Ann-Margaret Esnard Named Interim Dean of AYSPS

ATLANTA — Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Georgia State University’s interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, has announced that Distinguished University Professor Ann-Margaret Esnard will serve as the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies’ (AYSPS) interim dean, effective mid-January.

Esnard joined Georgia State in 2013 as part of the “Shaping the Future of Cities” cluster during the university’s Second Century Initiative. In 2017, she joined the Dean’s Office in AYSPS as associate dean for research and strategic initiatives which, in early 2022, was changed to associate dean for research and faculty affairs.

Esnard’s research expertise encompasses urban planning, disaster planning, vulnerability assessment and GIS/spatial analysis. She has been involved in a number of multidisciplinary, multi-institutional National Science Foundation-funded projects on topics that include population displacement from catastrophic disasters, school recovery after disasters, long-term recovery and community resilience. In addition to journal articles and book chapters, she has co-authored or co-edited three books. She is also an excellent teacher and mentor for students at Georgia State and other institutions.

Committees she has served on include the Disasters Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Research Council’s Committee on Private-Public Sector Collaboration to Enhance Community Disaster Resilience and the Committee for Measuring Community Resilience led by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She holds a B.Sc. from the University of the West Indies-Trinidad, an M.S. from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

“As a scholar and academic leader, Ann-Margaret is at the forefront of leading the research and scholarship that has positioned AYSPS and Georgia State University as a major contributor to solving the challenges facing our cities and communities,” Parsons-Pollard said in her announcement.

Joining Esnard in the Dean’s Office will be David Ribar, professor of economics and faculty director of the Child & Family Policy Lab in the Georgia Policy Labs, who will serve as the interim associate dean for faculty affairs. Maggie Reeves, senior director of the Georgia Policy Labs, will serve as senior adviser for research strategy. Both will continue in their existing positions along with their new roles.

On the academic side, Cynthia Searcy, clinical associate professor of public management and policy and associate dean for academic innovation and strategy, and Jan Ivery, associate professor of social work, assistant dean for academic programs and interim director of the School of Social Work, will continue in their respective roles.

“During this time of transition, I have every confidence that these academic leaders will continue AYSPS’ trajectory as a leader in innovative teaching, research and scholarship addressing the challenges of our century,” Parsons-Pollard said. “I thank them all for their leadership and dedication.”

A national search for dean of the Andrew Young School will begin in the spring semester.