Institute for Policy and Governance Quarterly Newsletter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tidings: From the Director

"A Reflection on Immigrants, 'Blood and Soil' Alterity and Freedom"

Accomplishments

Arielle McCollum

Lyusyena Kirakosyan

Shahed Alhadyan

Max Stephenson Jr.

Bernice Owusu-Brown

Mary Beth Dunkenberger

Ariel Otruba

Yannis Stivachtis

Nino Dzotsenidze

Aline de Souza

Aziz Ardic

Armin Firouzi

Helya Sehat

Project Updates

Engagement Ready Roanoke
Virginia Management Fellows
Virginia Public Sector Leader Program
Rainbow Wellness Alliance LGBTQIA+ Health Summit
Patient Journey Mapping of the Smyth County Behavioral Health Campus
Octagon House Executive Feasibility Study
Vibrant Virginia

Conferences & Events

2026 Recovery Ecosystems Conference
2026 International Conference on Urban Affairs
Symposium on Refugee and Migrant Education
2026 Midwest Slavic Conference
Teach-In: A Toolkit for Nonviolent Civil Resistance
IPG hosts Carolyn Lukensmeyer
Connecting for Resilience: A Virginia Food Systems Summit
2026 International Studies Association Convention
2026 IPG Spring Open House
IPG 20th Anniversary Celebration

Announcements & Opportunities

In Memoriam: Mohammed Mehdi Panahi
IPG and Virginia Tech's Giving Day 2026
People of IPG: Bernice Owusu-Brown
IPG Welcomes Stephanie Davis

Faculty Spotlight

Andrew P. McCoy, Ph.D., Interim Managing Director, Coalition for Smart Construction, Co-Director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research, Beliveau Professor, Department of Building Construction and Associate Director, Myers-Lawson School of Construction, Virginia Tech

Graduate Student Spotlight

Helya Sehat, PhD Student, Planning, Governance, and Globalization

Alumni Spotlight

Kristin Kirk, Owner, New Nile Consulting

Commentaries, Essays & Publications

Research and Policy Brief Series
Soundings and Tidings
Five Pieces Worth Reading
Recent Publications

TIDINGS: FROM THE DIRECTOR

"A Reflection on Immigrants, 'Blood and Soil' Alterity and Freedom"

BY MAX O. STEPHENSON, JR.

Director, Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance

Note to readers:

This Tidings continues what has become something of an exploration in recent numbers of this column of what might be dubbed the social fundaments of democratic self-governance and the threats to those posed by heterogeneity or pluralism. Those dangers may be innate to human behavior or constructed by those desirous of power or perhaps both, but their portent is always degrading for individual freedom. To state the obvious, perhaps, those hazards, as is now occurring in the United States, inevitably have policy implications. In the U.S. today, in the example of immigration I treat below, those are clearly visible in human rights, prospects for national and regional economic growth, at all levels of education and more specifically and immediately, in the vitality and productivity of our nation’s rural and agricultural economy.¹ In short, while addressing these concerns is vital to the preservation of freedom, they also portend very significant policy consequences for the conditions in which citizens, all citizens, and not merely those demonized, live their lives. These are matters that will continue to concern us deeply at the Institute. MOS Jr.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

IPG is pleased to welcome Arielle McCollum to our team! She will serve as our Outreach and Engagement Manager at our Richmond office. Arielle's responsibilities include program planning, event management, recruitment and participant support, and data management. We are delighted to have her join us.

Welcome Arielle!

IPG Senior Non-Resident Research Fellow Dr. Lyusyena Kirakosyan, Graduate Assistant and Planning, Governance, and Globalization PhD student Shahed Alhadyan, and IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. will present a paper, "The Materiality of Belonging: Disability and the Limits of Diasporic Hybridity" accepted for submission at the 12th International Scientific Conference Institute on Humanities and Social Studies in Heraklion, Crete on May 5th.

Congratulations, all!

IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. delivered a lecture and Q&A on the topic of "Multilateral Institutions in a Changing World Order" at the Warm Hearth Village Community center in Blacksburg on March 25. His presentation was part of the Lifelong Learning Institute's Great Decisions program, an initiative developed and supported by the Foreign Policy Association.

