Maxwell School News and Commentary

Beginning this fall, for the first time ever, students planning to major in the social sciences applied and were admitted directly to the Maxwell School. Prior to this, students applied to A&S, and they became a Maxwell student only if they declared a Maxwell major, usually sometime around the end of their sophomore year.

University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer discusses grandparents who are taking on tasks that have, until recently, generally been the purview of parents. So, in addition to the sublime pleasures of grandparenting, many grandparents are now also feeling high levels of stress and strain as grandparenting intensifies.

"Thanks to Christine Lagarde’s leadership, her successor will inherit a stronger institution and far less tumultuous conditions. Yet her tenure in Washington was not without controversy. She also leaves her replacement with some major challenges, including preparing for the next financial crisis and keeping the peace between the IMF’s two most important member states," writes Associate Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell.

"Initially created to give children a break from the dirty smokestacks of NYC, the Fresh Air Fund now emphasizes giving children from underserved communities a break from drugs, violence, or gangs," writes University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer.

Lucretia Mott, a feminist activist who was involved in the slavery abolition movement, believed that "you have to change the way people think and feel about slavery, not the way that they vote" analyzes Carol Faulkner, associate dean and professor of history. 

"We’re going to see permanently higher prices because the system as a whole will be less efficient," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "President Trump’s actions are cementing firms’ view that this is going to go on for a long time."

"A lot of communities now are very committed to dealing with issues of racism, but the fact is their own history is problematic," says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. "They’re beginning to confront their own racism, and their own complicity in the racism of the past."

"Obama can say things that will be heard differently from the Democratic candidates for president," says Professor Grant Reeher. "He has the role of former president and that de facto gives you a statesmanlike role. And he fills that role in the way he expresses himself."