Engage Magazine Feature: 2022-2023 Updates from COSSPP’s Chairs and Directors

The following article is a featured story in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy’s annual magazine, Engage. To read the full 2022-2023 issue of Engage, click here.

A lot of great things happened across Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy during the 2022-2023 academic year.

View updates from each of our units’ chairs and directors below.

Departments/Schools:

• Askew School of Public Administration
• Economics
• Geography
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Urban & Regional Planning

Interdisciplinary Programs:

• African American Studies
• Demography (Center for Demography & Population Health)
• Emergency Management & Homeland Security
• Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
• International Affairs
• Public Health

Centers/Institutes:

• Claude Pepper Center
• DeVoe L. Moore Center
• Global and Public Affairs Living-Learning Community
• Gus A. Stavros Center
• LeRoy Collins Institute
• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
• Pepper Institute on Aging & Public Policy

*Some updates from our units have been consolidated under another unit’s updates. For more information about all of our centers and institutes, click here.

Departments/Schools

Rubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy

The Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy had a very successful 2022-2023 academic year. During the year, our graduate students earned 138 Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees and 5 doctoral degrees. Additionally, 437 mid-career professionals earned Certified Public Manager (CPM) certificates from our Florida Center for Public Management, which operates the nation’s largest CPM training program. Students also gave our faculty very high evaluations for their teaching, generally well above the University’s mean.

Our faculty had strong research productivity over the past year. In 2022, faculty members published 29 articles in peer-reviewed journals and two new book editions; additionally, they submitted another 21 articles for review.

The largest point of growth the Askew School has facilitated over the past ten years has been our influx of invaluable faculty and staff members. This year, we have welcomed Xue Gao, Ph.D.; Mauricio Astudillo Rodas, Ph.D.; and Hongtao Yi, Ph.D., in tenure-track positions, as well as Linda Schrader, Ph.D., in a teaching faculty position. Additionally, William Jackson, Ph.D., will be joining the Askew School in a tenure-track position in Fall 2024.

Of special note, the Askew School held its 75th  Anniversary Reception in Fall 2022 and welcomed back many of our alumni for this special event. Leon County Administrator Vince Long (MPA ‘96) gave an inspiring keynote address, speaking about how the Askew School is the bastion to help keep policy analysis alive, teaching students to separate fact from fiction. “I’d like to express many thanks to all Alumni and Friends who contributed to the School over the past year, raising over $3,000 towards our ‘75,000 for 75 years’ fundraising campaign, which will support enhanced learning opportunities for our students,” said Gary VanLandingham, Ph.D., Director of the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy.

Department of Economics

The Department of Economics is the largest department in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. Our 32 full-time faculty foster active research programs and enhance economics knowledge at every level of learning at Florida State. At the undergraduate level, we offer an economics major, an economics minor, and several specialized studies programs. At the graduate level, we offer both an M.S. program and a Ph.D. program. Our M.S. in Applied Economics program is designed to be completed in twelve months and prepares students for a variety of careers in government and the private sector. Our Ph.D. program is arguably the most comprehensive in the State of Florida and has graduated over 250 doctoral students since 1967.

The 2022-2023 academic year was a transformative and rewarding year for the Department. We welcomed five new faculty: Tuba Tuncel, Ph.D.; Tristan Gagnon-Bartsch, Ph.D.; Jeongbin Kim, Ph.D.; Xiaoyu Cheng, Ph.D.; and Simona Andrei, Ph.D. We also welcomed a new office manager, Allison McDowell. Amid Ardakani, Ph.D., was promoted to Associate Teaching Professor and Carrie Lee, Ph.D., was promoted to Teaching Professor. Over 550 undergraduates claimed Economics as their primary major while 21 students entered the M.S. in Applied Economics program and 9 students started the Ph.D. program. Overall, the Department offered over 130 sections of economics courses with more than 7,300 enrollments.

Our faculty maintained their strive for excellence by publishing in top journals and advancing research through conferences and speaking engagements. The recognition and awards continued to pile up. Cynthia Yang, Ph.D., received the College’s Early Career Research Award and Keith Ihlanfeldt, Ph.D., received the College’s Later Career Research Award. Paul Beaumont, Ph.D., received the College’s Tenure-Track Teaching Award, Doug Norton, Ph.D., won the University Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Major, and Carrie Lee, Ph.D., won the University Award for Foundational Course Excellence.

Department of Geography

FSU Geographers conduct research and educate students about the interlinked social and environmental challenges of our ever-changing world. We equip people with the knowledge to develop relevant interventions; essentially for folks to try and do good things for the planet.

Our undergraduate programs focus on Geography, as well as the interrelated interdisciplinary area of Environment and Society. These programs train students for careers in the public and private sectors in the areas of conservation, land and resource management, environmental analysis, parks and tourism, and many others. Our master’s programs offer students the opportunity for more in-depth study in Geography, whether that be in the traditional subfields of people and/or the environment or in our applied Geographic Information Science (GIS) program. At the doctoral level, students specialize in one or more research areas of faculty expertise.

