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Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences R. Karl Rethemeyer has named Distinguished Professor Jane E. Fountain the next director of the School of Public Policy (SPP).
A Distinguished Professor of political science and public policy, as well as an adjunct distinguished professor by appointment in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, Fountain will succeed current SPP director Alasdair Roberts, who will complete five years of service this summer.
“Professor Fountain is a globally recognized scholar and a skilled administrator,” Roberts said. “She is an outstanding choice to lead SPP in the next phase of its development.”
During her time at UMass Amherst, Fountain has received multiple accolades, including the 2013 UMass Amherst Chancellor's Medal, the highest honor bestowed to faculty on the campus. In 2010, she received the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity.
“At a time when leading for the greater good is critical nationally and internationally, I’m deeply honored to serve,” Fountain said. “SPP’s mission aligns perfectly with the mission of our flagship campus.”
Fountain served previously as chair of the campus’s Department of Political Science from 2015 to 2018, as well as interim director of the Center for Public Policy & Administration — now known as the School of Public Policy — from 2006 to 2007.
She was the co-founder and director of the National Center for Digital Government; a former chair, vice chair, and invited member of the World Economic Forum Global Advisory Council on the Future of Government; an appointee to Governor Deval Patrick’s Innovation Council of Advisors; and is an elected fellow and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Public Administration.
