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May 2024

POLICY SCHOOL NEWS

2024 End of Year Celebration

The Spring 2024 End of Year Celebration brought together the Policy School community for an evening of food, music, dancing, and awards.

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Policy School Graduates at CSSH Ceremony

Policy School graduates and faculty celebrated Spring 2024 graduation at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities ceremony.

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Policy School Faculty Promotions

Congratulations to Laura Kuhl, who was promoted to tenured Associate Professor, and Margot Abels, who was promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Prof. Ted Landsmark 'Good Trouble' Award

Three Needham High School students screened their National History Day documentary, which won the Prof. Ted Landsmark “Good Trouble” Award for the Best Project in Civil Rights History.

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Environmental Justice Events in Arlington

Policy School Director Maria Ivanova and Prof. Tracy Corley convened a day-long series of events on the Arlington campus to promote environmental justice and overcome political gridlock.

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"Poetics of the City" Lecture

Yale professor Cajetan Iheka delivered a lecture, jointly sponsored by the Policy School and the Department of English, on "Poetics For the City: Africa, Extraction and the Worlding of Literature."

FACULTY IMPACT

Plastic Pollution Treaty Talks Interview

Policy School Director Maria Ivanova gave an interview to NPRs "Living on Earth" on the fourth meeting of UN talks aimed to address plastic pollution, which recently took place in Ottawa, Canada.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Prof. Ivanova Delivers Keynote in Helsinki

Policy School Director Maria Ivanova gave a keynote address on "The International Environmental Governance Landscape: Over 50 Years of MEA Developments Since Stockholm" at the 2024 UEF-UNEP Course on Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Helsinki, Finland.

Bringing Solar Energy to Low-Income Communities

Prof. Joan Fitzgerald and Policy School Advisory Committee member Greg King authored a Boston Globe op-ed on why low-income households are only a small percentage of those benefiting from community solar and how to change that.

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The State of AI in Cities

As part of RethinkAI, Prof. Neil Kleiman ran a virtual foundation briefing on the state of AI in cities, with New American, Emerson College, and Cornell Tech. Participants included Burnes Center Fellow and Boston CIO, Santi Garces and Victoria Houed, Director of AI Policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

9:30 Call Case Study

Prof. Kim Lucas was featured in the 9:30 Call Case Study Report and delivered closing remarks to the 9:30 Call Case Study Release, alongside Brian Gold, Executive Director, MA Early Childhood Funders Collaborative.    

Participatory Modeling Keynote Lectures

Prof. Moira Zellner delivered a keynote on "Participatory complex systems modeling for collaborative and equitable planning at the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA) Social Simulation Festival 2024. She also gave a keynote on "Participatory modeling for collaborative and equitable planning: From potential to realization"at the 2024 Annual Modeling and Simulation Conference in DC.

Responsible AI Development

Prof. Beth Noveck helped U.S. Senators Booker, Rounds, and Heinrich craft new legislation requiring NSF to launch prize-backed AI challenges of $1 million dollars each. The legislation, introduced on April 30, will jump-start innovation in responsible artificial intelligence development.

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Healthy Neighborhoods Study

Prof. Patrice Williams was part of a two-part podcast episode discussing the Healthy Neighborhoods Study, a seven-year multidisciplinary, multi-site research project focused on neighborhood change, climate-related exposures, community resilience, and health equity in nine low-income, racially/ethnically diverse communities in metropolitan Boston.  

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STUDENT IMPACT

Sushant Kumar Defends Dissertation

Sushant Kumar successfully defended his dissertation for the PhD in Public Policy degree. His thesis is entitlled “No Country for Large Families: The Construction and Continuation of the Two-Child Norm in India.”

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David Jefferson at Early Childhood Agenda Convening

PhD in Public Policy student David Jefferson and Dr. Kim Lucas attended the first Early Childhood Agenda Spring Convening, where Dr. Lucas was a featured panelist. David has been working with Dr. Lucas in documenting Civic Research Agendas; the Early Childhood Agenda, which started as a pilot at the BARI Conference in 2022.

EVENTS

Iced Coffee and Conversation

All members of the Policy School community are invited to stop by for refreshments and casual conversation:

• Tue, June 4
• 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
• 310 Renaissance Park

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT