The way Roza Vasileva sees it, the future is data: in particular, data gathered by governments—local, regional, national, international—and shared with citizens to make their communities, and their countries, better. Roza’s desire to make the world a better place drove her to study in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and to launch a career spearheading open data in more than a dozen countries. What made that happen, more than anything, were her experiences at the No. 1 ranked Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

As undergraduate programs have become more visible, Maxwell donors—many of them alumni of the undergraduate majors themselves—have grown more eager to support those programs.

Junko Takeda, an associate professor of history at Maxwell who focuses on European and global histories, has been named the inaugural Daicoff Faculty Scholar. The five-year appointment recognizes Takeda’s contributions as a teacher and mentor, productive researcher, and engaged citizen and leader at the school.

As the new chief privacy officer, Charles Cutshall ‘07 B.A. (IR)/’09 M.P.A. provides policy and program oversight for privacy compliance and is responsible for managing risks associated with personally identifiable information.

Scott Mitnick ‘89 M.P.A. now manages a staff of more than 240 employees as well as the city’s approximately $115-million budget.

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.

Laura Hand '71 B.A. (PSc) has been a beloved member of the CNYCentral team for more than 40 years and is well-known throughout Central New York for her contributions.

“The faculty promoted are nationally recognized scholars, outstanding teachers, and engaged in making their work accessible to broader audiences in an effort to shape future research, and dialogue and practice,” said David M. Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School.

Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, won a joint best research award from the Deng Ziji Foundation and the Journal of Trade and Finance Economics in China for a co-authored paper published in the journal. The paper provides evidence to advocate for a broad-base property tax in order to capture the capitalized value arising from improved public services.

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.