By Taylor Josey
The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies appointed 11 new faculty members this semester, according to the Andrew Young School website.
Mary Beth Walker, Dean of the Andrew Young School, said the school has been fortunate to win approval for some Second Century Initiative hires.
She also said that some of the new hires are replacements for faculty members who recently left or retired.
“We have been very fortunate in hiring such talented researchers and teachers,”N Walker said.
New Hires
Richard Wright (hired in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology):
Prior to joining Georgia State, Wright was a Curators’ Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“I moved to Georgia State and the Andrew Young School in particular because it is emerging as a national leader in urban education and research and I wanted to be part of that. But there’s a personal connection too; my uncle, John S. Wright, was Chair of Marketing at GSU for many years so it was always on my family’s radar,” he said.
He is currently collaborating on research that examines the effect of the declining use of cash on street crime and drug-related deaths, according to the Andrew Young School website.
“As for what I hope to bring to Georgia State, I guess the simplest answer would be my life-long enthusiasm for the criminological enterprise,” Wright said. “Crime and crime control have always presented significant challenges to the maintenance of a free society. That’s what makes the study of criminal justice and criminology so important.”
Brian Bride (Hired in the School of Social Work):
Bride directed the School of Social Work’s Ph.D program at the University of Georgia prior to joining Georgia State. He is an expert in the field of secondary traumatic stress, according to the Andrew Young School release.
He also currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly journal Traumatology, an international journal published by the American Psychological Association.
AYSPS Portraits
Thomas Mroz (Professor of Economics):
Mroz is a health and labor economist and his research includes economic demography, program evaluation and transition / applied economics.
He has studied the economic determinants of diets in China and Russia and explored the importance of family planning programs for reducing fertility in Tanzania, according to the Andrew Young School website.
His recent publications include a study of how parents make decisions about where to live and how much to work and the impacts of these decisions have on their children’s intellectual development.
Musharraf Cyan (Research Assistant Professor):
Musharraf Cyan worked 20 years in public services, tax reform and development planning. He also worked in Pakistan before coming to Georgia State for his Ph.D in 2005 while working on public sector reform and policy in the following locations: Nepal, Egypt, Macedonia, Nigeria and Rwanda, according to Andrew Young School’s website.
Cyan said he chose to come back to Georgia State because the Andrew Young School is well known for its international work.
“I wanted to be part of this international mission.” he said.
His goal is to maximize research gains that help build feasible and affordable solutions for public health systems.
“I plan to bring interdisciplinary research to work in global development challenges, particularly in the area of public health,” Cyan said.
Garth Heutel (Assistant Economics Professor):
Heutel studies the following: Energy and environmental policy, behavioral economics, public economics and the economics of non-profit organizations.
Andrew Young’s website states his research has been published in various publications such as the Journal of Public Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy and Review of Economic Dynamics.
Before working at Georgia State Heutel said he was working at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for five years. Before that it was Harvard University.
“I came to Georgia State because the economics department here at GSU has some very good researchers including in my field of environmental economics and I like the city of Atlanta,” he said.
Muhammad Husain (Visiting Instructor):
Husain previously taught at Atlanta Metropolitan State University and his research interests are labor economics and development economics, according to Andrew Young’s website.
He also received the Theodore C. Boyden Excellence in Teaching Economics award while teaching as a graduate student at Georgia State, according to therelease.
Husain is working towards his Ph.D. while he serves as a visiting instructor, according to the website.
Daniel Kreisman (Assistant Professor of Economics):
Kreisman worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan before coming to Georgia State and his research has been published by The Review of Economics and Statistics and the Brookings Institution, according to the release.
The release states theses works have also been cited in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Kreisman said he chose Georgia State for an opportunity to do good research in his field with an outstanding group of colleagues.
“I plan to bring new ideas for research and enthusiastic teaching,” he said.
Debra Klausner (Lecturer):
Klausner has worked at Georgia State’s School of Social Work for over 10 years in various capacities, according to Andrew Young’s website.
“In my new position as lecturer I will continue to teach BSW and MSW social work students and serve in the role of faculty liaison to them at their internship sites in the community,” she said.
Klausner also said she chose to work at Georgia State because of its diverse student body and an urban setting where there are many needs for social workers to fulfill.
“My passion is mentoring students to become professional social workers who are inspiring collaborators of change with people, the policies that impact them and the communities in which they live,” she said.
Klausner’s area of expertise includes program development and implementation; clinical practice and supervision in both community-based and residential private and non-profit settings, according to the website.
“[I] love what I do and that can’t get much better for a day job, can it?” she said.
Reynold Galope (Visiting Assistant Professor):
Galope is a recipient of the Andrew Young Excellence in Teaching Award and a former Fulbright Fellow at Georgia State.
His research interests include public policy analysis and program evaluation. His research has also been published in the Journal of Technology Management and Innovation and the American Review of Politics, according to the website.
Jim Martin (Clinical Associate Professor):
Martin is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Public Management and former Georgia legislator. He also served as an elected official as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1983-2001, according to Andrew Young’s website.
“Before working at Georgia State I was a member of the Georgia General Assembly and had served as Commissioner of Human Resources for the Georgia Department of Human Resources and as Chief Legal officer of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council,” Martin said.
He has also authored and passed more than 60 pieces of reform legislation in areas such as family law, healthcare and tax policy.
“I plan to bring a commitment to a quality educational experience for our students and to public service,” he said.
Nicholas Harvey (Visiting Assistant Professor):
Harvey is now a visiting assistant professor after two years as a part-time instructor at Georgia State, according to the Andrew Young School website.
“Working at Georgia State is a homecoming for me as an alumnus. I received my PhD in Public Policy through the joint-degree program with Georgia Tech and also a Certificate in Nonprofit Management,” he said.
His research focuses on understanding faith-based non-profits and their issues related to executive compensation and fiscal accountability, according to therelease.
Harvey said he brings expectations for himself, his department and the Georgia State community.
“I hope to inspire and equip the students to have a vision for their lives beyond GSU for transformation and impact in the world,” he said.
(Photos found: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies website)
