What’s Important

Schwartz Fellows at the New America Foundation

The Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program supports talented journalists, academics and other public policy analysts who offer a fresh and often unpredictable perspective on the major challenges facing our society.

Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows have published eight books since January 2012, as well as numerous articles that have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Foreign Policy, Time Magazine, Business Week and The Atlantic. These pieces engage in conversations and writing about a range of topics.

Read more >>>

Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) Director proposes new pension plan for New York City

On March 26, 2012, New York City Comptroller John C. Liu joined SCEPA Director Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci, a nationally renowned expert on pension issues, to announce a new pension plan for the city.  NYC Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs) will help provide retirement coverage for the nearly two million workers in New York City without access to retirement benefits through their employers. 

The NYC PRA proposal is based on Ghilarducci's State GRA plan that is now being considered by the California state legislature.  The plan would pool employee and employer contributions into retirement funds that would be managed and invested by the Bureau of Asset Management (BAM), a unit of the New York City Comptroller's Office.  BAM is responsible for overseeing the investments of New York City's five employee pension funds.

Read more >>>

Bernard Schwartz joins NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at Conference

Fund for Public Advocacy exploring investing pension funds in infrastructure projects and other vehicles to spur economic growth

On March 13, 2012, Bernard Schwartz made opening remarks at a conference entitled "Long-term Liabilities and Re-thinking Pension Investments," hosted by Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate of the City of New York, in partnership with the Fund for Public Advocacy.

The conference, which focused on rethinking pension investments, followed previous roundtables that explored pensions and healthcare.

Pension funds for public employees are powerful investors with large amounts of assets.  New York City alone currently has $115.2 billion in assets under management.  Strong investment performance is essential to the long-term financial health of the City.  Investments may be targeted to spur economic drivers such as infrastructure improvements, housing development, and new enterprise - and create jobs along the way.  This roundtable will explore the benefits, risks, and challenges to implementing new ways of investing.

Watch Video >>>

January 23, 2013:

Bill Baker, director of Fordham’s Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy and Education, publishes article in The Nation entitled “Google’s Monopoly on the News."

Read More >>>

November 13, 2012:

Economists for Peace and Security, led by economist James Galbraith, hosted a Schwartz Symposium entitled “Who’s Afraid of the Fiscal Cliff?”

Read More >>>
Watch the C-Span video

October 2012:

Baruch’s Alumni Magazine cites Schwartz Communication Institute’s positive impact on student learning

Read More >>>

June 16, 2012:

The Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy and Education launches its new website

Read More >>>

April 30, 2012:

New America announces 2013 Schwartz Fellows.

Bernard Schwartz established the Fellows Program at NAF to support talented journalists, academics and other public policy analysts who offer a fresh perspective on the major challenges facing our society. 

Read More >>>

March 28, 2012:

Bernard Schwartz and Roosevelt Institute sponsor day-long conference:  Rediscovering Government, featuring Nobel laureate and Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Joseph Stiglitz and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Read More, with Video >>>

March 13, 2012:

Bernard Schwartz makes introductory remarks at a roundtable event hosted by the Fund for Public Advocacy entitled, "Long-term Liabilities and Re-thinking Pension Investments."
Video >>>