News | Department of Government

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Course introduces students to constructive disagreement

The new class, dean Peter John Loewen said, for students to be able to confront and move through disagreements at work, at home, in their communities and in society.

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Ethnic unity law contradicts China’s constitution, puts premium on assimilation

“The law is consistent with a dramatic recent policy shift, to suppress the ethnic diversity formally recognized since 1949," says one Cornell expert. "The next step may be the formal abolishment of ‘ethnic minorities.’"

Alumni: Join our PSAC Lecture Virtually!

Please join our PSAC Research Series virtually on Friday, April 10.

New Faculty: Averell Schmidt

Averell Schmidt, Government and Brooks Public Policy

NY Times journalist to offer insights on White House reporting

New York Times White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs will share insights about his work covering immigration, homeland security, criminal justice and inequality in an event March 17 with Dean Peter John Loewen.

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RBG’s influences featured in ‘Fashioning Justice’ exhibit

Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54 was a champion for women’s equality. Her style, and the substance behind it, will be on display in an exhibit, “Fashioning Justice: Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54 and the Power of Presence.”

2025 Government Accomplishments

We were extremely productive in the Government Department in 2025.

Cornell faculty and staff honored for community-engaged innovation

Fourteen members of Cornell’s faculty and staff are being recognized this year with Community-Engaged Practice and Innovation Awards from the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement; from A&S it's government professor Alexandre Livingston.

Cornell Center for Social Sciences names 2026-27 Faculty Fellows

The Cornell Center for Social Sciences has selected 10 faculty members, including several from A&S, as 2026–27 Faculty Fellows, providing course release and funding to support interdisciplinary social science research with real-world impact.

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Experts to examine the use of generative AI in science

The Assessing and Imagining the Impact of Generative AI on Science Symposium, March 3-5, will feature experts from across academia and industry engaging in discussions on the use and implications of generative AI.

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Workers who love ‘synergizing paradigms’ might be bad at their jobs

Employees who are impressed by vague corporate-speak like “synergistic leadership,” or “growth-hacking paradigms” may struggle with practical decision-making, a new Cornell study into “corporate BS” reveals.

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Civic leadership class asks students to consider their purpose

On a Saturday morning in February – the coldest day yet of a cold winter – more than 350 students trekked to Statler Hall for an innovative new course on civics.

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Anthropic v. Pentagon reveals enduring rift between tech, national security

“It’s striking that Anthropic appears caught off guard by how its model is being used," says government professor Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell’s Tech Policy Institute.

Global Hubs researchers probe war, how to keep peace

Two Cornell researchers collaborated with colleagues in the United Kingdom in an effort to understand the organized violence of modern war.

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Cornell alumnae leave Milan with one gold, two silvers in Olympic hockey

Rory Guilday ’25 won a gold medal and Brianne Jenner ’15 and Kristin O'Neill ’20 took silver in women’s Olympic hockey.

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Your February 2026 reads

This month’s featured titles by A&S alumni and faculty include a look at the urban-rural divide, a biography of an anti-poverty activist, and a business guide for "winning dream jobs, awards, and elite opportunities.”

New summer course to spark civic engagement in high schoolers

A Teagle Foundation grant will help fund the course and open pathways to higher education.

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Helping urban youth use AI to navigate the future

Christian Gant-Madison's '25 platform will use AI to connect youth to jobs, skill development opportunities, civic education information and social resources.

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China’s pushback on UK shows pivoting from Washington isn’t so easy

China's criticism of the United Kingdom’s move to expand its British National (Overseas) visa pathway for Hong Kong residents illustrates how governments courting Beijing, amid frustration with Washington’s volatility, can find engagement with China difficult to manage.

A&S student chosen for civic engagement scholarship

Katrina Greene '27 will be headed to Washington, D.C. as a John Robert Lewis Scholar, an award given by the Faith and Politics Institute.

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Four women’s hockey alumnae to play at Winter Olympics

Players familiar to Cornell women’s hockey fans will take the ice when the puck drops at the 2026 Winter Olympics this week in Milan, Italy.

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College of Arts and Sciences announces 2026 Klarman Fellows

The 12 early-career scholars will pursue research in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Historian Keisha N. Blain to speak on Black women and the history of human rights

In the public lecture culminating the Black History Month series, Blain will trace how Black women from Ida B. Wells to contemporary Black Lives Matter leaders have used the language and practice of human rights to confront racism and white supremacy.

AI chip exports bill an “attempt to reclaim congressional agency”

Prof. Sarah Kreps comments on proposed legislation giving Congress power over artificial intelligence chip exports.

Hand holding a smart phone showing the TikTok icon

TikTok user long-term experience will ‘depend’ on regulators in new framework

Tiktok has signed a deal to spin off its U.S. business, but it remains unclear how effectively the new framework will address the initial national security threat concerns, says government professor Sarah Kreps.

Celebrating the journey with our December A&S grads

December graduates walk the stage this month, so we sat down for a talk with three A&S grads who’ve taken different pathways through Cornell.

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Domestic politics driving Thailand-Cambodia border tensions says Cornell Southeast Asia expert

Thailand and Cambodia have long had fraught relations, professor Tom Pepinsky says after Thailand’s military launched air strikes along the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Workshop, talk focused on applying lessons learned from COVID

Scholars converged at Cornell to talk about lessons policymakers and elected officials could glean from their research into the COVID pandemic to help deal with the next public health emergency.

Cornell-China trip celebrates 20 years of Levinson Program

Leaders celebrated the Levinson Program and joined other Cornell delegates at the Cornell-China Forum.

Aerial view of the Arts Quad in the fall

Cornell Center for Social Sciences awards fall grants targeting $50M in external research support

The Cornell Center for Social Sciences offers multiple grants to help Cornell faculty maximize their research impact. These awards help seed ambitious projects and provide support to teams of faculty applying to major external funding and collaboration opportunities.

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