Center for Policy Research News
Badi Baltagi Named 2025 Great Arab Minds Award Laureate in Economics
Often described as the “Arab Nobel,” the award honors exceptional Arab scholars, scientists and thinkers whose work advances knowledge and benefits humanity.
See related: Awards & Honors
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.
See related: Food Security, New York State, Nutrition, State & Local
Strengthening Snap’s Ability to Address Old Age Food Insecurity
The article, published in Contexts, was co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer.
See related: Aging, Food Security, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Harrington Meyer Discusses What’s Driving the Rise in Grandparent Childcare on WBUR's ‘On Point’
If parents had more guaranteed welfare state program available to them, “it would be easier for them to juggle jobs and children and they might not need to rely on grandparents quite as extensively,” says University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, Labor, United States
Minkoff-Zern Speaks With Vermont Public About Her Book ‘Will Work for Food’
“So many small farmers across Vermont and New York and elsewhere, are competing in a really unequal, unfair system. You have this structure where the vast majority of the food dollar—the money we pay for the food—is not going to the farm, the farm level, at all. So small-scale farmers are really struggling today, not just the workers but the farmers and the farm owners,” says Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of geography and the environment.
See related: Agriculture, Labor, Rural Issues, United States
Monnat Discusses Six Myths About Rural America in The Conversation Article
Rural communities are far more varied than people understand them to be, says Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat and her co-author. “Getting these facts right matters because public debates, policies and resource—including money for programs—often rely on these assumptions, and misunderstandings can leave real needs neglected.”
See related: Rural Issues, United States
Can Schools Sustain the Rising Cost of Retiree Health Care?
See related: United States
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.
See related: School History, Student Experience
Monnat Featured in Newsweek Article on Rural America’s Optimism About the Country’s Future
Rural communities have “leaned increasingly conservative” for several decades, and support for Trump is “especially strong” among these communities, which could mean they feel the country's leadership reflects their priorities, particularly on cultural and social issues, says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health.
See related: Federal, Rural Issues, United States
Yingyi Ma Speaks with South China Morning Post on Drop in Number of Chinese Students in the US
Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology, said several factors could be behind the trend showing a drop in the number of Chinese students studying in the U.S., beyond the anxiety over changes in U.S. policies, including the rise of “intra-Asia migration” with more students studying in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
See related: China, Federal, International Affairs, U.S. Education, United States
Student Alienation in Schools Goes Beyond Low Achievement
See related: United States
Public School Districts Should Close Their ‘Alternative’ and ‘Continuation’ High Schools
“Alternative” high schools are meant to help struggling students catch up on credits, but they often function as dumping grounds that perpetuate inequality.
See related: United States
Heflin Discusses SNAP Funding With ABC News, Newsweek, PolitiFact and USA Today
“The stress that families are facing throughout the country is tremendous, not knowing how they’re going to feed their families,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Federal, Food Security, Nutrition, United States
Suicide Deaths Among Informal Caregivers in an Aging Society
The study, authored by Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Public Health.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, East Asia, Longevity
The Achievement Narrative and Alienation in School: A Typology of Academic Disconnection
The study, co-authored by Assistant Professor of Sociology Sean Drake, was published in Sociology of Education.
See related: Children, Adolescents, U.S. Education, United States
Why Aren’t More People Calling 988 for Mental Health Crises?
See related: United States
Lourie Lecture Features Dr. Hassan Tetteh
The 37th annual Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture on Health Policy on Oct. 16, 2025, featured Dr. hassan Tetteh for a talk titled “AI Will Change Everything Except What Matters Most.”
See related: Artificial Intelligence
Heflin Speaks With Newsweek About the Impact of Delayed SNAP Benefits
“22.4 million households across America will be disrupted if the benefits are not disbursed on time. And the total impact of the delay in SNAP benefits will ripple throughout the local economy,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Federal, Food Security, State & Local, United States
Heflin Discusses Data on Food Insecurity Status, Cuts to SNAP With The Hill, Grist and Marketplace
“Monitoring the nation’s food security status is important in its own right and also because food insecurity is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Federal, Food Security, United States
Maxwell X Lab Receives Journal’s Best Paper Award for Chicago Study
The Journal of Behavioral Public Administration honored the researchers for their paper detailing findings in a study of at-home lead testing kit return rates.
See related: Alumni Experience, Awards & Honors, Government, Grant Awards, Infrastructure, Research Methods
Explore by:
Center for Policy Research Events
January 22, 2026
CPR Seminar Series: Celeste Carruthers, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Eggers Hall, 220
3:30PM-4:45PM
February 12, 2026
CPR Seminar Series: Iliya Gutin, Syracuse University
Eggers Hall, 426
3:30PM-4:45PM