Maxwell School News and Commentary

They joined students from 23 colleges and five nations for the 40th annual event at Howard University.

For Marriler Wilson ’25 M.P.A./M.A. (IR), Maxwell’s ranking as the nation’s top public affairs school and the University’s reputation as a “best place” for veterans drew her to campus. “I thought, ‘This is perfect—a No. 1 school, a great veterans’ program, and it’s not too far from home,’” says the Brooklyn native.

Five extraordinary alumni will be recognized, and the school’s commitment to engaged citizenship will be celebrated, at the March 27 event at Syracuse University’s new Dupont Circle home. 

Valerie earned a bachelor’s degree in policy studies in the spring of 2024 after just three years and with a 4.0 GPA, and was in her first year with the organization Teach for America. She passed away on Dec. 23, 2024.

Townsend joined the faculty in 1973, and through the decades served as a professor, mentor, writer and researcher in the Anthropology Department. He faced long-term health conditions but, so devoted to his craft and his students, he continued to teach through the spring of 2024. He passed away on Jan. 22, 2025, at the age of 83. 

Linda Baguma ’25, an international relations and political science major, has been named a 2025 Rangel Fellow and  Alexandria Johnson ’24, an international relations graduate, has been selected as a 2025 Pickering Fellow.

Jake Herrle earned an executive master’s in international relations and a certificate of advanced study in leadership of international and non-governmental organizations from Maxwell, while also engaged in communications studies at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. 

Through Service to Service, it will connect veterans and military families with educational opportunities and post-graduate careers in public service.

The organization promotes academic collaboration, research and dialogue in the field of economics.