Maxwell School News

Lerner Postdoctoral Fellow Danielle Rhubart's research finds that working mothers of young children cut down their hours four to five times more than working fathers.

Conservative state policies are killing Americans. U.S. life expectancy gains since 2010 would be 25% greater for women & 13% greater for men if state policies hadn’t become more conservative.

COVID-19 has created numerous challenges for Americans in their ability to meet their basic needs. One specific economic challenge is the ability to pay mortgage or rent.

Melaine Rottkamp ’91 B.A. (PSc) is the new president and CEO of Dutchess Tourism. As president, she will manage Dutchess Tourism’s branding, advertising and marketing efforts, and various business support and education programs.

"What the federal government—the president or secretaries possessing delegated authority—have not done yet is use the D.P.A. [Defense Production Act] to create a permanent, sustainable, redundant, domestic supply chain for all things pandemic: testing, swabs, N95 masks, etc.," says Jamie Baker, director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law and professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

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. 

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, explains that face masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic, became politicized and that we need to prevent a similar reaction when it comes time to convince the public they should get vaccinated for a similar public health crisis. 

The coronavirus pandemic has created widespread economic disruption, exacerbating American household food insufficiency.

"What’s really important right now is getting money out quickly, and Congress can’t even do that," says David Popp, professor of public administration and international affairs. "I worry about tacking on green stimulus, or anything else that slows down the process. We can worry about financing the green transition six months from now."

The overuse of police force has public health implications. The rates of injury and death sustained while in law enforcement custody should be collected as a part of the public health strategy to minimize the over-use of force.

"In short, the pandemic has led to greater fear of Chinese unfair practices, not less," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"Research also suggests that mothers aren't just reducing their hours, they're leaving their jobs to cope. Among women who said they were not working due to the pandemic, more than 16% said it was because they had to care for children not in school or daycare...compared to less than 5% of the men," states a research brief written by Lerner Postdoctoral Scholar Danielle Rhubart.

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says she was surprised to see such enormous divides emerge as the pandemic wore on, as according to other research she’s conducted, moments of extreme anxiety and uncertainty can actually make people more open to new sources of information.