Maxwell School News and Commentary
In Memoriam: John Marshall Townsend
Townsend joined the faculty in 1973, and through the decades served as a professor, mentor, writer and researcher in the Anthropology Department. He faced long-term health conditions but, so devoted to his craft and his students, he continued to teach through the spring of 2024. He passed away on Jan. 22, 2025, at the age of 83.
See related: In Memoriam
Reeher Speaks With LiveNOW from FOX About the Latest With Trump's Cabinet Confirmations
“ I thought that [Pete] Hegseth, the defense secretary, was the most problematic overall, of all the ones that stayed in the process. I think given that Hegseth has made it through, that tells me that the other ones are likely to make it as well,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.
See related: Congress, Federal, United States
Two History Majors Receive Max Kade Fellowship for Language Study in Germany
See related: Student Experience, Study Abroad
Cohen Discusses How the US Has Used Tariffs Throughout History in CNBC Article
Before 1934, Congress—not presidents—had power over tariff rates and negotiations, says Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history. But Democrats had an enormous majority around the New Deal era and passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, granting the president the right to negotiate tariffs in certain cases, Cohen says.
See related: Federal, International Affairs, Tariffs, Trade, United States
Banks Quoted in Newsweek, Stateline Articles on Deportations and Use of the Alien Enemies Act
“Although the Alien Enemies Act does not authorize military participation in law enforcement, if other laws permit their use, Trump could enable the military to implement summary detention and deportation of immigrants lawfully in the United States,” says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.
McCormick Talks to InSight Crime About Trump’s Tariffs on Mexico
“Tariffs will hurt the Mexican economy, which will further weaken the Mexican system and the rule of law, and that’s going to make Mexico much more vulnerable to further incursions from organized crime,” says Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.
Bundled Payment Impacts Uptake of Prescribed Home Health Care
“Bundled Payment Impacts Uptake of Prescribed Home Health Care,” co-authored by Jun Li, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
See related: Health Policy, Race & Ethnicity, United States
Civil Lawfare
“Civil Lawfare,” co-authored by Assistant Professor of Sociology Gabriela Kirk-Werner, was published in Social Problems.
See related: Crime & Violence, Disability, Economic Policy, Law, State & Local, United States
Monmonier Speaks With the Washington Post About Trump’s Executive Order to Rename the Gulf of Mexico
Given how long-standing the Gulf of Mexico name has been, Mark Monmonier, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and the Environment, says he doesn’t see a logical reason to change it.
See related: Federal, Maps, United States
Maxwell Student and Alumna Selected for Prestigious Rangel and Pickering Fellowships
Linda Baguma ’25, an international relations and political science major, has been named a 2025 Rangel Fellow and Alexandria Johnson ’24, an international relations graduate, has been selected as a 2025 Pickering Fellow.
See related: Academic Scholarships, Alumni Experience, Student Experience