We have seen very strong placements for students completing our graduate programs. At the master’s level our students in GIS find geospatially-oriented jobs in state and local government, private industry, consulting, etc. in areas ranging from transportation systems analysis to forestry and land inventory, to meteorology all the way to community economic development. Our master’s students in Geography also find their way into similar fields, and many go on to study in Ph.D. programs. Our Ph.D. students receive in-depth training in Geography thorough targeted coursework and the ability to work on innovative research projects with faculty. We count alumni of our graduate programs as faculty at University College London, the University of Toronto, the University of Oklahoma, University of South Florida, Louisiana State University, the University of Tennessee, and many more research institutions. 

The 2022-2023 academic year was a very busy one for the Department. We embarked on three faculty searches and in Fall 2022 welcomed Rachael Cofield, Ph.D., to the Department as our first Teaching Faculty member. James (Jim) Elsner, Ph.D., retired from the University in Summer 2023 after decades of exemplary research, teaching, and service. The Department’s faculty continue to have success with research and publication, and the Department maintained its strong position in the College in terms of securing external grants and contract funding. Department faculty currently hold active grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Health, and many others.

Department of Political Science

FSU’s Department of Political Science maintains one of the most vibrant intellectual communities on campus. Our students are routinely recognized by the University for their excellence in both scholarship and leadership. A recent study published by the American Political Science Association ranked the Political Science Department 16th in faculty research productivity in top journals among all U.S. doctoral programs.

Over the past year, the Department launched the nation’s only program to give select undergraduates leadership training and experiential political learning opportunities at the local, state, and federal levels of government.

The Applied Politics and Policy Learning Experience (APPLE) program leverages FSU’s location in Florida’s capital city and gives participating students an insider’s view of government and politics. The program combines coursework with multiple internship opportunities in the Florida Legislature and Washington D.C.

The Masters of Applied American Politics and Policy (MAAPP) program continues to be among the leading graduate programs in the country providing practical career training for political professionals. Indeed, six recent MAAPP graduates were listed among the “Rising Stars of Florida Politics 2023” by Influence Magazine.

Our doctoral students continue to obtain excellent job placements: David Macdonald, Ph.D., will join the University of Florida as a tenure-track Assistant Professor; Justin Crofoot, Ph.D., will join Pennsylvania State University as an Assistant Teaching Professor; Juan David Irigoyen Borunda, Ph.D., will remain at FSU as Teaching Faculty I; and Kenneth Mackie, Ph.D., will join Fitchburg State University as a Temporary Assistant Professor.

Our faculty garnered numerous honors during the past year: 

• LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar Lonna Atkeson was invited to give a plenary address at The Conference on Democratic Backsliding and Resilience at Oxford University in the U.K. 
• Associate Professor Amanda Driscoll was awarded the Neal Tate Award for Best Paper on Judicial Policy by the Southern Political Science Association for “The Costs of Court Curbing: Preliminary Evidence from the Latin American Public Opinion Project.” 
• Associate Professors Brad Gomez and Matthew Pietryka received Honorable Mention for Best Conference Paper from the APSA’s Political Networks Section for “Parents, Peers, and Political Participation: Social Influence among Roommates.” 
• Associate Professor Matthew Pietryka received Political Research Quarterly’s Best Article Award for “Constitutional Innovation and Imitation in the American States.” 
• Associate Professor Hans Hassell and incoming Assistant Professor Andrew Ballard won the APSA Legislative Studies 2022 Jewell-Loewenberg Prize in American Politics for “Be Careful What You Wish For: The Impacts of President Trump’s Midterm Endorsements.” 
• Assistant Professor Dotan Haim’s “Brokers, Social Networks, Reciprocity, and Clientelism” was recognized among the “Top Cited” articles published in the American Journal of Political Science in 2022. 
• Associate Professor Matthew Pietryka was awarded the University’s 2022-2023 Innovations in Undergraduate Teaching Award. 

Other news: 

• In January 2023, Political Science alumnus Thomas Henderson (B.S., 1975) generously established the Henderson Endowed Professorship. The department is grateful for this extraordinary gift. Professor Eric Coleman, a leading scholar of collective action problems and environmental policy, and an award-winning teacher, has been named the inaugural holder of the Henderson Professorship. 
• In March 2023, the department hosted the inaugural APSA Elections, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior Section Conference and welcomed leading scholars from around the world to FSU’s campus. 
• The department recently completed renovations to its conference room and Political Science Research Lab. American School & University Magazine recognized the department’s newly renovated Lab for “Outstanding Design in Renovation/Modernization.” 
• FSU Political Science alum, Dr. Rodney Hero (B.S., 1975), was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
• As part of FSU’s Great Give, the Department’s raised over $13,000 in support our undergraduate Research Intensive Bachelors Certificate (RIBC) program. We greatly appreciate the generous support of our alumni and friends. 
• The Department mourns the passing of Professor Emeritus Monte Palmer, who taught at FSU from 1967 to 1998, and former faculty member, Dr. Kathleen Kemp, who taught at FSU from 1980 until 2007. 
• Professor Charles Barrilleaux has retired. Dr. Barrilleaux joined FSU in 1989, and, in 2006, he was named LeRoy Collins Professor. Dr. Barrilleaux served as Department Chair from 2014 to 2020. In 2022, the APSA’s State Politics and Policy Section awarded him its Career Achievement Award. 