IPG Research Scientist Dr. Bernice Owusu-Brown and Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger were awarded a Track 2 Seed Grant by the Virginia Tech Whole Health Consortium. The title of their effort is "Walking on Eggshells: The Mental Health Consequences of Immediate Rule Adjustment for Domestic Violence Shelter Residents."

Congratulations, Bernice and Mary Beth!

Drs. Ariel Otruba (IPG Non-Resident Research Fellow and Interim Director of the International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program, Arcadia University), Max Stephenson Jr. (IPG Director, Professor, School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)), Yannis Stivachtis (Director, Center for European and Transatlantic Studies, and Professor, SPIA) and Nino Dzotsenidze (Senior Research Analyst, California Center for Rural Policy), were honored at the 2026 Virginia Tech Authors Recognition Event on March 31 for their recent book, Violent Infrastructure: Protracted Displacement and Housing Injustice in Tskaltubo, Georgia with Virginia Tech University Press. The event was hosted by University Libraries, and Dr. Otruba attended on behalf of the group. You may download a free digital copy or purchase the book in print here, and view a video of the event here.

Congratulations, all!

Photo credit: Chase Parker, University Libraries.

Dr. Aline de Souza, in the Alliance for Social, Political, Ethical, and Cultural Thought program, sucessfully defended her doctoral dissertation, "Stories of Migration: Investigating Artistic Work to Encourage Social Change" on February 11. Special thanks to her committee members: Chair and IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr., Dr. Tyechia Thompson (English), Dr. Fernanda Rosa, (Science, Technology, and Society), and Bob Leonard (School of Performing Arts and IPG Senior Fellow).

Congratulations, Aline!

Photo from left to right: Max Stephenson Jr., Aline de Souza, Tyechia Thompson, Fernanda Rosa, and Bob Leonard. Photo credit: Billy Parvatam

Dr. Aziz Ardic, PhD in the Philosophy program at the University of Istanbul (Turkey), successfully defended his dissertation, "Comparative Analysis of Institution Politics via Michael Foucault and Giles Deleuze." His work focused on neo-institutionalism, neoliberalism, and governmentality.

Dr. Ardic served as a Visiting Graduate Fellow at the Institute during the 2023-2024 academic year, working alongside IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. on his intellectual journey. He was also an active member in the Institute's student organization, the Community Change Collaborative.

Congratulations, Aziz!

Photo: Professor Nedim Yildiz, Chair of the Philosophy Department at Istanbul University (left) with Aziz Ardic (right). Photo courtesy of Aziz Ardic.

Armin Firouzi, PhD student in Planning, Governance, and Globalization, successfully completed his qualifying review on February 16. The next step in his dissertation process will be the preliminary exam. Special thanks to his committee members: Chair and IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr., Dr. Lisa Tucker (School of Design), Dr. Anne-Lise Velez (Honors College), and Dr. Sam Sweitz (Michigan Technological University).

Congratulations, Armin!

Helya Sehat, PhD student in Planning, Governance, and Globalization and Institute affiliated graduate student, was featured in the March newsletter of Compassionate STEM education. She wrote a reflection entitled, "Trust in the Classroom," that examined her experiences when teaching "Sustainability by Design" in Fall 2025.

PROJECT UPDATES

Engagement Ready Roanoke

Local news station WDBJ7 in Roanoke recently highlighted IPG's work as part of our collaboration with the the City of Roanoke via the Grant Ready Roanoke program. The segment discussed the formation of the city's first Community Engagement Policy Committee. Thank you to Tynisha Jackson for the feature.

Virginia Management Fellows

On February 19, Virginia Management Fellows Cohort 8 presented the results of their agency rotation research to state agency leaders and IPG faculty. The presentations reflected the Fellows’ deep engagement with agency priorities and showcased policy-relevant insights they had gained through their professional experience. Research topics spanned a range of critical issues facing the Commonwealth, including strengthening internal communications and institutional resilience at the Virginia Employment Commission; advancing broadband access in affordable housing; and supporting continuous improvement efforts at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Fellows also examined strategies to enhance landowner engagement (Virginia Department of Forestry), improve compliance with ballot standards, and increase efficiency in investigative fieldwork for priority cases. Additional presentations focused on onboarding and retention challenges, emphasizing the importance of workforce continuity and organizational knowledge. Together, the presentations highlighted how applied research and cross-agency learning contribute to more effective, responsive, and resilient state government—while preparing Fellows to serve as thoughtful public leaders.

