Interim Dean Announced
Dr. Robert Gleeson has been named the Interim Dean of Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs effective July 1, 2015
Dr. Gleeson is a distinguished educator who brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He joined the faculty of Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs in 2014. As the Albert Levin Chair of Urban Studies and Public Service, he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in urban studies. He also has shared research results with community leaders to improve civic decision making.
Dr. Gleeson was an Adjunct Professor of Ethics, History and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University (2013-2014) and Vice President of Policy Research at the Public Policy Institute of California (2011-2013), where he was responsible for aligning policy research, outreach and government affairs activities with the needs of California's state and local policy makers.
From 2003 to 2011, Dr. Gleeson was Director of the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University. In this role, he nurtured long-term relationships with government agencies, community organizations and businesses to deliver applied policy research, management consulting, project management and other services throughout Northern Illinois. At NIU, he also served as Co-Director of the PASCAL International Observatory, a network of higher education, government and NGO leaders in Africa, Australia, Europe and the United States.
From 1995 to 2003, Dr. Gleeson was an Associate Professor at Duquesne University. From 1988 to 1995, he was on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was a Visiting Assistant Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Economic Development.
Previously, he also served as Director of Economic Development for the Pittsburgh High Technology Council, Senior Planning Consultant for the Allegheny County Government and Management Consultant for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
He is the author of dozens of reports as well as articles in scholarly journals such as Selections, published by the Graduate Management Admissions Council.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Gleeson has managed organizations whose original policy research, community outreach and government affairs activities generated more than $40 million in external funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Science Foundation and other sources. He was instrumental in organizing a coalition of universities, community colleges and regional economic development agencies that was awarded a three-year, $5.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to spur economic growth and job creation for six counties affected by auto industry closures in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Dr. Gleeson holds a doctorate in history and policy from Carnegie Mellon University, where he also earned a bachelor's degree in applied history. He received a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University.