We also welcome the arrival of three new Assistant Professors in Fall 2023: Olga Gasparyan, Ph.D.; Andrew Ballard, Ph.D.; and Aidan Milliff, Ph.D. Additionally, we’re very proud of our award-winning faculty; recently, Amanda Driscoll, Ph.D., won the Southern Political Science Association’s Neal Tate Award, and Matthew Pietryka, Ph.D., won FSU’s Innovation in Teaching Award.

Department of Sociology

Established over 100 years ago, the Department of Sociology at FSU boasts a top-ranked teaching and research program with over 20 faculty and 40 Ph.D. students. The Department has graduated and placed some of the nation’s most respected sociologists, and its faculty have been recognized for innovative, high-quality teaching and award-winning scholarship. The Department’s faculty hold a wide variety of research interests in the subfields of Demography, Health and Aging, Family, Gender, Sexualities, Social and Economic Inequalities, and Political Sociology.

Our alumni successfully enter additional higher education programs, secure academic positions as professors, researchers, or university administrators, and obtain employment in applied positions with a variety of non-profits, government agencies, political organizations, and private companies. We have a 100 percent in-field employment rate for our recent Ph.D. graduates.

Over the past year, we have seen some exciting new developments that both underscore our strengths and will serve to enhance our programs and our national reputation. Among them, our faculty were involved in multiple research projects that successfully garnered external funding worth over $4.9 million. Funding sources include National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Aging (NIA), Social Security Administration, Florida Department of Health, Florida Department of Transportation, and the Peter F. McManus Charitable Trust.

Four of our faculty were appointed to head interdisciplinary programs/centers:

• Dawn Carr, Ph.D. was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Claude Pepper Center.
• Katrinell Davis, Ph.D. was appointed to serve as the Director of FSU’s interdisciplinary African American Studies Program.
• Mathew Hauer, Ph.D. was appointed to serve as the Associate Director of the Center for Demography and Population Health.
• John Taylor, Ph.D. was appointed to serve as the Director of the Center for Demography and Population Health.

These faculty join Amy Burdette, Ph.D. (Director of the Public Health Program), Patricia Homan, Ph.D. (Associate Director of Public Health) and Miles Taylor, Ph.D. (Director of the Pepper Institute on Aging) in leading major units in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Five of our faculty received promotions, effective in August 2023.

• Dr. Mathew Hauer and Dr. Patricia Homan were promoted to Associated Professor with tenure.
• Dr. Dawn Carr and Dr. Katrinell Davis were promoted to Professor.
• Teresa Roach, Ph.D. was promoted to Specialized Teaching Faculty II.

Three new tenure-track faculty were hired to begin during the 2023-2024 academic year.

• Matthew Brooks, Ph.D. from Penn State, will be joining us in Fall 2023 after he completes a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University. His research spans a broad range of topics, including socioeconomic disadvantages across the rural, urban, and suburban United States, primarily those that intersect with family, poverty, immigration, and housing.
• Andy Chang, Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, will be joining us in Spring 2024 from Singapore, where he has held an Assistant Professor position at Singapore Management University. His recent research has been exploring the political economy of labor migration in the Global South, which fits into a broader research program that investigates the transnational dimensions of labor processes, family lives, and gender subjectivities.
• Corey Moss-Pech, Ph.D. Ohio State, will be joining us in Spring 2024 after he completes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on how individuals navigate educational organizations and enter into labor market institutions with the goal of better understanding social stratification and social mobility processes, paying particular attention to intersecting inequalities on the basis of gender, race, and class. 

Two new specialized teaching faculty were hired to begin in Fall 2023.

• Melissa Bamford, Ph.D. from FSU, will join us from Tennessee, where she held a teaching faculty role at the University of Memphis for almost a decade.
• Kelly Russell, Ph.D. from U. Michigan, will join us permanently after holding a Visiting Professor position within our department for the past two years.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

FSU’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning is home to Florida’s oldest and largest planning program. For more than 50 years, our distinguished faculty have provided training to professional planners in the field, helping them to become change agents who improve the well-being of their communities.

Over the past year, our students and faculty engaged with practitioners, scholars, community members, and other stakeholders on an array of planning issues.

• Master’s students Gabriela Benitez and Mackenzie Shaffer undertook community planning work in Puerto Cayo, Ecuador.
• Master’s student Talethia Edwards visited the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to participate in an event that brought together diverse teams of stakeholders to identify solutions to real-world challenges associated with solar energy adoption in low-to-moderate-income communities.
• Associate Professor Tisha Holmes’s Coastal Planning class visited St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge, where they learned about inland, coastal, and intercoastal habitat management strategies, the preservation of the historic Lighthouse, and opportunities to promote sustainable conservation and tourism.

