Schar School News October 2021

Can You Study Abroad and Be a Full-time U.S. Student? Meet the Schar School Senior Who Is Doing Just That.

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 20:23:28 +0000

Can You Study Abroad and Be a Full-time U.S. Student? Meet the Schar School Senior Who Is Doing Just That. Andrew J Schappert Wed, 10/27/2021 - 16:23

Cato Abbot in Rome: ‘Being abroad and taking courses that are based in a non-U.S.-centric point of view has been a benefit to the idea of holistic education, not to mention the fact that it has been fascinating.’

Cato Abbot is a senior studying government and international politics at the Schar School of Policy and Government at ��AV. But unlike other Mason students, he is actually studying in Rome—yes, Italy—at Luiss Guido Carli University. We caught up with the Nashville native between classes to learn what it’s like studying for a degree abroad.

Schar School: Why Rome?
Cato Abbot: I have always thoroughly enjoyed traveling, and so I have been involved with the Global Education Office for much of my time at Mason. I chose Rome due to multiple factors: As a freshman at Mason, I joined the inaugural class of the Global Gateway program, which was an opportunity for freshmen to study abroad in the second semester of their first year in college. Through this program, I studied at Mason Korea in Seoul, South Korea, in the spring of my first year. Thanks to this amazing opportunity, I had already studied in Asia and wanted to experience a different part of the world.

SS: What’s it like being a student in Rome?
CA: Rome, and more broadly Italy as well, has been fantastic so far! Being in Rome and going from the apartment to your class means taking the bus past the Pyramid of Cestius, riding the metro next to the Roman Colosseum, and passing underneath the Aurelian Walls at least twice.

Simply walking to the local market or to the metro is filled with so much more history and significance than anywhere in the U.S. simply because Rome is so much older. There are so many ancient Roman ruins all over the place that they just start blending into everything else. The Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Roman Pantheon are all breathtaking. The Imperial Fora built by Caesar, Augusts, and Trajan, while in ruin, is also incredible.

And all of the museums and local events happening every weekend are a treat. You don’t run out of things to do on the weekend. I only wish I have more time here to travel and visit more of Italy and the rest of Europe! But I will be back, no doubt about it.

SS: Do you ever miss anything from home?
CA: I feel that I am fairly good at adjusting to new situations and putting myself out of my comfort zone. I know culture shock can severely affect some people, and certainly, when I went to South Korea with my fellow Global Gateway cohort, I suspect there were some who had a difficult time adjusting at first. I loved it from the minute the plane touched down to lift off at the end. And it has very much been the same experience here in Rome. Of course, everyone misses home occasionally and nothing can always be perfect, but studying abroad for me has been a consistently highly positive experience.

SS: How has the Schar School shaped your experience?
CA: Concentrating in international relations as part of my major at the Schar School has been a big positive to studying abroad. I have been studying the governments and politics of countries around the world and their interactions with each other at the Schar School, which has been very useful over here in Rome. It goes both ways in that studying abroad has also benefited my major as well.

Being abroad and taking courses that are based in a non-U.S.-centric point of view has been a benefit to the idea of holistic education, not to mention the fact that it has been fascinating. The Schar School has been a major help in introducing me to global ideas and concepts that continue to be useful abroad. It was an interest in global issues and international relations that drew me to the Schar School in the first place.

SS: How do you take in person classes in Rome?
CA: Mason has an exchange program with Luiss, so I am taking courses offered by Luiss that were previously approved over the summer as having Mason equivalent courses. Then the credits transfer over at the end of the semester.

SS: Would you recommend the study abroad experience for others?
CA: It is absolutely worth it! At the risk of sounding like a walking advertisement for the Global Education Office, I think that everyone should study abroad…For us GVIP majors, studying abroad gives invaluable experience in what is an extremely globalized world where nations are completely intertwined with one another.

