Last modified: Monday, May 14, 2007
IU SPEA Dean Astrid Merget to leave for provost position at LSU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Astrid E. Merget, dean of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has announced that she will leave IU to become the executive vice chancellor and provost of Louisiana State University. Her appointment at LSU begins Aug. 1.
In October 2000, Merget was named the third dean of IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, which is set to celebrate is 35th anniversity this year after being founded in just 1972. In its very short history, it has become one of the largest schools of public affairs in the country and one of the most recognized.
"As she leaves the deanship of IU SPEA, Astrid can be proud of leading one of the largest and best public affairs schools in the country," said Michael McRobbie, IU president-elect and interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at IU Bloomington. "SPEA, under her leadership, has continued to be one of IU's most highly recognized schools. Its consistently high rankings during her tenure are a testament to Astrid's dedication to high quality instruction and service to Indiana University. We wish the best for her in her new position as executive vice chancellor and provost of Louisiana State University."
During her time, the 2005 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools," the publication's most recent rankings of graduate level public affairs programs, placed IU's SPEA at number three behind Harvard and Syracuse universities. Four specialties in Bloomington were ranked in the top 10: Environmental Policy and Management, Nonprofit Management, Public Finance and Budgeting and Public Management/Administration. Nonprofit Management and Criminal Justice Policy management at the Indianapolis campus also were ranked among the top 10 programs.
Among other strengths, Merget was lauded especially during her time at IU for recruiting and retaining minority faculty and also for the extensive network of contacts she developed in Washington, D.C., to facilitate student placements for internships in public policy.
Prior to her Indiana post, she served at The Ohio State University as director of the School of Public Policy and Management and as associate dean and acting dean of the College of Business.
She also served as associate dean at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and as chair of its Department of Public Administration. She previously chaired the Department of Public Administration at The George Washington University.
Her senior executive positions in the federal government include senior adviser to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and special assistant to the assistant secretary for policy development and research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Merget has served as trustee, vice chair and chair of the board. She sat on the board of the Independent Sector as treasurer, vice chair and chair of its Committee on Leadership and Management. She has served as president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and as a board member of the National Council for Science and the Environment.
Merget has been appointed twice by the U.S. Comptroller General, serving on his Research and Education Advisory Panel and the Educators' Panel. She co-chaired the Task Force on Outcomes at the United Way of America, is a founding member of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors and has been a consultant to the International City/County Management Association and numerous other governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.
Merget graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College and earned her master's degree and doctorate from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