• Professor Minjee Kim’s Public-Private Development class visited the Lake Nona community in Orlando, where they engaged with developers and other stakeholders around the development process in master-planned communities.
• Multiple faculty and doctoral students presented their research at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning conference in Toronto and the Urban Affairs Association Conference in Nashville.
• Assistant Professor Minjee Kim participated in an international gathering hosted by the OECD and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Paris, where she shared her expertise on US land-based financing policies. She also delivered a guest lecture and a research seminar at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

• Planner-in-Residence Dennis J. Smith and Senior Planner Billie Ventimiglia co-organized sessions at the APA Florida Conference entitled “Intentional Partnerships for International Development” and “Broadband Feasibility: Bridging the Rural Digital Divide” that drew from applied research conducted by students and faculty, under the auspices of the department’s Mark and Marianne Barnebey Planning and Development Lab.
• Planner-in-Residence Dennis J. Smith was interviewed by The Tampa Times and NBC News about storm preparation, response, and impacts while Senior Planner Billie Ventimiglia, along with FAMU Extension Professor Dr. Sandra Thompson, was interviewed for WFSU’s podcast “Not So Black and White: A community’s divided history” which drew on the Barnebey Lab’s work on Nort Star Legacy Communities.

Of note, Professor Emerita Petra Doan received the American Planning Association (APA) Florida’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. The award is bestowed upon an individual who made substantial contributions to the APA over at least a 25-year career and influenced the trajectory of planning.

Finally, we want to thank our many alumni and friends for their generous support of our students over the past year. Your contributions directly supported 10 student assistantships and scholarships and enabled 16 students to attend professional conferences. This support has enabled students to take full advantage of the many opportunities for academic, professional, and community engagement provided by our graduate programs.

Interdisciplinary Programs

African American Studies

The African American Studies program offers Florida State University students a broad-based, interdisciplinary approach to studying the experiences of African diaspora populations.

African American Studies has been working to increase its visibility by adding new curricula and expanding programmatic opportunities. The program’s efforts to improve its visibility benefits from open dialogue about current offerings and the program’s future prospects.

This academic year, African American Studies also invited several scholars throughout the University to join the program as Faculty Affiliates whose research and teaching interests relate to Black Studies. Many of FSU’s scholars accepted this invitation and are eager to play a more substantial role in mentoring/advising African American Studies majors and minors.

Additionally, efforts to improve course offerings benefited from the program’s job search for talented specialized teaching faculty this year. The African American Studies program welcomes award winning teacher-scholar, DeReef Jamison, Ph.D. Dr. Jamison’s areas of expertise include African-centered psychological theory, Africana intellectual history, liberation psychology, and the psychological aspects of oppression and liberation in the African diaspora. He also regularly publishes in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of African American Studies, the Journal of Pan African Studies, and the Journal of Black Psychology.

Demography (Center for Demography and Population Health)

The Center for Demography and Population Health (CDPH) supports evidence-based public policy through interdisciplinary research on demographic processes and population health; trains master’s students seeking careers as applied demographers; and mentors doctoral students in social demography, population economics, social epidemiology, and environment and health.

FSU is the only public university in the Southeast offering an M.S. in Demography and is recognized among the nation’s elite public universities. CDPH’s distinguished faculty, all associated with multiple departments and campus affiliates, offer students the possibility to collaborate on a variety of interesting projects. With a 100 percent employment rate for recent graduates, our program is highly regarded, and our alumni have careers in federal, state, and local government agencies, including:

• Dozens of MSD Alumni are currently working for the U.S. Census Bureau. 
• Yesenia Acosta (M.S. Demography ‘10) is the Chief of the Coordination, Dissemination, and Outreach Branch in the Population Division. In this role, she oversees the coordination of production, data intake, and outreach activities within the projection areas. 
• Heather Rubino, Ph.D. (M.S. Demography ‘08; Ph.D. Philosophy ‘14) serves as the Director of Safety Surveillance Research for Pfizer, one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical companies. 
• Alexander Parodi (M.S. Demography ‘19) is the Lead Epidemiologist for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Parodi worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) on several state opioid response projects. 
• Laura Cilek, Ph.D. (M.S. Demography ‘15) completed her Ph.D. at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Federal Institute for Population Research (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung) in Wiesbaden, Germany. BiB is a government-funded research institute that promotes international collaboration on population issues within the UN. 

This year, we are pleased to announce promotions and new faculty hires that will bolster our research and instruction in the coming years. 

• Mathew Hauer, Ph.D. 
  • In Fall 2022, Dr. Hauer was promoted to Assistant Director of CDPH. In his role he has done a great job in contributing to the administration and development of the Center. 
  • As of August 2023, Dr. Hauer will be awarded the Charles B. Nam named Professorship. He will succeed Emeritus Professor Dr. Elwood Carlson in this position. Matt’s outstanding contributions to the discipline of Demography and the Center make him truly deserving of this award. 

