Francine D’Amico

Francine D’Amico, associate professor of international relations at the has been appointed to the national screening committee for the Fulbright-Clinton Fellowships.

The committee, comprised of area specialists and authorities in various fields, will review applications and nominate candidates to the award sponsors. Participating countries for the 2016-17 academic year include: the African Union, Burma, Guatemala, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Malawi, Nepal, Peru, Samoa, Timor-Leste and Ukraine. Relevant public policy fields may include (but are not limited to): agriculture, climate change and environment, economic development, education, emergency management, energy, finance, international relations, law, public health, sustainability, tourism and trade.

Professor Catherine Bertini (right of center, in teal) and Ertharin Cousin (center, with orange scarf), director of the UN World Food Programme, with members of Bertini’s “Food Security and Policy” class in Rome.

The course allowed students to meet and learn from experts at the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on topics ranging from the logistics of food aid distribution to the role of gender and climate change in the forming of policies. Speakers such as Stefano Porretti, director of emergency preparedness and support response for the WFP; Adolfo Brizzi, director of IFAD’s Policy and Technical Advisory Division; and Anna Lartey, director of FAO’s Nutrition Division, were just a few of the experts who shared their experiences tackling food security in an ever-changing global context.

Bertini is the former executive director of the UN’s World Food Programme and recipient of the 2003 World Food Prize. She is also a distinguished fellow of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Global Agriculture and Food Initiative. Throughout the week-long stay in Rome, Bertini acted as guide and mentor to the class.

“Professor Bertini is highly esteemed at the UN agencies in Rome,” says MPA/IR student Ana Monzon. “We owe the great honor of having been able to engage in dialogue with these leading practitioners to Professor Bertini and her inspiring legacy at the World Food Program.”

“I could not have predicted the level of sincerity and dedication that each speaker showed towards their work,” says MPA student Eric Horvath. “Whether talking about facility management, supply chains, promotional materials or nutrition for malnourished children, all of our speakers possessed a passion and expertise I have rarely seen in my life.”

The trip culminated in a personal visit by Ertharin Cousin, the current executive director of the WFP, whose message was one of hope. The group was able to discuss with Cousin the WFP’s new initiative, the , which was launched in 2012 by UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon with the aim of achieving a hunger-free world by the year 2030.

Students in the class describe the week in Rome as an eye-opening experience. “For me, the biggest takeaway was how we can see so much tangible change that these organizations have made in the world,” notes MPA student Anna Swanson. “Numbers speak volumes, and due in large part to the work of these organizations the number of hungry people in the world has decreased from 1 billion to 795 million people over the course of five years.”

Gathering at an Oct. 30 ceremony at the Maxwell School, at which the first Thompson Scholars were named, were, from left, Deborah and Steven Barnes (the latter, current chair of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees), inaugural Thompson Scholars Sonia Rangel and Amy Majani, and fund honorees Dick and Jean Thompson.

The Jean and Dick Thompson Endowed Graduate Scholarship was established in the spring of 2015 by the Board of Trustees as Dick Thompson concluded his term as chairman of the board. The fund serves as a testament of appreciation for the Thompsons’ commitment to the University and the Maxwell School. It is designated to support graduate students enrolled in Maxwell, where Dick was himself a graduate student in the late 1960s.

Steven Barnes, the current chairman of the SU Board of Trustees, began the work of endowing the fund almost immediately upon assuming Thompson’s former role. Of the Thompsons, Barnes says, “They have always worked as a team for the benefit of the University. Dick and Jean’s contributions have left the University stronger, and their life and work exemplify the beliefs of the Maxwell School. This scholarship honors all that Dick and Jean have done for Syracuse University.”

The inaugural Thompson Scholars, selected by the dean of the Maxwell School, are:

• Amy Majani of Nairobi, Kenya, who is pursuing her master’s in public administration. Majani received her bachelor’s degree in political science in 2014 from the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
• Sonia Rangel of El Paso, Texas, who is studying for a joint M.P.A. and master’s in international relations. Rangel is a 2010 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she received her B.A. in history and a minor in journalism.

Dick Thompson first arrived at the University as a political science graduate student in 1966; he earned his M.A. in political science at Maxwell in 1967. His wife, the former C. Jean Terry, earned a B.A. in social studies education at the University in 1966.

