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April 2024

POLICY SCHOOL NEWS

Daniel Aldrich Wins Outstanding Teaching Award

Congratulations to Prof. Daniel Aldrich, who received an 2023-2024 Outstanding Teaching Award at the April 10 CSSH Faculty and Staff Celebration. The Committee noted: "Aldrich has consistently demonstrated a passion and enthusiasm for teaching and a willingness to go the extra mile in and out of the classroom. Over the past seven years at Northeastern, he has taught a broad range of graduate and undergraduate courses, and Dialogues of Civilizations. Daniel’s innovative pedagogy includes a flipped classroom approach for many of his courses. His incredible mentoring has led to the inclusion of graduate students and undergraduates in numerous research projects, exposing them to the whole process of academic research from data collection and analysis through peer-reviewed article publication."

Rebecca Riccio Honored with 2024 John Portz Faculty Excellence Award

Congratulations to Social Impact Lab Director Rebecca Riccio, whom the graduating students of the John Martinson Honors Program selected to receive this year's John Portz Faculty Excellence Award. Her teaching and research centers the use of experiential learning to cultivate systems thinking, ethical reasoning, and self-authorship among students who aspire to engage in social change. In celebration, she presented a toast to the graduating honors program seniors at their cording ceremony.

Policy School Climbs to #70 in U.S. News Rankings

The Policy School moved up two places from last year's position in the U.S. News & World Report's Best in the category of public affairs schools. The School tied for the #70 spot (out of a total of 270 schools ranked) alongside Auburn, Penn State, the University of Baltimore, the University of Oklahoma, and UMass-Boston. Rankings are based on surveys of academic leaders at peer institutions.

Policy School Seminar Series: Dr. Peter Hinrichs

Dr. Peter Hinrichs, Senior Research Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, gave the final Spring 2024 Policy School Seminar presentation on “How Much Can Families Afford to Pay for College.” The talk focused on the capacity to pay for college in the United States, including an exploration of the changes in the distribution over time, differences by race and socioeconomic status, and how families actually behave when saving for college.

Northeastern Celebrates Legacy of Former Gov. Michael Dukakis

Northeastern University celebrated the legacy of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, who retired after 29 years of teaching politics and policy. The event featured distinguished guests including former Govs. William Weld and Deval Patrick, current Gov. (and Northeastern Law School alumna) Maura Healey, and the current Sec. of Labor & Workforce Development (and MPA alumna) Lauren Jones '17.

Prof. Ted Landsmark, Director of The Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, moderated a panel called "Massachusetts Miracle: Dukakis and State Politics" and Prof. Christopher Bosso moderated a session entitled "In the Classroom: Dukakis as Teacher and Mentor."

Policy School students Moses Ayirebi '25 (MUPP) and Kishan Narayan (PhD) read citations at the event, which concluded with the unveiling of a portrait of Gov. Dukakis and the reading of a note from former Pres. Bill Clinton, who wrote to Dukakis, “our nation is better off because of your example.”

former Gov. Michael Dukakis

moderator Alison King, Gov. Maura Healey, former Gov. Deval Patrick, former Gov. Bill Weld

Policy School Capstone Symposia

The Policy School's annual Capstone Symposia sessions gave 18 groups an opportunity to showcase the work they completed with local community partners. This year featured two symposia for the first time, one hybrid and one virtual. Many community partners, friends, family, co-workers, faculty, and staff attended to support the presenters. " I met partners/spouses who basically shadow-took our classes and saw family members Zooming in," noted Prof. Kim Lucas. "Community partners showed up in person and cheered for our teams over Zoom. This was an important event for our community, inclusive of and beyond our students."

BARI Conference 2024

BARI conference 2024, a unique forum for community leaders, practitioners, researchers and policymakers to share how they advance data-driven research and policy in Greater Boston, took place on April 12 at the Microsoft NERD Center. The conference highlighted a diverse mix of participants from various sectors including academia, city government, healthcare, technology, consulting, art, and social services. It drew around 475 attendees and featured more than 95 speakers, 100 nonprofits, 20 private companies, 30 academic institutions, and 25 city and state affiliates.

