For Margie Pullo, a Political Science alumna, working on a campaign trail catapulted her into a career filled with policy and politics. After graduating in 2014, Pullo joined Maura Healey's campaign for Attorney General, and worked as a Regional Field Director. "I organized volunteers and outreach to voters everywhere south of Boston," Pullo said. "After the Democratic primary, I became Field Director for the entire state, and I joined the office when Healey was sworn in."

 

Working as a Policy Assistant, Pullo helps develop and advance the Attorney General's legislative and policy priorities. "My favorite things about working in the office are the variety of issues we work on daily," Pullo said. "By testifying in support of equality in public accommodations for transgender people, helping to prevent a foreclosure, or assisting someone taken advantage of by a fraudulent business, we are able to make sure everyone in our state has a fair shot."

 

Not surprisingly, Pullo recognizes that her success is a direct result of her Political Science degree at UMass Dartmouth. "Through experiential learning in local public schools, mock legislative sessions, and six weeks studying in Lisbon, I learned to frame issues at the state and local level in a broader context," Pullo said. "And I use the skills I learned at UMass Dartmouth on a daily basis."

 

And Pullo believes in the value of a liberal arts education. "Classes in philosophy, in history, in women's and gender studies, and in political science challenge the way you think," Pullo said. And for her, being able to examine issues from different perspectives is important both for working with the Attorney General's team and for thinking creatively to solve problems. "These are incredibly valuable skills to have in any job, but especially if you're interested in working in government or some type of advocacy," Pullo said. "You need to be able to express yourself and articulate your positions clearly."

Public Policy Professor Nikolay Anguelov is on fire. In the last year, he has published three books and most recently won the prestigious 2015 Amartya Sen Prize Competition. The award is named after Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences winner who is highly regarded for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory. "You enter the competition with an understanding that it is going to be mega-competitive," Anguelov said. "The biggest thing is that this award validates my ideas, and that is very rewarding."

 

To win the award, Anguelov responded to a request for submissions from a collaboration of three organizations - The Yale Global Justice Program, Global Financial Integrity, and Academics Stand Against Poverty. These organizations seek new ideas regarding global governance, so that they can help create new policy. "Policymaking is becoming more removed from the politicians," Anguelov said. "It is moving into the hands of global organizations like Global Post Justice."

 

Anguelov's paper, "Lowering the Marginal Corporate Tax Rate. Why the Debate?" responds to an ongoing conversation in a new way. In his paper, he explains that the political conversation about lowering the marginal corporate tax rate is unfounded. He argues that US corporations actually don't pay taxes because of a complicated system of incentives that allow numerous write-offs. And he debunks the myth that lowering the corporate tax rate will stimulate economic growth.

 

As UMass Dartmouth aims to grow as a top research university, Anguelov's award helps increase the college's visibility among prestigious, ivy league schools. And this award shows that the university is a proactive, modern university that embraces interdisciplinary education. "This award shows how important it is for an institution to embrace interdisciplinary education," Anguelov said. "And it proves that we are innovative."