In my experience, the Global Education Office does a fantastic job at helping anyone who wants to study abroad, regardless of major, background, or financial status. I often hear money as a reason for not going abroad, but I have found studying abroad to be at least comparable to Fairfax, if not overall even less costly. Moreover, the Global Education Office has plenty of scholarships, grants, and other financial aid to help with studying abroad.

SS: How can this experience help you and others in their future?
CA: I cannot stress enough that having experience with cultures and people who are not like you, who do not speak the same language as you and who may view the world in a completely different way than you do gives you such a massive advantage when entering the workforce in the field of international politics and government.

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad twice in my undergraduate career, and I suspect that if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, I may have studied abroad three times. I can’t get enough of it! Sure, there is a list of challenges that will have to be dealt with, such as language barriers, but it is all without a doubt worth it.

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Schar School News October 2021

Fall for the Book Event: Klaus Dodds’ The New Border Wars

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 18:09:48 +0000

Fall for the Book Event: Klaus Dodds’ The New Border Wars Andrew J Schappert Mon, 10/18/2021 - 14:09

In This Story

Richard Kauzlarich

The changing nature of national borders will be examined October 22 when Schar School Distinguished Visiting Professor Richard Kauzlarich discusses the book, The New Border Wars: The Conflicts That Will Define Our Future, with the author, Klaus Dodds.

The noon conversation is part of ��AV’s annual Fall for the Book Festival. The virtual session is free and open to the public but registration is required: bit.ly/3AtHPZq

“I found this book intriguing because of my 40 years of experience in the Department of State and the intelligence community dealing with conflicts and borders,” said Kauzlarich, who, among other accomplishments, was U.S. ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Azerbaijan.

The book, Kauzlarich said, “provides a modern framework for looking at the concept of borders as activities that go far beyond lines drawn on a map. For Dodds, borders are physical, but they are also activities increasingly enabled by technology. Such activity alters the scope and nature of borders, and the orthodox conflicts surrounding them. He also describes the impacts of climate change on people and borders that affect them.”

The interviewer and the interviewee have much in common. At the Schar School, Kauzlarich teaches the geopolitics of energy security and directs the Center for Energy Science and Policy. Dodds is a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, and has served in an advisory capacity at NATO.

Dodds’ book, the ambassador added, “addresses novel aspects of borders such as cyber, sub-sea, and outer space…The transdisciplinary approach of this book fits in well with Schar School’s future as a transdisciplinary institution that draws on different disciplines and faculty members to address the challenges and disruptions caused by the new border wars.”

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Fall for the Book

Schar School News October 2021

Popular Mechanics: Everything We Know About Israel’s Robotic Machine Gun

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:13:47 +0000

Popular Mechanics: Everything We Know About Israel’s Robotic Machine Gun Andrew J Schappert Wed, 10/13/2021 - 12:13

Israel’s Mossad is said to have used a remote controlled weapon to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist. Zak Kallenborn, a Schar School policy fellow and official “Mad Scientist” with the U.S. Army, says killing a scientist in "a lab coat or just a suit and tie” highlights the indiscriminate peril of AI-controlled weapons. Read more.

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Conflict

Schar School News October 2021

Hispanic Heritage Month: Faculty Spotlight

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 14:51:23 +0000

Hispanic Heritage Month: Faculty Spotlight Andrew J Schappert Tue, 10/12/2021 - 10:51

As we close out Hispanic Heritage Month, the College of Education and Human Development’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) wants to honor the contributions of faculty members of Hispanic/Latinx heritage.

ODI recently sat down and interviewed Associate Professor Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera. Dr. Correa-Cabrera is a migrant and border scholar in the Schar School of Policy and Government. Correa-Cabrera was born and raised in Mexico, near Mexico City. She was inspired and influenced by her parents, both of whom pursued graduate degrees.

