Why did you decide to become an academic? I have always been fascinated by cities and their transportation systems. As a child in Southern California, I was fascinated by the freeway system and the Thomas Guides that people used at the time to find their destinations in a pre-GPS world. I soon became an expert…
Category: teaching
Research Spotlight: Unequal Early Adulthoods: Wealth Disparities During the Great Recession
How did young adults fare during the 2008 real estate collapse and economic crisis? We know that younger families who were economically and racially disadvantaged had a greater amount of relative economic loss than their older counterparts. Consequently, there are signs that younger generations such as Millennials are more likely to delay the purchase of…
Graduate Student Spotlight: Harley Roe from the Department of Political Science
What department are you a graduate student in? I’m a member of the political science department. Why did you decide to go to graduate school? This is my second round of graduate school. I have an MA in International Studies from University of San Francisco that gave me a strong qualitative foundation, but I knew…
Award Spotlight: COSSPP Graduate Student Receives Oksar Morgenstern Fellowship
Political science Ph.D. candidate, Anastasiia Vlasenko, was recently awarded the Mercatus Center’s Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship. The Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship is a one-year program for doctoral students from any university and discipline who are interested in political economy. Her research interests include electoral politics and democratization, with a specialization in politics of Ukraine and Russia. She…
Graduate Student Spotlight: Justin Crofoot from the Department of Political Science
What department are you a graduate student in? Political Science. I study public policy and state politics. Why did you decide to go to graduate school? As an undergraduate student, I became passionate about investigating and discussing complex issues. This inspired me to pursue a career as a professor. Throughout graduate school I have been…
Meet a Social Scientist: Dawn Carr from the Department of Sociology
Why did you decide to become an academic? Initially, I didn’t want to become an academic. I was raised by an academic (my father) and was intimidated by the idea of fitting the mold of what I saw of academia at that time in history. That said, as I was completing my master’s degree, I…
Graduate Student Spotlight: Taylor Kinsley Chewning from the Department of Political Science
What department are you a graduate student in? Political Science Why did you decide to go to graduate school? Through undergraduate econometrics classes and internships, I became interested in research. After graduating, I worked as a research analyst; however, I wanted the ability to set my research agenda, pursuing projects of importance to me. Thus,…
Graduate Student Spotlight: Olivia Van Housen from the Political Science Department
What department are you a graduate student in? I’m in the political science department, but I’m a MAAPP Alum. Why did you decide to go to graduate school? As someone who enjoys learning, I decided to continue my education. I stumbled into the political science program by chance! Did your interests change throughout your program? …
Halloween 2021: Go Big and, then, Forget About It
I have always loved Halloween. I grew up in a rural part of central Ohio and October meant changing leaves, pumpkin festivals, and trips to the haunted house. I spent hours helping my mom decorate, stringing lights on bushes and hanging skeletons from every tree branch I could reach. While I loved trick-or-treating, I had…
Meet a Social Scientist: Svetlana Pevnitskaya from the Department of Economics
Why did you decide to become an academic? I have always been passionate about research – coming up with a question and then working on using a scientific method to answer it and find the new knowledge. Although in other countries top notch research is not always done at universities, in the US it is…
Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions 