Faculty Leadership and Engagement

Our faculty are highly engaged in promoting Diversity, Inclusion, Climate, and Equity through their multidisciplinary research, teaching and pedagogy, student involvement, and policy action.

For a full picture of a faculty member's scholarship and activities, visit their bio page. Heinz College also hosts or is affiliated with several CMU research centers that do work in this space.

Alessandro Acquisti, University Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy

Research: Alessandro Acquisti’s research explores hiring discrimination and the use of online social networks, investigating the correlation between employers who search prospective job candidates and decide whether to pursue a candidate based on what personal traits are disclosed online. 

Relevant Publication

Acquisti, Alessandro and Fong, Christina M., An Experiment in Hiring Discrimination Via Online Social Networks (March 1, 2020). Management Science 66(3):1005-1024 Mar 2020. 

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Acquisti, send him an email at acquisti@andrew.cmu.edu

Lee Branstretter, Professor Of Economics And Public Policy (Joint Appointment With The Social And Decision Sciences Department)

Research: Lee Branstretter has worked on many projects in the southwestern Pennsylvanian area: doubling the rate of math learning for low-income, minoritized middle school students in regional public schools; improving the geographic and socioeconomic mobility of low-income mothers in Allegheny County by giving them access to free Uber rides; evaluating the training programs of Bidwell Training Center and CCAC; examining gentrification in Pittsburgh; and expanding mentorship programs for low-income minoritized students in Pittsburgh.

Classes: 

Methods of Policy Analysis: The Future of Work. 

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Branstretter, send him an email at branstet@cmu.edu

Silvia Borzutsky, Teaching Professor Of International Relations And Politics

Research: Silvia Borzutsky's research delves into the Chilean protest movement in October of 2019 - covering different aspects of the government upheaval: centering feminism and its impact, transitioning to democracy,  and economic inequality.

Classes: Race, Politics and Policies in the U.S; Gender, Politics and Policies in the U.S. and across the world; Poverty, Inequality and Social Policies; Human Rights, Conflict and Development.

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Borzutsky, send her an email at sb6n@andrew.cmu.edu

Karen Clay, Professor Of Economics And Public Policy (Joint Appointment With The Tepper School Of Business)

Research: Karen Clay's economic research is on the impact of the Boll Weevil Beatle agricultural shock in the early 1900s. Agricultural shocks are well known to dramatically change the economic landscape of the effected area. The economic impact of the Boll Weevil infestation is compared between Black fathers and their sons versus white fathers and their sons.  Black fathers and sons saw an improvement of up to 6% in higher wages as a result of the Boll Weevil agricultural shock, the Great Compression, and a relative increase in schooling available. 

Relevant Publication 

The Boll Weevil's Impact on Racial Income Gaps in the Early Twentieth Century

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Clay, send her an email at kclay@andrew.cmu.edu

Brett Ashley Crawford, Associate Teaching Professor of Arts Management

Research: Brett Ashley Crawford's research prior to joining Carnegie Mellon University was on women producers on Broadway from 1900-1950, creating a digital story telling site around their work and connection points. She is also currently researching women managers in theatre during that era, to complete that segment with a goal of eventually broadening both sets of research to extend to the present day.

Classes: 

The course content in Arts Enterprises, Theatre Management, Arts Marketing, Producing a Performing Arts Season, and Disruptive Technologies in Arts Enterprises are organized with DICE at the center.

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Crawford, send her an email at bcrawfor@andrew.cmu.edu

Rebekah Fitzsimmons, Assistant Teaching Professor Of Professional Communication

Classes:  Dr. Fitzsimmons is the recipient of the Provost Inclusive Teaching Fellowship. She teaches the graduate level core communication courses, paying special attention to accessibility in her classes. 

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Fitzsimmons, send her an email at fitzsimmons@cmu.edu

Martin Gaynor, E.J. Barone University Professor of Economics and Public Policy

Research: Martin Gaynor is a current member of the Research in Color nonprofit, which seeks to increase the number of Ph.D students of color in economics and economics-adjacent disciplines, and amplifying meaningful economic and policy research on communities of color.

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Gaynor, send him an email at mgaynor@cmu.edu

Ramayya Krishnan, Dean of Heinz College and Cooper Professor of Management Science and Information Systems

Research: Ramayya Krishnan’s work as the Faculty Director of the Block Center specializes in the intersection of AI technology policies, privacy, and bias within these data driven policies, seeking to “design in '' ethical principles and responsible practices.

Relevant Publication
The Future of Work, The Block Center

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Krishnan, send him an email at rk2x@andrew.cmu.edu

Daniel Nagin, Teresa And H. John Heinz III University Professor Of Public Policy And Statistics

Research: Daniel Nagin’s work in criminology and mass incarceration criticizes the use of imprisonment - and life sentences especially. His research shows that life sentences do not work as a deterrent to crime - and that a sentence of imprisonment for life without possibility for parole is often an unjust and ineffective ruling. 

Relevant Publication
Nagin, D. S. Unraveling mass incarceration: Criminology's role in the policy process. Criminology. 2022; 1– 5. 

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Nagin, send him an email at dn03@andrew.cmu.edu

Denise Rousseau, University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Public Policy

Research: Denise Rousseau's research covers the impact of religious identity in the workplace. 

Classes:
Human Resources Management

Relevant Publication
Heliot, Y., Coyne, A., Gleib, I., Rousseau, D.M. & Rojon, C. Conflict and complementarity between religious and occupational identities in the workplace. Human Resource Management, 2020, 59, 153-173.

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Rousseau, send her an email at rousseau@andrew.cmu.edu

Edson Severnini, Associate Professor Of Economics And Public Policy

Research: Edson Severnini's work investigates unequal pay and employment of White and non-White individuals, specifically as it relates to active policy debates taking place across Latin America. This research shows a need for not only decreasing pay and education gaps, but also cites issues such as differential mentorship, skill training, and firms employment and wage-setting policies. 

Relevant Publication 

The Impact of Employment and Pay Policies on Racial Wage Differences in Brazil

Brett Tucker, Technical Manager of Cybersecurity Risk at Carnegie Mellon's SEI

Research: Brett Tucker's work predominantly focuses on providing consultation and thought leadership in the development of an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) model. Specifically, creating and implementing a scoring model that measures ESG aspects of a given financial investment portfolio. 

If you are interested in connecting with Professor Tucker, send him an email at brettt@andrew.cmu.edu