New CMU public policy dean optimistic

A former Upper St. Clair resident predicts he will make Carnegie Mellon University's public policy school the top one in the country.

University officials chose Jeffrey Hunker as the new dean of the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management. He will take over the post in April. Hunker served as senior director for critical infrastructure at the National Security Council under President Clinton.

'I'm excited because the Heinz School of Public Policy is the No. 1 school in the areas related to computer science and information technology,' said Hunker, 44.

'It is my hope that under the leadership of (CMU President) Jerry Cohon that I can make the Heinz School the absolute No. 1 public policy school in the nation.'

U.S. News & World Report ranked the school eighth in the country in 1998. The magazine also ranked the school first in information and technology, fourth in public policy analysis, fifth in criminal justice policy and sixth in public finance and budget.

The Gourman Report, another ranking of graduate and professional programs, rated it eleventh in 1997.

Hunker has no timeline for reaching the pinnacle of the rankings.

'This is a multiyear project,' he said. 'But it's not something I expect to wait 20 years for.'

The school serves 700 full-time and part-time students. It was renamed for the late U.S. senator on April 6, 1992, the first anniversary of his death. Hunker plans to build on the school's strengths in computers, health care management, arts management, crime and violence and data privacy.

Hunker replaces Mark S. Kamlet, now provost at Carnegie Mellon. Kamlet praised Hunker's tenure in the Clinton White House.

Hunker oversaw a $2 billion budget and implemented national cybersecurity efforts for computer systems, the Internet and critical information.

'His public policy experience in information technology make him a perfect fit for the university,' Kamlet said.

Kamlet noted that the university's electrical and computer engineering department is delving more into cybersecurity issues. And the Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon serves as a national clearinghouse for reporting computer hacking incidents.

Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7828.