Maxwell School News and Commentary

Between 1900 and 1940, roughly five million southern whites left former Confederate states and neighboring Oklahoma. In a peer-reviewed study to be published later this year, Thomas Pearson, assistant professor of economics, and his co-authors found that this group was not just greater in number, but, as they spread their culture and attitudes, perhaps in political influence, too.

"The Social and Community Consequences of the Opioid Epidemic," co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in The ANNALS of the Academy of Political and Social Science.

The assistant professor of anthropology has provided her students with a unique research opportunity. 

Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, believes the number of Onondaga County residents who lose coverage will be less than the 9.5% estimated by a federal government study. That’s because New York’s Medicaid and other public health insurance programs are more generous than those offered by many other states, she says.

The Iraq War veteran is director of national security for The American Legion and is pursing an executive master’s in international relations degree.

The associate professor of political science will examine what constitutes a refugee crisis in her second book.

"There are three primary effects [of climate change on flying]: a reduction in payload capacity for some flights because of rising temperatures, an increase in clear air turbulence on some flight routes, and changes in fuel consumption on some routes due to changes in upper level wind speeds," says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment.

As public concerns about crime mounted in the 1980s and 1990s, AR-15 marketers started to adjust their depiction of what was on the receiving end of the barrel. “People, rather than animals, were the target,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “That allows it to be sold more as a self-defense weapon, particularly inside the home.”

As a fellow, Ma, professor of sociology, will receive customized leadership training and mentorship.

“We sort of show at least some suggestive survey evidence that talking to people very explicitly and straightforwardly about these historical reasons why inequality persists can at least at the margins make people more open to thinking about race in a more structural way [and] taking inequality seriously,” says Steven White, assistant professor of political science.