"BARI 2024 was a resounding success—not only in the number of attendees and speakers, but also the vibrant sense of community and collaboration that permeated the day," said BARI Director and Prof. Dan O'Brien. "Much of the credit for this goes to our opening keynote, which might be the best we have ever had. Chaplain Clementina Chéry (Louis D. Brown Peace Institute), Rebecca Riccio, and Eric Gordon (Emerson College) treated us to an exceedingly rare conversation that challenged the audience to reconsider how universities and communities can partner together in ways that benefit all parties while also foregrounding the grace to recognize that we are all growing and learning together. It was a pitch-perfect way to kick off a day committed to stimulating conversation and partnership between researchers, public officials, practitioners, and community leaders."

Prof. Moira Zellner Presents at BARI Conference

Prof. Moira Zellner gave, together with Karl Allen, a BARI presentation (co-authored with Northeastern colleagues Michelle Laboy, Dan O'Brien, Dean Massey, and Amy Meuller) entitled "Realizing the potential of community-led, science-driven participatory modeling: A case in green infrastructure planning." "We presented a participatory modeling (PM) platform, fora.ai," said Prof. Zellner, "to build on existing strengths of DT and overcome the most prevalent limitations of data-driven technologies."

Prof. Moira Zellner Presents at NULab Conference

Prof. Moira Zellner presented as part of a panel on "Civic Tech: Computing for Communities" at the Spring 2024 NULab Conference, which showcased the work of faculty, students, and research collaborators on the theme of “Digital Technologies for Community Collaborations.”

Jerry Hajjar, Maria Ivanova, David Cash, Serena Alexander, Joan Fitzgerald, Yang Zhang

EPA Seminar with David Cash

EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash facilitated an EPA Career Info Seminar--jointly sponsored by the Policy School and Northeastern's College of Engineering--entitled “Thriving in a Just a Green Economy” on April 11. Cash led a conversation about once-in-a-generation investments in climate justice and the growing environmental protection workforce with the U.S. Following the seminar, attendees heard from Northeastern alumni about careers in the Environmental Protection Agency, and learned about upcoming job opportunities.

FACULTY IMPACT

Innocent Nkurunziza, Alexandra Carlotto, Olga Skaredina, Clara Copp-LaRocque, Peter Katanisa, Maria Ivanova, Kylee Hendrie

Five Policy School Faculty Awarded FY25 Tier 1 Awards



Congratulations to Profs. Kim Lucas, Laura Kuhl, Moira Zellner, Sara Constantino, and Tiana Yom, who are recipients of FY 25 Tier 1 Grants. TIER 1 Seed Grant/Proof of Concept Program awards are supported by Northeastern's colleges, institutes, global campuses, and the Senior Vice Provost for Research. This competitive program makes grants of up to $50,000 to support and encourage individual faculty members to form multidisciplinary teams to develop new and innovative research directions. A total of 91 proposals were submitted this year, making for a particularly competitive submission cycle, and evaluated through a two-stage review process. 

Maria Ivanova (second from left), Mai'a Cross, Clara Copp-LaRocque

"Experience Powered by Northeastern"

Associate Dean Mai'a Cross, Policy School Director Maria Ivanovaand incoming PhD student Clara Copp-LaRocque helped represent CSSH at a New York event hosted by President Aoun as part of the "Experience Powered by Northeastern" initiative. The event, held against the backdrop of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline, featured nearly 800 attendees. Students, parents, graduates, faculty, industry partners, community leaders, and government officials gathered to celebrate Northeastern's pioneering mission and leadership in integrating real-world experiences into academic learning, underscoring the university's commitment to experiential education. 

