Center for Policy Research News

Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology, says immigration has been a demographic lifeline for much of rural America. Rural areas have been losing young adults for years, she says. “For a lot of small towns, immigrants are the reason the school and hospital stayed open and the county didn’t shrink,” Monnat says.

“Our findings also underscore the importance that residents place on having a voice before data center projects are approved. Public participation is ranked second among the six policy provisions in shaping residents’ preferences,” writes Saba Siddiki, professor of public administration and international affairs, and co-author Fengxiu Zhang of George Mason University.

As fewer people take tests or seek medical treatment for COVID infections, viral activity in wastewater has become a key way to measure transmission, says David Larsen, professor and chair of public health. “The wastewater becomes really essential,” he says.

“Perhaps the biggest benefit is that they are so flexible,” says University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer. “Unlike a formal daycare situation, often grandparents will come to your house, or they'll alternate between watching the children at their own house and at the grandparent's house.”

Doctoral students will examine how policies and geographic factors shape health outcomes for American adults.

Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and Madonna Harrington Meyer, University Professor, discuss their co-written book Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adult Food Insecurity (Russell Sage Foundation, 2025).

“If a woman wants assistance in planning the timing of her childbearing, it is not available. This is but one-example of the lopsidedness of family planning in the U.S. Our programs are designed to assist when women want to restrict their childbearing but offer no support when women want to have children,” writes Leonard Lopoo, professor, chair and associate dean of public administration and international affairs.

The next Maxwell School-sponsored blood drive is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Schine Student Center.

Co-authored by Professor of Sociology Rick Welsh, the article was published in Conservation Science and Practice.

This brief describes how donors respond to GuideStar's transparency seal ratings and what that means for nonprofit accountability. The author finds that even ratings not tied to verified performance significantly influence giving, with platinum-rated nonprofits receiving 34% more in donations than unrated ones, and that donors do not penalize poorly performing nonprofits that hold ratings.

“Even though the federal government spends nearly $100 billion annually on SNAP, there is no federally funded survey or data source that can evaluate this important change to the program,” writes Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

Five Syracuse faculty, including Maxwell professors Ryan Griffiths and Colleen Heflin, share findings on food policy, AI, architecture, political science and marine biology on the nationally broadcast program “The Academic Minute.”

Co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maxwell alumna Hyojeong Kim, the article was published in Demography.

Four faculty members have received tenure in their promotion to associate professor, while one has been promoted to full professor and another to associate teaching professor.

Yingyi Ma observes impact of policy shifts under President Trump on Chinese international students, “We have seen some signals, such as a stronger willingness among some Chinese students to return to China, and an overall decline in the number of Chinese students going to the U.S.”

“In a sense, GLP-1s are fighting fire with fire, which presents a dilemma for those concerned with population health. If the most promising solution succeeds because it leverages market logic, the more pressing concern for population health shifts from prevention alone toward intervening in how this market distributes GLP-1s to maximize population benefit,” writes Iliya Gutin, research assistant professor in the Center for Policy Research.

The article, co-authored by Professor of Sociology Rick Welsh, was published in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.

As they prepare to field the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2027, states can secure the important data necessary to guide policy and resource choices related to food security, writes Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

The Association for the Study of Food and Society Book Award recognizes outstanding books about food published within the two previous calendar years, with prizes given in three categories: monograph, edited volume and first book.