Five projects by students in the Maxwell School’s public health department have been accepted for presentation at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) 2026 Annual Meeting and Expo in San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 1-4.

The projects were developed under the mentorship of public health faculty members Bernard Appiah, Brooks B. Gump, David Larsen and Bryce Hruska, along with several research collaborators. Together, the projects range from a first exploration of a public health topic in an undergraduate course to graduate-level studies built on years of ongoing faculty research.

Organized this year around the theme “Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan,” the conference is expected to draw about 11,000 public health professionals, researchers, educators and students from around the world. APHA calls it the largest public health gathering of the year.

Postpartum Depression Coverage

One project grew out of Global Health Communication and Advocacy, a course taught by Appiah that asks students to analyze real advocacy and communication problems.

Public health undergraduates Fikayomi Okunzua, Hannah Fuchsberg and Aneesa Haque—along with Max Loccisano of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry—turned a class assignment into a research paper, “Postpartum Depression in US Southern States Newspapers: A Content Analysis of News Coverage of Burden, Diagnosis, Treatment and Race, 2016-2025.”

Their abstract was accepted for a roundtable. At the conference, Okunzua, Fuchsberg, Haque and Loccisano will field questions and walk through their findings conversationally with a rotating audience of public health professionals, researchers and students.

The students analyzed a decade of newspaper coverage of postpartum depression in Southern states, looking at how it addressed the condition’s burden, diagnosis and treatment, and its effects by race. Research has shown that postpartum depression disproportionately affects women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and women of color, particularly Black women.

“Our project was basically a summary of how no one has been educating or spreading information about postpartum depression,” Fuchsberg says. “It shows a huge gap in what is needed. In my career, I hope to create the content that doesn’t currently exist.”

“I’m really just excited to kind of bring more attention to postpartum depression and the care that we can bring to people who are facing it,” Okunzua says.

Comparing End-of-Life Policy

A second project, also accepted as a roundtable, began in a course taught by Hruska, an associate professor. Graduate student Eulena Banzer adapted a class project into “Medical Assistance in Dying as an Emergent Public Health Issue: A Comparison of Policy Landscapes and Ethical Frameworks in Canada and Oregon.”

Banzer’s research compares how Oregon and Canada have approached medical assistance in dying (MAiD), a practice that allows eligible patients to end their lives with medical support. Oregon’s law, in effect since 1997, allows terminally ill adults to take prescribed medication themselves. Canada legalized the practice in 2016, allows clinicians to administer it and has since seen use rise sharply.

Using APHA’s Public Health Code of Ethics, Banzer examined both policies through a public health lens rather than the bioethical framework typically applied to end-of-life law. She found that a public health approach surfaces concerns—for both patients and the broader population—that bioethical analysis alone can miss.

“Much of the existing literature around the ethics of MAiD policy focuses on individual rights and safeguards,” Banzer says. The population-level approach of the APHA Public Health Code of Ethics makes it easier to judge whether a policy addresses concerns raised by disability rights advocates and other interest groups, she says.

The “tenets of public health ethics,” such as permissibility, respect, equity and transparency, “allow for analysis of existing MAiD policies to be put in direct conversation with major critiques of such policies,” Banzer says.

Pesticide Exposure in Children

A third project, accepted for an oral presentation, examines how exposure to pyrethroids, a class of insecticide widely used in homes and on farms, is linked to children’s health. Graduate students Jane Apiyo Abok and Jannat Ara Disha worked with Gump, the Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health, and Larsen, professor and chair of the department, as well as several other researchers, on “Pyrethroid Exposures in Childhood: Associations with IQ and Depressive Symptoms Are More Pronounced Among Children Facing Concurrent Adversity.”

The study draws on Syracuse’s long-running Environmental Exposures and Child Health Outcomes cohort and examines pyrethroid exposure in more than 240 children ages 9-11. The researchers found that higher exposure was associated with lower nonverbal IQ scores and greater depressive symptoms, and that some of these associations were more pronounced among children already facing higher levels of adversity.

“Exploring the connection between pyrethroid exposure and childhood adversity is a relatively new area of research,” Disha says. “Being part of this work has been a valuable learning experience for us, and the opportunity to present our findings at APHA makes this even more rewarding.”

“Working on this project with Dr. Gump made me realize how important it is to consider environmental exposures alongside the conditions people live in, especially for children who may be more vulnerable to both environmental and social stressors,” says Abok.

Hannah Peters contributed to this story

The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as a unified bid for self-governance. But rebellion against the British was far from universally embraced.

Tensions around independence divided many communities, including the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, according to Maxwell historian Tessa Murphy.

“The Tuscarora and Oneida chose to side with the Patriots, and the rest of the nations were on the side of the British,” Murphy told Syracuse University alumni gathered Sept. 23 at Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution. “This transforms the place where you all went to school into a really contested battleground.”

Murphy spoke about these and other complexities of the Revolutionary War as the featured speaker at the event, where over 75 alumni and their guests, including dozens of graduates from the Maxwell School, gathered to explore the nation’s past, present and future.

The event was hosted by Maxwell in partnership with Syracuse University’s Office of Alumni and Constituent Engagement. It was part of Maxwell’s ongoing programming in commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The museum was a fitting historic setting—two blocks from where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

“USA@250 is inspired by Maxwell’s founding mission of citizenship and public affairs and grounded in a single central question: How has the United States lived up to its founding principles of equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?” Dean David M. Van Slyke asked the crowd. “This is exactly the kind of question a university and the school ought to be asking.”

