UMass Boston

The John W McCormack School of Policy and Global Studies was founded in 1983 as the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs as an applied public policy research center focusing on issues of immediate concern to Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England region, and by 1991 - the World. In 2010, the Institute further expanded to become the small, college-school that it is today convening nationally and internationally recognized policy studies education that fuses applied policy research and public service in a single mission via graduate training and advanced, undergraduate teaching and learning.

In addition to two academic departments and ten programs, the current School delivers its historical, educational mission through seven major outreach and research centers and institutes – the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC), the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center, the John Joseph Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation, the Center for Women and Politics in Public Policy (CWPPP), Center for Social Policy (CSP), the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development (CPDD), and the Center for Governance and Sustainability.

Like the Institute that gave birth to the School almost 40 years later, today’s conglomeration of McCormack centers and institutes, ergo The McCormack Institutes of International and Public Service (MIIPS), provide for students and faculty a bridge to a rich network of connections and external partnerships with nonprofits, public agencies, and community organizations that create meaningful intellectual and experiential exchanges in extensive community engagement and outreach on and off campus.

Centers & Institutes

• Center for Governance and Sustainability
  Global scholars working in solidarity to produce and circulate research at the science-policy interface.
• Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management
  Providing professional services to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government.
• The John Joseph Moakley Distinguished Professor of Peace and Reconciliation
  Reinforcing a commitment to nonviolent methods in the reconciliation process.
• Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy
  Promoting women's political leadership through quality education and policy research.
• Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development
  Promoting conflict resolution, democracy, economic development, education, media, legal and judicial reform.
• Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration
  Facilitating collaboration and building capacity for conflict resolution and consensus building with government and across state sectors.
• Center for Social Policy
  Dedicated to improving efficiency, effectiveness, governance, and accountability at all levels of government, with a particular focus on state and local government.

McCormack's Center and Institute Directors 

• Stacy Vandeveer, Director, Center for Governance and Sustainability | 617.287.7263, stacy.vandeveer@umb.edu
• Susan R. Crandall, Director, Center for Social Policy | 617.287.5565; susan.crandall@umb.edu
• Michael Ward,  Director, Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management | 617.287.4824; michael.ward@umb.edu 
• Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Director, Center for Women in Public Policy | 617.287. 5554; LA.NsiahJefferson@umb.edu
• Padraig O'Malley, John Joseph Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation | 617.291.1845; Padraig.OMalley@umb.edu
  or email nancy.riordan@umb.edu
• Susan Jeghelian, Executive Director, Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration| | 617.287.4047; susan.jeghelian@umb.edu
• Madhawa Palihapitiya, Associate Director, Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration | 617.287.4036; madhawa.palihapitiya@umb.edu
• Rebecca Herst, Director,  Sustainable Solutions Lab | 617.297.6630; rebecca.herst@umb.ed