Supporting and improving public service has been a major focus of Paul Volcker, former chair of the Federal Reserve, for decades. From Volcker’s perspective, Maxwell is an exception to the general trend among universities of paying less and less attention to training future civil servants in how to implement public policy effectively and efficiently.

This is a boom time for undergraduates at the Maxwell School—new majors, expanded research programs, diverse experiential opportunities, enhanced advising, and more. It all builds on a tradition of undergraduate education that goes back to Maxwell’s beginning. There has never not been a “Maxwell undergrad.”

Ghanaian physician Laud Boateng will use his MPA/IR to improve health policy worldwide.

A new program helps veterans convert their sense of community investment to civic engagement and political office.

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.

The nonprofit A Tiny Home for Good, founded by Andrew Lunetta ’14 M.P.A., has constructed roughly a dozen tiny homes in Syracuse for occupants at risk of homelessness. Onondaga County recently granted $235,000 to Lunetta’s organization to fund seven new tiny homes.

Old Testament scholar Yolanda Norton ’04 BA (PSc) reinterprets scripture through the lens of African-American women.

Sarah Stegeman, a doctoral candidate in history, is embarking on dissertation research on the role of African-American women in colonizing Liberia. “There’s a large gap in the historiography of Liberia,” she says, “where women have not been part of the historical narrative.”

“There’s been an explosion in the quantity and forms of data available to support organizational decision making,” says Robert Bifulco, chair of public administration and international affairs. Assistant Professor Matthew M. Young asserts that soon, all public administration employees will be expected to have data analysis skills.

Theoretical Archaeology Group, an annual conference, held its event at Syracuse University, drawing double the expected attendance and an array of artists who responded to the conference's call for artwork. The theme of this year's TAG was "Slow Archaeology," which highlights the importance of long-term commitments to projects, relationships with descendants and other stakeholders, and collaboration.

“I was raised with Islamic ideals of giving back and helping those in need. That was instilled in me as a central value of my identity,” says Marshall Scholar Dina Eldawy of her passion for education and youth development. Eldawy’s accomplishments as a student have earned her an extraordinary string of honors, including Coronat and Remembrance scholarships from the University and a national Truman scholarship.

The profound price we pay for shutdowns and other dysfunction in government might be the young professionals who opt to go elsewhere.

James Ajello ’76 M.P.A. is the recently retired executive vice president and CFO of Hawaiian Electric Industries. He recently made a $250,000 gift to create a professorship and support interdisciplinary research in energy and environmental policy at the Maxwell School.

"At SparkCharge, our mission is to reduce CO2 emissions coming from gasoline generating vehicles by putting more electric vehicles on the road. We’re doing that by removing barriers to owning electric vehicles and improving ease of use," says Josh Aviv ’15 B.A. (Econ), founder and president of the company.

"The most forward-thinking companies integrate a sustainability approach into their corporate strategy and how they operate. Their employees, customers, supply chains, and even their investors are watching closely and demanding progress," says Kenneth Pontarelli '92 B.S. (Econ), a former Goldman Sachs executive who funds a Maxwell-based professorship in environmental sustainability and finance.

"I have found it easier to approach climate change through the lens of local issues, such as air pollution, traffic congestion, waste management and sanitation, etc. There are near-term, tangible benefits that citizens and governments seek, and in addressing them in smart ways we would also be addressing the longer-term climate change response agenda," says Pradeep Tharakan ’03 M.P.A., a principal energy specialist with the Asian Development Bank.

The Northeast Residential Energy Use Pilot Study is an interdisciplinary project between students and faculty in the Maxwell School, SU College of Law, SU’s iSchool, and the SU College of Engineering and Computer Science. The study will employ high resolution metering for long-term monitoring of electricity usage of individual households.