Mary Brabeck, Dean of the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, has announced the appointment of Beth C. Weitzman as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, effective August 1. Weitzman, a widely published scholar whose research focuses on urban policies affecting poor families, is currently professor of health and public policy at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
As associate dean for academic affairs, Weitzman will help lead the School on all academic matters. Her responsibilities will include working closely with faculty, administrators, and students to further enhance the School’s academic goals in all of its undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.
“Dr. Weitzman’s commitment to working with colleagues across fields and professions has been evident throughout her career,” said Brabeck. “Her research has underscored the importance of eliminating the gulfs that separate sectors and services to better address significant social problems. This approach will serve her well in Steinhardt’s unique, interdisciplinary community.”
Weitzman said, “My research has underscored the importance of multi-sector approaches to solving complex social problems. I am attracted to the Steinhardt School because its unique mix of departments and programs allows us to begin the conversation of how we can train tomorrow’s professionals to work across traditional divides to further human development.”
Weitzman will succeed Ron Robin, who has served as associate dean since July 2006 and is moving into a new role as Senior Vice Provost for Planning at NYU.
Long a respected member of the NYU community, Weitzman joined the Wagner faculty in 1987 and was promoted to professor of health and public policy in 2003; she will continue to hold that title within the department of nutrition, food studies, and public health at NYU Steinhardt. Weitzman has taught classes in community health and in research methods and served as director of both doctoral studies and the health policy and management program at NYU Wagner.
Since 1995, Weitzman has directed the national evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Urban Health Initiative, aimed at improving health and safety outcomes for children and youth in five of America’s most distressed cities. Previous research includes a NIDA-funded study examining the relationship of school absenteeism to survey-based estimates of adolescent risk behavior and a longitudinal study of homeless families funded by NIMH. Her work has also received support from a range of philanthropies, including the United Hospital Fund, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the WT Grant Foundation.
Weitzman is a long-standing member of the American Public Health Association, where she chaired the Caucus on Homelessness, and the Association of Public Policy and Management. She also serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Evaluation and in recent years, her work has been published in such journals as Youth and Society, the Journal of Adolescent Health, Health and Place, Public Administration Review, the Journal of Urban Health, and the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
She holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.P.A. and Ph.D. in Public Administration from NYU. She began her career working for the New York City Board of Education in their Office of Educational Evaluation.