Maxwell School Dean John L. Palmer Named University Professor

John L. Palmer has been named University Professor – Syracuse University’s highest faculty rank – as he steps down after 15 years as dean of the Maxwell School. The designation of University Professor, granted to only seven individuals in the history of the University, honors faculty whose exceptional scholarly and other professional accomplishments merit recognition by peers in the United States and abroad.

Palmer has written extensively on social, economic, and budgetary matters. He served as assistant secretary for Health and Human Services and was senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute before joining the School. In 2000, President Clinton appointed him as one of two public trustees for the Social Security and Medicare programs; his term expires in 2004.

In addition to the University Professorship honor, the Maxwell Advisory Board has generously recognized Palmer’s accomplishments as dean by establishing a fund – currently $1.2 million -- for graduate student scholarships to be used by his successor.

During Palmer’s tenure, the Maxwell School experienced great progress. Graduate student enrollment increased from 600 in 1988 to 800 in 2002. During the same period, the faculty increased from 125 to 145, external grant funding went from $1 million to $7 million, and the School’s endowment went from $3 million to nearly $50 million. Several new research centers were created, and the completion of Eggers Hall in 1994 more than tripled Maxwell’s space – from 32,000 to 108,000 square feet.

Since 1995, the Maxwell School has been consistently ranked as the nation’s top graduate school of public affairs by U.S. News and World Report.

“It is nice to get that kind of validation from your peers,” Palmer said. “I’ve stayed in the job as long as I have because it’s a wonderful job to have. There’s just nothing else that I can imagine having done that I would have enjoyed more.”

#      #      #

The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, founded in 1924, is the premier academic institution in the United States committed to scholarship, civic leadership, and education in public and international affairs. Maxwell is home to Syracuse University’s social science departments and to numerous nationally recognized multidisciplinary graduate programs in public administration, international studies, social policy, and conflict resolution.

• Back to Headlines and Media

Contact: Jill Leonhardt, director of communications, (315) 443-5492; jlleonha@maxwell.syr.edu.