NYU Wagner News

Mitchell Moss to Join Cornel West at Feb. 9 Martin Luther King Jr. Event

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Don't miss a highlight of New York University's weeklong commemoration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., when Dr. Cornel West talks about activism at NYU's Kimmel Center on Thursday, Feb. 9, and is joined by Mitchell Moss, the Henry Hart Rice professor of urban policy at NYU Wagner, who will talk about cities.

This University-wide event, which runs from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., showcases "7 Issues, 7 Leaders, 7 Minutes." NYU's Kimmel Center for University Life is located at the corner of Washington Square South and LaGuardia Place, and the event is in its Eisner & Lubin Auditorium. Professors West and Moss are among the seven featured presenters.

The theme of this year's MLK Week at NYU (Feb. 6-11) is: "The Future of Diversity: Here & Now."

To register for the evening event, please go to http://mlkweek2012.eventbrite.com/.

Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award Goes to Two NYU Wagner Scholars

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

A distinguished pair of NYU Wagner professors have been named as recipients of New York University's 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Award.

Congratulations to Shankar Prasad, who is adjunct assistant professor of public administration, and Associate Professor Deirdre Royster, who is co-affiliated with the NYU Department of Sociology.

The faculty award recognizes University professors who exemplify the spirit of the late civil rights leader through their scholarship, research, and teaching by making a positive contribution to their students in the classroom and to the greater NYU community.

Professors Prasad and Royster and three other honorees were recognized at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award Reception on February 8 in Pless Hall Lounge. Prasad's research focuses on political learning within immigrant communities across the United States. Royster is the author of "Race and the Invisible Hand: How White Networks Exclude Black Men From Blue-Collar Jobs" (2003).

For Prof. Robertson Work, global impact slated for 2012

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

The coming year will see Robertson Work, adjunct associate professor of public administration at NYU Wagner, provide a variety of services in diverse settings around the world.

In February, Work will make a keynote presentation on the role of culture in global governance at the International Conference on Cultural Diplomacy and the United Nations, held at UN headquarters. In March, he joins the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowships National Committee to help select fellowship recipients.

In May, Work facilitates an Asia-Pacific workshop on local governance for the East-West Center held in Indonesia. In June he teaches a summer intensive at NYU Wagner on innovative leadership and sustainable human development, and will also deliver a keynote presentation and help facilitate the UN Global Forum on Public Service and Local Governance, held in Buenos Aires.

In the fall, 2012, semester, he teaches again at NYU Wagner and at the end of the year gives a keynote presentation at the ICAI Global Conference of Human Development held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Recent Graduate John White Chosen as Louisiana State Education Superintendent

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

John White, a recent graduate of NYU Wagner and the featured speaker at the upcoming Henry Hart Rice Urban Policy Forum in April, has been named to a top leadership position in public education.

Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this month (January, 2011) selected White as the State Superintendent of Education.

White began his career in public service as a high school English teacher. Honing his skills at Wagner in education finance, management, and policy, he went on to work for the New York City Department of Education's senior leadership team and as a Deputy Chancellor.

Since May, 2011, he has been the Superintendent of the Louisiana Recovery School District, overseeing 79 of the state's most challenged schools.

His most recent promotion has attracted praise from U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who said, "John is a visionary leader who has done great things in New York City and New Orleans, and I'm confident he'll do the same for the whole state of Louisiana."

White will be returning to NYU Wagner to discuss his successful career as a leader in public service: He is slated to be the guest speaker at the annual Henry Hart Rice Urban Policy Forum on April 23. Don't miss it!

Related Links:
New State Superintendent of Education Named

New White House Chief of Staff Taught at NYU Wagner

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

President Barack Obama's new White House chief of staff - Jacob "Jack" Lew - comes to his powerful post by way of NYU Wagner.

After serving as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Clinton administration, Lew left Washington to become, until 2006, executive vice president for operations at New York University and a clinical professor of public administration at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

He is a New York City native who has worked effectively in and across sectors, as an article posted January 11 on AllGov.com notes.

Does Financial Literacy Alone Lead to Good Financial Decisions'

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

NYU Wagner Professor Jonathan Morduch and Public Service Fellow Barbara Kiviat have written a fascinating paper on financial literacy for the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation, entitled "From Financial Literacy to Financial Action."

The paper examines how financial know-how, seen as a tool important to the success of micro-lending strategies in developing countries, can be utilized to help people "turn financial aspirations into meaningful actions" and "develop and stick to concrete financial plans."

Morduch is a professor of public policy and economics at NYU Wagner and the managing director of the Financial Access Initiative (FAI), where Kiviat offers a blog post about the full white paper. She is a David Bohnett Public Service Fellow at Wagner and a research associate at the Financial Access Initiative.