Adenrele Awotona, Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters, lectured on "Climate Change Adaptation: Case Studies from the Middle East and West Africa" at the Oxford Roundtable, a not-for-profit educational organization at London's Oxford University.

Samuel Barkin, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance, delivered the lecture, "International Organization Theory and Global Conflict Resolution" as part of the department's spring colloquium series.

Rezarta Bilali, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, participated in the executive committee meeting of the American Psychological Association Peace Psychology Division (Div 48): Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence held in Las Vegas.  Bilali started her term on the society's executive committee in January 2012 as an elected member-at-large. She also penned the article "Attributions of responsibility and perceived harm in the aftermath of mass violence," published in Peace & Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 18, 21-39.

Ellen Bruce, Gerontology Department, lectured on "Health Systems in Reform: Impact on Special Populations" at the Northeastern University School of Law and on "Doing Well by Doing Good?  The Public Sector Pension Plan: A Role in Enabling Private Sector Worker Participation in Retirement Plans" at the Harvard Law School "10th Annual Pensions and Capital Stewardship" conference.

Françoise Carré, research director at the Center for Social Policy, recently published a co-edited book, Are Bad Jobs Inevitable?: Trends, Determinants and Responses to Job Quality in the Twenty-First Century. The book is published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of its Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment series.

Carol Hardy-Fanta and colleagues at the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy hosted an evening of networking, "Women Making a Difference in Worcester" celebrating and honoring the city's female political and community leaders. Featured speakers included US Attorney Carmen Ortiz and State Senator Harriette L. Chandler.

Michael Keating, director of operations at the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development and a lecturer in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, was the featured speaker at the International Liberian Studies Association meeting at Cornell University. His paper was titled, "The Role of the National University in the Development of the Country".

Darren Kew, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance and Center for Peace, Democracy and Development, launched the center's new blog, PaxBlog(http://blogs.umb.edu/paxblog).  With a mixed audience of academics, students, activists and the general public.  PaxBlog strives to be a leading international voice on development issues from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Judith Kurland, director of the Center for Community Democracy and Democratic Literacy, hosted a group of local stakeholders working with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative community development projects.  Staff from the Barr Foundation, Hyams Foundation, Riley Foundation, and University of New Orleans joined DSNI staff and representatives from Harvard's Rappaport Institute, Suffolk Construction Company, the Salvation Army, Boston Redevelopment Authority, the City of Boston, and others to see a pre-screening of the new documentary film Gaining Ground, produced by Holding Ground Productions and filmed by Vital Pictures.

Maria Ivanova, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance and Center for Governance and Sustainability, coauthored, "Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) Reports" published in The Encyclopedia of Sustainability, Vol. 6: Measurements, Indicators, and Research Methods for Sustainability, for Berkshire Publishing.

Maria Ivanova, Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance and Center for Governance and Sustainability, spoke at the "Planet Under Pressure" conference in London. She was a presenter on a panel with high level policy makers on "Delivering Governance for Global Sustainability Across Scales" and at a session organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on "Realizing Green Economies: Harnessing Trade for Sustainable Development Across Multiple Levels of Governance." The emphasis of the conference was on stimulating research for sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

John McGah, director of Give US Your Poor, presented at the Housing First Partners' Conference in New Orleans.  This was the first such conference in the nation and included 650 policy makers, researchers, practitioners and advocates.  He presented on a panel on systems change as it relates to Housing First, a best practice in solving homelessness. Give US Your Poor also hosted a musical celebration at the conference featuring soul singing legend Mighty Sam McClain and national recording artist Mary McBride.

Jan Mutchler, Gerontology Department, was interviewed on WBUR discussing recent research that New England elderly face some of the largest gaps between income and expenses in the country. This research, conducted with colleague Ellen Bruce and the advocacy group Wider Opportunities for Women, was also featured in a US News and World Reports article on March 1.

Pamela Nadash,Gerontology Department, spoke on "Cash for Care: An International Comparative Perspective on Supporting Seniors and People with Disabilities" as part of the Public Policy Departmental Seminar Series.

David Gonzalez Nieto, Public Policy PhD candidate, was promoted to Assistant Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition and Academic Achievement at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Robert Weiner, director of the International Relations MSPA program, moderated three panels on economic development, integration of newcomers, and cultural identity at a recent seminar co-sponsored by the International Relations MSPA program and the Office of International and Transnational Affairs titled, Quebec and Massachusetts: Common Challenges and Opportunities in a Globalized World." Quebec delegate to New England, Jean-Stéphane Bernard, delivered the keynote speech on the topic of public diplomacy.

Christian Weller, Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs, coauthored the article, "House Republicans Assault Social Security: Latest House Budget Plan Would Lead to Cuts in Social Security" for the Center for American Progress.