• Matthew M. Brooks, Ph.D. 
  • Dr. Brooks, who is completing a postdoctoral research position at McGill University, will be joining the Department of Sociology and the CDPH in Fall 2023. His research spans a broad range of topics, including socioeconomic disadvantages across the rural, urban, and suburban United States, primarily those that intersect with family, poverty, immigration, and housing.  

• Meagan McSorley, Ph.D.
  • Dr. McSorley will begin her appointments as Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Planning and Associate member of the CDPH in Fall 2023. Her research focuses on the “people side” of sustainability and the question of how to plan for healthy, equitable, and thriving cities for all. Specifically, she is interested in the role of culture, history, and emotions in helping to develop just approaches to climate change issues that center on the margins and create space for imagining thriving futures. 

Emergency Management and Homeland Security

The Emergency Management and Homeland Security program and the Center for Disaster Risk Policy at FSU provide exceptional education in emergency management and U.S. Intelligence studies, balanced with a track-record of service to the community and applied research. As one of the largest academic emergency management programs in the Southeast, EMHS provides students with cutting-edge practical instruction in disaster management as well as a wide variety of experiential learning opportunities.

In 2022-2023, EMHS grew its unique internship program with U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South. Placing as many as seven candidates each semester, students attached to these commands earn a security clearance and work as part of multi-disciplinary teams learning how intelligence collection and analysis are a central pillar of effective international policy.

When Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida in 2022, EMHS was on hand to help. Working in the State Emergency Operations Center, faculty, staff, and students assisted the Florida Division of Emergency Management and partner agencies with coordinating air operations, including unmanned aircraft systems deployed from EMHS. The EMHS UAS Team was the lead agency for the remote sensing efforts supporting urban search and rescue (US&R) in Charlotte and Lee Counties after the storm. The team spent ten days collecting imagery, creating products to support US&R decision makers, and coordinating all the UAS teams assigned to the region by the State. Through all of these activities, undergraduate and graduate students gained unique perspective on how policy and planning develops in real time during a major disaster. 

In December and January, several EMHS faculty partnered with RIDER – the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response Center – a research entity in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, to examine how debris created by Hurricane Ian was managed, moved, and disposed of. The project laid the groundwork for new research on sustainable practices for disposing of vegetative and construction debris post-disaster. 

In October 2022 and March 2023, EMHS students travelled to the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) bi-annual conferences. NEMA is composed of the 50 state EM Directors, senior decision-makers, and Federal officials. EMHS students attend and work as note-takers for the NEMA professional staff, helping draft summaries of session, conferences, and discussions. They also meet senior leaders in emergency management and begin forming professional networks prior to graduation. This experience is unique – only FSU is invited to participate in this way – and a prime example of how EMHS provides valuable educational experiences to students. 

Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (ISS) is one of the College’s largest undergraduate majors, with over 500 students. The program promotes academic dexterity and teaches students to develop critical skills that support innovative work and collaboration in their future careers. We focus on providing an environment that promotes holistic understandings of complex social dynamics by integrating various disciplinary perspectives across the social sciences and beyond.

ISS introduced new faculty members in Fall 2022, including Maria Christina Ramos, Ph.D, and Camillo Rubbini, Ph.D. Over the past year, ISS faculty have been productive in establishing strong connections between advancements in their areas of expertise and passing their knowledge to students at the undergraduate level.

Maria Cristina Ramos, Ph.D., developed an innovative course, “Computational Tools for Social Science Research.” The course welcomes students across the social sciences seeking to leverage the tools of the digital era. Dr. Ramos also attended the esteemed Summer Institutes of Computational Social Science and made contributions to Social Science research with the publication of two peer-reviewed articles using experimental methods to unravel responses to morally ambiguous scenarios.

In Fall 2022, Alexandra Cockerham, Ph.D., received a COSSPP Specialized Faculty Teaching Award. In addition, Dr. Cockerham, along with an interdisciplinary team of scholars, was awarded a grant with the North Carolina Office of Strategic Partnerships. This study uses transdisciplinary qualitative and quantitative research to examine the effects of North Carolina teen courts compared to other diversionary justice programs on recidivism. This project will inform policy practices for diversionary programs for juveniles

Radha Modi, Ph.D., has recent collaborative publications including, “Shifting Legibility: Racial Ambiguity in the U.S. Racial Hierarchy” in Ethnic and Racial Studies and “Unequal Early Adulthoods: Racial and Ethnic Wealth Disparities During the Great Recession” in The Sociological Quarterly.

Drs. Modi, Turner de Vera, and Woodard received curriculum development grants by the Gulf Scholars program. They are customizing a suite of courses that will address social research, transdisciplinary practice and interdisciplinary integrative methods for Gulf Scholars. The joint FSU / FAMU Gulf Scholars Program is funded through the National Academies Gulf Research Program and focuses on multidisciplinary and integrative research and learning related to community empowerment and disaster resilience in the gulf region. 

