Audie Klotz Named Inaugural Heighberger Family Faculty Fellow of Public Service
has spent her career studying how the world moves—the migration of people across borders, the evolution of international norms and the political forces that shape both. Now, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs professor of political science has been named the inaugural Heighberger Family Faculty Fellow of Public Service, a recognition of scholarship that has influenced both academic debate and real-world policy.
“Audie’s research on migration and international norms addresses some of the most consequential questions in global politics,” says Dean David M. Van Slyke. “This fellowship recognizes her work and provides resources to support it. We’re thrilled to honor her, and grateful for the generosity that made it possible.”
A specialist in global migration, Klotz has shaped scholarly debates and public understanding of pressing issues in international politics. She has authored five books and contributed to an additional 15. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the MacArthur Foundation and the Fulbright Program.
Klotz’s many honors include Maxwell’s 2023 Wasserstrom Prize for excellence in teaching and mentoring. She is the incoming president of the International Studies Association, one of the world’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organizations devoted to the study of international and global affairs.
Klotz will hold the fellowship for three years.
Decades of Public Service
The fellowship takes its name from Eric Heighberger, a 1993 graduate of Maxwell’s international relations undergraduate program, and his spouse, Genevieve, whose combined careers span decades of public service. Eric held roles with the White House Homeland Security Council and Senate and House committees on homeland security, before serving as chief of staff at FEMA from 2017-21. He is now senior director of federal affairs for LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Genevieve has spent more than 20 years in public sector consulting, focused on FEMA and the local governments it serves.
“Being named the first Heighberger Family Faculty Fellow of Public Service is especially meaningful to me,” Klotz says. “Their careers using expertise in the service of others is how I think of my efforts to foster greater equity in academic communities. I am also grateful to the donors for recognizing the crucial place of public service within a school of citizenship.”
The Heighbergers’ commitment to public service traces back to a pivotal time in their careers. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Eric joined his longtime friend and fellow Maxwell alumnus Stephen Hagerty ’93 M.P.A. at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where their team helped New York City access $8.8 billion in federal recovery funding. Genevieve joined them.
“Working on the World Trade Center recovery efforts gave both of us a sense of professional purpose that has stayed with us ever since,” Eric says. “Genevieve and I are motivated by using our skills in the service of others, and Steve played a big role in shaping that, as a friend and as a mentor.”
The fellowship was established through a gift from Hagerty, a Maxwell Advisory Board member and Syracuse University Trustee, and his spouse and fellow alumnus Lisa Altenbernd ’93 M.P.A. With combined funds from the University’s Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program, it totals $1 million.
“Neither of us would have had the careers we have had without Steve and Lisa’s friendship and mentorship,” says Eric. “We are so honored by their decision to include us in this gift. Having our family name on a fellowship at Maxwell is a genuine honor, as the school shaped my professional path in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. To see it given to someone like Audie Klotz—whose work and mentorship embody everything Maxwell stands for—makes it even more meaningful.”