UMass Boston's ninth Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco at his inauguration

Prof. Maria Ivanova Represents Northeastern at UMass Boston Chancellor's Inauguration

Prof. Maria Ivanova represented both Northeastern and President Aoun at the April 5th inauguration of UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Chancellor Suárez-Orozco previously served as the inaugural UCLA Wasserman dean at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

left to right: Louis P. Masur, Prof. Ted Landsmark, Stanley Forman, Prof. Robert Allison

Suffolk Event Honors Ted Landsmark on 48th Anniversary of "The Soiling of Old Glory"

Prof. Ted Landsmark was featured in an April 11th panel discussion moderated by Suffolk University Professor and Boston historian Robert Allison on the iconic 1976 "Soiling of Old Glory" image. The photo, taken at Boston’s City Hall Plaza, shows a young white man brandishing an American flag like a spear pointed toward a young Ted Landsmark during a desegregation protest. Prof. Landmark was joined by the Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist Stanley Forman, who took the picture, as well as author and historian Louis P. Masur in a conversation about the legacy and impact of the nearly 50-year-old image.

The Parcel 12 Development (Samuels and Associates)

Prof. Ted Landsmark Interviewed on Parcel 12 Development

Prof. Ted Landsmark took to the air on April 18th with WBUR, to address the Parcel 12 Air Rights Development, a new commercial and office complex at the end of Newbury Street, the first to be built over the Mass. Pike in decades.

Prof. Ted Landsmark Receives Urban Edge Legends Award

Prof. Ted Landsmark will receive an Urban Edge Legends Award at a 50th Anniversary Gala celebration in May. Urban Edge is an organization dedicated to strengthening communities and families by helping to build affordable housing and vibrant, prosperous neighborhoods. "This award," Urban Edge's Michael Rousseau wrote to Ted, "is a testament to your exceptional contributions, particularly your work with the City, anti-violence, healing in the 1980s, urban policy, equity, transportation, housing, gentrification, and ongoing efforts with the BPDA."

STAFF IMPACT

Michele Rosenthal Presents at Dana-Farber Young Adult Cancer Conference

Associate Director of Academic Operations Michele Rosenthal presented Navigating College and Graduate School and Cancer at the 20th Annual Young Adult Cancer Conference at Dana-Farber Cancer Research Institute. The Young Adult Cancer Conference is an annual conference for people treated for cancer/a blood disorder as a young adult and their caregivers. This community conference is open to patients treated at Dana-Farber and other institutions. The conference includes workshops to provide information to learn about the many experiences faced by young adults, and opportunities to converse, network, and build relationships. 

“It is an honor and a privilege to leverage my professional experience in this way," says Rosenthal. "The work is incredibly inspiring."

Michele has provided similar workshops for the Dana-Farber Cancer Research Institute, Young Adult Program, CancerCon, the Sam Fund, the Northwestern University Young Adult Program, Lacuna Loft, and Elephants and Tea/Gabfest. Michele has also written for Triage Cancer and the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent Program at Tufts Medical Center.  

STUDENT IMPACT

Clara Copp-LaRocque Wins Lux. Veritas. Virtus. Award

Clara Copp-LaRocque, a recent MPA alumna and incoming Fall 2024 PhD in Public Policy student, was among the inaugural recipients of Northeastern's Lux. Veritas. Virtus. Society Award. Given to graduate students in their final year of study, this award recognizes graduate students in Boston and throughout the global campus network and is designed to be the graduate student equivalent of the Huntington 100. “Clara exemplifies the academic vigor, the global engagement, and the community commitment that I see as a hallmark of Northeastern,“ says Prof. Maria Ivanova.

Dipa Desai Presents at NULab Conference

PhD in Public Policy student Dipa Desai, together with PhD in World History student Halima Haruna, presented as part of a panel on "Digital Platforms to Reflect Communities" at the Spring 2024 NULab Conference, which showcased the work of faculty, students, and research collaborators on the theme of “Digital Technologies for Community Collaborations.”

Halima Haruna, Dipa Desai

EVENTS

Policy School End of Year Celebration

The Policy School is excited to announce our End of Year celebration, which will take place on Thursday, May 2nd starting at 6 p.m.

We will be honoring our graduating students at the Cabral Center, located within the John D. O'Bryant African American Institute (40 Leon St.).

Our keynote speaker this year is Zainab Salbi, a humanitarian, writer, and social entrepreneur, who has dedicated her life to women’s rights, freedom, and environmental sustainability.

All Policy School community members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to join us for an evening of food, dancing, awards, and celebration of our students!