American University

Cornelius M. Kerwin is president of American University (AU). For seven years, he served as provost of AU, and he has been a member of the faculty since 1975. Dr. Kerwin has held a number of prominent leadership positions within the School of Public Affairs, including his service as dean from 1989 to 1997. A professor of public administration in the School of Public Affairs, Dr. Kerwin is a nationally recognized specialist in public policy, with emphasis on the regulatory process. He is actively engaged in teaching and research, and teaches courses in administrative process, policy implementation, and American government. He is the author of Rulemaking: How Government Agencies Write Law and Make Policy (3rd ed., 2003, Congressional Quarterly Press) and the co-author of How Washington Works: The Executive’s Guide to Government (3rd ed., 1996). Dr. Kerwin’s scholarly articles have appeared in Public Administration Review, Journal of Politics, Policy Studies Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Judicature, Justice System Journal, and Harvard Journal on Legislation. He is also the author of numerous monographs, chapters in edited books, anthologies, and articles in professional and popular publications. Under Dr. Kerwin’s leadership, the university established the Center for the Study of Rulemaking in July 2004. As part of its mission to better understand and improve the processes and techniques used by government agencies to develop regulations, the Center organizes conferences, symposia, and workshops that bring together scholars, public and private sector personnel, and the larger academic community. Dr. Kerwin’s experience in the public sector includes work with the Office of Personnel Management, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Public Health Service. In the private sector, he has served as a consultant to IBM Corporation and General Electric. Dr. Kerwin was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NA PA) in 1996. He was president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NAS PAA) in 1998 and was the founding chair of the Section on Public Law and Administration of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and Pi Alpha Alpha national honor societies for the fields of political science and public administration, respectively. Dr. Kerwin received a B.A. from American University in 1971, his M.A. in political science from the University of Rhode Island in 1973, and his Ph.D. in political science from Johns Hopkins University in 1978.