Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy

09/18/2026

Congratulations to the Rockefeller College faculty and staff members who received Chancellor’s Awards, SUNY’s highest honor, this week.

Please join us in celebrating:

Jennifer Dodge, associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy, recognized for Excellence in Teaching

Ellen Rubin, associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy, recognized for Excellence in Faculty Service

Renee Wallingford, assistant dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, recognized for Excellence in Professional Service

These prestigious awards recognize exceptional achievement and dedication. We are proud to see the outstanding contributions of our Rockefeller College community honored at the highest level!

09/16/2026

09/15/2026

Congratulations to Rockefeller junior Troy Serao, who has been selected as a recipient of the Newman Civic Fellowship for the 2026-2027 cycle!

Nominated by university presidents, Newman Civic Fellows are selected based on their dedication to community engagement. They represent their campuses among peers across the state.

"I'm honored, I'm humbled, and a little nervous. It's a lot to represent 18,000 students," Serao said.

Read more in this article:

University at Albany students consistently work hard to make an impact on their community — which junior Troy Serao is now being recognized for doing.

09/11/2026

When disaster strikes, some of the most immediate and impactful responses come not only from governments and major aid organizations but also from diaspora communities.

A timely article by Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy Professor Susan Appe discusses how these communities are mobilizing in the United States in the wake of recent natural disasters in Venezuela, Colombia, and Nepal.

"While small in scale, these diaspora groups are well positioned to respond quickly to disaster relief efforts. They have developed partnerships with community groups on the ground in their home countries. They also have a strong pool of donors – among the diaspora and beyond – based in the U.S.”

Read the full article here:

While small in scale, these groups are well positioned to respond quickly to disaster relief efforts.

09/11/2026

Today at noon, the UAlbany community will gather at the Memorial Bench, located along the ETEC walking path behind Boor Sculpture Studio, to honor the alumni lives lost on 9/11.

The granite bench, designed by alum Dan Giroux ’00 of Loiselle Memorials, is symbolically shaped, with two rectangular towers and the UAlbany Minerva logo on one side as the base. The seat of the bench connects to a pentagon-shaped base on the other side.

Alums Conner Dunleavy '17, Michael Longo ’15, Lee Stanton ’14, and Edward McGlone ’11 supported the memorial from start to finish - a seven year process. The memorial is funded through the Class of 2017 senior gift, which was voted on by the student body before graduation. More than 500 students, parents and local organizations raised funds for the bench’s design and installation.

We will always remember:
Jon L. Albert ’77 – B.S. Mathematics
Shawn Bowman ’94 – B.S. Business Administration, ’96 – MBA
Mark A. Brisman ’89 – B.S. Accounting
Elizabeth Darling ’96 – B.A. Sociology
Jeffrey L. Fox ’82 – B.S. Accounting
Clyde Frazier ’88 – B.A. Africana Studies
Taimour Khan ’94 – B.A. Economics
John P. Lozowsky ’86-87 - General Studies
Michael Lynch ’90 – B.A. Political Science
Joseph Maffeo ’94 – B.A. Geographical Information and Spatial Analysis
Scott M. McGovern ’87 – B.S. Business Administration
Stephen Vincent Mulderry ’92 – B.A. Rhetoric & Communications
John A. Reo ’00 – B.A. Economics
Brooke David Rosenbaum ’91 – B.A. Psychology
Karen H. Schmidt ’80 – B.S. Interdisciplinary
See-wong Shum ’90 - MBA
James G. Smith ’79 – B.S. Business Administration
Michael T. Wholey ’88 – B.A. Political Science
Michael Wittenstein ’89 – B.S. Business Administration

09/02/2026

We are thrilled to congratulate Christine Schudde, a Rockefeller alumna and former advisory board member, on this exciting achievement. Wishing her continued success as she embarks on this next chapter of her career at Habitat for Humanity International!

After more than twenty years with Habitat Capital District, Christine Schudde is moving on to a role with Habitat for Humanity International. We are going to miss her, and we can't thank her enough for everything she's given this community and this organization.

She leaves us in a strong place. Our path forward is clear and ambitious thanks to her leadership.

Christine has led us for 11 years, longer than any Executive Director in our history. In that time, we completed 85 homes, nearly matching the 100 we built in our first 27 years combined.

She also led more than $25 million in housing investment across the region, and made Habitat Capital District a go-to partner for local community development organizations and government efforts.

Christine, thank you for all you've done! We know your work at the national level will keep making an impact here in our community and across the country.

You can read more about the leadership transition here: https://buff.ly/cW5jGsk

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy and the School of Criminal Justice - University at Albany welcome new faculty members Alvin Christian and Brian Wade.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new faculty members, who will enrich our students’ learning by sharing their expertise and real-world experience in public policy and criminal justice,” said Rockefeller College Dean Julie Novkov.

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and the School of Criminal Justice welcome two new faculty members, including Alvin Christian and Brian Wade. “We are thrilled to welcome these new faculty members, who will enrich our students’ learning by sharing their expertise and real-world e...

08/27/2026

We’re back! Thanks to everyone who joined us for our Welcome Back Picnic. It was great to reconnect, meet new faces, and kick off the semester together.

Here's to an amazing year ahead!

08/25/2026