Correa-Cabrera: "I define myself as Mexican because I was born and raised in Mexico and what it means to be Mexican… I mean it’s a lot of things. We have in Mexico, a particular history, we have a particular culture. That you know manifests itself in having certain type of food, listening to certain songs, and we become excited when we remember our history, periods of time that have made us who we are but, at the same time, Mexico is a very diverse country. I was born in the State of Mexico, I was raised, most of my life in Mexico City. I studied in the United States for my doctorate and I have lived in the United States for the past 20 years. So that has also helped me to value the place where I come from—my country, my traditions, my food, my songs, my language."

When asked how her culture influenced her work, there was no hesitation in her responses. The very nature of her work is so interwoven in her personal experiences, painting a beautiful picture of how pride in heritage and her quest for shedding light on powerful issues was so impactful to her work. During her interview there was an energy that radiated as she shared with great passion the work that she does.

Correa-Cabrera: "Totally it has impacted my work completely. My areas of expertise are immigration in the United States, global migration, migration from the northern triangle to the U.S.-Mexico border. I consider myself as a border scholar. Always thinking about myself as somebody who is in the middle of the United States and Mexico, in this “third country” that is the U.S.-Mexico border, so my area of expertise is the U.S.-Mexico border and Mexico border relations and Mexican relations in general. The border is more than that, there were moments of fear, there were moments of anxiety, moments of sadness when you see a number of events taking place.

Border communities are in solidarity with the world in many ways. The border is a beautiful place. The border is a place of beautiful people; there in solidarity with those who need them the most. So, of the border communities, they are the ones that pay the highest price but do it very gladly. Though it's been an amazing journey along the border, an amazing journey to study immigration, and an amazing journey also because I understand it. I am Mexican and I am an American citizen now.”

When given the opportunity to reflect on their development Dr. Correa-Cabrera offered the following advice:

Correa-Cabrera: “To be more open, because I suffered a lot for not being open. It took me a while to adapt to new realities, the complexity of the culture in a third country—I talk about the borderlands as a third country—being more open about what this society lives through. Because you come from your own background, from your own traditions, from your own culture, from your own country, and you go somewhere else, and it takes time to adapt because you're closed [off], because you think that the place where you are from has taught you everything and you feel like a stranger at the beginning, so if I had advice to give myself when I was younger, I would say, just open your eyes, this is going to be fantastic.”

As the interview came to a close, one final question was asked—what advice would you give students and faculty of Hispanic/Latinx heritage?

Correa-Cabrera: “Compared to what previous generations had, we have a lot of opportunities. Even though we are underrepresented in many ways, even though there are some limitations of the system that put us in disadvantage, this is a time of opportunities, and we know the power we have. And we know that if we got here, it’s because we work harder than anybody else. It’s been difficult for Latinos in the United States to make a way in this society. Now, we are very powerful and we just have to understand that and we’ll fight for our rights, and this is the time to do it, and now there is more openness for inclusiveness, for diversity. You know different historical processes have happened very recently that have led to greater paths for diversity and inclusion that have happened in this country. So what I would tell everybody is we have to stop being fearful, we have to fight for our rights and now our voice matters more now than any other time.”

To learn more about Correa-Cabrera, please visit here and be sure to support her book publications.

Dr. Correa-Cabrera (Ph.D. in Political Science, The New School for Social Research) is an Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government, ��AV. Her areas of expertise are Mexico-U.S. relations, organized crime, immigration/migration, border security, social movements and human trafficking. She was the Principal Investigator of a research grant to study organized crime and trafficking in persons in Central America and along Mexico’s eastern migration routes, supported by the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

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Schar School News October 2021

2020 Hit Hard: Researchers Release Findings on Long-Term Trends Among Nonprofits

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 20:49:33 +0000

2020 Hit Hard: Researchers Release Findings on Long-Term Trends Among Nonprofits Andrew J Schappert Thu, 10/07/2021 - 16:49

In This Story

Mirae Kim

Mirae Kim: ‘The findings will greatly impact shaping many important policies that influence the work nonprofits do and the people served by those nonprofits.’

