantial military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, we would be facing a wide range of strategic threats in Europe and elsewhere," Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, tells Newsweek.

How can governments properly prepare now for when the next disaster strikes? Chris Mihm, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, provides six steps that give leaders a practical approach to emergency preparedness in a report published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government.

"A world in which human interaction and emotional and facial expressions are surveilled and normed in such a way that it’s ethically defective in many different ways [is] like something straight from a 'Black Mirror' episode," says Johannes Himmelreich, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs.

Rather than generating heat, these devices transfer heat from the cool outdoors into the warm indoors and vice versa during warm weather. Heat pumps rely on electricity instead of natural gas or propane, both of which have a higher carbon emission than renewable electricity such as wind or solar, says Jay S. Golden, Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance. 

"As the war in Ukraine approaches its 11th month, it is a good time to take stock of the enduring impact of the conflict and to look forward to the prospects for a negotiated settlement that will provide the basis for near-term and sustained security for the Ukrainian people," says Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

Although from the outside, the saga of the SLS (Space Launch System) and NASA’s plans for the moon and Mars look like a story of endless delays and cost overruns, that is basically how large technological projects work out in a democracy, says W. Henry Lambright, a professor of political science and public administration and international affairs.

Associate Professor Emily Wiemers is the principal investigator of the team that includes her Maxwell School colleague, Marc A. Garcia. 

Fabiola Lara ’13 B.A. (IR) and Sabith Khan ’11 M.P.A./ M.A. (IR) launched a business, Tlali Pani, that offers handmade goods from the community they visited in Oaxaca, Mexico. Both say their education and experiences at the Maxwell School have been foundational in the business endeavor.

Joanna 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.  

"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," says Heather Fischer, senior advisor for human rights crimes at Thomson Reuters Special Services.

Teena Curry '07 M.P.A. is now a private enterprise office for USAID and says her Maxwell courses and humanitarian work with the Peace Corps prepared her for the public service role.