Dean's Corner
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The naming of the Andrew Young School is a defining moment for our college; it's a time of great pride for our university, our city and our state. We opened for business in the fall of 1996, and we have been on a roll ever since.

We are now about 60 faculty and 25 research scientists, and about a like number of staff. Some of us are practitioners; some of us are pure academics; most of us are mixtures. On average we're pretty young and we're pretty new to Georgia State University. We saw 4,000 students in our classes last year. We wrote 200 scholarly papers. We worked in 30 countries, trained government officials from all over the world, and advised presidents and governors. And we're pretty diverse in what we do. We taught economics in public management; we helped change tax systems; we trained rehabilitation counselors; we advised rural counties on how to alter their health care systems; we did report cards for Georgia schools; and we tracked compliance with Atlanta's smog reduction programs. We brought $60 million in external research money to our university in the last three years. We already have graduated more than 500 students with majors in our college. And we have had the time of our lives in doing this.

We're just getting started. Our enrollment growth is the fastest in the university. Our faculty quality has ratcheted up. And each week we think we are finding new ways to help our state and even other countries. We're involved in assisting on important matters like controlling sprawl, reducing air pollution, decentralizing government, enhancing economic development, improving the management of cities, understanding science, teaching economics to high school students and delivering a better quality of education.

We think that one key to success is working jointly with our sister institutions in Georgia. We're developing an exciting new program with colleagues from Albany State University. And we already have a joint Ph.D. program underway with Georgia Tech and an international collaboration with the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia.

Andrew Young is the name that was meant for us. He has a background that covers business and government, which is perfect for a college that includes economics and public management. The Rev. Young served many years in the not-for-profit sector, a major emphasis in our teaching programs. We stress the study of urban problems, and so did Mayor Young. We are deeply committed to working with governments and students from developing and transitional countries, and so was Ambassador Young. Businessman Andrew Young understands how better capitalism can make a better life for all, as do our public administration and economics faculties. His career and accomplishments are role models for students at a time when students need role models.

Georgia State is a downtown, unpretentious university whose doors are open to interested students. We are out on the cutting edge of new policy science, and we are not afraid of trying new things. In short, we are just Andrew Young's kind of place. Our goal for the Andrew Young School is that it become the best policy school in the country. We intend to be that objective table where the public and private sectors come together to debate the issues. But mostly, we intend to be a place where students learn how better policy makes a better world.

Roy Bahl
Dean