McCormack News: The Role of Public Engagement at McCormack

John W. McCormack School

of Policy and Global Studies

"The Role of Public Engagement at McCormack"

May-18-2022

Dean's Message

A Year of Public Affairs: The Importance of Public Service at the McCormack School

"Public affairs schools, private and public sectors, civic groups, and governments can work together to address common challenges" - Rita Kiki Edozie

For our academic mission at the John W. McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies, public engagement describes the myriad of ways in which the activity and benefits of higher education and research can be shared with the public through a public service mandate.

We’ve made public service and community engagement the hallmark of our activities this year. As we navigate the ebbs and flows of a persistent pandemic this semester, our sense of “we,” collectivity, and public interest have helped us reflect on what it means to be public service intellectuals and practitioners. As illustrated through the COVID pandemic, today’s world continues to produce many wicked problems. To this end, at McCormack, we premise our work on the belief that public affairs schools, private and public sectors, civic groups, and governments can work together to identify and address common challenges in ways that build a stronger public community.

At the height of the Omicron crisis in January .... read the dean's message here.

McCormack Making a Difference

Faculty Spotlight

Global Scholarship and Public Engagement: Professor Ivanova’s Roles in Environmental Governance

When discussing how global governance and academic scholarship overlap in fulfillment of social and environmental change, Professor Maria Ivanova cites the power of and necessity for globally engaged scholarship. An academic working on global environmental governance, she recently served on the Rwandan delegation to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi, Kenya that convened in February and March 2022.

Staff / Alumni Spotlight

McCormack Alum Dr. Christopher Graham’s Local-to-Global worldview in Shaping Student Success and Continued Commitment to Public Service

One of the core components that binds together Dr. Christopher Graham’s academic, professional, and community-based work is what he describes as his “local-to-global worldview.” understands that efforts within the local sphere—whether that is studying government processes, facilitating opportunities for student success at UMass Boston, or volunteering in local Dorchester soup kitchens — can resonate on global levels, and vice versa. This perspective, opens new pathways that inspire his dedication to community engagement and public service.

Student Success

Civic Action Program (CAP) Fellow and PhD Candidate on Balancing Community Engagement in Boston and in Diplomatic Service in Africa

The McCormack Graduate School was founded on the premise that its faculty and students would practice what Ernest L. Boyer has called “engaged scholarship”—that is, teaching and research that connect “the rich resources of the university to our most pressing social, civic, and ethical problems.” MGS actively partners with organizations seeking to create opportunities for graduate students to bring their academic knowledge into practice while gaining experience that will help them advance in their careers.

McCormack Donors Support Student Success

McCormack’s Nyhan Award Supports UMass Boston Undergrad Student in Public Interest Journalism

Every year, the John W McCormack School collaborates with CLA’s Center on Media and Society to present the David Nyhan Student Journalism Award, established in 2005 to honor political columnist David Nyhan. This scholarship, endowed by the Nyhan family “To support UMass students going into journalism careers,” honors the late Boston Globe journalist and editorial writer David Nyhan, who wrote for the paper for thirty-two years.

Events and Engagement

2022 Robert C. Wood Visiting Professor in Public and Urban Affairs, Dr. Ashish Jha on Transitioning to a Post-Covid World

On March 25, 2022, the McCormack Graduate School was proud to host Dr. Ashish K. Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, as the 23rd Robert C. Wood Visiting Professor. Dr. Jha presented a lecture on “The Role of Public Service in Transitioning to a Post-COVID Era.” In the middle of March, just a week before his lecture at UMass Boston, it was announced that Dr. Jha would be joining President Biden’s administration on April 5 as Coronavirus Response Coordinator..

Consolidating a Distinguished Legacy of Research, Public Scholarship and Public Engagement: The McCormack Institutes of International and Public Service (MIIPS)

The John W McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies was founded in 1983 as the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, an applied public policy research center focusing on issues of immediate concern to Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England region, and by 1991, the world. In 2010, the Institute further expanded to become what it is today: a college offering nationally and internationally recognized policy studies education that fuses applied policy research and public service in a single mission.

McCormack Centers and Institutes Delivering Impact

New Gerontology Institute Director Dr. Jan Mutchler Discusses Public Engaged Scholarship on Diversity and Equity

In August 2021, Dr. Jan Mutchler was appointed as the new Director of the Gerontology Institute, succeeding former director Len Fishman, who retired after seven years of service. In considering how she may use her position to advance the work of the Institute, Mutchler noted that while her predecessor had a deep and extensive background as a leader of senior-focused nonprofit organizations, she comes to this role as a faculty member and academic researcher.