Differing Motivations

In her talk, Murphy shared that British colonies stretched from the Caribbean to what became Canada. Loyalists were a “diverse group of people with differing motivations,” said Murphy, who is the Maxwell Dean Associate Professor of Atlantic History. “I think it’s important not to miss the extent of division within the British colonies in order not to assume that independence was some kind of foregone conclusion.”

Citing research by historian Maya Jasanoff, she noted that “up to 100,000 people would ultimately leave the independent United States in order to remain within the British Empire.”

Murphy’s lecture highlighted how America’s fight for independence was a story of global governance with far-reaching implications. After the British lost the 13 colonies, they went on to rule other colonial subjects with much tighter control. But the war also inspired movements beyond the nascent United States.

In the Q&A that followed her talk, Murphy shared that the Haitian Revolution led to the second independent republic in the Americas.

“Some of the people who fought for Haitian independence were troops in the Battle of Savannah during the American Revolution,” she said. “So there’s a direct line in terms of some of the inheritances of U.S. independence in other parts of the Americas, which I think is something to be proud of.”

Autographs from U.S. Presidents

Throughout the evening, attendees also had a chance to browse autographs from U.S. presidents such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, from the collection of Matthew Correia ’08. Correia shared the stories behind acquiring the signatures from every U.S. president and vice president, and he told fellow alumni he is the first person to have an autograph by every vice president.

Correia’s signed Washington artifact is a soldier discharge from 1783, the Revolutionary War’s final year, and includes a message from the then-general: “The road to glory in a patriot army and free country is thus open to all.” This, Correia said, alludes to the Revolution’s reach for meritocracy. “They wanted to create a different type of governance, a different type of relationship of the people to the government.”

Murphy’s historical perspective, along with the backdrop of the museum and Correia’s collection, served as reminders that America’s story is a work in progress.

“We are still learning so much more, both about our history, but then also what it means for our future,” said Philadelphia-based education consultant Heidi Ramirez ’96 after Murphy’s presentation. “This year has reminded us that there are so many voices in this thing we call American history and that just keeps evolving.”

That sentiment is captured in Maxwell’s USA@250 lecture series, which features faculty talks on women’s rights, Frederick Douglass, immigration, the U.S. Constitution and more and is available to all on . The series reflects Maxwell’s mission to bring scholarship on the nation’s founding directly to the public in this semiquincentennial year.

“A milestone like this isn’t just for scholars to study,” Van Slyke said. “It’s a call for all of us who care about the health of American self-government to carry forward.”

Story by Janine White

The (BBI) has been awarded two competitive grants from the , part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Together, the awards total $4. 5 million over three years and will bring a significant infusion of new research, education and outreach activity to BBI and the University.

“This is an amazing day for BBI,” says , BBI chairman and University Professor at the . “These awards are a testament to my BBI colleagues, the support of the Office of Sponsored Research and the entire Syracuse University community.”

Training the Next Generation of Researchers

A $750,000 grant will fund the Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training Program on the Future of Employment for People with Disabilities. , director of research for BBI and a research assistant professor in the College of Law, is principal investigator. Blanck is co-PI.

The program will recruit and train four postdoctoral fellows to study disability employment policy, practice and law, including the role of artificial intelligence in these areas. Fellows will join BBI’s Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, work with faculty mentors and complete a community practicum with disability-led organizations.

“Employment among people with disabilities has reached historic highs, but a significant employment gap remains, and we need to study both,” Hyseni says. “This national program will train leading young career researchers to do that work.”

Syracuse mentors include , and of the , and of the . They are joined by scholars from Harvard and Rutgers Universities and the National Organization on Disability.

The application period for the 2026-27 fellowships opens Sunday, Nov. 1. is available on the BBI website.

Renewing ADA Support Across the Southeast

A $3.7 million competitive renewal will continue BBI’s leadership of the , with Blanck as PI. One of 10 regional centers in the ADA National Network, the center provides information, training and guidance across eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. It reaches more than 1 million stakeholders annually.

“The Southeast ADA Center makes a positive difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families by fostering understanding of the ADA,” says , program director and co-PI, who is BBI’s director of outreach.

Over the next three years, the center will build partnerships among the disability community, government, business and community organizations, and produce new knowledge about employment, health care and economic self-sufficiency.

As he walked across the Shaw Quad during the Orange Blast Involvement Fair his freshman year, Jesús Tiburcio Zane ’27 was drawn to a particular table that felt like home and tradition and would connect him to others who would help him find his footing.

That table belonged to (La L.U.C.H.A.)—the University’s largest Latiné Recognized Student Organization (RSO) and one of its oldest, on campus since 1989.

Soon, executive board members, including Sidney Mejia ’25, G’26, then co-vice president of the RSO, began mentoring Tiburcio Zane, a first-generation college student, sharing their favorite study spots and dining hall recommendations.

“Those tips helped me thrive during my freshman year. With La L.U.C.H.A., I found a home for my Latiné culture and a place where I could share my Mexican traditions and customs,” says Tiburcio Zane, president of La L.U.C.H.A. and a dual major in accounting and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises in the . “The group helped me find my people, my voice and my community on campus.”

Before she arrived on campus, Diana Bonilla-Prado ’28 made a thorough list of RSOs she hoped to join, with La L.U.C.H.A. among the top.

For Bonilla-Prado, a first-generation college student with family roots from El Salvador, joining La L.U.C.H.A. was a chance to strengthen her connection to her heritage, increase Latiné cultural awareness and give back.

