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Laura Deupree
Senior Director, Marketing and Communications
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
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ATLANTA — The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University has released Leading with Purpose: The Strategic Plan for the Andrew Young School, 2025–2033, a roadmap to strengthen policy education, research, and community engagement amid rapid technological and social change.
Aligned with the university’s strategic plan, BluePrint to 2033: Our Place, Our Time, the Andrew Young School’s plan positions the school to meet the evolving demands of public affairs education, including the growing influence of data, technology and artificial intelligence on policy and governance.
Developed through one of the most inclusive planning efforts in the school’s history, the strategic plan reflects input from faculty, staff, students, alumni, community partners and civic leaders. A 100-day listening phase surfaced strengths and opportunities, laying the foundation for a yearlong collaborative planning process.
“Our strategic plan captures the shared ambitions of this community,” said Thomas J. Vicino, dean of the Andrew Young School. “It reflects our responsibility to prepare students for complex policy environments while advancing research that serves the public good.”
Three cross-functional task forces guided development of the plan:
- Task Force on Strategic Growth, chaired by Jan M. Ivery, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, examined academic programs, enrollment strategy, and student success.
- Task Force on Research Innovation, chaired by David C. Ribar, professor of economics and former associate dean for research, focused on interdisciplinary scholarship, sponsored funding, and public impact.
- Task Force on Organizational Development and Community, chaired by Leah M. Daigle, senior associate dean for faculty affairs, addressed faculty and staff development, shared governance, and partnerships.
Each task force engaged faculty, staff, students and alumni through surveys, forums and listening sessions, ensuring the plan reflects diverse perspectives across the school.
Ambassador Andrew Young emphasized the plan’s grounding in service and justice. “The Andrew Young School has long been committed to addressing real-world challenges,” Young said. “This strategic plan builds on those values and prepares future leaders to serve with both compassion and rigor.”
The plan is organized around three interconnected pillars:
- Transformative learning, prioritizing experiential, technology-informed education that prepares students for data-rich and AI-influenced policy environments.
- Research innovation with public purpose, strengthening interdisciplinary inquiry and translating scholarship into actionable insights.
- A thriving community, supporting professional growth, belonging, and collaboration across the school and with external partners.
To support implementation, the Andrew Young School has appointed Cathy Yang Liu as associate dean for strategic initiatives. In this newly created role, Liu will help carry out the strategic plan and track progress and outcomes across initiatives.
The Andrew Young School enrolls more than 2,200 students across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in public policy and management, economics, social work, criminal justice and criminology, and urban studies. The school consistently ranks among the nation’s top public affairs graduate programs, including a No. 16 ranking by U.S. News & World Report, with multiple top-10 specialization rankings.
With eight research centers and more than $35 million in sponsored research funding, the Andrew Young School advances scholarship that informs policy and practice locally, nationally and globally.
By centering academic excellence, shared governance and public purpose, Leading with Purpose sets a clear direction for the decade ahead. The full strategic plan is available at aysps.gsu.edu/strategic-plan.