Public Affairs and Government

A fireside chat with Nasser Paydar, President of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and former Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, the U.S. Department of Education and Linda Essig, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Baruch College CUNY. Organized and hosted by the Higher Education Administration Program at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public an...

Join us for a public lecture, organized and hosted by the Howard J. Samuels State and City Policy Center at Baruch College, on the causes and consequences of rising housing costs, by Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Dr. Glaeser will examine why housing has become increasingly unaffordable in major cities and what policy choices can and cannot do to address the housi...

Spring 2026 Ackerman Lecture. Join Jelani Cobb, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School for this important lecture situates contemporary concerns over democracy, immigration, DEI, and higher education within their broader historical contexts.

How Major Change Happens in Urban Welfare Policies? Can New York City respond effectively to poverty and related problems? Mayors Lindsay, Giuliani, and de Blasio all sought major change in city welfare policy. When has big change been achieved and how did it happen? Thomas J. Main’s new book, Reforming Social Services in New York City: How Major Change Happens in Urban Welfare Policies (Cornell 2...

Context Matters. Whether cultural, economic, political or environmental, contexts shape our work, our values and our strategies. Join our visiting nonprofit and community philanthropy scholar/practitioners as they share and reflect on their experiences from Peru, the Philippines, and Ukraine.

Join Mustafa Santiago Ali for a lecture highlighting some social justice movements reshaping communities across the country and learn about a model that is bringing transformative change.

As nations push toward net-zero goals, nuclear energy is making a comeback — sparking debate while offering a low-carbon, reliable power source. With AI driving unprecedented electricity demand, how can nuclear power meet both climate and tech challenges? Join global experts for a deep dive into: ⚡ Technological, economic, and policy trends shaping nuclear energy 🌐 Geopolitical perspectives from...

Keynote address from the launch event of the Online Executive Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration.

Join Deborah Archer, president of the ACLU National and esteemed legal scholar, for a discussion of her upcoming book Dividing Lines, where she explores how America’s transportation infrastructure has reinforced racial segregation and inequality over the past century. From highways that separate communities to sidewalks that exclude, Archer reveals how seemingly neutral infrastructure choices have...

Come hear legendary organizer Marshall Ganz in conversation about his once-in-a-generation book. Its framework for creating real and lasting change is drawn from his extraordinary experiences with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, President Obama’s 2008 election campaign, and training future leaders for over 20 years at Harvard. 

Through a wave of innovative experimentation with worker cooperatives and closely related enterprise models, social and community entrepreneurs are including more workers in the economy. This event features a review of developments in the field from local experts and includes insights and actionable strategies for leaders in the non-profit, public, and higher education sectors interested in using...

President Emeritus and University Professor Mitchel Wallerstein discusses his forthcoming book “Public Higher Education That Works” in conversation with Former and Founding President of Guttman Community College and University Professor Scott Evenbeck.

Join us in welcoming Kathryn Kolbert as our Fall 2024 speaker for the Ackerman Lecture on Equality and Justice. She will describe the nearly five decades of legal battles around abortion that have brought us to this current moment, when 14 states have total abortion bans, and 27 states have bans based on gestational duration. (Ten states have measures related to abortion rights on their ballots th...

Panel discussion with speakers from the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, the Robinhood Foundation, and the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation.

Climate change and our broader ecological crisis pose a serious challenge to our basic social and political systems. A variety of styles of response to this scale have emerged. Some involve emphasis on centralized decision-making by experts, whether the “Green New Deal” scale national policies of states or by way of the returns-driven focus of institutional investors and asset managers. Others cal...

This online event provides a forum to discuss about virtual or hybrid team leaderships for nonprofit organizations in order to increase team trust, bonding, cohesion, and conflict management. Including in the panel are presenters and experts from non-profit sectors, Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeiiken, Principal Consultant of Five Oaks Consulting and Ahmed Hachelaf, Peace & Conflict Education Specialis...

This presentation explores the role of transnational advocacy and international organizations in international relation.  The lecture is presented by Nina Hall and based on her volume: Transnational advocacy in the Digital Era.   The program is introduced by George Mitchell.

This presentation discusses the dimensions of a new paradigm for management of nonprofit organizations based on building resilience and navigating crises to ensure future viability and effectiveness.  Presenters Dennis R. Young and Elizabeth A.M. Searing offer talks based on their book: Resilience and The Management of Nonprofit Organizations.   The program is introduced by George M...

The main theme of this Zoom event is to provide joint conversations with Baruch alumni nonprofit leaders which include the following speakers: Donna Frisby-Greenwood (MPA’96), Ciara Ginyard (MPA’12), Jenny Lai (MPA ’17), Steven Raga (MPA ’16), and Pinky Vincent. The moderator of today’s program is Barbara Paxton.     This program starts with brief introduction by Janet Rossbach, Dir...

This online event provides a forum to be engaged with audiences on revisiting and updating the knowledge of how NGOs conduct advocacy on international issues. Presenters Christopher A. Pallas and Elizabeth A. Bloodgood focus on issues related to NGO draw on their recently published volume entitled:  Beyond the Boomerang: From Transnational Advocacy Networks to Transcalar Advocacy in Internati...

This online event provides a forum to discuss about international nongovernmental organizations. Including in the panel are presenters from non-profit sectors and NGO, Ido Lotan and Matthew Aubry. The program is introduced by the co-hosts George Mitchell and Barbara Paxton with Barbara Paxton from BoardStrong to provide nonprofit board training, consultation, and educational resources.

This online event provides a forum to examine the rise of new actors in the international development world: volunteer-driven grassroots international nongovernmental organizations. Presenter Allison Schnable focuses on issues related to NGO drawn from her book entitled:  Amateurs without Borders: The Aspirations and Limits of Global Compassion The program is introduced by George Mitchell and...

Moderated by Sherry Ryan, Dean of Marx School of Public and International Affairs, the focus of this conference is to discuss the goals and strategies of  Bank of America’s 4-year funding program on supporting higher education. Speakers include Randa Shockley and Gail Harvey from Bank of America and Rob Johnstone from the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement. 

Moderated by Robert Smith, Professor and Ackerman Chair and presented by Stephen Russell on his educational research for LGBTQ+ Youth and Schooling, considering the use of research to advance social change for social justice with understanding the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) children and youth and identifying policies and pract...