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As the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center marks its 40th anniversary, it is simultaneously celebrating the continued generosity of the Levitt family in support of the center’s public service-focused endeavors. The Winston Foundation and the Levitt family have committed to a significant gift to establish the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center Fund, which will provide students with enhanced immersive public policy experiences, direct access to policy innovators, additional summer research fellowships, new public service internships, and an annual post-graduate fellowship.

Following up on a series of webinars held last year, the College-Community Partnership for Racial Justice hosted a discussion on Oct. 28 aimed at assessing the progress of local police reform measures. The earlier webinar series, which featured local experts and community leaders and focused on issues such as racial equity, criminal justice, and the prison industrial complex, was initiated in response to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order mandating reforms for all New York law enforcement agencies.

Associate Professor of Government Erica De Bruin recently published a peer-reviewed article in the journal Small Wars & Insurgencies. “Policing insurgency: are more militarized police more effective?” examines whether militarized policing is an effective way to combat insurgencies.

A summer Levitt Center project involving 11 students, three professors, and several other members of the Hamilton community began in what was perhaps an unexpected way.

Continuing a project that began last summer, four Hamilton students are working with Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology Mahala Stewart to study how families have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shania Kuo ’23, Caroline Freundel ’24, Kaela Dunne ’22, and Steven Campos ’22 are interviewing local parents, mostly mothers, to gain a better understanding of how their lives and households have changed over the course of the past year. The research is being supported by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center.

Three Hamilton students — Anokhi Manchanda ’22, Cole Kuczek ’23, and Henry Schwob ’22 — are working on summer research projects concerning police and court reforms and a potential human rights commission in the Utica area.

What can the cosmetics industry tell us about environmental equity? Sean Storr ’22 is looking to answer this question with his summer Levitt research project, “Environmental Equity and the Cosmetics Industry: An Intersectional Perspective.”

Assistant Professor of Government Erica De Bruin published an essay titled “Police Militarization and its Political Consequences” in the spring issue of the American Political Science Association’s Comparative Politics Newsletter.

“We have been building bridges,” says Professor of Government Frank Anechiarico, who has been leading the College/Community Partnership for Racial Justice since its inception last summer.

Associate Professor of Art Robert Knight recently participated in an interdisciplinary virtual workshop presented by the Narratives Research Group of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.