Photo courtesy of Cecily Rodriguez.

Virginia Public Sector Leader Program

VTIPG recently proudly celebrated the successful completion of two Virginia Public Section Leader (VPSL) I cohorts and one VPSL II cohort from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. These programs brought together emerging and experienced leaders committed to strengthening their skills in public sector leadership, collaboration, and strategic thinking. Participants engaged in meaningful discussions and work-related exercises to enhance their impact within DBHDS. The Institute will welcome two more cohorts of VPSL I this spring.

Photo courtesy of Anne Walters.

Rainbow Wellness Alliance LGBTQIA+ Health Summit

VTIPG's Lara Nagle, Community-based Research Manager, Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger, and Aida Hassani, Graduate Research Assistant and master's student in Urban and Regional Planning, co-facilitated action planning at the Rainbow Wellness Alliance's 2026 LGBTQIA+ Health Summit in Roanoke on April 17 in partnership with the Roanoke City Alleghany Health Districts (RCAHD). The Institute has supported RCAHD's Impactful Community Engaged Planning (ICEP) initiative during the past three years, including helping to collect and analyzing data from an LGBTQIA+ health needs assessment process led by the health department and the Rainbow Wellness Alliance for Southwest Virginia. The results of that needs assessment are being used to design an implementation plan to advance health equity goals for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Photo courtesy of RCAHD.

Patient Journey Mapping of the Smyth County Behavioral Health Campus

Elif Tural, Associate Professor of Interior Design, Lara Nagle, Community-based Research Manager, Mary Beth Dunkenberger, Deputy Director, Laura Taylor, Public Health Program & Policy Research Associate, and Bernice Owusu-Brown, Research Scientist, toured the three facilities operated by Mount Rogers Community Services that offer crisis care in Smyth County as part of a trauma-informed design evaluation and patient journey mapping study. The patient journey maps will help to identify areas for improvement in the delivery of crisis care and facility design from a patient and staff perspective.

The VT team is conducting this work for a larger project to evaluate the expansion and physical design improvements of the Smyth County Behavioral Health Campus (SCBHC) to chart that effort's costs and implications for patient outcomes. In addition to the patient journey mapping analysis, the team is developing a scoping review and toolkit of physical design factors that affect crisis care.

Pictured: Example of a patient journey map. SEIPS stands for Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety. (Soman et al., 2025)

Octagon House Executive Feasibility Study

Lara Nagle, Community-based Research Manager, led an executive feasibility study for the Octagon House Foundation in Smyth County, VA, in partnership with Dr. Elli Travis, Associate Director for Impact and Evaluation at the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement, Kaitlyn Bare, Administrative & Program Coordinator, Virginia Tech Southwest Center, and Allison Mays, Director, Virginia Tech Southwest Center. The team identified several opportunities for organizational growth and gauged the regional economic impact of restoring the historic, 8-sided structure that was once the home of Abijah Thomas, a leading industrialist prior to the Civil War. The proposed phases of redevelopment include opening a visitors' center, a wedding venue, providing guest lodging, and an on-site restaurant.

The study group estimated projected economic impact of increased visitor spending at local restaurants, lodging establishments, and other regional tourist attractions, together with employee salaries and local business earnings would create a multiplier effect that would extend well beyond proposed Octagon House operations, resulting in an annual economic impact of $1,585,603 after full implementation of the plan.

Photo courtesy of the Octagon House Foundation.

Vibrant Virginia

IPG Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger, Public Health Program & Policy Research Associate Laura Taylor, and Research Professor Dr. Kimberly Horn were featured in VT News in February, along with Drs. Sophie Wenzel and Kathy Hosig of VT's Public Health program. The article highlighted their work with the Vibrant Virginia grant and Connection to Care. Thank you to Julia Kell for developing that article.

Photo courtesy of IPG.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

2026 Recovery Ecosystems Conference

IPG Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger, Associate Director for Strategic Partnerships Dr. David Moore, and Public Health Program and Policy Research Associate Laura Taylor participated in the annual Recovery Ecosystems Conference March 5-6 at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.

