David Birdsell, Dean of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs and Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Effectiveness, has centered his academic work on the nexus of communication, media, and information technology in politics, government and nonprofit administration. An expert on political debating and widely published on communication theory and practice, David is a regular guest commentator on debates and other aspects of political communication for local, national, and international television and print media. His work has been supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the IBM Endowment for the Study of Business and Government, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the JPMorganChase Foundation, the United Way of New York City, the Markle Foundation, and other funders. David serves on the Executive Council of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration. He chairs NASPAA’s Data Committee and the boards of the Volunteer Consulting Group-Governance Matters and the New York Census Research Data Center and is a member of the Chair’s Cabinet of the Human Services Council. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. in Public Communication from the University of Maryland.