Watts Briefly

-New Andrews/Morris fellows
-Learn the basics of meta-analysis
-Student voter turnout improves
-Alum earns national Goodman award

Eight fellows comprise the class of 2026 of the Marvin Andrews and Jane Morris Urban Management Fellowship for graduate students, the largest first-year cohort in the history of the 18-year-old program:

• Maylee Acosta, BA, political science, Northern Arizona University
• Matt Billings, BS, political science, NAU.
• Miguel Cantú, BS, public service and public policy (law and policy); BA,  sociology, Arizona State University.
• Emilia Krajewski, BS, political science, NAU.
• Maya Kwiedacz, BS, public management and policy, University of Arizona.
• Basil Ribakare, BS, psychology, ASU.
• Samantha Lozano Rodriguez, BA, political science; BS, sociology, NAU.
• Rory Wilson, BS, public service and public policy; BS, sociology, ASU.

All are Marvin Andrews Fellows except Acosta, who is the Jane Morris Fellow. Five of the eight are first-generation college students. The two-year program enjoys recently expanded funding to from 10 Valley municipalities, enabling more students to become fellows, program manager Kari Kent said. 

ASU students are invited to join education Associate Professor Peng Peng of the University of Austin on Friday, Sept. 13, for a daylong workshop, “An Introduction to Meta-Analysis,” presented by the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Meta-analysis is a powerful method for researchers to critically evaluate existing research findings as well as generate theories and directions for future research and practice. This workshop is designed to provide participants with the foundational knowledge and practical skills to conduct rigorous reviews and meta-analyses.

Registration is $50 for students and international attendees; $100 for non-students. Sign up here. For more information, email Taylor Beck, tbeck9@asu.edu. (Photo by Pixabay)

Nearly 75% of eligible ASU students were registered to vote in time for the 2022 midterm elections, a 4.1% increase over the number registered for the 2018 midterms, the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement reported.

Alberto Olivas, executive director of the Watts College-based Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service, said nearly 35.1% of ASU students who were registered to vote in time cast ballots in the 2022 midterms, which is almost 5 percentage points higher than the average voting rate of the dozens of higher education institutions participating in the NSLVE survey.    

Cyrus Commissariat, who in May 2021 earned three ASU bachelor’s degrees in history, political science and French with two minors, one of which is in public service and public policy from the Watts College, was among the first-ever class of 10 honorees inducted into The Andrew Goodman Foundation Hall of Fame.

While at ASU, Commissariat was an Andrew Goodman Ambassador, working out of the Watts College’s Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service. He and other inductees were recognized for “continued dedication to our mission ‘to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy.’”

This year, Commissariat earned Juris Doctor and Master of Laws (in taxation) from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law.