2026 International Conference on Urban Affairs

IPG had several paper presentations at the 2026 International Conference on Urban Affairs in Chicago, Illinois:

"Navigating Rights to Culture in the City: Lessons from Afghan Refugees in Roanoke, Virginia" by Planning, Governance, and Globalization (PGG) student Armin Firouzi and IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr.
"More engagement, more problems? How community engagement efforts may both facilitate and undermine trust development" by PGG student Brad Stephens, Dr. Stephenson, and PGG student Amin Farzaneh
“Community-Led Urban Resilience and Infrastructure Challenges in Island Cities: Evidence from San Cristóbal, Galápagos,” by University of Virginia Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Planning and IPG Non-Resident Research Fellow Dr. Vanessa Guerra, Miguel Andrés Guerra (Universidad San Francisco Quito, (USFQ)), Fernando Astudillo (USFQ), and Sixto Durán-Ballén (USFQ).

Photo: Brad Stephens, Vanessa Guerra, and Amin Farzaneh. Photo courtesy of Amin Farzaneh.

Symposium on Refugee and Migrant Education

IPG Graduate Assistant and Planning, Governance, and Globalization PhD student Shahed Alhadyan presented a paper, "Urban Governance and the Right to Education: Syrian Refugees' Stay or Return Decisions in Jordan" at the Symposium on Refugee and Migrant Education in February. She co-authored the effort with Institute Director Max Stephenson Jr.

Photo courtesy of Shahed Alhadyan.

2026 Midwest Slavic Conference

IPG Non-Resident Research Fellow Dr. Ariel Otruba was invited to be on a Plenary Panel for the 2026 Midwest Slavic Conference March 27-29, 2026 in Columbus, OH. In addition to her presentation entitled, "Emotional Ecologies of Violent Infrastructure in Georgia’s Abandoned Soviet Spas," Dr. Otruba displayed part of the Violent Infrastructure: Ecologies of Decay and Displacement traveling photovoice exhibition and was a judge for the Midwest Russian, East European and Eurasian (REEE) Undergraduate Lightning Talks.

Teach-In: A Toolkit for Nonviolent Civil Resistance

Dr. Ariel Otruba and International Peace and Conflict Resolution graduate student, Arwen Blimes, collaborated with executive director, Barbara Simmons, of The Peace Center (Of Bucks County, PA), to organize a one-day, interactive training on nonviolent civil resistance on Friday, March 13, 2026. The "Teach-In: A Toolkit for Nonviolent Civil Resistance ," included two workshops: "Non-Violent Peacekeeper Training" facilitated by Barbara Simmons, and "Allies and Rapid Response," facilitated by Karen Rodriguez of Bucks County Indivisible.

The Peace Center, located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Credit to The Peace Center.

IPG hosts Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer

Faculty and staff of the Institute and members of IPG's Community Change Collaborative throughly enjoyed hosting Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer March 31-April 1. She spoke at a screening of the new documentary "9/11 Reclaiming Ground Zero" during her visit. The film, which will formally debut on September 11 at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City on the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, revisits the events of September 11, 2001, and describes the process that followed it to engage the City's citizens to determine an appropriate memorial for those who died in the attack as well as what should replace the Twin Towers. Dr. Lukensmeyer was the executive director of AmericaSpeaks in 2001, and she led the public participatory effort featured in the film. Dr. Lukensmeyer also facilitated a conversation on healthy democratic practices, recorded a podcast for the Institute's Trustees Without Borders series, and conducted a facilitation training during her visit.

The Institute extends our gratitude to the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, School of Public and International Affairs, and the Department of Political Science for their support of these events. We also thank Communications Coordinator Billy Parvatam and affiliated doctoral students, Brad Stephens, Amin Farzaneh, and Armin Firouzi for all each did to ensure the success of Dr. Lukensmeyer's visit.

Photo credit: Billy Parvatam

Connecting for Resilience: A Virginia Food Systems Summit

Professor of Theater in the School of Performing Arts (SOPA) and IPG Senior Fellow Bob Leonard and Assistant Professor in SOPA and Co-Director of Research in the Center for Communicating Sciences Jon Catherwood-Ginn joined with faculty of the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation to co-facilitate the state-wide Connecting for Resilience: A Virginia Food Systems Summit held on Tuesday, April 7, at the Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA. The program was co-sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience and Access Coalition. Institute affiliated PhD student Helya Sehat also participated in the program.

