Maxwell School News and Commentary

Ralph Hockley ’49 B.A. (RusSt) passed away on Nov. 8, 2023. He was 98. He fought valiantly to defend the U.S. and other allied countries against Nazis and threats to democracy through two wars and beyond. 

Roland Droitsch ’65 M.A. (PSc), who served as the deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Labor, passed away in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Jan. 26, 2024. He was 82.

Nimisha Thakur is one of 22 scholars in the United States to receive the award, which the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation calls the largest and most prestigious award for Ph.D. candidates in the humanities and social sciences addressing questions of ethical and religious values.

The Maxwell School assistant professor will conduct two studies on school victimization and hate crimes toward Asian American and Pacific Islander students.

Students from the Central Asian nation are taking advantage of all Executive Education and Maxwell as a whole offers, along with pursuing studies through some of the most prestigious fellowships offered.

Omnia Shedid ’24 J.D./M.P.A. was born in a small, rural village in Egypt. As a child running through her grandparents’ corn fields, she never imagined she would one day walk the halls of the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit while supporting work that would impact the lives of many Americans.

Jacob Grindstaff-Espinal selected Syracuse University because it has one of the top study abroad programs in the country—plus access to expansive educational offerings where students can explore their interests from all sides. 

Funded by gifts from hundreds of individual donors, including a lead gift from long-time Maxwell supporters Gerry and Daphna Cramer, the project has since awarded funds for dozens of faculty-led projects that have explored topics related to citizenship—from labor policy to free speech jurisprudence to climate change.

A pair of Maxwell professors are helping to lead an effort to foster a reciprocal learning relationship with the peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

The professor and research director for the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship will receive funding to advance her research into the causes of political polarization.