"Looming in the Shadows of Lodz," a new exhibition by photographer Leslie Starobin, opens at 280 Brook St. on February 13. Sponsored by Art at Watson, the show features Starobin's photographs from a "roots journey" to Poland. Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, "Looming in the Shadows of Lodz" illustrates how traumatic memories are passed down through generations.
Mark Blyth co-authored a paper for Socio-Economic Review titled, "There is more to national economies than the national economy: extending the Growth Model research programme in comparative political economy."
Kelly Rogers earned her master's degree in public policy from Brown in 2012. Since then, she has leveraged the knowledge she acquired and the connections she made at the Watson Institute into a career that has seen her make a significant impact on the state of Rhode Island.
Robert Blair co-authored a paper for Political Behavior titled, "Couples Therapy for a Divided America: Assessing the Effects of Reciprocal Group Reflection on Partisan Polarization."
Charles Alaimo, a junior concentrating in International and Public Affairs (IAPA), credits Watson's multidisciplinary approach to learning and its extraordinary professors for fully preparing him for a career in emerging technical policy and foreign policy research.
Wendy Schiller told the Brown Daily Herald that the new school will unify programs, expand research opportunities, and better integrate undergraduate and master’s programs for greater interdisciplinary collaboration.
These not-for-credit study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into topics and apply theory and research to real world challenges. Enrollment in each group is limited to 25 students.
Hamidou "Hammi" Sylla, who earned his MPA from the Watson Institute at Brown University in 2023, found Watson faculty and staff enormously supportive of his YouTube talk show, "Let's Just Talk with Hammi." Many of Sylla's interviewees became valuable professional and personal mentors.
Tomás Gold and Benjamin Bradlow co-authored a paper titled “A Processual Framework for Understanding the Rise of the Populist Right: The Case of Brazil (2013–2018)” that was published in the sociology journal Social Forces.
Susan Moffitt named the 2025 winner of the Herbert Simon award, which is given annually to a mid-career scholar who has made significant contributions to the scientific study of bureaucracy.
A recent paper from the Costs of War project examines the challenges and human costs of reintegration for Afghan migrants returning home during the U.S.-led intervention, highlighting the disconnect between their expectations and the harsh realities they faced.
The 48-hour project requires Master of Public Affairs (MPA) students to evaluate a policy problem and issue policy recommendations to a real or theoretical client on a complex policy problem within 48 hours.
Peter Andreas has received the 2024 Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime, recognizing his outstanding contributions to organized crime research.
Robert Blair co-authored a paper for the American Journal of Political Science titled "Elites, the aid curse, and Chinese development finance: A conjoint survey experiment on elites’ aid preferences in 141 low- and middle-income countries."
Grant Cohen, who earned his Master of Public Affairs degree from Brown in 2024 while working a full-time consulting job, used the experience to sharpen the skills he needed to advance his career in the public service sector.
Déja Todman's journey from Brown undergraduate to entrepreneur was a long and winding road. After a six-year leave of absence, she returned to complete her studies in International and Public Affairs (IAPA) and is currently serving as a liaison for Vera Krichevskaya's virtual workshops on political propaganda.
Latoya M. Teague co-authored a paper titled "Re(cover)ing Revelations: Formulating Black Ancestral Text Analysis in Education Research," published in International Journal of Qualitative Methods.
Ashley Delgado, who earned her MPA from the Watson Institute at Brown University in 2024, practices many of the skills she learned at Watson — tact, patience, program management skills and effective use of limited resources — in her current position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Applications are now open for the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Master of Public Affairs Program's Equity in Policy Scholars program, a scholarship and leadership development program designed to increase the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives in public policy making.
As the Watson Institute's Policy Mentor Program enters its second year, the program has expanded with a new focus on undergraduate International and Public Affairs (IAPA) concentrators in addition to Master of Public Affairs (MPA) students.
Senior International and Public Affairs concentrator Marcos Montoya Andrade's summer internship project at The League of United Latin American Citizens has earned national media attention.