Sending heartfelt well wishes to our Weidenbaum Center–affiliated faculty members Steve Fazzari (Resident Fellow and former Director), Costas Azariadis (Grant Recipient), James Gibson (Grant Recipient), and Ping Wang (Grant Recipient) as they embark on their upcoming retirement. Your dedication, insight, and impact have shaped countless students, colleagues, and conversations. Wishing you all the best in this exciting new chapter!
The Ralph E. Powe award is a competitive research award that provides seed money for junior faculty members which often result in additional funding from other sources.
Katz says the Trump administration has taken advantage of an inactive Congress to rush ahead on a variety of goals, including construction of the ballroom, but also immigration restrictions and other areas.
The Weidenbaum Center is a research institute at Washington University in St. Louis that supports social scientific research in the fields of public policy, economics, political science, and sociology. Led by Weidenbaum Center Director Andrew Reeves (pictured), the Center funds faculty research, provides administrative support for research activities, and sponsors a wide range of public affairs programs. In doing so, the Center serves as a bridge between scholars, policymakers, and the general public.
Through unbiased empirical research and events, the Center addresses many of the pressing public policy issues facing America and the world today.
The Weidenbaum Center provides significant research support for faculty in the departments of Economics, Political Science, and Sociology. This support allows a wide array of faculty members to participate in a variety of impactful research, and is of particular importance to our younger faculty who are just starting their research careers. Research efforts contribute to work that addresses key social issues locally, nationally, and globally, and enhances the prominence of Washington University in the academic and policy world. Donations fund our grant programs which support this research. We could not support nearly as much research without this generosity.
This year’s Annual Reception brought together supporters, faculty, students, alumni, and community members for an evening of conversation and celebration. Director Andrew Reeves reflected on a year of meaningful dialogue and engagement. The evening also featured the presentation of the Weidenbaum Center Award for Excellence to Steven Fazzari, former Center Director and Bert A. and Jeannette L. Lynch Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Sociology. Reeves recognized Fazzari’s extraordinary 44-year career at WashU as a scholar, teacher, mentor, and leader whose work has shaped economic policy and public discourse. Congratulations to Steve on a well-earned retirement! The Weidenbaum Center—and WashU—will miss him greatly. Missed the event? Watch the full program on the Center’s YouTube channel.
As the first WashU recipient of the Andrew Carnegie fellowship, Professor Strawbridge plans to study what unites Black Americans politically, and how this cohesion has been sustained across generations despite the polarization of American politics.
Professor Inazu, the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion at WashU Law, received Rice University’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance 2026 Senior Scholar Award.
Krister Knapp, Weidenbaum Center Faculty Research Fellow, Professor of History, and coordinator of the Crisis and Conflict in Historical Perspective lecture series at WashU, brings historical depth and real-world policy insight to today’s most urgent global challenges. A specialist in U.S. foreign policy, national security, terrorism, and counterterrorism, Knapp consults as a policy and security analyst. His expertise regularly appears in public lectures, media commentary, op-eds, and scholarly research. Over the past year, Professor Knapp drew capacity crowds at two rapid response events hosted by the Weidenbaum Center. One event (pictured) examined the resurgence of the Monroe Doctrine in modern U.S. foreign policy and its implications for Venezuela and the Western Hemisphere. The second unpacked the historical roots of the escalating conflict involving Iran, exploring the geopolitical tensions shaping the crisis and the far-reaching consequences for regional stability and American foreign policy.
Jasmine and Steve Fazzari
Steve Fazzari speaking to reception attendees
(l to r) Weidenbaum Center's Jake Rosenfeld, Lukas Alexander, Jaclyn Kaslovsky, Hwayong Shin, and Kristin Henningfeld
(l to r) Former Weidenbaum Center Directors Steve Smith and Steve Fazzari with current Weidenbaum Center Director Andrew Reeves
Weidenbaum Center staff partner with faculty to identify external funding opportunities, develop competitive research proposals, and manage awarded grants from submission through administration.
More information on External Grant AdministrationIn the Thick of It: The Relationships Among Black People, Black Spaces, and Black Political Unity (Andrew Carnegie Foundation) As a Carnegie Fellow, Dr. Strawbridge will investigate how African American cultural institutions foster Black political unity and collective decision-making. Using Black Americans’ unparalleled political cohesion as a case study, he demonstrates how social and cultural institutions can act as a counterweight to increasing political polarization. He reconceptualizes Black political attitude formation and captures how Black social networks and institutions influence Black public opinion. By the end of the two-year project, the goal is a book and multiple articles that advance the field of Black politics and provide a model of cohesion that challenges dominant narratives of political division in the U.S.
White Coat Crime (Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton University) Dr. Chiarello's book project, "White Coat Crime," examines the criminalization of medicine by examining how providers of opioids, abortion, IVF, gender-affirming care, and immigrant health care in California and Texas contend with a risky legal environment and how enforcement agents in those states pursue cases against providers. Findings will build novel theory about the blurring boundaries between law and medicine and implications for patient care. The Institute of Advanced Study has awarded Dr. Chiarello with a residential fellowship at Princeton University for dedicated time to develop her new book.
Disaster Risk and Citizen Appeals for Public Adaptation (Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, Oak Ridge Associated Universities)
Dr. Shen's project investigates how environmental shocks shape citizen appeals for public adaptation responses in centralized political systems, with a focus on China. She analyzes how citizens articulate adaptation policy demands following extreme weather events, and how different types of communication platforms—specifically, state managed versus semi-public platforms—mediate these expressions. The project contributes to emerging literatures on risk-driven political behavior and the role of digital governance in shaping demand formation in non-democratic settings.
