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Public Administration and International Affairs Department News, Media Commentary and Research

AI Boost or Bust? Johannes Himmelreich

Maxwell School professor examines the philosophy and ethics of data science and artificial intelligence.

July 16, 2025

Four Maxwell Professors Named O’Hanley Faculty Scholars

Brian Brege, Sarah Hamersma, Yüksel Sezgin and Ying Shi will hold the title for three years. 

July 11, 2025

Maxwell Professors Named Inaugural Meredith Professor Faculty Fellows

Mark Brockway, assistant teaching professor of political science, and Zach Huitink, associate teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, will work in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and the associate provost for academic programs to address teaching topics identified by the vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer.

July 7, 2025

Retiring University Professor, Decorated Public Servant Sean O’Keefe Reflects on Legacy of Service

O’Keefe says his time as a Maxwell graduate student taught him the importance of employing a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving, examining the wide range of possible outcomes and identifying what success looks like.

July 2, 2025

Williams Speaks With New York Times, Newsweek About the NATO Summit

“The Europeans were saying how committed they are to Ukraine, especially the British, which is no surprise. But there was also really an attempt to keep controversial issues off the table. Ukraine wasn’t the front and center discussion it has been,” Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says of the summit.

June 30, 2025

Murrett Speaks With CBS News, 570 WSYR About the Israel-Iran Conflict and the US

“I would say probably the biggest risk is the duration and the scope of the conflict and the potential that it has for expanding beyond the current parameters in terms of the exchange between the Israelis and the Iranians,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.
June 23, 2025

Himmelreich Piece on Global Justice of AI Infrastructure Published in Cairo Review of Global Affairs

“Washington uses ‘chokepoints’ to restrict global access to AI development, but this approach may threaten U.S. national security while creating significant moral dilemmas,” says Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. 

June 20, 2025

Alumna Rain Henderson Says Maxwell Shaped an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Consulting firm founder Rain Henderson says her Maxwell education grounded her in “systems thinking, public accountability and cross-sector collaboration.”

June 16, 2025

Williams Quoted in Associated Press Article on Chinese Hackers and the Mobile Security Crisis

China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms. We just can’t share things willy-nilly.”

June 13, 2025

Former Orange Point Guard and Maxwell Alumna ‘Roxi’ Nurse McNabb Still Driving for an Assist

She supports young athletes through her Caris Sports Foundation.

June 13, 2025

Not in My Backyard? The Local Impact of Wind and Solar Parks in Brazil

Fabian Scheifele, David Popp

The study, authored by David Popp, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Energy Economics.

June 11, 2025

Banks Speaks With AFP, The Conversation, KJZZ, SF Chronicle About Trump’s Deployment of Troops in LA

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, says federally deployed National Guard don’t have the same authority as troops deployed by a state—for example, the troops in LA are officially charged with protecting federal personnel and property, but can’t enforce the law themselves or make arrests. It’s a rarely-used executive authority because it’s not typically within their role or training, he says.natio

June 10, 2025

Murrett Discusses Ukraine’s Drone Attacks on Russia in Newsweek Article

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says that from a tactical military standpoint, they were very effective attacks that had dealt a significant blow to Moscow's military machine.

June 6, 2025

Colleen Heflin - Studying Hunger in America

Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, is a leading authority on food insecurity, which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), negatively impacts more than 47 million Americans.

June 2, 2025

Maxwell Advisory Board Welcomes New Leadership

Alumni Cathy Daicoff and Nate Shanok lead the board as chair and vice chair, respectively.

May 20, 2025

The Intersectionality Problem for Algorithmic Fairness

Johannes Himmelreich, Arbie Hsu, Ellen Veomett, Kristian Lum

The study, co-authored by Johannes Himmelreich, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Proceedings of Machine Learning Research.

May 15, 2025

See related: Research Methods

Lopoo Article on Trump Plan to Create Pronatalist Policies Published in Wall Street Journal

“Officials are soliciting advice from experts on pronatalist options. Some involve subsidies for births. This would be a mistake. The better idea is to make in vitro fertilization affordable and accessible,” says Leonard Lopoo, associate dean, chair and professor of public administration and international affairs.

May 5, 2025

Scott Landes Wins Research Award for Work on Disability and Survey Metrics

The IPUMS award recognizes his co-authored paper on disability status and health survey data.

May 1, 2025

How Can Public Sector Employers Improve the Effectiveness of Email Recruitment?

Leonard M. Lopoo, Robert Bifulco, Hannah Patnaik, Ashraf Haque, Christine Ashby, George Theoharis
This brief summarizes findings from a study that examined which email format - a letter with university logos signed by a university official or an informational flyer with a photograph - was more effective in recruiting applicants for a training program for K-12 teaching jobs. 
April 30, 2025

See related: United States

Williams Talks to Washington Post About Improper Sharing of Sensitive Government Documents

The breach indicates a general need to strengthen safety training measures for government workers who must live and work in a digital age, says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “The danger of this kind of mistake is a challenge across all administrations,” he says.

April 25, 2025

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