Schumer delivered $5 million this year for new Syracuse University Global Affairs Institute that will be used to bring world-class professors to Syracuse

Senator and SU officials outline plan to seek $5 million more in upcoming year and provide update on center's progress; Center can play role in attracting creative class to region by presenting new opportunities for research

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today said that the state-of-the-art global affairs institute at Syracuse University in the name of late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan will attract the world's best professors to the school and could be a stimulus to help attract people to the region.

Schumer, who this year helped secure $5 million in federal appropriations for the center, said he is garnering support in the Senate for another $5 million federal appropriation that would push the Maxwell School's Global Affairs Institute even further toward carrying on the public and intellectual tradition of Senator Moynihan. The Center will fund visiting scholars and international leaders, and support scholarship in impoverished nations.

"With this endowment, SU is going to be the destination for world class thinkers and professors who work in the field of global affairs,” Schumer said. “That’s great for the university, great for the discipline, and could be great for the entire region. Exciting new projects are what bring creative, new people to the region. We’ve already gotten millions to get this top-of-the-line center off the ground. Now we’re going to push for even more.”

A new report released by the Syracuse Metropolitan Development Association (MDA) released last Thursday called “The Essential New York Initiative” found that the region is experiencing alarming population loss, particularly among the 20-44 age group. To reverse this trend, the report says the region should strive to attract and retain creative people, stimulate innovation and generate regional economic growth. To accomplish this, the region must provide enticing cultural opportunities.

“The Moynihan Global Affairs Institute will bring experts on the cutting edge in a broad range of areas right here to Syracuse to talk about the international issues of the day,” Schumer said. “That opportunity doesn’t come around every day and it will make Central New York unique. This is just the kind of thing we need to attract young creative professionals, and we’re going to keep pushing to get even more money for it.”

Schumer, who introduced the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute Act in the Senate, said the federal money he secured will help the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs fund residencies of visiting scholars and international leaders, and support scholarship and training in impoverished countries. The measure also designates the existing Global Affairs Institute (GAI) at the Maxwell School as the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute committed to studying diverse cultures, economies, and political systems.

The Maxwell School's Global Affairs Institute was established in 1993 to extend, integrate, and focus the Maxwell School's commitment to exploring current international and global concerns. The Institute organizes conferences, credit bearing seminars, and workshops, and provides research fellowships and internship opportunities to graduate students. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a one-time junior faculty member at the Maxwell School from 1959 to 1961, was elected to the United States Senate in 1976 where he served four terms. He retired from the Senate in 2000 renowned as a foreign affairs expert. The Almanac of American Politics once described him as "the nation's best thinker among politicians since Lincoln and its best politician among thinkers since Jefferson."

Schumer thanked Senator John Warner from Virginia, a close friend of Senator Moynihan's, and Congressman Jim Walsh for their help in securing support for the legislation.

Schumer was joined at the event by Chancellor Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw and Dean Mitch Wallerstein.

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