A new report from the Urban Institute details national findings on donation trends from 2015-19 and in 2020. It also examines diversity and representation within the nonprofit sector, and the first-year impacts on nonprofits by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study—Nonprofit Trends and Impacts 2020—was conducted by scholars from ��AV, American University, and the Urban Institute, the Washington, D.C.-based economic and social policy research organization. See the study. A complementary fact-sheet is here.

“Nonprofit organizations in the U.S. play a vital role in delivering services, strengthening communities, and facilitating civic engagement, however, until now we lacked a nationally representative portrait of the nonprofit sector detailing donation trends and experiences of nonprofits across a variety of dimensions,” said study contributor Mirae Kim, an associate professor at Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government and a co-editor of Nonprofit Policy Forum.

“Our report fills this gap using the nationally representative survey of nonprofit organizations,” she added. “The findings will greatly impact shaping many important policies that influence the work nonprofits do and the people served by those nonprofits.”

The new report, released this week, draws on survey results from a newly launched, nationally representative panel study of nonprofits, the first of its kind to annually survey the same nonprofits and allow researchers to note trends in the sector.

In addition to releasing the research report, the Urban Institute also released a related open dataset. Read more about the project and public use data.

A preview of some key takeaways include:

Most organizations experienced donation growth from 2015 through 2019, but for many, that trend reversed in 2020. From 2015 through 2019, 58 percent of nonprofits experienced growth in donations, 32 percent experienced stable donations, and 10 percent experienced decreased donations. The events of 2020 disrupted this trend for many nonprofits.
The disruptions of 2020 were felt by nonprofits of all sizes, but a greater share of small organizations, which make up most of the sector and most heavily depend on donations, experienced decreased donations in 2020.

The collaboration was motivated by the piecemeal nature of most research on nonprofit organizations, which could not be aggregated to understand the important contributions and needs of nonprofit organizations both across the U.S. and within communities, the Urban Institute said in a statement. The collaboration is working to improve research on the sector, share what is learned with the nonprofit and research communities, and help policymakers and the public make informed decisions that affect or support nonprofit organizations.

The study was funded by the Generosity Commission, a project of the Giving Institute and Giving USA Foundation, and was partially funded by the National Science Foundation Human Networks and Data Science Infrastructure Program.

ABOUT THE SCHAR SCHOOL

The Schar School of Policy and Government is one of the 10 schools and colleges of ��AV, with approximately 2,000 students, 90 full-time faculty members, and 23 degree and certificate programs offered on Mason’s campuses in Fairfax and Arlington, Va. Among the degree programs are government and international affairs, public policy, public administration, political science, international security, and international commerce and policy. The Schar School prepares undergraduate and graduate students to be leaders and managers who solve problems and advance the public good in all sectors and levels of government—in the United States and throughout the world.

For more, contact Communications Manager Buzz McClain at bmcclai2@gmu.edu.

A dynamic education for an evolving world.

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Nonprofits

Schar School News October 2021

Three New Studies Funded by JCOIN’s Rapid Innovation Grant Program

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 15:13:48 +0000

Three New Studies Funded by JCOIN’s Rapid Innovation Grant Program Andrew J Schappert Wed, 10/06/2021 - 11:13

The nation’s correctional facilities are uniquely vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. Since the pandemic was declared a public health emergency in February 2020, prison populations have been decimated across the country as COVID-19 finds few barriers behind bars.

In response to the spread of COVID-19 among justice-involved populations suffering from addictions, the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) created the JCOIN Rapid Innovation Grant program (J-RIG), a rapid funding mechanism to support research grants to study newly emerging policies, practices, and interventions that address prevention and treatment of addiction in justice settings.

