Dear Members of the Brown Community,

We are delighted to share that John N. Friedman, an economics and international and public affairs scholar and leading researcher on social mobility, education and policymaking, has been appointed the inaugural dean of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

A Brown faculty member since 2015, John will lead the new school upon its July 1, 2025, launch with a focus on advancing research and teaching on pressing economic, political, social and policy issues. His experience as an accomplished researcher and educator, and his service in government roles position him for success — particularly at a moment that calls for nuanced scholarship in vital areas including geopolitical competition, security, development, inequality, climate change, and the emerging impacts of new technologies on society. 

As inaugural dean, John will lead the Watson School in educating students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, supported by Brown faculty from a wide range of academic disciplines. The school will serve as the home for Brown’s esteemed master of public affairs program and undergraduate concentration in international and public affairs, and will encompass centers and initiatives that approach research and teaching on issues of global significance from a broad array of viewpoints. Under John’s leadership and with its exceptional community of faculty, staff and students, the Watson School will be uniquely situated to further Brown’s contributions to a rapidly evolving nation and world.

An accomplished researcher and educator

An influential figure in economics research, John is a founding co-director of Opportunity Insights, an economics research lab that has led high-profile studies on social mobility and equality of opportunity. Across a range of important issues — from tax policy to education to the economic responses to COVID-19 — his work has harnessed the power of big data to yield insights that have shaped policies at the federal, state and local levels. His work has appeared in top academic journals and media outlets and was cited by President Barack Obama in his 2012 State of the Union address. 

During his decade on the Brown faculty, John contributed to establishing a summer term for the MPA program with hands-on policy labs and helped to create a summer research training program for undergraduates, among many contributions. He has developed and taught a range of courses, including Using Big Data to Solve Economic and Social Problems, which aims to expand the discipline of economics to a wider range of students. John served as chair of the Department of Economics from 2021 to 2024, a tenure marked by the expansion of its scholarship, 30% growth in tenure-stream faculty and a deepening of the department’s expertise and reputation.

Prior to coming to Brown, John served as a special assistant to the president for economic policy for the National Economic Council from 2013 to 2014, and was an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School from 2009 to 2014. He currently serves as a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research and is a member of the Rhode Island Council of Economic Advisors. John serves as a co-editor of the American Economic Review, the flagship journal in economics, and is president-elect of the Eastern Economic Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.

A world-class international and public affairs school

As we look forward to the Watson School’s launch, we appreciate that members of the Brown community share our excitement. A generous gift received recently from Mary and Jerome Vascellaro has endowed the position of dean of the Watson School, which will be known as the Vascellaro Family Dean of International and Public Affairs. The Vascellaros are members of Brown’s Class of 1974 and parents of a 2007 Brown graduate, and they have served in a wide variety of volunteer and service roles at Brown. We are deeply thankful for their generosity.

We are also grateful for the contributions of two esteemed Brown leaders and faculty members who have been instrumental in paving the way for the new school — longtime Watson Institute Director Edward Steinfeld (who will hold the honorary title of founding dean of the Watson School); and Professor of Political Science Wendy Schiller, who has served as interim director of the Watson Institute since July 2024. Both have played essential roles in Brown’s growth as a leader in international and public affairs, and in positioning us for the successful launch of a world-class school. We very much appreciate all of their important contributions. 

Finally, we are grateful to the Brown community members who served on the search committee and identified John as an innovative educator and an adept leader with a remarkable scholarly record. John brings both the expertise and energy to guide Brown’s new school as it conducts timely research and provides its graduates with deep knowledge of policy and highly developed analytical skills that will enable them to serve their communities, the nation and the world. We look forward to working with him in his new role as dean.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson, President 
Francis J. Doyle III, Provost