International Affairs

The International Affairs major is the second largest undergraduate major in the College, as well as one of the most demographically diverse programs at FSU. As an interdisciplinary program, we draw from multiple areas such as Political Science, History, Economics, Geography, and Sociology to provide a holistic learning experience that allows students to develop their own independent course of study in the major. We actively support our students to gain practical experience through internships, study abroad programs, and other professional development opportunities.

Over this past year, we have been working to implement the Strategic Plan we developed following our latest 7-year review. To that end, we have hired new staff and began a faculty search to hire a Latin American Specialist who will contribute to our Latin American and Caribbean Studies program.

In order to bolster our core curriculum, we launched two new courses for our undergraduates, both of which include sections for our Area Studies Majors (Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Russian and East European Studies, and Asian Studies)

• INS 2010 – Professional Development for International Affairs Majors, and
• INS 4943 – International Affairs Capstone,

Faculty Updates:

• Na’ama Nagar, Ph.D., created a comprehensive online career guide to assist students in navigating the major and future career options. 
• Onnie Norrbin, Ph.D., published an economics textbook: Economics of Asia (Great River Learning, 2022)
• Whitney Bendeck, Ph.D., served as a commentator for two documentary series – Deception: World War II and Secret Weapons of WWII. She was also awarded a COSSPP Specialized Faculty Teaching Award.
• Collectively, our faculty offered three study abroad programs.

Current Student & Alumni News:

• Our students have continued to excel, with many serving as Social Science Scholars and Presidential Scholars. We are particularly proud of our three Gilman, two Fulbright, and one Critical Language Scholarship 2023 recipients.
• Dr. Abby Kinch (M.A. Asian Studies) is Chief of Staff for Student Veterans of America. She recently testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
• Michele Rayner-Goolsby (M.S. International Affairs) is a Florida State Representative. She won the 2023 Voice of Equality Award at the Equality Florida St. Pete Gala.
• Dr. Cassandra Mark-Thiesen (M.S. International Affairs) published “Neglected Historiography from Africa: The Case for Post-Independence Journals,” The Journal of African History, Vol 64, Issue 1 (April 2023), pp 5-12. 
• Crystal Swain-Bates (M.S. International Affairs) is a best-selling children’s book author known for her emphasis on diversity in children’s literature. She was recently featured on the cover of Becoming Her.
• Tyler Price (B.S. International Affairs) and Omar Al Busaidy (MS, International Affairs) were named Notable Noles.

Public Health

Public Health offers the newest degree programs within FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

The first Master of Public Health degree was conferred in 2004, while the Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program was recently established in 2019, with our first cohort graduating this past Spring. Although youthful, our Public Health program comprises knowledgeable and expert faculty in their chosen fields and provides students with foundational skills and expertise for success.

Over the past four years, our program has experienced remarkable growth in student enrollment, demonstrating the increasing popularity and value of our offerings. In 2019-2020, we had 210 undergraduate students and 65 graduate students. In 2022-2023, we saw sustained growth with 713 undergraduate students and a consistent enrollment of 89 graduate students.

These consistent increases in student enrollment over the last four years reflect the positive impact of our program’s progress and the dedication of our faculty and staff. As we move forward, we remain committed to providing high-quality education and adapting our program to meet our students’ evolving needs.

We are thrilled to share some exciting news about our program’s success and our alumni’s incredible achievements. With a placement rate of approximately 98% in jobs or post-secondary institutions such as medical schools, physician assistant programs, law schools, dental schools, and more, we take immense pride in the accomplishments of our graduates.

A significant majority of our alumni have secured positions in local county or state jobs within the Department of Health, making a meaningful impact in their communities. It is truly gratifying to see our alumni contributing to the betterment of public health through their dedicated service.

Moreover, we are delighted to highlight our alumni’s diverse career paths. Many of our graduates have become esteemed medical doctors, while others have found success in the private sector. Some have gone on to hold positions at institutions such as Brown University, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Emory University, Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Health, and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare. Their achievements serve as a testament to the versatility and excellence of our program.

As we move forward, we remain committed to providing exceptional education and support to our current students, preparing them for successful careers and advanced academic pursuits. We look forward to sharing more success stories and celebrating the achievements of our alumni in the years to come.

Centers/Institutes

Claude Pepper Center

FSU’s Claude Pepper Center (CPC) aims to identify policy solutions that enhance the financial, psychological, cognitive, physical and social wellbeing of older adults and their families in the state of Florida and beyond, to help people reach later life with the resources they need to be active and engaged members of their communities.

The CPC is working this year to develop new initiatives and new relationships across the University, the local community, the state, and nationally to carry out this mission. The CPC has hired new staff, developed a new website, and is forging strategic partnerships to help identify ways that the Center can more effectively serve older adults in the state of Florida. The CPC has also made significant strides in research, collaboration, and has secured new grants this year.