After an introductory meeting with then-president Jasmine Rodriguez ’25, Bonilla-Prado says she knew right away she was where she was meant to be. Today, she serves as La L.U.C.H.A. co-vice president.

“When I came to Syracuse, everything about the college experience was brand new to me. La L.U.C.H.A. welcomed me with open arms and pushed me to become the best version of myself,” says Bonilla-Prado, who is studying political science in the and information management and technology in the .

The organization is open to all students, regardless of their cultural background or heritage. During , La L.U.C.H.A. organized several events, including “Nuestra Identidad,” an interactive cultural workshop designed to give students a space to explore, celebrate and share who they are; and Café con Leche, a conversation about the history of coffee in Latin America and the Caribbean.

To close out Latine Heritage Month, La L.U.C.H.A. and several other Latin student organizations will come together to enjoy food, music and fun games during , from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center.

Bonilla-Prado and Tiburcio Zane sat down with Syracuse University Today to discuss their heritage and why students should join La L.U.C.H.A.

Join La L.U.C.H.A.

Tiburcio Zane and Bonilla-Prado are always looking to recruit new members. Interested students can email laluchasu@gmail.com or follow La L.U.C.H.A. on , , and .

Beginning in the spring of 2027, students will have the option to study in Washington, D.C., with a focus on just their academics. The new “Sophomore Experience” track is part of an meant to appeal to students earlier in their educational careers. Open to undergraduates from every Syracuse school and college, the expanded DC Scholar program lets you engage with the world’s most important institutions.

Undergraduate students have long been able to participate in the Maxwell-in-Washington semester-long study away program, traditionally comprised of an internship during the day and classes at night. The new offering helps students make progress on their degrees with no internship requirement, allowing them to build the skills and networks they will need when they are ready to take the first steps on their professional journeys.

“We’ve heard from a growing number of students who want the D.C. experience but aren’t quite ready for a full-time internship,” says Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Maxwell-in-Washington. “We’re excited to now be able to welcome them, and to provide access to all that Washington, D.C., has to offer—including unique exposure to subject area experts and think tanks—while they continue to work toward their degree.”

The program’s established “Professional” track—with internships and evening classes—will still be available, open to upperclassmen who intern with government agencies, nonprofits and private-sector organizations during the day while taking classes in the evening.

Haq says the new academic-focused opportunity allows more students to build a relationship with Maxwell-in-Washington that could ultimately span multiple semesters of their academic careers, from the Sophomore Experience academic immersion to a full professional internship as a junior or senior.

Since the start of the Maxwell-in-Washington program, students have interned at more than 200 offices in Washington, including the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, NASA, CNN, the Brookings Institution, Human Rights Watch and several federal departments, among others. Students have gained not only connections, but all the lessons and benefits that come from hands-on learning.

“The time I’ve spent working on Capitol Hill with the House Oversight Committee has been so enlightening and beneficial,” says junior Sofie Daniszewski. “I’ve worked on legislative projects on topics spanning from homelessness to healthcare access. I’m looking forward to continuing to meet new people, make connections, build my resume and explore what DC and Syracuse have to offer here!”

Course offerings for all DC Scholar participants span international and domestic policy topics, including politics, economics, media, communications, law and policy. Students do not need to be Maxwell majors to partake in the DC Scholar program; certain online courses to complete other degree programs can be taken from Washington, to ensure students stay on track for their specific degree programs.

The Maxwell School is pleased to welcome six accomplished alumni to its advisory board: John R. Bass, Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri, Phil Porter, Ian Schuman, Hailey Williams and Dan Zhang.

They represent a range of fields across sectors and join a distinguished group of entrepreneurs, finance leaders, attorneys, educators, public servants and friends of the school.  Board members meet twice a year and play a vital role in advising the dean and school leadership on policy, planning, fundraising, alumni relations and communications.

Bass, Porter, Schuman, Williams and Zhang were appointed to the advisory board in August. Granieri was appointed by the board this past spring. The board will convene in late October.

“I’m delighted to welcome these new board members and appreciate their strong support and engagement with the school,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “Their diverse experiences and commitment to becoming active advisors helps ensure that the school remains the number one ranked school in the nation.”

John R. Bass

Bass, of Arlington, Virginia, received a bachelor’s degree in international relations in 1986. A veteran diplomat, he served the U.S. for 37 years, departing government in 2025 as the highest-ranking member of the Foreign Service. Most recently, he served in three of the top five roles in the State Department, including as chief operating officer, where he oversaw the department’s global workforce of 85,000, and lead crisis manager. He concluded his service as acting under secretary for political affairs, where he oversaw U.S. diplomatic activity globally, including to sustain support for Ukraine’s defense, intensify counterterrorism efforts against ISIS-Khorosan and prevent state collapse in Syria.

A three-time ambassador, Bass led U.S. missions in Afghanistan (2017- 20), Türkiye (2014–17) and Georgia (2009–12) and served in Iraq, Italy, Belgium and Chad. In August 2021, he returned to Kabul to lead the civilian side of the non-combatant evacuation that moved over 120,000 people to safety in two weeks. He has received numerous presidential and State Department performance awards and is currently a diplomatic fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.

Dr. Evelyn C. Granieri

Granieri, of New York City, is professor emerita of medicine at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and an affiliate professor at the City University of New York School of Medicine and Hunter College. She previously served as chief of Columbia University Medical Center’s Division of Geriatric Medicine and Aging, a division she was instrumental in developing.

