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Features March 02, 2015
Maternal Health in India Much Worse than Previously Thought
More than 40 percent of women in India are underweight when they begin pregnancy, according to a new study published by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. On average, these women gain only 15 pounds throughout pregnancy – just half of the recommended amount.The findings – featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – are a concern as body mass and weight gain during pregnancy are important indicators of maternal health. Babies born to undernourished mothers are more likely to be underweight, a characteristic influencing height, cognition and productivity across a lifetime.The…
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Features February 26, 2015
Princeton Forum in Dublin to Focus on Ebola Crisis, Lessons for the Future
The third annual Princeton-Fung Global Forum will bring together researchers, scholars, policymakers and health officials in November to examine West Africa's Ebola outbreak as a case study of a modern plague. The event, to be held Nov. 2-3 in Dublin, Ireland, will highlight the multidisciplinary approach needed to resolve the crisis, involving not only public health and medical knowledge but an understanding of its economic, environmental, political and historical roots and consequences. The conference, "Modern Plagues: Lessons Learned From the Ebola Crisis," will also look ahead to ways to avoid and address future crises. "The Princeton-Fung…
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Features February 26, 2015
Frymer Named Director of LAPA
Paul Frymer, associate professor in the Department of Politics, has been named director of the Program in Law and Public Affairs (LAPA), a joint venture of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, the Princeton University Center for Human Values and the Office of the Provost. Comprised of Princeton University professors, fellows and visitors, LAPA explores the role of law in constituting politics, society, the economy and culture.Frymer has been affiliated with LAPA for six years with appointments as faculty associate, executive committee member and acting director. His work focuses at the intersection of American politics and…
Features February 25, 2015
Sub-Saharan Africans Rate Their Health and Health Care Among the Lowest in the World
Sub-Saharan Africans rate their health and health-care systems among the lowest in the world, according to a new report published by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.Despite these low ratings, health care is not a primary policy concern for people in these countries. Instead, sub-Saharan Africans cite jobs as a top priority, followed by improving agriculture and tackling corruption.One influence behind such perceptions is the pervasiveness of HIV in certain countries within sub-Saharan Africa, which poses challenges for poorly funded health care systems. But the introduction of Western aid may have…
Features February 21, 2015
Princeton Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Alumni Day with Festivities, Honors
More than 1,000 Princeton University alumni, students, faculty and friends marked the 100th anniversary of Alumni Day on Feb. 20-21, recognizing alumni achievements and celebrating the centennial with academic, arts and other events across campus. First observed in 1915, Alumni Day was designed to give alumni a glimpse of campus life when the University was in session. Alumni Day 2015 was expanded to two days to mark the anniversary and included a colorful celebration in Frick Chemistry Laboratory on Friday evening. This year's event included the presentation of top alumni honors to Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, a member of the Class of 1973, and…
Features February 18, 2015
WWS Reacts: The Consequences of Postponing Obama's Immigration Policy
On Feb. 17 – just one day before President Barack Obama's new immigration policy was planned to go into effect – a federal judge in Texas issued an injunction halting its implementation. Obama's proposed executive action was intended to legally protect five million undocumented immigrants from deportation. We discussed the decision with immigration expert Douglas Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Massey's research focuses on international migration, race and housing, discrimination, education, urban poverty and Latin America,…
Features February 16, 2015
How Income Fraud Made the Housing Bubble Worse
Historically, Englewood and Garfield Park are two of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago. Yet, between 2002 and 2005, these neighborhoods experienced remarkable growth in terms of home purchases, but it wasn’t because these neighborhoods had suddenly turned a corner.Instead, these two areas exemplified a broader pattern of rampant mortgage fraud that was seen in areas across the United States that had historically low credit scores and incomes coupled with high rates of poverty and unemployment, according to a report from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and at the University of Chicago.The researchers…
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Features February 03, 2015
WWS Task Force: Debt Problem or Funding Safety Net Programs
To address long-term debt issues facing the United States, Congress needs to implement significant changes to entitlement programs and tax policy, concluded an undergraduate Policy Task Force (PTF) at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.In a report presented to Sarah Wartell, president of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, the task force discussed many diverse solutions to the debt crisis. Students argued that significant changes should be made to the tax code to raise more money, make it more equitable, promote economic growth and make the United States more competitive. In addition, other…
Features January 30, 2015
WWS Reacts: Combating Antibiotic Resistance
The White House recently announced that President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year 2016 budget will double the amount of federal funding for combating and preventing antibiotic resistance to more than $1.2 billion. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the United States each year caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. This additional funding will be used to improve antibiotic stewardship; strengthen antibiotic resistance risk assessment, surveillance and reporting; and drive research innovation in the human health and agricultural sectors. We discussed the proposed…
Features January 21, 2015
WWS Reacts: Turning the Page
In his sixth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama promised to dedicate his last two years in office toward implementing a number of programs that have been on the back burner. Improving opportunities for the middle class, addressing climate change, stopping the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), beefing up cyber security measures and reducing stockpiles of nuclear material in Iran were among the many topics addressed in Obama's hourlong speech. But how feasible are the plans that President Obama discussed? We spoke with experts from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs who reacted to…
Features January 20, 2015
Faculty to Attend World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
Faculty from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs are traveling to Davos, Switzerland, this week to attend the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting.Convening leaders from business, government, international organizations, academia, journalism and civil society, the annual meeting will chart strategic dialogues that map the key transformations shaping the world.Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs at the Wilson School, will attend the Global University Leaders Forum meeting, which brings together presidents of the top 25 universities…
Features January 20, 2015
Rouse Charts Uneven Progress toward King's Goal of Economic Justice
At Princeton University's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Jan. 19, Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, looked back at King's call for economic justice for all and assessed the nation's uneven progress toward that goal. Students, faculty, staff and community members came together at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall for musical performances, remarks from several speakers on King's legacy and the presentation of the University's Martin Luther King Journey Award. In her keynote address, Rouse said King eloquently highlighted the need for improved economic conditions for the poor in a…
Features January 16, 2015
Women Seen as Lacking Natural 'Brilliance' May Explain Underrepresentation in Academia
The stereotype that women lack natural "brilliance" could explain their underrepresentation in academia, according to new research based at Princeton University. The researchers surveyed 1,820 faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, men and women, from 30 disciplines at high-profile public and private research universities nationwide. The study, "Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines," will be published Jan. 16 in the journal Science. Researchers measured academics' belief that success in their own disciplines depended on raw brilliance. The researchers concluded that what they call "field…
Features January 16, 2015
Center for Health and Wellbeing Announces U.S. and Global Health Scholars
The Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW) at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs has selected three U.S. Health Policy Scholars and three Global Health Scholars. The scholars, all juniors, will receive financial support for travel and research to pursue internships and senior thesis research projects related to domestic and international health care and health policy.Up to eight juniors are selected each year for the program through a rigorous application and selection process focusing on both academic performance and plans for work and research on health policy issues.The scholars are supported by the…
Features January 13, 2015
Crafting a Strategy During Times of Crisis
How should policy makers craft a national security strategy during a time of crisis? A group of Woodrow Wilson School students found out during a Dec. 6 crisis simulation sponsored by Princeton’s Center for International Security Studies (CISS) and organized by two of the center’s student fellows.Focusing on the strategic interactions between five countries – Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the United States – the 70 participants involved in the project were able to examine and experience some of the obstacles to formulating strategies in the real world.Throughout the day-long event, the participants – which included Princeton undergraduate and…