Graduation is that bittersweet time of year when we see our students go off to make a positive difference in the world, strengthened by the tools they developed in their classes and research with us. We are both proud and sad to watch them leave us, and uplifted by their excitement at securing positions where they can work in the public interest.

Our pride is heightened when we celebrate their accomplishments in reviewing their capstone projects completed pro bono for clients across the world, and in the publication of our student-written and student-edited journal Policy Perspectives – the oldest such journal in the U.S. - in its 33rd year. Even in these challenging times, public service is a calling that inspires our students, and all levels of government are still welcoming them.

I am always impressed by our Career Services Team and in the spring more than ever I see them shepherding the support of our thousands of alumni to help our newest graduates secure meaningful work. Hooding our PhD students is also the key rite of passage in universities across the world this season. We take so much pride in seeing our mentees go out into both academe and public service to carry on for us and after us.

Our school’s doctoral degree (in Public Policy and Administration) is only 25 years old, yet we now have our graduates taking leadership roles in public administration and public policy programs across the world. We highlight two who just received awards for their research below (Eric Stokan and Megan E. Hatch), but we are so very proud of our many PhD alumni who are out there leading MPA and MPP programs, carrying on our legacy– for example, Eric Boyer, Adrienne Edisis, Mariglynn Edlins, Jennica Larrison, Steve Mumford, Andrea Pierce, and Jeannine Love. We also are delighted to have so many of our PhD alumni in faculties at universities across the country including Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Cleveland State, Rutgers, and University of Colorado at Denver – you all rock and make us so very proud! 

The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration is ranked #12 best overall Public Affairs Schools, the top-ranking in the region, by the U.S. News & World Report, reflecting our continued upward momentum! 

These rankings are determined by a reputational vote of leaders of schools that are NASPAA members. We are proud to be a part of a community of public affairs schools and peers that are doing important work that is recognized by U.S. News & World Report. These rankings would not have been possible without the hard work and contributions of the Trachtenberg community.

Our full rankings out of 320 schools are as follows (some are ties):

#12 Best Overall Public Affairs Program in Washington DC 

Specialties:

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to excellence!

Policy Perspectives Volume 33 launch was a success!

The leadership team, Naomi Atughonu (Editor-in-Chief), Christian Schamberger (Managing Editor), and Emily Cipolla (Executive Editor), are extremely proud of the newly published authors and editorial team. Both the journal and blog staff's hard work throughout the 2025-2026 school year shone last night. The print journal and “best of the blog” authors had the chance to share their pieces and answer questions from the leadership team and the audience, covering a wide range of policy topics, including child care vouchers, electricity programs, national security, the gender pay gap, taxes, and Social Security. This reflects the breadth of expertise across the Trachtenberg community. Naomi, Christian, and Emily are saddened that the school year has ended and their time serving Policy Perspectives is over. However, they are very excited about the next Volume to come, as they know Mücahid Aykut, Thomas Rachko, and Jacob Carson will continue to lead the Trachtenberg community and Policy Perspectives with great dedication and continued success. 

→ Learn more and read their work here.

Megan E. Hatch (PhD '14) is an Associate Professor of Urban Policy and City Management at the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. She has a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration from George Washington University (2014), a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from Cornell University, and a BA in government and psychology from Georgetown University. She studies the variation in policies within the US federalist system and the effects those disparities have on social equity, individuals, and institutions. She is an Associate Editor of the journal Housing Policy Debate and sits on the Board of the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research. She lives in the Cleveland area with her husband and young son. She also previously won a Theodore J. Lowi Policy Studies Journal Best Article Award in 2016 with Professor Elizabeth Rigby based on work they started when she was at TSPPPA. 

Megan recently was selected to receive the 2026 Best Article in the Journal of Urban Affairs Award for her article, "A data feminist approach to urban data practice: Tenant power through eviction data."

"My coursework and research assistant positions at TSPPPA amplified my passion for doing meaningful policy-relevant research. I am grateful for the mentorship I received and often think of what my TSPPPA professors taught me as I mentor my own students now." - Megan E. Hatch

Eric Stokan (PhD '16) is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Affiliate Faculty Member at the School of Public Policy, and Director of the Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He also serves as Co-Director of the Metropolitan Governance and Management (MGMT) Lab at Indiana University Bloomington, where he works on collaborative, data-driven projects focused on public sector capacity, governance, and policy design. He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Urban Affairs Review and State and Local Government Review.