Granieri received a bachelor’s degree in dietetics (now nutrition) in 1977 from the Falk College of Sport, followed by a master of public health from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s in education from the University of Southern California and a medical degree from Northwestern University. She has held leadership positions with the American Geriatrics Society and the Association of American Medical Colleges and has received numerous honors, including the Dennis W. Jahnigen Memorial Award in 2001.

Phil Porter

Porter, of New York City, received a bachelor’s degree in history in 2017, followed by a master of public administration (M.P.A.) in 2018. He previously worked as a project assistant at Cydecor, a veteran-owned federal government solutions provider as well as a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and a senior program analyst at V2X, providing on-site contractor support to the Navy’s International Programs Office. While working for the Navy, Porter received two commendations.

Porter served on the University’s D.C. Regional Council from 2021-26 and has volunteered with the Maxwell Alumni Ambassador Program. In 2020, he established the Philip E. Porter Endowed Scholarship to support Maxwell undergraduates. Porter has visited 193 countries and all seven continents. He’s in the process of applying to doctoral programs with hopes of beginning studies in fall 2027. Another focus: Planning a July 2027 wedding.

Ian Schuman

Schuman, of New York City, received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics in 1997. He is a capital markets attorney and global chair of Latham & Watkins’ Capital Markets Practice, representing issuers and underwriters in complex, high-profile equity and debt offerings, both in the United States and internationally. He advises on matters involving a range of industries, including in the life sciences, technology, digital infrastructure and consumer retail sectors. He also represents companies and their boards with respect to corporate governance and securities matters.

He received a law degree from New York University in 2000 and has hosted Syracuse University students participating in the Winston Fisher Seminar, through the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences at Latham & Watkins, in 2024 and 2026. He is a member of the board of directors of Melanoma Research Alliance, the world’s largest private nonprofit funder of melanoma research.

Hailey Williams

Williams serves as the board’s young alumni representative. A resident of Washington, D.C., she received a bachelor’s degree in policy studies and political philosophy in 2023 and an M.P.A. in 2024. She works on the diversity, equity and inclusion team at the international law firm Crowell & Moring LLP, where she has worked as an inclusion and organizational strategist since 2025.

As a Maxwell student, Williams supported engagement with the advisory board while working in the dean’s office and launched the Maxwell BIPOC Mentoring Program. She also helped shape the design of the Barner-McDuffie House, which supports academic and cultural success for students of color, and co-founded Syracuse’s Black Honors Society.

Dan Zhang

Zhang, of Palo Alto, California, received a master’s degree in sociology in 2011 as well as a master of science (M.S.) in applied statistics from the College of Arts and Sciences and an M.S. in finance from the University of Illinois. As the chief financial officer and chief business officer at the project management software firm ClickUp, she oversees finance, accounting, corporate development, human resources, legal and strategic initiatives. Previously, she worked in finance, “software as a service” (SaaS), and global sales strategy.

A recognized voice on AI transformation in enterprise businesses, Zhang was named one of the Top 25 Software CFOs of 2024 by Top CFOs and was an inaugural 2026 Bridge Award recipient by Financial Women of San Francisco. Beyond ClickUp, Zhang advises early-stage startups and mentors students at San José State University. A recent gift to the Maxwell School reinvigorated its Student Emergency Support fund, which helps students with emergency funds for housing, food, healthcare and other needs.

Story by Paige Schoen

More than 55% of publishers of independent local news organizations cite burnout as a concern, and about 52% view balancing journalism with business operations as one of their most pressing challenges, a finds.

Researchers behind the survey from Syracuse University’s  (IDJC) sought to examine the issues facing independent publishers as they seek to fill gaps created by the collapse of traditional local newsrooms.

Burnout is the most common challenge, cited by more than half of publishers, in the survey “.” Among those with 100-500 paying subscribers, 77% of publishers cited burnout as a challenge.

At that stage, the operation is “too successful to remain a hobby-sized operation, but not yet successful enough to become an adequately staffed business,” the report says.

The study was conducted by veteran news executive and educator Merrill Brown, an IDJC visiting fellow, and researcher Jacob Spudich G’26, who graduated with a  from the  The institute is led jointly by Newhouse and the .

Brown hopes the research helps inform the journalism industry and the public about the importance of understanding the current local news environment and the challenges facing entrepreneurs serving their communities.

“More financing, more training and more local support is required if the current independent local news revolution is going to be sustained,” Brown says.

The survey found a range of financial situations for publishers: roughly 1 in 4 drew their entire personal income from the outlet, while 1 in 5 earned less than 25% of their income from the venture—reflecting a need for publishers to draw from other income sources. Nearly 22% of publishers identified scaling their business beyond a one-person operation as their top financial hurdle.

Brown and Spudich argue the next phase of local news development should focus less on finding a single fix for the local news crisis and more on building the conditions, including raising capital, skills training and shared expertise, that let many different local solutions succeed.

Especially critical is entrepreneurial training, the report says, that places topics like revenue strategy, audience development and organizational leadership as core to the profession, alongside reporting, editing and storytelling.

“A business that survives because its founder works unsustainable hours is not yet a sustainable business,” the authors say. “A publication that depends upon a spouse’s salary or retirement income may produce excellent journalism but doesn’t necessarily provide a replicable economic model.”

