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Public Administration and International Affairs Department News, Media Commentary and Research

Gap Analysis in Therapeutic Services for Birthing Individuals with Perinatal Mental Health Disorders

Md Koushik Ahmed, Robert H. Keefe, Brittany Kmush, Emily Shuman, Kathleen Walker, Robert A. Rubinstein, Robert Silverman, Andrea Shaw, Sandra D. Lane

Published in Social Work in Public Health, the article was co-authored by Robert Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Sanda Lane, professor emerita of public health; and Brittany Kmush, associate professor of public health.

February 5, 2026

Murrett Talks to Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal and 570 WSYR About US-Iran Tensions

“Defining our mission objectives will be key for any use of force again Iran, that is, one which can credibly lead to meeting a strategic end state,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

February 5, 2026

Heflin Discusses USDA Sec. Rollins’s Three-Dollar Meal Claim With The Bulwark

“I was very confused,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, about Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’s three-dollar meal claim. “USDA has several established meal plans that they estimate the cost of each month. And none of those comes out to $3.”

February 3, 2026

Himmelreich Talks to Syracuse.com About the AI Policy Minor and AI in Teaching

“AI is going to have significant social impact. This will create policy challenges that require an understanding of the technology as well as the policy analysis skills,” says Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.
January 30, 2026

O’Keefe Talks With MS NOW About Senator Mark Kelly's Lawsuit Against Secretary Pete Hegseth

“It is a very fine line, but it's a special obligation that public servants carry, particularly those in uniform, to follow through in this manner and to do so in a way that they understand precisely why what they're being asked to do is lawful in prosecuting the national interest of the United States,” says University Professor Emeritus Sean O'Keefe.

January 26, 2026

See related: Government, Law, United States

Heflin Discusses SNAP Work Requirements, Food Insecurity Data in Mother Jones Article

Around half of early retirements between the ages of 55 and 65 are the result of health issues or difficulties maintaining employment, often compounded by challenging state processes to seek exemption from it, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. “It’s really important for states to be thinking about the administrative burden.”

January 23, 2026

Murrett Speaks With CBS News About US-Iran Relations

“This was a level of killings and suppression which is different in scale from anything we've seen in the last few years of protest movements...and it hasn't really solved any of the underlying problems that exist in Iran, nor the anger that so many of their people have against the regime,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

January 22, 2026

Williams Talks to Christian Science Monitor About Greenland’s Strategic Importance, Security

“At one point, we had over a dozen ..military bases across the country, and that was because Greenland was pretty important in terms of defense against subs and any sort of attack from the north,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 20, 2026

Colleen Heflin Examines Impact of Changes to Virginia’s Child Care Subsidy Program

The Maxwell professor and fellow researchers are supported by the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

January 15, 2026

Williams Speaks With Newsweek About Trump’s Intention to Acquire Greenland

“Denmark cannot legally sell Greenland to the United States. The Greenlanders would need a vote on what they wanted to do, and they have expressed no desire to join the US in any form of state or territory,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 12, 2026

Heflin Discusses Food Insecurity on WCNY’S ‘CONNECT NY’

“I think it's important to note that while poverty is a really significant risk factor for food insecurity, there are more people that live above the poverty line, actually, who are food insecure. It is the working poor. It's people that actually earn too much to potentially qualify for SNAP,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs. 

January 9, 2026

Strengthening Snap’s Ability to Address Old Age Food Insecurity

Colleen Heflin, Madonna Harrington Meyer,

The article, published in Contexts, was co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer. 

January 5, 2026

Himmelreich Talks to Central Current About Flock Safety Keeping Syracuse Drivers’ ‘Anonymized’ Data

“The images that these cameras capture have a lot of information. Even when you anonymize them by throwing away metadata, you can figure out where the image was taken,” says Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “After all, you still see the street and everything around the car. So, I doubt that the anonymization is robust.” 

December 30, 2025

Murrett Discusses Trump's Order to Blockade Sanctioned Venezuela Oil Tankers With AP News, CBS News

While the strikes on alleged drug boats have raised questions about the use of military force, Trump’s seizure of the tanker and other actions against sanctioned entities are consistent with past American policy, says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

December 22, 2025

O’Keefe and Lambright Weigh In on Trump’s Pick to Lead NASA in The Observer and Scientific American

“The job is a leadership role, where your task is to motivate people from wide-ranging, different disciplines to come together to define the problem as the same and then go about trying to solve it through multiple avenues. Everything I’ve heard about him certainly suggests that he’s got a lot of talent and capability to make him the ideal person,” says University Professor Emeritus Sean O'Keefe.

December 16, 2025

Is AI Replacing Human Mental Health Professionals?

Michiko Ueda
An increasing number of Americans are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health support. A new survey of U.S. adults found that nearly 35% use AI tools more than once a week to manage mental health concerns. The findings raise important questions about whether AI is supplementing or replacing traditional mental health care.
December 16, 2025

See related: United States

Can Schools Sustain the Rising Cost of Retiree Health Care?

Robert Bifulco and Iuliia Shybalkina
New York State school districts face mounting budget pressures from retiree health care benefits. Without policy changes, these costs could grow from 4.5 percent of district revenues today to over 13 percent by 2075, creating significant budget pressures for districts. 
December 10, 2025

See related: United States

Murrett Speaks With CBS News About Russia's Position on the Peace Proposal With Ukraine

“I think the big resistance that will probably come out of the Kremlin will have to do with some of what they always describe as the underlying conditions, which is security guarantees for Ukraine, but some way precluding them from joining the NATO alliance, and also some ambiguous language regarding their joing the European Union,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.
December 8, 2025

Public Health: A Vital Addition to Maxwell

The department’s transition from Falk College fuels collaboration across disciplines, strengthens research centers, and establishes a hub for population and public health sciences.

December 5, 2025

Jiahuan Lu Weighs In on Challenges facing US-Based Charities in WalletHub Article

“As government—especially federal—support recedes, competition for philanthropic dollars and other revenue sources is likely to intensify significantly,” says Jiahuan Lu, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

November 26, 2025

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