The new school year brings several leadership changes across the Watson School’s academic programs and its region- and topic-focused centers.
In the academic programs, Bryce Millett Steinberg has been appointed as the director of the Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program. Steinberg will lead the MPA program through a period of transition, as it is reimagined and expanded to better align with the strengths of the School’s faculty and its global focus. With the Watson School adding new faculty in critical research areas, more MPA classes will be taught by core faculty members, allowing students to engage more deeply with the faculty’s policy expertise.
Andrew Schrank has been named the director of Watson’s Ph.D. and Postdoctoral programs. In this role, he will provide leadership for the school’s doctoral education and support the professional development of its postdoctoral scholars. On the undergraduate side, Nicole Pangborn has been appointed vice director of undergraduate studies, where she will help guide the school’s undergraduate curriculum and support students in their studies.
Dany Bahar has been appointed director of the Watson School’s new online Master of Public Policy (MPP) program, which will welcome its first cohort in January 2027. The program is a 16-month asynchronous, online degree program designed for working professionals, who will be invited to bring real-world challenges into the classroom.
The school also welcomes new leadership for two of its research centers.
Wilmot James has been named director of the Africa Initiative, where he plans to implement a forward-looking agenda that highlights African contributions to global affairs and focuses on the continent’s future and untapped potential.
James is a senior adviser to Brown’s Pandemic Center and a professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice. Before joining Brown, James was a member of Parliament in South Africa, representing the opposition Democratic Alliance Party, and served as the opposition spokesperson of health. He said he plans to focus the initiative’s efforts on critical problems facing the African continent, including: food security in the face of climate change; safe and environmentally responsible mining of critical minerals; and epidemic preparedness and response.
Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan has been appointed director of the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, bringing her expertise to the center's work on global economic policy, international finance, and related research.
A native of Turkey, Kalemli-Özcan is a leading global scholar in international economics and finance who researches the impact of global trade and financial linkages on economic fluctuations and growth. Kalemli-Özcan said that one of the center’s top priorities during her tenure will be a focus on the multilateral nature of global trade and how the global allocation of finance, technology, and talent interacts with geopolitics and economic security.