Other key findings:

• Fewer than 5% became independent publishers out of necessity, and fewer than 2% said they would consider returning to a traditional newsroom.
• 3 in 4 respondents are highly dependent on a single distribution platform they ��Dz�’t�����DzԳٰ��DZ�.
• 82% of respondents use advertising or sponsorships; more than half have used grants or fellowships and only 6.3% rely on subscriptions alone.

“We hope these findings can serve as a roadmap and support system for local journalism entrepreneurs, as well as a base on which additional research about efforts to rebuild local news can be built,” says Margaret Talev, Kramer Director of the IDJC.

The study drew on a spring 2026 survey of 277 independent local news operators that yielded 112 completed responses from publishers in 37 states and Washington, D.C., and follow-up interviews with nine publishers.

For detailed survey findings and interview excerpts, read the full report, “.”

Syracuse University Libraries, in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of English, is hosting several events as part of Banned Books Week, Oct. 5-9. All events will take place in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Room 114 of Bird Library. All events are free and open to members of the University community.

This year’s Banned Book Week events include:

• The Libraries will feature a banned book display, “,” on the first floor of Bird Library from Oct. 5-9. The display was researched and created by Marissa Smith G’27 (School of Information Studies). There is also a for additional resources on book challenges, banning and intellectual freedom.
• A will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 2-3 p.m. This dynamic conversation on censorship, education and the right to read will be led by Teukie Martin, a Ph.D. candidate in inclusive education in the School of Education.
• A panel discussion, “,” will be held Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 4-5 p.m. The discussion will explore both the enduring value of academic freedom and the threats confronting it today. Panelists  will include Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center for Free Speech and professor, magazine, news and digital journalism in the S.I. Newhouse  School of Public Communications; Thomas M. Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics in the Department of Political Science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and Thomas A. Perreault, professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment in the Maxwell School.
• A screening of the film “” and a post-screening discussion will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The screening will take place from 3:30-5:10 p.m., with the discussion to follow from 5:30- 6:30 p.m. The film is the winner of the 2026 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.
• “” will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from noon-2 p.m. In this interactive event, volunteers bring challenged and censored titles to life that patrons can “check out.” This event is being coordinated by the student group Beyond the Book.
• A lecture on “” will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from 3- 4 p.m. Presented by Ian Spangler, visiting lecturer and interim director of the Spatial Analysis Lab at the University of Richmond. Spangler argues that we need a better vocabulary for understanding and disambiguating non-neutrality within cartography that bans and is banned.
• A will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Participants can select a passage from a banned/challenged book and read it aloud. Bring your own title, select from a curated compilation or choose from books on hand. Every reader will be entered into a raffle for prizes, and refreshments will be provided.

“Censorship has no place in a library—or in academia. When we expose ourselves to the widest possible range of ideas, we don’t just protect an invaluable principle—we generate new knowledge, sharpen our critical thinking and ensure that we continue to grow,” says Melinda Dermody, associate dean for academic success at the University Libraries. “That’s why we’re proud to stand alongside our community partners in providing a robust program throughout Banned Books Week and taking a strong stand against censorship in any form.”

Banned Books Week sponsors include the Departments of Religion; Women’s and Gender Studies; Art and Music History; LGBT Studies; Languages, Literatures and Linguistics; Political Science; Writing; and the Humanities Center; as well as the Tully Center for Free Speech and the Maxwell School’s Community Geography Program. Thanks also to the Library and Information Science Student Association (LISSA), Beyond the Book and staff who volunteer to support these events.

Additionally, the Department of African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences is hosting a “” on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Sims Hall.

The Law Library in Dineen Hall will also be highlighting legal cases on banned books in the display case, along with handouts that provide access to free banned books online and a research guide on the legal issues around banned books.

For additional information, contact Patricia Giles pmgiles@syr.edu and/or Katherine Kidd kakidd@syr.edu

Events and media coverage marking America’s 250th anniversary this year have largely spotlighted historic milestones, founding fathers and revered changemakers. Yet the nation’s foundation—and the durability of its democracy—has depended on a vast, largely unsung network of public servants.

A new traveling exhibition, “The Promise of Public Service,” created by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), aims to put some of those lesser-recognized individuals in the spotlight. After debuting in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in June, the exhibition’s first stop is the Maxwell School—the nation’s first school of citizenship and public affairs, and home to its top-ranked graduate program in the field.

“There could hardly be a more fitting place,” said Dean David M. Van Slyke during a Sept. 18 reception celebrating the exhibition’s opening in the Maxwell Hall foyer, flanked by the school’s statue of George Washington and the guiding words of the Oath of the Athenian City-State.

Van Slyke said the oath’s charge—for each generation to leave the world better than they found it—“is part of Maxwell’s history and identity” and central to NAPA’s work. “The DNA of both Maxwell and NAPA is a commitment to public service, a respect for those who undertake it, and the belief that citizenship carries responsibilities to one another and to the greater public good,” he said.

More than 70 living Maxwell faculty members and alumni currently hold the distinction of NAPA Fellow, including Van Slyke. Another connection: James-Christian Blockwood, an adjunct professor for Maxwell’s Washington, D.C., programs since 2022, has served as NAPA’s president and CEO since January 2025.

Maxwell alumnus Wally Bobkiewicz G’89, city administrator of Issaquah, Washington, and a current member of NAPA’s board of directors, was among those who gave remarks during the opening reception.

“Two hundred fifty years in, it would be easy to let the story of public service become a story about presidents and governors and generals,” said Bobkiewicz who received a master of public administration (M.P.A.). “This exhibition doesn’t let us off that easy. It puts faces and names to the people who actually make government function day to day.”