His research is at the intersection of public administration, urban policy, and computational social science, with a focus on how local governments navigate tradeoffs across community and economic development, social equity, and sustainability. His research has been supported by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants to examine the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and its implications for neighborhood equity and investment.

His recent scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Urban Affairs, Public Administration Review, and the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and reflects a broader commitment to bridging theory and practice through both traditional econometric approaches and newer computational methods.

Eric recently was selected to receive the 2026 Best Article in the Journal of Urban Affairs Award for his article, “Rethinking development and redistribution policy: Testing the local expenditure assumption using the Community Development Block Grant program.”

The Trachtenberg School invites our community to gather to celebrate professional excellence and academic achievement.

Alumni Impact Honorees Celebratory Toast:  Kick off the festivities by honoring the 2026 Alumni Impact Honorees. Join us for sparkling cider toast and a selection of sweets as we recognize the career achievements and community impact of our inaugural honorees.

2026 Capstone Expo and Graduation Celebration:  Following the toast, join the broader community for one of Trachtenberg’s signature spring traditions including the Capstone Expo, Graduation Celebration and Student Awards. 

→ Join us on May 1 starting at 4pm. RSVP here.

The Postsecondary Education & Economics Research (PEER) Center invites early- and mid-career academics conducting higher education policy research to apply to participate in a selective training and networking opportunity in the nation’s capital.

Over three days in D.C., scholars will participate in skills-based workshops that focus on (among other topics):

Scholars will work closely with PEER’s policy and research staff throughout the sessions to connect their research to ongoing policy debates at the federal and state levels. They will have the opportunity to engage directly with senior academics, policymakers, and journalists. The Summer Scholars Program is supported by funding from Arnold Ventures, the Joyce Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

→ The session will be held from June 3-5 in Washington, D.C. Learn more and apply here.

On April 24, TSPPPA hosted our Pi Alpha Alpha Induction Dinner!

A big congratulations to our newest inductees - your dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence have brought you to this remarkable milestone. We couldn't be more proud!

Pi Alpha Alpha recognizes the highest-achieving students in programs dedicated to preparing the next generation of public service leaders. 

The Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis inducted a new class of Fellows at its recent annual conference, including Professor Susan Dudley. Susan is a past SBCA president and long time active member of the society. She was recognized for advancing regulatory analysis in government and for bridging scholarship and policy through decades of leadership and public engagement.

This month, Senior Policy Analyst Finn Dobkin (PhD '28) at the Regulatory Studies Center won the Jerry Ellig Award for Best Student Paper at the SBCA Annual Conference. His paper is titled 'Capitalization of Climate Mitigation in Housing Markets: Evidence from California’s Residential Construction Requirements'. 

Professor Leah Brooks uses funding from two recent grants to study how law and institution translate to economic outcomes. In work funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, Professor Brooks and co-author Bryan Stuart examine how the condominium model of homeownership — central to urban housing supply — impacts the long-run property appreciation. The authors also study whether this form of ownership is particularly disadvantageous for low-income individuals. In work funded by Arnold Ventures, Professor Brooks and Bridget Dooling investigate whether federal statutes have increasingly mandated citizen participation over the past century, aiming to discover whether this form of citizen participation drives the well-documented surge in U.S. infrastructure costs over the last half century. Brooks and Dooling combine human and AI analysis to trace when and for which agencies these participatory requirements emerged.

We are so proud of Professor Brooks' incredible work. To read more about her previous research, check out her website here. 

Postsecondary Education & Economics Research (PEER) Center's research was featured in Reuter's in the article “Does a law degree pay off? New study says yes" by Karen Sloan. 

Leighton Ku was quoted by several news outlets including:  “Supreme Court Birthright Citizenship Case Could Affect Newborns' Medicaid Status" in MedPage Today and "Rural Minnesota economies under threat as feds cut safety net programs" in Minnesota Star Tribune.

Mark Wolfe and Cassandra Lovejoy authored the article "Why is Trump cutting energy aid during an oil price shock?" in the Hill. 

Regulatory Studies Center data was cited in Government Executive in the article "Experts say Trump inflated his deregulation numbers, but his process changes are here to stay" by Sean Michael Newhouse.