Martha Feldman Selected as Johnson Chair in Civic Governance

Irvine, Calif., March 17, 2003 -- Martha Feldman, a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, will join the UC Irvine faculty in July 2003. Feldman will assume the Roger W. and Janice M. Johnson Chair in Civic Governance and Public Management in the School of Social Ecology.

"With her many years of experience in teaching and researching public policy, Martha Feldman is well-suited for achieving the intentions of Roger and Janice Johnson when they established this endowed chair -- to better prepare leaders for the special challenges of managing public policy and improving government organizations," UCI Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone said.
"Janice and I couldn't be more pleased with the selection of Martha Feldman," Roger Johnson said. "Her national reputation, research and interests are a natural fit for the mission of the chair."

Feldman currently serves as the associate dean of the Ford School of Public Policy, where she teaches public management. Her research focuses on organization theory and behavior, stability and change in organizations, decision-making and information processing. Feldman has been on the University of Michigan faculty for 20 years.

"Martha Feldman brings an impressive record in the study of organizations and public management," Dean C. Ronald Huff said. "Along with enhancing our interdisciplinary studies, she will advance our school's established practice of finding real solutions to real-world problems."

"This is my dream job," Feldman said. "The Johnson Chair will allow me to focus on how we can understand and use organizational processes to promote greater participation in policy development, as well as more trust in government. The interdisciplinary environment of research and teaching within the School of Social Ecology, and at UCI, is essential to making progress in these areas."

Feldman has authored or co-authored four books (one is forthcoming this spring) and published more than two dozen journal articles. Prior to joining the faculty at Michigan, she worked as a regulatory impact analyst for the Department of Energy. She earned master's and doctoral degrees in political science from Stanford University, and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Washington.

The Johnsons, long active in business, government, education and the arts, established the Johnson Chair in 1998 with the aim of helping to improve the way government is managed and to increase citizen involvement in the political process.