Bobkiewicz asked those in attendance to think of the public servants who rarely get noticed. “The public knows the mayor, they know the city council, but they rarely know about the finance clerk who makes payroll,” he said. “Local government runs on thousands of people like that—professional staff who show up and do unglamorous work well.”

The exhibition at Maxwell features 12 large panels with biographies and photos of individuals such as Kimberly McGuire, social services director for Wayne County, North Carolina, and John Donnelly, fire and EMS chief for the District of Columbia, alongside more prominent figures like George C. Marshall and the late Paul Volcker, a longtime Maxwell Advisory Board member. Marshall served as U.S. secretary of state, U.S. secretary of defense and Army general, and Volcker served five presidential administrations including as chair of the Federal Reserve.

In his remarks, Blockwood described the exhibition as arriving at a consequential moment—one marked by declining trust in institutions, political division and rapid technological change. “The disruption can be positive, depending on how you respond to it,” he said, adding that the exhibition was meant to remind visitors “where we’ve been, who has helped us get here” and to inspire hope in what comes next.

Blockwood reminded the audience that the exhibit tells only a “small part of the story” of public service. He pointed to a guiding belief behind NAPA’s work: “What we nourish grows.” That means creating pathways for the next generation of public servants, he said, supporting those who serve today, and honoring those who have already given so much through lives of service.

Syracuse University Trustee Stephen Hagerty ’91 B.S./’93 M.P.A. also gave remarks at the event, tracing his own path into public service to a dinner in that same room years earlier.  Then-Dean James Steinberg challenged a room of academics and officials to explain why more Maxwell graduates weren’t running for office. Hagerty, one of the youngest people in the room, spoke up in response. Already leading a highly regarded national emergency management company—Hagerty Consulting—he made the decision to run for mayor of Evanston, Illinois, and then won. He led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic, and, separately, his consulting firm has led recovery efforts after Hurricane Andrew, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and, more recently, following the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and Southern California wildfires.

“There’s no better way, in my opinion, to spend your time than helping other people,” Hagerty said. He recalled how a similar traveling exhibition on redlining in 2019 helped push Evanston toward becoming the first city in the nation to establish a local reparations program.

The exhibition’s arrival at Maxwell also landed on a milestone day for Syracuse University: the same afternoon the University installed J. Michael Haynie as its 13th chancellor and president.

Van Slyke pointed to that afternoon’s investiture ceremony in the JMA Wireless Dome. Haynie, a former U.S. Air Force officer, embodies the same values the exhibition celebrates, Van Slyke said, describing public service as “a choice people make to accept responsibility, contribute their talents and place the well-being of others alongside their own ambitions.”

Van Slyke closed the program by thanking NAPA and the Maxwell staff and advisory board members who helped bring the exhibition to campus, and by inviting attendees—students in particular—to spend time with the panels and consider “not only the individuals whose stories are represented, but also the question at the heart of the exhibit: What does public service ask of those who serve?”

“At Maxwell, we believe it asks for confidence and integrity,” said Van Slyke. “But it also asks for humility, courage, curiosity, perseverance and a willingness to work with people whose experiences and perspectives differ from our own. It asks us to see public problems not as someone else’s responsibility, but as an invitation to contribute.”

Syracuse University Libraries’ LaunchPad, the University’s entrepreneurial hub, kicked off the Fall 2026 semester with its annual Ideas Fest pitch competition, held across five rooms in Bird Library on Sept. 16.

The event drew student entrepreneurs from various schools/colleges across campus, where they delivered a 90-second “elevator” pitch to a panel of judges. Judges in each pitch room selected two winners, with the first-place winnesr receiving $500 and the runners-up winners receiving $250. Prizes provide early-stage funding for student founders to help offset startup expenses.

First-place student winners were:

• Yanira Johnson ’27, College of Professional Studies
• Samuel Benoit ’28, School of Information Studies
• Stephen Swope ’26, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• Keni James ’28, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Imad Adam ’30, College of Arts and Sciences

Runners-Up winners were:

• Evghenii Kiselev ’29, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Agbor Edouard Ransom ’27, School of Information Studies
• Taite Paradise ’29, College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Sunpaire Tagel ’30, Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Yuila Ivanova G’27, Martin J. Whitman School of Management and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

The next LaunchPad pitch competition for freelancers, small businesses and creatives is scheduled to take place in Bird Library on Friday, Oct. 2, from noon to 3 p.m. Students interested in pitching should complete the  by Sept. 28.

Anthropologist and alumnus ’14 Ph.D. has been named a fellow in the Weatherhead Scholars Program at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

The Weatherhead Scholars Program is a highly competitive fellowship established in 1958 to connect outside researchers and practitioners with Harvard University’s resources and experience. Keles is a part-time instructor of anthropology and senior research associate in the Middle Eastern Studies Program. He’s also one of up to 30 professionals and postdoctoral researchers in the 2026-27 cohort selected to study at Harvard for up to one year.

“My experience as an alumnus and an instructor at Maxwell has taught me a great deal about the cross-pollination of ideas that happens in multidisciplinary spaces of intellectual inquiry such as Harvard’s Weatherhead Center, and I am thrilled to have the chance to leverage that familiarity to advance my research on refugee integration in the United States at a world-class institution,” Keles says.

