Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative

The Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative (PAPR) is a pilot program launched in September 2022 to bring together Colgate faculty and students from across the social sciences and beyond to address society’s most pressing challenges through rigorous engagement with public affairs and policy.

PAPR seeks to bridge academic theory and public practice. Because of the wide-ranging public implications of this work, the initiative will forge partnerships with external news agencies; showcase faculty research on the web; and publicly highlight those efforts in policy briefs, working papers, podcasts, and op-eds.

In its pilot phase, the initiative consists of two core components:

Research Support

This fund expands faculty and student research in areas related to public policy and public affairs. �� has an exceptionally strong core of faculty members who conduct high-impact and policy-relevant research, and PAPR intends to serve as a key source of support in that work. In its first two funding rounds as a pilot initiative, PAPR has already supported 16 faculty research projects. In the future, as a permanent endeavor with a dedicated research fund, PAPR will be able to broaden the scope and scale of policy research on campus and elevate ��’s reputation as a center for outstanding scholarship in these important areas.

Public Facing Initiatives

This aspect of PAPR’s mandate will promote the work and activities of the initiative to the broader public as well as offer public-facing engagement with important problems in public affairs. This includes support for high-profile speakers, panels, and visiting scholars to campus. The initiative's webpage will serve as the clearinghouse for published media in various formats that connect to PAPR-supported research and programming.

Modeling a ‘Model Muslim Nation:’ Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy in Indonesia

Megan Abbas, Religion

"Who is Allowed to Have an Abortion? Investigating Whether Racism, Sexism, and Classism Underpin Abortion Policy Attitudes and Exacerbate Racial and Gender Inequality"

Erin Cooley and William Cipolli, Psychological and Brain Sciences, with Jazmin Brown-Iannuzzi

“Increasing Vaccination Rates through Targeted Messaging: Understanding the Impact of Marginalization and Privilege on Vaccination Hesitancy”

Rachel Dinero and Erin Cooley, Psychological and Brain Sciences

"Madison County Resilience Project: Identifying Factors thatPromote Resilience and Well-being in Madison County"

Rachel Dinero and Lauren Philbrook, Psychological and Brain Sciences

Studies on U.S. Solar Tax Credits

Isla Globus-Harris, Economics, with David Coyne

“Visualizing the End of Public Housing: Lessons from Chicago”

Madeleine Hamlin, Geography

Study of New York State's "Climate Smart Communities" and "Clean Energy Communities" Programs

Christopher Henke and Andy Pattison, Environmental Studies

“A Quantitative Framework To Evaluate Maritime Environmental Policy”

Richard Klotz and Rishi Sharma, Economics

“Political Effects of Caste in Senegal”

Dominika Koter, Political Science, with Leonardo Arriola and Martha Wilfahrt

"The Veteran Effect: How Military Experience Shapes Congressional Foreign and Defense Policy"

Danielle Lupton, Political Science

“Patriarchy and Prejudice: Feminist Attitudes and Confidence in the US military”

Danielle Lupton, Political Science, with Jessica Blankshain and Max Margules

“Increasing Financial Digitization and Inclusion in Emerging Economies: Evidence from

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Gary Murphy, Economics, with Gurgen Aslanyan and Naneh Hovanessian

"Job Choice as an Insurance Mechanism Against Wage Uncertainty"

Young Park, Economics

"A Social and Environmental History of Agrichemicals"

Heather Roller, History

"Is There a 'Better' Authoritarianism? Achieving Better Development Outcomes in Egypt’s Authoritarian Regime"

Bruce Rutherford, Political Science

"Fairness in College Admissions and School Choice"

Yang Song, Economics

Sam Rosenfeld

Associate Professor of Political Science; Director, Public Affairs and Policy Research Initiative

srosenfeld1@colgate.edu (315) 228-6464

120 Persson Hall

M 10:00am - 11:00am (120 Persson Hall)
R 2:00pm - 4:00pm (120 Persson Hall)

Megan Abbas

Associate Professor of Religion

mabbas@colgate.edu (315) 228-7688

303A Lawrence Hall

W 11:00am - 2:00pm (303A Lawrence Hall)

April Baptiste

Associate Dean of the Faculty for Global and Local Initiatives; Leary Family Chair in Environmental Studies; Professor of Environmental Studies and Africana & Latin American Studies