Maxwell School News and Commentary

Ralph Ketcham taught citizenship at Maxwell longer than most of us have been alive. And, while doing so, he championed an approach to citizenship education that virtually defines the Maxwell School.

The Hult Prize, known as “the Nobel Prize for student startups,” seeks out game-changing student social enterprises that compete to solve the world’s toughest challenges. Junior history major William Lee Mendes McKnight's Farm to Flame Energy, which aims build more sustainable rural economies by harnessing energy from locally grown crops, qualified to the regional finals. 

"Although the U.S. and Israel claim they favor a peaceful settlement and the eventual creation of a Palestinian state through negotiations, their actions ensure that it will not be achieved," says Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history.

“The Otey and Barbara Scruggs scholarship is a fitting tribute to a treasured member of the History Department and his wife,” said Associate Professor and Chair of History Norman Kutcher. “Otey cared deeply about the University generally and the History Department especially. Graduate education grew substantially in strength and numbers under his leadership, so it is fitting that this scholarship will benefit our most deserving graduate students.”

The Maxwell School has appointed new chairs for the departments of anthropology, economics, history, international relations (undergraduate), political science and sociology, as well as an interim chair of social science.