June 5, 2001                                                                                   

Contact: Karissa L. Shivley (614) 292-8295

Leading scholars moving to Ohio State

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences announces three major appointments

COLUMBUS – Good things are happening at The Ohio State University’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.  On July 1, the college will welcome three major scholars in different fields: anthropology, geography and public policy and management.

Clark Spencer Larsen will become chairperson for the Department of Anthropology.  He comes to Ohio State from the University of North Carolina, where he holds a named academic chair.  He is a world-renowned authority on bioarcheology, the study of human remains from archeological settings.  His Ph.D. is from the University of Michigan.  He is president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and has just begun serving as the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Edward J. Malecki is coming from the University of Florida, where he is a professor of geography and a former department chair.  He will become director of the newly-approved Center for Urban and Regional Analysis as well as a professor of geography.  The center will support and encourage highly interdisciplinary work that will focus on major challenges facing urban areas.  Malecki is a world-renowed expert on regional development, innovation in entrepreneurial entities, technological change and location of economic activity.  His Ph.D. is from Ohio State.

Bert A. Rockman will come to Ohio State from the University of Pittsburgh, where he is a university professor of political science and research professor.  He will become director of the School of Public Policy and Management and will be a professor in both public policy and management, and political science.  He is internationally known for his scholarship on comparative bureaucracy, including the United States, the U.S. presidency and the making of public policy.  He is editor of the journal Governance.  His Ph.D. is from the University of Michigan.

Randall Ripley, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said the college is very pleased to be able to bring three such distinguished scholars to Ohio State at one time. 

“As Ohio State moves forward, Social and Behavioral Sciences is proud to be contributing a great deal to the positive momentum of the university as a whole,” he said.  “And to get each of these new colleagues to serve in a major administrative capacity adds a critical dimension to the importance of these appointments.”

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