Yoonseok Lee and Junko Takeda Named Department Chairs
Lee succeeds Devashish Mitra as chair of the Economics Department, while Takeda follows Susan Branson as chair of the History Department.
See related: Promotions & Appointments
Monnat Cited in Forbes Article on Rural Health
According to Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, “The rural U.S. is sick, poor, and losing population. And the health and longevity gap between rural and urban America is growing wider every year.”
See related: Education, Food Security, Infrastructure, Labor, Longevity, Rural Issues, United States
Barton Discusses Gerrymandering, Uncompetitive Elections With GD Politics and Washington Post
“In theory, what we want is the election that really decides who is going to serve in government to be one that was a higher-turnout election where campaigns, candidates, platforms, policies made some sort of difference in the outcome,” says Assistant Teaching Professor Richard Barton. “But most of those general elections are just not competitive, and they’re not consequential.”
See related: Congress, Political Parties, State & Local, U.S. Elections, United States
Wagner Speaks With Military.com About Department of Air Force Recruiting
“So these challenges and headwinds are going to persist,” says Alex Wagner, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs. “And it's actually going to require continuation of the current initiatives, but also new initiatives, new efforts and new insights by an administration that's quick to claim credit but hasn't really put in place any new solutions to date.”
See related: Defense & Security, Federal, U.S. National Security, United States
Before Colonization: Non-Western States and Systems in the Nineteenth Century
Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science, has co-written a new book, Before Colonization: Non-Western States and Systems in the Nineteenth Century (Columbia University Press, 2025). The book, written with Charles R. Butcher, challenges the Eurocentric view of the world by offering a comparative analysis of non-Western state systems in the 19th century, supported by an original dataset.
See related: Government, Political Parties, United States
Do Small Towns Have Big Smart City Dreams?
The article, co-authored by Austin Zwick, associate teaching professor of policy studies, was published in State and Local Government Review.
See related: Canada, Rural Issues, State & Local, Urban Issues
In Memoriam: Deborah Pellow
See related: In Memoriam
Taylor Weighs In on Trump’s Approach to Aiding Ukraine in Newsweek Article
“The good news for Ukraine is that...Trump has finally figured out that Putin is the main obstacle to peace,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.
See related: Federal, International Affairs, U.S. Foreign Policy, Ukraine, United States
Chris Mihm Recognized for Fostering ‘Excellence in Public Service for the Next Generation’
The Maxwell School adjunct professor and longtime public servant has been honored by the New York State Academy of Public Administration.
See related: Awards & Honors
How News Coverage of Misinformation Shapes Perceptions and Trust
Emily Thorson, associate professor of political science, has published How News Coverage of Misinformation Shapes Perceptions and Trust (Cambridge University Press, 2024). The book analyzes how the media addresses the issue of misinformation and how such coverage shapes public perception and trust.
See related: Federal, Media & Journalism, State & Local, United States
Kmush Quoted in HuffPost Article on Measles Cases Potentially Costing the US Its Elimination Status
“It could affect U.S. citizens’ ability to travel to specific countries if they don’t want the risk of measles getting introduced to their country. It could affect other people’s ability to come visit the U.S. Other countries might require proof of measles vaccination before they can reenter their home country,” says Brittany Kmush, associate professor of public health.
See related: Federal, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Mitra Speaks With the Washington Post About Top Trump Officials Having Multiple Jobs
“It is always a bad idea to burden someone with multiple jobs, especially when at least one of those jobs is extremely important,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics.
See related: Federal, United States
Sultana Article on Democracy in Bangladesh, Anniversary of July Revolution Published on Counterpoint
“One year after the July Revolution, the memory of brave young lives lost continues to light the path toward a just, democratic, and united Bangladesh,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.
See related: Conflict, Government, International Affairs, South Asia
Will Work For Food: Labor across the Food Chain
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of geography and the environment, has co-written a new book, Will Work For Food: Labor across the Food Chain (University of California Press, 2025). Minkoff-Zern and co-author Teresa Mares explore the often-overlooked role of labor in the food system, highlighting the exploitation faced by frontline workers from farms to restaurants.
See related: Agriculture, Federal, Labor, Rural Issues, United States
Testing for Spatial Lag Dependence and Homoskedasticity in a Random Effects Panel Data Model
See related: Research Methods, United States
AI Boost or Bust? Johannes Himmelreich
Maxwell School professor examines the philosophy and ethics of data science and artificial intelligence.
See related: Autonomous Systems, Data Privacy, Ethics, Government
Pralle Featured in Associated Press, NY Times Articles on FEMA Flood Map Exemptions for Camp Mystic
“It’s a mystery to me why they [Camp Mystic] weren’t taking proactive steps to move structures away from the risk, let alone challenging what seems like a very reasonable map that shows these structures were in the 100-year flood zone,” says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science.
See related: Federal, Flood Insurance, Natural Disasters, United States
Robert Rubinstein Honored With 2025 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching
The award recognizes a faculty member who has an important impact on students and a special interest in the graduate seminar.
See related: Awards & Honors
Monarch Discusses the Dollar and Interest Rates With Newsweek
“Recent policies such as extremely high tariffs, increased government debt, and worries about inflation have all contributed to the falling dollar,” says Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics.
See related: Federal, International Affairs, Labor, Tariffs, United States
Four Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars
Brian Brege, Sarah Hamersma, Yüksel Sezgin and Ying Shi will hold the title for three years.
See related: Awards & Honors, Giving, Promotions & Appointments