Since that time, the Thompsons have held an unflagging commitment to the University and its values. Prior to his tenure as chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dick served on the boards of advisors for both the Maxwell School and the . He joined the University’s Board of Trustees in 2001 and concluded his four-year term as chairman in 2015; he now holds the title of chairman emeritus. He continues his commitment to the University as a member of the board of directors for the Institute for Veteran and Military Families.

Dick Thompson is former senior vice president of policy and government affairs for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Since 2014, he has served as senior counsel in healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C.

“We are particularly pleased that members of the Board of Trustees and other University leaders choose the Maxwell School as the place to honor Jean and Dick’s long and distinguished service to Syracuse University,” says James B. Steinberg, dean of the Maxwell School. “Sonia and Amy, our first Thompson Graduate Scholars, are outstanding representatives of this great tradition of excellence and service.  I am certain they will be joined by generations of highly successful graduate students who will similarly reflect Jean and Dick’s commitment to Syracuse University and to the Maxwell School.”

“The Maxwell School is one of the greatest institutions in the world,” says Dick Thompson. “I was honored to be a student here and to serve Syracuse University as chairman. We are humbled and overwhelmed to be a part of this new tradition at the Maxwell School and grateful that the board endowed this scholarship in our name.”

Both of the inaugural Thompson Scholars expressed appreciation for the fund and the couple it honors.

“When I first heard about the award,” Majani explains, “I was overwhelmed. I am so grateful to receive this award and humbly honored to be one of the first recipients. Their kindness has proved to be a load off my mind, allowing me to focus on my studies.”

Before arriving at Maxwell, Majani worked as a projects assistant at Middle Smithfield Township in Pennsylvania. After graduation, she would like to put her degree to work in local economic development “in a capacity that would enable me to facilitate public-private partnerships that are geared towards economic progress.”

Rangel formerly served as a fellow with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, working under Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA). She has also worked as a mentor and teacher in her hometown of El Paso, as well as an advocacy and political campaign consultant in Washington, D.C., prior to her arrival at Maxwell.

“The Thompson Fund Scholarship Award is life-changing for me as it lifts a financial burden off my chest for the rest of this year. I am incredibly honored and grateful to receive this award,” says Rangel. With her M.P.A. and M.AIR. degrees from Maxwell, Rangel hopes to return to Washington after graduation and work on US-Latin American affairs, with her sights on the U.S. State Department, USAID or the Inter-American Development Bank; or as a consultant.

“We recognize that, since our time at Syracuse, the price of graduate school has grown,” says Dick Thompson. “It is especially gratifying that Maxwell can use this scholarship as another tool to recruit and retain committed, high-quality students to attend the Maxwell School for many years to come.”

Clockwise, from top, Tina Nabatchi, Andrew London and Carol Faulkner

Three current Maxwell School professors have been named inaugural Tenth Decade Scholars: Carol Faulkner (history), Andrew S. London (sociology) and Tina Nabatchi (public administration and international affairs). The award will provide each recipient $5,000 per year for three years to support their work.

The Tenth Decade Faculty Scholar award program has been created as part of the larger Tenth Decade Project—a collection of programs, projects and other initiatives developed to foster innovation and collaboration in the years leading up to the school’s 2024 centennial. The Tenth Decade Project emphasizes Maxwell’s legacy of interdisciplinary citizenship education and scholarship, and a commitment to sustain that tradition of excellence into Maxwell’s second century.

“The Tenth Decade Project is already funding innovative interdisciplinary faculty proposals that focus on Maxwell’s historic focus on citizenship,” says Steinberg. “These new grants, provided by members of the Maxwell School’s Advisory Board, honor and support what has always been Maxwell’s greatest strength—our unparalleled faculty. Carol, Andrew and Tina are excellent examples of this great tradition.”

Tenth Decade Faculty Scholars were selected based on their exemplary record of research and teaching. Grants provided through the Tenth Decade Faculty Scholars initiative will be used to benefit the faculty members’ research and curricular development. Current funding has allowed for three awards, but  it is anticipated that additional philanthropic support in the months and years ahead could provide new awards that will recognize additional Maxwell faculty.

Each of the inaugural appointees expressed appreciation for the Maxwell School’s citizenship traditions and their opportunity, now enhanced, to contribute to the school’s future.

“Maxwell’s focus on citizenship has only increased in national and global importance in the 21st century,” says Faulkner, “and I’m honored to be able to engage these profound questions with our talented faculty and students. I am eager to see how these conversations evolve over the next 10 years.”

