Mar 21, 2022

We often assume the ideal about our governments: they should act proportionately to the problems at hand. Governments should respond to minor issues with minor policy changes and major issues with major policy changes. This assumption of proportionality cumbers the effectiveness of solutions found across literatures, including adaptive management, sustainable development, and direct and deliberative democracy.

Feb 7, 2023

Professor Tanya Heikkila, Co-Director of the Center for Policy and Democracy at the School of Public Affairs, and co-author Andrea Gerlak, offer their perspective on navigating the Colorado River crisis.

Mar 18, 2021 by Dr. Serena Kim

The Texas winter storm in February 2021 and the ensuing blackout exposed problems of the unregulated power market, aging electricity infrastructure, and the lack of preparedness for frequent extreme weather events. But it also revealed social inequities in such problems. Dr. Serena Kim discusses the lessons that Coloradans can learn from Texans.

Mar 29, 2021 by Dr. Jane Hansberry

Dr. Jane Hansberry writes about the impact of COVID-19 on jobs in the arts and cultural sector and encourages individuals to do help with its resurgence through donations and ticket purchases.

Nov 8, 2020 by Dr. Wendy Bolyard

Failure to recognize and appreciate that Americans are not all of the same culture undermines public service values and service delivery, something that the COVID-19 pandemic highlights. While federal agencies and contractors were recently banned by a presidential executive order from offering “divisive” and “un-American” anti-racism training, it is difficult not to see the value of learning to understand and adapt to cultural contexts. Cultural intelligence, or CQ, manifests respect and dignity for all while fostering fairness and equity. Thus, public administrators must seek opportunities for themselves and their teams to develop capabilities to function and manage in culturally diverse settings. Recognizing United States public administrators and the constituents they serve indeed reflect cultural diversity, and should, is paramount.

Mar 1, 2022

If a pandemic isn’t enough to accelerate the energy transition, then what is? Professors Tanya Heikkila and Chris Weible take on this question, along with PhD in Public Affairs alumnus Dr. Alex Osei-Kojo and Dr. Amy Pickle from Duke University.

Oct 14, 2020 by Professor Christopher Weible

Professor Chris Weible and PhD student Jill Yordy discuss a faltering U.S. democracy in the face of a calamitous combination of crises in the pandemic, economy, climate change, and social inequities. They offer four guiding principles for bringing political equality into societal discourse, developing tools and techniques for its assessments, and fostering better theories of our understandings and practices for its emergence, realization, and maintenance.

Oct 13, 2020 by Dr. Geoffrey Propheter

Dr. Geoff Propheter discusses the impact of government-subsidized sports venues on local wages, employment, and property prices, and whether they can help the local property tax base recover from recessions.

Jan 19, 2021 by Dr. William L. Swann

Before the arrival of COVID-19, the United States was amid one of its worst public health crises in decades: the opioid epidemic. To those experiencing, treating, and supporting someone with opioid use disorder (OUD), the deadliest pandemic since 1918 couldn’t have come at a crueler time. Dr. William Swann describes his recent research on the opioid pandemic.

Dec 8, 2020

This op-ed was written by the Risk & Social Policy Working Group, an interdisciplinary team of scholars formed to study risk messaging and public policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Deserai Crow of the CU Denver School of Public Affairs is part of the working group.

Oct 20, 2020

Oct 20, 2020 by Dr. Annie Miller

Dr. Annie Miller discusses community-based participatory research, the role of data in moving the needle in ending human trafficking, and the Colorado Project 2.0.

Nov 1, 2024 by Dee Dee Flynn

The University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs proudly hosted the inaugural Dr. Mary E. Guy Distinguished Lecture Series on October 16, 2024. This year’s lecture, titled "The Future of Social Equity," featured Dr. Susan T. Gooden, a prominent scholar and advocate in the field of public affairs, and Dean and Professor at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Nov 13, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Alison Burke is a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Southern Oregon University, where she has taught since earning her Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2008. Over the past 17 years, in addition to teaching and research, Alison has served on the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club of the Rogue Valley and the Resolve Center for Dispute Resolution and Restorative Justice.

Nov 11, 2024

Bachelor of Arts in Public Service alum Marly Schwartz shares his experiences as a transfer student at CU Denver and as an intern with The Black Box.

Nov 11, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Ali Rhodes is Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Boulder. Her two key responsibilities as Director are to ensure the community is experiencing a high-quality parks and recreation system and that BPR's teammates have the support and skills they need to operate that system.

Sep 25, 2024

Creating climate change resiliency and affordable housing are two of society’s most pressing challenges, and a CU Denver team is exploring how to address these challenges together by leading research on transit-oriented communities (TOCs). TOCs are a type of urban development that blends high-density housing (such as apartments) with easy access to public transportation.  And the National Science Foundation recently awarded Professor Tanya Heikkila, PhD, and her interdisciplinary team a $1.8 million grant to study them. The research will look at how Colorado’s statewide policies are supporting TOCs, the impact of TOCs on climate resiliency and affordable housing, the barriers to creating them, and how to engage the communities that are most heavily impacted when they are created.

Feb 29, 2024

Professor Chris Weible and a team of fellow CU Denver researchers aim to shine light on threats to global democracies and provide solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems thanks to award funding from CU Denver’s Research Grand Challenges initiative.

Nov 5, 2024 by Dee Dee Flynn

With the election occurring today, the results will soon be in—and we’ll be ready to break it all down for you. On Friday, November 8th, First Fridays: Election Aftermath: Key Takeaways for Colorado will bring together top political leaders and experts to unpack the results of this pivotal election and explore what’s next for Colorado’s political landscape.

Oct 1, 2024 by Dr. Deserai Crow

The Center for Community Safety and Resilience (CCSR) and the School of Public Affairs hosted a conversation focused on community resilience in Colorado. The discussion focused attention on the risks that Colorado faces and actions that governments are taking to build resilience across the state. The event took place on September 24th in conjunction with National Preparedness Month.