Ann-Margaret Esnard Is Appointed Associate Dean For Research And Strategic Initiatives

ATLANTA—Distinguished University Professor Ann-Margaret Esnard has been named associate dean for research and strategic initiatives for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

This appointment comes less than a year after Esnard was named interim associate dean for research and strategic initiatives. In this role, she will drive the implementation of the school’s revised strategic plan, expand interdisciplinary research initiatives and increase the visibility of research and curriculum initiatives.

The university recruited Esnard in 2013 as part of the Second City Initiative (2CI), a five-year program focused on adding faculty whose research focuses on collaboration and emphasizes interdisciplinary partnerships.

Esnard, a widely recognized expert in disaster planning, population displacement and spatial analysis, is co-editor of “Coming Home After Disaster,” a reference guide for disaster and emergency management professionals and public officials. She has spent most of her academic career studying how communities can lessen the impact of natural disasters and recover as quickly as possible when hit.

“I am so pleased that Dr. Esnard took on the role of associate dean,” said Dean Sally Wallace. “She has extensive and successful experience in externally funded research. She believes in the importance of interdisciplinary research and collaboration, and we are lucky to have her both in the Andrew Young School and in the dean’s office.”

Esnard holds a doctorate in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a master’s degree in agronomy and soils from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of the West Indies. She completed a postdoc at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill before she began her academic career at Cornell University.

She and her work were recently profiled in Georgia State’s inaugural research magazine.