Faulkner’s research focuses on the history of American social movements, particularly women’s social and political activism in the 19th century. Her books include “Women’s Radical Reconstruction: The Freedmen’s Aid Movement” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), “Lucretia Mott’s Heresy: Abolition and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011), and “Women in America to 1880: A Documentary Reader” (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). A professor of history, she is currently serving as the interim chair of the undergraduate Maxwell Program in Citizenship and Civic Engagement and teaching its core seminar on “Justice, Ethics and Citizenship.” Faulkner holds a Ph.D. from Binghamton University.

London is a professor of sociology whose research focuses on the health, care and well-being of the stigmatized and vulnerable, including persons living with HIV/AIDS; caregivers; welfare-reliant and working poor women and their children; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; persons with disabilities; the formerly incarcerated; older adults; and veterans. He is a former chair and the current graduate director of Maxwell’s Department of Sociology. In 2015, he received the University’s Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award. He was a National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellow (while at UCLA) and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

“I am honored, humbled, and grateful to be appointed as a Tenth Decade Scholar,” says London. “While receiving this award has given me pause to reflect on past accomplishments, collaborations and the support I have received from many individuals and institutions, it has also energized my thinking about the future and what I can do to help enrich Maxwell’s tenth decade.”

“Like many,” says Nabatchi, “I am enamored with the impressive history of the Maxwell School, but I am even more excited about our future. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to our future as one of the inaugural Maxwell Tenth Decade Scholars.”

Nabatchi’s research and teaching broadly address issues of democratic governance in public administration, and specifically focus on citizen participation, collaborative governance and conflict resolution. Nabatchi, an associate professor of public administration and international affairs, is the lead editor of “Democracy in Motion: Evaluating the Practice and Impact of Deliberative Civic Engagement” (Oxford University Press, 2012) and wrote two recently published books: “Public Participation for 21^st Century Democracy” with Matt Leighninger (Jossey-Bass, 2015) and “Collaborative Governance Regimes” with Kirk Emerson (Georgetown University Press, 2015). She is the primary investigator on a major federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, investigating public deliberation in health policy while also engaging average citizens in consumer-centered patient-care strategies. Nabatchi holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Thomas Keck

Free speech is enshrined in the founding documents of more than 180 countries around the world, says Keck, a leading authority on the U.S. Supreme Court and its impacts on social change and policy. However, he adds, law scholars are divided over whether courts tend to defend the free speech rights of minority groups or if they bolster the existing powerful majorities. Through the NSF’s Division of Social and Economic Sciences, Keck’s project—titled “Comparative Free Speech Jurisprudence”—will assemble a documentary data collection of relevant court cases that will be useful to future scholars, courts and policymakers working on the issue of free speech for many years to come. Keck asserts that it will also serve to test existing theories regarding the political impact of judicial power on a broader scale.

The project will eventually encompass decisions from more than two dozen national high courts, including several that have not been widely studied in the U.S., including the supreme courts of Norway and Costa Rica. Co-investigators on this project include Erik Bleich of Middlebury College; Richard Price of Weber State University; and Stephan Stohler of the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College for Public Affairs. Because the research will include analysis of thousands of court cases in more than 15 different languages, it requires collaboration across linguistic and cultural divides. Additional collaborators on the project, Keck says, represent the University of Central Florida, Willamette University, Seoul National University, the University of Windsor, the University of Melbourne, VU-Amsterdam, the University of Göttingen and the University of Oslo.

To date, the project has employed two Ph.D. students, one M.A. student and seven undergraduate students at the Maxwell School. With NSF funding in hand, the team will soon include student research assistants at several of the collaborating institutions as well.

The results of this project will help to illuminate the real-world impact of how law and democratic constitutionalism affect freedom of expression on a worldwide scale. “This project would not be possible—at least not in anything resembling its current form—without the support of funders like NSF,” Keck says. “No existing academic department in the U.S. has the necessary expertise to do this on its own, but NSF funding enables a multi-site collaborative effort.” The grant is expected to run through July 2018.

Donna Shalala

The lecture is free and open to the public. Shalala will be joined in conversation by James B. Steinberg, dean of the Maxwell School and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.

A Maxwell School graduate, having earned master’s and doctoral degrees in social science, Shalala has built an eminent career in both higher education and federal government. From 1993-2001, she served in the Clinton administration as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the longest serving HHS secretary in U.S. history.  She was then named president of the University of Miami, a post she held until June of this year. Over the summer, she assumed her current post as president and CEO of the Clinton Foundation.

