University Professor Sean O’Keefe says that the new administration faces challenges such as standardizing information technology, the consequences of budget decisions and talent acquisition.

"I think a good working definition of civility is a baseline of respect that we owe one another in public life, and that has long been the definition of civility," says Keith Bybee, professor of political science.

"The current environment of spiraling violence and economic and political uncertainty makes predicting the outcome difficult," writes Yüksel Sezgin, assistant professor of political science and director of the Middle Eastern Studies program, of the referendum to transition Turkey from parliamentary to presidential.

Daniel McDowell, assistant professor of political science, identifies major changes to the global financial landscape from the 1960s through the 2008 global financial crisis that repeatedly undermined the IMF’s ability to act as an effective manager of international financial crises, in his new book "Brother, Can You Spare a Billion?"

Francine D'Amico, associate professor of international affairs, served on the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship 2017-2018 offered through the Institute of International Education. The committee is comprised of area specialists and authorities in various fields who review applications and nominate candidates to the award sponsors.

"By voting against the repeal bill last week, Katko can maintain a fig leaf of independence, while doing nothing to actually stop his Republican colleagues from enacting policies that will be disastrous for his constituents," writes Thomas M. Keck, the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law & Politics.

"Anti-SAFE Act signs still dot the upstate countryside...That speaks to the 'cultural differences' that often lead to very different voting patterns in upstate and downstate communities," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, about Upstate New York opposition to Governor Cuomo's gun-control law.

Camilla Campisi '05 M.A. (IR) was one of eight midcareer professionals recruited to the Empire State Fellowship, which aims to recruit private sector employees to join the next generation of state government leaders and policy makers.

“More information cannot easily be provided (to) the public—the classification is required to preserve the secrecy of the sources and methods we used to learn about the hacking,” says William Banks, professor of public administration and international affairs. “It creates a dilemma that is difficult to resolve.”

Don Dutkowsky, professor of economics, notes that doctorates in economics have thrived due to the expansive job market available in economics both inside and outside of academia. Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics, adds that an increase in economic majors has yielded a higher demand for economics instructors, opening up doors for economics doctorates where they are closing in other fields of study.

Corri Zoli, research director for the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, thinks there will be a significant return to the default mode of deterrence under Trump.

Elizabeth Cohen, professor of political science, says it won't be easy for Trump to withhold money from sanctuary cities as there are numerous conditions, privacy laws and civil rights protections he will need to navigate.

"To some degree... both [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Donald Trump] sought to mobilize their potential followers and defeat their adversaries as one waged a struggle for civil rights for African Americans and the other for winning a national presidential election," says Louis Kriesberg, professor emeritus of sociology.

Given how nasty and intractable the conflicts in our society can be, Keith Bybee, professor of political science, argues that it is naïve to imagine we can somehow transcend our clashing sets of values and miraculously agree on what counts as acceptable behavior and tolerable opinion.

University Professor Sean O'Keefe notes that there will always be tensions that accompany presidential transitions.

According to Devashish Mitra, professor of economics & Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs, "to fully employ the growing labour force gainfully and productively, India will probably have to create tens of millions of modern-sector jobs over the next few years."