Michael J. RichProfessor and Department Chair

• Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1985
• M.A., University of Virginia
• B.A., Westminster College

Previous appointments: Brown University, The Providence Plan, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Brookings Institution

Specializations: Public policy, Policy Analysis and Evaluation Research, Federalism, Urban Politics/Policy

Recent Courses: Community Building and Social Change, Public Policy, Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation, Poverty in America

Selected Recent Publications: Collaborative Governance and Urban Revitalization (with Robert Stoker), Cornell University Press, 2014; “Community Development Block Grants at 40: Time for a Makeover,” Housing Policy Debate, January 2014; “Obama’s Urban Legacy: The Limits of Braiding and Local Policy Coordination” (with Robert Stoker), Urban Affairs Review, 56, 6 (November 2020): 1607-1629; “All Roads Lead to Paris: The Eight Pathways to Renewable Energy Adoption” (with Candelaria Bergero and Eri Saikawa), Energy Research and Social Science 2021, 80, 102215;  “Fertile Ground: Implementing the 2030 Agenda in U.S. Cities” (with Robert Stoker), Land 2021, 10, 1122;  “Lessons from Atlanta and Baltimore About Linking Economic and Community Development” (with Robert Stoker), Economic Development Quarterly, 2025

Current Research: Projects include (1) Collaborative governance, neighborhood revitalization, and comprehensive local poverty reduction strategies; (2) a study of the Atlanta Housing Authority’s Moving to Work Demonstration to assess the effects of public housing innovations on the well-being of low- and moderate-income families and their children; and (3) Pathways to Economic Mobility, analysis of the Atlanta region’s workforce development initiatives and its effects on promoting economic mobility for low-income adults who are underemployed or unemployed.