Maxwell School News and Commentary

"It’s not just the rural health care infrastructure that becomes overwhelmed when there aren’t enough hospital beds, it’s also the surrounding neighborhoods, the suburbs, the urban hospital infrastructure starts to become overwhelmed as well," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

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.

"RCEP [Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership] gives foreign companies enhanced flexibility in navigating between the two giants," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "Lower tariffs within the region increases the value of operating within the Asian region, while the uniform rules of origin make it easier to pull production away from the Chinese mainland while retaining that access."

University Professor Sean O'Keefe recently participated in a study by the National Academy of Public Administration on which agency was best to handle civil space traffic management. O’Keefe believes the Office of Space Commerce is best suited for the task.

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."

"These baseless accusations of electoral fraud do a lot of damage to the public’s belief in the electoral system and in democracy itself," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. "And that is extremely damaging to our democracy."

"The most important action the Biden administration can do is to undertake all its policies and actions through a climate justice lens...and approach action with equity, accountability and justice in mind," says Farhana Sultana, associate professor of geography and the environment.

"The choice for Biden is clear," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "Return the U.S. to the Trans-Pacific Partnership to ensure access for U.S. companies."

Writer and literary scholar Ruth Klüger died October 5, 2020. "She reminds us that making a more humane and tolerant world requires accountability and unmovable courage in criticism," writes Robert Terrell, assistant professor of history.