Campbell Institute News

"We don’t need any more mechanisms to make whiteness more visible," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

After serving as its director or co-director since 2005, Catherine Gerard has stepped down from her leadership role at the Maxwell School’s renowned Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC), effective July 1, 2020. Gerard will continue as an adjunct professor of public administration and associate director for the Executive Education Programs at Maxwell, and also continue her work as co-director of the Collaborative Governance Initiative at PARCC. 

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, explains that face masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic, became politicized and that we need to prevent a similar reaction when it comes time to convince the public they should get vaccinated for a similar public health crisis. 

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says she was surprised to see such enormous divides emerge as the pandemic wore on, as according to other research she’s conducted, moments of extreme anxiety and uncertainty can actually make people more open to new sources of information.

"We need to stop burning fossil fuels and we know when we need to do it," says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science.

"The big takeaway of all of the data is partisanship is the big determinant of all of the behavior," says Associate Professor of Political Science Shana Gadarian.

"If the public is fundamentally dissatisfied with where the country is going, that is also going to open up opportunities for different political messages—and different political messengers—to tap that dissatisfaction in different ways," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says people tend to get cues from their elected officials. "The political leaders of the Republican party for a long time have not had a consistent message about what keeps people safe," Gadarian says.

"If Democrats are taking more precautions because of the coronavirus, we may see them not turn out as much as they would have without the pandemic," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"At this point, it is just completely baffling to me,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science, of President Trump's decision to hold his campaign rally in Tulsa, the site of one of the worst racial massacres in modern U.S. history back in 1921. "He is going all-in on ‘Law and Order’ and rejecting the very premise of the protests and sticking it in your eye."

"By 'abolish the police,' I mean building a world where we do not rely on anti-Black, white supremacist institutions of order to regulate society," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

"I think for a growing number of white Americans you are seeing more attention paid to the longer-term reasons that racial inequality persists in America," says Steven White, assistant professor of political science. "I guess the question is whether these changes in public opinion will last," he says. "Is this the beginning of a really substantial shift?"

When asked how hard it would be for any incumbent to overcome low voter satisfaction figures, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says, "If we’re going by the history, the answer is 'very difficult.'" He claims that voter satisfaction has always been a key indicator of the incumbent party's likelihood of winning reelection.

"It’s an important inflection point, if you will, of now seeing the opportunity for commercial transportation of humans into space," says University Professor Sean O’Keefe, former administrator of NASA. "This is much akin to the transition when the first civil aviation aircraft took off decades ago after many decades of it being exclusively a public endeavor."

"You can’t explain SpaceX without really understanding how NASA really kind of nurtured it in the early days," says Harry Lambright, professor of public administration and international affairs and political science. "In a way, SpaceX is kind of a child of NASA."

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says Biden could have a hard time getting enthusiastic support from former Sanders supporters due to his lengthy record—three decades of Senate votes and two terms in the White House as President Barack Obama's vice president.

The polarization of American life had been going on for years before Trump was even a political figure, says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. But, "what is different now [the COVID-19 pandemic], and what gives this a sharper edge is the fact that emotions are running so high."

 75% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said they wore masks in public, finds a study conducted by Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, and her colleagues.