Three projects recently have been approved for J-RIG funding:

Reducing Stigma among Individuals with Addiction and Staff in the Criminal Justice System: A Pilot Feasibility Trial. This project addresses the serious negative consequences of stigma in the criminal justice system by combining cutting-edge research in stigma intervention with implementation science to address stigma associated with addiction, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and criminal involvement in the CJ system. PI: Kelly E Moore, assistant professor, clinical psychology, East Tennessee State University.
Improving low-threshold naloxone-on-release from incarceration. The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether providing high-volume, low-threshold, naloxone-on-release is effective at placing naloxone in the hands of jail releasees most likely to experience or witness an overdose. Two secondary aims are to determine facilitators and barriers to releasees obtaining additional doses of naloxone after release in the community and to explore how releasees take naloxone and associated training back to the community. PI: Peter J Davidson, associate professor, University of California-San Diego.
Decreasing Relapse and Recidivism: The Evaluation of a Novel Continuity of Care Model for Offenders with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). This project has two aims: to assess the effectiveness of a new SUD treatment program for short-term detainees in promoting detainee recovering and its impact on recidivism. The evaluation will improve our understanding of best practices for assisting detainees with SUD in re-entering their home communities successfully. PI: Valerie G Hardcastle, executive director, Institute for Health Innovation, Northern Kentucky University.

The first two J-RIG-funded projects began their work in 2020:

A Statewide Evaluation of the Implementation of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Vermont Correctional Facilities and the Impact of COVID-19.
PI: Elias Klemperer, assistant professor, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Teleservices in Judicially Led Diversion Programs: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Adoption of Remote Treatment and Recovery Services.
PI: Tara Kunkel, executive director, Rulo Strategies LLC.

“We’re excited about the continued quality of the proposals submitted for J-RIG funding and look forward to the findings from all five projects,” said University Professor Faye Taxman, who leads the JCOIN efforts.

Each of these projects has been funded for two years.

JCOIN and J-RIG are funded by the NIH HEAL Initiative and are administered by the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!) at ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government. The multi-university collaborative is led by University Professor Faye Taxman.

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Schar School News October 2021

New Democracy Lab fosters networking, growth for first-year students

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:17:13 +0000

New Democracy Lab fosters networking, growth for first-year students Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 10/05/2021 - 12:17

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Peter Mandaville

Mason President Gregory Washington speaks to freshmen from the Schar School's new Learning Community, Democracy Lab, about how anti-racism and inclusive excellence relate to the broader challenge of democracy in America. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

With thousands of people and countless opportunities, there’s a lot to take in at Virginia’s largest public research university. To help ��AV students find community and boost their on-campus experience, Housing and Residence Life created Learning Communities (LC), where students with common interests live and learn together during the academic year.

Democracy Lab is one of the newest LCs. More than 60 freshmen from the Schar School of Policy and Government are enrolled for its inaugural year.

Peter Mandaville. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

“[LCs] allow students to immediately have a network of peers and friends with common interests that can help them to feel a greater source of community,” said Peter Mandaville, Democracy Lab’s faculty director. “In some aspects, it makes a large university have the feel of a small liberal arts college.”

Mandaville said the lab’s name comes from the idea that democracy in America continues to be an ongoing experiment.

“Democracy is facing a whole set of challenges that we, as a nation, need to work through,” he said, mentioning issues like the effects of misinformation and social media, racism, socioeconomic inequality and political polarization. “This is a space where students can explore and talk about those issues.”

Democracy Lab students are enrolled in an Introduction to Democracy course. While the lab’s activities don’t formally follow the syllabus, students explore how larger philosophical questions discussed in the classroom relate to real-world challenges.

“Being in an LC with other people who share the same interests, goals and passions that I do has helped me grow as a person,” said Aarush Sivaram Jambunathan, a freshman studying government and international politics. “Everyone has a wide variety of viewpoints, but is respectful of [differing] views, and I truly feel the connections I’ve made here will last for the rest of my life.”

