The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs has begun its search for a new dean following the departure of James B. Steinberg, dean of the LBJ School since 2006, who was named U.S. deputy secretary of state earlier this year.
Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN (Ret.), the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy, is the interim dean, having assumed the position following the departure of Steinberg.
University of Texas at Austin Provost Steven W. Leslie has appointed an ad hoc Consultative Committee (see below) to advise him on the selection of the dean. Members of the committee, representing the range of the school’s constituencies, has been charged with identifying candidates from whom Leslie will choose a dean.
Advising the Consultative Committee on its nationwide and global search for highly qualified individuals to lead the school in its next phase of development is the professional executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. The lead consultant is Ilene H. Nagel, head of the firm’s national education practice.
Chairing the Dean Consultative Committee is Associate Dean Robert H. Wilson, the Mike Hogg Professor of Urban Policy in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.
“Over nearly 40 years, the LBJ School of Public Affairs has built a proud tradition of public service and cutting-edge research on the most important public policy challenges of our time,” Wilson said. “Having just gone through the 2009 fall admission cycle and seen a 35 percent increase in our applications submissions, it’s especially gratifying to see that more and more prospective students are looking to the LBJ School to equip them with the tools and knowledge necessary to be leaders in public affairs in coming decades and to meet policy challenges that will be facing not only our nation but the global environment.
“Our committee’s collective assignment is to identify those candidates who possess the vision and the leadership skills to effectively build upon the momentum evident at the LBJ School, helping to fully realize its potential as a premier public affairs institution.”
This past year at the LBJ School has been one of unique celebration and activity. The school honored its founder’s centennial birthday, introduced the Master of Global Policy Studies degree, hosted a nationally televised presidential debate and saw members of its distinguished faculty receive senior appointments in the Obama administration. The school is also now in the final phase of its $15 million renovation project, which is on schedule for a winter 2010 completion.
Committee members include:
- Lynn A. Baker, the Frederick M. Baron Chair in Law, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law
- Elizabeth Alice Casey, Master of Public Affairs student, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Kenneth Flamm, the Dean Rusk Chair in International Affairs, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Francis J. Gavin, the Tom Slick Professor of International Affairs, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs; and director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
- Thomas W. Gilligan, dean, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin
- Michael H. Granof, the Ernst and Young Distinguished Centennial Professor in Accounting and Distinguished Teaching Professor of Business and Public Affairs, McCombs School of Business, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Aletha C. Huston, the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor in Child Development, Department of Human Ecology, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin
- James C. Langdon Jr., partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Field LLP
- Jack Martin, founder and chairman, Public Strategies Inc.
- Cesar A. Martinez Espinosa, Ph.D. student, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Cynthia B. Osborne, assistant professor of public affairs, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Rachel V. Stegall, Master of Global Policy Studies student, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Larry Temple, Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation board member
- Caren Troutman, manager, Computing Services, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
- Pamela P. Willeford, former United States ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein
- Susan K. Rieff, director, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs alumna
- Terri Givens, ex-officio, vice provost, The University of Texas at Austin
