Green light for social science, urban affairs, public policy school

Northeastern's new School of Social Science, Urban Affairs, and Public Policy will become "an anchor" for the university's relationship with Boston, says President Freeland.

Following three years of planning, the school received its final approval, from the Board of Trustees, in April.

Now organizers will focus on building an infrastructure for the school within the College of Arts and Sciences, establishing key research centers, naming a dean, and raising tens of millions of dollars in external funding.

The interdisciplinary school streamlines Northeastern's work on urban issues, says Freeland. It will build on the university's existing social science departments and public policy centers and institutes, and add new cross-department centers in such areas as quantitative methods, greater Boston survey research, and geography and mapping. Backers say the school will study such large issues as race, class, housing, and transportation.

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