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Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger has announced that Ester R. Fuchs, Special Advisor for Governance and Strategic Planning for New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg since 2002, will rejoin Columbia University in spring 2006 as professor of public policy in the School of International and Public Affairs and in the Department of Political Science.
Fuchs, a tenured professor who taught at Columbia and Barnard for 20 years before going on leave, will further strengthen the University's ties with the City of New York by helping to expand academic work on urban politics and policy at Columbia and by administering a workshop with New York City government agencies. Additionally, Fuchs will continue to advise the Mayor.
As Special Advisor to Mayor Bloomberg, Fuchs was responsible for developing and implementing reform initiatives for City agencies as well as advising on ways to deliver public services more efficiently. She had a broad mandate and worked closely with the Mayor, his deputies and commissioners. Fuchs advised on policy issues that crossed agency lines, developed inter-agency strategic plans and worked with community-based organizations to develop innovative programs.
For instance, she served as chair of the City's Charter Revision Commission, which issued a final report in June 2005 and placed two initiatives on the city ballot. Both initiatives passed overwhelmingly by voters.
She also coordinated the mayoral initiative to restructure the City's delivery of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs to youth and families. The year-long planning process for the OST restructuring entailed bringing together eight different city agencies that administer OST programs, community-based providers and foundations that fund OST programs. The initiative developed and implemented a continuum of community-based OST programs that reflects the needs of New York City's youth and families in the City's diverse neighborhoods.
"It is with great pleasure that we welcome Ester Fuchs back to Columbia University, where she will join others on the faculty, such as former Mayor David Dinkins, whose experience and commitment to public service greatly enhance academic life at Columbia," said President Lee C. Bollinger. "Ester's firsthand knowledge of city government and urban issues will guide our students as they seek to become engaged, knowledgeable and responsible citizens."
In anticipation of her return to Columbia University, Fuchs commented: "My experience working for the Mayor of one of the greatest cities in the world has been enriching and challenging. I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve in the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and to participate in this history-making transformation of New York City government. The Mayor's agenda has been to make government more responsive to the needs of all of New York's communities and to improve the delivery of public services. I am eager to bring my insights back to the classroom and to share my extraordinary experiences with students and colleagues."
A well-respected political scientist, Fuchs has directed several sizeable research projects on issues ranging from the civic culture of Muslim communities in New York City, to state fiscal policy and federal homeless policy. In addition to her government service, Fuchs is a member of the New York City Work Force Investment Board and Hebrew University Rothenberg School Board; founding director of Columbia's Center for Urban Research and Policy; former chair of the Urban Studies Program at Barnard and Columbia; former faculty editor of Metropolitics, and a former member of the Urban Affairs Review editorial board, New York Foundation Board, Citizens Union Board, PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement) Board and the Center for An Urban Future Board. She has authored several publications including the book Mayors and Money: Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago, published in 1992.
Fuchs holds a B.A. from Queens College, CUNY, an M.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
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