DURHAM, N.H. -- Michael Ettlinger, a senior director with The Pew Charitable Trusts, has been named the founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy. He will join the university June 30, 2014. Last fall Emmy-winning television producer Marcy Carsey '66 made a gift of $20 million to create the new school that will train future leaders to use research to solve problems.

"Michael's extensive expertise and understanding of the policy world in Washington set him apart," said UNH Provost Lisa MacFarlane. "Our strength lies in the strong academic analysis that leads to important policy development at the state and national level, and Michael brings the knowledge that only comes with years of engagement in the policymaking process. His experience will help us leverage the great research being done at UNH."

Ettlinger is currently senior director of Pew's fiscal and economic policy portfolio, a multifaceted set of projects and initiatives that research fiscal and economic issues and promote evidence-based policies and practices at all levels of government. Ettlinger leads a staff of experts that includes researchers, project analysts, and consultants and guides the direction of Pew's work to provide critical data and analyses that strengthen fiscal and economic policy across federal, state, and local levels. 

Prior to joining Pew, Ettlinger was the vice president for economic policy at the Center for American Progress where he oversaw a team of economists and other experts working on a wide range of national issues from budget policy and government reform to higher education, housing, and trade. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a law degree from American University, Washington College of Law.

"Being the founding director of the Carsey School gives me the opportunity to marry the policy work I've done my whole career with the great educational and research capacities of UNH to train future leaders in the craft of policymaking and make important research contributions to the nation's and region's policy landscape," said Ettlinger. "There's an opportunity to build a unique school that is attuned to the world of 21st century policymaking—a world transformed by technology and the globalization of almost every area of policy." 

The new Carsey School, scheduled to open later this summer, will leverage the university's diverse instructional, research, and outreach activities as well as the existing work of the Carsey Institute, and make more visible UNH's expertise in policy-related fields. Its work will involve expertise from across UNH's campuses, including sociologists and environmental scientists, health care experts and economists, demographers and foresters. It will train future leaders, both in the United States and around the world, in the craft of policymaking and to use research to solve problems.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

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Caption: Michael Ettlinger has been named the founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy