Maxwell School News

The Lerner Center is partnering with other local institutions to bring better health options to Syracuse’s Near Westside.

At first glance, the new major in citizenship and civic engagement would seem to share a lot with another Maxwell major, policy studies. Both are interdisciplinary, nurture informed citizens, and emphasize action. But the similarities end there.

"We don't want to press our interests in citizenship upon the students," says Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology, who will be teaching the new MAX course on research methods and civic engagement. "We want them to develop it themselves. We're there as mentors. So it shouldn't be that we give them the Action Plan and they fill it in. It should be initiated by the student's desire to engage with a particular social problem."

Maxwell’s Lerner Center is working with local government to encourage exercise and good snacking habits by students.

The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union could lead to other splits among the U.K.'s constituent parts, such as Scotland, says Seth Jolly, associate professor of political science. Jolly, who specializes in European regionalist movements, believes that the EU has strengthened the emergence of regionalist mentalities throughout Europe.

"I would include in this funding building opportunities/outlets for social cohesion, community engagement and civic participation," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, on how she would spend a hypothetical budget of $100 billion to solve the opioid crisis.

"There’s a set of priorities and most of the people have been waiting in the queue for years; frequently, even decades. So, we do not have large flows of people coming into this country based on any kind of chain system," says Elizabeth F. Cohen, professor of political science.

Now in her third year as Chapple Professor, Kristi Andersen works with the diverse MAX Course teaching teams to identify the critical issues and debates that will be the focus each year — such as the electoral process, health care reform, education, and Social Security. "One of its goals is to teach students how to be critical consumers of data as citizens as well as potentially as policy analysts or working in some social science-related occupation," Andersen says.

By training the next generation of government leaders, the Maxwell School builds a stronger future for Africa.

In November, Maxwell held a second anniversary party — at the School’s home in D.C., the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Among highlights was the awarding of the new Moynihan Spirit of Public Service Award.

One of the highlights of Maxwell’s 90th anniversary celebrations this year was a school-wide party. Notably, the Passport to Our Past activity invited people to carry a small, informative mock passport to stations at departments, centers, and institutes around the School, thus reminding those “travelers” of all the individual enterprises that make up Maxwell.

A new book by political scientist Shana Gadarian explores how anxiety over public threats affects the political arena.

The Maxwell Citizenship Initiative aims to identify common interests in citizenship issues among faculty and students throughout the school, and then to provide new avenues and support for sharing ideas and collaborating. “Our goal,” says Prema Kurien, professor of sociology and one of the founders of the project, “is to create faculty clusters based on research interests.”

Visiting campus in April, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright shared insights from her storied career with students and the University community.

The Maxwell School changed, grew and celebrated during Dean Steinberg’s five-year term. 

As he completes his deanship, James Steinberg reflects on the Maxwell School, its strengths and accomplishments, and his own priorities as a dean and teacher.