While we are incredibly proud of all the Claude Pepper Center and its partners have accomplished this last year, we are keeping an eye toward the future and are laying the groundwork for further strides in research and development. We are excited for all that the next year will bring. Thank you all for all your support and encouragement!

DeVoe L. Moore Center

The DeVoe L. Moore Center’s impact and effectiveness grew significantly with new partnerships during the past academic year. Established by a generous gift from long-time FSU benefactor DeVoe Moore in 1998, the DMC refocused its programming on private sector and market-oriented state and local policy reforms in 2011. This refocus has paid dividends as it charted new partnerships with national and statewide think tanks.

The Center’s student-internship program has grown from zero students in 2012 to 35 students this past year. Our alumni – now numbering more than 238 – take jobs with leading private companies such as IBM, Ernst & Young, and Ford Credit; go into well-recognized graduate programs at the nation’s top universities such as Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Georgetown, and George Mason Universities; and earn positions in influential nonprofit organizations such as the Institute for Humane Studies, Stand Together, Goodwill Industries, and the Charles Koch Foundation.

Over the past year, the Center’s programs and research have brought public attention to the way property rights and market-based incentives can be used to address environmental pollution, how impact fees can fund efficient public infrastructure investments when designed properly, how work-force housing is hampered by local development regulations, how reforming occupational licensing can reduce the likelihood of re-offending by people leaving the criminal justice system, and how Florida cities can significantly increase housing supply to meet surging demand by deregulating land-use.

The DMC’s research on housing deregulation, in particular, helped launch the Florida Policy Project (FPP), the newest statewide think tank. Founded by former State Senator Jeff Brandis, FPP is now one of the Center’s long-term partners in its mission to offer practical policy reforms based on evidence-based research. This partnership helped the Center build new capabilities into its student-centered business model, allowing us to generate housing-focused research for a full-range of platforms and outreach activities.  

In another innovation, the Center continued its partnership with the public policy research arm of Reason Foundation to create a seamless pipeline from the classroom to professional work for FSU students. The DMC’s mission-driven work uses a variety of outlets and platforms to promote its work, including regular contributions to the Tallahassee Democrat and the USA Today media network, the Center’s blog, contributions to independent blogs, social media, and the annual magazine Focus.

The DMC is entering the 2023-2024 academic year with a stronger and wider foundation for furthering its mission and broadening the impact of its research.

Global and Public Affairs Living-Learning Community

The Global and Public Affairs Living-Learning Community (GPALC) is a program offered through University Housing at Florida State University that gives first-year students the unique opportunity to live alongside peers with similar interests. Students in the GPALC are passionate about the social sciences, public policy, and international affairs. They seek to understand society on a deeper level and engage with their local, national, and global communities.

This year was the 25th anniversary of Living Learning Communities (LLCs) on campus. We celebrated this event with other LLCs around campus. Previous graduates came back to campus to celebrate with us. Many of our previous students mention that they made their most important friends at FSU through this experience. And some have even met their future spouses!

Last year we had a wonderful cohort of 38 students who lived together in Dorman Hall. We hold a weekly colloquium where we learn about and discuss current events, international affairs, and public policy. Some of the highlights from the past year include debating the politics of education reform in the state of Florida, watching the midterm elections in November, learning about recent protests in Iran and Israel, and watching a head of lettuce outlive Teresa May’s time as prime minister of the U.K.

We are also very proud of our past students’ successes. Many have participated in international programs and the global exchanges program at FSU. Some of our past students have gone on to graduate school and law school at FSU and elsewhere. One student recently finished a Master’s in Social Work at FSU while another finished a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning. Our students have also applied for and won prestigious national scholarships, like the Boren language scholarship and Fulbright scholarships. Others have interned in the Florida governor’s office, state governments, and with the US State Department. One of our students became a Social Science Scholar within the college. Several of our previous students have become Institute of Politics Fellows and others have completed the Research Intensive Bachelor’s Certificate in Political Science. One thing is certain—we always have vibrant, eager, ambitious students who want to change the world. 

Gus A. Stavros Center

The mission of the Gus A. Stavros Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Economic Education is to further free enterprise and economic education in the schools and the broader community. The Center develops and disseminates innovative ideas and materials that make economics more interesting and understandable.

The Center’s signature program is Unconquered by Debt (UBD), a series of workshops developed to promote financial wellness. The goals of the program are to enhance financial literacy and transform decision-making so that students become wealth creators. Jen West Kantor, UBD Program Director, and 14 student workers drove the program to new heights in Academic Year 2022-2023. The Center hosted over 80 workshops with more than 1,200 participants. Partnerships with the College of Nursing, Center for Academic Retention & Excellence, First-Year Experience Program, and the Career Center were important to expand the program’s reach to students across campus.

The Center also hosted its annual “Creative Ideas” teaching workshop, which attracted 50 educators from around the state to enhance their classroom skills.

