University at Albany Appoints Malcolm Russell-Einhorn Director of Center for International Development

Contact(s):  Catherine Herman (518) 956-8150

ALBANY, N.Y. (August 1, 2008) -- The University at Albany-SUNY today announced the appointment of Malcolm Russell-Einhorn as director of the Center for International Development.

Russell-Einhorn has an extensive history in both the academic and applied sectors of international development.  Prior to his appointment, he was an associate director at the University of Maryland�s Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), a research and policy consulting center that partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the U.K. Department for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others.

Jeffrey Straussman, dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, said, "In Malcolm Russell-Einhorn, we have found a leader who brings a unique combination of practical international development experience and a background in policy research and teaching in the law and governance arena. His expertise and vision will help build on the accomplishments of the Center, so it continues to enhance the capacity of developing nations to meet critical challenges, while strengthening the university�s commitment to more active international engagement.�

During his career, Russell-Einhorn conducted research and provided technical assistance to a wide variety of governmental and non-governmental agencies overseas. He has published a number of articles in the international development field, focusing on comparative administrative law, legal frameworks encouraging transparency and accountability in government service delivery, and public consultation in legislative and regulatory drafting. He taught courses on law and economic development in the Sustainable International Development Program at the Heller School of Brandeis University and courses on comparative law and law and development at the law schools at Georgetown University, American University, Boston University, and Boston College. 

Russell-Einhorn holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, as well as a master's degree in Russian Studies from Yale University and an undergraduate degree in history from Yale College.

"The Center for International Development has a superior record of achievement in the democracy and governance field over the past decade and a half, particularly in the area of legislative development. Few organizations around the world are as closely identified with strengthening the operational, oversight, and public outreach work of legislatures than the Center," said Russell-Einhorn. "I am committed to further deepening the quality of this work and collecting and disseminating some of the most important lessons learned. I also look forward to having the Center�s future work address a number of other areas, including legal and regulatory reform, anti-corruption, and assistance to higher education institutions and NGOs to help them engage in high-quality policy analysis."

Since July 2007, the Center for International Development has been part of the University at Albany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, one of the leading schools of public administration in the nation.  For more than two decades, the Center has designed and implemented international technical assistance and training projects, conducted policy-oriented research, and contributed to both the theory and practice of international development.

Through its in-country development projects and conferences, publications, research, and outreach activities, the Center works to enhance the capacity of developing nations to meet critical challenges. Its approach is cross-national and interdisciplinary, working as part of a global community of scholars, technical experts, government officials, and community leaders. Since 1986, the Center has implemented more than $170 million in international development projects on five continents in the areas of democracy, governance, and civil society; economic development; and environmental policy.

One of the most active university centers in international development, implementation and research activities, the Center has been funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, U.S. Information Agency, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Andrew W. Mellon, Tinker, Ford, and Soros foundations. The Center has operated field offices in Afghanistan, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hungary, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Russia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

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