Photo courtesy of Katie Trozzo.

2026 International Studies Association Convention

Planning, Governance, and Globalization PhD and Institute affiliated student Yugasha Bakshi presented two papers at the 2026 International Studies Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio in March.

"Community Organizations as Actors in Urban Water Governance: Roles, Challenges and Opportunities"
"Risk, trust and cooperation: a study of Delhi's water governance"

2026 IPG Spring Open House

Thank you to everyone who attended IPG's open house on March 26! We are grateful to Deputy Director Mary Beth Dunkenberger and Communications Coordinator Billy Parvatam for planning the event. We also thank our many guests for attending! Please visit our website to see additional photos from the event.

Photo credit: Billy Parvatam.

IPG 20th Anniversary Celebration

IPG will host a 20th anniversary celebration event!!! at Hahn Horticulture Garden on Virginia Tech's campus Thursday Sept. 24 from 4:30-6:30 pm. Please hold this date and time on your calendars. Details to follow.

Photo: Hahn Horticulture Garden. Photo courtesy of Hahn Horticulture Garden.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & OPPORTUNITIES

In Memoriam: Mohammed Mehdi Panahi

IPG extends our sincere condolences to the family of Mohammed Mehdi Panahi on his untimely passing. Mehdi authored several publications with IPG Non-Resident Research Fellow Dr. Neda Moayerian Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. and contributed to the recent Violent Infrastructures book. We will miss him.

IPG and Virginia Tech's Giving Day 2026

Thank you to everyone who supported IPG during this year's Giving Day! We were able to raise significant funds for strategic initiatives and professional development for students, staff, and faculty. Sincere thanks!

People of IPG: Bernice Owusu-Brown

We are pleased to share the latest installment of the People of IPG series featuring Research Scientist Dr. Bernice Owusu-Brown, who works out of of the Institute's main office in Blacksburg. Dr. Owusu-Brown discussed her work and more in a conversation with Communications Coordinator Billy Parvatam, here.

IPG Welcomes Stephanie Davis

VTIPG is pleased to welcome Dr. Stephanie Davis to our team as an affiliated faculty member! Dr. Davis is a Collegiate Associate Professor in the Center for Public Administration & Policy and School of Public and International Affairs. Her research interests include local government public finance and capacity building. We are thrilled to have Dr. Davis join us!

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Andrew P. McCoy, Ph.D. is Interim Managing Director of Virginia Tech's new Coalition for Smart Construction and Co-Director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research (VCHR). He is the Beliveau Professor in the Department of Building Construction and Associate Director of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. His work focuses on advancing innovation in housing systems and improving the diffusion and commercialization of new technologies across the construction industry. Dr. McCoy has served as an advisor for a construction evaluation of the expansion of the Smyth County Behavioral Health Campus (SCBHC) project led by IPG and Dr. Xinghua Gao, Associate Professor for Construction Engineering and Management.

Dr. McCoy’s research integrates public policy, workforce development, innovation translation, and industry collaboration to address housing affordability and productivity. He has served as principal investigator on numerous federally and state-funded projects examining green building practices, construction safety, and innovation adoption. He served on the housing policy transition team for Virginia's Governor, and his work has contributed directly to statewide housing policy initiatives, including Virginia’s Executive Order 32 study on housing affordability and its economic impacts.

Among his recent accomplishments, Dr. McCoy helped lead the development of the world’s first affordable, owner-occupied home constructed using 3D concrete printing, a milestone demonstrating how emerging technologies can reduce housing costs while expanding access to homeownership. In 2025, he testified before the U.S. Congress on housing technology, sharing insights on how innovation can support national housing and workforce goals. He now serves on the US Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee.

With hundreds of publications and more than 30 years of industry and academic experience, Dr. McCoy continues to advance partnerships between government, industry, and academia to deliver practical, scalable solutions that strengthen communities and expand housing opportunities.

GRADUATE STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Helya Sehat is a PhD student in the Planning, Governance, and Globalization (PGG) program at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on governance, collective imagination, and how communities shape shared futures through policy and planning processes. She plans to further explore food system governance, with a focus on how public institutions can contribute to more sustainable and equitable regional food systems in her dissertation.