In higher education, Shalala has also served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and president of Hunter College (City University of New York). In government, she had served previously in the Carter administration as assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Shalala has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights, the National Public Service Award and the Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award. She was named Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year and one of U.S. News and World Report’s America’s Best Leaders.  She is a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame and has received more than four dozen honorary degrees (including an honorary degree from Syracuse University in 1987). Shalala was one of the nation’s earliest Peace Corps volunteers (Iran, 1962-64).

The Tanner Lecture Series on Ethics, Citizenship and Public Responsibility provides a public forum for exploring questions about ethical citizenship in provocative and challenging ways. The series has been generously endowed by alumnus W. Lynn Tanner ’75 PhD, founder, CEO and chairman of TEC Canada, a leadership development organization dedicated to accelerating the growth and development of outstanding 21st-century leaders. The lecture series is coordinated by the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at the Maxwell School.

This hour-long film tells the virtually unknown story of World War II aviators who risked their lives and freedom to prevent what they viewed as an imminent second Holocaust. Directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Boaz Dvir (“Jessie’s Dad,” “Discovering Gloria”), the film has aired on PBS stations around the United States.  Recent special screenings include the American Jewish Historical Society in New York City and Columbia University’s satellite campus in Paris.

Narrated by actor William Baldwin, “A Wing and a Prayer” features firsthand accounts of the invasion of Israel by five Western-equipped armies on the morning after it declared independence in May 1948. Dvir filmed exclusive interviews around the world—including operation leader Al Schwimmer’s only video interview—that provide rich detail about a group of men who helped reshape history, yet have been forgotten by history books. “A Wing and a Prayer” supplies that missing chapter.

“I feel lucky and honored,” says Dvir, a film and journalism faculty member at Penn State University, “to have had the opportunity to tell their incredible stories.”

A separate screening of the documentary will be held on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2:30 p.m. at the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center, 5655 Thompson Road, DeWitt.

Co-sponsors of the event are the Newhouse School of Public Communications, Hillel @ SU, the School of Education, the Regional Initiative for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Jewish Federation of Central New York.  The event is free and open to the public.

James R. Knickman

NYSHealth is committed to sharing the results and lessons of its grant making; informing policy and practice through timely, credible analysis and commentary; and serving as a neutral convener of health care leaders and stakeholders throughout New York. Under Knickman’s leadership, the foundation has invested more than $100 million since 2006 in initiatives to improve health care and the public health system in New York State.

Knickman has done extensive research on issues related to the financing of health care and long-term care and improving services for frail elders, homeless families and individuals with HIV. He also is the co-author of a widely used textbook on health policy and management. Prior to joining NYSHealth, Knickman was the vice president of research and evaluation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J.

The lecture will be held at 2 p.m. in the Dr. Paul and Natalie Strasser Legacy Room, 220 Eggers Hall. It is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the lecture. Limited free parking is available in Irving Garage. For more information, please contact Katrina Wingle at mkrwingle@maxwell.syr.edu or 315-443-3114.

The Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture is jointly sponsored by the Maxwell School and the Central New York Community Foundation, Inc. and administered by Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research. It is named after the late Herbert Lourie, M.D., who was a leader in the field of neurosurgery. Following his tragic death in 1987, the lecture series was established in his honor.

Maxwell Dean James Steinberg, right, meets Republic of China President Ma Ying-Jeou.

The dialogue included lawmakers from the United States and from Taiwan. Also on hand were international experts and scholars from Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United States. They discussed security and economic issues.

The event was co-organized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies in Taipei, the Heritage Foundation and the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

During his time in Taiwan, Steinberg met with President Ma Ying-Jeou, other Taiwanese government officials and with representatives from the two country’s major political parties.  He exchanged views with them on a variety of issues related to U.S.-Taiwan relations.

Steinberg’s visit and meeting with the president were publicized on the website of Taiwan’s .

The congressional sponsor for the briefing was Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). The briefing was co-sponsored by the Association of Population Centers, the American Sociological Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Psychological Association, the Consortium of Social Science Associations and the Population Reference Bureau.

The new Humphrey Fellows

The 2015-2016 Humphrey Fellowship Program consists of 167 fellows from 90 countries hosted by 15 U.S. universities. Since 1978, more than 5,000 fellows from 159 countries have participated in the program. It is sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the Institute of International Education.

