Executive Education News

Executive Education News
Hometown Hero: Jay Knight
United States Army Captain Jay Knight is a student in the prestigious Defense Comptrollership Program pursuing his MBA at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Read more about what makes him a hometown hero via the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs website.

EMPA student continues his education journey with freedom, flexibility
When Brian Green earned his MBA from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2018, he swore to himself that he was done with school. Although he was happy to get 15-20 hours back each week to spend with his wife and four children, Green eventually felt the pull to continue studying and decided to go back for a second master’s degree. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a degree in engineering management, Green knows all about hard work and discipline. So it’s no surprise that when he enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program, he knew he could juggle all of his work and household responsibilities.

Executive Education event outlines lessons of COVID-19 disruption
Catherine Gerard, associate director of Executive Education, and University Professor Sean O’Keefe led a discussion with Executive Education students on how the global health crisis impacts learning and leadership. About 15 students attended the October 27 event in-person; another 26 students participated via Zoom.

Army National Guard member builds experience through DCP
For Major Chinedu Nwankwoala, a member of the National Guard, a career in finance was a gateway to explore a much larger world—even larger than either of the continents he grew up on. Nwankwoala is attending the Defense Comptrollership Program (DCP), a joint program between the Whitman School and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and the Department of Defense. Graduates earn both a master of business (MBA) degree and an executive master of public administration (EMPA) degree. Read about Nwankwoala's journey to DCP in the SU News article, "Army National Guard Member Builds Experience through Defense Comptrollership Program."

Online pivot offers new options for Executive Education programs
More than 50 students in the Veterans Program for Politics and Civic Engagement (VPPCE) are engaging online rather than on campus this semester. Like educational programs across the world, the program shifted to virtual learning this fall amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. “It’s imperative for the School to constantly adapt in the face of the trends in adult education that suggest online learning is becoming more mainstream,” says Steve Lux, director of the Executive Education program.

Exec Ed alum links Syracuse’s disability rights work with Uzbekistan
Mirjakhon Turdiev, a member of the International Board of Experts at the Republic of Uzbekistan’s El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, current social science Ph.D. candidate, and former Humphrey fellow at Maxwell, spoke at the September 16 webinar, “Opportunities in applying the experience of the prestigious U.S. university in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Uzbekistan,” highlighting Syracuse’s Disability Rights Clinic (DRC) in his native Uzbekistan. Turdieve also appeared on Uzbek national television to discuss his research on people with disabilities.

Jacobson comments on US defense secretary's travel in Politico
"The further away, the less likelihood of being fired," says Assistant Dean Mark Jacobson of US Defense Secretary Mark Esper's frequent travel amid persistent rumors that he will either quit or be fired after the election. "That’s my take – you stay out of the line of drive-by fire." Jacobson was quoted in the Politico article "Esper plans more official travel as calls grow for him to stay put."

Maxwell scholars partner on effort to grow Syracuse’s new economy
The JPMorgan Chase Advancing Cities Initiative is working in the context of Syracuse Surge, a $200 million strategy to redevelop underserved neighborhoods and bring new tech jobs into the city. Syracuse Surge includes the installation of a 5G network, a countywide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) school, and expanded vocational and business development opportunities. In addition to Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, “Challenge Team” partners include the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, Le Moyne College, and the Allyn Foundation.

Humphrey Fellow credits LaunchPad for entrepreneurial experience
Maxim Glagolev, a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, started Geeklama, an online coding school that makes quality live coding lessons available to all kids – regardless of where they live. Glagolev credits his entrepreneurial experience in the U.S. for his knowledge on how to start a company. He became involved in the Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars while studying at Syracuse University, participating in the LaunchPad’s Startup Weekend. Read the full story, "Maxim Glagolev on entrepreneurship that makes a difference in the world," published on the Blackstone LaunchPad website.

Remote Humphrey project supports Congressional voting by proxy
Marco Konopacki was looking forward to closing out his Humphrey Fellowship year working in House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s Washington, D.C., office. But the novel coronavirus pandemic upended his plans, and he flew home to Brazil. There he, like the rest of the Maxwell School’s 2019 cohort, conducted his professional affiliation remotely. The pandemic also changed Konopacki’s project with Rep. Hoyer, a democrat who has represented Maryland’s 5th congressional district since 1981. Instead of his original proposal, Konopacki helped Rp. Hoyer develop a policy to allow proxy voting when Congress could not meet in person.

