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School of Public Policy Co-hosts CUPSO 2024 National Conference

The School of Public Policy co-hosted the CUPSO 2024 national annual conference with the Donahue Institute on April 3-5 at the Campus Center. The theme of this year’s conference was “Preparing for the Future of Public Service.” The Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (CUPSO) supports the national group of university-based public service institutes to improve policy making and government management at the state and local levels. The organization also offers students the opportunity to participate in solving public challenges in policy making. 

Juniper Katz headshot

Katz and Carter Publish Research on Public Land Management Tools and User Preferences

Dr. Juniper Katz, along with co-author David P. Carter, published a paper in the Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning that examines how public lands users respond to different land management policy tools. Using a survey experiment that varies the imposition of fees and quotas in hypothetical scenarios, they analyzed U.S. rock climbers’ resistance or receptiveness to visiting public lands climbing destinations.

Libby Sharrow headshot

Professor Sharrow delivers Harrington Public Affairs Lecture at Clark University

School of Public Policy and Department of History Associate Professor Libby Sharrow delivered the Harrington Public Affairs lecture at Clark University on the topic of their book, "Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX's Policy Design Undermines Change to College Sports." The annual lecture features leading scholars of public policy, political science, and democracy. Sharrow discussed the status of gender equality debates in the U.S., and their research on policy coalition formation under Title IX.

 

Juniper Katz headshot

Juniper Katz Publishes Research on the Role of Nonprofits in Agenda Setting for Climate Policy

Dr. Juniper Katz, along with co-authors Samantha Zuhlke and Emani Brinkman, explores the impactful role of nonprofits, specifically land trusts, in local climate policy through their recent study published in the Nonprofit Policy Forum. Their research, titled "Strike While the Iron is Hot: Land Trusts, Temperature Anomalies, and Agenda Setting for Local Open Space Referenda," explores how land trusts are pivotal in leveraging perceptions of climate change for local agenda setting for land conservation, a crucial aspect of climate change mitigation strategies.

photo of Shoub

Kelsey Shoub Co-authors New Article that Finds Partisan Congressional Speech Shifts with Platform

Kelsey Shoub has co-authored new research finding that members of Congress tend to use more politically polarizing language in forums that are more likely to attract a national audience, such as social media, and the least polarizing language in e-newsletters and floor speeches. “While it is easy to separate Democrats and Republicans analyzing their statements on these platforms, their intra-party positions vary depending on the medium they’re using,” Shoub says. “This helps to explain the cultlike following of some members who use social media to offer fiery takes on national issues.”
(Phys.org, 3/26/24; News Office release)

Dr. Shanthie D'Souza

Shanthie D'Souza Publishes New Analysis of Women's Rights in Afghanistan

Shanthie M. D'Souza, Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair in Public Policy, recently published an analysis with the Middle East Institute, "Women’s rights under the Taliban: The socio-economic consequences of political exclusion," as part of the Institute's Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Initiative.

Read the article here.

Ethan Zuckerman headshot

Zuckerman publishes new article in The Conversation on community moderation as a means of online governance

Ethan Zuckerman, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Communication and Information, along with co-author Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci, recently published a new article in The Conversation titled "Let the community work it out: Throwback to early internet days could fix social media’s crisis of legitimacy." The piece provides a brief history of governance in online spaces, discussing the early days of community moderation to the later corporate drive for centralization in search for efficiency and power.

Michael Ash at lectern

Michael Ash & PERI release updated "Greenhouse 100 Suppliers Index"

Researchers including Michael Ash, professor of public policy and economics, at the UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) recently released the second annual edition of their Greenhouse 100 Suppliers Index.

Professor Libby Sharrow headshot

Professor Sharrow interviewed on New Books podcast

The New Books Network podcast interviewed Professor Sharrow and their collaborator, Jamie Druckman,
about their new book, Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX's Policy Design Undermines Change to College
Sports (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

photo of Shoub

Co-authored research by Professor Shoub featured by the Council on Criminal Justice

A recent article by Dr. Shoub and co-authors has been featured by the Council on Criminal Justice as a part of the "Admissible Evidence" series, which summarizes and translates academic research of policy makers.

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Upcoming Events

Fintech for the Common Good Interdisciplinary Lecture Series
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 12:15pm
Ethan Zuckerman on Panel at Upcoming UMass Event: Three Semesters Later: How is CHATGPT Being Used in the Classroom?
Friday, April 26, 2024 - 12:00pm
Fintech for the Common Good Interdisciplinary Lecture Series
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 - 4:00pm

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