Rutgers names Shapiro permanent dean of Bloustein School

Stuart Shapiro has been appointed the permanent dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway told the Rutgers community in an email Thursday afternoon.

The appointment follows more than a year of serving as the interim dean, a position he took in January 2022. Shapiro joined the Bloustein School in 2003 after receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard University and working for five years at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

“Dean Shapiro has been an invaluable leader and educator, and I remain grateful for his outstanding contributions to Rutgers–New Brunswick’s continual striving for excellence,” Conway wrote. “I am grateful as well to the entire search committee, chaired by Dean Adrienne Eaton of the School of Management and Labor Relations, that led the nationwide search, which resulted in this appointment.”

As Bloustein’s interim leader, Shapiro hired 10 new faculty members representing nearly 20% of Bloustein’s faculty, prioritized the recovery of Bloustein’s community following disruptions caused by the pandemic and led the school’s 30th anniversary celebration.

Shapiro previously served Bloustein as associate dean of faculty, supervising faculty hiring, promotion and discipline, and for seven years as director of the public policy graduate program, in which he helped create two new dual degrees and an undergraduate major and minor in public policy.

He also serves as a professor in the Bloustein School, has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on public policy and related subjects, and serves as principal investigator of the New Jersey State Policy Lab.

For all of these reasons, he was selected as a member of the 2023 ROI Influencers: Higher Education list.

A scholar of U.S. regulatory policy, Shapiro has written four books and publishes work in political science, public administration and public policy journals, as well as law reviews. He has been quoted extensively in the popular press and regularly writes op-eds for the Hill.