NEW YORK John Sexton, President of New York University, today announced that NYU Professor Ellen Schall would be the next dean of the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Professor Schall is the Martin Cherkasky Professor of Health Policy and Management and an expert in leadership and public service management. She will assume the deanship in January 2003, succeeding current Dean Jo Ivey Boufford who steps down at the end of this year.
“No one is more qualified than Ellen Schall to lead NYU’s Wagner School, ” said Dr. Sexton. “The Wagner School is the University’s portal to the world of public service. Under Ellen Schall’s leadership, I am confident the Wagner School will shape the way all of us understand issues of public importance as it prepares future leaders.”
Dr. Sexton said, “Professor Schall is herself a public service leader. Her blend of experiences as a practitioner and scholar make her particularly able to strengthen the critical link between our academic community and the broader public and nonprofit sectors it serves and which is at the heart of the Wagner School’s educational mission.”
Professor Schall joined the Wagner School faculty in 1992. She served as president of the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management from 1993 to 1994, and was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1995. Prior to coming to NYU, she had a distinguished public service career including service as the commissioner of the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice. A graduate of the NYU School of Law, she co-chaired with the Chief Judge of New York State the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children from 1991 to 1999.
“It is an exciting time to take up the role of dean at Wagner Graduate School of Public Service,” said Professor Schall. “I am privileged to have the opportunity to work with John Sexton as he takes up the leadership of New York University. I am honored to have the support of the Wagner School’s faculty.”
Professor Schall continued, “In these times of heightened awareness of the importance of public service and leadership, the professional world of service is itself evolving. Boundaries are blurring, across sectors, fields, and communities. Wagner’s multi-sector and interdisciplinary approach, bridging theory and practice, positions us to be a leadership school in public service education and research.”
Martin Lipton, chair of the NYU Board of Trustees, said, “I have seen Ellen Schall in action, as a member of the NYU Law Center Foundation Board of Trustees, and know she has the vision and executive ability to lead the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at this exciting time in NYU’s history and at this critical time for public service.”
Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford, dean of the Wagner School since 1997, last month announced her plans to step down. Dean Boufford, a former acting assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a nationally recognized expert in public health, will leave her post at the end of the year to pursue opportunities in the areas of international health and health disparities.
Under Dean Boufford’s leadership, the Wagner School integrated an international perspective into its curriculum, added full-time faculty, increased faculty research grants and enhanced the School’s visibility and reputation. A milestone event in this international initiative was Nelson Mandela’s speech at NYU on May 7th to help launch the Wagner School’s Fund for African Public Service Education. The Fund, the first known program of its kind at an American university, will provide African graduate students scholarships to study public policy and administration at the Wagner School, and create partnerships with African universities to help them build their own programs in public service education with the aim of supporting critical health and economic development efforts in Africa.
The Wagner School’s distinct identity and higher academic standing within New York City and the nation, and internationally, is evidenced by record-high student applications this year and a more than doubling of annual giving by its alumni.
“In choosing Ellen Schall the faculty could not have selected a more appropriate leader to capture the momentum and move the Wagner School further toward its goals,” said Dean Boufford. “A good friend and colleague, Ellen is a genuine bridge builder capable of creating synergies among the Wagner School’s intellectually and professionally diverse faculty and the broader University community.”
Established in 1938, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service offers advanced programs leading to the professional degrees of Master of Public Administration, Master of Urban Planning, Master of Science in Management and Doctor of Philosophy. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Wagner School’s healthcare policy and management program No. 1 in the nation. The School’s nonprofit management, public finance and urban policy specialties also ranked among the top ten in that survey.
The Wagner School is known for its ability to integrate theory and practice. At the Wagner School, students transform personal commitment into public leadership and engage with a faculty that is changing the way the world looks at issues of public concern. Wagner School alumni are in leadership positions in nonprofit, health and public sector roles in this country and internationally.
New York University, established in 1831, is one of the largest and most prestigious private research universities in the United States. Through its 13 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, dentistry, education, nursing, business, social work, the cinematic and performing arts, public administration and policy, and continuing studies, among other areas.