The experience can be transformational, said Gretchen Curry, the Schar School’s undergraduate programs manager and Democracy Lab co-coordinator.

“[LCs] allow students to have that one-on-one with faculty and staff, but also develop students’ personal interests,” she said. “Students enhance their academic experience, and grow as humans in the process.”

The lab’s fall semester focuses on major issues and debates, Mandaville said, while the spring semester shifts to what can be done about those issues and project-oriented work.

Students also hear from high-profile guests in the Washington, D.C., area and distinguished faculty.

The group’s inaugural event took place in August, with Mason President Gregory Washington speaking about how anti-racism and inclusive excellence are integral to democracy.

The lab connects students to opportunities.

“We want to help [students] get a better sense of the wide range of resources and expertise present in our faculty, and help them feel like they’re citizens of the school,” Mandaville said, mentioning the Schar School’s 90 full-time faculty.

Curry said the role of LCs is especially important in 2021.

“We’re offering this intentional experience for students when they’re coming off of a year and a half of a pandemic,” she said. “I’m hopeful and excited this is going to be an opportunity for them to really connect with each other and feel they have a place personally and professionally.”

A freshman from Democracy Lab engages in a discussion about how anti-racism and inclusive excellence relate to the broader challenge of democracy in America. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

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Schar School News October 2021

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Democracy Lab Learning Community

Internships? Meet the Schar School Senior Who Has Had 3 (and Is Seeking a 4th).

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:48:49 +0000

Internships? Meet the Schar School Senior Who Has Had 3 (and Is Seeking a 4th). Andrew J Schappert Tue, 10/05/2021 - 09:48

Fyzah Islam: ‘Never feel that you, especially if you are a person of color or as a woman, are underqualified for the job.’

��AV students have countless opportunities to get involved in research projects, build connections with people, and intern at key agencies and firms, ranging from the federal government to Fortune 500 companies. One student who has spent her undergraduate experience building life-long connections and gaining meaningful experiences is Fyzah Islam.

Islam is a senior pursuing a bachelor of arts degree in Government and International Politics and a master’s degree in International Commerce Policy through the Schar School’s Accelerated Master’s Program. But in addition, she has experienced three internships over the past three years.

“I had a let’s-apply-and-see-what-happens attitude for each internship,” she said of her motivation. Here is a brief recap of her internships and her takeaways.

First up, during the fall 2020 semester, Islam was a finance intern for the Democratic Attorney General’s Association (DAGA) “For DAGA, I was looking for something to get a foot into the professional world,” she said. “Working on election night was so hectic and entertaining, and it was a welcome distraction from all the presidential election drama. I have a newfound appreciation for poll counters and election reports. The stress of their job is enough to last all year.”

In the spring 2021semester, Islam was a political and communications intern for America Votes, where she helped double the social media presence of the national nonprofit organization. In the summer of 2021, she became a global corporate affairs intern for financial software giant Intuit.

“Intuit was my first internship where I was doing exactly what I wanted,” she said, acknowledging the benefits of the previous internships. “Researching existing policy and applying those implications to the future. Internships show you what you can have in your career future, and I hope my career mimics this internship.”

Islam learned about each of these internships through the University Career Services information portal, Handshake, a comprehensive listing of regional and local internships and job opportunities available to students.

Islam said each of her internships cumulatively helped her realize what career path she wanted. She hopes to complete her master’s degree while securing yet another internship with National Public Radio or a private company and eventually find herself working in international policy or data policy analysis. She’s even thinking about getting a second master’s degree in secondary education to begin teaching and motivating others to pursue their interests in international policy.

“Internships are so worth it,” she said of the effort to secure them and then stay in them. “If there is a company that interests you, check their website and apply. Never feel that you, especially if you are a person of color or as a woman, are underqualified for the job.

“Even if you only have one of the qualifications, you might fit. During my internship at Intuit, I was the only 19-year-old undergraduate in all my meetings. The rest of the interns in the policy department were in law school. You are qualified.”

