Professor Joan Fitzgerald has assumed the post of Interim Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. Georges Van Den Abbeele, Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities announced the appointment. Joan will lead the continued development and expansion of the Policy School. She follows in the footsteps of Founding Dean Barry Bluestone who will continue to be part of the strategic planning team for the school as well as remain director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. Prior to her appointment, Joan managed several faculty searches that led to doubling the size of the core faculty. In addition to growing the faculty, Joan will lead the development of a number of new graduate programs within the School.
For the past several years Joan has served as Director of the Law and Public Policy program (LPP) at Northeastern University. The Law and Public Policy program is known primarily for its PhD program, but in recent years Joan has also redesigned the master’s degree as a professional graduate program. Joan will continue to oversee the LPP program on top of her responsibilities as Interim Dean.
For his part, as Founding Dean of the School, Barry Bluestone will remain fully engaged with the school’s faculty and students teaching a number of courses including the Open Classroom and helping to staff the school’s development effort. With Joan Fitzgerald as Interim Dean, he will be able to devote even more time as an active researcher at the Dukakis Center.
