Policy Studies Undergraduate Program News

The undergraduate and graduate students received the recognition at the school’s Syracuse Centennial Celebration.

Among those selected are Maxwell students Tommy DaSilva, a policy studies and citizenship and civic engagement major, and Sabrina Lussier, a triple major in geography, citizenship and civic engagement, and environmental sustainability and policy. 

“Since nonpartisan primaries include candidates from all parties, and many voters are entrenched in their partisan loyalties, fewer voters are susceptible to changing their votes based on persuasion efforts funded by wealthy donors” writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

The Maxwell School’s 100th anniversary celebration will be held on Oct. 18 in Goldstein Auditorium.

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, suggests that Trump could decide to “do whatever he wants and let somebody file a lawsuit and bring it to the Supreme Court, who have been pretty favorable to Trump on matters of executive power.”

“The cost to the private sector is quite high,” says Kristen Patel, professor of practice of policy studies. “Former President Trump has not coherently explained how tariffs would benefit us, companies and consumers.” Daniel McDowell, professor of political science, says, “The idea of using tariffs to deter countries from invading other countries, it’s pretty out there.”

The Maxwell School welcomes several new faculty members for the start of the 2024-25 academic year.   

“Levelling Up Innovation in Local Government: An Evaluation of International Smart City Competitions,” co-authored by Austin Zwick, associate teaching professor of policy studies, and Aaron Eben, Maxwell undergraduate student in policy studies, was published by the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance.

“It was a pivotal moment,” Kristen Patel, Donald P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professor of Practice in Korean and East Asian Affairs, says of President George W. Bush's targeting of a North Korean bank in 2003. “Treasury got the go-ahead to start pounding things with this hammer.”

Jacob Grindstaff-Espinal selected Syracuse University because it has one of the top study abroad programs in the country—plus access to expansive educational offerings where students can explore their interests from all sides. 

The scholarships, now in their 35th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 

In addition to receiving a stipend to support their studies, the six students have been invited to attend an anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C.

Alumni and friends are invited to the celebration planned for May 31 at the Smithsonian’s iconic National Portrait Gallery. 

"The vast majority of members of Congress...come from safe districts that are decidedly red or decidedly blue. And so the primary election is the only consequential election that those members run in and if those elections are determined by nothing but their partisan base, it's a pretty clear through line to how that really distorts our politics," says Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

The interdisciplinary integrated learning major offered at the Maxwell School capitalizes on faculty expertise and widens student career pathways.

Andrea-Rose Oates, a sophomore majoring in policy studies, recently joined alumnus John Boccacino ’20 E.M.P.A. for his ’Cuse Conversations podcast to talk about what motivates her to serve as a student leader and why she hopes to encourage fellow students of color to explore their heritage. 

"Examining the Smart City Generational Model: Conceptualizations, Implementations, and Infrastructure Canada's Smart City Challenge," co-authored by Austin Zwick, assistant teaching professor of policy studies, was published in Urban Affairs Review.

Two Maxwell students are among the five selected as Lender Center for Social Justice student fellows and will work on a research project that examines American news media coverage and United States policymaking related to the war on terror.

"The state’s new election system, combining nonpartisan primaries and instant-runoff general election voting, makes elections more competitive and encourages cooperative governance," writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

Bill Coplin, professor of policy studies, has written “The Path to Equity: Inclusion in the Kingdom of Liberal Arts” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023). In the book, Coplin argues that the approach to liberal arts education that prioritizes academic scholarship and learning for its own sake does not fully equip students with the practical, career-oriented skills for which many people enter college.