When asked about how she manages to balance all her classes, work, and internships into her schedule Islam was candid: “In all honestly, it comes down to the fact that I don't know anything else than juggling 50 things at the same time. I've been doing this since first grade when I started Girl Scouts. It comes down to being best friends with your planner, having your phone glued to your hand, and having a support system that gets your brand on crazy—while encouraging you to have a break every so often.”

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Schar School News October 2021

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Schar School of Policy and Government Undergraduate Internships

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Schar School’s ACE! Lands NIH Grant to Fund Diversity Mentoring

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 14:59:38 +0000

Schar School’s ACE! Lands NIH Grant to Fund Diversity Mentoring Andrew J Schappert Mon, 10/04/2021 - 10:59

In This Story

Faye S. Taxman

Faye Taxman: ‘We are proud to be at the forefront of helping develop the next generation of scientists…’

In an effort to increase minority presence among researchers studying solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis, particularly among populations in criminal justice settings, the National Institutes of Health’s Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative has awarded the Schar School’s Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!) a grant to sponsor a minority scholar in the coming year.

The grant is the only one awarded by HEAL and will support the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), which studies approaches to increase high-quality care for people with opioid misuse in justice settings.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of helping develop the next generation of scientists in the justice-health space,” said ACE! founding director, Schar School University Professor Faye Taxman, who also is principal investigator for JCOIN. “This grant allows us to mentor an affiliate scholar to continue and expand on the important work we have already accomplished over the last several years.”

The funding recognized the success of ACE! in the field of justice-health as well as understanding the wide disparities in those affected by opioid abuse among minority populations.

ABOUT THE SCHAR SCHOOL

For more, contact Communications Manager Buzz McClain at bmcclai2@gmu.edu.

A dynamic education for an evolving world.

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ACE!

JCOIN

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diversity equity and inclusion DEI

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (September 2021)

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 14:08:27 +0000

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (September 2021) Andrew J Schappert Mon, 10/04/2021 - 10:08

In This Story

From the Hill:

Medicare and Social Security Are Still in Trouble

Now, the objection will be made that a wealth tax is somehow new and discriminates against those who have accumulated great wealth. That is not true.

—Jack A. Goldstone

From the Atlantic Council:

Saudi Arabia Is Trying to Make America Jealous with Its Budding Russia Ties

The signing of this Saudi-Russian agreement—whatever it contains—in the wake of the downfall of the US-backed Afghan government and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan is a signal that Riyadh does not feel that it can fully rely on Washington and, so, is willing to hedge its bets by turning to Moscow.

—Mark N. Katz

From Newsweek:

Climate Goals and Renewable Deployment Need Competitive Electricity Markets

This is not to say that competitive markets ensure mistake-free power generation, distribution and a cleaner environment. They enable the application of data technology at scale to improve the efficiency of electricity production while facilitating consumer demand for more renewables.

—Richard Kauzlarich

From Frontiers in Public Health:

Improving the Covid-19 Vaccination Rate in Pakistan—a Multipronged Policy Approach

One way to fight Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy is to incorporate a nudge behavioral science approach in the government's strategy to increase the vaccination rate. Such an approach calls for “nudges,” which simply are processes, adjustments, or structures meant to guide people toward a particular behavioral choice

—PhD Candidate Muhammad Salar Khan

From Syndication Bureau:

Why Tunisia Is in Crisis

Or at least not yet. For he has undoubtedly begun to follow the autocrats' playbook, accusing political parties and some businessmen of corruption and foreign ties, and intimidating media professionals. And he might find traction.

—Ellen Laipson

From the Sacramento Business Journals:

California Biosecurity Bill Safeguards Bioeconomy and Public Health

If adopted, California would establish the first legally binding biosecurity measure for the synthetic biology industry in the U.S.—and in the world. Just as California has been at the forefront of establishing environmental protections that have become adopted nationwide, California has the potential to set a de facto national standard for biosecurity.

