Message from the Dean

Welcome to the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. We’re excited to share with you some of the highlights from this past year and developments for the next academic year.

We’ve added several new faculty members this year as part of our Smart and Sustainable Cities initiative, most of them jointly appointed in other departments and colleges at NU. They include Len Albright, James Connolly, Brian Helmuth, Matthias Ruth and Gavin Shatkin. Look for their faculty profiles for more details on their teaching and research.

The Human Services program is now part of Policy School. It is currently an undergraduate program that prepares students for work in nonprofit and social service organizations (often international), but will be launching a master’s degree soon.

Our Law and Public Policy (LPP) program continues to expand the master’s degree (including a dual JD-MS) and offers a Ph.D. as well. The health policy focus area added several new faculty members last year, so look for new courses and research. These new faculty will help us launch our new dual MPH-PhD program in fall, 2013. The faculty listed above and in other colleges of the university dramatically strengthen our Sustainability, Climate Change and Environmental Policy focus area.

Last fall semester we started the third year of our Master of Urban and Regional Policy program. As with the first year’s class, we continue to be very impressed with the caliber of our applicants and students.

We also continue to expand our on-line course offerings in the MPA program. MPA students can complete coursework through any combination of in-class and on-line courses.

This year’s Open Classroom Policy Series line-up includes Campaign 2012: Policy Advice to the President in the fall.  Barry Bluestone, Michael Dukakis, State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Massachusetts Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Newton Mayor Setti Warren will lead the discussion. In the spring, the topic will be, Climate Change: Energy, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies. Our new faculty member Matthias Ruth and energy and efficiency expert Doug Foy will lead it.

We are developing several new academic degree programs this year including: an undergraduate degree and graduate specialization in Urban Systems Analysis; Master’s degrees in Engineering and Public Policy, Environmental Science and Public Policy, and Science, Ethics and Public Policy; and an Executive Doctorate in Urban Development and Sustainability.

The Dukakis Center continues its focus on housing and has become a national leader in applied research on sustainable transit. The World Class Cities Partnership continues to grow, with 10 cities now participating. We hope to add Asian and South American cities this year.

We invite you to explore our range of programs and the faculty and staff who run them. Feel free to contact us to let us know of your interest in the School.

Joan Fitzgerald

Interim Dean