David S. Birdsell, Dean of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs, has centered his academic work on the nexus of communication, media, and information technology in politics, government and nonprofit administration. He studies public access to information technology and advises nonprofit and governmental institutions on their communication and technology programs. His recent work on developing public sector leaders has led to the creation of more than 20 leadership programs offered in partnership with government and nonprofit organizations in New York. An expert on political debating and widely published on communication theory and practice, David is a regular guest commentator on debates and other aspects of political communication for local, national, and international television and print media. His work has been supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the IBM Endowment for the Study of Business and Government, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the JPMorganChase Foundation, the United Way of New York City, the Markle Foundation, and other funders.

David serves on the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee and the Media Advisory Committee of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights as well as on the boards of the Volunteer Consulting Group and the New York Census Research Data Center. He chairs the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration’s Committee on Executive Education.

He received his BA and MA degrees from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. in Public Communication from the University of Maryland.