The Pulte Institute recently welcomed eight new Core Affiliated Faculty. They join with diverse backgrounds and vast knowledge in their research areas; however, their work is distinguished by an emphasis on poverty and inequality and the social dimensions of environmental issues.

“We hope to connect the scholarly strengths of these Keough School faculty with Pulte’s unique infrastructure for proposal development, program management, and research translation,” William J. Pulte Director Tracy Kijewski-Correa says. “The Institute is ideally placed to strengthen the connections between rigorous academic research and real-world policy issues while teaching and mentoring the next generation of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.”  Meet Pulte’s new Core Affiliated Faculty  »

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council warned the situation in Nicaragua has worsened, emphasizing the erosion of academic freedom and predicting dire consequences if the problem goes unchecked. The report comes less than a month after dictator Daniel Ortega seized property and assets belonging to one of the country’s foremost academic institutions, Universidad Centroamericana (UCA).

In a show of support, the Pulte Institute’s Central America Research Alliance (CARA) — a collaborative partnership between the Institute and Central American partners, including academics and researchers at UCA — took out advertising space in The Observer under the headline “We stand against the repression of academic freedom in Central America and call for it to end immediately.”  Add your name and join us in upholding the fundamental human right to education   »

The Keough School of Global Affairs and the Pulte Institute hosted its annual i-Lab Showcase on Friday, with Master of Global Affairs students presenting their summer fieldwork and internships, research and creative activities, conducted in conjunction with partners across the world as part of the i-Lab’s Global Partner Experience. This learning-by-doing approach allows MGA students to work on the front lines of today’s most pressing challenges.  View photos from the event and learn more about the projects  »

Pulte’s Shriniwas Gautam recently co-authored an article exposing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on food systems in Nepal. With most households that depend on agriculture now facing severe consequences, Gautam and his colleagues offer recommendations to mitigate future agricultural value chain disruptions.
 

Also, CARA co-directors Estela Rivero and Tom Hare recently co-authored an article analyzing the association between street code values and three outcomes — delinquency, substance use, and bullying — in the so-called Turbulent Northern Triangle, comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. They found the connection is often reduced to "non-significance" once other causes like low self-control and antisocial behavior are considered.  Read CARA’s article in “International Criminology”  »

Pulte Visiting Associate Rachel Svetanoff, co-founder of the Global Futurist Initiative, an advocacy organization that mobilizes youth activists to educate policymakers and others, says although the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is global and the goals are universal, the real action is local. Not only are city leaders closest to residents, Americans view local elected officials much more favorably than members of Congress.

As the United Nations convenes the SDG Summit at its New York Headquarters during the General Assembly high-level week (Sept. 20-22), Svetanoff encourages us to take action in our own communities and recommit to the systemic issues of inequity the SDGs expose.  Read the article in the “International Institute for Sustainable Development”  »