Prof. Stuart Altman (Heller), a prominent health economist, was named the dean of the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, according to a Jan. 23 University press release. Altman, who built Heller's health policy program, will serve until June 2008, Provost Marty Krauss said. Altman was the Heller dean from 1977 to 1993 and the University's interim President from 1990 to 1991. He has served as interim Heller dean since September.

"It sort of took me back at first," Altman said of being offered the job. "But I thought about it for a while, and I said 'I have a lot of energy and excitement in the school,' so I said 'ok.'"

Prof. Jack Shonkoff (Heller), who resigned as dean in January to devote more time to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, which he chairs and recently received a $750,000 donation from the MacArthur Foundation, is still a tenured faculty member at the graduate school. Shonkoff could not be reached for comment.

The University began searching for a new dean following Shonkoff's resignation, but ultimately did not hire a permanent replacement, Krauss said.

Altman said he had intended to serve as interim dean for one semester and then take a sabbatical during the spring. However, when it became clear that no candidate would be hired, University President Jehuda Reinharz offered Altman the position.

As the Heller School is undergoing a $25 million expansion, which includes renovating its current building and constructing another, Altman said he is best suited to lead during this "transitional phase."

"There are a number of things that I think I can do that would be difficult for a new dean to do that doesn't know the school," Altman said.

Heller is also in the process of developing a new master's program and a B.A./M.A. program in policy and management as well as a joint M.B.A. program with the International Business School. The school is also planning on restarting a research program to study health care policy and aging, one of Altman's areas of study.

Krauss said the University started working in consultation with Isaacson, Miller, an independent search firm in February. The firm compiled a list of about a dozen candidates for a faculty search committee, which Krauss assembled, to review the candidates.

The committee, chaired by Prof. Thomas Shapiro (Heller), included professors from Heller and other departments, graduate students and alumni.

The committee recommended three candidates for campus visits and meetings with various deans and senior administrators.

Shapiro said candidates from a variety of backgrounds, including medicine, economics, social policy and international development, were considered for the position, but ultimately none were selected. "In [the senior administration's] estimation, none of the three were strong in all of the areas they wanted to see strengths in," Shapiro said.

Administrators were looking for someone with "ideas for a strategic direction" and strong managerial skills, Shapiro said.

Shapiro declined to say whether any of the candidates were University faculty.

"Stuart is one of the nation's leading health economists, [who] brought a lot of luster to the school, a lot of visibility," Krauss said. "He is one of the most energetic, brilliant, effective academic researchers in the country."

She added that as interim dean, Altman "started being a really active dean," in his fundraising and collaboration with senior administrators on budgetary and academic issues.

Shapiro said he does not know when a new search for dean will begin or whether he will chair the search committee, but he said senior administrators and Heller faculty will probably meet in the next month to discuss future plans.

In addition to his responsibilities as dean, Altman is also a visiting scholar this semester at the Duke University School of Medicine, splitting his time between the two schools, he said.