This year’s fellows hail from Cameroon, India, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Moldova, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Serbia and Togo. They were selected after a highly competitive and intensive application process based on their commitment to public service and their potential for leadership in both the public and NGO sectors.

“Executive Education is thrilled to welcome the Humphrey fellows to the Maxwell School. Their experience and global perspective add to the depth and breadth of the school,” says Margaret Lane, director of the Syracuse Humphrey fellowship program and assistant director of executive education.  “After their fellowship, they will be equipped with added skills, knowledge and networks to help make transformative changes in their respective countries. We look forward to their numerous contributions in the classroom, as well as in professional and cultural exchange opportunities during this year.”

During their stay in Syracuse, the Humphrey fellows will be available as a resource for classes, clubs and organizations. For more information, contact Lane at mailto:mmelane02@syr.edu.

Ronald P. O’Hanley

Before joining State Street, O’Hanley was president of Asset Management & Corporate Services for Fidelity Investments from 2010-2014. From 1997-2010, he served as president and chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Asset Management in Boston and vice chairman of Bank of New York Mellon, as vice chairman of Mellon Financial Corp., and as president and CEO of Mellon Asset Management. From 1986 to 1997, O’Hanley was with McKinsey & Co., Inc., becoming a partner in 1992.

O’Hanley serves on the boards of directors of UNUM Corp. and Rhode Island Commerce Corp.  He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh School of Management and as chairman of the Boston Public Library Foundation Board of Directors. He currently serves on the boards of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the East/ West Institute, the Boston Foundation, the Committee for Economic Development, WBUR and the Institute of Contemporary Art. He also advises a number of technology and financial services startups.

A longtime supporter of the Maxwell School, O’Hanley received a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University in 1980 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1986.  He has served as a member of Maxwell’s advisory board since 2004. In 2013, he and his family established the O’Hanley Faculty Endowed Fund for Faculty Excellence at Maxwell, which helps recognize, reward and retain excellent teachers at the school. Currently, there are four O’Hanley Scholars representing the disciplines of political science, sociology, history and geography. In addition, the O’Hanleys have funded one fellow in the Robertson Fellows Program for the 2014-16 academic course of study.

“The Maxwell School’s tradition of extraordinary research and teaching, with a combination of scholarly social science programs, professional degree programs, interdisciplinary research centers and extensive undergraduate opportunities, is unique among schools of public affairs,” O’Hanley notes. “I am honored to be appointed chair of the advisory board—a group of highly distinguished professionals and dedicated volunteers.”

Dean of the Maxwell School James Steinberg says, “We are delighted to have Ron leading the Maxwell Advisory Board. As an alumnus of Maxwell, Ron has been a strong leader and generous donor for nearly two decades. Ron’s exceptional professional experience, his broad interests and expertise and his family’s deep ties to Maxwell and to Syracuse University will serve our school, our faculty and our students well.”

O’Hanley succeeds previous Maxwell advisory board chairman Sean O’Keefe, former chancellor of Louisiana State University and administrator of NASA who last fall was named University Professor at Syracuse and holds the Howard G. and S. Louise Phanstiel Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at Maxwell. O’Keefe also serves as distinguished senior advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Hamersma

The Birkhead-Burkhead Award and Professorship is given annually to recognize outstanding teaching in PAIA.  The selection is made by a committee comprised of former award winners, and is based on nominations by current students in the department. Honorees hold the professorship for four years and offer the faculty address at the PAIA convocation in the year following their selection.

The award is named to honor two former Maxwell School professors who taught in PAIA. Guthrie Birkhead was a member of the faculty from 1950 until his death in 2013, with an appointment in PAIA and political science.  He was dean of the Maxwell School from 1977 until 1988 and had also served as director of the Metropolitan Studies Program (now part of Maxwell’s Center for Policy Research).  Jesse Burkhead served on the Maxwell economics faculty from 1949 until his death in 1996; he retired as Maxwell Professor of Economics.  His contribution to PAIA was as an expert on public budgeting. His 1956 book “Government Budgeting” was widely acclaimed.

Hamersma joined Maxwell in 2013 and is also a senior research associate in the Center for Policy Research.  She studies public economics, labor economics and applied econometrics.  She writes on the relationships between health policy (including Medicaid), employment patterns and individual well-being.  She teaches courses in “Economics for Public Decisions,” “Quantitative Analysis” and the Ph.D.-level “Applied Econometrics for Policy Analysis.”