Helya has been engaged with IPG through several community-engaged research initiatives. One of the primary projects in which she has been involved in focused on redevelopment of the former Donnkenny textile facility site in Floyd, Virginia. The Institute team collaborated with a group from the Community Design Assistance Center, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Town of Floyd, and multiple local stakeholders to explore possible future uses of the site. Her role included conducting and analyzing semi-structured interviews, coding transcripts, and helping connect community narratives with planning and policy frameworks that inform redevelopment strategies. Helya has also contributed to the Learning from the Calfee Training School project in Pulaski, Virginia, where she coded interviews as part of a broader effort to document that institution's rich history. In addition, she is involved in a Sustainable Food Systems Governance and Planning project, where she has contributed to a literature review and methodological design examining governance discourses and planning frameworks in food system plans across the United States. Through these projects, Helya has developed an interest in participatory and qualitative research approaches that connect community knowledge, governance, and planning practice.

Alongside her research, Helya is involved in teaching and mentoring students. She served as an instructor for Sustainability by Design in Fall 2025 and as a teaching assistant for Principles of Real Estate and Art, Data, Policy & Planning courses.

Fun fact: Helya enjoys photography and documenting places through images when traveling. She finds that photography is a "powerful way to observe how communities interact with their environments and captures stories that are sometimes overlooked in formal research."

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Kristin Kirk is the owner of New Nile Consulting, where she partners with organizations to turn big ideas into clear strategy and real-world impact. Her work includes strategic planning and financial development, helping teams think differently, work smarter, and make the most of the tools and resources they already have. Kristin completed her PhD in the Planning, Governance, and Globalization program at Virginia Tech in 2018. Her doctoral dissertation focused on how nonprofits use technology to advance their missions, with IPG Director Dr. Max Stephenson Jr. serving as the chair of her committee. Her effort was entitled, "Assessing Nonprofit Websites: Developing an Evaluation Model."

Fun facts: Kristin has lived in both Cairo and London, before settling in Roanoke with four kids, a dog, and 80 koi fish, —experiences that influence her perspective on nonprofit growth and economic development.

COMMENTARIES, ESSAYS & PUBLICATIONS

We engage in research, capacity building, technical outreach and community-based participatory inquiry with and on behalf of those we serve. Our Research and Policy Brief series aims to provide recommendations and key findings from our ongoing projects in a form accessible to a broad audience.

Dr. Bernice Owusu-Brown, Mary Beth Dunkenberger, Amin Farzaneh, and Olabisi Yusuf authored our latest brief, "Behavioral Health Crisis Services in Virginia: Progress, Challenges, and the Policy Path Ahead."

Soundings and Tidings

Commentary series authored by IPG Director Max Stephenson

April 27, 2026: A Reflection on Immigrants, 'Blood and Soil' Alterity and Freedom

January 12, 2026: On Empathy, Citizen Responsibility, Imagination, and Freedom

October 1, 2025: Highlighting Deliberative Popular Sovereignty: A Central Valence of Democratic Politics and Freedom

July 1, 2025: On Moral Imagination and Courage

Five Pieces Worth Reading

A weekly news summary series curated by IPG Communications Coordinator Billy Parvatam can be accessed here.

Recent Books

Ariel Otruba, Max Stephenson Jr., Yannis Stivachtis, and Nino Dzotsenidze, Eds. Violent Infrastructure: Protracted Displacement and Housing Injustice in Tskaltubo, Georgia. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech Publishing, 2025. https://publishing.vt.edu/books/e/10.21061/violentinfrastructure
Max Stephenson Jr., Kim Niewolny, Anna Erwin, and Laura Zanotti, Eds. Critical praxis and the social imaginary for sustainable food systems. Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA, 2024. doi: 10.3389/978-2-8325-5480-7
Max Stephenson Jr. and Cathy Grimes, Eds. Conversations in Community Change: More Voices from the Field. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech Publishing, 2023.
Max Stephenson Jr. and Yannis Stivachtis, Eds., Policy and Politics of the Syrian Refugee Criss in Eastern Mediterranean States: National and Institutional Perspectives, E-International Relations, Bristol, U.K., 2023.
Max Stephenson Jr. and Lyusyena Kirakosyan, Eds., Re: Reflections and Explorations: Volume 3. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech Publishing, 2023.