Lux addresses international conference on COVID-19 challenges
Steven Lux, director of Maxwell’s Executive Education program, was invited to speak on an international panel coordinated by 2019-2020 Humphrey Fellow Barbara Cecilia Barrios Dumanoir of Panama. Lux was one of 12 presenters in the Panama City-based virtual program "International Congress: Reality Facing COVID-19," September 1 to 3. Lux, who spoke about public policy, said the event highlights Maxwell’s impact and ongoing international relationships with Humphrey fellows.

In Athenian Oath, EMPA grad hears ‘call to action for democracy’
Christopher Cartwright ’90 takes to heart the Athenian Oath’s call to “leave things better than we find them.” Cartwright, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and journalism, led the recitation of the Oath at this spring’s graduate convocation hosted by the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs. Reciting them provided “a nice connection to the school and a bit of a call to action for democracy,” said Cartwright, who returned to Maxwell in 2017 with the first Online EMPA cohort and completed the program in December 2019.

Capstone projects aim to connect theory to practice
Seema Kumar came to the Maxwell School to pursue an Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA.) Kumar, deputy secretary at the Home Department, Jaipur, the capital of the Indian state Rajasthan, hoped her executive education program would help her improve government operations and assess an e-government initiative.

Catherine Gerard concludes 15 years of leadership at PARCC
After serving as its director or co-director since 2005, Catherine Gerard has stepped down from her leadership role at the Maxwell School’s renowned Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC), effective July 1, 2020. Gerard will continue as an adjunct professor of public administration and associate director for the Executive Education Programs at Maxwell, and also continue her work as co-director of the Collaborative Governance Initiative at PARCC. Succeeding Gerard as PARCC’s new director is Tina Nabatchi, a long-time PARCC associate who also co-directs PARCC’s Collaborative Governance Initiative.

Radcliffe discusses the rationality of voting in The Hill
"In voting as a citizen, you vote for president because it is your duty as a citizen, basing your vote on your honest judgment about what is in the best interests of the country," writes Dana Radcliffe, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs. "While your individual vote will not causally determine who wins, your voting is rational and even obligatory as a civic duty to take part in the collective act of citizens’ choosing whom to entrust with the nation’s highest office." Radcliffe's op-ed, "Voting can seem irrational — but you should do it anyway," co-authored with Martin Dobelle '19 EMPA, was published in The Hill.

Maxwell School picks Mark Jacobson to head D.C. programs
Mark R. Jacobson, a scholar of foreign policy and national security who also has extensive work experience in federal government and international organizations, has been named to lead Washington, D.C., operations for the Maxwell School. As assistant dean for Washington programs, Jacobson will oversee year-round academic programs for Maxwell’s D.C. headquarters at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the #1-ranked think tank in the United States (University of Pennsylvania Global Go To Think Tank Index), where Maxwell serves approximately 200 undergraduate, graduate, and midcareer executive students each year.

In COVID crisis, Humphrey fellow sees opportunity for educators
As the novel coronavirus pandemic unfolded, Humphrey fellow Barbara Cecilia Barrios Dumanoir quickly saw a connection between the public health crisis and her interest in technological literacy. Educators everywhere should think more broadly about teaching options, says Barrios. “Many times when we think about remote education we think the only tools are the internet and computer and phone, but before then we had radio and TV.”

Online EMPA experience converges with pandemic response
Natalie Aguilera and Brandie Andrews are among many Online Executive MPA students and alumni with jobs responding to the pandemic. Aguilera oversees human resources at the Native American Health Center in Oakland, California. Andrews has worked for 14 years for AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe modeling and data analytics company in Boston.

Military-connected student of the month: Exec Ed student Chris Giglio
For many, joining the military is as much a matter of family tradition as it is a commitment to serve. For Syracuse graduate student and third-generation Naval officer Chris Giglio, it was also a matter of building on a personal history. Giglio is pursuing a certificate of advanced studies in public administration at Maxwell.

Exec Ed alums discuss open data in transportation field in Vox article
Oleksiy Anokhin '17 EMPA/EMIR/CAS (conflict resolution and leadership/inter & non-govern orgs) and Anton Volov '15 EMPA/CAS (conflict resolution and leadership/inter & non-govern orgs) co-authored piece, "Traffic Accidents, Routes, Fines: Big Data in the Transport Section," was published on VoxUkraine.