Written by Daniel Farrell, MPA-MIA candidate, December 2025 I recently returned from Baku, Azerbaijan, where the annual United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) concluded after two weeks of intense climate negotiations. This was COP29—the twenty-ninth meeting of what is often the largest international policy conference of any given year. The COP is administered by the… Read more »
Research
O’Neill MPA student research used to secure $200K grant for California community
A small California town is better prepared for future floods thanks to the innovative research of three current and former MPA students at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. While working on a final paper for their Climate Change Policy class, Jeff Adams, Tracy Luther, and Evan Fall dove into the… Read more »
Empowering Bloomington: IU students research keys to unlocking nonprofit success
Understanding the keys to a thriving nonprofit is crucial—not only for academic insight but for building stronger, more connected communities. At Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, students are diving into this challenge by engaging directly with nonprofits in the heart of Bloomington. Supported by AmeriCorps, the Observing Civic Engagement (OCE) project… Read more »
Study shows standards needed to prove effectiveness of school-based law enforcement programs
The use of school-based law enforcement officers has increased exponentially over the past quarter-century, but how SBLEs have performed while promoting student safety is a question that has largely gone unanswered, namely because a lack of incidents isn’t a good metric by which to measure performance. The use of SBLEs expanded following the shootings at… Read more »
McGuire proposes racism-conscious framework for health policies in journal Health Affairs
Cydney McGuire, an assistant professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has proposed a racism-conscious framework that can be used to develop new health policies or redesign existing policies that address racism and advance health equity. In the article “Proposing A Racism-Conscious Approach To Policy Making And Health Care Practices,”… Read more »
O’Neill alumni earn ABFM’s 2023 Best Book in Public Budgeting and Finance Award
A book from a trio of alumni of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs has earned the 2023 Best Book in Public Budgeting and Finance Award from the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management. Temirlan Moldogaziev, an associate professor at the O’Neill School and a 2012 Ph.D. recipient in public management… Read more »
Study shows local government officials prioritize nonprofit capacity over contract costs
Local government officials (LGOs) rate quality and effectiveness of nonprofit services as the most important considerations when awarding grants and contracts to nonprofits, according to the new report Indiana Local Government Officials’ Grant and Contract Considerations released today by Indiana University’s Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Lilly Family School… Read more »
Ortega named Emerging Poverty Scholars Fellow
Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs Assistant Professor Alberto Ortega has been named an Emerging Poverty Scholars Fellow by the Institute for Research on Poverty. The Emerging Poverty Scholars Fellowship provides exceptional junior scholars from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations with flexible funding over a two-year award period. Ortega’s research focuses on… Read more »
Study: “Safer” PFAS in food packaging still hazardous
Replacement per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been heralded as safe for use in food packaging, break down into toxic PFAS that leak into our food and environment, suggests a study published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. Due to the known exposure risks of using smaller PFAS molecules such as PFOA and… Read more »
Simon selected by National Academies to examine current state of racial and ethnic health disparities in the U.S.
The National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) has announced that a committee will examine the current state of racial and ethnic healthcare disparities in the U.S. The committee, which includes Distinguished Professor Kosali Simon of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, will help update the National Academies’ 2003 report… Read more »