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

In a choice between basic necessities, often, food is the first expense to be slashed, a decision that can result in adverse health effects for high-risk people. "This could put a further strain on the non-COVID health care system," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

"The restoration of the State Department is critical," says University Professor James Steinberg. "That's particularly important with China because it is such an all-encompassing challenge for the United States. So we need to have our best people and we need to have...a comprehensive approach that makes clear what we can live with with China and what we can't," he says. 

Kristen Patel will teach undergraduate courses in policy studies and graduate courses in public administration and international affairs. 

Earlier this week, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn promoted the idea that the U.S. military should oversee a new nationwide presidential election, ordered under martial law by President Donald Trump. Professor Emeritus William C. Banks calls  the idea "preposterous" and adds, "martial law has no place in the United States absent a complete breakdown of civil governing mechanisms."

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks assesses that "the world is out there, and our adversaries are all aware... that we're more vulnerable as a nation and national security apparatus than any other time during the last four years." He adds, "without a coordinated effort between the outgoing Trump people and incoming Biden people, things could quickly lose control."

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks thinks the delay by the Trump Administration to share information to Biden will be "negligible to none." However, he feels it comes with other costs. "I feel a great deal has been lost symbolically and I believe our democratic institutions have been severely beat up by the bruising battles that have been fought for no good reason," Banks says.

Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says he "would be more concerned" if the president-elect was someone other than Biden since he "is so familiar with the national security arena" from his tenure as vice president and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs,  says it is highly unlikely that Trump can do anything to change the outcome of the election. "It remains to be seen how his supporters react," Banks says. "It is too soon to tell."

“We were fortunate to have some experience with online education prior to the pandemic. Our work with the online executive master of public administration and other online training programs enabled an easier transition,” says Steven Lux, director of the Executive Education Program.

According to Professor Emeritus William Banks, sending uniformed troops to the polls, including the [National] Guard, would be unwise. "The overriding point is that we don’t want the military involved in our civilian affairs. It just cuts against the grain of our history, our conditions, our values, our laws."

“The COVID pandemic is a great example of a current event that is changing every aspect of society—from how families are organized to how we deliver education and the structure of work,” says Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs Colleen Heflin.

"Attention on the domestic political situation and the president’s dominance of the news and his well-being is obscuring what else might be going on in the world that should be drawing some of our attention," says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.