Viviana Wu, associate professor of public policy and graduate program director in the Department of Public Policy, has been selected to participate in the Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service program, a prestigious national leadership development initiative led by the Volcker Alliance. The program will focus on preparing the next generation of academic leaders and creating more racially and ethnically diverse leadership in schools of public service.
The leadership initiative draws from years of research on leadership development. The program is focused on tenured faculty from underrepresented groups interested in exploring academic leadership in schools of public affairs. During the 2026-27 academic year, the program will build its fifth cohort of future academic leaders through knowledge exchange, mentoring and network building to demystify pathways to academic leadership. Through one-on-one mentorship and networking with current and former deans and directors of the nation’s public affairs schools, the program brings emerging leaders into direct contact with seasoned public affairs leaders who are passionate about developing future leaders in public affairs schools that reflect the students and communities they serve.
School of Public Policy Director Jane Fountain said, “Selection for the Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service is a distinct honor. Professor Wu exemplifies public leadership in her contributions to developing public affairs education through her research, teaching and service. Her role advancing social equity, innovative design, and mentorship of students advances inclusion, equity, evidence-based decision making and a culture that welcomes a range of perspectives.”
Professor Wu is Director of the Community For Impact (C4I) Lab. Her research examines how nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, and civic actors mobilize leadership, technology, and collective action to address complex public problems. An award-winning researcher, she writes that “a critical thread running through this work is inequality in the process of change making, in who holds philanthropic power, whose communities receive resources, and whose voices shape public problem-solving. My scholarship aims to advance a more democratic, community-centered understanding of social change.”