With mixed emotions, the Center celebrated the retirement of Jim Gwartney, Ph.D., who left FSU after 54 years of service. He will be missed but his legacy endures.

LeRoy Collins Institute

The LeRoy Collins Institute at Florida State University is a non-partisan, statewide policy organization that studies and promotes bold and visionary public policy solutions facing the people of Florida and the nation. Named in honor of former Florida Governor LeRoy Collins, the Institute is governed by a distinguished Board of Directors that includes current and former state-elected officials, other policymakers, educators, and private citizens from throughout Florida.

Over the last two years, the LeRoy Collins Institute has undergone several transitions. The Institute’s former Director, Carol Weissert, Ph.D., who faithfully directed the Institute since 2008, stepped down from her position in 2021. Upon her retirement, Professor Lonna Atkeson, Ph.D., began her tenure as the Institute’s new Director. Following Dr. Weissert, the Institute’s Chairman, Lester Abberger, stepped down from his position in Spring 2023, although he still holds a position on the board. Mr. Abberger had served as the Institute’s Chairman since 2003; John Marks III assumed the position of Chairman upon Mr. Abberger’s retirement.

The LeRoy Collins Institute is home to several Fellows who also contribute to the Institute’s mission. The Fellows include Yimeng Li, Ph.D., Kenneth R. Mackie, Ph.D., Eli Mckown-Dawson, Braeden McNulty, Alexandra Artiles, and Austin Cutler.

The Institute supports public policy research on a broad range of issues, from school choice and educational attainment to sustainability and climate gentrification to the state’s pension and financing.

In 2022, the LeRoy Collins Institute published the following pieces: “Addressing Climate Driven Displacement, Parents, Peers, and Political Participation: Social Influence Among Roommates,” “Adequacy and Equity in Capital Funding for Florida’s Public Schools,” “Improving Police Community Relations – The Role of Civilian Oversight Agencies (COA) in Florida,” “Can 8 Wait? A review of
use of force policies in Florida and perspectives on their effectiveness.” Moreover, the Institute published the 2020 Florida Election Study Report, which examines voter attitudes and experiences with the election, concerns about election security, and preferences for election reforms. In March 2023, the Institute published a Special District Report that details the history of Florida’s Independent Special Districts. Projects in progress include the 2022 Florida Election Study Report and a study on the impact of civilian oversight authorities on crime and policing.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Florida State University provides an enriching framework for mature adults to learn about a wide variety of topics, with over 100 classes open to the public each year. OLLI’s lifelong learners enjoy exploring new topics in a stress-free environment with no tests or homework.

OLLI at FSU returned to travel and in-person activities as of Summer 2022. Members loved seeing Alaska’s wildlife and icebergs while traveling through the Inside Passage by ship, as well as experiencing OLLI’s Study Abroad in Greece and Istanbul, which was delayed since 2020.

September 2022 saw the return of our semi-annual Showcase of Classes and Activities at the Turnbull Conference Center.

The OLLI at FSU PC30A site in Panama City, Florida, continues to evolve. With author-led lectures and outdoor excursions, PC30A offers classes and social opportunities for communities on the coast.

In June 2023, OLLI members traveled to Croatia, beginning in Zagreb, toured Krka National Park and Split, then set aboard a small ship to explore the villages along the Adriatic Coast, embracing the culture while meeting locals along the way. Adventures in London and Scotland followed during the summer. As members love to learn and travel together, we’re planning another study abroad opportunity in Paris and Southern France in 2024, followed by touring Canada’s Maritime Provinces in Nova Scotia.

Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy

For over 40 years, the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy (PIAPP) has been dedicated to research and educational endeavors that address the opportunities and challenges of aging populations in Florida, our nation, and the world. We support over 50 faculty and students engaged in award-winning research on topics related to aging, healthy lifespan and communities, and health policy. We provide undergraduate and graduate training and funding in areas of multidisciplinary gerontology, demography of aging, health promotion, and health data sciences. We also house several outreach and engagement initiatives directly benefiting older adults in our community and state, including OLLI at FSU.

We have cultivated new opportunities to support our mission and visibility in research and training at FSU and beyond. These include doubling our contracts and grants portfolio in the last few years and supporting an increasing number of faculty and students engaged in academic and applied health research across the lifespan to promote healthy aging. Along with generous investments from endowments and donors, our work is supported by international, federal, and state funding agencies including the National Institute on Aging, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Social Security Administration, Florida Department of Transportation, and Florida Department of Health. Along with multiple internal research labs supporting graduate and postdoctoral training and travel, we partner with an international training program on population aging and data science (CAnD3).

Graduate and undergraduate alumni of PIAPP have gone on to become leaders in aging and health across academic and non-academic sectors. Our students are represented in postdoctoral and faculty positions at nationally-ranked universities and colleges in aging and health related programs. Students have been placed in government and state agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Florida Department of Elder Affairs, and the Florida Department of Health. Our alumni have also been well-represented in private and non- profit organizations including AARP, Deloitte, IBM Watson Health, and Knowli Data Science.