The Cleveland State University Board of Trustees has appointed Edward W. (Ned) Hill, Ph.D., as Dean of Cleveland State’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, effective immediately.

Dr. Hill has been Interim Dean of the College since October 2007. In addition, he has been CSU’s Vice President for Economic Development since July 2005, a position he will now relinquish in order to devote his full attention to the activities of the Levin College.

Dr. Hill joined the University in the Levin College in 1985 and has been a Professor and Distinguished Scholar of Economic Development since September 2001. He will remain in the classroom and continue to teach both undergraduate and graduate classes. He was awarded Cleveland State University’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Research in 1998 and a merit award for research in 2002.

Known nationally and internationally for his expertise in urban affairs and economic development, Dr. Hill is a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution, an independent public policy research organization in Washington, D.C., and a Nonresident Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at the University of California at Berkeley. He also is affiliated with the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Rijeka (Croatia) Faculty of Economics. He writes on economic development and urban public policy and is a former editor of the Economic Development Quarterly.

He earned a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning and economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.

“Being appointed Dean is the realization of a lifelong dream,” says Dr. Hill. “For 24 years, I have been privileged to work with superb students and colleagues at the Levin College as both faculty member and Interim Dean. I am honored to now serve as Dean.”

Cleveland State University and the Levin College are key resources in the revitalization of Northeast Ohio, particularly in today’s difficult economy.

“Our College is dedicated to engaged learning and engaged scholarship,” adds Dr. Hill. “We are committed to academic excellence, to developing leadership and working with state and local partners to find solutions to critical public policy and city management challenges, and to enhancing the understanding of urban policy and public affairs in a global society.”

President Michael Schwartz notes that “Ned Hill is a highly respected expert whose advice and counsel are sought – and followed – by government agencies, civic organizations, planners, policy makers and political leaders of both parties. This appointment recognizes his outstanding credentials and strengthens Cleveland State as a catalyst for good in our city, region and state.”

For years, the Levin College has been recognized as one of the finest urban affairs institutions in the nation. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks second in the nation the College’s master of public administration program in the area of city management and urban policy.

The prolific Dr. Hill is the author of two books and two book-length reports, co-editor of five books, and author of over 100 articles, book chapters, and columns. An often-quoted expert and analyst, he has testified before federal and state legislative bodies and has served as a consultant to cities and organizations throughout the world, nation and state.

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