Keles hopes to further his research on how refugees create social networks as they begin new lives in the United States. His goal is to examine how they procure, circulate and leverage religious, social, financial and other types of information to secure opportunities and resources for themselves as they settle into new environments.

Keles received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Maxwell in 2014. An expert in refugee resettlement as well as forced migration and displacement, his work has been published in the International Journal of Refugee Law, the International Migration Review, the Nordic Journal of Migration Research and the Journal of Third World Studies. He has also published a chapter based on his work on Bosnian communities in the Central New York region in the edited volume “Refugee Resettlement in the United States: Loss, Transition and Resilience in a Post 9/11 World.” At Maxwell, he teaches Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the United States; Global Encounters; Magic and Religion; Culture and Conflict; and Martial Arts in Cross-Cultural Perspective.

Story by Paige Schoen

Syracuse University today announced the launch of the , which brings together world-class researchers from across campus whose unique expertise in AI will help advance research, teaching and practice in the rapidly expanding field.

“Artificial intelligence is one of the defining research challenges of this decade, and Syracuse is making a serious commitment to it,” says , vice president for research. “The Institute for Artificial Intelligence brings our faculty together to pursue AI research at a scale no single lab or department could take on alone, to build lasting partnerships with industry and government, and to translate that work into real-world impact.”

Led by , the KG Tan Endowed Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the (ECS), the institute brings together with expertise spanning engineering, information science, public policy and communications.

“This institute reflects Syracuse University’s commitment to advancing artificial intelligence research that is both rigorous and responsible,” says Shakarian, who serves as director and executive committee chair. “We’re building a research community that is equipped to tackle AI’s hardest technical problems alongside its societal implications. We envision a future of resilient AI systems that lead to high impact applications.”

, associate professor of public administration and international affairs in the , is associate director and executive committee vice chair.

Four Research Areas

Research at the institute is organized around four areas of focus:

• AI and Security: Research spanning AI for cybersecurity, security of AI systems, formal verification and vulnerability discovery.
• Multidomain Intelligence: Sensing and perception research, including signal and image analysis and energy-efficient AI systems.
• AI in Socio-Cognitive Dynamics: How AI systems interact with human cognition, communication and social networks.
• AI for Governance and Policy: Trustworthy AI, AI safety and the policy frameworks needed to guide AI’s global development and deployment.

Federal research agencies and industry partners will also support the institute’s research agenda through collaboration and funding agreements.

Public Events, AI Community-Building

Planned public events, including lectures, workshops and symposia, will help the institute share knowledge, foster collaboration and engage the broader AI community. Events this fall include:

• (Oct. 12-13, Washington, D.C.): Sponsored by the , this invitation-only workshop will examine AI use for decision making across the domains of electronic warfare, radar, aerial and space.
• (Nov. 5-7, Arlington, Virginia): This symposium will feature traditional paper sessions with extended discussion, a poster session, three invited keynote speakers and a closing panel focused on artificial metacognition—AI’s ability to reflect on itself.

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence is part of , which includes undergraduate and graduate degree programs in AI, a suite of AI-focused minors and the peer-led AI Bootcamp for students, reinforcing the University’s position as a growing center for AI research and education. The institute will also create research opportunities for students and supports United AI, a student community that brings together undergraduate and graduate students from across the University to learn, build and lead in AI.

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence is located on the second floor of Hinds Hall. For more information, visit .

Student researchers participating in the 2025-26 fellowship in , will discuss their cultural experiences and research findings at a campuswide symposium .

The researchers took part in the program, which pairs  selected fellows with academic programs offered at locations. The center has offered student-faculty research fellowships on social justice issues for eight years and began offering shorter-term global research opportunities two years ago.

Students will share findings from their research on human rights issues arising from the in Chile.

Ohemaa Asibuo ’27 analyzed archived lists of victims of political retribution from records at Santiago’s . The international relations and Spanish dual major in the   and the analyzed data regarding Chileans who once supported Pinochet’s leadership but were later labeled as traitors.

Mauricio Paredes, director of Syracuse Abroad’s program, says Asibuo’s research of presenting the victims by demographic categories broke new ground and set the stage for further museum staff findings.

Asibuo regards her commemorative education work as “extremely important in preventing these types of things from occurring again. I hope to continue to advocate for using past historical events as warnings to help us navigate how we approach our futures.”

Jherlyn Brady ’27, a communication and rhetorical studies major in the , learned that Chile’s educational system “was used by the dictatorship to raise nationalism and neoliberalism. They closed institutions responsible for educating teachers; elites and the military created and governed their own schools. That exacerbated economic disparities that still affect Chileans today.” The experience “let me see the institution of education in a different context,” she says. “It can be either a source of social control or a tool of liberation.”

College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School political philosophy major Laila Terrell ’27 analyzed the rhetoric of , a women’s organization run by Pinochet’s wife. Though the group taught women skills for work and involvement in their communities, it also promoted the regime’s mantras and ideas about what women should be, Terrell says.

She observed that “these women could genuinely benefit from CEMA while also being part of an organization that helped support a violent dictatorship, making the idea of ‘empowerment’ much more complicated than it first appears.”

Sophia Ortiz-Heaney ’27, a Maxwell School economics and international relations dual major, says chatting with local residents and visiting former clandestine detention centers helped her “understand Chilean society on a more profound level. [They] pushed me to think about how history and movements shape the built environment…[and] understand the true extent to which the dictatorship has and still does impact the experiences, opportunities and everyday lives of Chileans.”