—Gregory Koblentz

From the Washington Post:

Abortion Enters the Virginia Governor’s Race

When the Supreme Court recently declined to block a novel Texas antiabortion law, it made huge waves in the Virginia gubernatorial race. And, if history holds, it could be bad news for the Republicans in Virginia this fall.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

American Isn’t First—It’s Far Behind—and Studies Point to Republicans

To conservatives, health is a wholly individual responsibility. “Public health” sounds too much like collectivism. And collectivism gives conservatives a nosebleed.

—Bill Schneider

From Fee.org:

The Four Biggest Problems With Biden’s Vaccine Order

However, Biden’s actions will likely increase vaccine hesitancy, lead to further distrust of the government, and can expect multiple legal challenges – as well as civil disobedience.

—Master’s Student Mason Goad

From War on the Rocks:

A Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategy for the 21^st Century

The last time the U.S. government published a national strategy for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Saddam Hussein was still ruling Iraq, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un was a teenager, and Xi Jinping was governing a Chinese province.

—Zak Kallenborn, Al Mauroni, Seth Carus, and Ron Fizer

From the National Interest:

Afghanistan’s Fall: Were We Using the Wrong Historical Analogies?

This was only supposed to have occurred some months or even years after the withdrawal—according, at least, to what appeared to be the most relevant historical analogies: the U.S. withdrawal from South Vietnam and the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

—Mark N. Katz

From LSE British Politics and Policy:

Local Campaigning: By Relying on a Variety of Direct Forms of Voter Outreach, Parties Can Make Substantial Electoral Gains

While local campaigning is certainly not the only factor influencing election outcomes, parties that ignore it will only do so at their own peril.

—Lucas Núñez

From Politics Today:

Five Prominent Challenges for the Taliban

The Taliban are going through a transition from guerilla fighting to governance, bringing order to a multiethnic nation, and adjusting within the contemporary world. War and governance are two distinct issues. Now that the Taliban must govern, they face numerous challenges.

—Master’s in Political Science Student Hashim Wahdatyar

From the Washington Post:

Virginia Democrats Soft Enthusiasm Gives Republicans Hope

A major reason for it: Who is and is not in the White House.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

Biden Continues Trump’s Flirtation with Complacency

America First policies horrify U.S. allies and the Washington foreign policy establishment. Nevertheless, they draw a lot of popular support because they capture a strong — and dangerous — public impulse, namely, complacency.

—Bill Schneider

From World Politics Review:

The Limits of China’s Engagement in Afghanistan

It is unclear how effective these reassurances will be, but in any case, Beijing does not have considerable enough interests at stake in Afghanistan to warrant any substantial military or economic involvement there.

—PhD Candidate Jon Hoffman

From the Hill:

Justice Ginsburg’s Parting Gift?

If the Democratic Party retains control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections, it will have the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to thank.

—Edward Rhodes

From the Washington Post:

Rural Virginians Will Lose Political Clout in Redistricting

No matter whether Virginia’s congressional and state legislative boundaries are drawn by Democrats, Republicans or a redistricting commission, the numbers make this clear: The suburbs will gain seats; the countryside will lose them.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

What’s at Stake—and In Play—for the Midterms

The odds are not good for Democrats next year. Republicans would need to gain five House seats and one Senate seat to take over Congress. In the last ten midterm elections, the president’s party has lost an average of 23 House seats and three Senate seats.

—Bill Schneider

From Foreign Policy:

Neither Russia Nor China Could Fill a U.S. Void in the Middle East

Moscow and Beijing have not outright challenged the U.S.-led security order in the region, because they benefit from it: It has provided the security umbrella for them to become more involved in the region without having to assume the costs of physically protecting their interests.

—PhD Candidate Jon Hoffman

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