Also presenting are Mason Rosenbaum ’27 and Grant Montonye ’28, both international relations majors in the Maxwell School. Rosenbaum recalls conversations with Museum of Memory staff as “a particularly moving experience.” Montoye studied how Chilean constitutions were developed to justify Pinochet regime actions.

Madiou Bah ’27, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the , analyzed the use of propaganda and how governments use fear and media to control and maintain power.

Other students in the Syracuse Abroad Santiago Center program will now continue exploring those themes using teaching and learning materials developed by the Lender Global fellows, particularly those in the new .

Standing at the podium in the JMA Wireless Dome on Sept. 18, made a promise: the University will not retreat from the turbulence of the moment in which artificial intelligence, climate change and fraying democratic institutions are outpacing society’s ability to adapt.

Syracuse University will meet it directly.

“We must commit to being a place that reflects the full breadth of human experience, because the problems facing this world will not be solved by any one kind of mind,” Haynie said.

Students, he said, are not people waiting to become leaders—“you already are those people”—and the University’s obligation is not to shield them from difficulty but to forge in them the capacity to engage it.

To faculty, he asked them to model intellectual humility, to reach across disciplinary lines “with generosity, grace and civility,” and to hold students to standards that honor their potential.

Haynie referenced a 1966 speech Robert Kennedy delivered in Cape Town, South Africa, in which Kennedy described acts of moral courage as “ripples of hope” that build into unstoppable currents.

“We know that each time one of our graduates goes out into the world—and acts with courage and knowledge and care and clarity—they send forth a ripple,” he said. “And at our best, Syracuse University is where those ripples begin.”

Ceremony and Spirit

Haynie’s remarks capped an inauguration filled with enthusiasm, optimism, sentimental moments and Orange spirit.

Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud and Dr. Ruth Chen were in attendance, drawing a standing ovation. It was Chancellor Syverud’s first return to campus since beginning treatment for his cancer diagnosis. More than 30 college and university delegates from around the country were also present.

Music throughout the ceremony was provided by the Syracuse University Marching Band, University Singers and Hendricks Chapel Choir. OlaRose Ndubuisi ’29, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences and S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the 2024-25 New York State Youth Poet Laureate, delivered an original poem that highlighted Haynie’s connection with students.

‘Mike Is Just Mike’

Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew said Haynie’s influence reaches well beyond Syracuse’s campus, particularly his advocacy for veterans’ education. Asked often what it’s like working alongside him, she said he doesn’t just talk about the work, he does it; and he doesn’t just say students are the University’s North Star—he lives it.

Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala said Haynie’s promise of partnership isn’t new. Sala said, “Mike is just Mike.” Sala recalled building the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building alongside him and watching him lead the University’s pandemic response in 2020 with clarity and decisiveness.

But what Sala’s own staff remembers the most is that Haynie fishes, works in his yard on Saturdays and opens every conversation by actually wanting to know how you’re doing.

Greetings for the chancellor were also offered by Emily Castillo-Melean ’28, president of the Student Government Association; Jennifer Karas Montez, University Professor and director of graduate studies in sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; Trustee Alonna Berry ’11, president of the University’s Alumni Association; and trustees Shelly Fisher ’80 and Lisa Fontenelli ’86, co-chairs of the Chancellor’s Search Committee.

‘One of the Best Decisions This University Has Made’

Keynote speaker Melvin Stith G’73, G’78, dean emeritus of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, opened his remarks with two words that got the biggest laugh of the day: “You’re welcome.”

Stith, a Vietnam Army veteran, spoke of how 20 years ago, Haynie, a young Air Force veteran, walked into his office to interview for a job teaching entrepreneurship.

“There was something about him,” Stith said. “He captured me from the first conversation.”

Haynie already had a competing offer from Ohio State’s business school, so Stith moved fast to put a Syracuse offer in Haynie’s hands. “That, my friends, is how Whitman hired Mike Haynie,” Stith said, “and it’s one of the best decisions this university has ever made.”

Stith recalled how two months into the job, Haynie came back with an idea to build a bootcamp teaching entrepreneurship to veterans with disabilities and to make it free.

Seventeen veterans showed up for that first Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans in 2007. Four years later, Haynie founded what became the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which eventually anchored the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building.

Today, those programs have reached more than 235,000 veterans, service members and military families. “One idea, one conversation in my office,” Stith said, “launched a Universitywide commitment that has changed thousands of lives.”

Board of Trustees Chairman Jeffrey Scruggs said that Haynie is the right person to lead Syracuse University into the future. “Chancellor Haynie brings the record of a proven scholar, a celebrated educator, a collaborative builder, a tenacious innovator and a widely respected leader in higher education,” Scruggs said. “Syracuse is fortunate to have a leader of this caliber guiding the University as it continues to build its standing among the world’s great private universities.”

During the Charge of Office and Medallion Presentation, Scruggs placed the Chancellor’s Medallion around his neck and delivered the charge that comes with it: to govern with integrity, to guard the University’s freedom to teach, learn and question without fear, and to build on what his predecessors built.

Moving Ahead With a Promise

Haynie said he stood in front of the University community with a promise.

“We will ask the right questions, together, with honesty and without fear. We will not mistake comfort for excellence. We will not mistake tradition for wisdom,” he said. “Instead, we will engage the world as it is, in all its speed and strangeness and moral complexity. And we will do that because it’s the only honest starting point. And because we understand that engaging what unsettles us is not capitulation, but instead it’s the precondition of transformation.”